PERRY HALL PARANORMAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
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Alcatraz:
Located in the San Francisco Bay
Charted by Spanish explorers in 1775 and named La isla de los Alcatraces, or, Island of Pelicans. The island was taken over in 1847 by the US military and in 1853 a military fortress was started. One year later a light house was constructed to guide ships through the Golden Gate.
In 1859, Alcatraz recieved its first prisoners which was a contengent of miltary court-martialed convicts. During the Civil War, around 1861, Confederate prisoners, Confederate privateers and southern sympathizers were also housed as prisoners at Alcatraz. The conditions were horrible. Prisoners were often bound by six foot chains to iron balls to restrict their movements. There were no bathrooms, heat or running water and because of the over crowding for the space available, lice infestation and disease ran from man to man. The prisoners survived on a menu of bread and water and were at times confined to "sweat-boxes".
During the period of 1870 to 1880, indians that refuse to "conform" to the white mans laws were confined to Alcatraz with the worst of the military prisoners. Often blood shed between the two races resulted as fights from disagreements broke out.
By 1902, the prison population had grown to 500 men per year and in 1904, work began to modernize the facility. Construction was completed in 1909 and in 1911 the facility was officially named the United States Disciplinary Barracks. Though considered to be modern by some standards, horrible conditions still exisited and the use of chains, shackled to the ankle with a 12 lb iron ball was still a practise.
In 1933 the facility was handed over to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and new construction started almost immediately. A new cell block was built atop the old fort which for the first time incorporated cat walks, gun walks, metal detectors, electric locks, cylone and barbed wire fencing, gun towers and tear gas containers were fitted in the ceiling of the dining hall and other locations inside the facility. Amoung the first inmates to the new facility were Al Capone, Doc Barker, the last surviving member of the Ma Barker gang, George "machine gun" Kelly, Robert "Birdman" Stroud, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, and Floyd Hamilton, a driver and gang member for Bonnie and Clyde.
Alcatraz was a place of penitence, like Eastern State Penn, both were set up following the Quaker design for the American Prison System, inmates had five rights, food, clothing, a private cell, a shower once a week and the right to see a doctor.
Each of the cells measured 4 x 8 feet, had a single fold up bunk, a toilet, a chair and desk, and a sink. Prisoner's were awakened at 6:30 and were given 25 minutes to clean his cell and then stand to be counted. At 6:55 the prisoner's would be marched in single file to the mess hall, there they were given 20 minutes to eat and line up for work assignments. This routine was repititious, never varied and was methodical.
Considered to some be an un-escapable prison, Alcatraz continued to house prisoner's until 1963 when it closed its doors for good.
The fact that Alcatraz was built on an island and kept so isolated from public view, tales of inmates being tortured and their spirits coming back to haunt the halls of Alcatraz began to circulate.
The Hauntings of Alcatraz
Cell 14D, one of the "hole" cells is believed by some to be very active with spirits. Visitors and employees have reported feeling a raw coldness and at times a sudden "intensity" encompassed the cell.
Tales have been told of an event on the 1940's, when a prisoner locked in 14D screamed throughout the night that a creature with glownig eyes was killing him. The next day guards found the man strangled to death in the cell that he was alone in. No one ever claimed responsibility for the convicts death, however the next day when doing a head count, the guards counted one too many prisoners. Some of the guards claimed seeing the dead convict in line with the other inmates, but only for a second before he vanished.
Cell Block A, B, and C. Visitors to cell blocks A and B claim, and often report they hear crying and moaning in these area's. Upon investigation, nothing out of the norm is ever found.
While visiting cell block C, a psychic reported an encounter with a disruptive spirit named Butcher. Upon reviewing the prison records for cell block C, an inmate named Abie Maldowitz had been murdered by an ex mob hitman know as Butcher.
Al Capone. Al Capone spent his last years at Alcatrz and took up playing a banjo with a prison band. In fear of reprisal that he would be killed in the "yard" during recreation time, he gained special permission to spend his recreation time in the shower room, practicing his banjo playing. It has been reported by visitors, employees and even a park ranger that banjo music can be heard coming from the shower room and the prison walls.
The Utility Corridor. The utility corridor where prisoners Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard were shot dead during a failed escape is reported to be very active. Sounds of "clanging", screams, and eerie voices from unknown sources an be heard.
Warden Johnson, nicknamed "The Golden Rule Warden", along with visitors to the facility reported the sounds of someone sobbing from inside the prison walls though no explanation for the sounds were ever discovered.
Believed to be the most haunted area of Alacatraz is cell block D, solitary, or referred to as the "Hole". Some rangers refuse to go to that area alone. To those that do visit the area, a feeling of destitute, loneliness, sadness, disorientation and sudden intensity pervades the corridors and cells. It has been documented that as much as a 20 degree temperature change will be experienced in cell 14-D and that wearing a jacket helps very little.
Employees and visitors to the entrance of this location have reported the sounds of voices and men crying out in pain have been heard. From the doorway to the "hole" apparitions of people moving about at the bottom of the steps have been reported.
Other experiences over the years include guards smelling smoke with no fires being found, unexplained cold spots and apparitions of military personnel or prisoners.
Bell Witch Cave
The Bell Witch is a ghost story from American southern folklore. The legend of the Bell Witch, also called the Bell Witch Haunting, revolved around a series of strange events allegedly experienced by the Bell family of Adams Tennessee between 1817 and 1821
The Bell Witch Cave is a karst cave located in Adams Tennessee near where the Bell Farm once stood. The cave is approximately 490 feet (150 m) long.
This cave has been associated with The Bell Witch, a period of time when the Bell Family was allegedly haunted by the Bell Witch. The cave has no real connection to the haunting, however, it is located on property once owned by the Bell family. Many believe that when the witch departed, she fled to the sanctuary of this cave.
