There have been countless movies and TV shows depicting terrifying tales of hauntings that have resulted in hideous deaths, but do any of them have their basis in reality? While stories of poltergeists are rife, has anyone actually died as the result of an encounter with a ghost?

While no coroner has ever been known to have recorded a specter as an official cause of death, there is enough documented evidence out there to suggest that there may be a spark of truth to all of those tall Hollywood tales. Here, we look at the stories of ten people whose death has been linked in some way to the ghostly and supernatural—judge for yourselves just how much truth lies behind them.

10 The Hammersmith Ghost

One of the best-known and best-documented deaths that was, albeit indirectly, attributable to a specter is that of the Hammersmith Ghost.

In the early years of the 19th century, West London’s Hammersmith district was full of rumors about a terrifying apparition that was haunting one of the area’s graveyards. Local people reported seeing a figure in white, sporting a glass eye and horns, who would emerge suddenly from the spooky shadows, wailing, moaning, and writhing before passersby. After a pregnant woman claimed to have been attacked physically and a wagon driver abandoned his passengers and horse in fear at the sight of the specter, the news spread that the ghost may have been that of a man who had recently killed himself before being buried in the churchyard’s consecrated ground.

The reports were taken so seriously that armed patrols were sent out to arrest the ghost, and it wasn’t long before one of their number, an excise officer by the name of Smith, encountered it in person. After demanding to know the identity of the apparition and receiving no response, he fired a shot from his gun, fearing that he would become the next victim. Unfortunately, it was no ghost that lay dead in the graveyard. Instead, the victim, Thomas Millwood, was a man—a plasterer wearing the white clothing that signified his trade.

The murder trial that ensued was one of the most unusual in history, with Smith eventually being sentenced to death (although this was later commuted to hard labor thanks to a royal pardon.) However, Thomas Millwood’s spirit didn’t rest easy. The day after he was killed, his body was brought to the Black Lion public house, and to this day, it is believed that he still haunts the premises, whispering in patrons’ ears, banging on walls, and making loud footsteps over the bar area. Thomas Millwood may have truly become the Hammersmith Ghost after all.^[1]

9 The Curse Of King Tut

During the early 1920s, the pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings, an Ancient Egyptian burial site dating back to the 16th century BC. The virtually undisturbed tomb was uncovered by Howard Carter, a British archaeologist, together with the fifth Earl of Carnarvon. The amazing haul of finds would become a worldwide media sensation. However, the press also seized on the stories which said a curse would fall on anybody who desecrated the pharaoh’s tomb, and shortly after, Lord Carnarvon himself met an untimely death in Cairo. Arthur Conan Doyle, famed Sherlock Holmes creator, fueled the fires of the rumor mill by telling the press that it was an evil spirit which had been summoned by ancient Egyptian priests to protect their pharaoh in death which could have killed Carnarvon.

While all this speculation may have diminished over time, the following years saw a string of deaths of numerous people who had been part of the team that had uncovered the tomb or who had, in some way, been involved with the proceedings. Among the death toll was Arthur Mace, a member of the excavation team who was killed by arsenic in 1928; Richard Bethell, Howard Carter’s secretary who allegedly smothered to death in his sleep in 1929; and Sir Archibald Douglas Reid, who was responsible for X-raying the pharaoh’s mummy and was the victim of a mysterious death in 1924. Could an ancient Egyptian ghost have been responsible?^[2]

8 Alcatraz’s Hole Ghost

Alcatraz is widely believed to be one of the most haunted spots in the United States, but no part of the notorious island prison has been linked with more terrifying tales of ghosts than the cells in D-Block. A portion of D-Block is known as the Hole. The Hole is the coldest part of the prison, and its cells were used for solitary confinement. The cells featured only a sink, a toilet, and a dim light bulb controlled by the guards. Inmates slept on mattresses that were taken away during the day. No reading materials were allowed, leaving inmates with nothing other than crushing boredom. The final cell in the Hole was called the Oriental and was essentially a steel sensory deprivation chamber with only a hole at the bottom for waste.

During the 1940s, there were many reports of a ghostly man wearing late-19th-century prison clothing patrolling the Hole. However, the apparition may have been responsible for a suspicious death of a prisoner. Shortly after being locked in a Hole cell, the inmate began screaming that there was somebody with glowing eyes trapped in with him. The guards ignored him as he screamed long into the night before an eerie silence fell. The next day, the guards discovered that the convict had been strangled to death, the handprints on his throat livid and fresh. While some say that one of the guards finally snapped and took the ultimate step to stop the man’s screaming, a thorough investigation into the matter turned up no evidence. Did a 19th-century prisoner who wandered the jail’s corridors commit the crime from beyond the grave?^[3]

7 The Thai Widow Ghost

In 2013, villagers living in a Tambon Tha Sawang in Thailand were terrorized by the ghost of a widow who was believed to have killed ten men in the space of a single month. All of the men had died under mysterious circumstances, some while sleeping and others apparently dropping dead while walking around. All had been declared by doctors to have died of respiratory failure.

Since none of the men had shown any signs of being ill, the villagers hired a spirit medium, who blamed a widow ghost for the deaths. The medium then recommended that each resident hang red shirts outside their houses so that the spirit would be repelled, especially those who only had a single son, since they were most at risk of a ghostly visit.^[4]

While that may have been the end of the inexplicable deaths in Tambon Tha Sawang, in 2018, a different Thai district was being terrorized in the same way. Was it the same ghostly widow?

