New York City is well-known for its bustling Times Square, towering skyline, and Broadway theater shows. Yet, New York, like many big cities, has a storied history, and some of the buildings there have seen such tragic events that they are more notorious for their unfortunate pasts than their desirable architecture.

Many ghost hunters and the paranormal-curious have been known to head to these spooky locations with hopes to investigate further. As it appears, there might be other reasons why New York is called the city that never sleeps. Here are ten of them.

10 The Dakota

The Dakota, located at 72nd Street and Central Park West, is home to some of the most sought-after real estate in Manhattan. It was built in the 1880s, and its owner, Edward Clark, who was the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, died at the age of 70 two years before the building was complete.

Overlooking Central Park, the Dakota is famous for both its Gothic architecture and haunted history. Horror fans will notice the exterior was used for scenes in Roman Polanski’s 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby. Also in the 1960s, when renovations took place; workers claimed they saw the ghost of a blonde-haired girl in the hallways.

Tragically, on December 8, 1980, Beatles singer John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman outside the Dakota. His wife still lives there, and she has claimed that the ghost of her late husband visited her one night and told her, “Don’t be afraid. I am still with you.”^[1] Before his death, Lennon also revealed to his wife that he had witnessed a “crying lady ghost” stalking the halls in the night.

9 The House Of Death

In Greenwich Village, 14 West 10th Street was home to author Mark Twain from 1900 to 1901, and his ghost is believed to be one of the 22 spirits that haunt the building, all of whom either lived or died at the residence.

One former resident saw the ghost of a man with “white hair, wild-like” sitting in a chair looking out the window, and when she asked him what he was doing there, he replied, “My name is Clemens and I got problems here I gotta settle.” Also, an actress named Jan Bryant Bartell complained of hearing noises as well as experiencing visions and feelings of dread at number 16 West (next door). She then moved to number 14 West, but the sensations continued, and she believed it was the ghost of Mark Twain.

In 1987, wealthy attorney Joel Steinberg brutally beat his adopted daughter to death at number 14. The building has since been referred to as “The House of Death” by those who know of its haunting history.^[2]

8 The Campbell Apartment

A cocktail bar called the Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Terminal was once the office of financier John W. Campbell. Following his death in 1957, it became a small jail before it was sold once again. Since the location’s restoration, the historic architecture has been mixed with contemporary design elements and offers a cozy place to enjoy a drink close by the busy main terminal. However, the history of paranormal activity here also attracts many ghost hunters.

In 2010, owner Mark Grossich said, “Over the last several years, employees have had instances where they felt someone pushing them from behind when they were walking across the floor, and there was no one there. They’ve felt gusts of cold air coming from out of nowhere. My staff has even reported seeing apparitions of an old, fashionably dressed couple sitting and having a cocktail on the balcony when the place was completely closed.”^[3] He added that the ghostly goings-on are so frequent that many of his staff members refuse to be in the place on their own.

7 The Conference House

The Conference House on Staten Island was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966. On September 11, 1776, Lord William Howe, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Rutledge, and John Adams all met here at a failed meeting over a peace treaty during the Revolutionary War.

In 1676, Christopher Billop, an English Royal Navy officer, acquired the land and built the Bentley Manor—which has since had its name changed to the Conference House. It is believed that Billop killed the maid of the manor by stabbing her on the staircase and then throwing her body down the stairs. His motive was that he’d discovered she was signaling to the enemy, and it’s said that her ghost still haunts the building. Another ghost that resides here is the spirit of Billop’s fiancee, who died of a broken heart when he abandoned her, and her cries can still be heard.^[4]

The building also sits on the largest Lenape burial ground in New York City, called Burial Ridge, which would explain a lot of the hauntings in this place.

6 The Lefferts-Laidlaw House

If the thought of hearing knocking on your door in the middle of the night—only to answer and see nobody is there—frightens you, then the Lefferts-Laidlaw House at 136 Clinton Avenue near the Brooklyn Navy Yard is one residence to avoid. In December 1878, then-owner Edward F. Smith heard knocking at his door and loud rattling of his windows, which continued through the night until he eventually called the police. As the police surrounded the building outside, a brick was thrown through the dining room window despite numerous police officers being at the property. After a search of the surrounding grounds, there was nobody else to be seen.

Many psychics have tried to understand what evil spirit haunts this place, and they hold “semi-seances” on the sidewalk outside the house, yet it all still remains a mystery. Built circa 1840, the temple-fronted Greek Revival-style mansion boasts six bedrooms and was last on the market in 2016 for $4.5 million.^[5]

5 85 West 3rd Street

Author Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his haunting Gothic stories, including “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Yet he might have gained inspiration for one of his most famous works, “The Raven,” during the time he spent living at 85 West 3rd Street. He lived at the address from 1844 to 1845, the same time the narrative poem was published, and according to those who have resided there recently, he hasn’t moved on.

The building was demolished by New York University and rebuilt as Furman Hall, yet some of the original features remain intact, such as the facade facing the front street and an original banister. Students living in the hall claim to have seen a mysterious ghost-like figure that stands near the banister and resembles the late Poe.^[6] In 1849, Poe died mysteriously at the age of 40 years old. He was found acting delirious in Baltimore, Maryland, and there has been much speculation surrounding his actual cause of death, with theories including alcohol poisoning, suicide, cholera, and even murder.

4 84 West 3rd Street

Across the street from Edgar Allan Poe’s former residence is a house with its own dark history. At 84 West 3rd Street, there is a former Fire Patrol station that was first built in 1906. Tragically, in 1930, a firefighter hanged himself in the building after discovering that his wife was having an affair. It’s believed that his heartbroken ghost haunts the building, and previous firefighters have complained about strange noises and also seeing the ghost suspended in the air—seemingly hanging from the rafters.^[7] The station has since been transformed into a private residence.

This certainly is one haunted street, as just a short walk down the road will take you to Hangman’s Elm, which is a large tree in Washington Square Park where public executions were once carried out. According to local legend, the last hanging that took place was in 1820, when a slave named Rose Butler was executed for burning down the home of her master.

3 The Manhattan Well Murder

Located in SoHo, the basement of the former Manhattan Bistro was the site of an infamous murder. One night in late December 1799, a young woman named Gulielma Elmore Sands was due to meet her lover Levi Weeks, as they had plans to elope. It was the last time anybody would see her alive. Then, 11 days later, her body was found in the basement’s well with bruises to her neck which suggested that she had been strangled.

Weeks was arrested and stood trial in what became known as the “Manhattan Well Murder,” but he was soon acquitted, thanks to his strong legal team. Since then, the well where the young woman’s body was found has attracted many ghost hunters and fans of morbid history alike. Maria DaGrossa, whose family ran the Manhattan Bistro, once noted, “People are constantly asking to come down here [to see the well].”^[8] After the bistro closed, the basement became the site of a clothing store.

2 12 Gay Street

Originally built in 1827, 12 Gay Street in the West Village is a three-story brick townhouse that doesn’t appear to have anything mysterious about it to an outsider looking in. However, the place is said to be haunted by a restless spirit that won’t keep quiet at night. A neighbor, who has lived on the same street for more than two decades, said, “I wouldn’t go in there right now—it’s legendary that ghosts live there. That place would be like moving into The Shining.”^[9]

Those who’ve entered the house claimed to have felt the sensation of others despite being alone, along with hearing footsteps on the stairs at night and seeing a man wearing a top hat appearing in doorways. There is also talk of a lot of paranormal activity in the basement, which was once used as a puppet theater by a previous owner. In 2009, the house was up for sale, and the new owners could guarantee their own real-life Stephen King experience for the asking price of $4.2 million.

1 57 West 57th Street

There have been many cases of haunted houses, but at 57 West 57th Street, it’s a haunted penthouse that sends shivers down the spines of those who visit there. According to local legend, those who took up residence in the penthouse would soon go insane and even turn to murder. Edna Crawford Champion was the wife of an inventor until her French lover, Charles Brazelle, beat him to death. After she lied to the police and led them to believe that her husband had suffered a heart attack, she bought the penthouse as a love nest. Then, one night, Charles turned on Edna and beat her to death with a telephone—her bodyguards then responded by fatally throwing him out a window.

The apartment was eventually sold to a man named Carlton Alsops, who became tormented by the sounds of high heels tapping across the floor, which caused him so much distress that his marriage eventually broke down. Alsops ended up in a mental asylum and gave up on the apartment completely.^[10] It’s likely that the apartment’s current residents have also heard, or have been warned, of the penthouse’s past.

Cheish Merryweather is a true crime fan and an oddities fanatic. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 5’2″ or at home reading true crime magazines.
Twitter: @thecheish

There’s just something inherently fascinating and creepy about people in masks. Perhaps you’ve read the Goosebumps book or loved the film The Mask. On the other hand, perhaps you’re thinking of a creepy masquerade ball or the emotionless, bloodstained visage of Michael Myers.

But there really is something extra horrifying about masks that it’s difficult to put our finger on. Imagine not being able to see the true face of the person looming in the darkness or meeting a ghoul who reveals who they really are by unmasking. See if you recognize any of the following characters and hope you never meet anyone like them on dark nights!

10 Kuchisake-Onna

Japanese legend tells of a female ghost called Kuchisake-onna, who is the soul of a woman murdered by her jealous husband.^[1] This spirit has been blamed for many assaults and deaths since the 1600s. She stalks dimly lit streets and alleys for victims, covering her mouth with either a fan, handkerchief, or medical mask, depending on which version you hear.

She asks travelers two questions. First, she inquires, “Watashi kirei ?” (essentially, “Do you think I’m pretty?”). Then she removes her disguise to show her bloody mouth with the sides cut wide. She asks her final question: “Kore demo?” (“Do you still think so?”). If you affirm her beauty both times, you’ll only walk away with your face slit like hers. Otherwise, you’re dead.

Stories of Kuchisake-onna were told during the Edo period (1600s–1800s), but then she disappeared until the 1970s, when a rash of sightings even prompted a police investigation. Could Kuchisake-onna have been turned into hannya, a once human woman consumed by jealousy and transformed into a demoness?

9 Ed Gein’s Human Masks

Infamous murderer Ed Gein took the faces (in addition to other body parts) both from his victims and from graves so that he could wear them as masks. Some masks appeared mummified, almost dried out, while others were more carefully preserved, perhaps as Gein grew more confident in his methods of procuration.

A few had lipstick applied and looked more lifelike, and four had been stuffed with paper and hung on the wall of his bedroom, almost like hunting trophies. The rest were put into plastic or paper bags, one of which was found by Deputy Arnie Fritz when he was investigating the house.^[2] It was nestled in a decaying robe thrown behind the kitchen door. When he opened the bag and saw hair, he reached in to pull the contents out. When he lifted the mask to the light, he realized it was the local tavern owner, Mary Hogan, who had gone missing three years previously.

8 Maori Masks

The Maori, who are indigenous to New Zealand, believe that masks, as well as other taonga (“treasures”), have spirits inside them that are tapu (“taboo”). Traditional beliefs also dictate that pregnant or menstruating women are tapu as well, so if they two should meet with something else that’s tapu, then a curse could be invoked.^[3]

This belief is so strong and deeply rooted in Maori culture that in 2010, the Te Papa museum in Wellington, New Zealand, which was exhibiting items of taonga, strongly recommended that pregnant and menstruating women should stay away. The contact between the sacred Maori artifacts and the women present could create a curse, as both the masks and artifacts and the women had negative wairua, or “spirits.”

