CoverStory

MOST HAUNTED

PLACES IN THE WORLD

“Throngs of spirits follow us everywhere. We are never alone”- Barney Sarecky

There are places in the world where the restless spirits of the dead (supposedly) linger in the night. They move things about, produce eerie voices and creep out of the shadows as apparitions. For all you intrepid ghost lovers out there, I give you the ten most haunted places on the planet. These are the places with many creepy tales attached to them because of which they are considered the most haunted places.

Most Haunted # 10

THE WINCHESTER HOUSE, CALIFORNIA

“Build a home for yourself and for the spirits who have fallen from this terrible weapon, too. You can never stop building the house. If you continue building, you will live. Stop and you will die”.

Certified by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, this house is indeed haunted. The story of Winchester House goes like this. Sarah Winchester (the wife of a rifle-maker’s son), deeply saddened by the deaths of her daughter Annie and her husband was seeking solace. On the advice of a psychic she consulted a medium that told her that there was a curse upon the family because the guns her husband made took many lives and that “thousands of people have died because of it and their spirits are now seeking deep vengeance.”

Although disputed, it is still believed that Sarah was told that she must sell her property and head towards the west. There, she was told to buy a place and start building and keep on building, otherwise she’d die!

So an estate was built where workmen laboured on everyday for 38 years! Built entirely without the aid of blueprints, this 160-room estate is truly bizarre because of some of the creepier features like the staircases to nowhere, doors that open onto brick walls or ten-foot drops, and a window with an etched-glass spider-web motif.

Sarah herself was the first to account to the spirits. She spoke to them every night by ringing a bell at midnight to summon them and at 2:00 a.m. telling them it was time to leave! The unusual goings-on were organ music in the blue room where Sarah died, a couple in the corner of a bedroom, cold spots in Sarah’s bedroom, and an apparition of Sarah. One of the oddest things was the smell of chicken soup coming from a long-unused kitchen.

Most Haunted#9

THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON D.C

Even the First Lady Michelle Obama, appears to talk about it. The most well-known phenomenon is the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. After his assassination in 1865, a variety of witnesses have claimed to have heard or even seen him.

During the government of Franklin Roosevelt, Lincoln’s bedroom was used as a study for Eleanor, the first lady. Although she never claimed to have seen him, she spoke of having the feeling of someone watching her as she worked there, believing it to be Lincoln. However, a young clerk claimed to have seen the ghost of Lincoln sitting on a bed and pulling off his boots! Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands while spending a night there was awakened by a knock on the bedroom door. Answering it, she found herself confronted with the ghost of Abe Lincoln staring from the hallway.

In the attic, President Harrison is said to be heard rummaging around, looking for something. President Andrew Jackson is thought to haunt his bedroom and the ghost of First Lady Abigail Adams was seen floating through one of the hallways, as if carrying something.

Most Haunted#8

THE WHALEY HOUSE, CALIFORNIA

“Over the years, while dining across the street at the Old Town Mexican Cafe, I became accustomed to noticing that the shutters of the second-story windows [of the Whaley House] would sometimes open while we ate dinner, long after the house was closed for the day. On a recent visit, I could feel the energy in several spots in the house, particularly in the courtroom, where I also smelled the faint scent of a cigar, supposedly Whaley’s calling-card. In the hallway, I smelled perfume, initially attributing that to the young woman acting as docent, but some later surreptitious sniffing in her direction as I talked to her about the house revealed her to be scent-free.” Author deTraci Regula

After being built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley on a land that was partially a cemetery once, the house has since been the centre of ghost sightings. Most famous are:

- The spirit of a young girl who was accidentally hanged there.

- The ghost of Yankee Jim Robinson, a thief who was clubbed to death and can be heard or seen on the house’s stairway where he died.

- Whaley’s red-haired daughter sometimes appears in such a realistic form that she is mistaken for a living child!

Visitors also feel cold spots, cigar smokes, flowery perfume, creaking sounds and see strange light anomalies. Occasionally, Dolly, the ghost of the Whaley dog, also makes an appearance!

Most Haunted #7

THE TOWER OF LONDON, LONDON

“Slowly down the aisle moved a stately procession of Knights and Ladies, attired in ancient costumes; and in front walked an elegant female whose face was averted from him, but whose figure greatly resembled the one he had seen in reputed portraits of Anne Boleyn. After having repeatedly paced the chapel, the entire procession together with the light disappeared.” (Excerpt from Ghostly Visitors by “Spectre Stricken”, London 1882.)

One of the most haunted places, no doubt, due to the scores of executions, murders and tortures within its walls over the last 1,000 years. In 1957, on one winter day at 3 a.m., a guard was disturbed by something striking the top of his guardhouse. On stepping outside, he saw a shapeless white figure on top of the tower. Later on, it was realised that on that very same date, Lady Jane Grey was beheaded. Even Ann Boleyn, one of the wives of Henry the VIII, also beheaded there, has been spotted, sometimes even carrying her head!

One of the most gruesome stories describes the death of the Countess of Salisbury. Her execution ceremony re-enacted by spirits was claimed to be seen by people.

Most Haunted #6

THE QUEEN MARY, CALIFORNIA

A celebrated luxury ocean liner, after ending its sailing days was transformed into a hotel.

The most haunted area is the engine room where the ghost of a 17-year-old sailor who was crushed to death while trying to escape a fire is seen. Visitors have also seen the ghost of a “lady in white” in what is now the front desk area.

