Paranormal handbook.

[Motoko Kitari]

26. The Catacombs of Rome

The Catacombs of Rome are ancient Jewish and Christian underground burial places near Rome, Italy. There are forty known subterranean burial chambers in Rome. They were built along Roman roads, like the Via Appia, the Via Ostiense, the Via Labicana, the Via Tiburtina, and the Via Nomentana. Names of the catacombs – like St Calixtus and St Sebastian alongside Via Appia – refer to martyrs that might be buried there.

Christian excavators built vast systems of galleries and passages on top of each other. They lie 7-19 meters (22-65 ft) below the surface in area of more than 2.4 km² (600 acres). Narrow steps that descend as many as four stories join the levels. Passages are about 2.5x1 meters (8x3 feet). Burial niches were carved into walls. They are 40-60 cm (16-24 in) high and 120-150 cm (47-59 in) long. Bodies were placed in chambers in stone sarcophagi in their clothes and bound in linen. Then the chamber was sealed with a slab bearing the name, age and the day of death. Fresco decorations were typically Roman. The catacomb of Saint Agnes is a small church.

In 380, Christianity became a state religion. At first many still desired to be buried in chambers alongside martyrs. However, the practice of catacomb burial declined slowly, and the dead were increasingly buried in church cemeteries. In the 6th century catacombs were used only for martyrs’ memorial services. Apparently Ostrogoths, Vandals and Lombards that sacked Rome also violated the catacombs, possibly looking for valuables. By the 10th century catacombs were practically abandoned, and holy relics were transferred to above-ground basilicas. In the intervening centuries they remained forgotten until they were accidentally rediscovered in 1578, after which Antonio Bosio spent decades exploring and researching them for his volume, Roma Sotterranea (1632).

Archeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822-1894) published the first extensive professional studies about catacombs. In 1956 and 1959 Italian authorities found more catacombs near Rome. The catacombs have become an important monument of the early Christian church.

Currently maintenance of the catacombs is in the hands of the Papacy which has invested the Salesians of Don Bosco the supervision of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus on the outskirts of Rome.

They have frequently been a topic in classical music, featuring in one of Respighi's Pini di Roma and in Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition.

27.Marie Laveau's Tomb

In a sense, it does not really matter if Marie Laveau was buried here, because the tomb has been accepted as her final resting place and for generations the devoted and the curious have been visiting this site, conducting all kinds of rituals, leaving all kinds of gris-gris. You never quite know what you will find upon visiting this gravesite, anything from a statue of a monkey and a c**k to a wedding cake couple circled in coconut, cayenne, and honey, to a freshly dead rat wearing Mardi Gras beads. Located in St. Louis Cemetery Number 1.

The true Statue of Marie Laveau

But you will always find the innumerable “X’s” blanketing this tomb and several others. The origins of this proverbial New Orleans Voodoo practice are unclear, but contrary to popular belief, it is not rooted in age-old local ritual. Judging from the sheer amount of X’s scrawled throughout the cemetery, it would appear the legions of Voodoo practitioners make their way through the City of the Dead on a regular basis. Although more Voodoo is practiced at this one tomb than any single tomb in the United States, many people who worship through Voodoo and genuinely live it as a lifestyle have never left a mark on the structures of the City of the Dead.

New Orleans Voodoo, like New Orleans culture, is a mixture. Marie Laveau herself was a mixture: She was a free person of color, born to Charles Laveau, a wealthy French planter, and a mother who sources indicate could have been a mulatto slave, a Caribbean Voodoo practitioner, or a quadroon mistress. Marie may also have been part Choctaw. The objects and actions employed in the practice of New Orleans Voodoo are called “gris-gris.” “Gris” is the French word for grey, signifying a mixture of black and white magic, magic which can be used for different purposes. Gris-gris, the basis of New Orleans Voodoo practice, is a concept which is based upon mixture.

Marie Laveau’s gender is indicative of New Orleans Voodoo. Hers was a matriarchal sect, like the African religion upon which it is based. Marie Laveau also embodies New Orleans Voodoo as an impresario. Voodoo ceremonies in Marie Laveau’s day were looked upon by some people as entertainment; she was the one who introduced this show-biz element. She understood theatrical staging, possessing a good sense of what people would line up and pay to see. These performances, and her general voodoo practice, were highly lucrative. Aspects of nineteenth-century New Orleans Voodoo were also business-oriented, and she was a consummate businesswoman.

Many say her tomb is haunted and report feeling her presence. Real host photos happen here all rhe time, so do EVP"s and the appearence of her apprition and her great snake Zombi.


28. Willard Library

The oldest public library in the state of Indiana, established in 1885 in Evansville Indiana. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.The library opened in 1885 and apparently the ghost, whoever she is, dates from that time period because her clothing matches costume of that era. Despite visits from psychics and ghost researchers, no one has been able to learn the identity of the spirit who haunts the building.


Live, 24-hour a day camera inside a haunted library in Evansville, Indiana. See if you can catch the 'Grey Lady Ghost' in Willard Library!

The Willard Library Ghost Cams were inspired by the question "Is Willard Library Haunted?" It has become a fascinating, and somewhat credible, legend that drives thousands of people to search the library for remnants of lost spirits. The site is a virtual ghost hunting mecca. Take a virtual tour of the library with Greg Hager, Willard Library Director, and see if you can locate the cams hidden in the building. Libraryghost.com offers three cams for your ghost hunting pleasure. The Children's Room cam and the Research Room cam are both refreshed every thirty seconds. The newest cam, which is located in the basement, is virtually live - it refreshes every second!

29. FENG-DU: The Realm of the Dead

The town of Fengdu, said to be the abode of devils, is one of the first stops on your Yangtze River cruise. The famous 'Ghost City' Situated on the northern bank of the river between Zhongxian and Fuling, the city was depicted as the 'City of Ghosts' in two ancient, classic Chinese works - "Monkey King" and "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio". The origin of the town's extraordinary reputation can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.) when two officials, Yin and Wang, became Taoist recluses here and eventually Immortals. Later in the Tang Dynasty, their names were combined to mean "King of the Underworld".

Thereafter, Mt. Mingshan gained its reputation as the 'City of Ghosts' where the king lived.There is a necropolis called Fengdu modelled after the Chinese Hell in Taoist mythology, built over 1800 years ago. The famous ghost town will become an island after Three Gorges Dam project. Specifically, part of the ghost town of Fengdu will be submerged, but scenery above the "Door of Hell" will remain.

Today, the town throngs with many tourists who come to visit temples and shrines dedicated to the gods of the underworld. Landmarks here bear horrific names - Last Glance at Home Tower, Nothing-to-be-done Bridge, and Ghost Torturing Pass - the three trials for ghosts who wanted to enter the nether world.  

[Motoko Kitari]

30. Shanghai Tunnel Portland

The Shanghai Tunnels that run under Portland. If you haven’t heard of this place before don’t worry it’s not that well known. There are many mysterious archways and tunnels leading all throughout old-town Portland. You can see a variety of architectural periods represented in the structure of the tunnels and walls. A segment of the once-hidden world of shanghaiing. You will venture into the "Portland Underground" to see remnants of this shocking maritime history --- unique architecture, underground holding cells, a "dead fall" trapdoor, unearthed artifacts of this terrible, misguided labor practice, and more. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the secret haunted history of shanghaiing.


People who want to find Portlands ghosts usually seek out this reported real "Haunted Hot Spot" this is the great noths "Paranormal Zone" like cemeteries or vacated houses and buildings with histories of disasters or multiple deaths these tunnels are very haunted.

31. Crescent Hotel

75 Prospect Ave., Eureka Springs AR 72632


A number of rooms are haunted in this historic hotel. Room 218 is the spot where Michael, an Irish stonemason, landed when he fell from the hotel's roof during construction. His ghost is said to bang on the walls and turn the lights and television on and off. Rooms 202 and 424 are also said to be haunted. Outside of the Recreation Room, the ghost of Dr. Norman Baker often appears, looking a bit confused. He ran a controversial hospital and health resort in the building during the 1930s. A nurse, dressed in a white uniform, has been seen on the third floor. A woman in Room 419 introduces herself as a cancer patient to guests and housekeepers, then vanishes. Also roaming the grounds is a gentleman in Victorian clothing who haunts the lobby, the confused ghost of Doctor Baker (who ran the facility in the 1930s when it was a hospital/health spa), and the ghost of a nurse dressed in white who wanders the entire hotel.

Guests have reported sightings and other odd happenings in a number of guest rooms, the lobby, dining room and the grounds of this great historic hotel in Haunted Eureka Springs.

You don't need to stay in a haunted room to see a real ghost at the Crescent Hotel. Outside of the Recreation Room, the ghost of Dr. Norman Baker often appears, looking a bit confused. He ran a controversial hospital and health resort in the building during the 1930s. Many people believe honestly that the spring water that flows underneath the hotel is high in energy and it attracts ghostly apparitions. Is this just a publicity gimmick to help a failing hotel? It could be, but actually the hotel was starting to do well before the ghosts were sighted.

The Crystal Dining Room of the Crescent Hotel is particularly active, and many spirits in Victorian garb hve been spotted there at the tables or in the mirrors. Once, at Christmastime, the staff reported leaving a Christmas tree and presents at one end of the locked and empty Crystal Dining Room. Upon their return, the staff found the tree and presents moved to the other end of the room, and chairs facing the tree in a semi-circle.


The 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa has a rich and fascinating history. Read about some of the earliest accounts from these stories taken from the Eureka Springs Times Echo, one of Eureka Springs' early newspapers which is still in existence today and some fascinating information on Dr. Norman Baker, one time owner of the Crescent Hotel who ran a "Cancer Hospital" in his "Castle in the Air".


The hotel was designed by the architect Isaac L. Taylor in 1886.It was used as a hotel for several years before it could no longer sustain itself financially.

In 1908, the hotel was opened as the Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women. Soon it couldn't afford to stay open as a school either.The school closed in 1924 and then reopened from 1930 to 1934 as a junior college.
The Crescent was leased as a summer hotel after the school closed. In 1937, it got a new owner.Norman Baker turned the place into a hospital and health resort. Baker was an inventor and had made millions of dollars by 1934. Baker wasn't happy just inventing things because he thought of himself as a doctor (even though he had no medical training). He claimed to have discovered a number of "cures" for various ailments, including cancer.He was sure that organized medicine was conspiring against him. He had recently been ran out of Iowa for practicing medicine without a license.

Baker moved his cancer patients to Arkansas and he advertised the health resort.The "cure" was basically drinking the natural spring water. No one was really harmed by this, but it wasn't really the advertised "miracle cure". Federal charges were filed against him for mail fraud and he spent four years in prison. The Crescent Hotel was left ownerless.

The hotel stayed closed until 1946 when new investors took it over and began trying to restore this odd and historical piece of Ozark history.





32. Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery

Established in May 1864 as a final resting place for Union soldiers who died in Louisiana during the Civil War, the cemetery also contains the remains of veterans of the Spanish- American War, World Wars I and II, and Vietnam. Four Americans who fought in the War of 1812 are buried here, but only one of them took part in the Battle of New Orleans.

Six miles southeast of New Orleans is the Chalmette Battlefield, which preserves the site of the January 8, 1815, Battle of New Orleans, a decisive American victory over the British at the end of the War of 1812. Facilities include a tour road, visitor center, and the Malus-Beauregard House (c.1833). Adjacent is the Chalmette National Cemetery. Located on St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette. The Battlefield is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Adjacent to the battlefield, is the United States Civil War Chalmette National Cemetery, honoring Civil War soldiers who died on both sides. Those buried there include members of the famous Buffalo Soldiers. The cemetery sits on a tract of land which is approximately where the British artillery was located during the Battle of New Orleans. Both of these sites are maintained by the National Park Service, and are open to the public.

The Chalmette National Cemetery web site has searchable databases, listing the soldiers who are buried at this location, The Union Army and the Confederate Army. Chalmette National Cemetery

Also located on the Chalmette Battlefield grounds, and serving as a museum and visitor center, is the Beauregard House. Beauregard House was never used as a plantation, and was built in 1830. It is named for René Beauregard, its last owner, the son of the Civil War Confederate General, P. G. T. Beauregard (whose monument is at the entrance to City Park, at the north end of Esplanade Avenue). While many visitors arrive by automobile, many also arrive by riverboat, the Chalmette Battlefield being part of the tour.

