Seeks Ghosts

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Brush with Death

2021-01-04T12:31:00.001-07:00

Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed in his father's Dale Earnhardt Sr. footsteps to become a professional race car driver. Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Earnhardt Jr.won two Daytona 500s and holds 26 NASCAR series wins.

Earnhardt Jr. semi-retired from racing in 2016. During his career he experienced several scary incidents, but it is one fiery crash that he still wonders about till this day.

During a 60-Minutes interview he recounted how this incident has made him a believer in the paranormal.

In 2004, early in his career Earnhardt crashed his corvette during a practice run at the Sonoma Raceway, while preparing for a La Mans Series race. He miscalculated a turn and clipped a nearby wall. Earnhardt Jr.'s car then spun out of control.

On impact, the car's fuel line ruptured and spewed gasoline everywhere, catching fire. Earnhardt dazed managed to unbuckle his seatbelt.

As he lay on a stretcher on the field, he grabbed the collar of a PR rep and screamed at him "to find the man who pulled me from the car." This man confused told him, "Nobody helped you get out."

Earnhardt was then airlifted to California-Davis Memorial Medical Center, where he received treatment for second-degree burns.

Earnhardt still firmly feels someone helped him escape his burning corvette. He distinctly remembers someone grabbing him under his arms, and then pulling him out of the car.

Despite not seeing the man who helped him, he believes it was his father's ghost who assisted him that fateful morning.

A Helpful Spirit Child

2020-08-17T14:22:00.000-06:00

This is a recent local story from Las Cruces, NM.

The mother of a toddler who died two years ago claims her daughter was caught on camera near where she is buried.

Faviola Rodriguez was only two years old when she died in September of 2018.

Ever since, her mother, Saundra Gonzales, has discovered Faviola’s toys and other personal items, that she has placed at her gravesite, missing.

Could it be her deceased daughter taking them?

Saundra, who at first thought they were stolen, now has cause to wonder.

Recently, another family visiting the Masonic Cemetery in Las Cruces captured some intriguing images on video.

Ms. Gonzalez is firmly convinced that this video shows an image of her daughter.

Many have described it as “beautiful”—for it shows a little girl escorting another family’s brother, who died recently.

Saundra believes it is her daughter’s image escorting this man up to heaven.

Here is a video that one local TV News station shared about what this video captured.

A Menacing Presence at Bonito Lake

2020-03-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

Bonito Lake (Reservoir)

“It was a robbery that went sour . . .”

Bonito Lake is located at 7300 feet in Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. Beautiful scenery surrounds this man-made reservoir, near Ruidoso.

The ghost story connected to this lake has its roots in 1855.

Most people today do not realize that the remains of a ghost town lie at the bottom of Bonito Lake.

Bonito City sprang up as a mining camp during the Gold Rush. In 1882, this city was just a cluster of tents, it residents a group of starry-eyed miners from states as far away as Virginia.

At its peak, in the mid-1800s, Bonito City had a schoolhouse, three general stores, a saloon, a post office, a boarding house, one blacksmith, and one lawyer.

For a brief period, Lincoln County was able to boast that it was the most populated area in New Mexico.

Bonito City Post Office

But Bonito City was about to become the site of a gruesome mass-murder.

Martin Nelson, aged 24, with dreams of becoming rich overnight, arrived in Bonito City, claiming to be a miner. But locals noted this particular young man never seemed to do any work.

A newspaper clipping
about Murders.

Nelson boarded with a local family for several weeks and then moved to the bustling Mayberry Family boarding house that was the town’s official hotel.

There had been a string of recent robberies in town, but no one had a clue as to who was doing them.

At 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning, May 5, 1885, Martin Nelson’s luck was about to run out. He entered the room of Dr. R. E. Flynn at the Mayberry. The doctor had recently arrived from Boston.

Nelson’s intent was to steal this man’s watch. But Dr. Flynn woke up and struggled with the thief. Nelson shot and killed him.

Hearing the commotion, the Mayberrys descended upon the room. Nelson, now panicked, began shooting at the Maybury family members.

John Mayberry Sr. and his two sons, John Jr., and Eddie (Robert) died instantly. Mrs. Mayberry wounded, ran down the stairs, attempting to escape, with her 14-year-old daughter, Nellie.

Nellie Mayberry after
murders was sent back
east to live with relatives.

Nelson shot Mrs. Mayberry a second time, killing her. This bullet also struck Nellie.

Nellie then pleaded for her life, and Nelson agreed not to kill her on the condition that she promised to attend his hanging. She did, and he spared her life.

Meanwhile, Pete Nelson, a neighbor (no relation to Martin), hearing the shots as he closed his saloon for the night, entered the Maybury house. Martin Nelson also shot and killed him.

By this time, a large number of people had gathered outside the boarding house. Nelson trapped, stayed hidden until 7 a.m. He then tried to escape out the back door.

The town grocer, Herman Beck, was waiting for him. Beck was killed by a single shot from Nelson’s rifle.

Nelson managed to leave town, and then a posse chased and caught up to him in Littleton Canyon and killed him.

Nelson’s victims were then buried in the town cemetery on a hilltop overlooking Bonito City. His body was placed near, but not in this cemetery.

The gold boom played out within a few short years, and eventually, Bonito City became a ghost town. The post office closed in 1911, and by 1920 all that remained was a store and eight houses.

In the late 1920s, the Southern Pacific Railroad gained permission to dam the Bonito Creek to create a reservoir that would fuel its steam engines. Workers removed what was left of the town.

By 1933 the lake was so high the water level was approaching the graves of Nelson and his victims.

Angus City Cemetery

The remains of the Mayberry family were relocated to a common grave in the Angus Cemetery—not far from the lake. Nelson’s body was reburied east of this cemetery. Today Nelson's plot is overgrown, but a gravestone still stands as a marker.

Mass grave marker for the victims.

When Nelson’s body was exhumed, it was noted he was thrown face down in a rough pine box. His green felt hat was intact, and several bullet holes were found in it.

He was buried with his body pointing west. Some feel this is why he does not rest in peace. The belief of that era was to place the dead facing up and pointing to the east. This assured the deceased could rise up to meet Christ.

People point to this fact as the reason Martin Nelson’s menacing ghost still wanders the area where he lived and died. And then there is the fact his body was disturbed.

When the Southern Pacific stopped using steam trains, they no longer needed the reservoir. Today Bonito Lake is the main water supply for several surrounding communities, including Ruidoso, New Mexico.

This is the reason swimming, wading, and boats are not allowed on the lake. The area is open for fishing but only from the shoreline.

Bonito Reservoir with the dam to the right.

Campers, mountain bikers, and rock hounds also frequent the area. Others still pan for gold along the Rio Bonito.

But some of these visitors have become so frightened they have left never to return.

It appears Nelson’s ghost has frightened many a tourist and some locals. His scary presence is felt along the shoreline. Some even say he appears to be at the bottom of the lake.

A strange circle of lights has been seen floating on the surface of the water. Eerie sounds are heard including gunshots.

Others have picked up some intriguing EVP’s at Nelson's gravesite.

Local residents warn paranormal enthusiasts that it is not a good idea to awaken this murderer, especially since his presence is felt in such a remote area.

Haunted Hotel Monte Vista

2020-02-08T18:24:00.002-07:00

There are many rumors about this old hotel located in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona. The Monte Vista has more than one ghost.

I heard many stories about this hotel during my four-year undergraduate work at NAU in the mid-1970s.

The Monte Vista became well known for its paranormal activity, especially after it was highlighted on one episode of Unsolved Mysteries.

This show talked about the hotel’s most haunted room--#305.

Rocking chair in Room 305.

There are numerous witness accounts of seeing a woman sitting in a rocking chair near the window. Many others have seen this chair rocking all by itself.

Some witnesses have reported hearing unexplained knocking sounds inside this room’s closet.