7 Lead Masks Case

In 1966 in Rio de Janeiro, the corpses of Miguel Jose Viana (left above) and Manoel Pereira da Cruz (right above) were discovered on Vintem Hill wearing business suits and lead eye masks.^[4] They were electronics repairmen from Campos dos Goytacazes, over 280 kilometers (174 mi) away, and their deaths remain a mystery to this day. As well as the lead eye masks, they were found with waterproof jackets, an empty water bottle, two towels, and a notebook.

They were last seen buying water from a local shop, and Miguel was reported to have been in a great hurry and checking his watch a great deal. All that the notebook said was that they should be at the agreed place at 4:30 PM, to swallow the capsules at 6:30 PM, and to “protect metals” and wait for the mask signal. They were found with this paraphernalia and wearing the masks, but their bodies were not well-preserved enough to discover whether they had swallowed poison. Why they would need lead masks that would protect against radiation, towels, and notes about metals is a mystery.

6 Stolen Mayan Face

According to local legend, a mask was recovered at the property of a recently deceased gentleman who lived in Key West, Florida. It was said to have been stolen from an ancient tomb in Egypt decades prior.^[5] Psychics who held the mask reported sensing South or Central American energies. The caretaker of the gentleman’s estate said that he heard it was from a tomb, but he had assumed it to be Egyptian rather than from South or Central America.

The psychics thought that the pyramid they were seeing was probably an Incan or Mayan tomb instead, and when they held the mask in their hands, it was very cold but then suddenly became hot. It would numb their hands and send tingles up their arms as far as their shoulder. The most sensitive psychics wouldn’t touch it at all. While it is clear there is strange energy attached to it, it’s also possible that there is a curse, something not unheard-of when it comes to protecting sacred items from thieves or other enemies.

5 Carl Tanzler

Carl Tanzler was a German immigrant who claimed that during his childhood, he received visions of his one true love from his ancestor, Countess Anna Constantia von Cosel. Despite getting married and having two children with a woman who did not look like his vision, he always kept the face of his true love close to his heart. In 1930, after he’d left his wife and kids, he believed he’d found her at last. While working as a radiologist in Florida, he met a young Cuban American woman Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos. She was suffering from tuberculosis and died the next year.^[6]

Tanzler paid for her funeral and visited her mausoleum regularly. He was obsessed with Maria. In the dead of night in 1933, he took her body from the mausoleum and back to his home in a child’s red wagon. He put her skeleton back together using coat hangers, stuffed her with rags, and made her a wig from her own hair. She was dressed and put in his bed until, seven years later, following rumors of the desecration of her body, she was discovered by police.

While her body was covered with clothes, her face was a death mask of her former self, created by Tanzler, and was kept in his bed after the coroner had removed the rest of her body. Unbelievably, the statute of limitations had expired, and Tanzler’s case was dismissed out of court. He never faced trial or sentencing. Maria’s body was taken to a funeral home, where death tourists could view her before it was taken back to the mausoleum.

4 The Beast Of Jersey

Edward Paisnel began assaulting victims in 1960 on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands.^[7] Stopping short of murder, he would attack women and children in a long raincoat and a strange mask, and all the victims recalled was a strange, musky smell after he had sexually abused them. Paisnel also had access to a children’s home, La Preference, that was run by his wife. He would affect an Irish accent, would often tie a rope around the necks and wrists of his victims, and would drag them into a secluded area. They would be carefully selected and taken from their bedrooms after he had climbed through the window, abducted to a nearby field to be molested, and then returned to their homes.

As Jersey is only 119 square kilometers (46 mi²) in total, it is understandable how much fear he raised through his attacks—the rapist had to be someone everyone knew. His rubber mask was homemade and had black hair, and the tape he used to keep it on was later revealed to have marked his own face beneath. The mask was intended to conceal his identity but also to strike terror in his victims, people he abused until his arrest in 1971. Paisnel was sentenced to 30 years in prison for 13 counts of rape, assault, and sodomy.

3 Dennis Rader

Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK Killer (Bind, Torture, Kill), placed masks on some of his victims in addition to wearing a mask himself.^[8] After he had tortured and killed his victims (mostly women), he would later photograph himself in strategic poses, recreating what he had done as though he himself was the person he’d murdered.

Wearing their clothes and with a plastic mask of a woman’s face, he would take photographs of himself in his parents’ basement in Sedgwick County, Kansas. He would also travel to motels for the perverted photography sessions or go out into the woods. He was finally caught in 2005 and sentenced to life in prison.

2 Fabian Kramer

In 2012, after watching the horror film Saw (2004), Fabian Kramer became obsessed with murder. Just a teenager at the time, he wore a mask as he killed his landlady, 82-year-old Hanna Litz. He stabbed her 50 times in her apartment.^[9] The movie depicts how two victims are tied up in a bathroom, and the only means of escape is to saw off a part of their own bodies. While this did not happen in Kramer’s murder scene, he is said to have watched the movie and become inspired to kill while wearing a gruesome mask, which was set up on a mannequin in court at his trial.

After he stabbed Litz, he phoned the German police, who found him attempting to revive her, saying he was an “ambulance man.” The bloodstains on his body told a different story, and he was arrested and sentenced after the mask and a yellow-handled knife were found in his apartment.

1 Alex Mengel

In 1985, Alex Mengel was pulled over by police in New York while he was driving with three friends. The officer spotted shotgun shells in the car. Mengel shot the police officer, who later died. A day later, Mengel abducted 44-year-old Beverly Capone in her white Toyota. She was said to have vanished after she was last seen going to her car at 8:00 PM that night. The next day, in a residential area near Syracuse, a 13-year-old girl said a driver pointed a gun at her and told her to get in. Thankfully, she ran away before he could shoot or force her into the car. She said he wore a disguise: a wig with long, black hair, lipstick, and a dress. She later identified Mengel in a police lineup.

A week later, the Toyota was spotted in Toronto, and a police chase ended when Mengel’s car skidded on the ice. Beverly Capone’s driver’s license was found in the car with Mengel’s face pasted over her photo. Police also found a wig with black hair in the vehicle, but Mengel denied knowing Capone and said he’d stolen the car.

Investigators retraced Mengel’s steps and found a remote cabin where Mengel had hidden Capone’s ID card. Her body was buried in a stone wall by the cabin. She had been stabbed in the chest and scalped. Her face had also been peeled off, and it is assumed that Mengel had used her hair and face as a mask to try to escape. He was charged with the murder of the officer and Beverly Capone, but when he was being escorted back from court in a police vehicle, he tried to escape and was shot dead.^[10]

Alexa is a writer and inventor of the Haiku, living in Dublin.

Landmarks call out to tourists worldwide. People love taking selfies at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, Disney World and hundreds more. Many a tourist find something extra in their pictures once they start reviewing them. A face staring up at them from the water where the USS Arizona was sunk. Or shadows on a war memorial that resemble soldiers carrying their gear. Since Halloween is upon us, it’s time to dust off some lesser-known ghost stories surrounding landmarks, for those cold eerie nights.

SEE ALSO: 10 Celebrities Who Had A Terrifying Ghostly Experience

10 Central Park

Janet and Rosetta Van Der Voort were two sisters born to very wealthy parents in Central Park South, NY, in the 1800s. So protective were their parents of them, the two girls could rarely leave the house without them. One of the only sources of entertainment for Janet and Rosetta came in the form of ice skating on the Central Park Pond during winter. It was one of the few places they could go by themselves.

Janet and Rosetta were extremely close, to the point where they rebuffed any and all romantic advances from the opposite sex. In 1880, they died a few months apart, both never having married.
During World War I, sightings of a ghostly pair of skaters on Central Park Pond were reported for the first time. It was said the spirits of the sisters couldn’t leave their beloved hobby behind and returned to the pond wearing the same outfits they wore when they skated there a century ago.

More sightings followed with people reporting seeing the sisters skating in summertime; their skates cutting through the air just above the surface of the water in the pond.^[1]

9 Casa Loma

Casa Loma is a Gothic Revival style mansion with a massive garden in Toronto. It resides at 460 ft above sea level and was designed by architect E.J. Lennox. The mansion has been used for filming several movie and TV scenes and is an extremely popular wedding venue.

Casa Loma is also known for its eerie ghost stories. Guests and staff alike have reported seeing a lady in white, believed to be the spirit of a maid who worked on the premises in the 1900s and who may have died of influenza. There have also been reports of children’s laughter and talking while no kids were around.

Some even claim to have seen the restless spirit of Sir Henry Pellatt who commissioned the building of the mansion as well as his wife, Lady Mary Pellatt.

Even the tunnel that leads to the stables on the mansion’s grounds is believed to be haunted. Many visitors claim to have had their hair pulled or feeling like something has grabbed hold of them.^[2]

8 Dover Castle

Every bit the medieval marvel, Dover Castle resides in Dover, Kent, England. Not only is it the largest castle in the country, it is also referred to as the ‘Key to England’ based on its historical defensive significance. On the Dover Castle grounds, stand one of three Roman-era lighthouses left in the world. During the Second World War, tunnels underneath the castle (built more than 100 years prior), were converted into an air-raid shelter and eventually an underground hospital.

It is no wonder that with such a rich history, Dover Castle built up quite the ghastly reputation for paranormal activity. When the war ended, the army stayed at the castle until 1958. Five years later, the Ministry of Works took possession of the building for preservation.

Soon after, the ghost sightings started. It has been said that in the King’s bedroom, the lower half of a person walks through the door before disappearing into thin air. Staff members have reported seeing the same apparition and following it to try and find out where it wanders to, only to have it disappear before their eyes.

Other spooky reports state that visitors have heard drumming sounds coming from the battlements while a headless ghost walks the halls. It is thought that this ghost might be that of 15-year old Sean Flynn, a drummer boy who was decapitated by two soldiers. In addition to banging doors and screams, there have been several sightings of servicemen in their uniform in the WW2 section of the tunnels that run underneath Dover Castle.^[3]

7 Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe is a monument erected to honor the brave souls who died for France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Beneath it lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Arc De Triomphe is one of the most well-known landmarks in the world. It is unfortunately also a suicide magnet. In 1878, a man jumped over the parapet of the monument and died instantly as he hit the ground below. In 1908, a woman jumped from the monument and her dress got caught on a cornice. She hung there for several minutes before her seam finally gave way and she fell to her death.
On Bastille Day in 1914, a young woman named Rose had a quarrel with her lover. In a fit of rage, Rose ascended the Arc de Triomphe and jumped, narrowly missing tourists as she fell. Now, each time a parade passes the monument, Rose repeats her death jump, to the horror of those who witness it.^[4]

6 Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings in Egypt holds the tombs of pharaohs and other nobles of the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties. To date the valley contains 63 tombs and chambers, including the tomb of Tutankhamun. It is one of the most famous sites in the world and became a World Heritage Site in 1979.

This site is no stranger to paranormal tales. It is said that archaeologists are led to discover tombs under the guidance of the restless spirits of the ancient royals and noblemen in the Valley of the Kings. Arguably however, the most popular spooky tale to come from the valley, is the vision of an Egyptian pharaoh riding a chariot at midnight. It has been reported that the spectre wears a golden collar and ancient headdress and his chariot is pulled along by black horses.^[5]

5 Breytenbach Theatre

The Breytenbach Theatre in Pretoria, South Africa started out as a German club and was eventually taken over by Emily Hobhouse who started a craft school. When the deadly global influenza epidemic struck down millions in 1918, the building was used as a temporary hospital. Those who didn’t survive the disease were buried below what is now the stage of the theatre.

A nurse named Heather took care of the ill children in the makeshift hospital until she too caught the virus and died. An urban legend was born when Heather lost her life. It is said that the nurse never left her post in life, nor in death, to make sure that whenever a child needed her she would be ready and waiting to help. Another version of the legend has the ghost of Heather asking “where are my children? The spirits of the children remained as well.