6 Carl Pruitt’s Cursed Grave

This story goes back to Kentucky in 1938, when a man named Carl Pruitt came home one day to find his wife in the arms of another man. In a wild fury, he strangled her to death with a chain before killing himself immediately afterward. (The other man fled.) After Pruitt was buried, visitors to the graveyard noticed that discoloration was starting to appear on his tombstone, and it looked eerily similar to a chain.

Before long, a boy trying to impress his friends chipped the tombstone by throwing a rock and immediately afterward fell victim to a freak accident that claimed his life—his bicycle chain somehow came off and strangled him as he rode home. The mother of the boy, naturally devastated, decided to vent her anger on the gravestone, hitting it repeatedly with an ax. The following day, she, too, became a victim of the Pruitt grave’s curse. She was found strangled by her own clothesline, which had inexplicably wrapped about her neck as she was hanging laundry.

Not long after that, there was another incident which cemented the grave’s reputation for being cursed. A farmer fired a gun at the tombstone while passing the graveyard in his wagon. The horses sped up, frightened by the gunshot, and the farmer was thrown out of the wagon. As he fell, one of the reins wrapped itself about his neck and strangled him. By now, the number of strangulations linked with the grave was starting to look like more than a coincidence, but that didn’t stop two policemen from tempting fate by trying to take photos of themselves at the graveside. When they drove away from the cemetery, they noticed they were being followed by a bright light. As they sped away, the vehicle crashed into a fence, and one of the policeman died, his head almost entirely severed by the chain that hung between the fence posts.

For years, people avoided the cemetery, terrified of meeting a hideous death, but in the 1940s, one man decided that he would take the risk of attacking the tombstone with a hammer. He was later found dead by the cemetery gates. How did he die? Yes, you guessed it: He was strangled by the chain that locked the cemetery gates. It’s no wonder that shortly afterward, the cemetery was stripped, and the cursed tombstone was removed permanently.^[5]

5 The Aged Laborer

In 19th-century England, coroners and juries relied on the evidence of witnesses in court to determine the cause of death in cases where the deceased was believed to have died of “unnatural” causes. In Bristol in 1841, an inquest was held into the death of Patrick Hayes, an “aged laborer” who had fallen down the stairs and died.

The wife of landlord of the inn in which he had died, Mary Croker, gave testimony that she had heard the sound of the deceased as he fell down the stairs. She shouted out, asking who had fallen, and the reply, in the deceased’s voice, said “It is me, and I am dead.” In her questioning under oath, Mary Croker informed the coroner that the man had clearly seen the house’s resident ghost—a lady wearing a silk gown who had already killed two or three of her former lodgers by scaring them to death.^[6]

4 The Campo Lane Ghost

In mid-1800s South Yorkshire, UK, a woman named Hannah Rallinson was officially recorded as having died from fright. Rallinson and her husband, both Mormons, had recently moved into new rooms in Sheffield and had been introduced to a woman named Harriet Ward. One day, Harriet had been going down into the cellar of the Rallisons’ home when she screamed, claiming to have seen a ghost of a terrifying, bloodstained old woman. Harriet didn’t just see the apparition once—in fact, it appeared to her on five separate occasions over the 24 hours that followed, both while she was asleep and awake.

The Mormon congregation became obsessed with the Campo Lane Ghost, as it became known, and collectively decided that it must have been the victim of a murder who had been buried under the cellar floor. It was decided to take away the flagstones to find out what was beneath. As the night wore on, a large group gathered to observe the proceedings, and it was decided to cover the cellar’s window to stop the crowd from looking in. Hannah Rallinson went down to the cellar with a blind, and what she saw on the cellar steps caused her to fall into a dead faint. It was reported in the local newspaper that she had seen a woman in white who had rushed at her before vanishing.

Hannah was taken into another room on the first floor, where her friends tried to revive her, and as she briefly regained consciousness, she announced that she could still see the ghost, complete with gashes around its neck and a bloodstained nightgown. Apparently, the ghost had told her it was Elizabeth Johnson, a restless soul who had been murdered by William Dawson, her nephew, over a century earlier. The late Mrs. Johnson had told her that she had to leave the house, as it was marked with her blood. Despite being a fit, healthy, and strong woman, Hannah Rallinson died the next day, her death certificate officially recording the cause of death as “sudden death in a fit believed to have been brought on by a fright.”^[7]

3 The Spring-Heeled Jack Case

Another tragic tale of the 19th century is that of Jane Halsall, a seven-year-old girl from Lancashire, England, who allegedly died at the hands of a specter known as Spring-heeled Jack. Stories of an apparition named Spring-heeled Jack had been in circulation for several decades before the unfortunate death of Jane Halsall, and fear of this terrifying character had not abated over the years.

When Jane returned home one day saying that her playmates had warned her that Spring-heeled Jack was on his way to her hometown, her parents tried to allay her fears. However, that very night, Jane fell seriously ill and was unconscious by the time the doctor arrived. Just six hours before her untimely death, she was quoted as having said, “The ghost is coming.” The coroner concluded that she’d died of fright and laid the blame on Spring-heeled Jack (or rather the man he believed was impersonating the evil spirit). A coroner’s court jury found “Jack” guilty of the death of the little girl, arguably meaning that a ghost was tried and found guilty in a court of law.^[8]

2 The Hinterkaifeck Farm Murders

With its peaceful Bavarian surroundings, the Hinterkaifeck farm seemed to be an unlikely spot for one of the 20th century’s most puzzling murders. However, in 1922, this homestead was the setting for a case that would baffle the German police and would never be resolved. The Grueber family, who lived there, were social outcasts, with the husband being a notorious wife-beater who’d had an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Nevertheless, the events which ensued on the Gruebers’ farm shocked the local community.

