Select Desired State Above
ALABAMA:
Carrollton
Pickens County Courthouse.
No one really knew who
set the fire that burnt down the original Carrollton Courthouse on November 16, 1876. But
everyone blamed Henry Wells, a rowdy black man who lived outside of town. The sheriff
arrested him and held him in the attic of a building that was to become the new
courthouse. One afternoon in February 1878, a lynch mob gathered in front of the new
courthouse and demanded that Wells be turned over to them. As a violent thunderstorm
approached the town, Wells peered out at the crowds through the garret window at the top
of the building. Suddenly, a lightening bolt struck the roof, killing Wells. The flash of
brilliant light etched his defiant expression into the window pane, and no amount of
scrubbing or solvents in the decades since has been able to erase it. And on those when
thunderstorms roll through Pickens County, it is said the ghost of Henry Wells stares out
from the garret window of the old courthouse. (Carrollton is 30 miles west of
Tuscaloosa in Pickens County, at the intersection of Hwys 17 and 86. The face of Henry
Wells can still be seen in lower right-hand pane in the garret window of the Pickens
County Courthouse.)
ALASKA:
Skagway
Golden North Hotel.
There are two ghosts that haunt
this old hotel. Employees have nicknamed one of them "Mary." They believe she is
the spirit of a young lady who died of pneumonia in her room, while waiting for her
fiancé to return from a gold-prospecting expedition. She still haunts Room 23,
where ghostly images of a woman have appeared and guests have complained of choking
sensations in the middle of the night. Room 14 is haunted by a strange "light
form" that moves around in the room at night. Nobody knows who, or what, it
represents. (Skagway is 100 miles north of Juneau and is most easily accessible by boat
or plane. From Whitehorse in the Yukon, follow Hwy 2 south to the town The three-story
Golden North hotel has a corner cupola facing Main Street.)
ARIZONA:
Jerome
Community Center.
Locals call their community center
"Spook Hall," because of the phantom of a prostitute seen there. The ghost from
the front of the building to a few feet from the Little Daisy Hotel, where she
disappears. The area used to be the site of the "cribs," small shacks used by
prostitutes to entertain their clients. One of the women, who was accidentally stabbed
during an argument between two miners, stills walks the street. Jerome was established in
1876, and a billion dollars worth of gold, silver, and copper were mined from the area in
77 years. There are so many ghosts here that a monthly newspaper called the "Jerome
Ghost Post" was published for a time. But the town still offers such interesting
diversions as the "Spirit Room Bar" and the "Haunted Hamburger"
restaurant. (Jerome is on Hwy 89A, on the side of Mingus Mountain overlooking Verde
Valley, at an elevation of 5,000 feet. Follow Hwy 89A from either Prescott or Sedona for
about 25 miles to the town. For information, contact the Jerome Chamber of Commerce, Box
K, Jerome, AZ 86331. Phone: 520-634-2900.)
ARKANSAS:
Eureka Springs
Crescent Hotel.
A room in this 78-year-old resort
hotel is haunted by the ghost of Michael, an Irish stonemason who worked on the hotel in
1885. The man fell from the roof and died in the second floor area which became Room
218. Now he plays tricks with the lights and TV, or pounds loudly from inside the
thick walls in the room. But there are other spirits here. The ghost of a nurse dressed in
white has been reported on the third floor. Another ghost here is a gentleman in Victorian
clothing who haunts the lobby. He has been spotted at the bottom of the stairway and
sitting at the lobby bar. Other apparitions have been sighted in Room 202 and Room
424. Built in the early 1800s, the resort hotel was used as a college in the 1920s and
became a somewhat controversial hospital/health resort in the late 1930s. The confused
ghost of Doctor Baker, the charlatan who ran the hospital in the 1930s, has been seen in
the old Recreation Room and at the foot of the first floor stairway. (The town
of Eureka Springs is in the extreme northwest corner of Arkansas in Carroll County, near
Beaver Lake at the intersection of Hwy 23 and U.S. Hwy 62. The building used to house the
Baker Hospital. Crescent Hotel, Eureka Springs, AR 72632. Phone: 501-253-9766.)
CALIFORNIA:
Long Beach
Queen Mary Hotel.
This ocean liner, now permanently
docked at the Port of Long Beach, was commissioned in 1936 and made over a thousand
Atlantic crossings. Many incidents of strange rapping noises, moving objects, disembodied
voices, and ghostly apparitions have been reported by staff, guests, and investigators on
the dry docked ship. The First Class Swimming Pool is haunted by the ghosts of two
women who drowned there. One is dressed in 1960s clothing and the other wears 1930s
attire. The forlorn ghost of a little boy who fell overboard near the pool has also been
sighted in the passageway there. For some unknown reason, many psychics have had detected
strongly negative feelings in the Changing Rooms at the end of the pool. The old
first class lounge, now know as the Queens Salon, is haunted by the ghost of a
beautiful woman in a flowing white dress. Unexplainable balls of light and the apparition
of a black-haired man in a 1930s suit have been seen by tour guides in the First Class
Suite area. The Forward Storage Room, where the ship’s archives are
kept, is haunted by the sounds of children playing. Inexplicable pounding sounds have been
recorded near the Bosun’s Locker, which is the area of the hull which sliced
the British Light Cruiser Curacoa in half during World War II. Because of her
wartime sailing orders, the Queen Mary was not allowed to stop to rescue survivors,
and 338 men perished in the cold ocean. The Tourist Class Swimming Pool is haunted
by the presence of a woman who drowned in it, and the third-level Cabin B340 is
haunted by a murdered purser and is no longer rented out because of unexplained
disturbances there. Poltergeist activity has been reported in the Kitchen, where a
cook was murdered during World War II. It is said his cooking was so terrible that it
caused a riot among troops being carried to the front. The violence quickly got out of
hand and the cook ended up stuffed inside an oven and burned to death. His ghastly screams
were somehow impregnated into the ship's iron bulkhead and are sometimes replayed to
startled visitors. The ghosts in the ship’s Morgue could have any of a number
of identities. Sixteen crewmembers, two G.I.s and 31 passengers have died on the ship. But
the most documented sighting is the apparition of an 18-year-old crewman, John Pedder.
Pedder was crushed to death while trying to slip through an automatically closing door in Shaft
Alley during a routine watertight drill on July 10, 1966. It was hatchway Door #13.
Another crewman allegedly haunting the Queen Mary is Senior 2nd Officer William
Stark. He was accidentally poisoned in 1949, when he drank tetrachloride that the staff
captain kept in an old gin bottle. So far, over fifty witnesses have reported paranormal
happenings on this ship, and the list keeps growing. (The Queen Mary Hotel and Museum
is berthed at Pier J in the Port of Long Beach. The mailing address is: The Queen Mary,
1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, CA 90802-6390. Call 310-435-3511 for information or
800-437-2934 for reservations.)
Sacramento
An investigation of the Crocker
Art Museum in Sacramento in October 2002 yielded significant evidence of a
haunting. Read the full investigative report with photos by clicking on
"Pictures" below. Crocker Art Museum
Investigative Report
Recent investigations of the Sacramento Theatre Company at 1419 H Street in downtown Sacramento have documented strong paranormal activity. Several anomalous light patterns recorded on infrared film at the same time two psychics were holding a meditative séance to conjure up spirits. At 3:00 AM in secure section of the auditorium, disembodied footsteps were recorded on audio tape. The 50-year-old vaudeville stage is home to a ghost that employees have named Pinky — because of the pinkish aura it manifests. The apparition has been seen on numerous occasions and is even credited with warning electricians of the impending collapse of an overhead lightbar. Several people could have been seriously injured had they not evacuated the area because of Pinky's ghost. In the last four years, psychics have detected the presence of five other spirits in the building.
San Francisco
Clanging sounds, screams, and crying can be heard in Cell Block B and the
basement area near Cell Block A on Alcatraz,
the former island prison, in San Francisco Bay. Disturbances in Cell Block C became so frequent that the Park Service
called in psychics to figure out what was going on. They traced the activity to
the violent spirit of Abie Maldowitz, a mob hit man with the nickname of
“Butcher,” who was killed by another inmate in the laundry room. In the shower
room, the sounds of mobster Al Capone practicing the banjo can sometimes be
heard. Over in Cell Block D, strange voices have emanate from cells 11, 12, and
13, and even in the summer months, cell 14 feels ice cold, and many visitors are
overcome by emotion in one corner of the cell. This was the tiny quarters where
killer Rufe McCain was kept in solitary confinement for over three years.
More hauntings are reported in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco than any other section of the city. The old cemetery there, now buried under tons of concrete construction, might be the source of the manifestations. At least a few of those lost souls seem to have found a home in the tower of the San Francisco Art Institute at 800 Chestnut Street. The monastic tower, which is adjacent to the cemetery site, has been considered haunted for fifty years. Bill Morehouse, a former student, was taking a break on the tower's third level when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He watched in disbelief as the door opened and closed, and the invisible footsteps went past him to the observation deck. Other students, a watchman, and a janitor have also encountered apparitions climbing the stairs of the tower. During remodeling of the tower, workers reported an evil presence that caused "breaking sounds", and three near-fatal accidents occurred. A group of psychics attempted to contact the presence during a seance, but they only succeeded in verifying the presence of many "frustrated" spirits.
San Francisco's old Fort Mason is no longer used to house military personnel, and the ghosts there are from the era before the houses were taken over by the government. Something from before the Civil War still resides in the old, two-story, white frame house known as Quarters Three. The quaint house, near the corner of Franklin Street and McDowell Avenue, was where U.S. Senator David Broderick died from a gunshot wound he received in a duel with State Supreme Court Justice David Terry. The year was 1857. Justice Terry, an influential Southerner, wanted California to become a slave state. Senator Broderick was a tireless critic of a state law that declared freed slaves as fugitives, the property of anyone who apprehended them. When the two men faced each other, Broderick's gun went off accidentally as he drew it from his holster. Terry fired anyway, striking the Senator in the chest. Three days later, Broderick died at the home of his close friend, Leonides Haskell. The Senator had spent the night before the duel at Haskell's house, where he paced about fretfully all night. The house was later confiscated by the Union Army and remains military quarters to this day. Many of the officers who lived there have seen the Broderick's ghost pacing back and forth, reliving his anguish the night before the confrontation. Capt. James Lunn's family reported disembodied shadows moving back and forth in the parlor. Colonel Cecil Puckett felt someone following him around the house, even watching him in the shower. Capt. Everett Jones and his family experienced a variety of poltergeist activity -- until they stopped joking about the ghost. According to Capt. James Knight: "There's no doubt the house was haunted."
One of San Francisco's most haunted residences is Atherton House. After the death of her husband in 1880, Dominga Atherton moved from her country estate to the city by the bay. The huge house at 1990 California Street became the residence of Dominga, her daughter Gertrude, and son-in-law George. The two ladies dominated George and ridiculed him publicly as "the weaker sex". In 1887, in an attempt to get away from his feminine oppressors, George accepted an invitation to visit friends in Chile. As it turned out, George was weaker than even the women suspected. After only a few days at sea, he died of kidney failure. Not knowing what to do with the dead body, the captain of the vessel had George's carcass preserved in a barrel of rum and transferred to another ship back to San Francisco. Unfortunately, the barrel arrived before the letter from the captain explaining what had happened. When barrel was delivered, a surprised butler discovered his master pickled in rum. The ladies became hysterical and it was weeks before they found out how George died. During that time the ladies started feeling that there were more spirits in that barrel than just rum. Eventually convinced of George's lingering presence, they sold the mansion. The house changed hands many times, but in 1923 it became a public boarding house. Today, many tenants live there unaware of the mansion's checkered past. Others have found the place most uninviting. Some former tenants have told of roaming cold spots, disembodied screeching voices, and unexplained knocking at their doors. One boarder moved out after seeing a bevy of apparitions in the tower apartment. A seance conducted by researcher Antoinette May and medium Sylvia Brown revealed four presences. One was the frail spirit of George. The others were the nagging ghosts of Dominga, Gertrude, and the lady who ran the boarding house in the 1920's.