A group of paranormal investigators were so interested in this story that they took it upon themselves to investigate the theatre. They claimed to have encountered poltergeist activity, heard an unseen piano being played and witnessed the ghosts of children running over the stage. Some of the investigators reported feeling someone watching and following them as well as feeling inexplicably ill. They also claimed to have an EVP of a disembodied voice calling for help.

Moreover, it is said that a monk also haunts the theatre and caused an accident in which two drama students fell ten metres far from the ceiling of the stage. It is alleged that the monk doesn’t like the productions presented at the theatre and likes messing around with the sound and lighting and following people to the restrooms to flush the toilets and freak them out.^[6]

4 Sydney Harbor Bridge and Middle Creek Bridge

Also known as “The Coathanger”, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is an iconic landmark that was opened in 1932. It is the tallest steel arch bridge and the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world.
According to legend, safety measures during construction of the bridge were not up to standard. During this time 16 deaths were recorded with a further 3 deaths covered up. It is said that 3 contractors fell into the pylons, but their absence wasn’t noticed for several weeks. When the tragedy was finally discovered, it was decided that it would be too difficult and costly to try and retrieve their bodies. Therefore, their remains are still embedded in the bridge today.

One spooky bridge isn’t all there is to talk about in Australia though: On Middle Creek Bridge near the Wakehurst Parkway, many travellers have reported seeing the spirit of Kelly, a girl in a white dress that telekinetically causes cars to crash unless the occupants explicitly state she is not wanted in the vehicle. A couple of years ago, a documentary was made about Kelly, and several crew members got sick during filming as a reaction to the terrifying tale.^[7]

3 Shaniwarwada Fort

Shaniwarwada was built in 1732 as a fortification in Pune, Maharashtra, India. After the rise of the Maratha Empire, the site was mainly used for Indian politics in the 18th century. In 1828, the fort was almost completely obliterated in a mysterious fire. The remaining walls now host tourists from all over the world.

As with most ancient structures, Shaniwarwada has its fair share of creepy legends. One of which tells of a young prince named Narayanrao that was murdered by a relative inside the fort. It is said that during the murder the boy screamed and shrieked at the top of his lungs. Now, during a full moon, if you camp out on the fort grounds, you will apparently hear the ghost of the prince screaming loudly for help. Another version of the legend says that the screaming can only be heard during new moon nights, as the brutal murder and dismemberment of the prince replays within the ruined walls of Shaniwarwada.^[8]

2 Stockholm’s Old Town

In 1520, after Danish King Kristian II invaded Sweden, 82 members of the Swedish nobility who wouldn’t swear off the opposition were beheaded or hanged in Stortorget; the Old Town’s main square. This horrific event became known as the Stockholm Bloodbath.

Legend has it that if you happen to wander through the square specifically on the nights of November 7th to 9th, you may just see the blood of the nobles slowly creeping over the cobblestones. It is also alleged that there are 82 white stones embedded in a red building in the square which were placed there in remembrance of those who died such a terrible death, centuries ago. (Some versions of the story states that 92 people were murdered and 92 stones are included in the red building) Since each stone represents a victim, it is believed that should one of the stones ever be removed, the soul of that specific person will rise from its grave and forevermore haunt Stockholm.^[9]

1 The Highland Towers

Technically no longer a landmark, the Highland Towers once formed three blocks of a 12-storey apartment in Ulu Klang, Selangor. The blocks were built between 1974 and 1982 and eventually became the new home of many expatriates.

On 11 December 1993, a combination of overloaded water pipes and monsoon rains led to an unimaginable tragedy. Block 1 of the Highland Towers resounded with a loud explosion after which it collapsed. 48 bodies were recovered during search and rescue operations.

Naturally, ghost stories and urban legends abounded in the aftermath of the terrible incident. In 1994, a taxi driver claimed to have picked up a female passenger in the middle of the night who insisted that she needed to go to Highland Towers. Arriving at the desolate site, the driver asked the woman why she needed to be there that time of the night. The woman said, “I left several of my belongings here.” When the driver enquired what could be so important that it couldn’t wait a couple of hours, the woman answered “My body and my life. I died here last year” before vanishing into thin air.

A similar story has it that a paranormal researcher was looking for evidence of ghostly activity at the site, when he ran into a little boy going up a flight of stairs. Startled, the man asked the child what he was doing there, to which the child answered, “I’m looking for my other arm, I lost it in that building there.”

In 2018, plans were announced to re-develop the now abandoned site into a recreational park. These plans are still being discussed in 2019 with the aim to start construction in 2020.^[10]

With Halloween upcoming, many Americans are prepared to bundle up for a night of trick or treating. Going for a late night swim would be unthinkable, unless you are a brave soul that might also be looking for a scare. If you live near any of the locales on this list, consider an invigorating dip in one of these ten supposedly haunted bodies of water. It could be a Halloween to remember!

SEE ALSO: 10 Horrifying Haunted Villages Around The World

10 Lower Yellowstone Falls—Wyoming

Waterfalls can be both beautiful and terrifying. They offer a sense of serenity, but going over the edge is the stuff of nightmares. In 1870, a group of five American militia men and their Crow guide went exploring deep in the canyons of Yellowstone. Native American tribesmen in the area stole all their horses overnight. The militia men began pursuit and soon caught up while the tribe was crossing the river near the Lower Falls. The raft the tribe had constructed was not strong enough to traverse the strong currents. Most of the horses however, had already been able to swim their way across.

The men and the women furiously paddled while the raft began slowly sinking below the water as it headed towards the falls. They began to chant a death-song as they got closer to the edge. Allegedly, the explorers raised their hats in salute as the raft went over. Legend has it, two screaming eagles flew by at the same moment. Today, people say that while standing near the falls, they can hear the tribe chanting their death song.^[1]

9 White Rock Lake – Dallas, Texas

White Rock Lake began operation in 1911, providing space for people to hike, bike, picnic, fish, and host events. It became a Dallas city park in 1929. Yet, many residents are wary of visiting lest they encounter the Lady of the Lake.

Stories about the Lady go back as far as the 1930s. The first written account was made in 1953 by Guy Malloy, a former director of displays for Neiman Marcus. He reported giving a ride near the lake to a young girl, dressed in one of his wares, who claimed to have been in a car accident with her boyfriend nearby. Malloy gave her a raincoat, but once they went to the address she had provided, she had disappeared. Since that claim, many more would go on to say they also picked up the Lady. Their stories differ somewhat. Sometimes, she wears a nightgown, other times a wedding dress. They also give several different versions of her death such as a boating accident, suicide, or murder-suicide. What they do not differ on is the ride itself.

She will often stand on the road near White Rock Lake at night and desperately beckon to be picked up by passing cars. She prefers the backseat because her dress is wet. She does not speak again, crying through most of the ride. As the journey ends the address given by the Lady, she will disappear or jump out of the car. Those who contact the owners of the house will learn that she is a spitting image for a previous owner who drowned years earlier.

Haunted Rooms America offers monthly tours where participants can learn about the Lady and search out her presence.^[2]

8 Saco River—Maine

The Saco River in Maine runs about 50 miles from Lovewell Pond to Saco Bay in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1675, three white men disembarked their ship and rowed up the river. They soon saw a Native American woman in a canoe with her infant son. The drunken men, believing a myth that baby natives could swim, grabbed the baby and threw it into the river. The woman dove in a saved her baby, but it died a week later. As it turned out, the father of the baby was the chief of a local tribe.

Incensed, the chief cursed the waters. He asked the spirits to claim the lives of three white men who venture into the river each year. I could not find any statistics on the number of yearly male Caucasian deaths in the river, but I am very sure I will never dive in.^[3]

7 Devil’s Pool – Australia

Over the last 60 years no less than fifteen men have lost their lives at Devil’s Pool in Australia. Legend says forbidden love is the cause.

The story goes that a young woman from the Yidinji people named Oolana married a respected elder from her tribe named Waroonoo. Soon after, she began lusting after a man named Dyga from a neighboring tribe. They escaped into the valleys only to be captured soon after. She broke free and threw herself into the waters. Oolana screamed for Dyga to follow, and he did. The legend does not tell what happened to him, but Oolana disappeared among the boulders and rushing waters. Today, signs are posted warning to keep away from the rocks and strong currents. Tourists who ignore the risk say they can hear Oolana’s cries for her forbidden lover.^[4]

6 Higbee Beach – New Jersey

Craig McManus has spent many years recording instances of Cape May, New Jersey’s many ghosts. McManus is a psychic and an author. He claims to feel, and sometimes see the presence of spirits when he walks the sand of Higbee Beach. One such spirit is that of a man in a long coat, sometimes walking a black dog.

McManus reports that the Higbee family built the Hermitage Hotel in 1823 near the beach. Both Higbee brothers died in the 1870s and their niece Etta Gregory took over the hotel. One of the brothers, Thomas, had specific instructions as to the manner of his burial and undisturbed eternal rest. When Etta died in 1937, her last wishes required that Thomas be disinterred and buried with her in a different cemetery. McManus believes the man with the dog may be the discontented Thomas Higbee. Reports of his sightings say he appears around dusk, but vanishes when approached.^[5]

5 Lake Ronkonkoma – Long Island, New York

In the 1600s, a Setauket Indian princess named Tuskawanta fell in love with a white woodsman named Hugh Birdsall, who returned her affection. Sadly, her father barred her from seeing Birdsall. Tuskawanta spent seven years writing love letters to her beau on tree bark, attempting to send them by floating them across the lake that kept them separated. After never getting a single response, she gave in to despair, rowed out into the middle of the lake and stabbed herself through the heart.

As the legend goes, the tragic princess vowed to pull one young man into a watery grave every year since. Looking at statistics for drownings over a century’s time, the lake averages well over one a year. A former lifeguard revealed in the 34 years he spent patrolling the beaches, 30 male victims drowned. A researcher points out, however, that her two centuries of findings points to more drownings of women and children than men. Fatefully, the lake has been closed to swimming due to algae bloom. The “Lady of the Lake” will have to find a new way to claim her victims.^[6]

4 Braley Pond—Virginia

The George Washington National Forest in Virginia is apparently home to several spooky areas. One of which is the tranquil Braley Pond, open for trout fishing plus hiking and biking. Unfortunately, in May of 2003 it was the site of a brutal gang murder. Suicides in the forest nearby have also been reported.

Many visitors of the campgrounds report feelings of nausea, disorientation, and dread that come on suddenly. Shadowy figures and children’s laughter have also been reported. The pond seems to be the spot of the most intense occurrences. In 2006, the members of the Shenandoah Valley Paranormal Society investigated the pond. One member claimed “something came home with me that night…it felt like slime, and I could feel it moving around on my skin.” There are rumors that one of the researchers may have committed suicide after the visit.

The most disturbing tale of a haunting at the lake comes from paranormal researcher Shea Willis. Willis and a friend decided to investigate the pond with a group of a dozen teenagers interested in parapsychology. Willis sensed anxiety immediately upon arrival. Not long after, two of the teens got physically ill. Feeling the strongest psychic reaction she had ever felt, Willis decided to end the trip.

Later that night, Willis and her friend decided to go back. The sense of dread was upon them as soon as they returned. Willis recalls, “This (presence) didn’t feel like the others, it didn’t even feel human.” They soon heard something in the water, and as they turned, a green orb was hovering above the pond. While Willis was fumbling for her camera, the sounds in the water began to get increasingly louder. She and her partner decided it was finally time to leave. As they ran, Willis’s friend was flung into the air and into the water.