In late 1921, the Grueber’s maid, Maria, reported hearing disembodied footsteps and voices around the house. She left her position abruptly, afraid the farm was haunted. Six months after Maria’s departure, the father, Andreas, saw footprints in the deep snow surrounding the house leading from the woods to the farm. There were no footprints to show a return journey. Andreas carried out an immediate search, but no one was found. That night, Andreas, too, heard the strange noises in the attic. Again, he found nothing and no one in hiding. Events took an even stranger turn after that. The next morning, an unfamiliar newspaper was lying on the porch. A few days later, one of the house keys disappeared. Andreas saw scratches on the tool shed lock as if somebody had been trying to pick it.

Some days later, the townsfolk began to wonder where the Gruebers had gotten to. They went to the farm to check on the family and made a grisly discovery in the barn—the bleeding bodies of four members of the family, all stacked one on top of the other and covered up with hay. In the house, the rest of the family and the replacement maid were also found dead. Although there were signs of strangulation, the instrument believed to have caused their deaths was a pickax.

There were a bunch of complicating factors, too. Every one of the bodies had been covered up in one way or another, and while their date of death was found to be March 31, neighbors had seen smoke from the farm’s chimney after that date. There was evidence in the house of meals having recently been eaten, a bed had been slept in, and the farm’s animals had been fed. There was no evidence of any theft, and jewelry and coins remained untouched in the home. Was it a vengeful spirit that killed the Gruebers? Was it a grisly home invasion? Whatever the truth of the matter, the police have yet to solve the murders, and the jury is still out.^[9]

1 The Jamison Family

In 2009, the Jamison family disappeared, apparently off the face of the Earth. Their bodies weren’t found for another four years, when their skeletal remains were all discovered lying facedown in the woods, close to where their abandoned truck had been found back in 2009. Before their disappearance, the Jamison family had told anyone who would listen that ghosts were haunting them and that Madyson, their six-year-old daughter, was in regular conversation with a ghost girl who had met her death in their house decades ago.

The day that the family disappeared, security camera footage shows them packing their vehicle, almost as if under some kind of trance. No cause of death was determined, and there have been suggestions that the family members were possessed by the ghosts that inhabited their home.^[10] Since the bodies were severely decomposed, there was no way of telling what killed the Jamisons, so speculation is still rife.

These are just ten documented deaths that have been linked to ghosts. While the truth is shrouded in mystery, all we know is that these people died under bizarre circumstances. Who knows what really happened?

I am a one-time actress, legal secretary, and early years teacher turned writer with an interest in history, the unusual, and the fascinating!

It’s generally agreed that ghosts, if they indeed exist, were once living, breathing human beings. And, unfortunately, human beings are more than capable of committing crime. So it may follow that ghosts also seek to transgress against their (former) fellow men. The following ten crimes were allegedly committed by paranormal entities. True ghostly perpetrators or just garden variety criminals trying to avoid punishment? You be the judge.

10 Celebrities Who Had A Terrifying Ghostly Experience

10 Ghost Indecent Exposure

Having sex in another person’s living room would definitely earn you a sentence for indecent exposure-and maybe for breaking and entering! Dianne Carlisle of Euclid Ohio claims that two ghosts are having sex in her home leaving her and her family members the unwilling voyeurs. She says that the ghosts are clearly copulating and she can even see “the lady’s high heeled shoes!”. Dianne is no stranger to ghostly apparitions. Her deceased sister contacted her via phone leaving her a message that simply said “I love you” and she has seen ghosts in mirrors and playing with her daughter, De’Onna. As for the phantom lovemakers, they were snapped in the act by Carlisle’s four year old granddaughter, Kimora, while the little girl was playing with a cell phone. Dianne is as astonished by the hanky panky going on in her living room as anyone saying: “I never seen anything like this…I mean, ghosts still have feelings? (They’re) having sex?” Carlisle says that the ghostly activity in her home has not lessened with time, but has actually increased.^[1]

9 Ghost Theft

You wouldn’t think a former police officer, charged with upholding the law, would be the one to commit massive theft but that’s what Joseph Hughes of Mount Gilead, Ohio was convicted of back in 2011. But did he do it or was it the work of something from the other side? Hughes claimed that the stolen goods found stockpiled in his basement, (including several air conditioners and a generator) were put there by a ghost. ‘It’s going to sound kind of ridiculous, but we believed that there was some kind of paranormal presence in the basement,’ Hughes said in court. ‘It sounds kind of ridiculous but there was evidence to support it.’ Though prosecutors were stunned by the creepy defense, they ultimately didn’t buy it and Hughes was found guilty of 18 of 20 charges.^[2]

8 Ghost Vandalization

Lisa and Phil Rigley of Clifton, Nottingham, were so angry about a serious of attacks on their vehicles that they set up some home cameras to catch the culprits in the act. But they got more than they bargained for: at about 1:30 a.m. on August 1st 2012, one of the cameras caught what looked like a child spirit in orb form, glowing white and wearing a hoodie, jumping over the roofs of their cars. The couple was shocked. Even skeptical Phil admitted: “I am cynical about ghosts because I don’t believe in them but this footage is strange.” Lisa added that she was “absolutely gobsmacked by this. I’ve got the footage here; it’s the image of a young child about four or five. It’s a ghost, it’s got to be.” Mrs. Rigley was especially convinced it was no ordinary child because their dog always barks if there are people around but did not wake the family that night. The Rigleys ultimately decided not to pursue the ghost for criminal damages after they could find no marks on the cars following the incident.^[3]