The red sandstone building at 2090 Jackson Street in San Francisco is known as a survivor. Not only did it survive the 1906 earthquake, when other buildings around it crumbled, but some say that the spirit of its original owner survived his own death. William Franklin Whittier's residence was completed in 1896, yet something in the basement of his mansion keeps bringing him back. His ghostly form has been sighted in the musty cellar several times. Whittier was an active member of San Francisco's business community right up until his death in 1917 at the age of 85. His family sold his mansion in 1938 to the Deutsche Reich, and it became the city's German Consulate. After the war, Mortimer Adler's Philosophical Institute used the building as a retreat for scholars and great thinkers. Finally, in 1956, the California Historical Society acquired the house for its headquarters. Over the years, several people have encountered a shadowy outline in the basement or felt an ice-cold presence there. Most believe it is Whittier's ghost, but former docent Mary Dierickx says: "My theory is that the ghost is his ne'er-do-well son, Billy. The presence is often felt in the basement near the servant quarters, and Billy lived for wine, women, and song."
If you ever check into the Mansions Hotel in San Francisco, be sure to remember to tell the desk clerk that I want a Non-Haunting Room. The hotel consists of two magnificent mansions connected by a common lobby. The newer mansion is free of ghosts. The older one is haunted. If you want to get any sleep, stay in the newer one. The hotel documents its uncanny history in a display that includes affidavits of witnesses, transcripts of seances, and photographs. For years, guests have complained about strange noises, cold shadows moving about, and even toilet seats flying across the room. Last year, researcher Antoinnette May held a Ouija-board seance in a large third floor suite. Before long, an apparition appeared in front of a half-dozen witnesses. The ghost's photograph is now part of the hotel's haunted gallery. In July 1992, a scientific survey conducted by parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach discovered powerful forces in the old section. "The magnetometer went crazy," said Auerbach, "The whole building is active." The results confirmed the impressions of psychic Sylvia Brown, who has sensed numerous spirits in the hotel, especially on the third floor. "In August 1992," noted one guest, "I decided to spend a night at the hotel while attending a literary party. For the life of me, I felt as if I being plagued by spirits all night. Something kept pulling the blankets up off me, exposing my feet while I slept. Then about four o'clock in the morning, the toilet flushed for no apparent reason. It was not a restful night." Manager Bob Pritikin likes to tell the story about a man and his wife who checked into the same room a few weeks earlier. Ten minutes after checking in, the man returned to the front desk in a state of shock. His face was ashen. His whole body was shaking. Something had frightened him badly, but he refused to talk about it. Since he had already checked in, the clerk was forced to charge him. "I don't care," the man said, "I just can't be here anymore!" "That man just didn't know there were ghosts in the hotel," quipped Pritikin. "Not long ago," he continued, "another guy, a famous movie actor, saw several ghosts here. We get all kinds of weird things happening in this place." More San Francisco Hauntings
San Jose
Sarah Winchester built her 700-room house in San Jose, California, from plans
channeled to her by benevolent spirits to protect her from the phantoms of
Indians killed by the rifle that bears her family name. To discourage evil
spirits from entering, she based much of the construction on the number thirteen
and added 950 doors and 10,000 windows, most of which lead nowhere. She even
slept in a different bedroom every night to keep one step ahead of them. But
she treated the good spirits royally. Every night at midnight, a large bell in
the bell tower rang out three times to summon spirits to her séance room at the
center of the house. She also held regular banquets, where servants set out
five-course meals on thirteen solid gold plates and cutlery, although the only
guests were Sarah and twelve invisible ghosts. She died in 1922 and left
instructions that "the ghosts continue to be welcomed and provided for." Guided
tours of the house started in 1923. Many psychics have contacted spirits here,
and witnesses report discarnate voices, moving balls of light, and a gray-haired
female apparition floating through the halls.
Hollywood See Complete Listing of Hollywood Hauntings
Moss Beach
The gruesome ghost of a lady in a
blue dress, soaked in blood, haunts an old speakeasy on Highway 1 just south of
San Francisco. Moss Beach residents say she is the spirit of a young woman
stabbed to death in front of the old Moss Beach Distillery
restaurant, nearly 70 years ago. The restaurant used to be a speakeasy in the
1920's, and was frequented by a lot of unsavory and flamboyant characters. The
beautiful young lady was murdered on the beach by her jealous lover, the piano
player at the bar. Waitresses, chefs, and customers have witnessed her phantom
standing near the piano or dancing alone in deserted rooms. Once, a boy ran
screaming from the restroom, insisting that a lady covered in blood touched him.
More recently, two of the town's policemen saw her bloody figure standing in the
middle of the highway in front of the cliffside restaurant. Last year, two
waitresses saw a stool tip over and do a somersault. On average, her ghost has
been sighted once or twice every year for the last 50 years. The building has
been thoroughly studied by researchers from the Ghost Research Society and the
Office of Paranormal Investigation. Both groups found cold spots near the piano
and unusually high electromagnetic fluctuations in the old dance hall. The most
recent phenomenon occurred just a few months ago, when all the settings in the
restaurant's automatic thermostat system were changed. The complicated
reprogramming would have taken most people three or four hours. It was
impossible for any kind of malfunction in the electronic circuitry to have
changed the settings. "The company told me that there was no way it could
have been done except manually," owner John Barber related, "but I had
the only key!"
San Diego
One California location recognized
by the State of California as an Official Haunted House is San Diego's Whaley
House (2482 San Diego Ave., San Diego 92110. Phone: 619-298-2482). It
was built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley, who also rented out part of the house as a
county courtroom and records depository. But the $65-per-month rent never made
up for all the grief he received because of it. His beautiful home became the
center of a power struggle between people in Old Town, where the mansion was
located, and the New Towners, who wanted the county records kept in their
section of the growing city. One day while Thomas was out of town, a gang of New
Towners broke into his house, terrorized his wife and daughter, and stole all
the records. For nearly twenty years Thomas tried to collect damages from the
County for his ransacked house, but he died without ever receiving a dime.
Almost a century later, when the County bought the house and started
restoration, strange things began to happen. Workmen told of ghosts walking on
the second floor, windows that opened by themselves, and alarms which went off
for no reason. Visitors to the house have reported seeing the ghosts of Thomas
and his wife in the hallways and descending the staircase, as well as the ghosts
of his dog, little girl, and baby son (who died at 17 months). Several people
have reported seeing a man hanging in a doorway in the house. He is thought to
be the ghost of Jim Robinson, who was caught stealing a boat and sentenced to
death by a drunken judge. When he was hung on a gallows on the Wharton property,
the noose failed to snap his neck, and he hung flailing in the air for nearly an
hour, cursing and screaming, before he finally strangled to death.
COLORADO:
Colorado Springs
The Black Forest area directly east of the Air Force
Academy has seen in increase in its strangeness index in the last few months. The haunted
section is in El Paso County, 15 miles northeast of Colorado Springs. Take I-25 north to
Route 83 north for 7 miles to the Black Forest exit. The haunting began within weeks of
buying their new home in 1992. It was like the gates of hell opened up in the Lee family
home. "One day we came home," said Beth Lee, "and it was like the Fourth of
July in our living room and in our bedroom. We had all kinds of lights flashing through,
and it sounded like people stomping across the roof. We would lay in bed at night and hear
chains rattling. One night we woke up and heard orchestra music. Strange things started
happening every day." The two boys complained of weird lights and shadows in their
rooms, lights and appliances started going on and off by themselves, and untraceable
chemical odors burned family members’ eyes and throats. Over the next four years,
they would have sixty-two unexplainable "break-ins." The El Paso County
Sheriff’s Department opened an investigation in April 1993 and conducted forty-five
follow-ups but could never find any evidence of a "crime." After the sheriff
stopped responding, the Lees hired private investigators to try to figure out what was
going on. About that time, Steve noticed that photographs and videotape taken in certain
locations on the property had strange light streaks running through them, and sometimes,
translucent faces even appeared on the film. Determined to document the activity, Steve
borrowed or purchased every type of camera he could think to see if the bizarre images
appeared, but no matter what type of camera or film he used, he captured evidence of
unexplainable light phenomena that included brilliant beams, floating balls of light, and
glowing outlines of humans and animals. Sometimes the mysterious lights could be seen with
the naked eye, though most often, they lasted just a split second and showed up only on
film. Steve and Beth finally agreed that something paranormal might be going on in their
home, and in early 1995, they sent some of the pictures and videotape to the
"Sightings" television show. Hollywood special effects technician Edson Williams
examined the Lee films and told the producers of the show that most of the light images
would be extremely difficult to reproduce and some seemed to defy the laws of optics
entirely. "Sightings" immediately dispatched a film crew to the Black Forest,
and once on site, were able to document some of the weird phenomena the Lees had
witnessed. In three visits to the property "Sightings" brought along Minneapolis
ghostbuster Echo Bodine and Los Angeles psychic Peter James, who both identified powerful
presences in the house. A Hopi shaman consulted on the Black Forest hauntings said that
the area is a "Rainbow Vortex," one of only a few psychic energy spots on the
planet that connect our world with the next. Red, yellow, and white lightforms are seen
and recorded, as well as apparitions of an old lady, a little girl, a burly man dressed in
1800s clothing, and a "flying dog," not to mention the hundreds of forlorn faces
seen floating in the Lee’s bedroom mirrors. Infrared photos of these apparitions
featured in the article "The Black Forest Haunting" in the March 1998 issue of
FATE magazine. (Copies can be ordered by calling Llewellyn Publications at 800-THE-MOON.)
Investigator Dennis William Hauck recorded more unexplainable phenomena when he visited
the site in October 1996. State Senator Charles Duke also personally investigated and
confirmed the existence of paranormal activity. Photographs he took show light beams and
cloudy humanoid shapes, typical of those taken by Lee (shown above). An FBI agent suggests
that the cause of the activity is poltergeists and not alien beings. Psychic Peter James
has suggested "alien ghosts" as a possible cause. Some Hopi Indians believe the
site is located over a "Rainbow Vortex" of psychic energy. Steve Lee so far has
invested over $70,000 in security equipment to try to capture the "presence"
responsible for the flashes of light, moving shadows, foul odors, poltergeist activity,
and loud noises that plague his family. Recently he installed ultrasonic camera triggering
devices as well as digital cameras to document the activity. So far, there are over 3,000
photographs and 400 videotapes supporting the validity of this case. There are only two
other locations (Arizona and England) where photographic phenomena similar to those from
the Black Forest are currently being recorded.
More on the Black Forest Haunting.
Denver
Cheesman Park.
This innocent looking city park is
built on top of a graveyard. The Mount Prospect graveyard, which came to be known as Boot
Hill, was created in 1858. In 1873, officials renamed the place City Cemetery but only
buried criminals, transients, and epidemic victims there. In 1893, the city gave notice
that all bodies had to be removed within ninety days. Needless to say, most of the graves
remained untouched. The city hired an undertaker to dig up the 6,000 to 10,000 remaining
bodies, put them in 1-foot by 3½-foot pine boxes, and deliver them for burial at
Riverside Cemetery. It was a horrifying sight. Workers broke corpses into pieces to get
them to fit into the mini-caskets. Body parts littered the ground and got mixed together
in the process. Many of the graves were looted by the men digging them up. During the
work, psychics warned workers the dead would return unless a short prayer was uttered for
each casket, but no one listened to them. One worker, removing valuable brass from the
coffins, ran hysterically from the graveyard saying a ghost jumped on his back. People in
neighboring houses reported confused spirits wandering through their homes or appearing in
mirrors. A huge scandal erupted, and Mayor Platt Rogers ordered all work halted, while an
investigation was conducted. No one was able to sort out the mess the workers left behind.