As she called for him, she felt something large crawling on her back. Her friend had made it back to the truck, and when Willis got there, neither of them could find anything on her body. She would go on to have nightmares and a general horrible feeling for a long time after. Over the next few months, Willis made several return trips; she encountered various strange occurrences each time. While Willis’s story may sound fantastical to many, it still should make you think twice about a trip to Braley Pond. ^[7]

3 Hales Bar Dam – Tennessee

America’s first hydroelectric dam, the Hales Bar was constructed in the early 20th century. Little did they know, they were building it on cursed land. That would just be the beginning.

The Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, agreed upon between Daniel Boone and several Cherokee leaders, was signed in 1775. One of the leaders, Dragging Canoe, was outraged and vowed the land would forever remain “dark and bloody” for all those who lived there. The surrounding waters were already deemed sacred by local natives; they believed they could see the souls of their ancestors being sucked into the largest of the water’s whirlpools.

The construction of the dam was fraught with horrific problems. There were accidents, and conflict amongst the workers with regards to race. Many workers, perhaps even several hundred, died while working on Hales bar. The dam also leaked soon after completion. The decision was made to flood the area below the dam which ended up washing out an old cemetery. In the 1960s, the dam was finally closed. The new dam, Nickajack, was named for an old Cherokee village. In true Tennessee dam fashion, it flooded the old village for which it was named.

Today, visitors to the old Hales Bar Dam might encounter Cherokee spirits, the ghost of a murdered woman, ghosts of the workers who perished, or a demon in a tunnel below. Tourists also have reported seeing apparitions, and disembodied footsteps kicking up dust. Children’s voices crying and yelling are also common occurrences. Visitors silly enough to go near the whirlpool have even mentioned feeling hands grabbing at them.^[8]

2 The Queen Mary’s First Class Swimming Pool – Long Beach, California

The Queen Mary Hotel is an ocean liner that used to sail in the North Atlantic from the 1930s to 1960s. It has been run as a hotel for the last half century. The hotel itself is considered one of the most haunted hotels in the country; its First Class Swimming Pool seems to be the center of it all. Two women may have drowned in it back when the ship was in operation. The ghosts seen there today seem to only be women. The most reported figures appearing are of an adult woman, and a young girl named Jackie. Some say young Jackie plays hide and seek at night with guests. Guests also claim to see wet footprints around the edge of the empty pool.^[9]

1 Lake Superior – Canada (The SS Kamloops)

For those who have seen the haunted-submarine film Below, this story might bring about the same watery chills.

In late fall 1927, the SS Kamloops was encountering trouble during a storm on Lake Superior. The captain of its accompanying ship, the Quedoc, spotted a massive wave brewing and changed course to Fort William. His warning to the Kamloops must have come too late as it never arrived. After three weeks of searching in terrible winter weather, the search was called off.

The next spring, the remains of nine crew members and a lifeboat were found on a small island near a makeshift fire pit. The ship itself would go down as one of the “ghost ships” of the Great Lakes; dozens of ships vanished without a trace. A half century after its sinking, however, the SS Kamloops was found. The near-freezing temperatures at the bottom of Lake Superior kept the vessel extraordinarily well-preserved. The food was in remarkable condition and crew cabins still looked eerily lived-in.

Only the most experienced divers braved the depth and frigid temperatures of the lake floor. Those divers began to tell a tale of a Kamloops crewmember who appeared to them below. They nicknamed him Grandpa. Sometimes they saw him lounging in a crew bunk, watching them explore. Others claimed to see him go about his crew routines. The most frightening stories were of Grandpa following them as they swam; he would sometimes even reach out and touch them.

During their investigations, divers also found the remains of a fantastically preserved crew member in the engine room. The body still had its flesh, maintained an icy mummification. The divers knew this had to be Grandpa’s body. The corpse, they say, would seem to follow them around, in much the same way as Grandpa did. They would often report seeing both in one trip, but never in the same room. Despite the scariness of the ghostly depths, Grandpa never attempted to hurt anyone. The divers said he seemed happy to just have company. The cause of the SS Kamloops‘ sinking was never uncovered. Perhaps Grandpa lingers so he may discover what led him and his companions to their watery graves.^[10]

About The Author: Hello everyone on the internet! A little about me: I have two degrees in film: my B.A. from UC Berkeley, and my M.F.A. from Academy of Art University. I worked for a little while in the production office on several films including Bee Season, and Milk. I transitioned to TV and spent a few years in the “bullpen” working on live games for Pac-12 Networks. Lately, I’ve found that writing is what really does it for me. I’ve been writing film reviews for almost five years for the Concord/Clayton Pioneer. Very recently I’ve decided to branch out into comic books and online writing. I have also been a swim coach for twenty years.

Anything in life can become haunted. From houses to people to patches of land to toys, ghosts will attach to anything in their power to affect. This apparently includes retail stores!

See Also: Top 10 Famous Haunted Landmarks You Didn’t Know Were Haunted

Across the US (and England, apparently), retail stores like Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, etc have all been the target of hauntings, whether from bad choices in placement or from strings of awful murders happening on the property. Ghosts of all ages and types, from benevolent to malicious, have started running amok in stores like a bad Ghostbusters remake.

The good news is that we now have a list of the 10 most haunted stores, so you can avoid them in future shopping sprees…or go to them on purpose, if you’re hunting more than just bargains.

10John T. King Used & Rare Books

In Detroit, Michigan, there’s no shortage of possible hauntings. In fact, you’d probably expect many places there to be haunted, given the amount of ruined buildings, abandoned factories, and the murder rate of almost a murder per day.

The most notable haunting in Detroit’s retail sector, however, seems to be the ghost that haunts John T. King Used & Rare Books. The store, standing four floors tall, housing over 1,000,000 books separated into 900 categories, is also home to a couple of ghosts!

The first ghost is reportedly a man who killed himself on the third floor of the glove factory in which the book store is now housed, after suffering heartbreak from being rejected by a coworker. He is supposedly responsible for many sightings, cold spots, and echoing footstep-like sounds in the building, and was authenticated by a psychic.

The second ghost was acquired alongside many books bought from the estate of a murder-suicide victim. Although not dangerous, the ghost reportedly annoys employees by generating cold spots and knocking scores of books off the shelves.

9 Market Basket Grocery Store

In Wilmington, Massachusetts, there’s a grocery store known as the Market Basket. This store is the employer of one Christina Bush, a 25 year old psychology major who has worked for the company since she was 14. Christina didn’t believe in ghosts, not had she ever seen anything weird in her local store, until March of 2019.

While standing at the bakery counter, ringing up another customer, Christina reportedly looked up and saw an elderly woman in a white nightgown and haircap standing, barefoot, a few feet away, staring at her. She looked down at the counter, then quickly back up…and the woman had vanished.

Startled, she searched the store for the woman, but she had vanished without a trace. Independent research into the situation by Christina turned up few clues, although others responded to her questions saying they had seen similar apparitions in the store, and one woman claimed to have seen that exact ghost in her own home, just a few blocks from the store!

8 San Francisco Safeway

The San Francisco Bay Area is no stranger to hauntings, but perhaps the oddest haunted place is the local Safeway in the Sunset District. Safeway, a national grocery chain, is best known for the jokes about their terrible house-brand ice cream, but now might be known for other reasons: GHOSTS!

The San Francisco Safeway is haunted by at least one incredibly eerie ghost, a little boy, about 8 years old. Appearing mostly at or around midnight, the child has been seen by multiple employees, usually sitting on the floor curled in the fetal position, or standing in a corner facing a wall, with his face hidden.

The Safeway was supposedly built on the site of an old hotel which was burned to the ground for insurance money. It’s unknown if the boy perished in the flames, or if he was there long before that. While his origins remain a mystery, his presence is a concrete fact to those who have seen him.

7 Dimond Center

In Anchorage, Alaska, the Dimond Center mall is a point of some contention. Although few dispute the notion that it is in fact haunted, the arguments come from how it came to be haunted in the first place.

Many people claim that the mall was built on a burial ground, the construction stirring up restless spirits. Others assert that no such burial ground could have existed, as the area was barren and layered with hard permafrost before the mall was built, thus the ghosts have to be from the many deaths at the mall (from things such as aneurysms, shootings, and Freon leaks).

They do seem to all agree, however, that the ghosts are mostly found lurking in bathrooms and hallways, and that the three most frequently sighted are The Woman, who supposedly died while mall walking, The Tall Man, and The Child. It might be worth a look if you’re ever in Alaska!

6 Alabama Sams Club

Oxford, Alabama made a tragic and highly cursed mistake in 2009: letting Walmart build a Sam’s Club in their town. This in and of itself would not normally cause too many problems, but this particular Sam’s Club decided to take up residence over an area that required them to bulldoze Native American cultural mounds, using the dirt as foundation fill.

Former mayor of Oxford, Leon Smith, insisted that the mound “ain’t never been a burial ground” and was a natural formation and at most used for “smoke signals”. The fact that the construction was plagued by disasters like a sinkholes and severe economic troubles didn’t seem to bother the people in charge of the project at all, as they plowed ahead with destroying the rock and dirt mound, while the Mayor took to claiming he was “full blood Indian” in an attempt to stave off criticism ( Mayor Leon was decidedly not Native American).

Although the store itself has not much Poltergeist-like activity since construction, the numerous setbacks and unfortunate accidents during construction suggest that the land is definitely haunted, and possibly cursed.

5 Guitar, Amp and Keyboard

Brighton, England has its fair share of ghosts, as does all of Britain, but a personal favorite is the rock and roll ghost of Guitar, Amp and Keyboard. The ghost has been caught on video at least twice being a spooky little devil and messing around with customers and merchandise in the store.

One video shows the ghost appearing as a full body apparition and striding towards a customer, who doesn’t notice it at all. The second, taken while the store was closed, shows the ghost (now invisible) rattling the guitars and pulling a price tag off of a Fender, throwing it to the ground.

Although their could be logical explanations for the moving guitars and snapping price tags, I can’t seem to think of any, nor could the store owners. Perhaps the ghost of a frustrated rock star stopped in for one last great performance on their way to the ferryman.

4 Seawall Walmart

Galveston, Texas, much like Brighton, has no shortage of ghosts and ghouls haunting its fair city. None have quite the impact, however, of the ghosts in the Seawall Walmart.

Built on the former site of St. Mary’s Orphan Asylum (good lord, Walmart, have some restraint in picking cursed locations to build!), the Seawall Walmart has been plagued with hauntings from the start of construction. St. Mary’s, destroyed in the hurricane of 1900, saw the deaths of 90 children and 10 nuns, 100 dead at one blow, that’s got to be enough bad energy to curse the land it stood on for at least 200 years.

And apparently it has, as the Walmart has several ghosts reported to be within its walls. The most notable is a child who cries out, heartrendingly, for its mother. The other ghosts mainly giggle and, if the employees are to be believed, play with and even steal pallets of toys! Personally, I think they’ve earned the right.

3 Sunnyvale Toys “R” Us

Ah, California, the land of sun, beaches, and apparently ghosts! A favorite being the ghost of the Sunnyvale Toys “R” Us, a ghost by the name of Crazy Johnny.

According to legend, Crazy Johnny was a preacher employed by one Martin Murphy, who owned the land the Toys “R” Us was built on. Crazy Johnny, who was supposedly suffering from encephalitis, was in love with Martin Murphy’s daughter, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, however, was in love with a lawyer, and planned to marry him. Crazy Johnny was so upset by the news that in his grief and rage he lost his grip on the axe he was using to chop wood and struck his leg, severing the artery and bleeding out in minutes.

Of course, he didn’t quite stay down, instead reportedly rising as the famous ghost of the Sunnyvale Toys “R” Us, opening and closing doors, whipping papers around, whispering over the intercom, and frightening several psychic investigators.

2 Pike Place Market

Seattle, Washington boasts that it contains the most haunted location in the entire state, and it very well might! Home to at least 5 distinct ghosts, the Pike Place Market is full of knocks, cold spots, and things that go bump in the night.