It is known that an elderly lady was once a long-term renter—who would sit by the window for hours in this room. But why she did this is lost to history.

Another active haunting is connected to the hotel’s cocktail lounge. In the 1970s, three men robbed a nearby bank. A bank guard shot one of the three during the robbery.

After their escape, making a bad choice, the three men decided to stop in the Monte Vista lounge for a cold one. The wounded robber bled to death in this bar.

The activity in this room began after this. Patrons and employees are often greeted by an enthusiastic, “Good Morning.” Also, barstools and filled glasses are seen moving about without assistance.

In this same lounge, a couple dressed in formal attire is seen dancing, laughing, and smiling. They never seem to stop. There is another unusual item about them—they are transparent.

Years ago, Flagstaff’s red light district was located a couple of blocks from the Monte Vista. Two prostitutes entered the hotel in the early 1940s with their Johns.

Soon after, they were killed, and their bodies were thrown out of Room 306s 3rd-floor window.

Guests that stay in this room report they were woken up in the middle of the night abruptly. They all state they felt an eerie feeling--as if they were being watched.

The men that stay in this room report feeling hands being placed over their mouths or throats. All state this restricted their ability to breathe.

John Wayne, while staying at the Monte Vista, in Room 210, saw one of the hotels more active ghosts. He encountered this entity more than once.

The spirit he saw is known as the “Phantom Bellboy.”

This bellboy knocks on the door and softly announces, “room service.” Wayne and other guests that have seen this young man describe him as wearing an old-fashioned red jacket with brass buttons.

Wayne returned later to stay in this same room. He told the staff this ghost appeared to be friendly, and he did not feel threatened.

More creepy ghosts are connected to the hotel’s basement.

Laundry and maintenance workers report a baby crying in distress, endlessly. This sound is so disturbing they often leave the basement, stating they couldn’t take it anymore.

An even more frightening presence in this basement is a six-foot dark shadow figure that has scared staff and deliverymen. He is seen lurking behind people.

These witnesses often leave the basement immediately, stating that this figure exudes a strong sense of menace.

A young ghost—a boy, is seen in the hallways. He appears to be looking up and talking to someone much taller than him. Some speculate this must be his mother—although she is never seen.

Guests have reported this boy touched their hand. Children tend to see this ghost more often.

Monte Vista’s old elevator is self-serve, but more than one guest has reported being greeted as they entered this elevator. A polite attendant asked them, “Which floor?”

Guests also report seeing a phantom hand close the elevator gate.

In Room 220, there is a ghost dubbed the “meat man.” This ghost is believed to be another former long-term resident at the hotel. He had an odd habit of hanging raw meat from the room’s chandelier.

In the 1980s, this man was found, three days after his death, in this room.

Shortly afterward, a maintenance man doing repairs in the room turned off the lights and locked up. He returned to the room shortly afterward to look for something he lost.

To his amazement, the lights were on, and the television audio was on full blast. The linens on the bed had been ripped and scattered across the floor.

Since this initial incident, many guests that have stayed in this room report the television seems to have a mind of its own, and more alarming, large, cold hands touched them as they slept.

I write about a haunting and my personal encounter in one of NAU’s dorms in another post here.

Haunted Nebraska State Capitol

2019-10-07T18:04:00.000-06:00

Several legends surround this building. The following two stories have taken on folklore (or ghostlore) status.

The one shared the most involves Christmas lights that used to be placed on the Capitol dome.

Nebraska State Capitol

Finding workers to do this job was difficult. The state had to find people brave enough to risk a 17-story drop to string these lights.

Because of this state prisoners were offered this job, enticed by shorter paroles and jail sentences.

One prisoner who volunteered for the job, in 1968, had a heart attack at the top. He fell to his death.

Witnesses state his screams and sobs were heard for years after his death.

Spiral staircase in
capitol.

Another legend involves a 50-year-old man who fell down the spiral staircase in the building. He became dizzy while looking down the stairs and fell 12 flights. His ghost is also said to haunt the capitol.

Some have debunked these two legends, but others point to a real haunting that occurs in the capitol’s law library.

A female ghost interacts with male visitors in this room.

Witnesses have reported when they couldn’t find the light switch while entering this room, this ghost has grabbed their hand. She then guides their fingers to the light switch.

Many others report seeing books lying strewn across the libraries' floor, after the doors were closed for the day.

Law library at the capitol.

An elevator at the capitol building.

Late one night, a female worker, had a strange encounter involving the elevator on the 3^rd floor. After pressing the button, she waited, only to see the elevator zip passed her floor, and go up to the 12^th floor.

She then answered her phone call, where a mysterious voice told her to wait, “They were coming back down.” When the elevator doors opened on her floor, no one was there.

Spooky Point Sur Lighthouse

2019-09-28T10:48:00.000-06:00

This lighthouse, first built in 1889, was fully automated by the Coast Guard in 1972.

Point Sur Lighthouse

It sits high atop a large volcanic rock on a remote location, just north of Big Sur, California.

Today, this lighthouse is a California State Park and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Despite its strong intense beam many ships wrecked, as they tried to navigate along this rugged section of the California coastline.

But this is not the reason midnight haunted tours are offered in October at the lighthouse.

Instead, it is the spirits of family members of the lightkeepers who linger on this beautiful spot.

Many believe these spirits stay because the keeper’s house affords spectacular views of the wild coastline and the Pacific Ocean on three sides.

This house has ocean-view windows in every room, including even the closets and bathrooms.

Several volunteers who help out at the fully restored lighthouse have encountered these ghosts.

Julie Nunes, states the lighthouse has a peaceful, “Shangri-La” feel. She states the ghosts she has encountered are not malevolent in nature.

Kitchen a Point Sur.

Before entering the light keeper's house Nunes, always knocks and greets one ghost, named Ruth, that resides in the house.

Ruth was one light keeper’s wife. She likes to hang out in the house’s kitchen. Smells of cooking are reported, and it seems Ruth likes her privacy for she often swings the kitchen door shut.

Nunes has recorded another female spirit’s voice stating-- “Now she wants you to go home.” And “Pokey, go to bed.”

It is believed this is the voice of Catherine Ingersoll, a Danish immigrant who married one of the lightkeepers.

She is telling her daughter, Pokey, to go to bed. On this recording, the listener can hear the faint sound of the little girl’s voice responding.

Another volunteer, Sheila Fraser was alone in the keeper’s house cleaning. As she put a vacuum away, she heard something downstairs.

Stair landing where
Fraser saw the ghost.

She looked down from the stair landing and saw a woman who looked real.

“She wore her hair up, her sleeves were puffy, and she wore a long skirt. As Fraser watched, she just disappeared.

Fraser has also seen a male ghost watching her from the keeper house's living room window.

In the following video, Nune places an Ovilus down on the kitchen table next to a pair of skeleton arms. She asks, “Pokey, are you here?”

Watch closely, for the skeleton hand on the left—near the coffee mug—moves. I didn’t see it the first time I watched—but it makes a slight movement.

Besides the October tours, year-round tours are offered at Point Sur Lighthouse.

Haunted Kennebunk Inn

2019-09-19T19:50:00.000-06:00

Tavern in 1885.

This inn nestled between the Kennebunk and Mousam Rivers, in the town of Kennebunk, Maine, was built as a private home in 1799.

In 1928, this residence was converted to a tavern. During this time a man by the name of Silas Perkins was hired to be the night watchman and auditor.

The son of a sea captain, Silas was also a published poet.

Silas died, of a heart attack, in the 1940s, at the inn. He was eighty years old. Since his death, many believe that his ghost lingers.

Light mist photographed at the inn.
Click to enlarge.

In more recent years, this old tavern was converted into an inn.

Former owners of this inn, the LeBlanc’s encountered Silas’ ghost on more than one occasion.

This ghost likes to play pranks on the inn’s employees—especially on those he does not like.