7 Ghost Harassment

Harassment of any kind is annoying enough, but to not even be able to see your bullies? One Saudi Arabian family though that was going too far-and actually took it all the way to court when they sued the “genie” irritating their household. The spectral harassment went on for some time with unruly spirits making life practically intolerable. Citing everything from threatening voicemails to the theft of their mobile phones, the family had had enough when the ghosts, in classic schoolyard fashion, began throwing stones at the children. The court gamely tried to verify the family’s claim of paranormal pestering “despite the difficulty” of bringing a harassment suit against the undead.^[4]

6 Ghost Disorderly Conduct

A teen nabbed in 2006 for swearing at officers and generally causing uproar had the unique defense that the foul-mouthed voice heard by the cops wasn’t his-but that of a disembodied pirate ghost. Thomas McGair, 18, of Glasgow Scotland blurted out “It wasn’t me, it was the pirate!” as he was being collared and charged. Sheriff Rajni Swanney was “intrigued” by the odd story and MGair’s lawyer, Andrew Kennedy, said in court that his client was “in a state of agitation because he claims he had just seen a ghost.” Though McGair admitted to a breach of the peace, he denies being under the influence of alcohol or drugs and maintains that a ghostly influence was to blame. When last heard from, his sentence had been deferred.^[5]

Top 10 Famous Real Ghosts

5 Ghost Assault

Sometimes a haunting is merely a pain in the emotional sense but sometimes it goes a bit further than that. A French family from Mentque-Nortbecourt said that ghosts in their home have escalated into full blown assault. One household member was injured so badly that he had to be hospitalized after being hit in the face by a flying chair and a soap tray to the back. A family friend visiting the house also had to seek medical attention after being hit by stones thrown by the petulant spirits. Local officials took the claims seriously enough to remove the family from their home, offering them temporary housing at a nearby campsite. The family says that they are currently working with an exorcist from a local church who has been visiting their house and attempting to cleanse it of the angry spooks.^[6]

4 Ghost Domestic Abuse

When an argument about family finances between Wisconsin man Michael West and his wife got out of control, she called the police and reported that West had beat, punched her in the face, and tried to strangle her. When police arrived at the couple’s home, they noticed that the woman was crying and that there appeared to be blood on the front of her shirt. When questioned, West initially claimed that his wife sustained injuries by repeatedly falling but later changed his story, claiming that “a ghost did it.” This explanation did not prove to be satisfactory to the arresting officers who charged West with strangulation, battery and disorderly conduct. After a struggle, West was transported to county lockup and his wife, one would hope, to therapy.^[7]

3 Ghost Kidnapping

This one is an example of crime happening to a criminal-and perhaps of cosmic karma. A burglar robbing a home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said that he was kidnapped and held against his will with no food or water for four days by a “supernatural figure”. Police official Abdul Marlik Hakim Johar confirmed that the homeowners arrived back from vacation and found the man, whose name was not released, in their home dehydrated and exhausted. He claimed that every time he tried to leave, the entity pushed him to the ground. An ambulance had to be called for the would-be pilferer who will surely think twice before attempting another breaking and entering.^[8]

2 Ghost Rape

This is an extremely sad and disturbing story. Apparently, between 2005 and 2009 over one hundred women in the Manitoba Mennonite colony of Bolivia have been reporting waking up to strange genital injuries, headaches, pain and pieces of rope tangled in their hair. They also found semen stains on their sheets. Sadly, the youngest of these victims was a three year old child. Local townspeople (largely isolated from wider communities and inexperienced with such crimes) first denied the women’s reports, dismissing them the products of overactive imaginations. But as the problems worsened, they turned to a supernatural explanation, claiming that demons were to blame for the sexual assaults. Even after the arrest of nine men in 2011 convicted of drugging and raping entire households, the community is still traumatized and seeking other answers. Some point to the fact that the violence continues to this day as proof that it is devils from another world, and not men of the community, to blame for these heinous crimes.^[9]

1 Ghost Murders

One can hardly imagine a bigger monster than a mother that kills her own children. Naiyana Patel of East Asheville North Carolina was arrested in late August 2011 for the murder of her two sweet and outgoing girls, 8- year-old Jiya and 4-year-old Piya. Worse, the murders were carried out in an extremely gruesome manner-with a hatchet. Patel’s husband, Lalo, made the grisly discovery when arrived home to find his wife hitting herself in the head with the hatchet and his children bloodied on the floor. He frantically called 911, but it was too late-Jiya was already dead and Piya would succumb to her injuries at a nearby hospital. According investigators, when asked about her motives for this senseless crime, Naiyana would only tell police that “the ghost killed her children”. She further added that she didn’t want to live and refused medical treatment for her self-inflicted injuries “It’s just a terrible, terrible incident that occurred, “said Lt. Wallace Welch, interim chief of police.^[10]

10 Murderers Haunted By Their Victim’s Ghost

About The Author: A.L. is a playwright and also the executive director of a historical museum in the United States. She has enjoyed the creepy, spooky and weird all her life.

Among other magical abilities, witches in history have long been thought to consort with the dead. Be it with a Ouija Board at the height of the spiritualism movement or via the old, alleged maleficium, it’s easy to put witches and ghosts in a similar, mystical camp. However, every now and then, supposed witches do a tad bit more than speak to spirits; they sometimes become spirits themselves, or so some people claim.

The following is a list of the ten most famous witches to become ghosts or cryptids, not only being figures of folklore like the Baba Yaga or Jenny Greenteeth but who also, as some claim, have been sighted to this day.