Additional artifacts of the Civil War can be seen at the Confederate Civil War Museum, located in downtown New Orleans, 929 Camp Street, just one block from Lee Circle



33. Voodoo Cemetery Gates Of Guinee

One old tradition still observed in New Orleans today was to search for Secret Voodoo Cemetery Gates Of Guinee, The Mysterious Portal To The Afterworld. Bringing something as an offering, (a piece of King Cake, Mardi Gras Beads etc.). The dead love sweets and gifts, and even more so they love King Cake in New Orleans.

In Voodoo, the soul continues to live on earth and may be used in magic or it may be incarnated in a member of the dead person's family. This belief is similar to Catholicism in that the soul is believed to be immortal. Elaborate burial customs have been established to keep the dead buried in the ground. It is believed that corpses, or a persons spirit bottle* that have been removed from their tombs may be turned into zombies, who then serve the will of their masters.


34. Haunted San Francisco, California

Haunted San Francisco has many a said haunted location from buildings to cemeteries and the most famous hot spot of mystery Alcatraz Prison. The now closed prison ghost are not so quiet, sounds of ghostly footsteps and the real sounds of cell doors opening and closing also echo throughout the empty haunted corridors. Visitors, Tour guides, and paranormal investigators and workers have all reported feeling many localized "cold haunted ghost spots" in certain common areas, and the feeling that they are not alone. EVP"S, ghost photos and ghostly encounters abound.
The prison on Alcatraz Island, a lonely outcropping in the middle of San Francisco Bay, was opened in 1933 as a maximum-security facility for America's most dangerous criminals. Among its most celebrated internees were Chicago crime boss Al Capone and Robert "Birdman" Stroud. Life on Alcatraz was hard: Inmates were lucky to spend one hour a day outside their cells, and those so favored usually spent the time breaking rocks. Violating prison rules could mean months of solitary confinement, sometimes in the Hole, a tiny cell with no light. The prison was shut down in 1963, and Alcatraz Island became a national park site. But the building still stands, and some of the poor souls that served time and died there seem to be locked forever behind its dank walls.

Several visitors have reported hearing moans, agonized cries and chains rattling in cell blocks A, B, and particularly C. A psychic who visited the site claimed to identify the unruly spirit of a man named Butcher inhabiting the place. Prison records confirm that Abie Maldowitz, a mob hit man nicknamed Butcher, was killed by a fellow inmate in the laundry area of cell block C. The D cell block is supposedly haunted as well, with visitors reporting cold spots and the sound of phantom banjo music coming from rooms that once housed Al Capone.

Many a haunted building and locations you to visit. From San Francisco Arts Institute often said to be built on a cemetery in the early 1900's after The great earthquake, it is haunted by more then a few hundred said restless spirits. San Francisco Art Institute.

Voted to Our Most Haunted Top Ten Ghost Tour list every year by our web site visitors Tommy Neztbands' Haunted Haight Walking Tour is an evening journey through the local "haunts" of San Francisco's famous Haight-Ashbury district. Your host, a long time resident, ghost historian, active member of The American Ghost Society & founder of The San Francisco Ghost Society leads this two hour walking tour and lets you discover the many ghosts, witches and macabre history of Haight-Ashbury. You also learn what ghost hunters do and all about parapsychology! Price includes a detailed guidebook with map, flashlight and "spooky" goodie-bag filled with tricks and treats! Come join this unique tour and learn all about The Haight-Ashbury like never before!





35. Haunted Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, Massachusetts is home to a world of haunting's! Walk the narrow streets What it has been branded “ The Haunted Witch City” with haunted shops, strange haunted museums,and very many haunted house and building. In a Salem haunted cemetery read the epitaphs of history on one their many colonial haunted graves. Meet real Salem Witches who are waiting to guide you through our city’s mysteries haunted streets on a Haunted Witch or Haunted ghost tours.. Shop mystical emporiums that will entice you with treasures found nowhere else.

Whether you earnestly try to unravel Salem's haunting's or Witch trial ghost filled present or past, or just to experience Salem's bewitching haunted charm and beauty , a journey to Haunted Salem, Massachusetts is a journey into a truly haunted city.

The infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692 gave birth to a deeply haunted heritage that haunted Salem citizens cannot ever try to openly deny.

Today, Haunted Salem embrace's the dark haunted past that so many would try to dismiss. Listen closely to the haunted ghost whispers on the winds and you will hear the cry of the ghost of innocent victims who were tortured and killed because of the ghastly gruesome Witchcraft hysteria of 1692. You can also experience the Witch Trials first hand by visiting one of our many said haunted museums that are dedication to them.

Haunted buildings, haunted houses, even the Town Center is said to be more then just haunted by a few, but by a multitude of ghost.  

[Motoko Kitari]

36. Rookwood Cemetery - Sydney, Australia

Victorian Rookwood necropolis in Sydney, but it is the grave of the notorious Davenport Brothers, famous spiritualists. Rookwood Cemetery (officially named The Necropolis and named when it opened as The Necropolis, Haslams Creek.) is the largest multicultural necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, close to Lidcombe Station in Sydney, Australia.

The name Rookwood came some 20 years after the establishment of the necropolis, it was a means to differentiate the local village of Haslams Creek from the association of the burial ground, the village changed its name to Rookwood, and naturally the cemetery was soon known as Rookwood, the village changed its name again in the early 20th Century to "Lidcombe" (a combination of two Mayors names, Lidbury and Larcombe - Larcombe was also a Monumental Stone Mason). The cemetery retained the name Rookwood.

Approximately one million people have their final resting place within the boundaries of its almost 3 km². The "Friends of Rookwood Inc" raise public awareness of the cultural and historical value of the cemetery and also the need to ensure its preservation.

Some older sections of Rookwood are overgrown with a riot of plants, early horticultural plants, some now large trees or groves, as well as an interesting array of remnant indigenous flora. This results in quite an eclectic mix of flora to be found within the necropolis. Many say that since so many are interred here it can't just help being one of the most haunted places where the dead are buried.

37. OAK ALLEY PLANTATION

1700's, probably a few years before the 1718 founding of New Orleans as the colonial seat of government, a settler claimed land from an original royal grant for his dwelling and defined its entrance with an alley of live oaks in two rows leading to the river. Although we do not know how successful he was in his efforts to adapt in the New World, it is clear that his live oaks had no problem. Native to the area, they thrived and by 1722, when the early Capuchin Fathers arrived at St. Jacques de Cabahanoce to establish the settlement of St. James Parish, the young trees had already attained a stature which hinted at the magnificence that was to be theirs.

Old buildings appear to be particularly attractive to ghosts. These last are often alleged to be souls of former residents whose earthly mission was tragically cut short, leaving a frustrated spirit grasping at bizarre means to capture the attention and support of the living in order to resolve personal unfinished business. Of course, the older the building the longer the list of resident souls and the greater the possibility of drama. No antebellum plantation home is without at least one ghost, running the gamut from wispy shadows to an assortment of aggressive, howling poltergeists. Oak Alley is no exception.

Generally speaking, Oak Alley is recognized more for the beauty of her setting than for mysterious disturbances, but tour guides, visitors and staff members alike have shared interesting experiences over the years. The following include some of the more obvious:

Upon closing the house one evening following a private function, Denise Becnel, assistant house manger, her daughter, Kaysha and tour guides Connie Donadieu and Billie Jo Bourgeois, were surprised to notice that the lamp in what is referred to as the lavender room was still on. The four ladies each remembered clearly that all but security system illumination had been turned off prior to their leaving the house and heading toward the parking lot. As they stood looking up in bewilderment at the light shining from the lavender room windows, they saw the shadowy figure of a lady closely resembling photos they had often seen of Mrs. Stewart, last resident owner of Oak Alley, gazing down at them from her pleasant bedroom lookout. Denise had no more asked, "What's that?", when the upstairs gallery lamps blinked once. That was enough! All four took off toward their cars and lost no time in exiting the plantation grounds. No until they were passing by the alley on River Road did they look at the house and saw to their amazement that all windows were dark and everything was as it should be.



38. Eastern State Penitentiary

Known as being the most expensive building built in the U.S. at the time, the Eastern State Penitentiary became a prototype in design to 300 prisons. The inmates who broke the rules risked being dunked in a bath of ice-cold water then hung from a wall for the night. During the winter months, when this punishment was most popular, the water on the inmates's skin would form into a layer of ice before morning.



Since its closure visitors, employees and those researching paranormal activity have reportedly heard unexplained eerie sounds throughout the prison. Eastern State Penitentiary,is a a grim 172-year-old former state prison, was once home to famous inmates Al Capone and Willie Sutton. Pained former prisoners are said to haunt Eastern State's dark Gothic halls. Halloween staff regularly reports seeing the "Soap Lady" dressed in white in the last cell on the second floor. "Terror Behind the Walls," a Halloween tour of the 12-acre site, is offered by candlelight, with visits to The Asylum, Cellblock of Lost Souls and a Tunnel Escape included in the "fun." Not for the faint of heart. 20th Street & Fairmount Avenue, (215) 236-5111

39.Tuen Mun Road, Hong Kong

Over the years, hundreds of people have claimed that this highway is haunted. Since 1978, many lives have been lost due to car accidents on that expressway. The high death toll is blamed on ghosts because they supposedly pop up in the middle of the road when people are driving, thus causing them to make really sharp turns to avoid them and then end up crashing. The ghosts of past victims are said to be seen there at night and some drivers have even claimed that they lost complete control of their vehicle several times.



40. Bannerman's - The Haunted Isle

This island on the Hudson River in New York has been the subject of legend and wild rumors since earliest times. Some Indian tribes believed it haunted and refused to set foot on it. Pollepel Island is sometimes referred to as Bannerman's Island.

The principal feature on the island is Bannerman's Castle, an abandoned military surplus warehouse.[1] It was built in the style of a castle by businessman Francis Bannerman VI. It remains one of a very small number of structures in the United States which can properly be called a castle.

Bannerman's Castle is located on Bannerman's Island in the Hudson River, a few miles south of the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge. The castle was built as a weapons arsenal by Francis Bannerman VI, a businessman who dealt in military surplus from the Spanish-American war. Today, the island is owned by Hudson Highlands State Park.

41. Edinburgh Castle

One of the largest ghost hunts ever conducted results in dozens of strange experiences, unexplained photos... and perhaps more questions than answers. The most haunted abode in Scotland is the Close of Mary King in Edinburgh. It was built in the 1600s, and it contained hundreds of people during the plague of 1645 when they were quarantined. Voices, dogs, and a lady clad in black have all been recorded.

Edinburgh Castle, suspected to be one the most haunted spots in Scotland, is appropriately judged considering Edinburgh has been said to be the most haunted city in all of Europe, and possibly the world. The castle is a historical fortress and parts of it have withstood its 900 year history. A battleground of countless deaths, Edinburgh Castle can easily be thought of as an eternal spot of unrest for fallen soldiers. Other ghosts said to haunt the castle are a phantom piper, a headless drummer, the spirits of French prisoners from the Seven Years War and colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War and even a dog that wanders the castle's cemetery. Other areas of Edinburgh also have ghostly reputations: the subterranean vaults of South Bridge and a disused street called Mary Kings Close where victims of the Black Death plague were sealed up to die. What also makes Edinburgh Castle so noteworthy among the paranormal community is that in 2001, Dr. Richard Weisman took a group of 240 volunteers, ignorant of the castle's past, on a walk-through of the castle and its surroundings in order to gather paranormal data. Armed with every ghost busting tool imaginable, almost all the volunteers reported experiences such as drops in temperature, shadowy figures, burning sensations in the limbs, physical touching, and tugging at clothes. One woman was even brave enough to stay the night alone in a South Bridge vault. She reported hearing heaving breathing from the corner of the cell that got louder throughout the night and she saw strange flashes of light. What is most intriguing about the whole experiment is that even though none of the volunteers had any previous knowledge of what rooms had haunted reputations and which ones didn't, they reported the most amount of activity from the reputed locations and saw many of the same things as other tourists. Click here to read more about Edinburgh's grisly past, and here for more about Dr. Weisman's investigation.

42. Greyfriar’s Cemetery / Covenanter’s Prison, Edinburgh, Scotland

Greyfriar’s Cemetery has been considered haunted for generations. Its history is filled with the horrific, from deliberate headstone removal and desecration, bodysnatching and live burial, to witch burnings and use as a mass prison. Around 1998, however, a new and inexplicable phenomenon began occurring in the graveyard where visitors claimed to have encountered cold spots, nauseating smells, loud noises coming from empty tombs, and even physical injury. Many visitors and tour guides have been the victim of attack by unseen entities who leave bruises, cuts, and scratches on the unwary. People were routinely knocked unconscious and overcome by debilitating nausea and vomiting. Homes near the graveyard became plagues by poltergeist activities such as smashed china and glassware, moving objects, shadowy figures, and menacing, guttural laughter.