At first, Angela LeBlanc was skeptical the inn was haunted. She quickly changed her mind.

Inn's bar.

One afternoon as she sat the inn’s bar, several mugs levitated off a shelf, where the bartender, named Dudley stood. These mugs hit him in the back of the head.

On other occasions wine glasses fell or flew across the bar.

Room 17 at the inn is very active. As well as the hallway outside this room.

Recently, a housekeeper was cleaning this room when she unplugged the television, to clean behind it. To her horror, this TV moments later turned on by itself.

Even though Silas is mischievous, most of the owners of the inn agree that his spirit overall is a protective presence.

He takes his role as night watchman seriously—guest often state, that he watches over them as they sleep. I am not sure if I would find this comforting or not.

One line from a poem he wrote, entitled The Common Man, sums up his role as protector.

“I want to laugh with the common man.

Whenever he chance to be,

I want to aid him when I can

Whenever there’s need of me.”

Oregon’s Spooky McMenamins Edgefield

2019-08-29T08:59:00.001-06:00

McMenamins Edgefield

Located in Troutdale, Oregon is an impressive hotel named McMenamins Edgefield.

This large hotel has a brewery/winery, and offers fine dining, concerts, a movie theater, gardens, a spa, and a golf course.

Gardens and vineyard at Edgefield

It is also, without doubt, one of the most haunted hotels in the U.S.

The reason for this is how the site was used, for the seven decades before it became a hotel.

In 1911, the Multnomah County Poor Farm opened where the Sandy and Columbus Rivers come together.

Multnomah Poor Farm

This 345-acre farm was a progressive new idea, to help families, the disabled, and the mentally ill to become self-sufficient.

Even with overcrowding during the Great Depression, the Multnomah was still thriving. Residents in Portland would often visit the farm to buy handicrafts made by the residents.

After WWll, with Roosevelt’s New Deal, most of the residents were able to move on—leaving only the more disabled and sick residents on the farm.

A county jail was established on one section of the land in 1954. The inmates refused to work the farm, so it fell into disrepair. The decision was made to sell the livestock and lease the farmland.

The main building was used for the Edgefield Nursing Home starting in 1964.

When the nursing home closed, the property was abandoned for over 20 years, it was extensively vandalized. It was about to be torn down when the Troutdale Historical Society stepped in and saved it.

Spa with soaking pool.

Winery tasting room.

Then with financial support, the McMenamins brothers were able to renovate it.

After the hotel opened, it became apparent to both staff and guests that the grounds and buildings are haunted. A nurse wearing white, a former janitor, and a ghost dog have all been observed by many.

The phantom dog, besides being seen, wakes guests up late at night, by sticking its’ wet nose into people’s faces. Others state they heard the unmistakable clicking of a dog’s nails as this canine moved through their rooms.

One guest hearing this sound, spoke to the dog, telling it, “You are good fella,” at which point it jumped on her. She never saw it.

A phantom janitor, wearing a uniform of a different era, is seen, smiles, and even talks to guests. He is spotted in the same spot each time.

One time he gave a guest the direction to the ladies room as she left the ballroom, but it was where a restroom used to be. He often just disappears after people spot him.

Tasting Room

Allison Berliner, a wine server, has seen the ghostly nurse. She saw this entity walking with keys in her hands in the winery, at 11:00 in the morning. This ghost stopped as if to unlock a door and then just vanished. (The winery was previously the poorhouse infirmary.)

Mural near where entity walked
through Berliner.

One night, as she walked between the second and third floor, she felt an energy go right through her chest. It took her breath away, and she hyperventilated.

At one point Berliner was transferred to work at the hotel’s Black Rabbit Bar. She encountered a shadowy figure that had “very dark energy,” so, to her relief, she was transferred back to the winery.

Maids at the hotel report a variety of experiences. One housekeeper as she stood at the foot of a bed had her ankle grabbed firmly. This unseen hand wouldn’t let go until she jumped away. (Several guests have had this same experience.)

Another maid had just cleaned a room when she returned to retrieve an item that she had forgotten—she entered the room to find everything in disarray.

The night before this happened, a guest staying in this room told the front desk that she awoke to find a dark figure standing over her bed.

Several rooms on the second floor are very active. Guests report awaking to someone tapping on their chest or being poked in the side, or their feet being grabbed while they are in bed.

One guest had her backside grabbed by an unseen hand as she showered. She screamed and retrieved a towel, as she watched one of her shirts in the next room, lift up and fly across the room.

Another guest, who has visited the hotel several times, tells the story of kissing her boyfriend in one elevator when her hair was yanked violently. No one else was in the elevator with them, and her friend’s hands were both on her waist.

Haunted room.

One guest awoke to find an old man standing over her—he had his hand extended as if he wanted her to shake it. He only disappeared after she obliged him.

Guests often take pictures, knowing the hotel’s reputation. Many have captured mists outside. One guest who snapped many photos during his visit found that all the ones he had taken inside had just disappeared. This had never happened with his camera.

A female guest lost her brush. She poured her purse out on the bed in an attempt to find it—only to see it lying on top of the contents she had spilled out, moments before.

Haunted room.

A couple that stayed in a corner room on the third floor—another room with a lot of activity—had a disturbing night. The wife was shoved off the bed, only to see her husband was asleep and turned away from her.

In this same room, another couple both awoke to the sound of something substantial, hitting a hardwood floor. They turned on the lights and discovered the floor was carpeted, and nothing was on the floor.

A third couple heard creepy footsteps circling the bed. The husband saw what appeared to be a grandmother sitting in the corner, watching them.

These couples state they can hardly wait to revisit the hotel. Others say they are too scared to return.

Other activity includes: Cold breezes inside where they shouldn’t be, the feeling that something is watching, a child’s loud cries in what was the infirmary and lamps turn on by themselves.

Concert on the lawn at Edgefield.

The hotel doesn’t deny these hauntings. In fact, they have had the structures cleansed in the past.

Edgefield's' wines and beers.

But they also do not publicize them. The owners don’t have to. The McMenamins Edgefield is a popular destination for a myriad of reasons. Hot mineral springs—anyone?

Lake Bomoseen’s Phantom Rowboat

2019-08-24T11:41:00.000-06:00

Even the simplest unexplained activity can cause terror *, especially when the same sight is seen for over a century and a half.

Abandoned industrial site.

In the mid-1800s Castleton, Vermont was a booming mining town with several mills and a quarry.

By the early 1900s, the town had slid into a financial decline. Castleton by the early 1920s was abandoned.

In 1929, the area became Lake Bomoseen State Park. Years before this, the lake already had a firm reputation for being haunted.

Lake Bomoseen at sunset.

The cause for this was connected to three Irish quarry workers that lived in the area during its boom years.

One night, these three men rowed across the lake to visit a local tavern to celebrate and drink.

After they left this bar drunk, they were never seen again. It was believed they must have drowned in the lake, on their way home.

Their bodies were never found. But their rowboat was discovered several days later when it drifted ashore.

This incident would not be remembered today—except for the strange sight it caused.

One artist's depiction of the phantom rowboat.

Ever since the loss of these three men, witnesses have claimed to see a strange rowboat gliding across the lake—especially if there is a full moon.

The boat is described as empty and completely quiet.

People report seeing the oars rowing, but what is creepy, is they don’t see anyone in the boat. Even scarier is none of these witnesses heard a splash as the oars hit the water.

Also strange is there is no ripple on the surface of the water as the rowboat passes.

So are these three men doomed to row this boat for eternity?

* People don’t need to experience a lot of activity for it to be frightening.

When I was in high school, every time I was alone at home, a lamp in our den would turn on by itself. It never happened when others were there.

My family had it checked. There was not an electrical short etc. But this pattern of it happening when I was alone in the house—freaked me out.