These events are said to have been witnessed and documented by hundreds of people, among them future President of the United States Andrew Jackson, and consequently the episode represents one of the most famous instances of paranormal events in history.
The Bell Witch was believed to be Kate Batts, an eccentric neighbor of John Bell's, who had sued him for cheating her in a land deal. The stories of land sale conflict involving Bell do have documentation although neither case has any connection to Kate Batts.
Other paranormal theories are that the "witch" was actually a poltergeist or the Bell home had been built on a Native American burial ground.
The events of the Haunting were used as the basis for the 2006 film An American Haunting and may have influenced production of The Blair Witch Project.
According to the legend, the first manifestation of the haunting occurred in 1817 when John Bell encountered a strange animal in a cornfield on his property. The animal, described as having had the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit, vanished when Bell shot at it. This incident was quickly followed by a series of strange beating and gnawing noises manifesting around, and eventually inside, the Bell residence. After these occurrences, the Bell children said their bedclothes were being regularly pulled off and tossed onto the floor by an invisible force.
The family then reported a voice choking and making awful, low, guttural noises. Betsy Bell, the family's younger daughter and the only daughter still living at home, was soon after violently assaulted, her hair pulled and her face slapped by an invisible force.
These events continued for over a year before John Bell reported them to his neighbors, James Johnston and his wife, who later said they witnessed events. At this point, the strange events experienced by the Bell family became well known in the Red River community, especially reports of a voice conversing loudly and clearly, singing, quoting from the Bible and accurately describing events taking place miles away.
Another major development in the story is the involvement of future U.S. President Andrew Jackson, who heard of the disturbances and decided to observe them in person in 1819.
On approaching the Bell property, Jackson's entourage encountered an invisible presence that stopped his wagon in its tracks. When Jackson acknowledged that the witch was responsible, the wagon was able to proceed unhindered.
One of the men in Jackson's entourage declared himself to be a witch tamer who intended to kill the spirit. After this proclaimation, the man began screaming and contorting his body. Jackson and his entourage left the Bell property by midday the following day. He is quoted as later saying, "I'd rather fight the entire British Army than to deal with the Bell Witch".
Buxton Inn
Located in Granville Ohio
Built in 1812 by Orin Granger and called The Tavern, the building originally served as a post office and a stagecoach stop between Columbus and Newark. The Inn was bought in 1865 by Major Buxton who changed the name to the Buxton Inn and ran it til 1905. The Buxton Inn is the oldest operating Inn in Ohio. Some of the more famous people that have lodged at this Inn are Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, and Charles Dickens.
Shortly after the turn of the century, Bonnie Ethel Bounell took over the Inn and ran it until 1960 when it was purchased by Orville and Audrey Orr. After several years of renovating the Buxton Inn was re-opened and is still in operation today.
The reports of paranormal activity includes Major Buxton and Bonnie Ethel Bounell who is also known as the "lady in blue" and died in room number nine.
The present owner, Mr Orr reports to have heard the locked front door open and someone walking in and up the stairs.
The lady in blue has been seen walking the halls and corridors of the Buxton Inn and a smell of perfume or fragrance from the era has been noted.
Visitors and employees have smelled and felt the presence of unseen spirits throughout the Inn.
Though it is not believed there is any relationship to the sign hanging outside the Inn, the phantom image of a cat is often seen wandering the halls and even seen entering some of the rooms.
Cashtown Inn
Located in Cashtown Pa
Built in 1797, the Cashtown Inn, west of Gettysburg, served as one of the first stagecoach lay-overs in the Pennsylvania area. During the campaign of Gettysburg of 1863, General A. P. Hill used the Inn as the Confederate headquarters. Confederate soldiers took over the town.
Numerous activities have been reported by guests of this 1797 Inn, to and include the sighting of a Confederate soldier, footsteps being heard to walk across the third level floor, cold spots, a rocking chair moving on its own and dresser photo's being moved around. This inn, appeared in the movie "Gettysburg," and was featured in the books and videos, "Ghosts of Gettysburg" and "Haunted Gettysburg."
The basement of the Inn was used as a field hospital and it is said that amputated limbs were piled so high that they blocked the sunlight from entering the basement windows.
Crescent Hotel
A number of rooms are haunted in this historic hotel. Room 218 is the spot where Michael, an Irish stonemason, landed when he fell from the hotel's roof during construction. His ghost is said to bang on the walls and turn the lights and television on and off. Rooms 202 and 424 are also said to be haunted. Outside of the Recreation Room, the ghost of Dr. Norman Baker often appears, looking a bit confused. He ran a controversial hospital and health resort in the building during the 1930s. A nurse, dressed in a white uniform, has been seen on the third floor. A woman in Room 419 introduces herself as a cancer patient to guests and housekeepers, then vanishes. Also roaming the grounds is a gentleman in Victorian clothing who haunts the lobby, the confused ghost of Doctor Baker (who ran the facility in the 1930s when it was a hospital/health spa), and the ghost of a nurse dressed in white who wanders the entire hotel.
Guests have reported sightings and other odd happenings in a number of guest rooms, the lobby, dining room and the grounds of this great historic hotel in Haunted Eureka Springs.
You don't need to stay in a haunted room to see a real ghost at the Crescent Hotel. Outside of the Recreation Room, the ghost of Dr. Norman Baker often appears, looking a bit confused. He ran a controversial hospital and health resort in the building during the 1930s. Many people believe honestly that the spring water that flows underneath the hotel is high in energy and it attracts ghostly apparitions. Is this just a publicity gimmick to help a failing hotel? It could be, but actually the hotel was starting to do well before the ghosts were sighted.
The Crystal Dining Room of the Crescent Hotel is particularly active, and many spirits in Victorian garb have been spotted there at the tables or in the mirrors. Once, at Christmastime, the staff reported leaving a Christmas tree and presents at one end of the locked and empty Crystal Dining Room. Upon their return, the staff found the tree and presents moved to the other end of the room, and chairs facing the tree in a semi-circle.