The remaining bodies were plowed under, and grass and trees planted. Today, sensitives
detect an undertone of sadness and confusion at the site, and some say they can hear a low
moaning sound coming from the restless ground. (The Catholic section of the original
cemetery was removed in an orderly fashion by church members and is now occupied by the
Botanical Gardens. The Jewish section was also completely cleared and is now called
Congress Park. Cheesman Park, named for a prominent citizen, is in central Denver, in the
Civic Center area. The park is bounded by 8th and 13th Avenues, near University
Boulevard.)
CONNECTICUT:
Easton/Monroe
Cemeteries.
For many years, visitors to the Union
Cemetery in Easton reported having conversations with lifelike apparitions, who
walk among the tombstones and then disappear into thin air. This type of ghost, known as a
"lepke," seems as real as any other person until it vanishes from sight.
Acquaintances of people buried here say the apparitions talk and behave exactly as they
did when alive. This is also the haunt of the infamous White Lady, observed many times
over the last fifty years. The same White Lady ghost is seen at another nearby (Our
Lady of the Rosary Chapel Cemetery ). She wears a white nightgown with a bonnet. In
1993, a local fireman "ran over" the ghost in his pickup truck. Sometimes
witnesses observe dark, shadowy figures attempting to grab the White Lady. Investigator Ed
Warren believes she is Mrs. Knot, whose husband was murdered near Easton in the 1940s. The
woman may have been murdered too, shortly after her husband's funeral. ((Easton is in
southwest Connecticut near the junction of Hwy 136 and Hwy 59. Union Cemetery is on Hwy
59, near the Easton Baptist Church. Monroe is north of Bridgeport in Fairfield County.
Take Hwy 25 northwest to Hwy 111 and go north 3 miles to Monroe. Our Lady of the Rosary
Cemetery is near the Stepney Green near Monroe. The White Lady appears in the cemetery and
on nearby Pepper Street.)
DELAWARE:
Dover
Woodburn. Four ghosts haunt Delaware's Governor's
Mansion. The great house was built in 1790 by a Revolutionary War Colonel, Charles
Hillyard, on land given to his family by William Penn. When a Quaker by the name of Daniel
Cowgill owned the house during the Civil War, a tunnel was dug from the cellar to the St.
Jones River, and escaped slaves used the mansion as a stop on the Underground Railway. The
house was haunted for over 160 years before it became the official home of the governor of
Delaware in 1966. The first ghost at Woodburn appeared in 1805 to Lorenzo Dow, a Methodist
evangelist staying there. He described the elderly "stranger upstairs" to the
wife of the owner of the house one day. She told him no one else lived in the house, but
later she saw the same apparition. In the 1870s, another house guest had to be revived
from a fainting spell, when he saw the ghost of an elderly man sitting by the fireplace.
The phantom could be the original owner, Charles Hillyard, who died in the house. Another
ghost is a man in a powdered wig, who has a predilection for fine wine. Governor Charles
Terry Jr. accused the ghost of draining off some of the vintage wines in the cellar of the
mansion, and one of his servants saw the ghost help himself from a decanter in the dining
room. Earlier residents placated the dry spirit by setting out wine decanters, which
mysteriously drained overnight. The ghost of a slave kidnapper seems to stay near an old
poplar tree in the yard. It is the tree from which he was hanged, although he was not
strung up with a rope. He climbed the tree hoping to kidnap runaway slaves, when the house
was owned by abolitionist Daniel Cowgill. But as fate would have it, the man slipped, and
his head was caught between two branches. On moonlit nights his struggling ghost can be
seen dangling from the gnarled old tree. His awful moans and chain rattling sometimes fill
the inside of the house as well. The fourth ghost is a little girl in a red-checked,
gingham dress. She was seen playing by the pool in the garden during the 1940s but has
never been identified. At the January 1985 inauguration party for Governor Michael Castle,
guests complained of an invisible presence tugging at their clothing, and one woman saw
the apparition of a little girl in a corner of the reception room. The governor himself
reported a few ghostly encounters and even allowed a teacher and three of her students to
bring their tape recorders and Ouija boards to Woodburn. After spending the night, the
children were genuinely spooked, insisting that a portrait of a woman in one of the rooms
kept smiling at them. (Go south on State Street in downtown Dover until King's Highway.
The Governor's Mansion is at 151 King's Highway, Dover, DE 19901. Phone: 302-739-5656.)
DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA:
Old Stone House Museum.
Built in 1795 by Christopher
Layman, this old farmhouse is haunted by eleven ghosts. The most active has been dubbed
"George." He haunts the third-floor bedroom and has a violent hatred of women.
George has been accused of shoving, strangling, knifing, and even raping women who venture
into his room. Residents and visitors to the house, which is now a museum, have reported
encountering his malevolent presence several times. Another ghost here is a lady wearing a
brown, 1700s-style dress. She is seen near the fireplace. The phantom of a young woman,
with tight ringlets in her hair, has been seen running up and down the staircase. The
apparition of a stout woman in an antebellum gown is seen on the staircase and in the
kitchen. Also seen in the kitchen area is the ghost of a man wearing short pants with long
stockings. A man with long, dark blond hair, wearing a blue jacket, once materialized near
a front room window. The wraith of a small boy named "Joey" has been seen running
up and down the third-floor hallway, and a little black boy has also appeared there. A
German carpenter, thought to be the ghost of Christopher Layman, has been reported in the
house. Many people observed a Colonial gentleman who partially materialized in the master
bedroom. Another unidentified Colonial man has been seen on the second-floor. The upper
floors of this house were used by families living on the property, while the lower floors
were rented out to travelers. In the 1930s, the house became a bordello, and then it was
used as an auto shop. The National Park Service acquired the property in 1950 and restored
most of the building. (The three-story, L-shaped Old Stone House has been restored and
is now a museum operated by the National Park Service. Old Stone House Museum, 3051 M
Street Northwest,Washington, DC 20007. Phone: 202-426-6851.)
White House
Hauntings
More District of Columbia Hauntings
FLORIDA:
Rockledge
Asheley's Restaurant.
The ghost of a young girl,
dressed in Roaring-Twenties clothing, haunts the ladies room here. Her likeness emerges
from one of the stalls or appears in the mirrors. Several women have reported feeling a
choking sensation when passing through the corridor to the Ladies Room. The ghost
ventures to other places in the Tudor-style building, only to break dinnerware in the Kitchen,
turn lights on and off in the Bar, or shove customers from behind in the Dining
Room. She is thought to be either the spirit of Ethyl Allen, brutally murdered in a
storage room here in the 1920s, or the ghost of a young woman who died in a car accident
on Highway 1 in front of the restaurant. Dozens of employees and customers have reported
apparitions over the years, and sightings have increased since 1979. A 1993 investigation
documented a variety of phenomena, including a swirling mass of ghostlike energy recorded
on a thermographic camera. (Rockledge is on the east central coast, 12 miles north of
Melbourne on U.S. Hwy 1. Ethyl Allen's burned and mutilated body was found at Eau Gallie,
on the banks of the Indian River. Asheley's Restaurant is at 1609 South U.S. Hwy 1,
Rockledge, FL 32955. Phone: 407-636-6430.)
GEORGIA:
Savannah
Pirate's House Restaurant.
Although this house was
once the home of famous pirate Jean Laffite, it is the ghost of another notorious pirate,
known as Captain Flint, who haunts the place. It is said that as he lay on his deathbed,
he kept calling to his First Mate, Darby McGraw, to bring him more rum. Today, his cries
are still heard by visitors to the restaurant that now occupies the house. His scar-faced
phantom has also been seen roaming in the basement tunnel. The tunnel, big enough to drive
a bus through, was discovered during renovations. It leads to the river and probably
served as an escape route for pirates trying to make it back to the sea. (Pirate's
House is at the corner of East Broad and Bay Streets. The address is 20 East Broad Street,
Savannah, GA 31401. Phone: 912-233-5757.)
HAWAII:
Honolulu
Hilton Hotel
The ghost of a beautiful woman in a red
dress has been seen wandering the halls here. In 1959, an employee saw her vanish before
his eyes, as he was escorting her to a room. Some say she is the ghost of a woman murdered
in a tower room, others say she is none other than the volcano goddess herself, Madame
Pele. (The hotel is in the Hawaiian Village on the island of Hawaii. Phone:
808-949-4321.)
IDAHO:
Genesee
Joyce Building.
This single-story brick building was
built in 1880 and used for a variety of commercial purposes, including a museum that
housed many rock crystals and Indian artifacts. Sara Joyce purchased the property in 1974
and moved there with her daughter, Heidi, and her granddaughter, Solara. Almost
immediately, the family noticed weird happenings and unexplainable sounds. Then one night,
the ghost of a tall, thin, elderly man, bathed in an eerie blue light, appeared in the
doorway of Sara's bedroom and asked: "Do you see me? Do you see me?" Not long
afterwards, the phantom of a huge silver-gray rat appeared in the kitchen. Sara’s
son, Bill, later discovered the mummified corpse of a large rat under the floorboards when
he remodeled the kitchen. In fact, whenever Bill visited to help renovate the building, he
would be plagued by spirits interfering with his work. He tried to exorcise the ghosts,
but they always returned. Once a visiting ballet dancer from Australia was awakened by a
female ghost with long black hair, who tried to get into a sleeping bag with her. The
experience so impressed the lady, that she stayed on for quite some time, trying to get to
the bottom of the strange encounter. (Genesee is 15 miles south of Moscow on U.S. Hwy
95 in northern Idaho. The Joyce Building is at 206 Walnut Street, Genesee, ID 83832. The
property is presently owned by Sara's daughter, Ms. Heidi Linehan, Route #1, Genesee, ID
83832.)
ILLINOIS:
Chicago
Resurrection Cemetery.
The ghost of a blonde,
blue-eyed girl has haunted the district around this graveyard since 1939, five years after
a young Polish girl was buried here. Mary Bregavy, or Resurrection Mary as she has come to
be called, died in a car accident after an evening of dancing at the old O'Henry Ballroom
(now the Willowbrook Ballroom). Sometimes, her glowing, faceless ghost is seen walking
along the shoulder of the road, but most often, her white apparition is seen hitchhiking.
Sometimes her aloof ghost even dances with a few young men at the ballroom and asks for a
ride home. During renovations at the cemetery in the 1970s, sightings of her ghost reached
a peak. In December 1977, a passing motorist saw Mary holding onto the bars of the
cemetery gate. He called police, thinking a girl was trapped in the cemetery.
Investigators found no one in the cemetery, but two bars in the gate were bent apart.
Etched into the iron were two small handprints. Supervisors had the sections cut out to
keep curiosity-seekers away, but embarrassed officials welded the pieces back in place a
year later. Dozens of witnesses, including many taxi drivers, have seen Mary's ghost along
the road. In 1989, a cab driver picked up a girl fitting Mary's description in front of
the Old Willow Shopping Center. As they passed Resurrection Cemetery, the girl vanished
from the front seat. (Resurrection Mary's ghost appears along Archer Avenue in south
Chicago. Take I-294 to 95th Street. Follow 95th Street west to Roberts Road. Take Roberts
Road north to Archer Avenue. Resurrection Cemetery, 7600 South Archer Avenue, Justice, IL
60458. Phone: 312-767-4644.)
Decatur
Investigator Cheri Mohr Drake, of the American Ghost
Society, undertook an investigation of the Harrold House in Decatur, Illinois, while
attending the recent Ghost Conference there. The house is located at 746 West Wood Street
in Decatur. It belongs to Amy and Tim Patrick, who live there with their two small
children. There are three known ghosts: a small boy, a woman who stands on the front
porch, and a middle-aged man. The man is most likely Frank Harrold, who was involved in a
scandal centering around a missing $25,000 from the local bank he worked for. After the
money was discovered missing, Frank was found shot to death the next day at his farm in
nearby Clinton, Illinois. The year was 1925. The case was ruled a suicide, but many
suspected it was a murder. Amy Patrick thinks it is Frank's ghost trying to tell her he
was murdered and had nothing to do with stealing the money. The investigation of the
premises yielded several unexplainable photographs. More information on this case is
available at http://www.prairieghosts.com/harrold.html
Indianapolis
Hannah House.