Haunted Kansas Aviation Museum

2019-08-22T19:09:00.000-06:00

“There are things that have happened that can not be explained.”

Art Deco style.

The original Wichita, Kansas, Municipal Airport operated for nineteen years from 1935-1954. Its terminal reflects the much admired, art deco style.

Wichita, for years, was known as the “Air Capital of the World.” And at one time its airport was one of the busiest in the U.S.

Kansas Aviation Museum

Today the old airport terminal is surrounded by McConnell Air Force Base and is an aviation museum.

This museum displays forty of the oldest and most rare airplanes plus some of the earliest engines. The visitor can also get up close to a B-52, and a variety of other hands-on exhibits.

B-52

But be forewarned, the staff claims that there are as many “dead as the living” at this old terminal.

Barb Kramer had only worked a few months at the museum when she began to experience unexplained activity. She was often assigned to close the museum at night.

In a room, just after she had shut off the lights, she felt an extreme cold spot. It was summer, and the room had no air-conditioning. (For many years this terminal had no air-conditioning or heat.)

One night as she shut down the museum after a special event, she heard what she thought were children’s footsteps and laughter on the stairs. She then heard one of them say, “shhh.”

Thinking some visitors were still in the terminal she went to investigate. She found no one.

Saff have also reported, slamming doors, happy, excited voices, and a disappearing man wearing a 1940s hat.

Several employees have heard both public announcements and music from another era. Lights on dimmers are known to turn to bright and then turn completely off on their own.

Several apparitions have been spotted, and the sounds of children playing are often heard during the day.

Others report the feeling someone is following them or watching them.

Most of these hauntings have been connected to events that happened at the old airport in the past—some tragic—but one haunting was brought to the museum via an airplane.

Jernigin's Crop Duster

Duke Jernigin, was a pilot of a crop duster when he crashed and died in his plane.

His bright, yellow plane is displayed in the museum, and paranormal groups that have investigated, state his spirit remains with his aircraft.

The Hanging of Rose Butler

2019-08-14T23:08:00.000-06:00

The land where Washington Square Park is located in New York’s Greenwich Village was used for over a hundred years as a burial site.

It was initially used as an Indian burial ground.

Then after the Revolutionary War it was a potter’s field for criminals that were hanged in New York in the 1700s.

A Vault full of bones found
beneath the park.

There are an additional 20,000 souls buried in a mass grave, lost to a yellow fever epidemic that lasted from 1791 to 1821.

As New York’s wealthier citizens moved into the area, this extensive graveyard was covered over for a military parade ground.

It was at this point that the shallow graves of the potter’s field began to surface. As a result, several bones of the deceased poor were crushed underfoot.

The military parade ground at what was to become the park.

This stark history, plus the disturbance of these graves—point to this ground being haunted. After this location became a park in 1828, people began to note unexplained activity.

Today, the buildings that surround Washington Square, house the various NYU departments. The young people that flock to this park often do not know, about the morbid history of their favorite hangout.

Many bodies lie beneath the famous fountain and arch at this park.

Hangman's Elm

Most of NYUs students have never heard of Rose Butler, even though some have encountered her ghost. On windy nights, she is seen swinging from a large tree in the park’s northwest corner known as the “Hangman’s Elm.”

She is described as a shadow dangling in the tree that appears to disappear when witnesses move closer, to get a better view. Others have noticed this dangling figure from the various windows that overlook the park.

Some have seen her apparition walking through the park. Cold spots accompany her, even on hot summer days. Most disturbing is the witnesses who claim they felt her walk right through them.

Rose Butler was a house slave owned by the Morris family. At age sixteen, the family accused her of stealing. Previous owners had also caught her stealing.

Rose resentful, was also angered at the fact many blacks that were “free” lived near the Morris household.*

She hatched a plan to kill the family. She tried to burn down their house. She set it ablaze and tied their only exit shut.

But she only managed to burn part of the staircase, the family escaped unharmed.

Rose was arrested and tried for arson.

Arson was a heinous crime at the time—for there were not firefighters, and many perished in house fires.

Butler was condemned to death by hanging. This was a harsh penalty—for a woman. The case went all the way to the New York Supreme Court, but they upheld the ruling.

Some state this was because New York was in transition at the time. Slavery was on the decline, and there was a lot of tension between slaveholders and non-slaveholders.

At the age of nineteen, in 1799, Rose Butler was the last criminal hanged in what would become Washington Square Park. She was buried in the nearby potter’s field.

Some feel her grave was one of the many desecrated—hence the haunting.

* She should have been free, slavery was an abomination, but some because of this sentiment, claim she was innocent--the fire was just an accident. But my research reflected otherwise.

But another question remains--

Since Rose didn't succeed, should she have been hanged?

Screaming Hotel Guest

2019-08-11T11:04:00.000-06:00

This video has been floating around the net for several years. It has been the subject of a hot debate.

Is it real? Or just a fledgling film director’s attempt to sensationalize the interest in ghosts?

Regardless, this video captured something that is both scary and captivating.

It was filmed in 2003, at a Wingate Hotel, in Illinois.

Guests staying at this hotel, reported they heard screams on the second floor, near, or in Room 209.

This confused the hotel staff, since no guests had checked into this room—it was supposed to be empty.

A hotel security manager, and a desk clerk, Amy, sent a workman, John to check out what is going on.

The hotel security cameras with John at door to Room 209.

This video records the sound of screams, while John hears them at the same time, near Room 209.

This man is encouraged by the manager, who also hears the screams, via security camera and radio, to wait for the police to be called in. Instead, John enters the room.

Open door after John enters the room.

Observe, at 1:31 on the video, a bilious cloud figure exits the room just seconds after John enters the room and at 1:32 walks down the hall—to right of the door. (The video at the end shows this figure again.)

Flashing lights are recorded, not just his flashlight beam, coming from the room and John exits, noticeably scared a minute or so later.

John immediately demands the other staff, call the police.

He describes, to the two other two employees, what he found.

All the furniture in the room is upside down and the shower water is running, but no one is in the restroom.

The carpet in the room has been ripped up. But again, no one is in the room.

The security manager, whose voice is only heard on the radio, admits he is now officially freaked out.

Here is the video.

Many have tried to debunk this video, stating it was just staged.

But a variety of hotel guests heard these screams, as well as these three hotel employees claiming what they saw and heard was real.

And one cannot ignore the fact a repairman was contracted by the hotel chain to restore the room.

So this incident remains a mystery.

Hotel employees, to this day, state they avoid or are uncomfortable offering this room to guests when they check-in.

A Ghost Followed Me Home

2019-08-07T21:39:00.000-06:00

When I do ghost investigations, I am acutely aware I do not want the activity I encounter to follow me home.

This is why I find the following account from Britain so scary.

Bored one evening, Abby, at age seventeen accompanied several of her friends into a nearby village cemetery. The group proceeded to trample across several graves, disrespectfully.

They spent an hour making jokes about the dead, and laughing.

Abby was about to pay, for this prank.

Three days after this escapade, she awoke to see a transparent apparition sitting on a chair next to her bed. The figure appeared to be an old woman.

The next morning Abby brushed off what she had seen, as just a bad dream. But she discovered it wasn’t.

For weeks after this first appearance, Abby saw the spirit of this old woman repeatedly. This ghost would follow her throughout the house. She saw it both day and night.

At first, this did not disturb her, for she felt this presence was harmless.

But it did start to annoy her. She decided to confront this old woman, but every time she approached it, the spirit would freeze and then disappear.

Soon after this, the encounters became more threatening.

One day boiling water for tea, Abby felt an unseen force grab her hands. It was if the old woman was trying to scald her.

Then the spirit began to trip her, especially on the wet bathroom floor, or when she stood at the top of the stairs.

Now frightened, Abby decided to admit to her parents what she was experiencing. They were skeptical at first, but they quickly changed their minds, when both saw the old woman drift down the hall on the second floor.