Croke Patterson Mansion
Located in Denver Colorado
Built in 1890 by Thomas B. Croke, this residence was one of the country’s most elegant homes build during this era. It was modeled after a French chateau and sits on Denver's prestigious Capitol Hill. It is also said to be one of the most haunted.
According to the legend Thomas B. Croke only entered the estate one time and was so shaken by “whatever” was there, that he never returned. Two years later it was sold to Thomas M. Patterson. For several years, the building served many purposes, a radio station, dance studio, a boarding house and then it was converted to an office building. It was during the renovation stages to office spaces in the 1970’s that construction crews began to experience strange occurrences.
After completing certain stages, the workers would often return to find that the tasks they had completed had been “undone.” After this occurred, guard dogs were left in the building to protect the property from any intruders. The next day the two Doberman Pinschers were found dead on the sidewalk after having jumped or thrown from a third-story window. When the renovations were finished, the new employees began to notice office equipment operate on its own.
A seance was held to determine who or what was haunting the building and it was said to be the spirit of a small girl whose body was buried in the cellar. When the basement was excavated, no remains of a little girl were ever found.
A spirit has, on numerous occasions, been seen going up and down the ground floor stairs and voices from unknown origins have been heard . It has been reported that Mr Patterson, has been seen regularly in the courtyard between the mansion and the carriage house.
Loud and disruptive noises from the third floor level have been investigated only to find nothing there.
Eastern State Penitentiary
Designed by John Haviland and opened in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary. Its revolutionary system of incarceration, dubbed the "Pennsylvania System" or Separate system, originated and encouraged solitary confinement as a form of rehabilitation. The Penitentiary was intended not simply to punish, but to move the criminal toward spiritual reflection and change. The method was a Quaker-inspired system of isolation from other prisoners, with labor. The early system was strict. To prevent distraction, knowledge of the building, and even mild interaction with guards, inmates were hooded whenever they were outside their cells. Each cell even included a personal exercise yard. Proponents of the system believed strongly that the criminals, exposed, in silence, to thoughts of their behavior and the ugliness of their crimes, would become genuinely penitent. Thus the new word, penitentiary. Charles Dickens visited the prison in the 1840s and found the conditions appalling. He described the inmates at Eastern Penn as being "buried alive..." and wrote about the psychological torture the inmates suffered at the hands of their captors.
As early as the 1940's employees and prisoners alike began reporting unusual activity within the prison's walls. But by now the sightings had increased a hundredfold. In 1951, the prison began to house more violent criminals such as murderers and rapists and this fact, combined with the prison's history of using physical torture as a form of punishment, have both contributed to it's being haunted. Voices, laughter and cackling have also been heard in the restricted Cell block 12 area. Other active areas include Cell block 6, where shadowy figures have been seen against the walls, and Cell block 4, where ghostly faces have been spotted. Visitors have reported hearing footsteps in the long, dark corridors and wails that seem to originate from the secluded cells. One major paranormal episode reported occurred to a locksmith doing restoration work in Cell Block #4. According to the tale, he was working to remove a 140-year-old lock from the cell door when a massive force overcame him so powerfully he was unable to move.
Some believe when he removed the key it opened a gateway to the horrific past and offered the spirits caught behind its bars a pathway out. The man spoke of experiencing an out-of-body state as he was drawn toward the negative energy which burst through the cell.
Anguished faces appeared on the cell wall, hundreds of distorted forms swirled around the cell block and one dominating form seemed to beckon the locksmith to him. The man's experience was so vivid, years after he would shudder in fear when he talked about it.
Another common ghost sighting takes place in a guard tower high atop the prison's confining brick walls. The figure is thought to be some former prison guard, destined to stand watch over his wards for eternity. While some paranormal encounters give the spectator a sense of peace and benevolence, the spirits at Eastern State are usually angry and malevolent.
Tourists and employees have reported hearing weeping, giggling and whispering coming from inside the prison walls.
Fort Howard
Fort Howard, formerly known as North Point, dates back to the early 1800's. Fort Howard was built to protect the Baltimore Port. Being rich in history, this location boasts of paranormal activity. From the era of utilizing slave labor, reports of apparitions of slaves have been sighted hanging from tree's. The farm, which also dates back to the early 1800's, has its own family cemetary on the property. It has been reported that a widow can be seen in one of the farmhouse windows, patiently waiting for her lost husband to return from the war. Many people report they encounter a "heavy feeling' and the presence of someone watching them during their visit to this location.
Fort Mifflin
The fortifications and building at Fort Mifflin have a long history dating back to 1772.
The longest reported ghost from this location is that of Elizabeth Pratt, known as the "Screaming Woman,' . It is said that she hung herself after her daughter died of typhoid fever, from the balcony railing just outside their personal quarters, and her screams can still be heard today. The blacksmith shop is supposedly haunted by Jacob, the resident worker who worked constantly with the doors. Then there is a very helpful spirit guide in revolutionary era clothing also, found near the powder magazine. Apparently, he will give you a top-notch tour of the fort, if you don't mind a ghost guide. Finally, the best known haunting is of Billy Howe in casemate 5. He was a prisoner during the Civil War that escaped the Fort only to be recaptured, brought back and hung for murder.
Gettysburg Battlefield
Located in Gettysburg Pennsylvania
Overview of the Battle.
The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1--July 3rd, 1863, fought in and around the town of Gettysburg Pa, as part of the Gettysburg campaign was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American civil war and is frequently cited as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Mead's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's invasion of the north.
Following his success at Chancellorsville in May 1863, Lee led his army through the Shenandoah Valley for his second invasion of the north, hoping to reach as far as Harrisburg Pa., or even Philadelphia, and to influence northern politicians to give up their prosecution of the war. Prodded by President Abraham Lincoln, Maj. Joseph Hooker moved his army in pursuit but was relieved just three days before the battle and replaced by Meade.
