The Exorcist is labeled universally amongst film fans as the scariest motion picture ever made. There are others that come close in terms of gory special effects or a sudden plot twist late in the third act. But The Exorcist is still regarded 45 years later as a film that will terrify and disturb. Being a film that old, movie memorabilia and props from the set are very rare amongst collectors.
With only a portion of the cast still alive today, hardcore fans and film buffs are straining to share in a piece of historically shocking film. However, there is still one piece around today that gets plenty of visits both day and night and is completely free to use. The infamous, “Exorcist stairs.”
What are The Exorcist Stairs?
The Exorcist is a 1973 horror film that is based on the novel by William Blatty. The book was inspired by the real-life story of a 14-year-old boy who was believed to have suffered from demonic possession in a house in Missouri. The Exorcist House can be found in a suburb of St. Louis called Bel-Nor.
The Exorcist Stairs were used in the movie version to showcase the violent demise of the character Father Damien Karras.
Director William Friedkin chose to have the movie filmed in the heart of Georgetown, which is deep within Washington D.C, so as to keep the film as close to the book as possible. William Peter Blatty wrote both the novel and screenplay for the film, and being an actual graduate of Georgetown University, he was all too familiar with locations around the city.
The stairs themselves were physically located in the Georgetown neighborhood and were originally constructed sometime between 1890-1895. Their purpose was to ensure employees could make it in and out of the Capital Traction Company which was a railway car line that housed the cars next door.
Over the years, Capital moved and the stairs were seldom used. As a student of Georgetown, Blatty and his friends all jokingly referred to those steps as the “Hitchcock Steps” due to the fact that they were dreadful to approach and go up or down, be it day or night. This coupled with Alfred Hitchcock being the most prolific horror and suspense director at the time, Blatty was already plotting out just how to showcase the stairs in a novel he had long been working on, The Exorcist.
The stairs are still around and much frequented as a popular tourist attraction to this very day and anyone is free to visit and dare to climb the stairs. They actually number seventy-five total and are reputed to be a heavy cardiovascular experience, even for the most physically fit. In October 2015, the stairs were actually recognized as a Washington D.C. area landmark, replete with a plaque commemorating the occasion.
Where are the Exorcist Stairs?
The Exorcist Stairs are located at the corner of Prospect St. NW & 36th St. NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC.
In the winter of 2011, Latoya Ammons was under incredible scrutiny for claiming that her house and family were possessed by several demons. The Ammons House haunting was documented in over 800 pages of official records from local police and the Department of Child Services in what may be one of the most well-known hauntings since the Conjuring or Amityville hauntings.
Is the Ammons house haunted?
In November of 2011, Latoya Ammons and her family moved into their new home in Gary, Indiana. It didn’t take long for strange things to happen. Even though it was winter, swarms of flies would appear on the front porch. “We killed them and killed them and killed them, but they kept coming back,” said Latoya’s mother.
Latoya Ammons
Many evenings the family heard footsteps coming from the basement stairs and even witnessed a shadowy figure of a man walking through the house. This would be enough to make anyone nervous about who else was living in the house, but things got worse.
State of Indiana Intake Officer’s Report
A few months later Latoya’s daughter called out to her in the middle of the night. When she entered her room her daughter was levitating above the bed. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Latoya reached out to local churches, but most refused to help.
Finally, she reached out to two clairvoyants, who said the family’s home was occupied by more than 200 demons. Their advice? Move! But moving wasn’t in the cards for this penny-pinching family. So she decided to fight the demons. She built an altar in the basement, covered in a white sheet, and opened a bible. Things got better for a few days but then escalated.
The family said that all three children were under possession from demons. Their eyes would bulge, and their voices would somehow become much deeper. Sometimes they were even physically assaulted by the spirits. They were thrown across the room, choked, and held down so they couldn’t move. Latoya needed another option.
The Ammons finally reached out to their family physician, Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu. “Twenty years and I’ve never heard anything like that in my life,” Onyeukwu said. “I was scared myself when I walked into the room.” Ammons’ son began speaking in demonic voices and cursed at the doctor. Other medical staff said the boy was”lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him,” according to a DCS report.
State of Indiana Intake Officer’s Report
Hospital personnel examined the family and found them to be healthy and free of any injuries. A hospital psychiatrist determined Latoya Ammons was of “sound mind.” Regardless of this, DCS took custody of the children, noting in their report, “All of the children were experiencing (sic) spiritual and emotional distress.
After more than six months and leaving the home, the Ammons family was reunited. The next tenants never reported any paranormal experiences.
Where is the Ammons Demon House Located?
The Ammons House was located at 3860 Carolina St, Gary, Indiana, 46409 until ghost hunter Zak Bagans bought the home and tore it down in 2014. You can move the home, but can you move the spirits?
Zak Bagans’ Demon House
Ammons house being demolished
In 2014, paranormal investigator and star of Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, Zak Bagans, purchased the Gary, Indiana home for $35,000. After investigating the house, Bagans said “Something was inside that house that had the ability to do things that I have never seen before — things that others carrying the highest forms of credibility couldn’t explain either. There was something there that was very dark yet highly intelligent and powerful.” He then had the house demolished as it was deemed too dangerous.