This entity ripped the vacuum out of Abby’s Mom’s hands, and it held various doors open so firmly, no one in the family could shut them.

Loud rapping noises and bangs resulted in the family having several sleepless nights.

Water began to spill from the kitchen ceiling. A plumber was called, but this man found no leaks. The family had to put up with weeks of incessant dripping sounds.

Objects and furniture began to be moved, from their usual places.

One afternoon as Abby watched television with her father, she fell into a trance. The entity spoke through her.

Her father listened, as a strange voice described being the daughter of a French physician, in the 1800s.

The family made the tough decision to move from the home they had lived in for eleven years.

Abby had one last encounter with this ghost. Weeks after the family moved out, she returned to retrieve some posters she had forgotten, that were tacked on her bedroom wall.

She picked up the phone, curious to see if it was still connected.

Suddenly, two icy-cold hands encircled her throat. She was being choked. Terrified, she managed to break free.

She ran from the house, and didn’t return for her posters.

Scandinavia’s Kraken

2019-08-07T11:33:00.002-06:00

Kraken attacking merchant ship, 1830
Pierre Denys de Montfort

Original illustration from
Jules Verne's book, 1870.

In Nordic folklore, the kraken * (hafgufa) was a giant, sea monster that devoured ships and their entire crews.

The belief in this creature terrorized several generations of sailors and fishermen.

This monster dwelled at the bottom of the Greenland Sea off the coasts of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland.

Scary stories of the kraken were told throughout the 1700s and 1800s. The kraken was associated with many superstitions that sailors held. Especially since they loved a good “tall tale.”

It was stated that this enormous monster could swallow men and the largest ships, and even the most immense whales whole. It was believed its many arms could reach up from the depths of the sea and pull down its prey.

Its movements at the bottom of the Greenland Sea was said to resemble underwater volcanic activity.

It was so large—that when it gradually surfaced, bubbling, it was sometimes mistaken for an island.

It would burst up to the surface. Spurting water from its large nostrils, causing circular waves that would go on for miles, which resulted in dangerous currents.

It is believed there were only two krakens for it took massive amounts of fish to sustain them. They would just open their jaws and let the fish swim in, then when their stomachs were full, they would clamp their jaws together.

Fishermen would often take the risk of fishing around the kraken for the catch was exceptional. It is said the kraken would stretch its neck out, and belch out thousands of fish.

There were even stories of ships sailing right through its open jaws and living to tell about it.

Pen and wash drawing
Pierre Denys de Monfort, 1801.

In the 18^th Century it was described as “octopus-like” (cephalopod) with spikes protruding from its suckers.

In the Swedish and Norwegian languages, kraken or krake means an unhealthy animal or something that is twisted. In its plural form--kraken, it means octopus.

At one time the Nordic people even felt it was taboo to say the word “kraken” out loud, for it was believed this would summon this horrible monster.

It is believed a real sea creature inspired the origins of this tale—a giant squid that could reach up to 60 feet in length.

* Note "kraken" is not capitalized in Nordic culture.

In 1830, Alfred Tennyson wrote a sonnet about the kraken.

"Below the thunders of the upper deep;

Far far beneath in teh abysmal sea,

His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep

The kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee

About his shadowy sides; above him swell

Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;

And far away into the sickly light,

From many wonderous grot and secret cell

Unnumber'd and enormous polypi

Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.

There hath he lain for ages, and will lie

Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,

Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;

Then once by man and angels to be seen,

In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die."

The Ghost at Valentine High School

2019-08-06T16:04:00.000-06:00

Today this old school in the small town of Valentine, Nebraska, is a museum called Centennial Hall.

Centennial Hall Museum

Its’ twelve rooms house a variety of antiques, including the 1,700 Hallock Bell collection that takes up an entire room.

Charles F. Bendoff designed this two-story school in 1897. It was built in 1898. It was used both as a primary and secondary school for the Cherry County School District.

This building is the oldest high school still standing in Nebraska. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

It was Valentine High School teachers, that first noted a ghostly girl, often seen roaming the halls.

It is believed she was a student at the school in 1944. As a joke, another student poisoned her Clarinet reed. She then tragically suffered a heart attack and died.

Her apparition is still seen in the museum today. Visitors state they experienced an uncontrollable feeling of being unwell at the same time they saw this ghost.

Centennial Hall Museum

Other activity includes--

Cold spots are felt, and strange noises are also heard. Band music is often heard coming from the school’s old music room. Instruments are no longer stored in the building.

Items are also seen moving on their own. Most notably a rocking chair that is seen rocking without cause.

Local residents claim the building itself is spooky. As they drive by they state, “it is as if the building is watching them.”

Haunted Little Bighorn

2019-08-06T00:22:00.001-06:00

There are many reasons why this famous western battlefield is an excellent place to visit, especially if one wants to encounter a ghost.

George Armstrong Custer

It was here where “Custer’s Last Stand” took place in June of 1876.

On this grassy hill in south-central Montana, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer led the U.S. 7^th Cavalry into battle against thousands of Lakota (Sioux) and Cheyenne warriors.

All 263 of Custer’s men perished in this battle, which became known as the Battle of Little Bighorn. Over 100 warriors died as well during this two-day fight.

Custer's Last Stand

A historian, John Doerner, states it is not surprising this site is haunted considering all the bloodshed, scalping’s, and mutilations that took place on this hill.

After this battle, the U.S. tripled its efforts to force the Plains Indians onto reservations. They accomplished this within the year.

National Cemetery

Today, the location is a National Monument. The areas with the most activity are the battlefield, Stone House, and the National Cemetery.

Visitors and employees at the park agree that the ghosts appear to be restless.

Chief Crazy Horse
One of the chiefs that
participated in the battle.

Many report hearing the sounds of Indian warriors charging on horseback through the cemetery. The curious who have visited this cemetery at night state they felt random cold spots that had no source.

In August of 1979, a Park Enforcement Officer was alone on “Last Stand Hill.” He felt a sudden drop in temperature, and a strong force appeared to walk right through his body.

He heard a steady murmur of voices and left quickly, not wanting to know if they addressed him.

Two visitors at separate times, both had similar disturbing experiences. Both men, one from New Orleans, and the other from Minneapolis claimed to be transported back in time.

They witnessed soldiers and warriors fighting to the death.

Both of these visitors were so unsettled by what they saw—they had to be “calmed down.”

Battlefield at Little Bighorn.

A former Native American Park Ranger, Mardell Plainfeather, saw the ghosts of Indian warriors in 1980.

Late one evening, driving home she spotted two warriors sitting on horses, silhouetted upon a bluff. One of these men lifted himself off his saddle and looked directly at Mardell.

He was dressed for war, painted, with feathers in his long hair. Both men held shields and had bows.

Mardell stated she was not frightened by their presence, but she was curious.

A very active site at Little Bighorn is Stone House. This home was first the superintendent’s residence. It then was used in the summer months as apartments for the staff.

In the winter, this home was closed and locked. This is why the following two sightings are so unusual.

Neil Mangum while walking home through the cemetery, during winter nights often saw the second-floor lights on in the Stone House. He then would turn them off.

He did this despite the fact he knew---the ghosts in the house were turning them on.

Mardell also saw these lights on, in the 1980s during the winter months. But she would never enter the home alone. On night she requested Mike, a Park Ranger, accompany her.

At the same time, Mike’s wife Pam was watching TV in their nearby apartment when the screen went blank, and a strange voice stated, “Second Floor” three times.

This freaked her out until Mike returned unharmed.

Several staff members observed and heard activity when they stayed at the Stone House for one or two nights when they first arrived at the park to work.

This activity included knocks and loud bangs, doorknobs moving on their own, unexplained footsteps coming from empty rooms, and personal items being moved about by unseen hands.

The Stone House at Little Bighorn.