The two armies began to collide at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, as Lee urgently concentrated his forces there. Low ridges to the northwest of town were defended initially by a Union cavalry division, which was soon reinforced with two corps of Union infantry.
However, two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, collapsing the hastily developed Union lines, sending the defenders retreating through the steets of town to the hills just to the south. On the second day of battle, most of both armies had assembled. The Union line was laid out in a defensive formation resembling a fishhook.
Lee launched a heavy assault on the Union left flank and fierce fighting raged at Little Round Top, Wheatfield, Devil's Den and the Peach Orchard. On the Union right, demonstrations escalated into full scale assaults on Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. Across the battlefield, despite significant losses, the Union defenders held their lines.
On the third day of battle, July 3rd, fighting resumed on Culp's Hill, and cavalry battles raged
to the east and south, but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Pickett's Charge was
repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire at great losses to the Confederate army. Lee led his
army on a torutous retreat back to Virginia.
Between 46,000 and 51,000 Americans were casualties in the three day battle. That November, President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National
Cemetery to honor the fallen and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg
Address.
Hotel Del Coronado
Located in Coronado California
On December 19, 1885, Elisha S. Babcock, retired railroad executive from Evansville
Indiana, Hampton L. Story of the Story and Clark Piano Company of Chicago, and Jacob Gruendike, president of the First National Bank of San Diego bought all of Coronado and North Island for $110,000.
A 24 page prospectus titled "Coronado Beach, San Diego California asserted that "The Coronado Beach Company has been organized with a capital of One Million dollars." The officers were Babcock as president, Story as vice president and Gruendike as secretary treasurer.
Also involved with the company were three men from Indiana, a railroad baron named Josephus Collett of Terre Haute, a lumber merchant named Heber Ingle of Patoka, and John Inglehart, a miller who later became famous through the development of Swansdown flour.
Construction of the hotel began in March of 1887 and was finished just 11 months later in February of 1888 at the cost of one million dollars.
Notable guest that have lodged at the hotel include Charlie Chaplin, L. Frank Baum, Thomas Edison, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh and Veronica Covance.
Edward VIII was a guest in 1920 when his future wife Wallis Simpson lived in Coronado.
Besides the notable nation wide and world wide guest, the hotel also supplied lodging for the following presidents. Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.
The movie and book by Stephen King, 1408, was inspired from real life news stories about parapsychologist Christopher Chacon's investigation of a haunted room in the Hotel Del Coronado.
The Hotel Coronado has appeared in several films like, The Stunt Man, My Blue Heaven and Some LIke It Hot with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
In 1892 Kate Morgan checked in to room 302, then 3312 and now 3327, using an alias to register with. She had stomach cancer and was awaiting her brother who was a doctor to meet her and give her medicine, but her never arrived. Six days later she found on the beach steps, dead of an apparent self inflicted gun shot wound to the head. It is believed her death was a suicide.
Since her untimely death, employee's and guest alike have reported seeing a ghostly figure of a young woman in a lace dress and strange apparitional faces. There have been reports of unatural spirited breezes and odd noises.
Strange supernatural occurrences have been reported since the early days of the hotel. One report was Kate Morgan's intitials drawn in a steamy bathroom mirror.
Researcher Christine Donovan has done extensive research and has concluded that not all of the paranormal activity at the Hotel Del Coronado is directly that of Kate Morgan.
Jean Bonnet Tavern
Located in Bedford Pennsylvania
The land, 690 acres, was acquired in 1762, which was under French rule, by Hans Robert Callender, a trader with the Native American tribes of Pennsylvania. Callender was also a commissary for troop supplies and later became a scout for General George Washington. The location was also a trade route for the Shawnee Indians.
The land and the building were purchased by Jean Bonnet in 1779 and was opened as an Inn, which was used as a gathering place by disgruntled and protesting farmers during the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion, This uprising was suppressed months later by forces under President George Washington.
It is documented that the building known as Jean Bonnet Tavern was once a French Fort.
There are many stories of ghosts at the Jean Bonnet Tavern. Many people that experience a haunting come away fascinated and not frightened.
The spirit of a man hung in the Tavern who was suspected of being a French Spy has been seen many times sitting at the bar and, at the exact location he was hung at, inside the Tavern. So the French would not find his remains, he was buried under the floor.
The new owners of the Tavern replaced the floor boards in the 1950's and a skeleton of a man was found and tested and was proven to date back to the 1700's.
The Tavern was also used by the English to hold court in and in one court session, a horse thief was chased into the building by Shawnee Indians. After the Indians circled the Tavern/Fort and threatened to attack, the English quickly tried the man, hung him in the hall way and gave his corpse to the Indians as proof of justice.
There have been reports by the employee's that sounds of a noisy party is going on, or that someone is playing the old piano, but when they investigate the sounds, nothing is ever found.
Visitors have reported spoons and forks flying off tables, being touched when no one is around, and seeing groups of people watching shows offered at the Tavern, dressed in the clothing of a different era.
Quite often, pictures taken in and around the Jean Bonnet Tavern have captured spirit images of people sitting around the tables and at the bar.
Jericho Covered Bridge
This bridge, located in Kingsville Maryland is the last covered bridge standing in Harford County Maryland. Sheathed in cedar boards and supported by a timber bean "Burr Arch', the 100 foot long bridge as built in 1865 and restored in 1982. Local legend has it that several lynchings occurred at this bridge during and after the Civil War, in which the captured people were hung from the upper rafters, sometimes many at one time.
According to urban legend, if you stop your car on the narrow bridge late at night, put down all your windows, turn off your engine and headlights, and honk your horn 3 times, then you will see hanging bodies behind your car. Some people have reported that if you drop your keys outside your car it serves as a peace offering to the spirits, in that you mean no harm to them. It is also said that if you get out of the car and walk the length of the bridge and back, you will see a ghost named Will. This is supposedly a benevolent spirit that will "talk" to visitors.