There are two areas of the cemetery where activity is extremely dense, one being the area around the MacKenzie Mausoleum (also called the Black Tomb) and the other in the gated area known as the Covenanter’s Prison.

It is said that George MacKenzie is the shadowy entity haunting the area near his family tomb. In the 17th century, MacKenzie, a loyal subject to Charles II of England, is said to have ruthlessly persecuted and imprisoned “unrepentant” Scottish Presbyterians who formally entered into what they called a “Covenant Between God and Country.” This act of Scottish loyalty excluded the authority of Charles II and it is said that MacKenzie soundly punished all those Covenanters he could round up. Many were imprisoned in harsh and unforgiving conditions in a small area inside Greyfriar’s and most of the Covenanters died there rather than revoke their oath. Since that horrible event, the Covenanter’s Prison as well as the MacKenzie Mausoleum have both been fearsomely active, although it was not until recently that the spirits said to inhabit the area have begun to strike out against visitors and nearby residents.

Currently, the Covenanter’s Prison area is only accessible to visitors accompanied by a tour guide; the MacKenzie Mausoleum is nearby and can be visited and photographed – at one’s own peril, evidently.

43. Whitechapel/Spittalfields, London East End, London, England

The Whitechapel / Spittalfields area of East London has been actively settled since Roman times. Many of the historic buildings are built on the remains of old Roman settlements. Throughout the Dark and Middle Ages, the East End was a burgeoning commerce area, mostly inhabited by Anglos and Jewish moneylenders. In Elizabethan times the East End looked and smelled like something right out of one of Shakespeare’s history plays, and, in fact, the character of Falstaff (Henry V) is said to have been based on an innkeeper from the notorious East End. It was a place of soldiers and prostitutes, brawls and bawdy houses.

The coming of high Victorian morals did nothing to dull this seedy reputation and the Whitechapel / Spittalfields area, while known to humanitarians for its extreme poverty, was also known to all as the home of thieves, prostitutes, and the most derelict of English society.In 1888 the Whitechapel area of London was the scene of some of the most brutal murders ever recorded: the famous Jack the Ripper crimes. Yet the murders – and the identity of Jack – remain unsolved, even today. Many assert that the killer was a doctor or was somehow connected to the medical profession; others believe the killer to have been Queen Victoria’s grandson, Prince Albert Victor, though nothing substantial has ever arisen to support the theory.

Five women, all of them poor prostitutes, were slaughtered by the mysterious Jack in the span of just four months, known collectively as “The Autumn of Terror.” Four of the women – Mary Nicholls, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes – were found in various streets and alleys throughout Whitechapel horribly disfigured and mutilated. The fifth – Mary Kelly – was the only victim murdered in an interior location; as such she was the most horribly mutilated, the death scene like something from a slaughterhouse.

Jack the Ripper enjoyed a brief career as London’s most infamous serial murder and the fact that he was never caught still adds to the mystery surrounding him. Nevertheless, it is thought that his horrible mutilation of Mary Kelly was his last act of violence and there is no evidence that Jack, whoever he may have been, killed again after November 1888.

Today visitors to London’s East End can walk the streets that Jack prowled and visit pubs and other locations he may have haunted in life – and death. Walking tours of the area are very popular and although Jack’s legacy is certainly the most enduring. Other ghosts that haunt the East End are those of Jack’s victims, in various stages of mutilation; a ghostly band of Roman soldiers; a murderous sea captain’s ghost that haunts a local pub; and a mysterious black carriage drawn by ghastly white horses that approaches without a sound and disappears right before your eyes. These and other haunts, combined with the long haunted history of the East End make it one of the must visit ghostly locations in the world.  

[Motoko Kitari]

51. Coliseum, Rome, Italy

At the height of Rome’s power the Coliseum represented everything that was Imperial to the citizens of Rome. Gladiators would fight to the death here for the amusement of Caesar and the mobs; thousands of prisoners of war and victims of religious persecution met their end in the jaws of lions and tigers in the sandy arena of the Coliseum; and even those animals were decimated, for in its time the Coliseum consumed tens of thousands of animals, some reportedly driven into extinction by the Roman lust for blood and gore.

Coliseum, Rome, Italy ... Haunted ?

The workings of the Coliseum, the place where the real grit of life took place, were in the vaults beneath the sandy floor. Now long ago exposed by the ravages of time, there is still a pervasive feeling of awe associated with the lingering presence of a power so mighty it once encompassed the entire known world.

In the pits beneath the Coliseum gladiators waited to fight, prisoners waited to die, and average Romans placed bets on the outcomes of myriad competitions. Such a fabric of life can’t help but wrap itself around the pillars and posts that make up the foundation of this ancient charnel house, and it is no surprise that many reports of ghostly activity have been associated with the Coliseum over the years.

Tour guides and visitors alike have reported cold spots, being touched or pushed, hearing indiscernible words whispered into their ears; security guards with the unenviable task of securing the ancient edifice have reported hearing the sounds of swords clashing, of weeping in the more remote areas, and, oddly enough most disconcerting, the sound of ghostly animal noises such as the roars of lions and elephants. Ghostly citizens have been seen among the seats of the Coliseum, and the sight of a Roman soldier standing guard, silhouetted against the night sky, is a common one.

With such ancient history and such a legacy of death and bloodshed, there is little wonder why the Roman Coliseum is one of the most haunted places in the world.



52. Achade Meadows Peristyle, New Orleans

Real New Orleans Voodoo Hoodoo

Sallie Ann Glassman's New Orleans Voodoo Peryistyle. It is said to be haunted by the many spirits and Loas that arr often called upon. The bywater area of New Orleans is said to be very haunted in the first place. Many weekly and annual rituals are held here such as the Hurricane protection, Public prayer ceremony dedicated to Our Lady of Prompt Succor (who has intervened historically on New Orleans? behalf when a hurricane has threatened) and Ezili Dant? (also associated with Mater Salvatoris and Mt Carmel) to ask for protection from hurricanes, Day of the dead and many more.

Achade Meadows Peristyle, New Orleans

Artosot Autor John Chase tells the story of how Josephine Alley in New Orleans, some years back, went about a name change. Locals wanted to change Josephine Alley (off North Rampart between Piety and Desire) to the more elegant Beauharnais Alley. But the alley was not named for Napoleon’s Joséphine but for a “neighborhood personality”. So they renamed it Rosalie Alley for “another neighborhood personality”. Today (and for several years now) yet another local personality, Mambo Sallie Ann Glassman (Voudou priestess) hosts an annual prayer ceremony,Voodoo Practioners home to the Island of Salvation Botanica and La Source Ancienne Vodou Society, Achade Meadows Peristyle at 3319 Rosalie Alley.

53. The Queen Mary

RMS Queen Mary is an ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for Cunard Line (then Cunard White Star Line). Built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, she was designed to be the first of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service from Southampton to Cherbourg to New York, in answer to the mainland European superliners of the late twenties and early thirties. Queen Mary and her slightly larger and younger running mate RMS Queen Elizabeth commenced this two-ship service after their release from World War II troop transport duties and continued it for two decades until Queen Mary's retirement in 1967. The ship is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is permanently berthed in Long Beach, California serving as a museum ship and hotel. The Queen Mary celebrated the 70th anniversary of her launch in both Clydebank with Clydebank Restoration Trust and in Long Beach during 2004, and the 70th anniversary of her maiden voyage in 2006.



Ghosts have been reported on board only after she reached California. Many areas are rumored to be haunted. Reports of hearing little children crying in the nursery room, actually used as the third class playroom, and a mysterious splash noise in the drained first class swimming pool are cited. In 1966, 18 year old fireman John Pedder was crushed by a watertight door in the engine room during a drill, and his ghost is said to haunt the ship. This aspect of the Queen Mary has been carefully used as part of marketing the ship in recent years, much to the dismay of her maritime history supporters.



54. Raynham Hall

Raynham Hall ghost photo

Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, is most famous for the ghost of "the Brown Lady," which was captured on film in 1936 in what is considered one of the most authentic ghost pictures ever taken.

Raynham Hall


The Unexplained Site describes one of the first encounters with the spirit: "The first known sighting happened during the 1835 Christmas season. Colonel Loftus, who happened to be visiting for the holidays, was walking to his room late one night when he saw a strange figure ahead of him. As he tried to gain a better look, the figure promptly disappeared. The next week, the Colonel was again came upon the woman. He described her as a noble woman who wore a brown satin dress. Her face seemed to glow, which highlighted her empty eye sockets."

55. Okiku's Well at Himeji Castle

Often said to be haunted by the ghost of Okiku. She is supposed to rise from the well at night and count to nine before shrieking and returning to the well. The ghost story of Okiku, an unfortunate servant maid, is one of the best known and was transformed into a Kabuki play and numerous novels.



Some stories, however, locate the haunted well in the Canadian embassy in Tokyo's garden.

There are different versions of the ghost story of Okiku. What they all have in common is the description of her ghost coming out of the well and counting from one to nine and then breaking out into a heart-rendering sobbing.

In another version, Okiku really breaks a plate and is killed by her master and her corpse is thrown into the well.

In yet another version, it is the wife of Aoyama, who breaks the plate. To hide her guilt, she throws the broken plate into the well and accuses Okiku of having it stolen. In this version she is also killed by her master for punishment and thrown into the well.

There is also an alternate version for the end of the story. To stop the nightly sobbing, a friend of the family of Aoyama is hired. He is hiding at the well during the night and after Okiku had counted from one to nine, he is stepping forward shouting loudly "ten". From then on the ghost of Okiku was never seen again.

One of the tourist attractions on Himeji Castle is Okiku's well. In the Himeji version, Okiku was a servant of Aoyama, a retainer who planned a plot against his lord. Okiku overheard the plot and reported it to her lover, a loyal warrior. The plot was averted. When Aoyama found out that Okiku had been the cause for his failure, he decided to kill her. So he accused her of having stolen one of ten valuable dishes. She was tortured to death and thrown into the well.

Okiku's well on Himeji Castle is in competition with another location of the well, the garden of the Canadian embassy in Tokyo - established on land bought from the Aoyama family. Looks like there are at least as many locations of the well of the poor girl as there are different versions of her story.

All the variations of the ghost story of Okiku have an extremely wrongful and cruel treatment of a poor girl of the lower classes in common. But different from the ghost story of Yotsuya, revenge towards the tormenter is not the big Leitmotiv (apart from one variation of the story).

Shinkei Sanju-roku Kai Sen - 36 New Ghosts
Among the artists designing ghost subjects, Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (1839-1892) should be mentioned in first place. Yoshitoshi strongly believed in the existence of ghosts and was convinced that he had personally seen supernatural apparitions in his life.

The print of The Ghost of Okiku at the Dish Mansion was part of the series Shinkei Sanju-roku Kai Sen. It was Yoshitoshi's last series before his death (together with one One Hundred Aspects of the Moon) and was published from 1889 to 1892. The series can be found under different English translations like New Selection of 36 Apparitions or Thirty-six New Ghosts.

Towards the end of his life, the subjects of Yoshitoshi's prints were predominantly chosen from Japan's rich cultural tradition and history. It was an appeal of the artist to his countrymen not to give up their traditional values in exchange for the Western modernization that had begun in the Meiji period.  

[Motoko Kitari]

56. George Stickney House

Bull Valley, Illinois, has a unique design due to Stickney's belief in spiritualism. It is thought that he and his wife wished to communicate with their dead children. Today the house is the local police department, and it is claimed that police report strange sounds, objects moving around, lights turning off, and door knobs turning and doors opening by themselves. Other homes in the area are also rumored to be haunted. The nearby Holcombville cemetery includes tombs of the Stickney children and a person killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 191.

The paranormal George Stickney House

The house is widely considered bizarre due to its design, which was based, in part, on George Stickney's belief in spiritualism.

As an adherent to spiritualism, Stickney believed that the spirits in his house required the freedom to roam without getting caught in corners. Therefore, the home's interior is designed with no 90 degree angles between the walls. Every "corner" in the house is rounded.

The Stickneys may have drifted toward spiritualism as a way to communicate with their dead children; they had twelve children but only three survived to adulthood. It is known that the family conducted seances on the second floor of the building. In the years since the house left the hands of the Stickney family, owners have reported supernatural occurrences.