From the sightings of Princess Angeline, an elderly Native American woman with a red scarf and basket, to Jacob, a young boy who haunts the bead shop, the ghosts all have distinct personalities and living identities.

One of the ghosts, Nora the Psychic, is said to inhabit a crystal ball in Shiela’s Magic Shop, and moves the inventory through all hours of the night!

1 Murder Kroger

Atlanta, Georgia may not be the most haunted town in the state (that honor goes to Savannah, Georgia instead), but it does have the most unique hauntings. No civil war ghosts or lingering spirits of the Victorian era here, instead Atlanta hosts the infamous Murder Kroger.

Murder Kroger, as its name suggests, has been the site of at least 4 murders since 1991. The first, Cynthia Prioleau, was shot in the parking lot. In 2002, a dead body was found in a car in front of the Kroger, followed by a murder in a building which shared the parking lot with the unfortunate Kroger, and then yet another shooting in 2015.

Though no one had been able to provide evidence of ghost, many residents of the neighborhood surrounding the Kroger have reported that the entire place has a nasty energy to it, a feeling of anger.

Or did, until they tore it down and put up another Kroger in its place in late 2019. The new Kroger, with a roof covered in grass and beehives, has inherited the nickname, but supposedly not the bad juju…yet.

You’ve all experienced this sort of thing: you buy a box of pop-tarts for the morning, get home and go to bed. You hear a rattling sound from the kitchen and go downstairs to investigate only to find your tasty, frosted breakfast treat floating in mid air over an open portal to hell which has opened up on the linoleum flooring. Congratulations, you just purchased some haunted pop-tarts. Here’s a list of some less breakfast-y haunted and cursed objects.

Top 10 Creepy Cursed Objects

10 The Swansea Devil

How far would you go if you missed out on getting a job? Would you anonymously post one-star reviews about the company that snubbed you? Maybe you’d stalk and harass the guy or gal who got the job instead of you? Maybe you’d set a creepy carving of Satan opposite the company building with a curse that foretold the destruction of the place? Too far? Not for the snubbed architect in 1890’s Swansea, South Wales who was denied the chance to rebuild a church—that is exactly what he did.

The story goes that when famed architect Sir Arthur Blomfield beat a local architect for the contract to rebuild the ancient St Mary’s church in the centre of the town, the local man was incensed. A few years later he purchased an old row of cottages that stood opposite the new church, tore them down and built a large red brick building there, placing a statue of a smiling devil on its edifice. The aggrieved builder then placed a curse on the church, proclaiming that it would soon be destroyed and the devil would look upon the rubble and keep smiling. During the blitz, Swansea was targeted by the Luftwaffe, St. Mary’s took a direct hit, allowing the cure to be true. Now the Devil is a quirky landmark in Wales’ second city, peeping out at shoppers from a window at the Quadrant Shopping Centre.^[1]

9 Man Proposes, God Disposes

A bizarre, possibly supernaturally influenced suicide takes place on a college campus. What would you expect the note the victim left behind to say? Maybe ‘The voices told me to do it’. Perhaps ‘The Devil made me do it’? what about ‘The Polar Bears made me do it’?

This cursed painting, painted in 1864 by Edwin Henry Landseer, is often hidden from view by faculty at Royal Holloway, University of London in order for superstitious students to complete their exams. One tradition holds that anyone sitting directly in a sight line with the painting will fail their exam. Another legend states that one unlucky student locked eyes with one of the ravenous Polar Bears, went mad and committed suicide after scrawling the phrase ‘The Polar Bears made me do it’ on their exam paper. Even though the curse is unlikely to be ‘real’, nobody can doubt that trying to concentrate on an exam when two blood-thirsty bears tuck into a meal of frozen polar explorers is a tough ask.^[2]

8 Letta the Doll

A quick Google image search of ‘Real Annabelle haunted doll’ or ‘real Robert the haunted doll’ throws up the rather disappointing result of two, rather plain-looking kids’ toys. Their reputation is what terrifies, as well as their ascension to the top of horror pop culture. Letta, on the other hand, looks utterly monstrous.

Legend has it that this awful looking thing was made for a little gypsy boy over 200 years ago. Unfortunately, (probably in a fit of blind terror) the boy drowned, his soul becoming trapped forever inside the creepiest looking doll ever made. What are the chances, eh? Letta now resides in Australia, going on tours around the land down under with its owner, Kerry Walton.^[3]

7 The Chained Oak

This ancient Oak Tree near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, England is undoubtedly one of the scariest looking trees you’ll ever look at. Covered in huge, rusted chains, it looks as though the tree may have once roamed around the forest, picking off wanderers who dared disturb its arboreal realm before the villagers captured it and chained it to his current spot.

The ‘real’ legend is just as frightening. Legend has it that the Earl of Shrewsbury who lived at the grand estate of Alton Towers (now a pretty decent theme park) was travelling back home one evening when his carriage was stopped by a lone beggar woman. The grubby old lady asked the Earl for a penny and, when he rudely dismissed her, cursed the Earl, stating that for every branch that fell from the old oak tree, a member of his family would perish. That night, a great storm ripped one of the limbs from the tree and, by the morning, one of the Earl’s family members had passed away horribly. The frightened nobleman then ordered that the Oak be bound in chains so that no more branches could fall.^[4]

6 Any Sweater given to a Partner

It must be hard being a knitting enthusiast…is a sentence nobody ever said. When it comes to keeping a healthy, long-lasting relationship many knitters feel that they are plagued by a curse that mandates they keep their hobby and their hubby as far apart as possible! The notorious ‘Sweater Curse’ is the notion that when a knitter decides to craft a gift for their significant other as a gift they all but guarantee that the relationship will come to a premature end.

As opposed to suggesting some supernatural origin to this jinx, the knitters of the world are a rational bunch, putting this perceived phenomenon down to a host of rational possibilities like: Bad timing -it takes an age to knit a whole sweater, ample time for a crappy relationship to die. Last Shot—the knitter knows subconsciously that the relationship is nearly over and thus embarks on a grand a huge amount of work culminating in (in knitting terms) a grand gesture. There are, of course, myriad other reasons, but the rule of thumb remains—it you love him/her, for God’s sake, don’t knit them a sweater!^[5]

10 Haunted Asylums With Extremely Dark Pasts

5 Merlin’s Oak

Our second hexed Oak and second entry from Wales. This one is related to the wizard Merlin from the Arthurian legend (the original Welsh versions, though, not the silly French version with a sword in a stone that, somehow, has the English as the good guys!)

The town of Carmarthen is, according to the signs when you enter by road, the oldest town in Wales. So old, in fact, it’s very origins have been linked to Myrddin (Merlin), giving rise to the town’s name Caerfyddrin (The Fort of Merlin). A large oak once stood in the town, believed to have been planted by the wandering wizard. A prophesy accompanied the ancient tree: “When Merlin’s Oak comes tumbling down, Then shall fall Carmarthen town”. When the tree did finally get removed after years of decay, the very next year the town suffered a train derailment and some of the most severe flash flooding recorded. A branch taken from the tree is still displayed in the local museum (perhaps keeping this beautiful town from a fiery apocalypse!)^[6]

4 Okiku

Weird looking doll? Check. Religious undertone? Check. Haunting and/or possession? Check. Inanimate object that grows human hair? Wait, what?

This doll, according to legend, was owned by a little girl on the Japanese island of Hokkaido who, as you’d expect, died and now resides in her favorite toy. When her family moved away from Hokkaido they left the doll with the monks of the Mannenji Temple. Little ‘Okiku’ still resides there, her bizarre ability to grow her hair on full display to worshipers and visitors. Some even suggest that if you look into her half-open, dead porcelain mouth you can see that her teeth are growing too. *shiver*^[7]

3 The Woman From Lemb Statue

Whenever a rotund, faceless statuette is unearthed in Europe, people seem to instinctively assume it is a fertility goddess. It must be, right? Look at the bulging ‘stomach’ reminiscent of a pregnant belly. The wide hips. The lack of facial features, elongated neck….truth is, we don’t know for sure what the significance of many of these pre-written-history idols is. What we do know is if you touch the ‘Woman from Lemb’, you’ll probably die. And all your family will too.

In a similar vein to many mummy-borne curses, this artefact is purported to have caused the deaths of a whole heap of curious antiquarians and collectors. The strange stone idol is now displayed at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.^[8]

2 Haunted Ledger

A common element in tales of haunted or cursed objects is the consequences faced by the living for removing an artifact or item from its ‘rightful’ place, prompting supernatural forces to play havoc until it is returned. This usually involves a tomb, ancient temple or holy mountain. In the case of this haunted jewelry shop ledger, however, it seems all the spooky accountancy aid wanted was to be beside the seaside!

After the demolition of the ‘Shorland Fooks’ jewellers in the city of Brighton on England’s south coast, builder Tony Benyovits removed an old shop ledger book he had found hidden behind a brick wall. He took the interesting example of retail memorabilia back to his home in Maidstone, Kent (65 miles away). Soon enough, his family were being plagued by all manner of otherworldly phenomena: strange voices, ghostly apparitions and even strange images of people appearing in the family’s rug. One particularly uppity spirit informed Mr Benyovits’ daughter, Josephine, that the book needed to be returned to its hometown by the centenary of the first entry within its crumbling pages. Not wanted to anger these (I assume) long-dead jewelers, the family donated the book to Preston Manor—(reputedly) Brighton’s most haunted house—which is where it now resides.^[9]

1 Portrait of Delphine LaLaurie

The evils perpetrated by notorious New Orleans slave owner Delphine LaLaurie have been discussed many times on , quite rightly singling her out as one of history’s most evil women. It is no surprise, then, that the unspeakable crimes she committed have catapulted her into the realms of dark folklore and urban legend.

In the 1990’s, the residents of an apartment building which stands on the spot that LaLaurie’s infamous chamber of horrors once stood decided to pool their assets and brighten up the communal spaces with some nice new artworks. What better way could there be to achieve this goal than to commission local artist Ricardo Pustanio to paint them a portrait of a notable local celebrity. Who could this be? Louis Armstrong? Truman Capote? DJ Khaled…even though he wasn’t famous yet? No, they chose a lovely, cheery portrait of Madame Delphine LaLaurie. And, wouldn’t you know it, it turned out to be haunted! Cue a series of bone-chilling encounters with the ghost of LaLaurie, culminating in the portrait being taken down, covered up and stored away securely. Maybe pick a nicer subject for the communal art next time, perhaps a jolly picture of a smiling clown?^[10]

Top 10 Cursed And Haunted Household Items

About The Author: C.J. Phillips is an actor and writer living in rural West Wales. He is a little obsessed with lists.

The history of “lunatic asylums” and their more modern replacements, psychiatric hospitals, is long, dark, and bloody. The institutions began as essentially prisons for people with mental disorders; the buildings were often just collections of empty cement cells to house those deemed abnormal.

In the 1800s, when the mentally unwell finally began to be classified as patients, conditions worsened in many ways. Many common “treatments” for people with mental health conditions were ignorant of both science and medicine and were often vicious and violent. This, coupled with routine abuse of patients by staff, made asylums hell on Earth until they were shut down or repurposed during the “deinstitutionalization” waves of the 1950s and 60s.

Since then, many former asylums have sat empty. Or seemingly empty, as paranormal encounters at these locations are common. It seems centuries of cruelty and torture left many spirits with unfinished business in the facilities. If ghosts are indeed real, then abandoned asylums are perhaps the best place to find them. Here are ten asylums reported to be haunted, and some have the evidence to back it up.

