Rumoured to be built
on the site of an ancient Indian burial ground, the Myrtles Plantation has been
dubbed ‘one of America’s most haunted homes’. Legend has it that 10 murders
have occurred in the house. The ghost of a former slave in a green turban has
been sighted, as well as a haunted mirror which supposedly holds the ghosts of
Sara Woodruff and her children who previously lived in the house. Equally as
spooky is the apparition of William Winter, who was reportedly shot on the
front porch. His ghost, writhing in agony from the gunshot wound, has been
sighted crawling up the stairs and disappearing into thin air at the 17th step…spooky
enough?!
2. The Tolbooth, Aberdeen,
UK
The Tolbooth in Aberdeen has a dark past, first as a prison to
house members of the Jacobite revolution in the mid-1700s, and then to hold
kidnapped children who were sold into slavery in the American colonies. Among
the stories of paranormal activity are the sounds of rattling chains, sightings
of mysterious white mist, and a tight feeling around the necks of visitors.
3. Pluckley Village, Kent, UK
This village in Kent was once crowned the most haunted village
in England by the Guinness Book of World Records, with an estimated 12-16
ghosts. There’s a highwayman who was stabbed with a sword and pinned to a tree
and is said to haunt an area with the fitting name of ‘Fright Corner’. Look out
for an apparition named The Red Lady who haunts the churchyard after dark.
4. Alcatraz,
USA
The infamous home to some equally infamous prisoners, including
mobster Al Capone, Alcatraz has had reports of paranormal activity from
visitors, former prisoners and guards. Leon ‘Whitey’ Thompson, a former inmate
who later conducted tours of the prison, was waiting for a tour group in the
1980s when he claimed he saw a large, looming figure at the end of “Michigan
Avenue”, and swore it was the ghost of an inmate he had been friendly with
called Johnny Haus. Other visitors have heard crying and screams, and recently
the figure of a woman was snapped through a cell window by holidaymakers in San
Francisco.
5. Aradale Asylum, Ararat,
Victoria, Australia
A ‘village within a village’, the Aradale Asylum is a huge
complex that opened in 1867. Over 13,000 people were estimated to have died
there, and not always due to natural causes. Tours of the site mention the
ghost of Nurse Kerry who is supposed to haunt the women’s wing. The visitors
have shared tales of unexpected sensations, being touched, feeling cold, drafts
running through the building for no apparent reason and loud bangs from parts
of the building that are unoccupied.
6. Devils Pool, Babinda, Queensland, Australia
A natural pool nestled among boulders, Devil’s Pool is thought
to have been cursed by an Aboriginal woman who tragically drowned herself after
her lover was taken away from her. Since 1959, is has been estimated that 17
people have drowned there from falls or slips, or getting caught in the fast flowing
currents that can trap people in ‘rock chutes’.
7. Bhangarh Fort, Rajasthan, India
Also known as ‘Bhoot Bangla’ (the Fort of Ghosts), Bhangarh Fort
was a small city made up of temples, gates and palaces at the foot of a
mountain before being abandoned around 1783. There are two stories that explain
the fate of Bhangarh: a curse from a holy man who forbade the height of the
buildings to be taller than his own. When one building cast a shadow over his
own house, he is said to have cursed the entire town. Another story is of a
wizard who was in love with the Princess of Bhangarh. When the princess foiled
his spell to make her fall in love with him, the bitter wizard put a curse on
the city. Today, it is said that anyone who enters the city at night will never
come out again, and paranormal activity is thought to be concentrated around
the Dancers’ Haveli (Dancers House) and Jauhari Bazar (Marketplace).
8. The Ancient Ram Inn, Wooten-Under-Edge, UK
This restaurant and hotel was built in the 1100s and has regular
guests lining up to be terrorised by screams and moving furniture. The current
owners of the property believe that it is built on a former Pagan burial ground
where children were sacrificed. Caroline Humphries, who has lived in the house
for over 30 years, is used to the sight of guests fleeing from visions of a
little girl, the cries of children and sensations of being pushed down onto the
bed by a male demon.
9. Lawang Sewu, Indonesia
The name Lawang Sewu is Javanese and means “thousand doors”, in
reference to its architectural design. Like the Penang War Museum, it was
also taken over by the Japanese in World War II and converted the building into
a prison and the basement of building B was used for executions. The ghost
stories that people visit this place for include a ghost of a young Dutch woman
who was said to have committed suicide in the building, headless ghouls walking
about, and a kuntilanak (a vampiric ghost in Indonesian and Malay mythology).
10. Mary
Kings Close, Edinburgh, UK
Under the Old Town of
Edinburgh is a warren of small tunnels and alleyways that where traders would
hawk their wares here for people in the Old Town in the 1600’s. Being so
packed, when plague came to Edinburgh, the close was especially affected. After
being abandoned, it was sealed from the public in the 18th Century
and the stories of haunting began. Nowadays the Close can be visited by guided
tour. A tour guide has reported dozens of instances where tourists have felt
unwell, a hand grabbing at them, or sudden chills; the same guide even had an
instance of a coin or small metal object being thrown at a tour guide as he was
leaving a room.
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