The sickening smell of rotting flesh
drifts from a second-floor bedroom here, and mysterious cold spots seem to move about
under their own volition. Sometimes, the apparition of a bearded man in a black frock coat
can be seen. This Italianate mansion was built in 1858 by state legislator Alexander M.
Hannah, but it was not until 1967, after the house had sat vacant for five years, that
strange things started happening. Psychics say the overpowering stench of death on the
second-floor comes from a stillborn child, whose birth was artificially induced after it
started to putrefy within the body of Elizabeth Hannah. The apparition of Alexander Hannah
was last reported in 1972, standing on the second-floor near the stairway arch. The ghost
of an unidentified woman was reported near a window on the same floor, and phantom slaves
have been seen hiding in the basement. Other eerie effects, such as moving chandeliers and
picture frames, and unaccountable sounds, have been witnessed by television crews
investigating the grand but spooky old house. (Indianapolis is at the center of the
state, at the intersection of I-65, I-70, and I-74. The graves of Alexander and Elizabeth
Hannah are in the Crown Hill Cemetery. Next to them is a small, unmarked tombstone with
only a single date. Take I-465 to U.S. Hwy 31 north. The Hannah mansion is on the corner
of National Avenue and Madison Avenue. Hannah House, 3801 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis, IN
46225. Phone: 317-638-4264.)
Warsaw
The Old Kosciusko
County Jail was in operation from 1870 to 1982. In 1982 the new Justice
Building was completed and took over the housing of the inmates. The Old Jail
subsequently became the home of the Kosciusko Historical Society now shares the
county Genealogy Library. Employees, volunteers and visitors alike report
frequent instances of unexplained footsteps, voices, the sense of being touched,
apparitions and shadowy figures. Documentation has been uncovered to support the
tales of two known suicides - one a murder/suicide - as well a lynching. The
Historical Society has approved the opening of the doors to paranormal
investigations by enlisting the help of Warsaw Indiana Paranormal Research and
Studies (WIPRS) to oversee and schedule individuals and small groups who wish to
find and document anomalous activity. Contact can be made through the Historical
Society or through the website of www.wiprs.com.
Council Bluffs
Historical Society of Pottawattamie County
Paranormal groups have vertified that the Historic Squirrel Cage Jail has
ghosts. There are children and adults that haunt the jail. Books and CD's of the
sounds are available, Come see for yourself!
Website:
www.thehistoricalsociety.org
Historical Society of Pottawattamie County
Post office box 2
Council Bluffs, Iowa 51502
Telephone: 712-323-2509
Dubuque
Barn Community Theatre Company.
Dubuque’s Grand
Opera House was opened in 1890 and became a movie house in 1928. In 1986, the building was
renovated and turned into a community theater. About that time, people started hearing
weird voices and shuffling footsteps in the deserted building. Employees blamed the unseen
spirits for hiding objects, changing lighting, and playing pranks. Then in 1991,
apparitions started appearing in the back of the theater. Investigators later discovered
that after the opera house became a movie theater, cleaning women called police several
times complaining of strange voices in the building at night. (Dubuque is on the
Mississippi River at the Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin border. The old opera house is now the
home of the Barn Community Theatre Company, 135 Eighth Street, Dubuque, IA 52001. Phone:
319-588-4356.)
Cedar Rapids
A recent investigation of Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, also
known as Thirteen Stairs, has yielded intriguing evidence of a genuine haunting. Thirteen
stairs do indeed lead to the entrance to the graveyard, an 1800s cemetery in the middle of
the woods. Many of the graves belong to the Lewis and Blackburn families, local farmers.
In January and February, 1997, investigators reported a "ghost dog" running by
them and were also able to take a photo of a disappearing house that is sometimes seen
over a square patch of faded grass. The photo shows a framework of lightlines outlining
the house, and photos of balls of light have also been taken over the Lewis Family
gravestone. That tombstone is even credited with healing a person's sprained ankle after
he sat on it for ten minutes. On March 5, 1998, four investigators recorded electronic
voice phenomena of the ghostly voice of an old man wheezing and then laughing
maliciously. The cemetery is located just outside Cedar Rapids about 1.5 miles from
the town of Palo in Linn County.
KANSAS:
Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth.
A bevy of ghosts haunt this base,
the oldest continuously operated military post west of the Mississippi. Many people have
witnessed the ghost of Catherine Sutter walking among the tombstones of the National
Cemetery and on the grounds of the present Golf Course. Bound for Oregon, she
stopped over at the fort in 1880, with her husband and two children. One day, her husband
sent the children out to collect firewood, but they never returned. The Sutters stayed on
through the winter, hoping against hope that their loved ones would be found, and
Catherine spent many lonely hours walking through the snow calling out to her children.
That same year, the distraught woman caught pneumonia and died. However, her apparition,
wearing an old calico dress and black shawl, is still seen desperately searching for her
lost children. Sometimes she is observed carrying a lantern, while other times just her
voice can be heard, calling out from the darkness. Another ghost reported in the cemetery
is Chief Joseph, a proud Nez Perce Indian leader, who was incarcerated here in 1877.
Several ghosts populate the Rookery, the oldest house on the base. The apparitions
of a busy-body old woman, a bushy-haired old man in a white robe, and an angry young girl
disturb residents trying to sleep in the 162-year-old house. Sheridan House is
haunted by the vengeful spirit of Mrs. Sheridan, wife of General Philip H. Sheridan. In
1869, he deserted his wife on her deathbed to go to Chicago on business. A few doors down,
at the Chief of Staff's Quarters, the sounds of a tea party can be heard coming
from the empty parlor. The presence of a man with a mustache and goatee is occasionally
felt at the McClellan Officer's Quarters. His apparition has appeared in the
fireplace, and his loud footsteps are heard late at night, stumbling through the house.
The former site of St. Ignatius Chapel is haunted by the ghost of the priest, who
burnt to death in a 1875 fire that destroyed the building. Father Fred has turned up at
the fireplace, in the kitchen, near a sewing machine and other places in the new house
that was built on the site. Houses along Sumner Place are haunted by the presence
of a Lady in Black. No one knows what she wants, but she is very domestic, and is
sometimes seen trying to calm crying children or attempting to help with the dishes. The
ghost of General George Custer has been seen roaming the first floor of the General's
Residence. While still a colonel, Custer was court-martialed in 1867 for shooting
soldiers who disobeyed him. The hearing was held in the commanding general's quarters,
where Custer was found guilty and given a year's suspension without pay. Perhaps the
stubborn general wants to lodge an appeal against the blemish on his record. The men he
sacrificed at Little Big Horn, some of whom are buried here, have also returned. Their
ghostly figures have been reported marching on the Main Parade. (Fort
Leavenworth is 2 miles north of the city of Leavenworth on Hwy 73 in the northeastern
corner of Kansas. The Rookery is at 14 Sumner Place. Sheridan House is at 611 Scott
Avenue. The Chief of Staff's Quarters are at 624 Scott Avenue. The haunted Officer's
Quarters are at 605 McClellan Avenue. The house built over St. Ignatius Chapel is at 632
Thomas Avenue. The Lady in Black has been seen at 18 and 20 Sumner Place. The General's
Residence is at 1 Scott Avenue. Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth, KS 66027. Phone:
913-684-4021.)
KENTUCKY:
Mammoth Cave
National Park
Mammoth Cave.
The largest cave in the world has
attracted a number of ghosts. One is a black slave guide named Stephen Bishop, who loved
the cave so much he refused to leave it, even when offered his freedom. Another spirit of
the cave is a Southern lady named Melissa, who brought her Yankee lover to the cave in
1843. She took the man deep within the cave to Purgatory Point and left him there
as a prank. Unfortunately, the man was never seen again, although Melissa's ghost still
searches the area known as Echo River. The ghost of Floyd Collins, who died after
being trapped for sixteen days in nearby Crystal Cave, is also said to wander the
grounds. The case became so popular that in 1926, Collins' body was removed from his
family plot and displayed in a glass coffin at the entrance to Crystal Cave. The grisly
tourist attraction proved very profitable, until someone stole the corpse. It was finally
returned to the cave, however, for some reason the body was missing its left leg. In
recent years, tourists have reported the unidentified ghost of a man dressed in an
old-fashioned cummerbund. Others have witnessed a disembodied pair of legs running down
the hill near the main visitors' center. The legs were wearing denim overalls and work
shoes. What the lost legs have to do with the other hauntings here is still an unsolved
mystery, but most researchers agree that Mammoth Cave is one of the nation’s most
haunted locations. So far, over 150 sightings of ghosts have been reported. (Floyd
Collins now rests in the Flint Ridge Baptist Cemetery. Mammoth Cave is 20 miles northeast
of Bowling Green on I-65. Mammoth Cave National Park, KY 42259. Phone: 502-758-2328.)
Wilder
Several malevolent ghosts roam Bobby Mackey's
Music World at 44 Licking Pike in Wilder, which is across the Ohio River from Cincinnati,
about 1.5 miles south of Covington on Highway 9. The dance hall is located just across the
Ohio River from Cincinnati. Country singer Bobby Mackey converted an old warehouse into a
dancehall in 1976, and ever since he had it renovated, people have been seeing ghosts
dressed in old-fashioned clothing and cowboy attire. Last year, a customer was accosted by
a ghost in the men's restroom. The man was washing his hands at the basin when someone
kicked the trash can, and he turned around to see who it was and encountered a tall ghost
wearing a cowboy hat. He says the ghost threw him to the floor and broke his arm, and he's
suing Bobby Mackey for not getting rid of the malevolent spirits in his building. That
there are ghosts there comes as no surprise. The building was constructed in the 1850s and
was used as a slaughterhouse. A deep well was dug in the basement to collect animal blood
and body fluids, and when the slaughterhouse closed, Satanists used this Well of Blood for
rituals. In 1896, two Devil worshippers beheaded a woman and used her head in their
ceremonies. Before they were hanged, the men were offered life sentences in exchange for
disclosing the whereabouts of the missing head, but both refused, claiming that to do so
would bring the wrath of the Devil himself. The cursed building was a speakeasy in the
1920s, and several unsolved mob murders added more violence to the site. So far, 30
witnesses have signed affidavits testifying to ghostly phenomena at the nightclub, and one
of the employees became possessed and had to undergo two exorcisms.
LOUISIANA:
St.
Francisville
Myrtles Plantation.
Many ghosts roam the halls of
this picturesque home, built in 1796 by General David Bradford. There have been ten
murders in the house, plus at least one suicide. A frequent visitor is the ghost of Cleo,
a former slave hung for murdering two little girls. General Bradford's son-in-law, Clarke
Woodruff, cut off the black woman's ear for eavesdropping, and she took her revenge by
mixing oleander into the children's birthday cake. Another ghostly guest is attorney
William Winter, who lived here from 1860 to 1871. He was shot by a stranger on his front
porch. The lawyer staggered into the house and made it up seventeen steps of the stairway
before he collapsed and died. His ghost still plods up those seventeen stairs. Ghosts from
the slave graveyard on the property still report for chores, and the ghosts of the two
children poisoned by Cleo play on the verandah. One ghost, dressed in khaki pants, is said
to meet visitors at the gate and tell them the plantation is closed. Jane Roberts, a
psychic who investigated the house, said that walking into the parlor was like walking
into a crowded cocktail party full of departed spirits. Frances Kerman, who now runs the
former plantation as a bed-and-breakfast inn, says the ghosts have proved to her the
reality of life after death. (The two-story, wood-frame plantation house is 3 miles
north of St. Francisville on Hwy 61. Myrtles Plantation, P.O. Box 1100, St. Francisville,
LA 70775. Phone: 504-635-6277.)
MAINE:
Kennebunkport
Captain Fairfield Inn.