10 St. Augustine’s Asylum

Known also as Kent County Lunatic Asylum, St. Augustine’s Asylum is located in Chartham, Kent, England. It was open from 1876 to 1993, and in those 117 years, the building was home to an immense amount of human suffering. In the 1970s, a nurse at the asylum teamed up with a local university researcher to create a lengthy report on all the inhumane injustices they witnessed within St. Augustine’s walls. Most notably, they detailed excessive use of electroshock therapy on patients, whether the ‘treatment’ was warranted or not.

Visitors to Augustine’s remaining structures report feeling watched, hearing footsteps behind them, seeing glowing lights, seeing orbs, and sudden feelings of dread and depression. And even if there is nothing supernatural about the place, any video of the rotting, gloomy interior is sure to unsettle you on its own.

9 Ararat Lunatic Asylum

Ararat Lunatic Asylum, later renamed Aradale, was the single largest asylum in Australia when it opened in Ararat, Victoria, in 1867. Authorities didn’t fully shut the facility down until 1997. It had housed tens of thousands of patients over its lifetime, including thousands of violent criminals whose mental conditions prevented them from being held in traditional prisons.

Ararat was frequently cited as one of the most haunted places in Australia until being repurposed as a university. Owed in part to the over 13,000 patients who died within its walls, Ararat was said to be home to numerous specters, trapped in afterlives of suffering. This has made it one of the most popular ghost tour locations in the country.

8 Taunton State Hospital

Taunton State Hospital opened in 1854 in Taunton, Massachusetts, and over its lifetime, it housed thousands of people with mental health conditions. Most notable among them was Honora Kelley, nicknamed ‘Jolly Jane.’ Jane confessed to having committed 31 murders and said her goal was “to have killed more people-helpless people-than any other man or woman who has ever lived.” It’s said that her work isn’t finished, so she haunts what is left of the asylum to this day.

Other rumors about the location persist, including the belief that a Satanic cult ran it. Allegedly the cult would use patients as sacrifices in dark rituals in the hospital basement. Most ghost encounters have taken place in the basement as well, including a shadowy figure that crawls along the walls, watching, and an invisible force that prevents some visitors from getting past the bottom step of the basement stairs.

7 Beechworth Lunatic Asylum

Beechworth Asylum, also known as Mayday Lunatic Asylum, operated from 1867 to 1995 in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. Over those 128 years, over 9,000 patients died within its walls, and some remain still.

One ghost is said to be a woman who was thrown from an upper-floor window just for being Jewish, and the Rabbi called to move her to medical treatment couldn’t arrive in time to save her from a slow death out on Beechworth’s lawn. Another is a little boy James who talks to visiting children. There are ghost doctors, nurses, patients, and a whole cast of ghosts beside them, each with their own sad or creepy backstory.

6 Athens Lunatic Asylum

In 1874, Athens Lunatic Asylum opened in Athens, Ohio, taking in both those with mental disorders and the criminally insane. The asylum quickly became overcrowded, underfunded, and notorious for patient abuse. Electroshock therapy and other cruel practices were common, but worst of all is the staff’s frequent use of ice-pick lobotomies.

Across the facility’s grounds are thousands of graves containing unidentified patients. The gravesites lack names but are marked with numbers, though whatever number system they represent has since been lost. Ghosts are almost impossible to miss when visiting the gravesites. Inside, there is supposedly an outline left from the dead body of a patient, unable to be removed by repeated cleaning.

5 Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Paranormal activity or not, Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia is an impressive structure. It is the second-largest asylum globally and the second-largest hand-cut stone masonry building (after the Kremlin). It is as intimidating as it is massive. Despite its size, it was only meant to house 240 patients. By the 1950s, it housed ten times that number. Including, for a brief while, Charles Manson.

In addition to overcrowding, abuse and neglect were par for the course at the location. Visitors report feeling an overwhelming sense of suffering in the place, as well as seeing apparitions. One ghostly resident is named Ruth; she is known for attacking visitors. Screams are often heard from the electroshock chambers. One building manager reporting seeing 40 doors to patient quarters slam shut simultaneously. The current owners have embraced the estate’s reputation and host regular ghost tours and other paranormal-themed events.

4 Danvers Lunatic Asylum

Danvers Lunatic Asylum is a special one. It was built in Danvers, Massachusetts, or as it was originally named: Salem Village. Yes, that Salem Village, site of the famous witch trials of 1692. The building was designed in a dark, gothic style and became the inspiration for H. P. Lovecraft’s Arkham Sanitarium, which later inspired Arkham Asylum of Batman fame.

Patient care in Danvers was so bad that the experience has been called a modern concentration camp. Severe overcrowding meant that patients were routinely forgotten, often leading to accidental days in isolation or multiple days without food. The place has come to have the nickname “the birthplace of the prefrontal lobotomy,” which says quite a lot. Unsurprisingly, before its almost total demolition, the abandoned asylum was famous for its apparitions, ghostly lights, and unexplained sounds.

3 Pennhurst Asylum

Pennhurst Asylum began as a school for the mentally and physically disabled in 1908 and quickly became something else. For example, a former patient filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the asylum. Halderman v. Pennhurst State School & Hospital showed that Pennhurst had violated its patients’ Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and led to the landmark ruling that the disabled in state care have “a constitutional right to appropriate care and education.”

Some of Pennhurst’s alleged abuses include chaining patients to its walls, strapping adult patients into children’s cribs for days on end, and even blatant murder of problematic patients. Many high-profile paranormal investigations have taken place at Pennhurst, and almost everyone has left with at least one chilling experience. 

2 Rolling Hills Asylum

The tiny town of East Bethany, New York, is known almost entirely for being home to Rolling Hills Asylum. Alongside the mentally disabled, the facility also housed the physically disabled, criminals, the homeless, orphans, and even widowed women; all of them, regardless of why they were there, were known as inmates. Approximately 2,000 patients officially died in the asylum, and many more are thought to have been quietly buried in unmarked graves throughout the property.

The site is known for its unusually high amount of paranormal activity. One example is the famous Shadow Hallway, a hallway with allegedly the most shadowy apparitions of any location in the world. Another of Rolling Hills’s famous ghosts is Roy Crouse, a 7’5” giant who lived and died on the property. He still haunts the building, although at least he is a benevolent specter.

1 Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Waverly Hills Sanatorium began as a school, which was then converted into a tuberculosis ward designed to house 40 patients. After a brutal tuberculosis epidemic, the facility ballooned to over 400 patients. The overcrowding was coupled with patient mistreatment and even rumors of illegal medical experimentation. It is commonly alleged that an astounding 20,000 to 63,000+ patients died within its walls.

Perhaps the most famous feature of Waverly is the so-called “body chute” or “death tunnel,” an underground tunnel designed to remove dead bodies away from the eyes of patients. The tunnel is a typical hotspot for paranormal activity, but in truth, the entire complex is. Waverly has been called “the most spiritually active place in the world,” and for good reason.

The existence of the paranormal is a controversial subject. There’s been no reputable scientific evidence to support the existence of what we call supernatural, which leaves many people to believe that all allegations of hauntings and paranormal phenomena are fake and even baseless. Staunch believers, however, would disagree. Pointing to evidence they think wasn’t properly investigated, a plethora of personal experiences, and the history of spiritual beliefs all over the world.

While these two crowds are unlikely to agree about this subject, this list sets out to cover ten examples of famous supernatural places that everyone can agree seem fishy at best, be they long-running misconceptions, factually disproven occurrences, or elaborate hoaxes.

Related: Top 10 Fake Spiritualists Who Were Caught In The Act

10 1677 Round Top Road, Harrisville

To many people, 1677 Round Top Road, Harrisville probably doesn’t ring any bells from that description alone. However, the house is very famous, largely due to a popular horror film based on it, but also because of Ed and Lorraine Warren, some of the most well-known—and in some circles most infamous—paranormal investigators of all time.

At first, this home may seem charming but is actually what The Conjuring is directly based on, a house thought to have been infested by the horrifyingly violent demon of an alleged witch named Bathsheba Sherman.

All of this certainly sounds quite scary, that is, until further research into the subject brings up many facts that suggest this story may be more of a dark fairytale. Leaving aside the fact that the Warrens aren’t as reputable as they seemed to begin with, things simply don’t add up. Bathsheba Sherman never lived on the property, only nearby, was never proven to be a witch nor evil, and the idea of her demon infesting the grounds was one thought up and spread by the Warrens, not the original owners, with no solid proof.

Furthermore, the original family lived on the property for a long decade. Their experiences are reported to have many inconsistencies with the Warrens’ account of the story and happenings at the house. And recent owners report no violent or terrifying events at the home, making the whole thing quite questionable.^[1]

9 Native American Burial Grounds

Not one place, but a group of places—or actually no place at all?

The “Indian Burial Ground” trope has been an infamously common element in horror films since its popular introduction attributed to the even more infamous “Amityville Horror,” another upcoming subject on our list. It has even been linked to the source of the haunting in Poltergeist, though definitely incorrect.

The idea is that places built on now destroyed burial grounds of Native American people contain vindictive spirits or even demons, seeking to destroy those who took their land from them and built structures over their dead.

Aside from being a Hollywood trope, the idea has become a popular misconception frequently applied to reality by those who don’t know better, something there are several problems with. Native Americans currently argue that the characterization of their spirits specifically, more so than any other nation or culture, is an incorrect and slightly antagonistic idea. Alongside that common opinion, the main fact is that there’s not really such a thing as an “Indian burial ground.”

Native American culture is diverse and split into many distinct sets of beliefs and practices, with no universal treatment for or concept of the dead. As such, the concept that all of them engaged in spiritual practices to be able to haunt and terrorize modern-day peoples is simply false.^[2]

8 Skinwalker Ranch

As the name of a very specific place UFO- and paranormal-enthusiasts will surely recognize, Skinwalker Ranch is said to be one of the United States’ most paranormally active places. Sightings, stories, and experiences range from allegations of the titular skinwalker, a shapeshifting, animalistic witch from Navajo culture, to ghosts, UFOs, government programs, cattle mutilation, crop circles, and a lot more.

The property—also known as the Sherman Ranch—is located in Utah and has become very infamous among skeptical circles. Even many believers simply find the accounts ridiculous.

To support that conclusion, the ranch was monitored for years. The people who lived there before the Shermans—the family from whom we learned about the property—did so for six decades. During the long time their family called the place home, they reported no unusual phenomena. Skinwalker Ranch was eventually sold to Robert Bigelow, a businessman with a passion for UFO investigations who owned it until 2016. Many people, however, believe the Shermans exploited Bigelow’s believing nature to sell the property using false or embellished claims.^[3]

7 Swamps

Swamps, bogs, marshes—these biomes have always been considered to have a spooky, imposing aura around them. Tales range from creepy ghosts to strange UFO activity from all around the world. However, the most unique example is the phenomenon known as will-o’-the-wisp or ignis fatuus.

Frequently referred to as ghost lights, will-o’-the-wisps have been documented for an extremely long time. They originate from old European folklore, particularly English accounts, though well known across Europe, albeit with different names all describing the same thing.

There are a variety of explanations for them—seeing strange lights in swampy areas at night—but the most well-accepted cause is that they’re a flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases emitting from decaying plants. Interestingly, even though we have scientific explanations, accounts of the occurrence are very rare compared to the numerous accounts from history, leaving scientists to wonder just what might be the reason for that.^[4]

6 Anson Highway

A once-popular topic in paranormal circles, the “Anson Light” captured many people’s imaginations when it was relevant. Described as a strange ghost light off the highway in Anson, Texas, it made news locally and was frequently discussed online.

People simply did not understand why the strange, bright lights kept appearing out in the distance. Some brushed it off as strange but nothing to worry about, while others treated it as a bad omen. The issue was particularly popular in college circles, a scary, local phenomenon that has been around for years or, according to some, decades.