Today the mansion is occupied by the Village of Bull Valley and its police department.

In 2005 Bull Valley Police Chief Norbert Sauers described his experiences with possible paranormal events in the Stickney Mansion. Sauers said that village employees have heard numerous sounds that seem to defy explanation. He described hearing footsteps in the second floor ballroom, a room that today is used only as storage for village records but was used for seances when the Stickneys owned the mansion. The footstep sounds have extended out onto the stairwell at times. Other occurrences include hearing human sounding noises or voices. They sometimes even hear the toilets flushing when they are alone in the house.

The Chief said he has also personally experienced objects moving around on his desk, lights turning off and, door knobs turning and a door opening, seemingly by themselves, and voices from thin air, having once heard a shout in his ear when no one was around him. Another police officer in Bull Valley claims to have come face to face with an apparition of Stickney's father-in-law.

According to a local news report, "[o]ver the years, two men who carry a badge and gun" have quit their jobs over the supernatural events

57. Summerwind Mansion

Formerly known as Lamont Mansion, is a now derelict mansion-house on the shores of West Bay Lake. It is reputed to be one of the most haunted locations in Wisconsin. Due to abandonment, the elements and fire, little of the mansion currently remains standing. For a while it was popular with paranormal tourists.

After remaining vacant for some time, the house became the residence of Arnold and Ginger Hinshaw and their six children, who moved in during the early 1970s. It is from this time onwards that most of the haunting reports originate.

After taking up residence the Hinshaw reported a number of strange occurrences, ranging from flickering shadows that appeared to move down the hallways and soft voices that stopped when they entered rooms, to unexplained electrical/mechanical problems and sash windows that raised themselves. They also reported seeing the ghost of an unknown woman who appeared several times in the vicinity of the house's dining room.

The haunted ruins of Summerwind Mansion

Urban legend holds that after experiencing extended difficulties retaining workmen the Hinshaw decided to renovate the house themselves. During these renovations, Arnold is said to have removed a shoe draw from a fitted closest and to have discovered a hidden recess behind it. In that recess Arnold discovered what he at first took to be the remains of an animal. However, because of the cramped entrance, he could not be certain of what he had seen. Later that day, he sent his daughter Mary into the recess to see what the unidentified object really was, only for Mary to discover a human skull and strands of black hair. No report of the find was ever made to the police and the veracity of the legend has never been determined. The body was reported to have vanished when Ginger's father and brother investigated the recess, several years later.

Despite protests from Ginger, in Fall 1972 the mansion was acquired from Mrs. Keefer by Ginger's father, businessman Raymond Von Bober and her mother Marie; who intended to convert it into a restaurant and boarding house.

The Bober's attempts to renovate the house suffered from many of the same problems as the Hinshaw's attempt. Bober's son Karl; who traveled to the house alone in order to arrange estimates and pest control work, also reported a variety of unnerving events including voices and an apparent supernatural reenactment of the alleged 1930s Lemont incident.

At this time, workmen also reported feeling uncomfortable and complained of missing tools and other happenings, including that when they attempted to draw blueprints the dimensions of the house would change, with some rooms producing larger measurements on some days than on others. Photographs taken of the same location, on the same film, were also said to show a single room being several different sizes even if they were taken seconds apart, or to show furnishings that had been in the room when the Hinshaws had lived there, but which had since been removed.

After experiencing several apparently supernatural incidents, and a number of conventional difficulties, Bober abandoned his plans to convert Summerwind by 1979 (at which point the land again reverted back to Mrs. Keefer) and instead applied for permission to operate a concessions stand near by, but his application was turned down due to problems with local ordinance.

Bober documented his experiences in Summerwind and published them in 1979, under the pseudonym of “Wolfgang Von Bober”. In June 1988 Summerwind was struck by lightning several times, resulting in a fire that destroyed much of the mansion. Today, only the house's chimney stacks, foundations and stone steps remain.

After In Wolfgang Von Bober relinquished the property it was sold one more time but again reverted back to Mrs. Keefer. In 1986, by which time the mansion had fallen into disrepair, Sumerwind was purchased (from the estate of Mrs. Keefer) by a group of three investors.

In June 1988 Summerwind was struck by lightning several times, resulting in a fire that destroyed much of the mansion.

Today, only the house's chimney stacks, foundations and stone steps remain.



58. The Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt

Wadi Biban el-Muluk; "Gates of the King")is a valley in Egypt where for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth through Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, across from Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The wadi consists of two valleys, East Valley (where the majority of the royal tombs situated) and West Valley.

Some Beleive it is the Ghosts of The great dead Kings and Royal Families that lead to these modern discoveries. And many who visit the Vlley say they are overcome by the feeling of something really supernatural.



Stories of "the mummy's curse" or "King Tut's curse" excited the world after the discovery in 1922 of the ancient pharaoh's tomb in Egypt. Lord Carnarvon, a British sponsor of archaeology in Egypt, died shortly after attending the tomb's opening, inspiring speculation that supernatural forces were at work.

Royal Necropolis
The official name for the site in ancient times was The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes, or more usually, Ta-sekhet-ma'at (the Great Field).

The Valley of the Kings has been a major area of modern Egyptological exploration for the last two centuries. Before this the area was a site for tourism in antiquity (especially during Roman times). This areas illustrates the changes in the study of ancient Egypt, starting as antiquity hunting, and ending as scientific excavation of the whole Theban Necropolis. Despite the exploration and investigation noted below, only eleven of the tombs have actually been completely recorded.

The area has been a focus of concentrated archaeological and egyptological exploration since the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and burials continue to stimulate research and interest. In modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (with its rumours of the Curse of the Pharaohs, and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis, it became a World Heritage Site.

On February 8, 2006, the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced that an American team led by the University of Memphis had uncovered a pharaonic-era tomb (KV63), the first uncovered there since King Tutankhamun's in 1922. The 18th Dynasty tomb included five mummies in intact sarcophagi with coloured funerary masks along with more than 20 large storage jars, sealed with pharaonic seals. It is located close to the tomb of Tutankhamun. KV63, as it is known, appears to be a single chamber with five or six sarcophagi and about 20 large funerary jars. The chamber is from the 18th dynasty and it appears to have been a deposit of funerary preparation materials, rather than a tomb.

KV 62

Haunting the Tomb of king Tut

Valley of the Kings East Valley, Thebes West Bank, Thebes New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Tutankhamun

On 31 July 2006, Nicholas Reeves announced that analysis of ground penetrating radar for the autumn of 2000 showed a sub-surface anomaly in the area of KV62 and KV63

59. St. Peter's Church Cemetery

Haunted Philadelphia - The Scariest Spot in Philadelphia ... The entire region is known for its historic sites, colonial-era graveyards and centuries-old buildings, some dating back to pre-Revolutionary War days. What many people don't know is that many of the original residents of historic Philadelphia never left town. The Philadelphia area is among America's most haunted destinations. has been home to ghosts for more than a century. Some spectators have seen a horse-drawn carriage charging through the center of the graveyard and through the church. Others say restless Native American chiefs roam the grounds and the spirit of a colonial African American man can sometimes be seen walking in the graveyard by moonlight. 4th & Pine Streets  

[Motoko Kitari]

60. Houston, Texas

Paranormal Investigators in Texas know everything about it's very haunted history and The Lone Star sporits are more then dead their lively! The most notable haunted hot spors are:

The Spaghetti Warehouse 901 Commerce St, Houston, TX This former warehouse's long-ago owner allegedly died after falling down an elevator shaft. Moans and screams of somone in pain are often heard day and night. Other paranormal Texas ghostly activity includes a lady in white and moving utensils. Ghost hunting in this warehouse can be down right spooky, equipment goes wild then will refuse to work.

La Carafe 813 Congress St, Houston, TX
This pre-Civil War building's bar is believed to have a haunted second floor, but many say the entire building is haunted. children crying can be heard and the shadow figure of a large red dog is often seen and heard

Battleship Texas State Historic Site 3527 Battleground Rd, La Porte, TX
Some visitors to this state park attraction claim to have seen the ghost of an unidentified sailor on the second deck.

Esperson Building 808 Travis St, Houston, TX
Legend has it that Mellie Esperson's spirit still roams the building's halls and elevators which are said to manifest cold spots.

Treebeards 315 Travis St, Houston , TX
Located in the Travis building (the second oldest in Houston), some staff have reported ghost sightings and other unexplained activity. From soft ghostly whispers to the sound of a man laughing.

"Rumor has it that an old caretaker and his dog lived in the basement of the old Downtown Houston Library. The caretaker loved to play his violin (fiddle) after hours. He's no longer alive, but the tunes he played can occasionally still be faintly heard."



61. Prague

Prague is one of the most haunted cities in Europe. There are water goblins under the Charles Bridge, a headless horseman, a huge fat ghost and a fiery coach. A golem made of clay ran amok in the Jewish Quarter and Emperor Rudolph II invited magicians, astrologers and alchemists from all over Europe to his court.

Prauge is haunted!

One of the most popular tourist sights is the Charles Bridge and this has its fair share of ghosts and folklore. For ten years the heads of ten lords executed in the Middle Ages were stuck on poles on the bridge. Their ghosts are said to haunt the bridge today - even singing melancholy songs around midnight to terrify passers by. Prague is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and belongs to the most visited cities on the continent

On the bridge stands a statue of the mythical prince Bruncvik. It is said that his magical sword is buried in his statue: a sword so deadly that it could cut off heads without any help from its owner. Under the bridge lives a water goblin who eats the souls of those drowned by jumping off the bridge.

The city flourished during the 14th century during the reign of Charles IV, of the Luxembourg dynasty. The 17th century is considered the Golden Age of Jewish Prague. The Jewish community of Prague numbered some 15,000 people (approx. 30 per cent of the entire population), making it the largest Ashkenazic community in the world and the second largest community in Europe after Thessaloniki. In the years 1597 to 1609, the Maharal (Judah Loew ben Bezalel) served as Prague's chief rabbi. He is considered the greatest of Jewish scholars in Prague's history, his tomb in the Old Jewish Cemetery eventually becoming a pilgrimage site.

There is also a wonderful ghostly coaches. Seen and heard as the hooves and wheels clatter over the cobbles. In one of them sits a monk with his head in his lap. His particular ghostly coach is drawn by huge black billy goats. The monk asks anyone he sees for a coin. One woman threw him a counterfeit coin and ran off. Unfortunately the monk came and found her and she was found dead the next morning with the shape of a coin branded into her forehead.

62. Jonesborough, Tennessee

Often counted as the number one of the most Place to visit. Jonesborough was founded in 1779, seventeen years before Tennessee was granted statehood. It was named after North Carolina legislator, Willie Jones, who supported North Carolina's westward expansion over the Appalachian Mountains. Here you'll learn about the former President, Andrew Jackson's encounter with the infamous "Bell Witch" of Adams, Tennessee - the subject matter of the motion picture entitled "An American Haunting"; in addition, we offer Historic Erwin and the Nolichucky Settlement beginning 1760; in Johnson City we have three tours including the East Tennessee State University campus, Tipton-Haynes Historic Site, as well as a hiking adventure entitled "Legendary Buffalo Mountain"; Historic Blountville, Rogersville, and Greeneville Tennessee GhostWalks detail ghostly true stories from the Civil War. Also tour of Historic Abingdon Virginia GhostWalk just a few minutes drive from Bristol.

Jonesborough is also the home to the National Storytelling Festival, drawing people nationwide to participate in the unique event. The festival takes place in October of each year. Large tents are pitched in parks around town and storytellers sit on stages or at the head of the tent to perform. Occasionally performances are interrupted for a moment by a passing Norfolk Southern Railway train. Some stories have morals, define cultural traditions, or entertain. Stories about tribal nations, telling right from wrong, and small-town culture have been past topics. Some storytellers write musical scores which are incorporated into their stories. The Festival partly ties into an Appalachian cultural tradition of storytelling. The existence of a storytelling graduate degree program at a nearby university reflects this tradition.

While exploring some of the most historic streets in the state, visitors can even have ghostly adventure. Andrew Jackson had strong ties to Jonesborough, Tennessee. It was here that he began his law practice in the late 1700s. And during that time, he stayed at the cabin belonging to Christopher Taylor, located about a mile outside of town. Recently the cabin was removed from its original spot and reconstructed in the town's park. The ghost of former U.S. president Andrew Jackson has occasionally been spotted there--usually on foggy nights. The ghost walks up to the front door and disappears into the building. The ghost has also been seen walking down the street, in the direction of the old courthouse.  