Lalaurie House
Located at 1140 Royal Street, New Orleans
Dr Louis Lalaurie and his wife, Delphine, built and moved into this mansion in 1832, which is considered to be the most frightening and most haunted estate in the French Quarter.
The out side of the mansion was plain by comparison, but the interior was, by anyone's standards, plush and lavish. Guests dined on European china in bright parlors illuminated by large, ornate chandeliers. Hand-carved mahogany doors opened into the finest social and grand events of the era.
Those that were fortunate enough to attend her gathering were treated as royalty by the multitude of slaves owned by Madame Lalaurie. She was considered one of the elite socialites of the French Quarters.
This was the facade Madame Lalaurie wanted admirers and friends to see. There was another side, a dark side that she kept hid from the public.
Behind her "social appearance", there was a side of Madame Lalaurie that was at best, sick, distorted and possibly psychopathic. This came to light after a fire broke out in the kitchen.
The blaze ran through the entire house and after it was extinguished, the firefighters found a secret door in the attic which held the true horrific secrets of Madame Lalaurie. Slaves were found strapped on operating tables, chained to the walls, and confined in cages. Woman slaves were cut open and their entrails wrapped around them. One had her mouth sewn shut with animal feces inside. Human parts and organs were found in buckets around the attic.
The male slaves were treated even worse. Mouths had been sewn shut, hands sewn to different parts of the body, fingernails ripped off, eyes blinded by sticks, sexual organs cut off, limbs deliberately broken and re-set at the wrong angle. It is even said that one of the slaves had a hole drilled in his head and a stick had been inserted into his brain.
The list of atrocities were only limited to Madame Lalaurie twisted mind. It is rumored that though her husband did not participate in these activities, he was aware they were occurring.
As a crowd gathered outside the Lalaurie mansion for revenge, a carriage appeared from the driveway and swiftly carried the Lalaurie family out of town. There are no records of any legal action ever being taken against Madame Lalaurie and the family was never heard of or from again.
Reports of strange and haunting events have continued to be reported throughout the years since the Lalaurie's fled their residence. Sounds of chains being dragged across the floors and down steps, cries, screams and groans are reported to be heard. Apparitions with maimed bodies appear, shrouded figures seeming to attack the living. A large black man in chains has been seen on the steps. Windows, and the front door opening and closing on their own. Some say they have seen a young slave girl jump from the roof of the house to escape the torture of her mistress. The cries of the young girl are reported to be heard today.
Lemp Mansion
Located in St. Louis Missouri
Built in 1876 by Jacob Feickert and purchased outright by William Lemp for use as a residency and an auxiliary brewery office for the Lemp Brewery company. Even though it was already an impressive house, Lemp began renovating and expanding it and turning it into a showplace of the period.
The mansion was also as impressive underground as it was on the streets above. A tunnel exiting the basement led to a cave. Through a quarried shaft, the Lemp's could travel beneath the city, all the way to the brewery. One large, natural underground chamber was converted into an auditorium and theater with lighting where it is believed the Lemp's hired actors from the theater and vaudeville circuit for private performances.
Also, below the streets, there was a concrete lined pool that had once been used for underground lagering that was converted into a swimming pool using hot water piped from the brewery's boiler room. After Prohibition the caves were sealed shut.
During this time of happiness, the Lemp family troubles began. In 1901, William Sr's favorite son and heir to the Lemp fortune, Frederick, died at home at the age of 28 due to heart failure.
William was never the same after the death of his son and withdrew from society. He chose to walk to the brewery every day by the cave system beneath his house.
William suffered another blow on January 1,1904, when his closest friend, Frederick Pabst died. William's behavior became erratic and indecisive.
On the morning of February 13th, 1904, his suffering came to an end. After eating his breakfast, William returned to his bedroom and shot himself in the head with a Smith & Wesson 38 caliber hand gun.
William Lemp Jr took over the William J. Lemp Brewing Company in November 1904.
In 1905, William Jr's mother, Lillian, was diagnosed with cancer and died in the home in 1906.
Struggling through the years of WWI, and with the onset of Prohibition, William Jr closed the plant and locked the doors. He sold the famous Lemp "Falstaff" logo for $25,000 and in 1922, sold off the brewery for $588,000, a fraction of the estimated worth of $7 million in the years before prohibition.
On March 20th, while on his way to take his morning shower, William Jr's brother-in-law heard a loud cracking noise come from the bedroom. When he went to investigate the sound, he found his wife Elsa Lemp Wright, like her father William Sr, had shot and killed herself in the family home.
Facing the depression of his sister's suicide and the selling of the family business, William Jr could struggle no more. On December 29, 1922, after speaking to his wife on the phone, William Jr shot himself through the heart with a 38 caliber revolver.
William Jr was survived by two brothers, Edwin and Charles, but the "family curse" continued. On May 10th, 1949, Charles was found in his bed, dead from a self inflicted gun shot from a 38 caliber Army Colt revolver.
After the death of Charles Lemp, the house was sold and converted into a boarding home.
Tenant complained of ghostly knocks, footsteps and unseen voices and it became hard to find tenants to occupy the rooms.
The house continued to decline until 1975 when it was purchased by Dick Pointer and renovations started to turn it into a restaurant and Inn. During this time, workers reported strange things happening in the house. The feeling of being watched or followed, tools disappearing, footsteps in the hallways, and strange sounds.
Since the opening of the restaurant, employee's have reported their own encounters. Seeing glasses lifted off the bar and thrown through the air, doors that lock and unlock on their own, sounds that have no origin, glimpses of apparition that appear and vanish at will, a piano in the bar that plays by itself and even the spirit of the "Lavender Lady", Lillian Lemp, William Sr's wife.