It makes sense, then, that the very mundane explanation comes from a handful of college students. After triangulating the area using iPhones, the local legend of a ghost mother looking for her missing child with a lantern quickly faded, giving rise to the fact that the lights are simply car headlights from a neighboring road.^[5]

5 Devil’s Tramping Ground

An ominous name with an equally ominous backstory, the Devil’s Tramping Ground is an area that’s one of the most famous reportedly haunted places in North Carolina. According to legend, the Devil himself walks around at night just as its eerie name would suggest.

While it may just seem like a random, scary idea from local folklore, there does seem to be some reasoning behind it. The Devil’s Tramping Ground is an area approximately 40 feet across where apparently no plants grow, animals don’t like to go near, and objects move or disappear after they’ve been placed.

The real explanation for all but the poorly documented third claim is simple: salt.

The ground is a natural though gradually receding salt lick, which is now only about 20 feet in diameter, causing some animals to avoid the spot since the naturally high salt content doesn’t allow grass to grow.^[6]

4 Excelsior Hotel

Jefferson’s Excelsior Hotel is something of a local tourist attraction. Many people visit the small establishment due to tales of a terrifying haunting and the fact that Steven Spielberg himself resided in the hotel for a night. Supposedly, it scared him to such an extent that it inspired the film Poltergeist.

The hotel, while imposing and perhaps a little eerie with a lovely vintage style, seems to be just what it’s primarily known as—a tourist attraction.

Steven Spielberg’s tales are purely anecdotal, if not deliberately embellished. However, the hotel seems to enjoy the spotlight and additional revenue, encouraging tourists from other states to come experience the alleged, largely baseless haunting themselves.^[7]

3 Frankenstein Castle

Venturing outside the United States for once, the Frankenstein Castle is one of Germany’s most famous haunted locations. A creepy, rundown castle, the birthplace of one Johann Konrad Dippel, an alleged alchemist and potion maker who ran immoral experiments—according to local lore.

As the name and story may suggest, many people believe that the castle and its creepy alchemist went on to inspire Mary Shelley’s famous novel, Frankenstein, about a similarly mad scientist experimenting on the dead just like Dippel supposedly did.

While the story is compelling, the accounts of Dippel are shaky at best, and the castle only really became a popular spot for paranormal enthusiasts after Shelley’s novel was released and became popular, leaving little room for more than an embellished tale.^[8]

2 Annabelle House

Annabelle the doll has also become a Hollywood star in recent years after her spotlight in The Conjuring universe, getting her own films and a lot of media attention. The doll in the film is based on a very real doll, currently in possession of the previously mentioned Warren family.

The tale in the movie is almost entirely inaccurate, of course, but what’s more damning is that the Warrens’ accounts aren’t a series of verifiable truths either.

The original family did not speak of a horrible haunting, simply scary but not extremely intense experiences that led them to call paranormal investigators. Ed and Lorraine Warren, however, turned the story from a simple haunting to a terrifyingly violent demon infestation, something that seems to be a pattern with them. As it stands, the account of a violent demon comes from them alone, while the original owners never spoke of something so nefarious, only giving the doll to the Warrens at their specific request.^[9]

1 Amityville Horror House

The Amityville Horror is a book written by Jay Anson, an American horror author. The novel aimed to describe the supernatural experiences of the Lutz family but has become incredibly controversial for its widely perceived untruthfulness.

Once considered America’s most famous haunted house, the Lutz family only stayed there for four weeks, describing horrible paranormal events, violent ghosts, or perhaps a demon. The tale was frequently connected to the case of Ronald DeFeo Jr.’s murder of his family, which occurred in the house.

While a horrifying event had certainly occurred, the paranormal accounts have been described by many who knew or were even part of the Lutz family as one thing—a hoax. George Lutz is frequently described as a showman by those who don’t believe his account of the story due to his monetizing of the events, book and movie deals, and seeking widespread publicity. Christopher Quarantino, who lived in the house as a child, claims his stepfather George deliberately amplified the paranormal events for his own gain and feels that their experiences were exploited by him.^[10]

A place that has seen a lot of bloodshed can sometimes become a haunted space. And around the world, many of these locations have a bloody history and are now said to be haunted. In this list are the top ten most haunted rooms in the world.

Related: 10 Most Haunted Buildings In New York City And Their Backstories

10 Room One—Vulcan Hotel
New Zealand

The Vulcan Hotel is a New Zealand historical institution. It was built in the 19th century in Central Otago during the gold mining boom in the area. Now it is a popular spot for ghost hunters and those interested in the paranormal.

This is because Vulcan Hotel’s Room One has quite a dark history. It is said to be the home of the spirit Rose, a prostitute who was strangled in the room’s bed in the late 19th century.

There have been reports of flickering lights, cold spots, doors creaking, phantom footsteps, groaning sounds, appliances turning on by themselves, and doors locking.

But the strange thing is, Rose is said to only haunt men. Perhaps due to the gender of her murderer, she now seeks revenge on all men. Men who stay in Room One have reported waking up in the middle of the night with the feeling of someone pressing down on them and fingers wrapping around their throat.^[1]

9 Cell 17—Old Melbourne Gaol
Melbourne

Old Melbourne Gaol served as a prison for eighty years, where it saw tens of thousands of prisoners incarcerated and over a hundred executions.

The most haunted cell in this prison is the infamous Cell 17, which has been called the epicenter of the supernatural presence in this place. There have been reports of people who have entered the cell being overcome with the feeling of someone grabbing their throat and being unable to breathe. Others have reported the feeling of being stroked, having their clothes pulled and tugged, and being scratched.

One harrowing experience comes from a woman who was curious about the haunted legacy of cell 17, so she shut herself in there by herself during a tour of the prison. After a while, she turned to leave as nothing paranormal had happened, but when she went to reach for the door, she felt herself being tugged back by the neck. Looking down, she discovered that her necklace’s chain had been snapped in two.^[2]

The prison has a very dark history with people as young as ten being sent there for criminal behavior. Some prisoners committed suicide within the prison’s walls due to very harsh and poor conditions.

8 Basement—Newton House
Wales

If horror movies have taught us anything, it is that the spooky ghost or monster is always lurking in the basement. And this rings true for the Newton House, often called one of the most haunted houses in Britain.

The servants’ basement is seen as one of the most haunted spots in the house, with numerous reported paranormal sightings. One ghost, in particular, has been sighted several times, that being Walter the Butler, who used to work in the Newton House. People report smelling tobacco in the basement, hearing voices, and the lights flickering by themselves.

The house was also the scene of a grizzly murder in the 18th century when Lady Elinor Cavendish, the cousin of the Lady of Newton house, was strangled to death by a rejected lover. She is said to haunt Newton House as well. A film crew member in the 1980s reported feeling strangled when he went into Lady Elinor Cavendish’s old room.^[3]

7 The Gothic Library—Felbrigg Hall
North Norfolk, England

Felbrigg Hall is a stately home built in the 17th century within the beautiful parklands of North Norfolk. But hidden within all that beauty is a rather dark past.

The library is said to be haunted by William Windham, who lived in Felbrigg Hall. William had a deep passion for books and spent a lot of his time in this beautiful library designed by Thomas Paine, the famous English philosopher.

One night, in 1809, he was riding home to discover that a nearby home of a friend was on fire. He remembered that his friend had a valuable book collection and rushed to help save the books. But as he was aiding his friend, he fell on his hip, bruising it. This bruise ended up becoming a tumor, which he ultimately died from when they tried to operate on it—as operations were even riskier back in the day.

His body was buried near Felbrigg Hall at Felbrigg church. It is reported by some that his ghost can be seen haunting the shadows of the Gothic Library late at night. Most often, he can be seen standing by the table with his favorite books laid out or by the fireplace.^[4]

6 Room 410—Queen Anne Hotel
San Francisco

One of the most haunted places in San Francisco is the Queen Anne Hotel. In the late 19th century, it was once a girl’s boarding school and home to a Miss Mary Lake. Mary was the headmistress of the school. A rumor started that she was having an affair with James Fair, a local senator, a story that persisted even after her death.

Her old office was room 410, and this is said to be the hotspot for hauntings from what many think is Mary Lake’s restless spirit despite her body being buried around 3,000 miles away from the old school. One guest reported waking up on the floor with bedsheets tucked around them after staying in Room 410. Other guests have reported hearing someone singing to them as they try to sleep, being tucked into bed, and having their suitcases unpacked. Mary, it appears, is a rather benevolent and helpful ghost.^[5]

5 Room 314—Omni Mount Washington
New Hampshire, USA

In 1900, the Mount Washington Hotel was built by Joseph Stickney. But after opening the doors to the public, Joseph, unfortunately, fell ill and died within a very short time of its grand opening. His widow, Carolyn, ended up remarrying a European prince, but she always returned to her late husband’s hotel every year. She stayed in the same room every time. Room 314. In 1936, Carolyn passed away, and afterward, strange things started to occur at the Mount Washington Hotel.

People reported seeing a woman floating through the hotel at night, lights would flicker, and a strange woman would appear in the background of many people’s photos taken at the hotel.

Room 314, the Princess Suite, is seen as the epicenter of the paranormal activity in the Omni Mount Washington. People have reported waking up and seeing a woman at the end of the bed. She is sometimes simply just sitting quietly; other times, she is slowly unpinning her long hair. Others have woken up and smelled a sweet floral scent throughout the room. The four-poster bed in Room 314 is Carolyn’s original bed. Perhaps she still has some attachment to it,

Paranormal enthusiasts line up for the chance to see the lovely Carolyn by staying in Room 314.^[6]

4 Room 333—Langham Hotel
London

Often called London’s most haunted hotel, the Langham Hotel is said to be haunted not by one ghost but by several.

And perhaps the most haunted room in the hotel is Room 333.

Reports claim that a doctor murdered his wife in Room 333 before taking his own life. And now he remains, haunting people who stay the night in the cursed room. One report from a guest said that he awoke to see a glowing orb that materialized into a man without legs. The legless apparition started to make its way toward the guest, who fled the room in terror. Others have reported the taps turning on by themselves and a malevolent feeling that suffocates as you enter the room.^[7]

A myriad of other ghosts may also haunt the halls of the Langham. For example, a butler who tries to help people on the third floor, still trying to carry out his butler duties even in death; a ghost with a hole in their face who wanders the halls; and most interestingly of all, the spirit of Napoleon III, who once stayed at the Langham, now is said to haunt the hotel’s basement.

3 Room 8—Russell Hotel
Sydney

Said to be one of the most haunted hotels in Sydney, the Russell Hotel has a dark history etched into its very foundation. The hotel itself was built in 1887, but its foundations were once a convicts’ hospital where many people lost their lives, some to a bubonic plague outbreak that battered the area in the 18th century. It was also a house for sailors and is rumored to have once been a brothel.

Its past is also soaked in blood, with murders having taken place within its walls. A sailor was killed by a prostitute in the 19th century, and Senior Constable Henry Murrow met his end while within the hotel. People staying at the hotel have reported hearing footsteps at night, seeing the lights turn off and on by themselves, feeling sudden drops in the temperature, and hearing screams coming from empty rooms.

Though the entire hotel is believed to be haunted, Room 8 has become a hotspot for paranormal activity in this hotel. This was the room where the sailor was murdered. Guests have reported waking up and seeing the slain sailor standing at the foot of their bed. He only appears to lone female guests, though. (Link nine) ^[8]

2 The Lost Dungeon—Leap Castle
Ireland

Leap Castle in Ireland was built in 1250 (though some sources state the early 1500s) and has been the site of much death over its long history. One spot in the castle, in particular, has seen a lot of misery—the secret dungeon.