A female ghost was observed walking down the stairs. Most believe this activity occurs because the home’s lower level was once used to store bodies until they could be buried in the years after the battle.

When Mike and Pam first came, they stayed in the upstairs apartment for several nights, they didn’t encounter anything during this time, but their dog was always nervous—pacing back and forth.

In the summer of 1986, a new Park Ranger stayed at Stone House his first two nights. He was in a second-floor apartment sleeping, when he awoke to find a presence sitting on the edge of his bed.

He reached for his Colt .54 as he saw this shadowy figure move from the foot of his bed. He saw the torso of a soldier, but the head and legs were missing.

He watched as this strange figure quickly moved into the next room and then disappeared.

People have also seen a variety of other apparitions in Stone House, including George Custer. Today the home is used as a library and conference center.

Stone Lion Inn

2019-08-01T17:19:00.000-06:00

Guests have trouble sleeping at this bed and breakfast located in Guthrie, Oklahoma. A small child often bothers them.

In 1907, F.E. Houghton had this 3-story, 8,000 square foot home built for his wife and six children. Once they moved in, the Houghton’s had six more children.

Tragedy struck his family when their 8-year-old daughter contracted whooping cough. This young girl, Augusta was bedridden and despondent.

She was given the only medicine used at the time. It was cough syrup laced with codeine and opium.

The nurse accidentally gave her too much, and she died.

The Houghton family leased the house in the 1920s, to an undertaker, who used it as a funeral home for eight years.

The Houghton’s moved back into the house in the 1930s. Mr. Houghton died of a stroke in 1943. Mrs. Houghton, her children grown, then ran the home as a “boarding house” until her death in 1958.

Stone Lion Inn

By 1986, Becky Luker turned the building into a B&B. The renovations made on the old home, during this time, stirred the paranormal activity up.

But ghosts were present before this.

F.E. Houghton is believed to haunt the home as well as a dark, intimidating male presence in the basement. This mysterious entity is connected to this room because it was once used as the morgue.

Embalming table.

The embalming table used, still remains in the home.

But the ghost at Stone Lion that is seen the most is Augusta. She is a mischievous presence.

At first, Luker and her sons, hearing footsteps on a nightly basis, called the police—afraid of intruders. But these officers never found anyone.

On the third floor is a toy chest that once belonged to the Houghton children. The new owners often found the toys strewn about in the morning.

The remaining Houghton family members reassured them not to be concerned. It was just Augusta playing—as she had done for years, after her death.

Augusta is also heard running up and down the back staircase as well as running around the third floor. She is often heard giggling.

Many guests at this inn have reported encounters with this little girl.

Guest room.

They have seen her small figure tucking them into bed at night, and she often strokes people’s faces to wake them up in the morning.

She likes to squeeze guests toes as they sleep.

Other guests have complained that they couldn’t rest because Augusta played on their bed all night. Or that she bounced a wooden ball throughout the night.

Paranormal teams that have investigated this B&B have picked up cold spots throughout the inn, as well as EVPs of both a child’s voice and a male voice.

Logan’s Weeping Mother

2019-07-24T10:47:00.000-06:00

The legend states—

If you say, "weepy woman, weep" the statue will cry . . .

Logan, Utah

Olif and Julia Cronquist lived in Logan, Utah at the turn of the 19th century.

Mr. Cronquist was a respected county commissioner and dairy farmer. His wife, Julia, was a devoted mother.

Tragically, only three of this couples' eight children survived until adulthood.

Within twelve years—between 1889-1901 the couple lost:

Two sets of twins, the first boys and the second girls all died at a young age in separate scarlet fever outbreaks, and the fifth child was stillborn.

Julia also contracted scarlet fever, but despite ongoing health issues connected to this illness, she survived.

Despite her husband's support, Julia was inconsolable. Friends and neighbors often saw her in the city cemetery near her children's graves sobbing.

As a result of her own bout with scarlet fever, Julia grew weaker and weaker. She also tragically died in 1914, of valvular heart disease.

Her obituary stated in part—

"a splendid woman, tender, loving, patient, and true. Bearing a great burden without complaint and always seeking the happiness and comfort of others."

Weeping Mother

In tribute, Olif had an impressive monument placed upon his wife's grave, in 1917.

This statue of a beautiful, sad woman, located at the Logan City Cemetery, is said to be haunted.

Witnesses, over the years since state that this statue is seen weeping—during full moons and on the anniversaries of Julia's children deaths—four of them in March.

Others state this statue is seen moving—looking in the direction of the various children's graves.

Another report involves the statue actually wandering around this cemetery.

One recent report mentions that a mother/daughter witnessed Julia's ghost sitting near this monument crying. She then just disappeared.

Utah State University

This cemetery is near Utah State University. Because of this legend, a sign is posted warning visitors no one is allowed in the cemetery after dark.

Kings Island’s Playful Ghost

2019-07-20T14:24:00.000-06:00

Visitors go to Ohio’s Kings Island amusement park to eat funnel cake and enjoy the exciting rides.

Kings Island is located in Mason just outside Cincinnati. It opened in 1972 and has been this state’s favorite amusement park since.

The Beast

The most popular ride is called “The Beast.” When this wooden rollercoaster first opened in 1979, it was the tallest, fastest and longest coaster in the world.

Even today, forty years later, The Beast is still Kings Island's most popular ride.

But some visitors, while at the park, have gotten “ a thrill” of a very different kind.

Kings Island was built on land that was used for an ammunition factory (King’s Powder) from the late 1880s until the 1940s. During this time, there was a massive explosion that killed over one hundred people.

Dog Street Cemetery with
The Beast in background.

All that remains of this company is a small cemetery (Dog Street Cemetery)—that sits near the park’s exit, next to the parking lot.

This cemetery is one reason some feel the park is haunted.

One active spirit at Kings Island is a little girl. She is seen wearing a blue dress. Her ghost is spotted mostly in the park’s parking lot, skipping or playing “hide-and-seek” among the cars.

Park employees call her “Tram Girl” because of a game she likes to play with them.

As these drivers deliver their passengers at various points throughout the parking lot, this ghost likes to jump out in front of their vehicles—daring them to run over her.

One driver, in 2017, had just finished dropping off the last few passengers for the night and was headed for the main parking lot.

He was tired after a long day. So when his tram headlights illuminated a young girl, wearing a blue dress, run right in front of his vehicle, he was slow to react.

This driver did slam on his brakes, but he was sure he had hit her. But oddly he didn’t feel an impact or hear any screams.

He climbed out, but the parking lot was empty, and nothing was under the tram. After inspecting the front for damage, he was surprised there was none.

The little girl had disappeared as quickly, as she had appeared.

White Water Canyon at Kings Island.

This mischievous spirit is also seen at White Water Canyon in the park.

She is believed to be Jane Galeener, who lived with her mother, father, and younger brother on a section of the property that is now Kings Island.

Jane Galeener's gravestone in
Dog Street Cemetery.

She drowned in 1846, at the age of 5 in a lake, where White Water Canyon is located in the park today.

She is buried in Dog Street Cemetery.

Here is a video that shows how much fun The Beast is to ride.

A Haunted Governor’s Mansion

2019-07-17T09:34:00.000-06:00

Woodburn Mansion

For over 200 years, people have seen and heard ghosts at the historic Woodburn mansion in Dover, Delaware.

This beautiful, 1790s Georgian house has seven bedrooms and beautiful gardens.

Woodburn in the 1950s.

Several of Delaware’s leading citizens have lived in this house. In 1965, the state of Delaware bought the property, renovated it, and made it the governor’s mansion.

The first Woodburn ghost sighting happened in 1820. Dr. M.W. Bates the owner, at this time, invited a Methodist preacher, Lorenzo Dow to stay the night.

After socializing, Dow retired for the evening to an upstairs bedroom. The next morning, he passed another man on the stairs. The preacher noted this man was dressed in “colonial garb”—and was shuffling up the steps oddly.