Related: 10 Unusual Male Witch Trials From Europe

10 Mother Shipton and the Petrifying Well

The tale of Ursula Sontheil, also known as Mother Shipton, begins in 1488 in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England. Born to a fifteen-year-old mother, Agatha Sontheil, out of wedlock, Ursula was raised by her mother alone. The two lived in a cave for two years before Agatha was taken to a nunnery, leaving Ursula to be raised by the local Abbot of Beverly.

Ursula, however, was born to look exactly like one would imagine a stereotypical witch to look: warts, nose, and all. So she made very few friends and would end up spending most of her time in the woods and around the cave, studying plants and old cunning women’s traditions. She would develop a reputation as a successful folk healer prophetess and live to be 73.

Mother Shipton’s cave has also garnered a haunting reputation. A nearby well, known as the Petrifying Well, has an odd tendency to turn most objects left there over three or so months into stone. Despite science tackling that mystery, chalking it up to a high mineral content, many claim to see a shadowy, witch-like figure prowling around the mouth of the cave, often disappearing as soon as it appears.^[1]

9 Barbara Zdunk

Barbara Zdunk holds the intriguing title of “The Last Witch to Be Burned at the Stake in Europe.” However, this would not be her only alleged crime. The city of Reszel in Poland was under attack by a serial arsonist at the beginning of the 19th century, and in 1806, the entire town was burned to the ground. Barbara Zdunk, a maid at the time, was charged with the crime, though most suspect that she was a victim of a slander campaign. Though she was also pinned with practicing magic, witchcraft was not a crime in what was then Prussia, but it was used as evidence nonetheless. Zdunk was executed on August 21 at Szubienica Hill, outside of Reszel.

As such, it is within the Reszel Castle that many claim to see the spirit of Barbara Zdunk. It is in this castle’s dungeons that the alleged witch was first imprisoned and tortured over the course of four years. She was even sexually assaulted and gave birth twice during her imprisonment, though no one knows what became of her children. Some claim to see her wandering spirit haunt the castle’s dungeons and often report blood-curdling screams when no one (alive) is there to make them. Ghost Hunters International even visited Reszel Castle and was subject to a smattering of poltergeist moments.^[2]

8 Marie Laveau

Though not necessarily a witch, Marie Laveau is often referred to as “The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans” for her reputation as a wise priestess in the Voodoo religion and as a pillar of the New Orleans black community. Voodoo stems from west African beliefs that developed prominence in the Caribbean and other areas, including New Orleans. Marie Laveau, born around the turn of the 19th century, had a deep ancestry involving many prominent Voodoo priestesses and learned much about the religion under the tutelage of a Dr. John (Bayou John) from Senegal.

Marie Laveau would live a long, influential life, passing away from old age on June 15, 1881. Laveau is buried at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and still receives gifts and spiritual adornments to this day. The cemetery, however, is not the haunted location where Marie Laveau’s spirit is sometimes spotted. Instead, her home, on St. Anne Street, boasts that title, even though the building was torn down and rebuilt in 1903.

Many report seeing the spirit of the Voodoo Queen walking peacefully down St. Anne Street, wearing a white dress and her tingon headdress. She is also said to haunt rooms within the new building, which is used nowadays for a vacation rental. People also claim to hear mysterious chanting and drumming coming from a completely empty street.^[3]

7 The Soucouyant

The Soucouyant treads a thin line between “vampire” and “witch,” but this Caribbean spirit is described as an old hag often enough to qualify her for this list. The Soucouyant is a legend prominent in southern Caribbean nations, namely Trinidad and Tobago, and is actually a name for a witch-like entity, as opposed to a singular witch. According to legend, she is able to strip off her skin at night and transform into a giant fireball, which often visits people’s homes while they’re asleep to suck their blood, supposedly leaving blue-black marks.

The Soucouyant can be stopped, however. By sprinkling salt or pepper on her discarded skin, it would burn her to death when she returned. One can also place a bowl of rice on their front doorstep, forcing her to count each grain before she can enter.

Despite the Soucouyant appearing to be more of a legend than a cryptid, she has been allegedly sighted recently. However, it is considered quite taboo to talk about them, making reports a tad bit scarce. Nevertheless, people report seeing balls of fire flying like paranormal orbs of light, sometimes with a visible face inside.^[4]

6 Hauntings at Proctor’s Ledge

Perhaps the initial incident that took place is far more famous than any hauntings that have lingered into the modern era, but Salem definitely has its fair share of hauntings.

Though it’s hard to actually claim that any victims of the infamous Salem Witch Trials were bonafide, practicing witches, it is safe to say that many institutions have reports of ghosts. And a lot of the alleged spirits seem to be people from around 1692 when the trials started—if the descriptions are anything to go by.

In 1921, historian Sidney Perley discovered the location of “Gallows Hill,” where the executions took place, and found said location to be at the foot of Proctor’s Ledge, a hill in Salem. According to Massachusetts law, it was illegal to bury the executed “witch” in consecrated ground, so most of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials were “buried” near the execution site in a mass grave. Although, some family members may have removed their accused family member under the cover of darkness for burial elsewhere.

To this day, a mysterious Lady in White is often seen wandering Proctor’s Ledge and other Salem locations. However, no one has yet identified her as a specific victim of the famed trials. In addition, faint wailing and moaning are often reported at the location, as well as the ever-common cold spots and floating orbs that accompany ghostly locations.^[5]

5 Agnes Sampson

Agnes Sampson, also known as the Wyse Wyff of Keyth, was a prolific cunning woman from Scotland who tragically suffered her demise at the North Beswick Witch Trial in 1591. The historic Holyroodhouse Palace in Edinburgh was where Sampson was tried and executed, and according to legend, it still serves as her place of residence to this day.