Mudd's House "Dr. Samual"
Located in Beantown Maryland, this house lends a contrast to the history of Maryland. Known for being a location of safe haven for John Wilkes Booth, its rich history is blended from the past to the present.
There are many reports of ghostly activity in the house and the rolling hills that surround the location. Spirit activities include, but are not limited to, books falling off shelves, pictures falling off the walls from possible poltergeist activity, to footsteps being heard moving through the house, the appearance of apparitions, and voices from unknown origins.
Dr Samual Mudd reset Mr Booths broken leg which was a result of his jump to the stage after he had shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater.
Pirate House
Located in Savannah Geogia
Opened in 1753 as a taven and Inn for sailors, merchant marines, French and English privateers and the less than favorable Savannah citizens, it is one of the oldest houses in Savannah
During this time, privateers would capture enemy ships, kill the crews and then sell the ships and give the British government a percentage of the take,
It is said that Robert Louis Stevenson based some of his characters in his book, Treasure Island, on actual privateer's less than favorable activities.
Jean Lefitte, a French privateer stayed at this location to recruit unwilling crew members and to conduct his business, often with a representitive of the British goverment.
Quite often, because of their unwillingness to participate in the privateer lifestyle, low-life citizens of Savannah who frequented the Inn were druged, gotten drunk, knocked over the head and carried to the seafaring privateer ships to be used as crew mwmbers.
There was a tunnel constructed from the Inn to carry new "crew members" to the ships without raising suspisions.
It is reported that 6 men died either in or around the Inn or tunnel area as a result of a fight between sailors and privateers.
The shooting of Turner South's pilot episode of "Haunted South", was shot on location at the Pirate House Restaurant.
There are many reports of activity in the Pirates House Restaurant.
A police officer reported seeing apparitions carrying another apparition through the blocked entrance to the tunnel, leading to the water.
Apparitions of men in 18th and 19th century era clothing have been seen gathering to have converstions.
Between the first and second floors, a strong presence has been felt on the stairs.
An apparition called Captain Flint has been seen in the basement and on the second floor.
Employee's report seeing apparitions and hearing laughter coming from the second floor.
Cofee pots are known to move on their own and chairs and place settings are rearranged after the restaurant is closed.
Point Lookout Light House
Point Lookout State Park Light House, Scotland, Maryland
This park's peaceful surroundings believe its history to be the location of a prison camp which during the Civil War imprisoned as many as 52,264 Confederate soldiers.
Ranked 9th, aficionados of the paranormal consider this one of the most haunted lighthouse in America. Male and female apparitions materialize and then vanish. Doors open and close without visible reason. People hear voices, footsteps, even snoring, but no one is there. So why does it rank only ninth? Because the beam at this modest, house-style structure went dark more than 40 years ago. A lighthouse without its light appears so forlorn. Then again, a hospital and a prison camp for Confederate soldiers existed here during the Civil War, so perhaps an unlit lighthouse represents an appropriate memorial to such a mournful heritage. Today, visitors enjoy the much more pleasant surroundings of a state park.
Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is an ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for Cunard Line (then Cunard White Star Line). Built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, she was designed to be the first of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service from Southhampton to Cherbourg to New York, in answer to the mainland European superliners of the late twenties and early thirties. Queen Mary and her slightly larger and younger running mate RMS Queen Elizabeth commenced this two-ship service after their release from World War ll troop transport duties and continued it for two decades until Queen Mary's retirement in 1967. The ship is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is permanently berthed in Long Beach, California serving as a museum ship and hotel. The Queen Mary celebrated the 70th anniversary of her launch in both Clydebank with Clydebank Restoration Trust and in Long Beach during 2004, and the 70th anniversary of her maiden voyage in 2006. Ghosts have been reported on board only after she reached California. Many areas are rumored to be haunted. Reports of hearing little children crying in the nursery room, actually used as the third class playroom, and a mysterious splash noise in the drained first class swimming pool are cited. In 1966, 18 year old fireman John Pedder was crushed by a watertight door in the engine room during a drill, and his ghost is said to haunt the ship.
Sallie House
Located in Atchinson Kansas
Built between the years of 1867 and 1871 at 508 N. 2nd Street by M. C. Finney.
At a young age, Sallie now refered to as the "Heartland Ghost" was diagnosed with a severe case of appendicitis requiring immediate surgery. Because of the young childs fear of the surgical tools, Sallie had to be restrained and was administered ether. In the physicians haste to complete the operation, he did not allow the anethetic time to take its full effect. During the intitial incision, Sallie awoke and began to fight against the pain. Before she died on the table it is reported that she expressed her contempt and loathing for the physician and that her spirit remains in the house to this day.
In 1993, a young couple that rented the house reported seeing Sallie almost from the time they moved in. Being mischevios and playing pranks on the new rentors, she would turn pictures upside down, turn electrical appliances on and off and move items such as toys around the house. However, shortly after, these harmless pranks turned malevolent. The husband would frequently suffer attacks from an unseen force and small fires would mysteriously start throughout the house.
While filming at the residence, the crew of the TV show "Sightings" captured on film red welts appearing on the mans stomach and blood beginning to flow from the wound. These attacks would occur quite often and extreme tempuratue drops were noted just prior to the attacks.
A psychic was brought in and he informed the couple that there were actually two spirits reisiding within the house. Sallie, which had been responsible for the childish pranks and a woman in her 30's, an evil spirit that was very fond of the husband.
The evil spirit of this woman had supposedly been trying to cause problems between the husband and wife to separate them emotionally thinking she could then have more io his time for herself. When these attemps became unsuccesul, she resulted to attacking the husband.
After an encounter where the hushand was pushed by an unseen force in an attemp to make him fall over the stair railing and down the steps, the couple decided it was time to move out of the house.
This location has been featured on "Unexplained Mysteries", "Sightings", and a TV movie called "Haunted Heartland".