[Motoko Kitari]

63. The Galvez Hotel Galveston, Texas

Victorian elegance rising from the sand and surf, the Hotel Galvez - A Wyndham Historic Hotel in Galveston, Texas, was known as the "Queen of the Gulf" on the day she opened in 1911. For nearly a century, this charming Galveston hotel has been the choice of guests as demanding and diverse as Teddy Roosevelt, Howard Hughes and Frank Sinatra. A $9-million renovation has restored the Hotel Galvez to its rightful place as a timeless showplace on the Gulf of Mexico. Workers have seen figures of the lady and hear her whimpers as she walks down the back stairs.

he Galvez Hotel Galveston, Texas Ghosts

The Galvez is also home to a very haunted painting. The haunted portrait of Bernardo de Galvez hangs at the very end of the long hall at the Hotel Galvez. Many who see it get a chill for they say they can feel his eyes following them as they walk past. Report poor in to several in the paranormal community that much like Robert the Haunted Doll in Key West, Florida this ghost does not like having his portraits picture taken unless you ask his permission first.

Located on e Seawall Blvd. and is the oldest hotel on Galveston island. One room, room 505, is supposed to be haunted and most people who stay in that room, do not stay overnight. Most just feel incredibly uncomfortable there. You can also smell Gardenias in and around the room at times.


Many people have had similar experiences and it's to be expected in an old hotel. Unless you are seeking an experience beyond our world I would recommend a different hotel, or at least stay away from the fifth floor!



64. Bell Witch Cave Adams, Tennessee


The Bell Witch is a ghost story from American southern folklore. The legend of the Bell Witch, also called the Bell Witch Haunting, revolved around a series of strange events allegedly experienced by the Bell family of Adams, Tennessee, between 1817 and 1821

The Bell Witch Cave is a karst cave located in Adams, Tennessee near where the Bell Farm once stood. The cave is approximately 490 feet (150 m) long. The cave is privately owned and tours are given during the summer months and the month of October.

This cave has been associated with The Bell Witch, a period of time when the Bell Family was allegedly haunted by the Bell Witch. The cave has no real connection to the haunting, however, it is located on property once owned by the Bell family. Many believe that when the witch departed, she fled to the sanctuary of this cave.

.Bell Witch Cave Adams, Tennessee Ghosts

These events are said to have been witnessed and documented by hundreds of people, among them future President of the United States Andrew Jackson, and consequently the episode represents one of the most famous instances of paranormal events in history.

The Bell Witch was believed to be Kate Batts, an eccentric neighbor of John Bell's, who had sued him for cheating her in a land deal. The stories of land sale conflict involving Bell do have documentation although neither case has any connection to Kate Batts.

Other paranormal theories are that the "witch" was actually a poltergeist or the Bell home had been built on a Native American burial ground.

The events of the Haunting were used as the basis for the 2006 film An American Haunting and may have influenced production of The Blair Witch Project.

According to the legend, the first manifestation of the haunting occurred in 1817 when John Bell encountered a strange animal in a cornfield on his property. The animal, described as having had the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit, vanished when Bell shot at it. This incident was quickly followed by a series of strange beating and gnawing noises manifesting around, and eventually inside, the Bell residence. After these occurrences, the Bell children said their bedclothes were being regularly pulled off and tossed onto the floor by an invisible force.

The family then reported a voice choking and making awful, low, guttural noises. Betsy Bell, the family's younger daughter and the only daughter still living at home, was soon after violently assaulted--her hair pulled and her face slapped by an invisible force.

These events continued for over a year before John Bell reported them to his neighbors, James Johnston and his wife, who later said they witnessed events. At this point, the strange events experienced by the Bell family became well known in the Red River community, especially reports of a voice conversing loudly and clearly, singing, quoting from the Bible and accurately describing events taking place miles away.

Another major development in the story is the involvement of future U.S. President Andrew Jackson, who heard of the disturbances and decided to observe them in person in 1819.

On approaching the Bell property, Jackson's entourage encountered an invisible presence that stopped his wagon in its tracks. When Jackson acknowledged that the witch was responsible, the wagon was able to proceed unhindered.

One of the men in Jackson's entourage declared himself to be a witch tamer who intended to kill the spirit. After this proclaimation, the man began screaming and contorting his body. Jackson and his entourage left the Bell property by midday the following day. He is quoted as later saying, "I'd rather fight the entire British Army than to deal with the Bell Witch

65. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Bevy of ghosts haunt this base, the oldest continuously operated military post west of the Mississippi. Many people have witnessed the ghost of Catherine Sutter walking among the tombstones of the National Cemetery and on the grounds of the present Golf Course. Bound for Oregon, she stopped over at the fort in 1880, with her husband and two children. One day, her husband sent the children out to collect firewood, but they never returned. The Sutters stayed on through the winter, hoping against hope that their loved ones would be found, and Catherine spent many lonely hours walking through the snow calling out to her children. That same year, the distraught woman caught pneumonia and died. However, her apparition, wearing an old calico dress and black shawl, is still seen desperately searching for her lost children. Sometimes she is observed carrying a lantern, while other times just her voice can be heard, calling out from the darkness. Another ghost reported in the cemetery is Chief Joseph, a proud Nez Perce Indian leader, who was incarcerated here in 1877. Several ghosts populate the Rookery, the oldest house on the base. The apparitions of a busy-body old woman, a bushy-haired old man in a white robe, and an angry young girl disturb residents trying to sleep in the 162-year-old house. Sheridan House is haunted by the vengeful spirit of Mrs. Sheridan, wife of General Philip H. Sheridan. In 1869, he deserted his wife on her deathbed to go to Chicago on business. A few doors down, at the Chief of Staff's Quarters, the sounds of a tea party can be heard coming from the empty parlor. The presence of a man with a mustache and goatee is occasionally felt at the McClellan Officer's Quarters. His apparition has appeared in the fireplace, and his loud footsteps are heard late at night, stumbling through the house. The former site of St. Ignatius Chapel is haunted by the ghost of the priest, who burnt to death in a 1875 fire that destroyed the building. Father Fred has turned up at the fireplace, in the kitchen, near a sewing machine and other places in the new house that was built on the site. Houses along Sumner Place are haunted by the presence of a Lady in Black. No one knows what she wants, but she is very domestic, and is sometimes seen trying to calm crying children or attempting to help with the dishes. The ghost of General George Custer has been seen roaming the first floor of the General's Residence. While still a colonel, Custer was court-martialed in 1867 for shooting soldiers who disobeyed him. The hearing was held in the commanding general's quarters, where Custer was found guilty and given a year's suspension without pay. Perhaps the stubborn general wants to lodge an appeal against the blemish on his record. The men he sacrificed at Little Big Horn, some of whom are buried here, have also returned. Their ghostly figures have been reported marching on the Main Parade.  

[Motoko Kitari]

66. The Whaley House

Whaley House, Old Town San Diego. This 1850s brick house has long been listed as a haunted spot and it lives up to its ghostly reputation. Both the inside and out is haunted so even if you don't get to go inside a trip to the place to walk the grounds. Besides that there is a great Mexican Restaurant across the street with hand made tortillas. Just down the street is the old San Diego Cemetery called the Campo Santo where a number of people have seen ghosts.

The Whaley House Ghosts

At the Whaley House bring a tape recorder for stray ESP and a good nose for the scent of cigars that is found in the place. Keep a good eye out in the court room and the stairway were many people feel a choaking around the neck. The Music Room and the old master bedroom has many accounts of ghost sightings. Thomas Whaley in his frock coat haunts as does his wife and daughter. There is a curious apparition of a little scotty dog seen inside and out by ghost hunters. A great place to spend the afternoon. Best time to vist--just before they close or when they first open.

67.Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza (from Yucatec Maya chich'en itza', "At the mouth of the well of the Itza") is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, present-day Mexico. Although this was the usual name for the site in pre-Columbian times, it is also referred to in the ancient chronicles as Uucyabnal, meaning "Seven Great Rulers".

Chichen Itza Is it haunted

Chichen Itza was a major regional center in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic through the Terminal Classic and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period. The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, from what is called “Mexicanized” and reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico to the Puuc style found among the Puuc Maya of the northern lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion.

Archaeological data, such as evidence of burning at a number of important structures and architectural complexes, suggest that Chichen Itza's collapse was violent. Following the decline of Chichen Itza's hegemony, regional power in the Yucatán shifted to a new center at Mayapan. While the site itself was never completely abandoned, the population declined and no major new constructions were built following its political collapse. The Sacred Cenote, however, remained a place of pilgrimage.

In 1531 Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Montejo claimed Chichén Itzá and intended to make it the capital of Spanish Yucatán, but after a few months a native Maya revolt drove Montejo and his forces from the land.

Seven courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame have been found in Chichén, but the one about 150 meters to the north-west of the Castillo is by far the most impressive. It is the largest ballcourt in ancient Mesoamerica. It measures 166 by 68 meters (545 by 232 feet). The sides of the interior of the ballcourt are lined with sculpted panels depicting teams of ball players, with the captain of the losing team being decapitated.

Built into one of the exterior walls of the ballcourt is the Temple of the Jaguar, which features another jaguar throne -- since this one was not buried for a thousand years, its red paint and jade spots are long since gone.

Behind this platform is a walled inscription which depicts a tzompantli (rack of impaled human skulls) in relief. Chichen Itza is today a World Heritage Site and is the second most visited of Mexico’s archaeological sites. Many visitors to the popular tourist resort of Cancún make a day trip to Chichen Itza, usually with time to view only a portion of the site.

Over the past several years, INAH, which manages the site, has been closing monuments to public access. The most recent was El Castillo, which was closed after the death of a San Diego woman in 2006.

According to the American Anthropological Association, the actual ruins of Chich'en Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, INAH). The land under the monuments, however, is privately-owned by the Barbachano family



68. Resurrection Cemetery, Chicago

Chicago is home to some of the most famous ghosts in America. Resurrection Mary is a famous ghost story and is considered by many to be the original hitchhiker ghost story. It takes place around the Chicago area in Justice, Illinois. Many travelers down Archer Avenue -- a street which runs through the city of Chicago -- and its South Suburbs, have reported seeing a young blonde girl walking by, some who have seen her have claimed to even have given her a ride. The girl is said to be very quiet once picked up and disappears once the driver passes the gates of Resurrection Cemetery in Justice Illinois.

Resurrection Mary the Ggost girl of Chicago



The very first, first-person account came from Jerry Palus, a south-side man who recently died. He picked up a girl at the Liberty Grove and Hall near 47th and Mozart and danced with her the entire evening. The only strange thing is that she was very cold to the touch. Later she asked for a ride home which was somewhere in the Bridgeport area of Chicago but decided she'd like to go for a ride past the large Catholic cemetery along Archer Avenue, Resurrection. As they began to approach the main gates, she began to act very strangely. She told Jerry to pull the car off the road and, for some reason, she had to run toward the cemetery and that Jerry could not follow. Before he knew what was happening, she darted from the car, ran towards the main gates but disappeared before reaching those gates in plain view of Jerry. He then began to put all of this together and surmised that he had been with a ghost that evening. On a later visit to the home of Mary, he was greeted by a woman who told him that her daughter had been dead for sometime. He even saw a picture of her sitting on a table and was convinced that she was the same girl he had been with. However, that was impossible!



69. City of Derby, Haunted Derbyshire

" The Ghost Capital of England."

The Ghost capital of the World

The Haunted City site brings together all the information available on the city's spookiest places, where ghostly presences are felt and where things actually do go "bump in the night, and in the day!" Derby Ghosts.

Derby Gaol is a working museum which is open to the public. It was acquired in 1997 by Richard Felix, paranormal investigator and dedicated historian who later became famous, as one of the members of the popular television programme 'Most Haunted'. Starting at 11pm and finishing at 4am with breakfast, night vigils at Derby Gaol enable the visitor to get a real taste of hunting ghosts. A main course meal is included in the price and there is a bar for those wanting to settle their nerves!

Room 29 at the Bell Inn, Sadler Gate, which used to be a hotel, is said to be haunted by young servant girl murdered by the Jacobite army in 1745.

At the Dolphin Inn, Queen Street, the gas taps in the cellar are mysteriously, turned off making the staff think the barrels are empty.