This Federal-style mansion is
haunted by the ghost of Captain James Fairfield, who was captured and imprisoned by the
British during the War of 1812. After he was released in 1815, he settled in Kennebunkport
with his wife, Lois, and built this house. He died of pneumonia just five years later, at
the age of 38. During restoration of this bed and breakfast inn, Fairfield’s ghost
was seen hovering in a dark corner of the basement, and guests have reported sensing
Fairfield’s affable presence in their rooms. (The captain’s portrait may be
viewed at the Brick Store Museum, 117 Main Street, Kennebunk, ME 04043. Captain Fairfield
Inn, P.O. Box 1308, Kennebunkport, ME 04046. Phone: 207-967-4454.)
MARYLAND:
Baltimore
USF Constellation.
This proud frigate is haunted by
three ghosts from the early 1800s. One is a sailor in an old naval uniform who is sighted
on the Forecastle Deck. His appearances are so regular, that Navy Commander
Brougham was able to take a photograph of him in December 1955. The second ghost is sailor
Neil Harvey, sometimes seen on the Orlop Deck, below the main deck. He was strapped
to a ship's gun and blown to pieces for falling asleep on watch in 1799. His uniformed
apparition appeared to a Catholic priest touring the ship in 1964. The third ghost is the
captain who ordered Harvey's grisly execution, Captain Thomas Truxtum. The Constellation
is the first ship of the U.S. Navy, and the oldest commissioned warship in the world. It
was built as a frigate in 1797 and rebuilt as a sloop of war in 1853. Following a $3.8
million renovation in 1995, the ship ought to be crawling with newly released spirits.
(The
ship and Constellation Center museum are located on Pier 1, near the corner of Pratt
Street and Holiday Street in Baltimore Harbor. USF Constellation, Pier 1, Pratt Steet,
Constellation Dock, Baltimore, MD 21202. Phone: 301-539-1797.)
MASSACHUSETTS:
Ashland
John Stone's Inn.
The sign over the entrance to this
164-year-old pub offers "spirits, food and lodging," but it is not until you see
Captain John Stone's picture staring down from above the bar, that you know about which
kind of spirits they are talking. Daniel Webster gave speeches here, and there are secret
rooms that served as hiding places for runaway slaves, but the inn's greatest claim to
fame are the ghosts walking its halls. The apparition of a 10-year-old girl is often
reported staring out a window in a storage room near the kitchen, and an invisible
intruder likes to put his hands around the necks of customers in the dining room. Near an
ice machine in the cellar, several employees have felt an unseen presence tapping them on
the shoulder or holding their hands under the ice when they try to fill buckets. Other
manifestations include glasses flying across the dining room, cups falling off shelves for
no reason, and mysterious $10 bills materializing in a tip jar. In 1984, investigators
held two televised séances in an upstairs lounge in front of 150 witnesses. They claimed
to have contacted the spirits of a little girl, a woman innkeeper, and yes, old Captain
Stone himself. (In Middlesex County, take the Framingham exit off Hwy 90 and follow Hwy
135 for 5 miles west to the town. John Stone's Inn, 179 Main Street, Ashland, MA, 01721.
Phone: 508-881-1778.)
MICHIGAN:
Marshall
The National House Inn.
This brick inn was built as
a stagecoach stop in 1835 by Andrew Mann. A secret chamber in the basement indicates it
was used as a stop on the Underground Railroad before the Civil War. After 1878, the
building became a windmill and later was used as a wagon factory. In the 1920s, the hidden
room in the basement was used for the sale and consumption of liquor during Prohibition.
After that, the building was converted into apartments. In 1976, the building was
completely restored and furnished with antiques. That was when the ghost of a Lady in Red
began roaming the halls. With the diverse history of this building, no one has yet
hazarded a guess as to who the revenant might be. (The town of Marshall is 20 miles
east of Battle Creek near I-94. The 16-room inn is on Fountain Circle Park and overlooks
the downtown area. The National House Inn, 102 South Parkview, Marshall, MI 49068. Phone:
616-781-7374.)
MINNESOTA:
Minneapolis
Guthrie Theater.
This old opera house is haunted by
the ghost of one of its former ushers. Richard Miller was an awkward English boy with few
friends, when he worked here in the late 1960s. He attended the University of Minnesota,
but never seemed to be accepted by the other students there. Just like in high school, he
gained a reputation for being something of a nerd. The taunting and loneliness slowly took
its toll. On Saturday, February 5, 1967, he strolled into a Sear store, purchased a
surplus Mauser rife and shells, and went back to his car in the parking lot. There, the
18-year-old boy put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He body was not discovered
until the following Monday. He was still wearing his Guthrie Theater usher’s uniform.
Within weeks of his suicide, patrons in Row 18, part of the area assigned to
Miller, began complaining of an usher constantly walking back and forth. They described
Miller down to the large mole on his cheek. Since then, dozens of patrons, employees,
ushers, actors, singers, and custodians at the theater have seen young Richard Miller
walking slowly up and down the aisle in Row 18, in the Catwalks, or in an exclusive
section of seats called the Queen’s Box. The ghost would follow witnesses with
his eyes or head but never spoke or made any sound. An exorcism performed in 1994
supposedly placated his restless spirit. (Richard Miller attended Edina Morningside
School in Minneapolis and lived in Territorial Hall at the university. His body was found
in the parking lot of the Sears on Lake Street. He is buried at Fort Snelling National
Cemetery. The theater is opposite the Sculpture Garden in the Loring Park area of
southwest Minneapolis. Guthrie Theater, 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis, MN 55403. Phone:
612-377-2224.
Mankato
I heard numerous reports of paranormal activity and
ghost sightings in various towns along the Minnesota river in the state of MN.
Some of the most bizarre events are reported in the towns of Mankato, New Ulm,
St. Peter and Le Seuer. The city of Mankato is considered a hot spot of strange
events. I have talked with several experts in the subject and they believe the
town of Mankato is cursed. Some knowledgeable people in the fields of
parapsychology claim that the Mankato curse is real. According to some locals
this town in south central Minnesota is possessed by hundreds of evil spirits
and demonic souls that could not ascend to "heaven" since they cheered and
enjoyed the unfair execution of 38 innocent Native Americans in the 19th
century.
There were many
spectators on the cold December day when the Indians were killed. According to
psychic detectives many of the Europeans settlers who enjoyed the execution of
the Indians were not allowed to ascend to heaven and their poisonous souls now
roam freely along the Minnesota River valley.
Every year someone is murdered in the river valley in
the most bizarre way by someone who is possessed. If you do not believe me read
the many articles on the Mankato's Free Press newspaper about the bizarre
killings that happen there every year.
The 1862 Dakota War conflict
still haunts this place.
MISSISSIPPI:
Tupelo
Tupelo Seven Theater.
A strange presence that
laughs, mumbles, coughs, and makes weird noises chases employees of this modern movie
theater. Most of the activity occurs in the first two auditoriums, built in the 1960s.
Witnesses say the unidentified ghost haunts the projection booths, third row seats, and
the stage area in the theaters. (Tupelo is in northeastern Mississippi, at the junction
of U.S. Hwys 45 and 78. The movie house is on Cliff Gookin Boulevard, Tupelo, MS 38802.)
MISSOURI:
Joplin
Devil's Promenade.
Almost every night since 1866, a
strange orange ball of light bounces along this road in an easterly direction. As the
light moves through the air, it leaves behind luminous traces of dancing sparks. The light
has been known to enter cars and buses, but paradoxically, dodges people chasing it. Loud
noises also make it disappear. It has been called the Hornet Ghost Light, the Neosho Spook
Light, and the Devil's Jack-O'-Lantern, but scientists who studied the phenomenon have
never agreed about what causes it. In 1946, a study by the Army Corps of Engineers
concluded the phenomenon was "a mysterious light of unknown origin." A 1983
investigation by the Ghost Research Society revealed the light is diamond-shaped, with a
hollow center. Legend says it is the ghost of a pair of Quapaw Indian lovers, who
committed suicide together. Others believe it is the lantern of a ghostly miner searching
for his wife and children, who were abducted by Indians. (Devil's Promenade is in the
village of Hornet, 11 miles southwest of Joplin. The area is near the borders of Missouri,
Oklahoma, and Kansas. This tri-state region is known as the Spooksville Triangle. Follow
I-44 west from Joplin. Just before the last exit at the Oklahoma border, turn south onto
State Line Road. Devil's Promenade Road crosses State Line Road after about 4 miles. There
is an abandoned Spooklight Museum at the site. From Neosho, follow Hwy 86 until it
dead-ends before Hwy 43. Turn right and go 2 miles to the second road on the left. Turn
left and go ¼ mile to Devil's Promenade. The light is visible from any point along a 2
mile stretch of the road here.)
MONTANA:
Bozeman
Chico Hot Springs Lodge and Ranch.
In May 1986, two
night watchmen at this resort hotel came upon the nebulous form of a young woman hovering
near a piano in the third floor Lounge. Only the upper body of the white ghost
appeared, the rest tailed down to nothing. The face of the peaceful apparition stared
right at them for several minutes, enough time for one of the guards to grab a camera from
a nearby table and snap a photograph. Only a tiny white spot on the film showed up where
the ghost had stood. The same apparition had been seen by guests several times in the
past, but this was the first time the Lady in White was photographed. In 1990, two other
security guards followed the Lady in White from Lobby to the hallway leading to Room
349, where the presence has been reported by many employees and guests. An antique
rocker in the room always ends up facing a window, no matter in which room it is placed.
There are many other odd things going on at the hotel, including an old family Bible stays
open on a wooden bench in the Attic and never collects any dust. The most likely
candidate for all the activity is Percie Knowles, the stubborn wife of the man who built
the hotel in 1900. After her husband’s death in 1910, she decided to change it into a
first-class healthcare center. By 1917, she had brought a doctor on the staff, opened five
more therapeutic pools, and added a hospital wing. She died in 1941, but her stubborn
spirit lives on. (Bozeman is 140 miles west of Billings on I-90. The resort is located
58 miles southeast of Bozeman in the Paradise Valley, just outside of the town of Pray.
Take I-90 east to U.S. Hwy 89 south. Chico Hot Springs Lodge and Ranch, Pray, MT 59065.
Phone: 406-333-4933.)
NEBRASKA:
Lincoln
State Capitol Building.
Visitors to the Dome
Observation Deck here report hearing the sounds of a man sobbing, usually on the
southeast side of the building. There are several likely candidates for the Capitol Ghost.
One is a prison inmate who had a heart attack in 1968, while stringing Christmas lights on
the outside of the dome. Another possibility is a 1950s man, who fell ten floors when he
leaned too far over the railing of the spiral staircase. Or perhaps, the spirit is that of
an Indian ghost sensed in the Lower Basement of the building. The Indians believed
the hill on which the capitol now stands was sacred. (The State Capitol is at the
corner of 10th Street and Capitol Parkway, Lincoln, NE 68501.)
NEVADA:
Goldfield
Goldfield Hotel.
Built on top of an abandoned gold
mine, this 154-room hotel was first opened in 1908. Since then, it has undergone extensive
renovations and added a few non-paying guests. The hotel is considered home to several
ghosts. In the downstairs employees' area at the west end of the hotel, Room 109 is
a small room with a single bed. The room is haunted by the presence of a pregnant woman.
Psychics have seen her ghost chained to a radiator there. Rumors say a pregnant prostitute
named Elizabeth was chained in the room by George Winfield, the original owner of the
hotel. After giving birth, the woman was left to die in the room and the baby was thrown
down the old mine shaft at the northern end of the basement. Elizabeth's ghost even turned
up on a photograph taken in the room by a reporter from Las Vegas. On the first floor, the
George Winfield Room is said to be haunted by his ghost. Untraceable cigar smoke
and fresh ashes have been found there. George's presence has also been detected near the Lobby
Staircase, where the ghosts of a midget, and two small children have also been seen.
The Gold Room is haunted by a ghost that "stabs" people. High psychic
energy is been detected in the Theodore Roosevelt Room and a southwest room on the
third floor. Some psychics say that the Goldfield Hotel is one of only seven portals to
the Other Side that exist in the modern world. (Goldfield is 26 miles south of Tonopah
on U.S. Hwy 95. Goldfield Hotel, P.O. Box 225, Goldfield, NV 89013. For information, phone
Virginia Ridgeway at 702-485-6365.)