In life, Agnes Sampson was a widow with two children, who made a living helping the people of Scotland with the folk remedies she had learned. Unfortunately, though, a maidservant named Geillis Duncan was convicted of witchcraft and started confessing about other witches she knew, similar to how the Salem Witch Trials panned out. Sampson was regrettably a victim of Duncan’s admission. As a result, Sampson was imprisoned and tortured for a few months before she was garroted and burned on January 28.

To this day, a phantom matching Agnes Sampson’s description has been seen wandering Holyroodhouse Palace, often apparating with her torture wounds fully visible. She is often witnessed either slowly wandering the halls or acting out the final scenes of her life.^[6]

4 Janet Douglas

Janet Douglas was another victim of the various witch trials that plagued Scotland, though Douglas would meet her fate more than fifty years before Agnes Sampson, being burned at the stake on July 17, 1537. Also known as Lady Glamis, Douglas is said to be spotted at Glamis Castle to this day, prowling its halls as an ethereal phantasm.

However, in contrast to Sampson, Douglas’s accusations came not from her reputation as a folk witch but from her relation to Sir James Douglas, a lieutenant to Robert the Bruce and an enemy of King James V of Scotland. Out of contempt for the whole Douglas family, Janet Douglas was convicted of treason, poisoning her husband, and witchcraft. It took no time at all for the Lady Glamis and her sixteen-year-old son to be imprisoned and tortured, and it is alleged that her son was forced to watch his mother burn to death.

Though she was executed at Edinburgh Castle, Douglas allegedly manifests at her original home of Glamis Castle, where she is also known as the Grey Lady. She is often spotted in garb sporting the color of her new namesake, and she is most commonly sighted at the castle’s chapel.^[7]

3 The Aswang

This next legend comes from the Philippines and also blurs the line between witch and vampire, much like the Soucouyant. Although it typically takes the form of a woman by day, the Aswang is a figure in Philippine folklore who has the ability to shapeshift into large dogs, cats, birds, and sometimes werewolves, all so that they can hunt humans at night. The only way to discern if someone is an Aswang is if their eyes reflect their beholders upside-down or if a special painting crafted by an albularyo, a Filipino folk healer, starts to boil whenever the Aswang draws near.

In order to consume its victims, an Aswang is said to perch on the roof of people’s homes and move its long, prehensile tongue toward small openings in a victim’s home to probe the scene before breaking in, eating them, and replacing the corpse with a mannequin made of wood and plants. To this day, many in the Philippines report seeing an odd cryptid preying on people’s roofs.^[8]

2 La Lechuza

This next entry on the list is less canine and a tad bit more avian. La Lechuza’s folkloric roots can be traced back to Mexico, and her name can even be directly translated as “the owl,” for she is often spotted as a giant owl with a woman’s face.

La Lechuza’s origins stem from a nameless woman being convicted of practicing black magic by those in her village, who immediately murdered her. This supposed bruja, or variation on the witch in Mexico, came back as the aforementioned terrifying, seven-foot-tall bird lady, allegedly lingering to this day, appearing as an older hag by day and transforming into her bird form at night.

People report witnessing La Lechuza perching in high trees at night, either emulating a baby’s cry to attract potential victims or simply screeching like an owl should anyone approach. She’s also known to swoop after cars, attempting to run them off the road.^[9]

1 The Bell Witch

The Bell Witch is by far the most famous and enduring spirit attached to witchcraft, and according to legend, is one of the very few ghosts who—according to the myth—ever managed to kill someone. Her tale begins in rural Tennessee, from 1817 to 1821. Her haunting started when a man named John Bell shot at a mysterious creature in his cornfield, which appeared to have the head of a rabbit on the body of a dog.

As time went on, the whole Bell family became host to poltergeist activity, such as odd knocking and sheets being pulled off in the middle of the night. Betsy Bell was a particular victim to the Witch and often woke up being slapped and beaten by an invisible entity. Former U.S. President Andrew Jackson even visited the family, and he and his entourage were beaten and cursed at by the same invisible force.

The haunting of the Bell Witch, however, culminated in John Bell turning significantly ill, and the family discovered an odd vial with a mysterious liquid hidden in the home. When they tested the liquid on the family cat, it died immediately, and to this day, it is suspected that it was the Bell Witch who poisoned John.^[10]

We’ve all heard at least one ghost story in our lifetime. It seems that everyone and every place has come in contact with the paranormal. Statistically, around 45% of Americans believe in ghosts, and as many as 18% of the American population says they’ve actually come in contact with a spirit. That’s a pretty significant number for what could be considered by some as a total hoax.

Many theories have been proposed as to what ghosts actually are. Are there possible scientific explanations for that shadow following you in an empty house? How about that tingling sensation on the back of your neck in a dark room? Lastly, what about demons? Do they really invade our world to leave claw marks on our backs while we sleep?

Let’s investigate ten possible theories for these paranormal wanderers that are rooted in science rather than the supernatural.

Related: 10 Interesting Pseudosciences and Hoaxes

10 Sleep Paralysis

Probably the most common explanation for why we see ghosts is sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis “is like dreaming with your eyes open,” says Dr. Baland Jalal. As a neuroscientist, Dr. Jalal studies sleep paralysis at the University of Cambridge in England. He explains that we often experience very lifelike dreams during REM—rapid eye movement—sleep. While in REM sleep, our eyes can move around fairly rapidly under closed eyelids. However, the rest of our body doesn’t—or can’t—move. People may experience this and think they are paralyzed. However, the inability to move is likely “to prevent people from acting out their dreams.”