When he reached the breakfast table, he asked the Bates’ who the other guest was. Baffled, they told him no other guests were in the home.

After he described this man, the couple felt certain it was Dr. Bates’ father, who had been dead for years.

Woodburn gardens.

Another ghost seen and heard at Woodburn is a “slave raider.”

Dan Cowgill, a Quaker, owned the mansion before the Civil War. The house was a stop along the Underground Railroad.

One night a group of angry raiders came to the mansion looking for escaped slaves. Cowgill was able to chase them off.

One raider attempted to escape by climbing a poplar tree in the front yard. He slipped and got caught in a knot of the tree. He hung there, trapped and unnoticed until he died.

This tree still stands.

To this day, witnesses report hearing his screams as he tries to escape.

Woodburn dining room.

Several governors’ wives have seen ghosts in the mansion’s dining room.

These women state they heard footsteps at all hours of the night in this room, as well as seeing men, dressed in revolutionary-era clothes floating across the room.

These ghosts seem to be more fun-loving than scary. The spirits in the house are called “wine ghosts.”

The reason for this is they imbibe whatever wine is left out. If glasses are left half-full, etc., witnesses return to find them empty.

When Governor Charles Terry Jr. lived in the mansion, one ghost, in particular, was observed helping himself to the mansion’s vintage wines in the dining room.

A previous owner, before it was the governor’s residence, stated every night he would fill a decanter with wine, he then would find it empty the next morning.

It seems these ghosts like to party.

The mansion also has a young female ghost. This girl is seen in the garden wearing a red-checkered gingham dress. She likes to splash water in the homes’ fountains and pools.

Fountain at Woodburn.

This young spirit “crashed” Governor Michael Castle’s inauguration in 1985.

Several guests felt something tugging at them throughout the ceremony. And many witnesses saw her floating shyly in the corner of the reception hall.

The public can visit this mansion—but by appointment only.

Haunted Lizzie Borden House

2019-07-15T18:40:00.003-06:00

Lizzie Borden House

The murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in 1892 are two of the most gruesome in American history.

The Borden’s lived in Fall River, Massachusetts with Andrew’s two daughters, Emma, and Lizzie from a previous marriage.

Lizzie Borden

The two were discovered “hacked to death” with an ax. Lizzie became the authorities primary murder suspect and was tried and acquitted in a two-week sensationalized trial.

No one else was ever accused, and these murders remain unsolved. But to this day many believe that Lizzie actually did murder her father and stepmother.

Much of the evidence that pointed to Lizzie being the murderess, for some reason, was ignored or even found to be inadmissible during her trial.

Lizzie did not appreciate her frugal father, and she and her sister had an open disdain for Abby—calling her “Mrs. Borden.”

Lizzie Borden House today.

The sisters just before the murders had fought with their father over money matters—they were due to inherit over seven and a half million dollars—in today’s value-- at their father’s death.

Lizzie was seen burning one of her dresses, by a friend, that she claimed to be paint-stained, just days after the murders. The suspected murder weapon, a broken hatchet, was found hidden in the home’s basement.

The police, when they questioned Lizzie after the murders, found her statements to be “inconsistent,” and she provided several changing alibis.

Andrew and Abby Borden

The day of the murders, Emma was away from the Borden house, and the family maid, Maggie was outside cleaning windows. Lizzie was home—she claimed to be in a barn in back of the house looking for fishing tackle and eating pears.

The police found this barn so hot—they felt no one could have stayed in it for twenty minutes, let alone for an hour and a half.

The Borden house is not that large, but Lizzie claimed not to hear or see anything.

There were ninety minutes between the two murders, and the police found that it was odd that a murderer would stay around for this long-- and then not to have been seen by Lizzie or the maid?

But most of this was not taken into account at the trial. When the Borden’s crushed skulls were exhibited, Lizzie fainted. The all-male jury was sympathetic—after all, how could a petite, Sunday school teacher do this?

Today the Lizzie Borden house is a museum, and a bed & breakfast. Visitors can take day tours or stay overnight. Tour guides, visitors, and paranormal teams all feel it is haunted.

Bodies of Andrew and Abby Borden found murdered.

Andrew Borden was murdered as he napped on the settee in the family parlor. Abby was killed in the family guest room upstairs—she had nineteen blows to the head.

Strange mist captured on camera
in Borden guest room.

These two rooms have a lot of activity. Most who enter this house, that has been restored to its 19th-century appearance, report feelings of overwhelming sadness.

Tour guides mention being touched by unseen hands. Many report something tugged at their clothes.

There have been reports of people seeing the apparitions of Andrew, Abby, and Lizzie in the home. Strange mists have also been observed.

There are also reports of something unseen whispering in people's ears.

One of the strangest phenomena to happen occurs by the bed in the guest room where Abby Borden was killed.

A strange image caught in a mirror
at Lizzie Borden house.

Countless people have closed their eyes and stood on the spot where she died. They all report feeling as if someone shoved or pushed them on the back. Others feel a force coming through the floor that tries to tip them.

Witnesses also mention hearing children’s laughter in the homes attic rooms.

One folktale belief is that the spirits in the house can be “bribed” to leave the living alone.

Visitors often place a few coins on Mr. Borden’s bureau. While the young spirits respond best to small toy offerings.

The following video is a good summary of the tensions in the Borden family, as well as an explanation for why there are young spirits in the house.

Phantom Transplants

2019-07-13T19:39:00.001-06:00

When my brother passed away, he was an organ donor. A woman in Greece wrote to thank the family for his corneas. I wonder does she see the beautiful colors he mixed for his paintings?

Sonny Graham was on the verge of death in 1955 due to “congestive heart failure,” he had been given just six months to live.

It was a happy day when he received word that a heart had become available.

It belonged to a 33-year-old man, Terry Cottle who had committed suicide by one shot to the brain, leaving his young bride behind.

After Graham was informed who his donor was, he began to write Cottle’s widow in appreciation. The two met, fell in love and married.

Sunny Graham and his wife.

But love for this young woman wasn’t the only thing these two men shared. Graham discovered that he now craved beer and hot dogs—which were Cottle’s favorites.

Twelve years after his successful transplant, Graham took his own life by shooting himself in the head. Leaving this wife to mourn twice.

The cravings and personality changes that occurred in Sonny Graham’s life are actually often everyday experiences among transplant recipients—but I should note most do not commit suicide.

Organ transplants, including heart, liver, kidney, and lung, etc. have saved many lives. There were more than half a million performed in the U.S. alone, between 1988 and 2016.

There are countless stories about the unusual side effects that occur after these transplants.

Claire Slyvia's book.

Claire Sylvia had a heart transplant at the age of 44. She believes that along with this vital organ that saved her life, she also received her donors’ tastes and memories.

After her operation, she was asked what she would like to do first. Without hesitation, she answered, “I am dying for a beer right now.”

This was strange for Sylvia had always hated the taste of beer.

Over the next few months, she began to have a variety of strange food cravings. Most notably McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets, something she had never desired.

Sylvia now had allergies that she did not have in the past as well as a heightened empathic ability. She also became extremely moody, which was not like her.

She had a series of odd dreams where a thin, tall young man talked to her. He told her his name was “Tim.”

Her curiosity peaked, Sylvia did some research and discovered that a young man named Timothy Lamirande was involved in a motorcycle accident on the same day she received her heart transplant.

He was her donor.

Tim Laminrande

She met his family, and they confirmed all the cravings she was having were Tim’s favorite foods—especially beer.

Oddly, they told her he had just gone to McDonald’s the day of the accident, and a sack of Chicken McNuggets had been found next to his body.

Scientists put forth the idea of “cell memory.” Where cells within organs retain the original owner’s memories and pass them along.

Here is a paper about changes in heart transplant recipients that parallel the personalities of their donors.