Other phenomena captured in this house include but are not limited to, the feeling of anxiety, EVP's capturing both a small girl and boy talking and singing, a man and a womans voice, sounds of coins hitting the wooden floors, footsteps, growls, whispers and unknown voice interaction with conversations during investigations. Orbs appearing in photo's taken of the stairway, electronic equipment failure and people being touched.
Stanley Hotel
Located in Estes Park Colorado
Construction started in 1906 and was completed in1909 by Freelan O. Stanley of the Stanley Steamer fame.
While staying a the the Stanley Hotel, Stephen King conceived his idea of his book, the Shining and the 1997 TV miniseries was filmed on this location as "Overlook Hotel". Another notable movie, Dumb and Dumber was also filmed here naming the Stanley Hotel as "Hotel Danbury".
TAPS, The Atlantic Paranormal Society, did an investigation of the Stanley Hotel in May 2006, and returned on Halloween night of 2006 for a live six hour follow-up investigation.
The fourth floor, which was originally the servant quarters seems to have a lot of ghostly activity, in fact, room 418 has the most ghostly activity reported. It is often reported that children are heard running up and down the hall playing, when in actuality, there are no children staying at the Stanly..
Mr Stanley is often seen in the Billiard room, or the lobby. The Billiard room was Mr Stanley's favorite room when he was still alive. It is reported that he would play on the pool table for hours, with the guest, or by himself. Bartenders working at the Stanley Hotel report seeing Mr Stanley walking behind the bar and disappearing when they confront him.
Freelan's wife, Flora purportedly still plays the piano in the Music room. Guest's, hearing the music, will look in the music room and see the keys moving but when they enter the room, the movement of the keys and the music stops.
Strange noises have been reported by the cleaning crews coming from room 418 and impressions of someone or something laying on the bed have also been seen.
A guest staying at the Stanley in 2002, recorded a man with a mustache and wearing a cowboy hat staring out the window of room 408, upon checking with the front desk it was determined that no one was staying in that room.
Surratt House
Located in Clinton Maryland, it is rumored that the Surratt House and Tavern has plenty to offer the paranormal investigator. The spirit of the former owner, Mary Surratt has been seen on the wide front porch. Disembodied voices can be heard in the back of the bar. John Wilkes Booth and David Herold stopped at this location after the assassination of President Lincoln. There is an apparition of an unidentified man seen roaming the halls of the building, now a museum. An apparition of a girl has supposedly been seen straightening beds here. People who have worked there and have visited there claim to have seen apparitions of people in period clothing, have heard the phantom cries of children and have heard footsteps pacing through the upper floor of the house when no one else was present.
Todd's Farm / Inheritance
Originally known as the Todd's Farm, Todd's Inheritance is a 4-acre historic farmstead over looking the Chesapeake Bay on the North Point Peninsula of Eastern Baltimore Maryland. It offers a window on American history as seen through the eyes of one family. For over 300 years (1664-1790), the Todd family lived and worked the land, passing the property from father to son for 10 generations. The land was their inheritance, and in 1765 the family farms were combined into a single holding named "Todd's Inheritance." Though the house has no electricty it is said that if an intruder enters the house, lights will come on. The house wasn't lived in for a long period of time until a teacher from Sparrows Point High School bought and moved into it. Shortly afterwards, he was found dead, presumedly suicide, he died from hanging. People assumed he hung himself because there was no evidence of a break in or an intruder, and others say there wasn't any evidence to prove it was suicide. Other teachers visiting him at his home while he was still alive had taken pictures in the home and in the background of the photo's were little bright lights, orbs, and one photo had a face in the window when there was no one in the house.
Tudor Hall
Located in Bel Air MD, built in 1847 and purchased by the Historical Society of Harford County in 2006 , this was John Wilkes Booths childhood home. Shrowded in both history and mystery, this house is said to harbor spirits, both residual and intellegent. Shadows moving within the rooms of this location and around the grounds have been reported. John Wilkes Booth, born in 1838 in Bel Air Maryland, assasinated Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. Conspiracy ties connected Mr Booth to Dr Samuel Mudd of Beantown Maryland.
Waverly Hills
The hospital, known as Waverly Hills, located in Louisville, Kentucky was opened in 1910 and was considered to be the most advanced tuberculosis hospital in the country. If a patient had any chance of surviving the disease, Waverly Hills was the place to come for treatment. Of course, treatment in those days were primitive at best, meaning that many simply came here to die. In those days, it was believed that the best cure for tuberculosis was plenty of nutritional food, plenty of rest and plenty of fresh air. Many patients came to Waverly and were actually cured and became well enough to once again enter society. For those not as fortunate, Waverly was the last place they ever saw. Records have been lost, but it is estimated that tens of thousands died at Waverly. At the height of the tuberculosis epidemic, it is reported that one patient an hour died.
There are reports of a little girl moving about the third floor, a boy named Bobby playing with a ball, of doors slamming, of rooms that light up though there is no power source, and unearthly voices that have no known origin.
Sounds of torment are often heard within the halls and walls of this location.
Ghosts have been seen in the form of shadow people, partial and full apparitions and ectoplasmic clouds.
Room 502 is the most famous area of the hospital. In 1928, the head nurse was found dead in this room. She hung herself presumably because she was pregnant and unmarried. The coroner’s office listed her death as suicide.
Another nurse in 1932, who worked in room 502, supposedly committed suicide when she jumped from the balcony of the roof.
A full body apparition of a female nurse in white has also been seen on this floor.
A voice has been heard in this room to say, "Get Out" and the general feeling of despair is felt.
Investigators and visitors are extremely fascinated with room 502 and the stories of two nurses that supposedly committed suicide.
A security guard reported seeing a light flickering on the third floor. From the outside he could see what appeared to be movement in front of the light. When he went upstairs to investigate he found nothing.