A lot of the most common examples of supernatural behavior can be explained by this neurological phenomenon: hallucinations, the physical presence of someone or something sitting or lying on a body, and even demon scratches. Yep, you most likely feel something did really happen, but you were in a terrifying awake-dream state instead.^[1]

9 Power of Suggestion

The use of suggestion is a powerful tool, and well-known studies have been done, but only recently have we investigated the power of suggestion with regard to paranormal events. In fact, some might say the entire Spiritualist movement is based on this theory of trickery.

In 2003, Richard Wiseman conducted two experiments for the British Journal of Psychology. The purpose was to examine the power of suggestion in a séance setting, asking whether belief in the paranormal made participants more prone to suggestion. The first experiment consisted of a fake medium who held a séance. During the evening, the psychic inferred that the table had moved. About one-third of the participants later reported that the table did move—though the table remained stationary throughout the experiment. They had wrongly reported the movement. Believers in the paranormal were more likely to misreport such activity than disbelievers.

Paranormal believers were more inclined to believe in the suggestions made or inferred by the medium than disbelievers following the next set of fake séances as well—with one caveat. They only reported that something happened when the suggestion aligned with their personal belief in the paranormal. For example, if the fake medium suggested that an object had not moved when in fact, it had—through trickery, of course—believers were no more likely to accept the suggestion than disbelievers. Overall, around one-fifth of the participants believed they had witnessed genuine paranormal phenomena.

It’s unknown whether the verbal suggestion directly affected the participants’ perception of the event, their memory of the event, or both. An existing belief in the paranormal did reveal the group’s likelihood of reporting a paranormal event when it didn’t happen, whether through true belief, suggestion, or demand characteristics—essentially, subtle cues that reveal to the participants what the experimenter expects to find or how the participants are expected to act. Still, the result is the same: a large minority of the participants reported that certain objects had moved and that they had witnessed genuinely paranormal events.^[2]

8 One Mysterious Planet

It might be cheating to say this, but sometimes supernatural occurrences can be explained by weird, yet not supernatural, things the Earth does every day.

Consider the Oracle of Delphi. Some considered the Pythia’s trance state supernatural and paranormal. She could speak to the spirits, the gods, and any other mythical, magical being to tell the future. People came to Delphi from hundreds of miles just to listen to her visions and see the ancient medium commune with invisible otherworldly beings. Was it all a hoax? Probably not. Scientists are pretty much in unanimous agreement that hydrocarbon gases from bituminous limestone under the Earth where Delphi sat probably brought on the Pythia’s trance.

In fact, a geological team from Wesleyan University found ethane, methane, and ethylene in spring water near the oracle. All the magical fumes inside the Oracle’s cave? Probably just some extremely toxic gasses. We may not all be suffering from faultline gas poisoning when we see our long-lost grandmother, but some of the oldest tales of the supernatural come from a time where furnaces were poorly regulated, mercury was on the loose in food and drink, and candle flames were notorious for throwing shadows. Eventually, those stories get passed down, revamped, and modernized to create some scary ghosts.^[3]

7 Low Frequency Sounds

If you’re a frequent watcher of televised ghost hunting shows, you may know about EMF readers. Supposedly, a ghost can manifest itself using the electromagnetic fields in the room. If that frequency is high enough, theoretically, ghosts could just appear and move objects all by themselves. The thing about EMF readers is that they’re incredibly unreliable. Things like cellphones and camera batteries can set off the meters. However, it turns out there is some science behind EMF and ghostly behavior.

The explanation is something known as the “fear frequency.” Human ears (especially adults) have trouble hearing low-frequencies below ~20 Hertz (or infrasound). However, the body can still sense them, often causing feelings of uneasiness, chills, or “nervous feelings of revulsion and fear.”

This theory helped solve a local ghost story. On Coventry University’s campus, there’s a 14th-century cellar supposedly home to a ghost. That is until lecturer Vic Tandy examined the room and found infrasound levels that explained the paranormal experiences. So, is it a ghost giving you the creeps? Probably not. It’s just your body experiencing a very normal reaction to the environment around it.^[4]

6 Mold and Fungus

Let’s face it, if you walk into a decrepit hospital or haunted house, you’re already going to be on edge about ghostly apparitions. Perhaps you’re in an area where wiring isn’t a problem, so we don’t have to worry about EMF. There’s not a living soul for miles, so human interference is also out. What about black mold? Asbestos? Rye ergot? There’s a high probability all the abandoned buildings have some of these toxic molds hanging out in the damp basements, deteriorating ceilings, and closed-up rooms, in addition to wafting through the air.

It’s possible all the ghostly sightings are just a result of bad air quality in “haunted” places. Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Shane Rogers said, “The links between exposure to toxic indoor molds and psychological effects in people are not well established; however, notably, many hauntings are associated with structures that are prime environments to harbor molds or other indoor air quality problems.”

The mold theory could also be an example of what paranormal investigators sometimes call “demonic activity.” On television, you might see someone instantly feel sick, feel a choking sensation, or experience headaches or lightheadedness when they come across a malignant spirit. Yet, they feel instantly better when they leave the space to get fresh air. Assuming it was an actor putting on their best performance, these symptoms are also a physical manifestation of being exposed to toxic mold and fungus. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s probably not a demon. It’s just your body telling you to get out and get fresh air.^[5]

5 Mind/Body Disconnect

Feeling like a ghost or another supernatural presence is nearby? It’s likely caused by a glitch in how our brain processes self-awareness and our sense of place in space. The brain is a complex organ and can create supernatural manifestations, even if your body isn’t quite aware it’s happening. When our brains inaccurately represent our bodies in space, it can potentially create a second representation of the body, which is no longer perceived as “me” but as someone else, a “presence.”