The Restless Spirits at Waverly Plantation

2019-07-11T15:14:00.002-06:00

Wavery Plantation Oaks

A loving husband had this unique Southern plantation home designed and built for his wife in the mid-1800s. But she tragically died, before Waverly Mansion, located in Clay County Mississippi was finished.

George Hampton Young was a colonel who moved from Georgia to Mississippi to establish a cotton plantation along the Tombigbee River.

Waverly Mansion--today.

Young and his ten children moved into their new home in the 1850s. He ran an impressive farm.

Waverly, besides providing large quantities of cotton had a tannery, lumber mill, gristmill, brick kiln, icehouse, gardens, orchards, and livestock. The plantation also manufactured its own gas, which was piped into the house to illuminate it.

Waverly has a unique architectural feature, not often seen in the South, a massive copula sits atop this home that affords the visitor a 360-degree view of the surrounding countryside.

This mansion also is known as one of the most haunted homes in the South.

The Young family maintained Waverly until the last of the ten children died in 1913. It then was left to slowly deteriorate.

Robert and Donna Snow fell in love with the old house and spent several years in the 1960s, restoring it to its original splendor. It was made a National Historic Landmark in 1973.

During this time, the Snow’s became acquainted with an assortment of ghosts that haunt Waverly.

The home today is run as a house museum.

During the Civil War several Confederate officers, friends of the Young family, recuperated from battle wounds at Waverly.

In one mirror from this period, a strange sight is seen. Visitors report a Confederate soldier standing behind them, only to turn around and find no one is there.

Colonel Young’s wife, who never lived in the house, is observed wandering through the second-floor rooms. She turns and stares at visitors and then slowly disappears.

Waverly family cemetery.

The Colonel himself is seen riding a phantom horse near the family cemetery. He is also seen walking through this graveyard and in the yard near the mansion.

The most active ghost at the plantation has been seen and heard by many tour guides and visitors.

This four-year-old girl is believed to be the daughter of a Young family friend. Her apparition appears so real that visitor’s on tours have tried to find what adults she belongs to.

Staircase landing.

She is usually spotted on the landing of the spiral staircase between the second and third floors.

It is believed that she died of diphtheria in the home during the Civil War.

This young ghost is also heard crying for her mother.

Another sound often noted involves many voices attending a dinner party—they are heard laughing and enjoying music in the mansion’s ballroom.

Here is a brief video about the young ghost, known as “Little Girl Lost.” The Snow’s daughter and another witness are interviewed.

The Tallman House Ghost

2019-07-09T22:30:00.000-06:00

This is a story that was highlighted on the television series, Unsolved Mysteries. The Tallman House Ghost is one of the best-known stories this series aired. It is also considered the most frightening.

It is about a family that lived in the small farming community of Horicon, Wisconsin.

Tallman House

The Tallman’s, Debbie and Alan moved into a one-story home with their children in 1986.

They were excited about owning their own home.

But strange things began to happen to the family once they bought a bunk bed, at a second-hand store.

Tallman bunk bed.

The couple came to believe what happened next was somehow connected to this wooden bunk bed.

They experienced nine months of terror and fear.

Their children had never been sick, even with colds, but mysteriously as soon as this bed was brought into the home—their children, two daughters, and a son, became seriously ill—for no apparent reason.

A clock radio near their son, Danny’s bed began to have a mind of its own. It would turn off and on and switch channels without assistance.

At first, when Danny told his parents about this, they did not believe him. But then strange things began to happen to Alan.

Painting the basement one day, he left his work to eat dinner. When he returned, he found his paintbrush had been turned upside down. The bristles were now sticking up out of the paint gallon.

One depiction of the dark figure.

Their youngest daughter, while sleeping in the lower bunk was startled awake, several times by a dark figure, staring at her, that was surrounded by a red glow.

Several weeks later her brother, Danny, saw the same figure.

The family had their pastor, Wayne Dobratz visit the home, and he told the couple he sensed “something evil” was haunting them.

After this, the whole family began to hear doors slam shut violently. They also heard strange voices.

The children’s visions continued, and Danny, became so frightened, he told his parents he wanted to move.

Allan now frustrated and angry told the entity to leave his children alone, that he was willing to fight it if necessary.

After this, the dark entity focused upon him. Returning home late one night from work, he heard an odd howling sound that evolved into a voice calling, “come here.”

He followed this voice around the house, but nothing was there.

Depiction of garage burning.

When he returned to the garage, it was on fire, so he ran into the house to retrieve a fire extinguisher. But when he returned, everything was calm. There was no damage or sign that anything had burned.

When Alan re-entered the house, he went to retrieve his metal lunch pail, which he had set down earlier, but the entity yanked it from his hands and threw it across the room.

Alan began to sleep in his daughter’s room to provide protection and comfort. One night a fog rose from the floor and surrounded him. He then heard a voice say, “You’re dead.”

Debby called the family pastor, once more. She explained Alan was distraught. Dobratz felt the Tallman’s home had a “Demonic presence.”

Their pastor didn't find any evidence they were fabricating the incidents.

Several weeks later, Alan working late, asked a male relative to stay with his family. This man, a skeptic, did not believe what the Tallman’s had told him about the haunting.

That night he changed his mind.

The same dark figure, glowing red appeared, in the children’s room and screamed. Debby told this relative, who was now in shock, to gather up the children, they were leaving.

The Tallman’s shortly after this had the bunk bed destroyed. This worked, but despite the activity settling down, they moved to a different town.

Here is the Unsolved Mysteries episode that originally aired in October of 1988, it is the second case highlighted--beginning at the 16:33 minute mark and ending at 28:30.

I write about another favorite Unsolved Mystery episode entitled, The Tatum Haunting, here.

Portland’s Haunted Old Town Pizza

2019-07-08T08:01:00.000-06:00

For well over a century Portland, Oregon’s Old North End had a shady reputation at best.

Since the 1970s a restaurant, Old Town Pizza has been located in once was, the lobby of the Merchant Hotel. This popular restaurant inherited the hotel’s resident ghost.

The Merchant Hotel

The Merchant was built in 1880 by two successful lumber barons. It was built atop part of Portland’s infamous Shanghai Tunnels.

These tunnels were used to imprison unsuspecting men, from the 1870s until well into the 1900s. These men were either drunk or drugged and then forced to work on ships without pay.

I share the history and hauntings of these tunnels in my post entitled Portland’s Shanghai Tunnels.

Shanghai Tunnel under Old Town Pizza

Despite this nefarious beginning, the Merchant Hotel had a good reputation. But this hotel was also known to provide its elite clientele with “ladies of the night.”

One young lady, Nina (pronounced “Nigh-na”) was sold into prostitution by Portland’s thriving white slavery trade. She became a “working woman” at the Merchant.

Missionaries convinced Nina to share or “rat out” several of Portland’s powerful crime bosses in an attempt to clean up the neighborhood.

Nina agrees to give this information, in exchange for a chance to escape a life she had not chosen. But soon after she cooperated, she was found dead in the hotel.

She had been pushed down an elevator shaft to her death. Since her ghost has not left what was once the hotel.

One room in Old Town Pizza

Guests at Old Town Pizza report feeling someone is watching them, others mention smelling a floral scent without source, they are told, “Oh, that is just Nina.”

One secluded booth at the back of the restaurant sits next to a brick wall that once was the elevator shaft. Nina’s name often appears mysteriously, written on this wall.

Secluded booth at Old Town Pizza

She has been seen for over one hundred and fifty years at this location.

She is described as tall, wearing a long black dress, with a lovely smile. She is often seen walking down the stairs. She is also seen standing in the restaurant overlooking the diners as they eat.

Her apparition is sometimes spotted beneath this restaurant, in the basement, where one of the many Shanghai Tunnels is still located.

The following is a short video about this haunting. It includes a personal experience one Old Town Pizza employee had with Nina.