A small secret dungeon was discovered under the Bloody Chapel. Accessible through a small trap door, it is hypothesized that prisoners would be dropped inside through the door and left there to die from starvation. This type of dungeon was known as an oubliette, which comes from the French word oublier (to forget). Hundreds of people spent their last moments within this dark space, judging by 150 individual skeletal remains found within the dungeon upon excavation in the early 1900s.

The Bloody Chapel above the dungeon is said to be haunted as well. Namely by an old priest who was murdered by his own brother within the chapel. It is said he now haunts the staircase by the chapel, and people have reported seeing the chapel window’s blazing with bright lights in the dead of night, without anyone inside (link ten). ^[9]

Leap Castle is often called the most haunted castle in Ireland, and the brave can wander through the Bloody Chapel during their visit if they wish.

1 Torture Chamber—Chillngham Castle
England

Dating back to the 1300s, this notorious castle has an extremely bloody history, and a lot of that blood was shed in its very own Torture Chamber. Running this torture chamber was perhaps one of the most notorious torturers, John Sage. A sadistic man who is said to have gleefully tortured and killed thousands of Scots for the English during his days running chamber in Chillingham Castle. He even invented his own torture devices to use on his victims.

You can visit today and wander around this dark spot in history. The original torture implements are still housed here, including the rack, the barrel (where people were placed in a barrel that had nails sticking out and rolled down the hill), and an Iron Maiden. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.

And stories go that John Sage never left his chamber. Sage’s malevolent spirit is said to still remain within this dark location. Guests report feelings of evil and malice when exploring the chamber. An overwhelming feeling that someone wants to hurt them. People have also reported hearing screams; perhaps the victims of Sage who remain are haunting the place they were tortured in. It is said that Sage was killed by a group of Scots, taking revenge on all he did to their people by hanging him from a tree.^[10]

Most eerie tales are set in scary locations and include creepy details such as unseen fingers about to trace a burning image on your cheek or loud unexplained thumps sounding up from various parts of the house, making it impossible to fall asleep. Others are based on old urban legends about killers with hooks for hands or obscure small towns that never give up their dead.

However, famous places also have a scary tale or two to offer. Some of the most well-known landmarks around the world have a dark side, too, and their history often includes deeply disturbing and sometimes haunting stories.

Related: Top 10 Famous Haunted Landmarks You Didn’t Know Were Haunted

10 Ancient Ram Inn

In Wotton-under-Edge, around 40 minutes from Bristol, you will find the Ancient Ram Inn. It has been called the most haunted house in Britain and has existed since 1145. The building was constructed on a pagan burial ground and purportedly lies on ley lines that are connected to Stonehenge.

The Ancient Ram Inn was a home for workers and slaves who built the nearby St. Mary’s Church, and it is believed that because water streams had to be diverted around the church premises, a portal opened up for dark energy to be released. At one point, the house also belonged to a priest before being sold in 1968.

The new owner, John Humphries, had a rude awakening the first night he slept at the property. He claimed to have been grabbed and dragged across his bedroom by “demonic forces.” Afterward, he searched in and around the house for signs of what may have caused his terrifying experience. He found evidence of ritual sacrifices as well as the skeletal remains of children who’d possibly been murdered with daggers.

Humphries’s family left him, but he remained at the Ancient Ram Inn until his death in 2017. Several spirits, according to reports, still roam the house, however. They include a witch who had been burned at the stake, dark monks, and a Roman Centurion.^[1]

The Ancient Ram Inn is now owned by John Humphries’s daughter, Caroline. She now opens the doors to researchers, paranormal enthusiasts, and tourists willing to enter the centuries-old haunted building.

9 Africana Library

The Kimberley Public Library was opened on July 23, 1887. In 1984, it was converted to the Africana Research Library and soon became one of the best research libraries in Southern Africa. Situated in Kimberley in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, it has long since had the distinction of being one of the most haunted buildings in the country.

The first librarian at the library whiled away his days by cooking up a pricing scam but was soon caught. Bertrand Dyer dealt with the scandal by swallowing arsenic in 1908, and he endured a harrowing three days before succumbing to the poison.

He never left his post, however, with visitors to the library claiming that they’ve witnessed his ghost pacing the various halls and also rearranging some of the thousands of books that can be found there. It has also been said that if you cannot find a particular book, you should just shout out the title, and Dyer will find it for you.^[2]

8 Lawang Sewu

Lawang Sewu translates to “Thousand Doors” in Javanese and is a colonial-era building that served as the headquarters of the Dutch East Indies Railway Company in Semarang, Central Java. The structure has 600 windows and incorporates numerous doors and arcs within its design, making it somewhat of a labyrinth. The complex consists of a number of buildings named A, B, C, and D.

During World War II, Japanese soldiers occupied Lawang Sewu and turned the B building basement into a makeshift prison. Many prisoners held here were murdered, and it has been reported that their restless, headless spirits wander the buildings in the Lawang Sewu complex. The spirit of a Dutch woman who committed suicide has also reportedly been seen roaming the place. The Indonesian government made an effort to clean up the building and rehabilitate its reputation as a non-creepy tourist destination. But ghost tours still remain the most lucrative activity.^[3]

7 Masada Fortress

The King of Judea, Herod the Great, built Masada as a castle complex at the edge of the Judean Desert in the last century BC. In the first century AD, the ancient Romans took over Judea, and the complex became a fortress for the Jews. When the Romans finally took over Masada, most of the women and children who hid inside the fortress committed suicide.

During the Byzantine period, a group of monks built a hermetic monastery at the site, and afterward, the area remained uninhabited for around 13 centuries until it was rediscovered in 1828. The site was declared a national park in 1966, and a cable car came into operation in 1977. Today the Masada fortress is a beloved pilgrimage and tourist spot where visitors can take in sights such as the storerooms that held the Masada inhabitants’ food and weapon supplies as well as palaces, Roman bathhouses, and more.

However, those who committed suicide within the fortress walls are still making their presence known today. As people wander around, taking photographs and admiring the ancient structure, some hear the screams of those who died before the Romans could get hold of them. Others witness the apparitions of these unhappy souls, forever trapped in the place they died.^[4]

6 La Noria Ghost Town and Cemetery

In the Atacama Desert in Chile lies the long-abandoned ghost town, La Noria. In 1826 it was a flourishing saltpeter mining town and home to thousands of people who attended the local church, frequented the local shops, and sent their children to the local school.

Sadly, the town was severely affected by its competition, as well as a devastating fire that broke out in 1901. Then, during WWI, a synthetic alternative to saltpeter was discovered, which delivered the death knell to La Noria. Soon its inhabitants began leaving, many abandoning their possessions in search of a better future.

La Noria and its namesake cemetery were hit hard by looting after the town was abandoned and several coffins and human bones still lie exposed. A chilling urban legend has it that the souls connected to the disturbed coffins and bones have become angry at how their last resting place has been disrespected. As the sun sets, they rise from their broken graves and make their way to the lonely ghost town of La Noria in a silent protest. Visitors to the town ruins have reported witnessing this procession and hearing screams and disembodied voices echoing through the empty structures.^[5]

5 Hotel Union Øye

The village of Øye boasts one of the most beautiful hotels in the whole of Europe. The Hotel Union Øye is nestled in the Sunmmøre Alps in Norway and has seen many a famous visitor, including Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, King Haakon VII of Norway, and Arthur Conan Doyle.

The hotel is also well known for its Blue Room that is said to have been frequented by a young servant girl named Linda and a German officer in the 1800s. The officer was married, and when he asked his wife for a divorce, she refused, and he killed himself soon after. When Linda heard of the tragedy, she headed down to the nearby fjord and drowned herself.

Nowadays, patrons of the hotel have reported hearing loud sobbing and waking up to the ghost of Linda sitting in their room. Guests who wish to experience the Blue Room are given a silver bowl of garlic to ward off Linda’s ghost. However, if they are up for a ghostly adventure, they should leave the bowl outside the door.^[6]

4 Village of Ghostly Voices

In 1790, Obadiah Higginbotham and Johnathan Randall relocated their families from Rhode Island to the woods of the Ragged Hills section of Pomfret, Connecticut. They named the settlement Bara-Hack (which means breaking of bread) to celebrate their Welsh heritage.

The two men started a company called Higginbotham Linen Wheels that supplied the surrounding areas with flax spinning. Bara-Hack soon flourished and became a village in its own right, including a mill and waterwheel. It also had grand homes, slave quarters, and a graveyard. Soon after the deaths of the founding families, however, Bara-Hack was slowly abandoned. By the time the Civil War broke out, there was no one left.

Over the years that followed, the site became a popular paranormal investigation spot. Those brave enough to visit it at night reported seeing the ghost of a baby and a floating bearded face in the cemetery. There have also been reports of the sounds of horse-drawn buggies and long-dead farm animals echoing in the dark. Bara-Hack is now known as the “village of ghostly voices” and is currently closed to the public as it lies on private property.^[7]

3 Pousada Serra da Estrela

The Pousada Serra da Estrela is a stunning 5-star hotel in Portugal that offers all you could possibly want in a hotel visit as well as breathtaking views of the Serra da Estrela mountain range.

It wasn’t always the luxury holiday destination it is today, however. Built in 1936, the building started out as a treatment facility for railway workers who suffered from terminal illnesses. At one point, it was leased to the Portugal society of sanitoriums, and it became a facility for all patients who needed treatment. Unfortunately, by 1980, most of the patients had died, and the sanatorium was closed down. Soon rumors started making the rounds of the souls of the dead patients haunting the building.

The rumors still abound, with hotel patrons reportedly seeing the spirits of those who died of tuberculosis wandering the lush halls and corridors at night.^[8]

2 Witkowice Forest

Poland is well-known around the world for its stunning cities, castles, and a horrible remnant of Nazi Germany: Auschwitz. Here you will experience hospitability like just about nowhere else, along with fantastic food and great vodka.

The country also has a dark side in the form of several creepy and haunted buildings. These include the Skull Chapel, the haunted asylum in Warsaw, and the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The ghosts are not confined to buildings, though, as the many reports of spooky goings-on in the Witkowice forest attest.

In 2001, nine local students planned an overnight stay in the forest. At around 8:30 that night, they ran into an old man who warned them not to enter the forest, but the students scoffed at him and went into the woods anyway. They were never seen again. It has been rumored that friends of these students undertook their own search because the police were “reluctant” to start an investigation. During their search, they found a camera that allegedly belonged to the missing students. After developing the pictures, they saw the blurred figures of the students in the forest enveloped in a thick mist. The group of friends also discovered that the area of Witkowice was once the site of a massive fire and that many residents died in the forest under strange circumstances.

This story has been compared to the horror film The Blair Witch Project because of their similarities. The students remain missing to this day, with rumors swirling that a “deity” that lives in the forest and produces a thick green mist killed them.^[9]

1 Obvodny Canal

Obvodny Canal is the longest canal in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was dug between the late 1700s and early 1800s but eventually became too shallow for large crafts to navigate. These days, only small boats are allowed to use it, and it has garnered a solid reputation for being haunted. The concrete-lined canal has come to be known as the Suicide Canal because of the vast number of suicides and suicide attempts that take place there.

Those who survived a suicide attempt have reported feeling an invisible force pulling them into the water. Some even claimed to have seen a woman dressed in white floating below the surface of the water before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Back in the late 18th century when the canal was in the early stages of being built, workers often complained of bad headaches, and some had sudden violent outbursts for no reason. Some believe that the workers were afflicted by a curse because they dug the canal through an ancient pagan graveyard. It is no wonder then that the canal is still regarded as one of the most haunted places in Russia.^[10]