Reno See Complete Listing of Reno Hauntings
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Nashua
Country Tavern.
The ghost of Elizabeth Ford haunts
this building, which dates from 1741. She was murdered by her sea captain husband, who
returned after ten months at sea to find his wife had given birth. The enraged man is said
to have buried the bodies of Elizabeth and her illegitimate child not far from the house.
Elizabeth's playful ghost has been known to entertain children, help with housecleaning,
and move small objects such as glasses, plates and knickknacks. She also likes to lift the
hair of women in the ladies room and hide their personal possessions. Dozens of employees
and customers have sensed her presence. Elizabeth's apparition has been seen in the
upstairs dining room and staring out a window in a part of the building that used to be a
barn. She is described as about 5-foot, 7-inches tall, with long white hair and wearing a
flowing, white gown. (Nashua is northwest of Boston on U.S. Hwy 3. The tavern is
located at 452 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH 03063. Phone: 603-889-5871.)
NEW JERSEY:
Bernardsville
Bernardsville Public Library.
The ghost here is so
active, the staff issued it a library card. Phyllis Parker's specter was first encountered
in January 1877, in a private residence that now houses part of the library. The building
had been converted from a tavern that was constructed during the Revolutionary War.
Vealtown Tavern was the scene of a tragic love affair between the innkeeper's daughter and
a tenant, Dr. Byram. Just after the two were married, Dr. Byram was hanged by General
Anthony Wayne for being a British spy, and his lifeless body was delivered to the tavern.
Not knowing what was in the large pine box, Phyllis opened it. On seeing the bug-eyed
corpse of her beloved, she became hysterical and suffered a nervous breakdown. Her insane
weeping is still heard in the old section of the library, which consists of the Meeting
Room and the public Reading Room (where the casket was opened). After renovations in 1974,
employees started seeing the apparition of Phyllis moving through the old wing. A
videotape recording of a séance, held in 1987 in an effort to contact her spirit, can be
played back by patrons in the Local History Room. In November 1989, a child saw the ghost
of a woman in a long white dress in the Reading Room. (Bernardsville is 8 miles south
of Morristown on U.S. Hwy 202, west of Newark. The library is downtown at 2 Morristown
Road, Bernardsville, NJ 07924. Phone: 908-766-0118.)
NEWARK
The energy behind
hauntings is something most of us take very much for granted, and that's our
emotions. And nowhere are the effects of emotional energy on physical reality
more evident than in the hundreds of poltergeist cases on record. One of the
most documented cases lasted only two weeks in a low income housing project in
Newark. It all began in the apartment of Mabelle Clark, when her 13-year-old
grandson, Ernest Rivers, was doing his homework on the kitchen table. To his
amazement, a pepper shaker floated over from the stove and landed beside him.
For the next two weeks, plates, cups, bowls, glasses, ashtrays, and other
fragile objects sailed across their tiny apartment and smashed to the floor.
Mrs. Clark tried to keep the unexplainable events secret, because she did not
want to be evicted from the apartment where she had lived for 20 years. But
neighbors started complaining about all the noise, and before long,
representatives from the Newark Housing Authority were knocking at her door.
When the officials beheld the unseen force wrecking havoc on the apartment, they
brought in a team of parapsychologists. Word of the case spread, and hordes of
reporters and curiosity-seekers descended on the building. There were so many
people around that over 50 paranormal events were observed by multiple
witnesses. A heavy steam iron floated from the linen closet into Mrs. Clark's
bedroom, in full view of several people. A table lamp levitated across the
living room and a drinking glass rose in mid-air, broke to pieces, then fell to
the floor in slow motion. That same evening, Ernest's uncle was attacked by a
sudden barrage of small objects. The phenomena stopped when young Ernest was
removed from the apartment. He was a deeply troubled youth, whose mother had
murdered his abusive prizefighter father five years earlier. Just before the
poltergeist activity began, Ernest's mother escaped from a woman's reformatory
and was not apprehended until a month later.
NEW MEXICO:
Cloudcroft
The Lodge.
The restaurant in this 85-year-old inn is
named after a ghost named Rebecca, and her portraits, including a stained-glass window,
are scattered throughout the establishment. Dozens of employees and guests at this
mountain resort have recognized the apparition of a woman wearing a long dress, roaming
the halls. Rebecca was a beautiful, young maid with striking blue eyes and red hair, who
was murdered by a jealous lumberjack at the inn back in the 1930s. Rebecca is a
flirtatious, mischievous spirit, who likes to use the telephone in Room 101, the
Governor's Suite. Guests in that room sometimes receive phone calls from nowhere, and
operators at the resort say that the line to Room 101 is often lit up, even when no one is
in the suite. Rebecca's presence is also felt in the Red Dog Saloon, where ashtrays
move by themselves and flames appear in the fireplace with no logs or other source of
fuel. The psychic flames testify to the raw sexual power of this restless spirit. (Cloudcroft
is 15 miles east of Alamogordo on U.S. Hwy 82. The Lodge is a three-story mountain inn
overlooking Cloudcroft at an elevation of 9,000 feet. The Lodge, 1 Corona Place,
Cloudcroft, NM 88317. Phone: 505-682-2566. For reservations, call 800-395-6343.)
NEW YORK:
Buffalo
Holiday Inn.
The ghost of a little girl, who was
burnt to death in a house that once stood here, now haunts the modern motel built over the
ashes of her home. Guests, maids, managers, and bellboys have all witnessed Tanya's
playful spirit. People usually report her jumping on beds in empty rooms or running
through the halls at night. Manager Scott Swagler says: "Our housekeepers have
stories about Tanya that could fill a book." (Buffalo is in the Niagara River in
extreme western New York. The hotel is on Grand Island. Take the Grand Island exit off
I-190, just west of Buffalo. Holiday Inn, Grand Island, NY 14072. Phone: 716-773-1111.)
Long
Island
The active ghost at the Normandy Inn in Bohemia has been
identified as a spirit named Maria, who was strangled in an upstairs back bedroom when the
place was a speakeasy. Numerous sightings continue to this day and include bare footprints
in the carpeting (usually in the middle of winter), a shadowy figure moving around in the
kitchen area, and strange animal (?) bones turning up in the basement. Several séances
have been conducted over the last few years, and the case is currently being investigated
by Candice Isralow of Mt. Sinai, New York. The Normandy Inn is located on Lakeland Avenue
in Bohemia and the phone number is (516) 589-9898. The current owner (Rick) has lived
there for over twenty years.
E. Bethany
Rolling Hills Asylum
11001 Bethany Center Road
E. Bethany, New York 14054
Rolling Hills Asylum
Located in western New York 40 minutes from two major
airports, Rolling Hills Asylum is a hot bed of paranormal activity. Disembodied
voices, doors slamming, footsteps, sounds of furniture moving, full body
apparitions, shadow people, touching, lots of class A Evp's, and more! The
property was established on January 1, 1827 as the Genesee County Poor Farm.
Over the years it has operated as a poor farm, infirmary, orphanage,
tuberculosis hospital, nursing home, and more. Residents and Inmates ran the
gambit of widows, orphans, disabled, mentally unstable, murders, and more. Over
1700 bodies buried in unmarked graves. Come out and investigate this very,
haunted and active location! Open year round. Historical & Flashlight Tours,
Public & Private Ghost Hunts, Daytime & Night-time Opportunities, special
events, and more. We have been featured on Travel Channel's Ghost Adventurers
and Paranormal Challenge as well as SyFy Channel's Ghost Hunters.
Website : http://www.RollingHillsAsylum.com
VM: (585)502-4066
Website:
www.RollingHillsAsylum.com
NORTH CAROLINA:
Wilmington
Chamber of Commerce.
Wilmington's official Welcome
Center is home to a ghost, who was once photographed descending a staircase in the
building. Known officially as the Price-Gause House, the place has been considered
haunted ever since it was built in 1843. Immediately after moving in, the Gause family
heard strange footsteps on the stairs and traced an eerie tapping sound that moved along
the walls. They finally decided to live with the unidentified presence. Later residents
came to the same conclusion. An investigation in October 1967 documented several
mysterious sounds and yielded the startling photo of a misty, human form walking down the
stairs. (Wilmington is on the extreme southern tip of North Carolina, at the south end
of I-40. Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, 514 Market Street, Wilmington, NC 28401. For
information, call 919-762-2611.)
NORTH DAKOTA:
Grand
Forks
University of North Dakota.
There have been several
sightings of the ghost of a girl, usually without legs, floating up one of the tunnels
that connect Wilkerson Dining Hall to five dormitories on this campus. In 1988,
three students saw her apparition in the West Hall tunnel. They described her as
about 5’5" tall, with short dark hair, wearing a nightshirt. In December 1962,
before the tunnels were constructed, a young coed froze to death about sixty feet from
West Hall. It is thought she slipped on the ice while trying to make her way to the dining
hall at around 2:00 AM. (Grand Forks is far eastern North Dakota, on the Minnesota
border at the junction of I-29 and U.S. Hwy 2. University of North Dakota, Box 8095
University Station, Grand Forks, ND 58202. Phone: 701-777-2711.)
OHIO:
Dayton
United States Air Force Museum.
Strange things
happen in this military museum at night. Objects move by themselves, and guards report
hearing unexplainable voices and other eerie sounds. Parts retrieved from Lady Be
Good, a B-24 that crashed in the Libyan desert during World War II, are said to
move by themselves and could be the source of other paranormal activity at the museum.
Seven crewmembers died in the crash. Strange lights are observed in another B-24, the Strawberry
Bitch. The helicopter Hop-Along is haunted by its former copilot,
whose ghost is seen flipping switches, trying to get the craft to take off. Bloodstains
can still be seen on the seat where he died. Another helicopter, the Black Maria,
is haunted by a similarly traumatized presence. He is thought to be a pilot hit by gunfire
while flying a dangerous mission in Vietnam. Military police have reported seeing the
ghost of a little Japanese boy standing next to Bockscar, the bomber that
dropped the A-bomb on Nagasaki. Some investigators believe the old Air Force relics on
display at the museum attract the spirits of departed crewmembers. (From Dayton, take
Hwy 75 or Hwy 675 south to the base. U.S. Air Force Museum, Springfield Pike Gate 28-B,
Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH 45410. Phone: 513-255-3284.)
Kent
The Kent Stage was built in
1927 (known then as the Kent Theater) and has been in operation since that time.
During the 2002 renovation of the theater area many crew and staff experienced a
white energy mass moving from a projection booth, through the balcony to the
main floor and would disappear near the entry doors. Since that time staff,
concert goers, and paranormal researchers have experienced a large amount of
spirit activity. Many EVP's and photos have captured the paranormal activity
inside of the Kent Stage.
Website:
www.kentstage.org
OKLAHOMA:
Waurika
Moneka Mall and Tea Room.
A gray, wood frame house is
haunted by the presence of a robber killed in the dining room. The large house was
constructed in 1892 and served as a Rock Island Railroad boarding house for many years.
During that period, a robber broke into the house during supper time and demanded
everyone’s money. But the burly railroad men got the upper hand, and the would-be
thief died in ensuing struggle. Not wanting to get into trouble with the authorities, the
men loaded the body onto a northbound train, where it was later found by strangers and
buried in an unmarked grave. Today, the robber’s specter and other ghosts from the
building’s colorful past haunt the rooms along the east and north sides, upstairs and
down. The sightings became more frequent when Nancy War remodeled it into an antique shop
with a small Tea Room restaurant. (The site is located in the town of Waurika, which is
53 miles southeast of Lawton. Take Hwy 7 to Pumpkin Center, then go south on Hwy 65 to Hwy
70 east. Moneka Mall and Tea Room, Hwy 70 East, Wauika, OK 73573. Phone:405- 228-2575.)