To demonstrate this, a team of Swiss neuroscientists figured out how to conjure those spirits in a lab. The team studied the brains of a dozen patients who all suffered from neurological disorders and claim to have had experiences with ghosts. MRI results showed that they all had abnormal activity in three brain regions involved in self-awareness, movement, and positioning themselves correctly in space.

Next, the researchers looked at a dozen healthy volunteers. They blindfolded their subjects and asked them to move their arm in a predetermined way. The participants were connected to a robot in front of them (the main robot) while a second robot was behind them (the second robot). The participants were unaware of the second robot, which was programmed to mimic the arm movements against the participant’s back. For example, if the participant made a circle then a triangle with their arm, the second robot would lightly “trace” the circle and triangle on the subject’s back.

When the second robot completed the movement at the same time the participants moved, they didn’t report feeling anything unusual. Then, the researchers had the second robot perform the series of movements after a few seconds delay, altering the participant’s temporal and spatial perception. After a few minutes, the researchers asked the participants how they felt. Unaware of the study’s goal, several participants claimed to have felt a presence around them, with others reporting that there were ghosts in the room. A few did not complete the experiment, requesting to leave the room before the experiment was finished.^[6]

4 Pareidolia

Once again, the presence of a ghost could just be your brain having a glitch in its self-awareness. This time, it’s a totally normal and natural phenomenon called pareidolia. Pareidolia is the same function of the brain that causes us to see images in clouds or facial features on intimate objects—you know, the image of the Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich.

Pareidolia is an ancient ability that may have helped our early ancestors survive by enabling us to identify potential hidden dangers in our environment—was that something in the grass over there? In his 1995 book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Carl Sagan helped spread the claim that pareidolia is why we see certain ghostly apparitions.

It’s a phenomenon that explains how our brains interpret light and shadows or figures in the distance on an eerie, foggy battlefield. It’s not that there isn’t something there to see; it’s just your brain filling in missing pieces to create an image that isn’t really there.^[7]

3 Energy Displacement

Bear with me on this one. It’s an Einstein theory to prove ghosts exist. Let’s assume ghosts are very real, and it’s not an act of supernatural but rather an act of valid scientific theory for why they appear among us.

Paranormal researcher John Kachuba says in his book Ghosthunters, “Einstein proved that all the energy of the universe is constant and that it can neither be created nor destroyed… So what happens to that energy when we die? If it cannot be destroyed, it must then be transformed into another form of energy. What is that new energy?… Could we call that new creation a ghost?” (LINK 4) It’s theorized that all the electricity that keeps our bodies moving is the same that manifests spirits. That’s why ghost hunters rely so heavily on devices to measure that energy.

In fact, Einstein’s theory is still valid, and we do have science to explain what happens to all that energy when we die. However, the answer is not “turns us into ghosts.” After a person dies, the energy in the body goes into the environment—that’s where all organisms’ energy goes after death. When we die, our energy is released in the form of heat. If we are eaten by animals or insects or taken in by plants via the nutrients left behind in the soil by a decomposing body, this energy is then transferred into these animals, insects, or plants. When cremated, our body’s energy leaves us as heat and light.

Consider plants and animals for a moment. Have you ever seen a ghost cow? A ghost Venus Fly Trap? Probably not. When we eat dead plants and animals, we consume their energy and convert it for our own use. Our bodies metabolize food for energy, completing the cycle. To believe that a person’s energy would remain long after the body is gone is highly suspect. Our energy does not remain as a spirit comprised of electromagnetic energy but rather in the form of heat and chemical energy.^[8]

2 Unprocessed Trauma

I’m not a therapist, but one very common explanation of why the living sees the dead has to do with how our brain processes (or doesn’t process) trauma.

Based on a study of 88 people who sought psychiatric care from 1974 to 1984, Dr. Lenore Terr proposed that many ghost reports are really the result of hallucinations and illusions drawn from horrible and often life-threatening experiences. PTSD sufferers have reported seeing, hearing, smelling, or “feeling the presence of” ghosts or other beings. Some of the children who had been attacked by animals described being “haunted” by animal spirits. Recent studies have revealed that certain mood and anxiety disorders may also affect sufferers, some of whom admitted to having had hallucinations or delusions or strange beliefs.

After a trauma, some people believe that they have psychic abilities. Severe trauma can lead to hallucinations, where what the brain is trying to process on the inside manifests itself as outside voices or images. The trauma may be from a short-term event like a car accident or more long-term events like prolonged domestic violence or child abuse. The inability or fear of dealing with the trauma can enable the sufferer to see or believe they see apparitions and other paranormal activities. These experiences may be the unconscious mind forcing the sufferer to finally deal with their trauma, leading to the end of the “hauntings.”^[9]

1 Positive and Negative Ions

I know this sounds a bit like Ghostbusters to bring up ions and proton packs, but it’s based on some real science to explore the supernatural. By nature, a negative ion is an atom that carries an extra electron in its shell and vice versa for a positive ion.

Some paranormal researchers claim that spirits can hinder normal ion balance in the atmosphere. In contrast, others say ghosts use the ions’ energy to manifest or interact with the physical world. I wouldn’t trust a ghost hunter with an ion meter. It’s all very unreliable technology to base results on. You see, ions are caused by all kinds of natural phenomena like weather, solar radiation, and radon gas. It all comes down to how one interprets the evidence.

However, positive and negative ions can affect the moods of the living. Negative ions can make us feel calm and relaxed, while positive ions can give us headaches and nausea. This might explain why people who live in “haunted” houses describe fatigue, headaches, and illness. When they feel an ion imbalance, they may think paranormal, not normal.^[10]