70. The Lemp Mansion

When John Adam Lemp arrived in St. Louis from Eschwege, Germany in 1838, he seemed no different from the thousands of other immigrants who poured into the Gateway to the West during the first half of the 19th century. Lemp originally sought his fortune as a grocer. But his store was unique for its ability to supply an item sold by none of his competitors - lager beer. Lemp had learned the art of brewing the effervescent beverage under the tutelage of his father in Eschwege, and the natural cave system under St. Louis provided the perfect temperature for aging beer. Lemp soon realized that the future of lager beer in America was as golden as the brew itself, and in 1840 he abandoned the grocery business to build a modest brewery at 112 S. Second Street. A St. Louis industry was born. The brewery enjoyed marvelous success and John Adam Lemp died a millionaire.

The Lemp Mansion was built in the early 1860's and was subsequently purchased by William J. Lemp as a residence and auxiliary brewery office. Although it was already an impressive structure, Lemp used his massive brewery fortune to turn the thirty-three room house into a Victorian showplace.

The radiator system was installed in 1884, five years after radiant heat was patented. The grand staircase was removed to accommodate an open-air lift that ran the gamut of the house. The decorative iron gates in the basement restaurant are all that remain of the elevator. In 1904 the house was completely renovated. To the left of the main entrance is the former brewery office, where William Jr. committed suicide. The decorative mantle is Italian marble.  

[Motoko Kitari]

71. Cairo, Egypt's' City of the Dead

For many Cairenes the City of the Dead is a mysterious, foreboding area. Many Cairenes are aware of its existence but few understand this group of vast cemeteries that stretches out along the base of the Moqattam Hills.

Cairo is facing a housing problem. The lack of satisfactory and affordable housing for the rapidly growing population has forced many poor Egyptians to live in houses amongst cemeteries called The City of the dead. Among these cemeteries live a community of Egypt’s urban poor, forming an illegal but tolerated, separate society. More than five million Egyptians live in these cemeteries, and have formed their own enterprises.The population of the City of the Dead is growing rapidly because of rural migration and its complicated housing crisis is getting worse.

“There are five major cemeteries in this city there, the Northern Cemetery, Bab el Nasr Cemetery, the Southern Cemetery, the Cemetery of the Great, and Bab el Wazir Cemetery,” The historic belief in Egypt is that the cemeteries are an active part of the community and not exclusively for the dead.


72. Bachelors Grove / Batchelors Grove Cemetery Chicago

Bachelors Grove / Batchelors Grove Cemetery Chicago

There many haunted ghost Bachelors Grove Cemetery stories and eerie tales and legends told about this , abandoned cemetery than any other place in the Chicago. It is located on the edge of the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve, near the suburb of Midlothian, Illinois. This haunted cemetery is said to be filled with ghosts. Many Tales of Paranormal reports of strange phenomena have been collected about the place. but now it is abandoned and in ruin, but still very haunted by the living and the dead.



Unexplained World is A Chicago Based Cable Show by Edward Shannahan, which explores the world of Hauntings and Ghost. This episodes Looks at the Bachelors Grove of Chicago

Bachelor's Grove Cemetery - Near Haunted Chicago: Said to be the most scariest haunted cemetery in the U.S.A. Bachelor's Grove is located in the suburbs of Chicago. It gained its name from the number of single young men buried there during the creation of Illionois-Michigan Canal. The graveyard was taken out of commission in the mid 1960's but it still maintains its haunted status. The Ghost of George Harwell Federman, and Janet Lorraine Logan or said to be the most seen ghost in the graveyard and that their tombstones have been removed to keep people from finding them. They are said to materialize quite solid and real ... then just disappear before your eyes. People say the ghost of a child can be heard crying in the evening hours violently. And that many say it's sounds too, to real to mark off as an animal or a hoax.


Today, a section of the Cook County Forest Preserve (at 143rd Street and Justamere Road) bears the name Bachelors Grove in recognition of the early history of the area. The last remaining section of roadway known as Bachelors Grove Road, which ran between 135th Street and 143rd Street, was closed in December 1994. Cook County and the Forest Preserve District have followed through with their intended removal of the road, and another reminder of this piece of local history will completely disappear in time.



Edward Shannahan, explores the world of Hauntings and Ghost. Part II Bachelors Grove of Chicago


The following was written by Brad L. Bettenhausen, President of the Tinley Park Historical Society:

The settlement at Batchelors Grove began as early as the late 1820s, with larger numbers of immigrants arriving in the 1830s and 1840s. The initial settlers were generally American "Yankees" of English, Irish, and Scottish descent, most of whom came here from New York, Vermont, and Connecticut. The second wave of settlers arriving from Europe, primarily of Germanic origin, began in the late 1840s and became the predominate nationality for immigrants to the area for better than the next fifty years.
Ghost Photos of actual solid apparitions are common , and even glowing balls of light appear in the trees in broad daylight, unexplained audible ghost sounds. EVP's have been recorded and many in in the German language.


There have been no burials here for years . But ask any ghost investigator where to go to find a actual ghost or real haunting's in chicago,Bachelors Grove will be Number 1 on their haunted Cemetery list! Access to the cemetery is gained by way of a narrow road,(The Cemetery is not open to the public or appears on any haunted Cemetery tour) many visitors, Investigators to the area have reported seeing a phantom ghost farmhouse that seems to appear and disappear at random. The house is always described in the same way, as a white house with porch pillars, a swing and a soft light burning in the window, but it is never reported in the same place. As witnesses approach the house, it always disappears. A number of completely independent witnesses have reported the house, not realizing that it was unnatural (until it vanished) and all of them have pointed to different locations when they spotted it.


The house has been reported during both daylight hours and at night but historical files show no record of a house ever existing here!

Favorite dumping ground for Chicago gangsters during the years of Prohibition. A number of bodies were said to have been found here. Even the turnpike near Bachelor's Grove is said to be really haunted. For a number of years, witnesses have reported many a phantom car that always disappear along this road. Visitors to the cemetery are advised to go there at their own risk.

Bachelor's Grove Cemetery has often been called the most haunted graveyard in the Chicago area.



73. Stull Cemetery - Kansas

It's infamous nicknames are The Seven Lost Gates of Hell, The Cemetery of The Damned, Satan's Burial Ground and most notably The Seventh Gate to Hell. Stull cemetery is often said to be where Satan the Devil himself holds court with his lost worshippers.


The devil's only half human haunted child is reported to be buried here in Haunted Kansas. They say he appears as a 9 -11 year old boy, he was believed to be able to turn himself into a dog, a cat or a wolf. Basically a werewolf or just plain shape shifter. Many stories say he was born covered with long red hair and a full set of two rows of double teeth. His story is sad. He was an out cast chained under the house, and thrown scraps of food like a wild animal, since he was an infant.

One day when he was about 10 years old he chewed off his left hand and escaped and tore through the town killing someone who he met. He was finally killed after a 11 month killing spree by a lone farmer.

Ghost stories state he was a hermaphrodite. At the spring and autumn equinoxes evil forces, orbs and lights are suppose to materialize in this Haunted Cemetery near or over his grave, which is unmarked.

And don't forget that of Witch a awful lady ghost who is said to curse at you for stepping on her grave. She is said to appear as a tall lady with white hair. EVP's of her can be heard to say "Keep Away From My Bones." and " Watch Your step." They say she hated her last husband who is buried next to her and often the soil seems pushed up where he is buried. Many say she is trying to get him to move elsewhere.

Stull Cemetery, and the abandoned church that rests next to it, is located in the tiny, Kansas town of Stull. There is not much left of the tiny village, save for a few houses, the newer church and about twenty residents. However, the population of the place allegedly contains a number of residents that are from beyond this world!

In addition to its human inhabitants, the town is also home to a number of Haunted legends and strange tales that are linked to the crumbling old church and the overgrown cemetery that can be found atop Stull’s Emmanuel Hill.

These stories have been linked to Stull for more than 100 years. In November 1974, an article appeared in the University of Kansas student newspaper that spoke of a number of strange occurrences in the Stull churchyard. According to the article, Stull was “haunted by diabolical, supernatural happenings” and the asserted that the cemetery was one of the two places on earth where the devil appears in person two times each year.

But such stories have a strong hold on people, as evidenced by the reaction to the article that claimed that the devil would appear in Stull Cemetery on the night of the Spring Equinox and again on Halloween. On March 20, 1978, more than 150 people waited in the cemetery for the arrival of the devil. The word also spread that the spirits of those who died violent deaths, and were buried there, would return from the grave.

The legends also say that the Devil has been appearing here since the 1850’s and insist that the original name of the town was “Skull” and that the later corruption of that into “Stull” was simply to cover the fact that the area was steeped in black magic. It was said that the witchcraft-practicing early settlers were so repentant about their past deeds that they changed the name of the town. In truth, the town was called “Deer Creek Community” until 1899, when the last name of the first postmaster, Sylvester Stull, was adopted as the name of the village. The post office closed down in 1903, but the name stuck.

In 1980, an article appeared in the Kansas City Times, rumors about Stull Cemetery and the abandoned church. The article states that the Devil chose two places to appear on Earth every Halloween. One of them was the “tumbleweed hamlet” of Stull, Kansas, which occurs simultaneously at midnight, is someplace on the “desolate plain of India.” From these sites, according to the article, the Devil gathers all the people who died violent deaths over the past year for a prance around the Earth at the witching hour.

The article adds that he appears in Stull because of an event that took place in the 1850’s, when “a stable hand allegedly stabbed the mayor to death in the cemetery’s old stone barn. Years later, the barn was converted into a church, which in turn was gutted by fire. A decaying wooden crucifix that still hands from one wall is thought to sometimes turn upside-down when passersby step into the building at midnight...” The story neglects to mention that, historically speaking, neither the Deer Creek Community nor Stull have ever had an official mayor.

Author Lisa Hefner Heitz has collected numerous legends that have added to the mythology of Stull Cemetery. Some of them include the “fact” that the Devil also appears at Stull on the last night of winter or the first night of spring. He comes to visit a witch that is buried there. Coincidentally, an old tombstone bearing the name “Wittich” is located fairly close to the old church. It should also be mentioned that there are rumors that an old tree in the graveyard, which was cut down a year or so ago, was once used as a gallows for condemned witches. There is also said to be a grave in the cemetery that holds the bones of a “child of Satan”, who was born of the Devil and a witch. The child was so deformed that he only lived for a few days and the body was buried in Stull. Some say that his ghost may walk here, as there supposedly was a photo taken a few years ago that shows a “werewolf-like boy” peering out from behind a tree.

One of the strangest stories about Stull supposedly appeared in Time magazine in either 1993 or 1995 (depending on the version you hear). This story claims that Pope John Paul II allegedly ordered his private plane to fly around eastern Kansas while on his way to a public appearance in Colorado. The reason for this, the story claims, was that the Pope did not want to fly over “unholy ground”.

The legends grew and by 1989, the crowd at the graveyard on Halloween night had become so overwhelming that the Douglas County sheriff's department had to station deputies outside to send people on their way. They handed out tickets for criminal trespass to anyone caught on the property. It was believed that nearly 500 people came to the cemetery on Halloween night of 1988, doing damage to the church and gravestones, prompting a police response the following year.

As time passed, the local residents grew more irritated that vandals and trespassers were wreaking havoc in the cemetery where their loved ones and ancestors were buried. Finally, a chain link security fence was installed around the grounds and although the area is still regularly patrolled, the visits have died down somewhat, at least outside of October. In addition, there have been the signs posted against trespassing here and locals have made it clear that visitors are not welcome.



74. The Lizzie Borden House

Which is now a Bed and Breakfast, may possibly be the most haunted house in America. The sight of a double murder, one of the most famous in US history, has produced sightings, noises and the feeling of a cat walking across them have all been reported. Lizzie Borden murdered her stepmother and father in the family's home in Fall River, Massachusetts. Some people now say the Borden house is haunted.

Lizzie Bordens Ghost

While there is little doubt that Lizzie committed the crime, she was acquitted at trial due to a lack of evidence. Although ostracized by the community, Lizzie lived in the house until she died on June 1, 1927.



After her death, the house remained a private residence for several decades before being converted into a bed and breakfast. Guests are allowed to view the murder scene and can sleep in Lizzie and her sister Emma's bedrooms, Abby & Andrew's Bedrooms or the guest Room where Abby was killed. Martha McGinn, owner and operator, has lived in the house since her teens. She calls the house "active" instead of haunted, and believes that the spirits of the murder victims may inhabit the house.

Cold spots are felt in many of the rooms. People who work in the house say they have heard many strange sounds, including voices, a woman crying and unexplained footsteps. Some have seen indentations - like that of a body lying down - appear and disappear on the beds. Objects are mysteriously moved out of place, lights go on and off, and doors and cabinets have opened on their own.