OREGON:
Portland
White Eagle Café & Saloon.
This old tavern and
whorehouse was built in 1899 and is haunted by a wide variety of ghostly presences. The
basement and second floor are sites of much strange activity, such as objects tossed out
of nowhere, groping invisible hands, old coins materializing on the floors, and
teardrop-shaped apparitions. An invisible presence walks down the corridor from the bar,
enters the men's room, and flushes the toilet. The phantom flushing continued even after a
new toilet was installed. The unexplainable crying of a woman is heard on the second
floor. There are many candidates for the ghosts here. The basement used to house black
prostitutes, while the second floor housed white prostitutes. A tough Chinese bouncer, who
kept the peace among the surly customers, disappeared mysteriously while working one night
and was never seen again. An abandoned 10-year-old boy named Sam was taken in by one of
the owners. Sam worked as a roustabout housekeeper and died in the 1930s at the age of
thirty in his second-floor bedroom. The room was sealed for many years with all his
belongings locked inside. Chuck Hughes bought the building in 1978 and quickly became a
believer in ghosts. He has already seen several tear-drop-shaped ghosts in upstairs rooms.
(The two-story brick building is in Old Town. It was known as the Risko Brothers Soft
Drink Emporium during Prohibition. White Eagle Café & Saloon, 836 North Russell
Street, Portland, OR 97227. Phone: 503-282-6810.)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Easton
Easton Public Library.
During construction of this
building in 1903, workers uncovered the graves of 514 people. Most of the bodies were
moved to other cemeteries, but at least thirty were left unclaimed. Two prominent former
citizens, Elizabeth Bell "Mammy" Morgan and William Parsons, were reburied in
graves with markers on the library grounds. Mammy Morgan is buried on the west lawn and
Parsons is buried on the front lawn. The other corpses, and any unidentified pieces of
bodies, were unceremoniously dumped into an underground concrete vault on the property.
Today, the library is haunted by the misplaced souls. Doors slam shut and open suddenly,
filing cabinet drawers swing open for no reason, and unseen hands run through the hair or
touch the shoulders of patrons and staff. And over the years, many people have reported
the ghost of Mammy Morgan, roaming the library grounds. (The burial vault is under a
telltale depression in the northeast part of the driveway that exits the library. The
library is on the corner of Church Street and 6th Street, Easton, PA 18042. Phone:
215-258-2917.)
RHODE ISLAND:
Cranston
Sprague Mansion.
Ghosts have been seen in this
mansion since 1925, when an apparition was seen descending the staircase. Later residents
told of a ghost in the Wine Cellar and complained of an unseen force that flung off
their blankets in the middle of the night. One room in particular, called the Doll Room
because of the collection of porcelain dolls there, is the source of many unnerving
phenomena, including eerie footsteps, lights that go on by themselves, and a ghostly
presence. The house was built in 1790 by William Sprague, who operated a cotton mill and
bleachery on the property. One evening William got a fish bone caught in his throat and
died during surgery to remove it. His sons, Amasa and William Jr., made a highly
successful business from their inheritance. William Jr. became a U.S. Senator, while his
brother tended the business. Then, in 1864, Amasa was found brutally beaten to death. A
man whom Amasa had prevented from obtaining a liquor license was executed for the murder,
but one of the accused's brothers later confessed to the crime. As a result of the
miscarriage of justice, Rhode Island passed a law forbidding capitol punishment. One of
Amasa's sons went on to become governor, and the other became a brigadier general and U.S.
Senator. After the Civil War, the Sprague fortune dwindled and the house was sold.
Séances at the mansion have aroused the spirit of Amasa Sprague and a butler who worked there in
the mid-1890s. Both spirits accepted responsibility for the supernatural events that take
place in Sprague Mansion. (Cranston is 5 miles southwest of Providence on Hwy 2. Take
Exit 16 from I-95 and go west on Hwy 12 to Hwy 2. The mansion is at 1351 Cranston Street,
Cranston, RI 02920. Phone: 401-944-9226.)
SOUTH CAROLINA:
Cayce
Airport High School.
The tall, thin ghost of a man
with his hands on his hips is seen in the halls here. He is George Pair, the school's
first principal. The high school was built in 1958 and Pair died in 1962. He worked hard
to get the school built and is said to protect the premises from harm. Most sightings have
occurred in the "300s" corridor. Custodians, students, and visitors have
reported encountering the stern ghost. (Cayce is on Hwy 2 in Lexington County, across
the Congaree River from Columbia. The high school serves the Cayce-West Columbia area.
Airport High School, Cayce, SC 29033. Phone: 803-822-5600.)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Deadwood
Hotel Bullock.
The ghost of Deadwood's first
sheriff, Seth Bullock, walks the halls of the hotel he founded. Bullock was sheriff in the
1870s and died here in 1919. Since then, over thirty people have seen his ghost. Guests,
employees, and managers of this hotel have encountered the tough old sheriff, "whose
gaze could stop fights." (Deadwood is in Lawrence County near the Wyoming border,
12 miles west of Sturgis on U.S. Hwy 85. Sturgis is 20 miles northwest of Rapid City on
I-90. Hotel Bullock, Main Street, Deadwood, SD 57732. Phone: 605-578-1745.)
TENNESSEE:
Bell Witch
The
malicious entity that plagued a Tennessee farmhouse in 1817 ended in the only
known murder by a poltergeist. The problems began when John Bell saw a strange
animal in his cornfield dissolve into thin air. Soon, the family heard
scratching at the doors and windows, then gnawing sounds started coming from
inside the house. Within a year, the presence began speaking and threatened
to kill John. The fame of the "Bell Witch" spread, and even Andrew Jackson came
to dispel the spirit. Nothing worked. John Bell was beaten so mercilessly by the
presence that his tongue swelled and he could barely eat. A doctor prescribed a
tonic, but the witch bragged it poisoned it. "I've got him this time," it
bellowed, "He’ll never get up." John went into a coma and died on December 21,
1820. Then, the witch promised to return to wreck havoc on John’s descendents,
and it plagued the Bell family again in 1827, 1852, 1861, 1935, 1977, and 1988.
Today, the apparition of a demon woman and eerie balls of light are seen gliding
over the Bell farm, and the so-called Bell Witch Cave near the family cemetery is haunted by chains
rattling and inhuman screams.
See more
details on the Bell Witch case at the official
Bell Witch website. A
new Bell Witch DVD is available
that chronicles the entire case.
Wartrace
Walking Horse Hotel.
This old hotel is home to a
white apparition that has appeared on the stairway. Manager George Wright reports that the
ghost has been seen by employees and at least one guest. (The town of Wartrace is
located in Bedford County in south central Tennessee, midway between Shelbyville and
Manchester on Hwy 64. The hotel is on Main Street. Walking Horse Hotel, P.O. Box 266,
Wartrace, TN 37183. Phone: 423-389-6407.)
TEXAS:
AUSTIN
The Capital City Ghost Research Society of Austin, Texas,
is currently investigating a flurry of paranormal activity at the Peyton Colony, a
350-acre historic site outside Austin also known as "Boardhouse." The property was settled
by freed slaves after the Civil War
and is named for its founder Peyton Roberts. The land was then in the Coffee family
for many years. There are several buildings on the
site, including an old church and schoolhouse. Lawrence and Ellen Coffee live in a house
built about 50 years ago by Lawrence's aunt. Four different apparitions have been seen by
multiple witnesses and poltergeist phenomena are also taking place. The poltergeist
effects include weird electrical problems, faucets turning on and off by themselves, and
objects disappearing then turning up in unexpected locations. Unexplainable voices and the
sounds of drums beating have also been reported. In an effort to document the activity,
Ellen Coffee started taking photographs and recording the strange noises and disembodied
voices. The photographs show apparitions, balls of light, and streaks of energy, and both
men's, women's, and children's voices have been recorded. In June, a group of
investigators took dozens of photographs and made computerized recordings of anomalous
sounds at the site. Investigators present included Lisa Farwell, psychic Jill Pendleton,
computer expert Todd Brower. Ellen Coffee's computer was used to record the Electronic
Voice Phenomena (EVP). During one six-hour investigation on June 27, spectacular
anomalies were captured with a digital camera, a Canon 35mm camera with 800 speed film,
and a point-and-shoot Olympus 35mm camera. Most of the photos capture light
phenomena (orbs, mists, and streaks) that take place too quick for the naked eye to see.
Dallas
Mitchel Whitington mlw@whitington.com
of Dallas, Texas, recently completed an investigation into Snuffer's Restaurant in Dallas.
The following is his report: In HAUNTED PLACES, there is an entry for Snuffer's
Restaurant, and although my wife and I have dined at Snuffer's on several occasions, we'd
never heard of a haunting there. Armed with the info from your book, I had to go back and
try to find out more. I just returned from having lunch there, and just though I'd pass on
what we found from our waiter, and a little background information from their web page
that he pointed us to. The original Snuffer's is located at 3526 Greenville Avenue between
Martel Avenue and Longview Street in Dallas. It was opened on June 28, 1978 by Pat
Snuffer. At that time, the restaurant consisted of one room with fifteen tables and a
service bar. The menu contained the same basic entrees that it does today: burgers,
sandwiches, and the cheese-fries that are the house specialty. Snuffer's eventually caught
on with the college crowd, and the restaurant expanded with the opening of the back area
with a garden atmosphere. It was after this new addition to the restaurant opened that the
employees and customers would occasionally see a hazy spirit walk the hallway between the
old and new sections. It would pass out of the hallway and comes a few feet into the new
section, then return to the hall. Our waiter seemed surprised that we knew that Snuffer's
was haunted. He told us that he'd never had a customer mention it, although everyone who
worked there knew about it. The answer to the obvious question that we asked next, though,
was that he had never seen the ghost himself. We asked if there were any ideas who the
spirit might be, and he said Snuffer's had a tragedy early in its history when a woman was
killed in a scuffle in the ladies' restroom. Since that was the only incident of that kind
in the history of the restaurant, everyone seems to think that it's her spirit who walks
the hall. The restrooms are located off the short hallway between the old restaurant and
the new addition. Snuffer's now has another location in the Dallas suburb of Addison, and
the original location has added another room and a patio. None of us saw or felt anything
unusual, but from now on when I go back I'll be looking for something other than their
great cheese-fries! Thanks again for writing a wonderful resource book!"
Waxahachie
Catfish Plantation Restaurant.
The sign at the
entrance to this quaint restaurant reads: "If you have a ghostly experience, please
tell us!" The quaint Victorian house was built in 1895 by a farmer named Anderson. He
had a daughter, Elizabeth, who was strangled to death on her wedding day in the 1920s. She
died where the Ladies’ Room is now located and became one of the ghosts of
Catfish Plantation. There two others. One is a farmer named Will, who died in the house in
the 1930s. The other is an elderly lady named Caroline Mooney, who died in the house in
1970. The three ghosts are responsible for the bone-numbing cold spots that move silently
through the house, as well as flying objects and slamming doors. Elizabeth's kindly
presence is felt mostly in the Dining Room, where she likes to reach out and touch
people. Will's apparition is often seen on the Front Porch, while Caroline's angry
spirit is detected in the Kitchen. Ever since Melissa and Tom Baker remodeled the
house into a Cajun eatery in 1984, dozens of employees, customers, and news people have
witnessed paranormal manifestations here. (Waxahachie is 40 miles south of Dallas on
I-35. The restaurant is at 814 Water Street, Waxahachie, TX 75165. Phone: 214-937-9468.)
UTAH:
Salt Lake City
Old Deseret.
Visitors and guides at this historical
settlement have reported dozens of ghostly encounters in recent years. The buildings were
part of the original colony established by Brigham Young, who led Mormons west after their
leader, Joseph Smith, was murdered by an Illinois mob in 1844. Before Brigham Young's Forest
Farmhouse was moved to the historical park, his ghost haunted his residence for
fifteen years. After it was moved, the house was taken over by his 19th wife, Ann Eliza
Webb. Her petite apparition, dressed in black, is still seen peering out of the dining
room window of the house. After Ann Eliza divorced Young, she toured the country
denouncing him and the Mormon Church. At nearby Jewkes-Draper Home, the ghostly
sounds of children at a party are heard, and the apparition of Mary Fielding Smith has
been observed many times standing in the doorway of Smith House. Sometimes Mrs.