The ship’s pool is haunted by ghosts of children and a spirit of a young girl asking for her mother or her doll, who allegedly broke her neck in an accident. Even the furniture moves about by itself, people feel the touch of unseen hands. In the front hull of the ship, screaming is heard in pained voice, of a sailor who was killed there.

Most Haunted #5

THE MYRTLES PLANTATION, LOUISIANA

“It was a spectacular place to stay, if you keep an open mind. While taking the guided tour, I saw what looked like a heavyset African-American woman wearing an apron walk by the door, on the porch. Thinking it was a worker in period dress, I peeked out and no one was there. We stayed in the children’s bedroom, and my best-friend (who was a non-believer at the time) experienced quite a bit of paranormal phenomena. She was held down in the bed and constantly poked all night. She was unable to move or cry out for help.” Stacey Jones, founder of Central New York Ghost Hunters, reported on her stay there.

Built in 1796, this home is known to be haunted by several ghosts. Although only one murder has been so far confirmed, some researchers say that as many as ten murders have been committed there!

All agree, however, that the place is seriously haunted. Some of the ghosts that allegedly haunt are:

- A former slave ‘Cleo’ who was allegedly hung on the premises for killing two little girls.     

- The ghosts of the two murdered children seen playing in the veranda.

- An attorney, William Drew Winter, who lived there. He was shot on the side porch, staggering into the house he began to climb the stairs to the second floor, but died on the 17th step. His last dying footsteps can still be heard.

- The ghosts of other slaves allegedly show up to ask for chores.

- The grand piano often plays by itself repeating one haunting chord.

Most Haunted #4

THE GETTYSBURG FIELD, PENNSYLVANIA

The Battle of Gettysburg that lasted for three days was one of the bloodiest of battles; some 50,000 young men died in it. Because so many men were killed so violently, many believe the site is haunted by fallen soldiers unable to accept their untimely fate. Unaware that the battle is over their restless souls still wander the field, searching for their rifles and lost comrades.

Most Haunted #3

EDINBURGH CASTLE, SCOTLAND

It would be a surprise if this 900-year-old castle wasn’t haunted. Now reincarnated as a tourist attraction, it offers tours of its dungeons, which once hosted the Duke Alexander Stewart of Albany (who escaped by stabbing guards to death and then burning their bodies), Lady Janet Douglas of Glamis (burned at the stake being accused of witchcraft), and an unnamed piper who wandered down one of the castle’s underground passages and never returned.

     Visitors have reported a headless drummer, the spirits of French prisoners and colonial prisoners and even the ghost of a dog wandering in the grounds’ dog cemetery! Not to mention it boasts the Mary Kings Close, an underground area of the city in which victims of the Black Plague were quarantined and left to die.

Most Haunted #2

EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY,

PHILADELPHIA

“This is the most evil place I have ever been.” Yvette, a visitor, on “Most Haunted”

This magnificent Gothic structure was designed originally to hold 250 inmates in solitary confinement. However, as many as 1,700 prisoners were crammed there at the height of its use.

Its most famous inmate was Al Capone, being incarcerated there on illegal weapons possession.  It is said that during his stay he was tormented by the ghost of James Clark, one of the men he had murdered in the infamous St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Other haunting includes:

-        A shadowy figure that scoots quickly away.

-        A figure that stands in the guard tower.

-        An evil cackling that comes from cellblock 12.

-        In cellblock 6, another shadowy figure was seen sliding down the wall.

-        In cellblock 4 mysterious, ghostly faces are said to appear.

Most Haunted 1

THE AMITYVILLE HOUSE, LONG ISLAND N.Y

“the hair wild, a shocking white, the face a mass of wrinkles and ugly lines, and saliva dripping from the toothless mouth.”

This house was the site of a brutal family murder. The 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo, Jr., shot and killed his parents, and four younger siblings. But much of the legend comes from the family of George and Kathy Lutz with their four children, who bought it later despite knowing about the incident.

After moving in, things changed dramatically. Every night at 3:15 a.m. George would wake up and go to check the boathouse. It was later learned that this was the estimated time of the killings. The house was plagued by swarms of flies in winter. Kathy had vivid nightmares about the murders, the order in which they occurred, and the rooms where they happened. Their children began sleeping on their stomachs, the same way of the dead bodies in the murders. Kathy discovered a small hidden room behind shelving in the basement which wasn’t in the blueprints. The walls were painted red (called “The Red Room.”) Their dog cowered and refused to go near it.

There were odours of perfume and excrement where there were no wind drafts or piping. In the fire, they saw an image of a head, half of which was blown out. Their five-year-old daughter, Missy, developed friendship with an imaginary demonic pig-like creature with glowing red eyes named “Jodie”. George would wake up by the sound of the front door slamming and on racing downstairs would find the dog sleeping soundly at the front door. He would hear a German marching band tuning up, on going downstairs it would cease.

One night, while checking the boathouse, George saw a pair of red eyes looking at him from Missy’s bedroom window. Later, it was thought to be Jodie. Outside the house, cloven hoof prints attributed to an enormous pig appeared in the snow. Green slime oozed from the keyhole of the playroom door in the attic and walls in the hall. A 12-inch crucifix, hanging in the closet revolved, became upside down and gave off a sour smell. George also saw Kathy transform into an old woman of ninety!

Finally, they decided to leave the house after the disturbances worsened. But the night of their departure turned out to be their worst night there. They did manage to escape, but remained reluctant to relate the events.