Guests have reported seeing an "older Victorian woman" dusting and making the beds in the guest room as Abby was doing at the time of her death. Still others have reported being awakened in the night to see this same woman pulling the covers of the bed over them as though she is tucking them in. A couple from Connecticut took a photograph in the sitting room that didn't turn out properly. The photo was almost entirely black except for the apparition of an elderly man who looked very much like Andrew Borden.  

[Motoko Kitari]

79. Key West, Florida

Haunted Tales from Florida’s sun kissed beaches abound and would not be complete without the treasure of all haunting's, Haunted Key West. Where else might generations of ghostly cats try to steal your soul or Robert the Haunted Doll try to follow you home?From artists who still linger in Victorian era homes, and long dead morticians who still attempt to practice their craft on less than willing victims, or the unrelenting spirit of Elvira who likes to hang around the famous Hanging Tree in the middle of Captain Tony's famous bar, Key West is brimming with the unusual and the unexplainable.

There are the ghosts of famous writers and famous seafarers, of light housemen and soldiers, of rum-runners and Cuban refugees, and the disturbing but true tale of the eye doctor who had an eye for necrophilia and kept the body of his paramour around long after she should have been peacefully at rest.
Not resting very peacefully either is the little stuffed doll called Robert who long ago lost his owner, but is always looking for a new one. Those of you in the market for bringing home a little "souvenir" might get more than you bargain for when you visit Robert at his museum home.

The Ghosts of Key West truly rise to the occasion and help make any visit to Florida's second oldest city one that you will never forget. Ghosts of cigar makers, pirates, wreckers, and Voodoo practitioners all await you. While their ghostly journeys continue through time, yours is just about to begin courtesy of Haunted America Tours.
Haunted Key West has long been a hot spot for vacation destinations. Who can resist the, fresh seafood, rich history and the beautiful beaches? But it is also known for it's haunted side.

Key West is an island located just 150 miles south of Haunted Miami, Florida and just 90 miles across the Gulf of Mexico north of Havana Cuba.

Key West measures a mere 2 miles by 4 miles , however, With its sorted past history and notorious newly discovered recent ghost filled haunting's and sightings, Haunted Key west by the inch may be the most haunted island in the world.

The many supernatural residents like any other residents on the island all await your visit. You can take a nightly or daytime ghost tour. Or, you can stay at a very haunted hotel! Here are but a few of the haunted houses and buildings on Key West. Take a haunted Key West Ghost filled haunted Tour and find out more.....

80. Jefferson Hotel, Jefferson, Texas

The Jefferson Hotel might be considered as one of the most haunted hotels in America. This haunted hotel should be in the Top 20 list of haunted hotels to visit in Texas. The apparitions or ghost have been said to hurl objects and lock tourists into one of the haunted rooms quite often

The Jefferson Hotel, after a post-Civil War fire led to its reconstruction, is a haunted hot spot some report mysterious echoing footsteps, knocks on your door in the middle of the day and night. Now a days Jefferson, Texas is known as the most haunted small town in Texas due to fame on the Travel, Discovery and SciFi channels.

Guests at the one hundred and fifty year old building on the historic Jefferson waterfront regularly report similar paranormal occurrences . . .

Whispers from nowhere, orchestra music from a closed dining hall, knocks on walls and headboards, the smell of cigar smoke in the smoke-free building, faucets opening of their own accord, and doors pulling back when pulled shut!!!

People who have been the only guests in the hotel have heard the click-clack of footsteps walking the halls in the middle of the night - even though the hall is carpeted! Children have been heard laughing and romping throughout the hotel in the middle of the night. A ghost child calls for mama, a spirit of a dead baby often cries.



81. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park

Union and Confederate forces gathered around the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia for almost a month before the actual engagement took place, but on December 12, 1862 the Union forces crossed the Potomac River into the City and into history. One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, it, like Gettysburg, spread out over the surrounding farmlands and rustic homesteads. In the end, there were 17,000 casualties of which most were Union soldiers.

"Six times did the enemy, notwithstanding the havoc caused by our batteries, press on with great determination to within 100 yards of the foot of the hill, but here encountering the deadly fire of our infantry, his columns were broken and fled in confusion to the town. ...the last [assault] occurred shortly before dark. This effort met the fate of those that preceded it, and, when night closed in, the shattered masses of the enemy had disappeared in the town, leaving the field covered with dead and wounded." -- General Robert E. Lee, CSA

Our killed amounted to 1,152; our wounded, about 9,000; our prisoners, about 700, which have been paroled and exchanged for about the same number taken by us. The wounded were all removed to this side of the river before the evacuation, and are being well cared for, and the dead were all buried under a flag of truce."

-- Major General Ambrose E. Burnside
Official Report
December 17, 1862

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park is a unit of the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and elsewhere in Spotsylvania County, commemorating four major battles in the American Civil War.

Reports continue to come in of paranormal occurrences including the sound of ghostly rifle shots and voices giving commands to unseen ghostly troops. Many have heard ghost whispers in the cemetery and seen the wandering figure of a band of soldiers walking among the headstones.



82. Haiti

Officially the Republic of Haiti, is a Latin American country on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti also includes many smaller islands such as La Gonâve, La Tortue (Tortuga), Les Cayemites, Île de Anacaona, and La Grande Caye. The uninhabited island of Navasse is claimed by both Haiti and the United States. Any one who looks at the history of voodoo and its profound impact on this island nation knows this spot is very haunted.

Hatti Voodoo altar

Roman Catholicism is the state religion, which the majority of the population professes. An estimated 20 percent of the population practices Protestantism. A large percentage of the population in Haiti also practices the religion of Vodou (Voodoo), almost always alongside Roman Catholic observances (in most sects, it is required to become Roman Catholic first). Many Haitians deny the recognition of Voodoo as a stand alone religion and some claim it is a false religion.

"One common saying is that Haitians are 70 percent Catholic, 30 percent Protestant, and 100 percent voodoo," said Lynne Warberg, a photographer who has documented Haitian voodoo for over a decade.

In April 2003 an executive decree by then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide sanctioned voodoo as an officially recognized religion.

"It is a religion in the same way Judaism or Christianity is," said Bob Corbett, professor emeritus of philosophy at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. "Voodoo doesn't have a sacred text, a church, or a hierarchical structure of leaders, but it is very similar culturally."

Voodoo, meaning "spirit," may be one of the world's oldest ancestral, nature-honoring traditions, according to Mamaissii Vivian Dansi Hounon, a member of OATH, the Organization of African Traditional Healers in Martinez, Georgia.

Some anthropologists estimate that voodoo's roots in Benin—formerly Dahomey—West Africa may go back 6,000 years. Today an estimated 60 million people practice voodoo worldwide.

During the ceremony, the houngan or mambo—priest or priestess—sacrifices a sanctified chicken or other animal to the Loa. Participants then ask the spirits for advice or help with problems. More than half the requests are for health.

It is said that the Loa sometimes communicate prophecies, advice, or warnings while the believer is possessed. Other messages are sent through the priest or priestess, or sometimes come later in dreams.

These disembodied spirits are believed to become tired and worn down—and rely on humans to "feed" them in periodic rituals, including sacrifices. "It's not the killing of the animals that matters, It's the transfer of life energy back to the Loa."

83. Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. Archaeologists believe the standing stones were erected around 2200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury henge monument, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge itself is owned and managed by English Heritage while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

Stonehenge



Christopher Chippindale's Stonehenge Complete gives the derivation of Stonehenge as coming from the Old English words "stan" meaning "stone", and either "hencg" meaning "hinge" (because the stone lintels hinge on the upright stones) or "hen(c)en" meaning "gallows" or "instrument of torture". Stonehenge is a "henge monument" meaning that it consists of menhirs (large rocks) in a circular formation. Medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, resembling Stonehenge's trilithons, rather than looking like the inverted L-shape more familiar today.

The "henge" portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges. Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch. As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian usage, and Stonehenge cannot in fact be truly classified as a henge site as its bank is inside its ditch. Despite being contemporary with true Neolithic henges and stone circles, Stonehenge is in many ways atypical. For example, its extant trilithons make it unique. Stonehenge is only distantly related to the other stones circles in the British Isles, such as the Ring of Brodgar.

84. The Rose Hall Great House - Montego Bay, Jamaica

The Rose Hall Great House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Jamaica due in no small part to the legend of its mistress, Annie Palmer. Palmer came to Rose Hall in 1820 and was known for her gruesome treatment of slaves. Considered a Black Witch by locals, she brutally tortured slaves and killed many of them simply because she was bored by them. She is also said to have murdered three of her husbands: the first by poison, the second my stabbing and then pouring boiling oil in his ears, and the third my strangling. All of Annie's victims are said to haunt the grounds and tourists come armed with instant cameras in hopes of snapping a picture of ghosts such as the ones in the picture. There is also rumored to be secret underground tunnels on the grounds and visitors have spoke of bloodstains smeared in numerous places. It should also be noted that the included picture was taken without a flash or sun exposed windows. Find out more about the history, hauntings and personal experiences here.

85. The Castillo de San Marcos "The Fort"

What better place to find restless souls than in the dark halls and former fort. The Castillo is a masonry star fort made of a stone called "coquina", literally "little shells". This is what the stone is made of, ancient shells that have bonded together to form a type of stone, similar to limestone. Workers were brought in from Havana, Cuba to construct the fort. The coquina was quarried from Anastasia Island across the bay from the Castillo, and ferried across to the construction site. Construction lasted twenty-three years, being completed in 1695.

The city of St. Augustine was founded in 1565. Over the next one hundred years, the city was defended by nine wooden forts. Following the 1668 attack of the English pirate Robert Searle, it was decided by the Queen Regent of Spain, Mariana, that a masonry fortification be constructed to protect the city. In October 1672 construction began on the fort that would become the Castillo de San Marcos.

In 1670, Charles Town (modern-day Charleston, South Carolina) was founded by the British. Being just two days sail from St. Augustine, this was one of the events that spurred the fort's construction. In November 1702, forces under orders from Governor James Moore of Charles Town, set sail from Carolina in an attempt to capture the city.

Upon their arrival at St. Augustine, the British laid siege to the city. All of the city's residents, some 1,200 people, along with all of the fort's soldiers, some 300, remained protected inside the wall of the fort for the next two months during the siege.

The British cannon had little effect on the walls of the fort. The coquina was very effective at absorbing the impact of the shells, allowing very little damage to the walls themselves. The siege was broken when the Spanish fleet from Havana, Cuba arrived, trapping the British in the bay. The British were forced to burn their ships to prevent them from falling into the Spaniards' hands, and march overland back to Carolina. As they withdrew, they set fire to the city of St. Augustine, burning much of it to the ground.

After the siege of 1702, the Castillo underwent a period of reconstruction. Beginning in 1738, the interior of the fort was redesigned and rebuilt. Interior rooms were made deeper, and vaulted ceilings replaced the original wooden ones. The vaulted ceilings allowed for better protection from bombardments and allowed for cannon to be placed along the gun deck, not just at the corner bastions. The new ceilings required the height of the exterior wall to be increased from 26 to 33 feet.

In January, 1861, Florida seceded from the United States in the opening months of the American Civil War. Union troops had withdrawn from the fort, leaving only one man behind as caretaker of the fort. In January 1861, Confederate troops marched on the fort. The Union soldier manning the fort refused to surrender it unless he was given a receipt for it from the Confederacy. He was given the receipt and the fort was taken by the Confederacy without a shot. Most of the artillery in the fort was then sent to other forts, leaving the fort nearly defenseless.

The fort was taken back by Union forces on March 11, 1862 when the USS Wabash entered the bay, finding the city evacuated by Confederate troops. The city leaders were willing to surrender in order to preserve the town, and the city and the fort were retaken without firing a shot. Throughout the rest of the fort's operational history, it was used as a military prison. During the 1880s and 1890s many Native Americans were imprisoned in the fort during the American expansion westward. In 1898, over 200 deserters from the Spanish-American War were imprisoned at the fort.

The Fort is very haunted sights sounds and many an eerie feelings have affected the many who dare to tread the steps of those that have died before them.  

[Motoko Kitari]

86. Loch Ness, Inverness, Scottland

Loch Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Nis) is a large, deep freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands ( 57°18'N, 4°27'W) extending for approximately 37 km (23 miles) southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 15.8 metres (52 feet) above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the legendary Loch Ness Monster ("Nessie").och Ness is the largest body of water on the Great Glen geologic fault, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south. The Caledonian Canal, which links the sea at either end of the fault, uses Loch Ness for part of its route. The only island on Loch Ness is Cherry Island, visible at its southwestern end, near Fort Augustus. It is a crannog -- an artificial island usually from the Iron Age.