The Death Tunnel
The “body chute” is actually a 500 foot long tunnel that leads from the hospital to the railroad tracks at the bottom of the hill. When a patient died they were sent down the tunnel to an awaiting hearse. The tunnel was used in order to keep morale high so that patients wouldn't see the hearses or the bodies. Steps line one side of the tunnel while the other side consisted of a rail and cable system to lower the bodies.
Disembodied voices, EVP's and EMF spikes are often experienced along the Death Tunnel passage.
Waverly functioned as a tuberculosis hospital until 1961, when is was closed to be quarantined and renovated to be opened again in 1962 as Wood Haven Medical Services. The facility remained a geriatrics center until 1980 when it was closed by the state.
Weston State Hospital, Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
Located in Weston West Virginia
The hospital was authorized by the Virginia General Assembly in the early 1850's as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Following consultations with Thomas Story Kirkbride, then superintendent of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, a building in the Kirkbride Plan was designed in the Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival styles by Richard Snowden Andrews, an architect from Baltimore whose other commissions included the Maryland Governor's residence in Annapolis and the south wing of the U.S. Treasury building in Washington.
Construction on the site, along with West Fork River opposite downtown Weston, began in late 1858. Work was initially conducted by prison laborers and later skilled stonemasons were brought in from Germany and Ireland.
Construction was interrupted by the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. Following its secession from the United States, the government of Virginia demanded the return of the hospital's unused construction funds for its defense but before this could occur, the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry seized the money from a local bank and delivered it to Wheeling West Virginia where it was put toward the establishment of the Reorganized Government of Virginia, which sided with the northern states during the war.
The Reoganized Government appropriated money to resume the construction in 1862 following the admission of West Virginia as a US state in 1863 and the hospital was renamed the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane.
The first patients were admitted in October 1864 but construction continued into 1881. The 200 foot central clock tower was completed in 1871.
The hospital was intended to be self-sufficient, and a farm, dairy, waterworks, and cemetery were located on its grounds which eventually reached 666 acres in area. A gas well was drilled on the grounds in 1902 and its name was changed again to Weston State Hospital in 1913.
Originally designed to house 250 patients in solitude, the hospital held 717 patients by 1880, 1661 in 1838, over 1800 in 1949 and 2400 in the 1950s in overcrowded conditions.
A 1938 report by a survey committee organized by a group of North American medical organizations found that the hospital housed epileptics, alcoholics, drug addict and non- educable mental "defectives" among its population.
A series of reports by The Charleston Gazette in 1949 found poor sanitation and insufficient furniture, lighting and heating in much of the complex, while one wing, which had been rebuilt using the Works Progress Administration funds following a 1935 fire started by a patient, was comparatively luxurious.
By the 1980's, the hospital had a reduced population due to changes in the treatment of mental illness. In 1986, then Governor Arch Moore announced plans to build a new psychiatric facility elsewhere in the state and convert the Weston hospital to a prison. Ultimately the new facility, the William R Sharpe Jr Hospital, was built in Weston and the old Weston State Hospital was simply closed, in May 1994.
The building and its grounds have since been mostly vacant, aside from local events such as tours (no longer inside the building), fairs, and church revivals.
The 242,000 square foot structure was purchased by an asbestos demolition contractor in August of 2007 for $1.5 million dollars and the future plans for the building are uncertain, although sections of the roof have been replaced and grounds maintenance are ongoing.
In October of 2007, a Fall Fest was held at the location. Guided daytime tours as well as haunted hospital tours were offered.
Unearthly voices of both children and adults, and laughter have been heard throughout the structure. Foot steps and closing doors are a common occurrences that are reported. Tour guides continually report "additional people" joining their groups that when approached, they simply disappear down hallways. One guide reported to have have actually been attached and dragged down to the ground by unseen hands, and pulled across the floors. This was validated by another worker in the same area of the hospital. Apparitions and black masses have been seen within the corridors, only to vanish.
Winchester Mystery House
Located in San Jose, California
In 1884, a widow named Sarah L. Winchester began a construction project that would occupy the lives of carpenters and craftsmen until her death thirty-eight years later. A Victorian mansion, built with no blueprints by the Winchester Rifle heiress, is filled with so many oddities, that it has come to be known as the Winchester Mystery House. Sarah Winchester built the home that is an architectural marvel, by drawing sketches on paper and even tablecloths. This 160-room Victorian mansion had modern heating, gas lights that operated by pushing a button, sewer systems, three working elevators, and 47 fireplaces. From hand inlaid parquet floors, rambling roofs, gold and silver chandeliers and Tiffany art glass windows.
After her husband, William Winchester died in 1881, a friend suggested that Sarah speak to a medium about her loss. The medium told her, "Your husband is here," and then discribed William Winchester. "He says for me to tell you that there is a curse on your family, a curse that has resulted from the terrible weapon created by the Winchester family. Thousands of people have died because of it and their spirits are now seeking vengeance." The medium told her William Winchester said it was the curse which took his life and the life of their child and It would soon take hers also.
Sarah was told she must sell her property in New Haven and head towards the West Coast. Her husband would guide her and when she found the location for her new home in the west, she would recognize it. "You must start a new life," said the medium, "and build a home for yourself and for the spirits who have fallen from this terrible weapon too. You can never stop building the house. If you continue building, you will stay alive, but if you stop, you will die."
After a seance on September 4th, 1922, Sarah retired for the evening and passed away in the early morning at the age of 83. Construction stopped on the estate and it was left to her neice, Francis Marriot.
Today, the house is a California Historical Landmark and is registered with the National Park Service as "a large, odd dwelling with an unknown number of rooms."
In the years that the house has been open to the public, employees and visitors alike have had unusual encounters here. There have been banging doors, cold spots, mysterious voices, footsteps, doorknobs that turn by themselves, windows that bang so hard they shatter, strange lights.... and don’t forget the scores of psychics who have their own claims of phenomena to report.