Smith is seen wagging her finger angrily, perhaps because her house was set facing the
wrong way when it was moved to the park. (Salt Lake City is at the junction of I-15 and
I-80 in north central Utah. For information on the area, call the Visitors Bureau at
801-521-2822. Old Deseret is located in the Pioneer State Trail Park, 2601 Sunnyside
Avenue, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. Take the Foothills Exit from I-80 and go west 3 miles to
the park. For information, call 801-584-8391. For tour reservations, call 801-582-2443.)
VERMONT:
Wilmington
White House of Wilmington.
This house was built in
1915, but strange things did not occur until after it was remodeled into an inn. Manager
Bob Grinold has reported unexplained footsteps and other sounds, as well as a shadowy
presence walking the halls. (Wilmington is in the south corner of Vermont, on Hwy 9
between Bennington and Battleboro. White House of Wilmington, Route 9 Box 757, Wilmington,
VT 05363. Phone: 802-464-2135. Reservations can be made by calling 800-541-2135.)
Waitsfield
Waitsfield Inn
My husband and I purchased the Waitsfield Inn in May
of 2009. The original building was built in 1825 and was owned by the Richardson
family for generations until the 1960's. We have heard numerous stories that the
Inn is haunted by a woman who die here in childbirth (Lovila). I personally
sensed a presence in another room as well as some of my ghosts. I have not seen
any wanderings in the hall as some in town have mentioned.
Website:
www.waitsfieldinn.com
Williamsburg
Welcome
to the Williamsburg Ghost Tour. Colonial Ghosts is located in Williamsburg, VA,
and provides ghost walks and ghost tours in Colonial Williamsburg and
surrounding area.
Website: https://colonialghosts.com/
Warrenton
Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail
Built in 1808, the sixth jail in Fauquier County ran for only fifteen years
before a new jail was erected behind it after a lawsuit with the Commonwealth of
Virginia. In those fifteen years the four-cell jail saw death and disease from
neglectful conditions. Soon after the 1823 jail was constructed the 1808 jail
was transformed into a jailer's house, so that he and his family could move in
and care for the prisoners.
In the 143 years that followed, the jail would see
death and disease again, not just among the prisoners, but among the jailer's
families that lived there. One family suffered from the deaths of three young
daughters, one of whom is still *very* present at the site today. But the three
young girls were not the only deaths for the jailer's family, in 1881 the mother
was working in the kitchen when, unbeknownst to her, her skirt caught on fire,
engulfing her in flames. She succumbed to her injuries several days later in the
home.
Employees report
hearing footsteps on the stairs in both buildings, doors shutting and closing on
their own accord, displays are pulled down, shadows are seen, and some have even
reported seeing the figure of a woman in white walking through the walls of the
museum. Paranormal groups have recorded EVPs throughout the jail, but have yet
to capture an image of the ghosts in the jail.
Website: www.fauquierhistory.com
Charles City
A famous haunt in Charles City, Virginia, is Shirley Plantation. The stories there center around a haunted painting that now hangs in a second-floor bedroom. The portrait is of Martha Hill, daughter of the man who built the house in 1723. The painting is about all that remains of Martha, because most of her belongings went with her to England where she died. But by 1858, family descendants started noticing an unusual property of her painting. Whenever it was removed from its spot on the second-floor, the frame would start shaking violently. They moved it to a bedroom on the third floor, stored it in the attic, hung it on the first floor, but the portrait was never "happy" unless it was back in the second-floor bedroom. In 1974, the Virginia Tourist Office put the touchy painting on display at Rockefeller Center in NY, along with other items related to psychic phenomena in VA. Martha Hills’ portrait created quite a sensation. People walking by on the street reported it moving constantly. It swayed back and forth so violently that other exhibits were also vibrating, and the phenomenon was documented on the NBC Nightly News. The painting caused such hysteria that it was removed from the display, though that did not dampen Martha’s spirit. Dozens of office workers near the storeroom in which the painting was locked heard incessant knocking sounds coming from the room. When officials retrieved the painting, its frame was so badly damaged, that it had to be sent to Linden Galleries in Richmond for repair. The same eerie vibrations were reported by workers there. Finally, the portrait was returned to Shirley Plantation, where it hangs today, peacefully, above a mahogany chest in Martha’s second-floor bedroom.
Manassas
Another Virginia paranormal hotspot is the Old Town Inn in
Manassas, just outside Washington, DC. Recently, a family vacationing from
Griffith, Indiana, were caught in a violent thunderstorm one evening and sought
lodging at the inn. They were assigned Room 54 of the century-old hotel. The
thunderstorm had knocked out TV reception, so the husband, wife, and
ten-year-old son sat in their room, talking about their trip. Suddenly they
heard the sound of something crashing to the bathroom floor, but when they
investigated, they could find nothing wrong. Again they were interrupted by the
sound of breaking objects in the bathroom. Again, they could find nothing
broken. Shortly after going to bed, the wife was awakened by a strange tugging
on her mattress. The odd sensation continued, and she decided to wake up her
husband. She told him there was something strange going on and insisted they
trade beds. Before long, her husband was experiencing the same sensation. He
jumped out of bed, searched around the room, and found nothing. He told his wife
that there must be mice in the room, crawled back into bed, and soon fell
asleep. His wife lay in the dark, trying to sleep. Then, in amazement, she
watched her sleeping spouse levitate off the bed and fall to the floor. She
tried to explain to her dazed husband that some force had thrown him to the
floor, but his incredulous stare made her drop the subject and get back into
bed.They got up the next morning, hoping to get an early start. The husband was
putting his clothes on, and his wife had already dressed and was busy
blow-drying her hair. The man walked to the window and peeked out: it was pitch
black outside. He looked at his watch and realized it was only 1:30 A.M. The
bewildered couple undressed and went back to bed. Finally came the light of
morning. The family dressed and went downstairs to the inn's restaurant. After
breakfast, the husband stopped at the front desk to ask if there was a problem
with rodents at the inn. He related what had happened to manager Janie Pugh, who
smiled and said: "Oh, that's Miss Lucy up to her old tricks. She usually
stays in Room 52 but sometimes wanders into rooms nearby." Miss Lucy's
antics had been witnessed by both employees and guests alike. Meanwhile, his
wife and son waited at their table in the restaurant. A lady wearing an old
overcoat and a nightgown came up to them and asked where to get food to go. The
wife pointed to the cashier. The lady came back in a few minutes to thank her
for being so kind. Curious about the lady's odd behavior, she watched her walk
away and brush past her husband, who was returning to their table. "That
old lady who just walked by you is weird," the wife said. "What old
lady," replied her husband, "I didn't see anyone."
WASHINGTON:
Seattle
Harvard Exit Theater.
This cinema, opened in 1968,
is haunted. The movie theater is in a three-story brick building constructed in the 1900s.
When a second auditorium and screen was constructed on the third floor in the early 1970s,
the ghosts of several women dressed in turn-of-the-century clothing began to appear. Most
of the sightings were on the third floor and near a fireplace on the first floor. The
encounters were accompanied by an assortment of strange phenomena, which continued until
1987. The only possible historical connection is Bertha Landes, the founder of the Women's
Century Club, which had occupied the building for many years. From 1926 to 1928, Landes
served as Seattle's first woman mayor. In 1988, relics of her administration and her
personal belongings were displayed at a downtown museum, which reported a number of
inexplicable incidents that some thought were manifestations of Landes' spirit. (The
cinema is located in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle. From I-5 north, take the Olive
Street exit to Broadway East. Go north to East Roy Street and turn west to the theater.
The address of the theater is 807 East Roy Street, Seattle, WA 98122. Phone:
206-323-8986.)
WEST VIRGINIA:
Harpers Ferry National Park
Harpers Ferry.
The white-haired ghost of John Brown
walks alongside a black dog down the street here. They stroll past the store fronts to the
door of the Fire Engine House, where they disappear. Brown's ghost is so real that
some tourists have asked him to pose for pictures. The Kansas abolitionist brought his
band of followers to Harpers Ferry to take the Confederate Arsenal and arm the slaves. He
took hostages and held them in the arsenal's fire house, but ninety Marines under General
Robert E. Lee broke into the building and took Brown and his followers prisoners. John
Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859, a little over a year before the start of the Civil
War. Hog Alley is haunted by one of Brown’s men who was mutilated and left for
the hogs. At St. Peter’s Catholic Church, the ghost of a priest disappears
through a wall, and the stone steps leading into the church are haunted by the cries of a
baby who was killed by a mortar shell there during the Civil War. (Harpers Ferry
National Park is located in Harpers Ferry at the far eastern tip of West Virginia. The
site is located off U.S. Hwy 340, near the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah
Rivers. Harper’s Ferry National Park, P.O. Box 65, Harper’s Ferry, WV 25425. For
information on private ghost tours of the park, call 304-725-8019.)
WISCONSIN:
La
Crosse
Bodega Brew Pub.
The ghost of a former poolroom
owner haunts this building. Paul Malin operated the Malin Pool and Sample Room in the
1890s. After his death in 1901, his ghost started to appear regularly to new owners. No
one knew why the building changed hands so many times in the five years after Malin died,
but the truth surface in 1907, when A.J. "Skimmer" Hine, a popular German
immigrant, confided to friends that he was giving up his Union Saloon in the building
because it was haunted by Malin’s ghost. Hine said the ghost appeared to him each
night and kept him from sleeping by running amok and making strange noises. (A man
named George Ritter purchased the Union Saloon from Hine, but he also could not make a go
of it. The saloon was later replaced by the Bodega Restaurant. Currently it is known as
the Bodega Brew Pub. La Crosse is on the Mississippi River in southwest Wisconsin at the
junction of U.S. Hwy 53 and I-90. The two-story brick building is at 120 South 4th Street,
La Crosse, WI 54601. Phone: 608-782-0677.)
WISCONSIN:
Kewaunee
Karsten Inn. This historic inn near Green
Bay is known to be haunted. In owner Roswitha Hauer's words: "Before I
acquired this property I as contacted by one of Green Bay's most prominent
psychics. She told me that the place was haunted and by three spirits. One of
them is named Agatha and is well know by customers and former owners. Agatha is
very active and wants to stay in the building until it's torn down. She won't
pass over until that building is dust. This is was the psychic told me. We had a
few incidents happening with in the past couple of weeks where my
employees called me at home and wrote me e-mails about the happenings in the
evening." (The Historic Karsten Inn, 122 Ellis Street, Kewaunee, WI
54216. Phone: 920-388-3800. Fax: 920-388-3808. Web: www.karsteninn.com.
Contact: karsten@itol.com.)
WYOMING:
Sheridan
Sheridan Inn.
This inn is haunted by the spirit of
Miss Kate Arnold, a housekeeper who lived here for 65 years. The inn opened in 1893 and
was once owned by Buffalo Bill Cody. Miss Kate's presence is felt strongest in her former
room on the third floor, near the front downstairs windows, or in the ballroom. Sometimes,
she is detected as a moving cold spot, at other times only her soft footsteps are heard.
The owners have preserved her room just as she left it and interred her ashes in the wall
above her favorite chair. (The town of Sheridan is in northern Wyoming, at the junction
of I-90 and U.S. Hwy 14. Sheridan Inn, Sheridan, WY 82801. Phone: 307-674-5440.)
The above is a small sampling of over
2,000 locations chronicled in the 486-page illustrated guidebook HAUNTED
PLACES: THE NATIONAL DIRECTORY.
Click on the link below to find out more about the
book.
New cases are added to the Haunted Places website as they are investigated.
Visiting haunted sites? Book here and save! Click: Reserve Discounted Hotel Rooms.