At Drumnadrochit is a Loch Ness Monster exhibition centre, which contains information on the legendary creature. Boat cruises operate from various locations on the loch shore, giving tourists the chance to look for the monster.om the lock are several haunted hot spots Boleskine Grave yard Urqhart castle amd several more. If you ask the locals anout the hauntings you will find out more.

Boleskine House

Boleskine Lodge house Aleister Crowley

Some say Boleskines Lodge Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947; was a British occultist, writer and mystic's former home and Jimmy Pages from Led Zepllin is very haunted by ghosts demons, angles and Crowley himself. Boleskine House was the estate of Aleister Crowley from 1899 to 1913. It is located on the South-Eastern shore of Loch Ness in Scotland. It was built in the late 18th century by Archibald Fraser.

Aleister Crowley

Crowley eventually sold the manor in order to fund the publication of The Equinox, Vol. III. However, he later alleged that the funds were stolen by the Grand Treasurer General of the Order, George MacNie Cowie. (The extensive mortgaging of the house by that time may in fact have left little funds to steal.)

From the early 1970s to well into the 1980s, Boleskine was owned by famed Led Zeppelin guitarist and Aleister Crowley enthusiast, Jimmy Page. Sections of Page's fantasy sequence in the Led Zeppelin concert film, The Song Remains the Same were filmed at night on the mountain side directly behind Boleskine House.

Boleskines Lodge Cemetery facing North, with view of Loch Ness is said to harbour man a restless soul.

87. Leeds Point, NJ

Home of the Devil's Baby The Jersey Devil. There are many different versions of the birth of the Jersey Devil. One of the most popular legends says a Mrs. Shrouds of Leeds Point, NJ made a wish that if she ever had another child, she want it to be a devil. Her next child was born misshapen and deformed. She sheltered it in the house, so the curious couldn't see him. On stormy night, the child flapped it's arms, which turned into wings, and escaped out the chimney and was never seen by the family again. A Mrs. Bowen of Leeds point said, "The Jersey Devil was born in the Shrouds house at Leeds Point."

The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations.

Another story that also placed the birth at Leeds Point said that a young girl fell in love with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War. The people of Leeds Point cursed her. When she gave birth, she had a devil. Some people believe the birth of the devil was punishment for the mistreatment of a minister by the Leeds folk.

88. Rajasthan Alwar / Bhangarh-Ajabgarh - Bhangarh ruins

Rajasthan - the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan. The region borders Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast.

Alwar / Bhangarh-Ajabgarh - Bhangarh ruins - Bhangarh is situated in state of Rajasthan, India, in the Alwar district. It is known for its historical ruins. This is still the reason people are fearful and restlessness after sunset. People even hear strange sounds of music and dancing in the night despite no one being there.

Bhangarh is a place on way from Jaipur to Alwar city in Rajasthan state of India. Today Bhangarh is known for it's ruins where nobody dares to stay after sunset. Going to history we find that this town was established by Madho Singh, younger brother of King Akbar’s General Man Singh, in 1631. But the city seems to have been abandoned in a hurry some centuries later. As per local folks, due to some curse the whole town was vacated overnight. According to this curse It was also said that if the town was ever rediscovered, the township would not be found, but only temples would show up. True to the story, only temples dot the landscape and even far up on the mountains only shrines can be seen. People say that nobody returned from there who stayed there after dark. The biggest thing is that as per Govt. of India rules there has to be an office of Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) beside every historical structure in India. But even Government authorities couldn’t dare to open an office there and they opened their office about one kilometer away from the ruins of Bhangarh. Also ASI has put a signboard at Bhangarh saying, "Staying after sunset is strictly prohibited in this area." People who visit this place out of tourist interest say that there is a strange feeling in the atmosphere of Bhangarh, which causes sort of anxiety and restlessness.

89.Stockholm, Sweden

The capital and largest city of Sweden, and consequently the site of the national Swedish government and parliament as well as the official residence of the Swedish monarch. Stockholm has been the political and economic centre of Sweden since the 13th century. Stockholm is one of the most crowded museum-towns in the world with some 70 museums, visited by over 9 million people per year.

The Palace of Scheffler is the most famous "haunted house" in Stockholm and is often simply known by its nickname, the Haunted Mansion, (Spökslottet).

The Royal Palace in Stockholm is supposedly haunted by several ghosts, including the so called White Lady (vita frun) and the Grey Man (grå mannen). The White Lady is said to appear when someone in the royal family is about to die, and old King Oscar II even writes about her in his memoirs. Some believe that the Grey Man is the ghost of Birger Jarl, the founder of Stockholm.

The Stockholm Metro is reputed to be haunted by the ghost train Silverpilen.
Borgvattnet is a very small village in northern Sweden, but it has been made famous for its old, reputedly haunted vicarage

90.Quesnel District Museum and Archives

Quesnel and District Museum and Archives, Quesnel, British Columbia - This museum is home to a doll named Mandy who is reported to be or have been possessed. It is unknown who or what possesses Mandy; or if it still possesses her. The doll however, remains a huge tourist attraction for the museum.

91.Reichenstein Castle

Dietrich von Hohenfels and his nine sons were robber barons who used the castle as a stronghold. His sons were caught by the authorities and killed; Hohenfels was captured the next day. He asked that he be hanged and his sons' lives be spared, but upon seeing that they were already dead, his head fell from his body. All ten bodies were buried in St. Clement Chapel, in the castle, and the ghost -- headless -- is said to haunt the castle.

It is difficult to say exactly how old Reichenstein really is. The oldest building indications date the foundations from the early 11th century: Reichenstein is almost 1,000 years old. At that time the region belonged to the distant abbey "Kornelimünster" near Aachen which was received as a gift from Ludwig, the Pios. The Abbey appointed bailiffs for the administration and for the safeguard of its rights. One of these bailiffs for was the knight Rheinbodo (1151-1196) and his descendants. Gerhard of Rheinbodo who resided in the castle raged as robber-knight through the region and demanded goods violently from the travelers and shipmen. In 1213, he was disposed of. The first documentary writings of the castle originate from that year. Knight Philipp became his successor. He came from the powerful family "von Bolanden." In 1218 his son Werner took the name "von Reichenstein," but since he died without an heir, the castle feared robber-knights of his time. He did not follow the instructions of his feudal lords in Kornelimünster and overpowered more and more tradesmen who were traveling the Rhine River Valley.

Reichenstein Castle

In 1253, the archbishop of Mainz and the army of the town association conquered and destroyed Reichenstein. Philipp von Hohenfels had surrendered and promised good conduct so that he could live. He used the following period to rebuild Reichenstein stronger and more defensive than ever before. He carried on with robbing during these politically unstable times and ascended to the high office of Imperial Vicar and began to steal church property. As a consequence the Archbishop of Mainz banned him from the church. All this happened during the times of "Interregnum," and came to an end when the imperial power was once again strengthened. The times of robber knights on the Rhine was over.

In 1282 the new king besieged the castle. Nevertheless he did not succeed to storm the stronghold, but forced the garrison to surrender by means of starvation. These battles were better fights, raging during the 13th century around Reichenstein. Many arrow points have been found on the castle grounds and can be seen in the museum.

Contrary to the legend, Dietrich of Hohenfels was not decapitated, but actually escaped. His companions were hung on the trees in the valley by order of Rudolf von Habsburg. The castle was burnt down in 1290. The king had forbidden that Reichenstein and the neighboring fortress (also a nest of robber knights) be rebuilt, but both were restored.

92. Newstead Abbey, UK

One of Nottinghamshire's most beautiful historic haunted buildings.

Newstead Abbey, near Nottingham, originally an Augustinian priory, is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron. Many additions were made to the original building. The 13th-century ecclesiastical buildings are largely ruined during the dissolution of the monasteries. Early in the 18th century, the 4th Lord Byron landscaped the gardens extensively, to which William Byron, 5th Baron Byron added Gothic follies. It became a stately and glamorous estate. William Byron, known as "the Wicked Lord", was eccentric and violent and ruined the estate. Lord Byron's son and heir (also named William) eloped with Juliana Byron, the daughter of William's brother John Byron. Lord Byron felt that intermarrying would produce children plagued with madness and strongly opposed the union. He also needed his son to marry well in order to escape the debt that had been incurred in the Byron name. When defied by his son, he became enraged and committed himself to ruining his inheritance so that, in the event of his death, his son would receive nothing but debt and worthless property. He laid waste to Newstead Abbey, allowing the house to fall into disrepair, cutting down the great stands of timber surrounding it, and killing over 2,000 deer on the estate.

His vicious plan, however, was thwarted when his son died in 1776. William also outlived his grandson, a young man who, at the age of twenty-two, was killed by cannon fire in 1794 while fighting in Corsica. The title and Newstead Abbey was then left to his great-nephew, George Gordon, who became the 6th Baron Byron when the 5th Lord died on 21 May 1798, at the age of seventy-nine. Upon his death, it is said that the great number of crickets he kept at Newstead left the estate in swarms.

The young Lord Byron soon arrived at Newstead and was greatly impressed by the estate. The scale of the estate contributed to Byron's extravagant taste and sense of his own importance. However, no less impressive was the scale of problems at Newstead, where the yearly income had fallen to just £800 and many repairs were needed. He and his mother soon moved to Nottingham and neither lived permanently at Newstead for any extended period. His view of the decayed Newstead became one of the romantic ruin, a metaphor for his family's fall:

Thro' thy battlements, Newstead, the hollow winds whistle;
Thou, the hall of my fathers, art gone to decay.

The estate was leased to the 23-year-old Henry Edward Yelverton, 19th Baron Grey de Ruthyn, from January 1803. The lease was for £50 a year for the Abbey and Park for five years, until Byron came of age. Byron stayed for some time in 1803 with Lord Grey, before they fell out badly.

In 1808, Lord Grey left at the end of his lease and Byron returned to live at Newstead and began extensive and expensive renovations. His works were mainly decorative, however, rather than structural, so that rain and damp obscured his changes within just a few years.

Byron had a beloved Newfoundland dog named Boatswain, who died of rabies in 1808. Boatswain was buried at Newstead Abbey and has a monument larger than his master's. The inscription, Byron's Epitaph to a dog, has become one of his best-known works:

NEAR this spot
Are deposited the Remains
of one
Who possessed Beauty
Without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
And all the Virtues of Man
Without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning flattery
If inscribed over Human Ashes,
Is but a just tribute to the Memory of
"Boatswain," a Dog
Who was born at Newfoundland,
May, 1803,
And died at Newstead Abbey

Nov. 18, 1808.
Byron had wanted to be buried with Boatswain, although he would ultimately be buried in the family vault at the nearby church in Hucknall.

He was determined to stay at Newstead—"Newstead and I stand or fall together"—and he hoped to raise a mortgage on the property, but his advisor John Hanson urged a sale. This would be a preoccupation for many years and was certainly not resolved when Byron left for his Mediterranean travels in 1809. Upon his return to England in 1811, Byron stayed in London, not returning to see his mother who had been living in Newstead. She died, leaving him distraught at his own negligence of her. He lived again at the Abbey for a time but was soon drawn to life in London.

The Abbey is said to be haunted by

Little Sir John
Sir John has been seen sitting in his favourite chair in the library, reading a book.

Sophie Hyatt - The White Lady
A devoted fan of Byron, The White Lady continues to walk around the estate of her hero. Not so likely to be seen indoors.

The Goblin Friar
Dressed from head to toe in a black cloak the Goblin Friar appears before a disastrous event.

The Rose Lady
This lady could be hard to spot. She is mostly recognised by her distinctive Victorian scent.


The Black Friar
Unlike the other friar this one displays a much more caring nature as he points out the way to the lost.

For the next few years, Byron made several attempts to sell the Abbey. It was put up at auction in 1812 but failed to reach a satisfactory price. A buyer was found, however, who offered £140,000, which was accepted. By spring 1813, though, the buyer, Thomas Claughton, had only paid £5,000 of the agreed down-payment. Byron was in debt and had continued to spend money on the expectation that the house would be sold. Negotiations began to degenerate and Byron accused Claughton of robbing the wine cellar. By August 1814, it was clear that the sale had fallen through, and Claughton forfeited what he had paid of the deposit. Byron was now without settled financial means and proposed marriage to the heiress Anne Isabella Milbanke. Claughton did return with new proposals involving a reduced price and further delays. Byron turned him down.