“This is the case that really f***ed me up,” Bagans tells us in the opening of his documentary Demon House. He and his team of ghost hunters spent two years investigating the Ammons house and creating this documentary on the hauntings of the house in Gary. Bagans also included Father Maginot in the documentary, a local Catholic priest who performed exorcisms on the house and some of the victims.
“Going in unprotected really messed with [Bagans], and also it led to the destruction of the house, which is something I disagreed with. I think he could have protected a lot more people [by] owning it, locking it up so people won’t mess around with this. Now that it’s an open lot, as it mentions in the documentary, people are going there doing seances or whatever, and the police have to get called out… to chase the people away. Those people are in great danger, and there’s no way to really protect [them]. And all you need is curiosity. Curiosity is an invitation.” -Father Maginot
What Stands at 3860 Carolina St, Gary, Indiana today?
Since Zak Bagans tore down the old Ammons House, the lot remains empty with only the tree that stood in front of the home still standing. Zak Bagans moved the Ammons stairway to the basement, AKA the stairway to hell, to The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the Vegas museum, you’ll also find some of the excavated dirt, ritual items discovered by police, and other artifacts.
The Legend of Haunted Clinton Road, America’s Most Cursed Highway
In West Milford, New Jersey, the eerie Clinton Road stretches almost 10 miles, has one of the country’s longest traffic lights, and is oozing with unusual phenomena. The road may not be much to see at first, but when you consider Clinton Road’s history, it gets a lot more interesting.
The road and forest stretching around the haunted Clinton highway are bursting with supernatural occurrences and legends, from ghost sightings and strange creatures hiding in trees, to gatherings of witches, Satanists, and the Ku Klux Klan in the dead of night. There are very few homes on the road, making anyone’s journey through it quite lonely, or as a local police chief put it, “It’s a long, desolate stretch and makes the imagination go nuts.” Whether is just people’s imaginations or not is up for debate. It’s a fact that strange things happen near the haunted Clinton Road and to many who have dared enter its woods.
It’s a long, desolate stretch and makes the imagination go nuts.
-West Milford, Police Chief
Clinton Road’s Ghost Boy Bridge
The most talked about paranormal occurrence on the long stretch of Clinton Road is said to happen at midnight when the spirit of a young boy haunts a bridge near “Dead Man’s Curve.” The story of how the ghost boy came to rest on Clinton Road differ. Some say he fell into the river and drowned when he was sitting on the edge of the bridge, others say he fell into the water to avoid getting hit by an oncoming car.
They say if you sit on the bridge you can summon the ghost boy by throwing a coin into the water below. The ghost boy is said to return at midnight and place the coin back on the bridge. Other’s claim he will either toss the coin back onto the bridge or place it back on the road the next morning. Some have reported him placing it in the middle of the road on the yellow line the next morning. Some have even claimed that the ghost boy pushed them away from the bridge when they stood too close to its edge. Others have said they have seen the face of the young boy reflected back at them in the still, coin-filled water.
They say if you sit on the bridge you can summon the ghost boy by throwing a coin into the water below. He will either toss the coin back onto the bridge or place it back on the road the next morning.
Note: There are two bridges on Clinton Road and both are somewhat near Dead Man’s Curve. You’ll see remains of coins off both bridges and the exact location is a bit of a controversy. Most people flock to the bridge closest to Dead Man’s Curve which may be the most likely place, but there is another bridge a few miles south of Dead Man’s Curve is where you’ll see a waterfall.
Haunted Cross Castle
Tucked back into the woods, not far from the road, lies the ruins of what used to be a grand three-story stone and wood structure named The Cross Castle, named after its builder, Richard Cross. Cross built the large estate for himself and his family in 1905 and lived there until his death in 1917. His family then sold the property to the City of Newark in 1919. Sometime later, a fire ripped through the abandoned settlement, leaving only the stone structure behind. In 1988, the building was demolished but not before it had become a haven for Satanist ceremonies and KKK meetings. Even in the age the castle was built, the surrounding woods were thought to be evil and full of witches and bad spirits. Very few were willing to enter the woods, and even fewer would ever step into them at night. People who have braved the woods at night have heard strange chanting and manic laughter. Some have had seizures for unexplainable reasons and found animal sacrifices littered everywhere. Some have even had the unpleasant experience of bearing witness to a KKK gathering near the ruins.
The Furnace of Clinton Road
Yet another strange Clinton Road structure nestled against the trees, slowly gathering moss and foliage, is The Furnace, an 18th-century iron smelter. It has also been nicknamed “The Druidic Temple” since legend says local Druids would practice their rituals there although it’s really known as Clinton Furnace according to the Register of Historic Places. It is said that horrible things will come to pass to intruders that enter the stone structure unannounced or at an inopportune time. The smelter is now fenced off to prevent trespassers from entering the crumbling structure and, considering the tales told about the place, it may be for the best.
The Iceman’s Dumping Ground
Not every horrifying tale about Clinton Road is supernatural. In May 1983, a cyclist noticed a large vulture picking at something in the woods close to the road. Upon further inspection, the cyclist discovered a human corpse. Following an autopsy, it was concluded that the man died due to foul play but strangely did not die as recently as his body would suggest. Due to the presence of ice crystals in the veins of the dead man, it was determined that the man had died several days before, but the killer had frozen him to make the date of death seem more recent. This method is how Richard Kuklinski, a hitman for the mob for most of his adult life, got the name, Iceman. The dead man was identified as Daniel Deppner, a business associate of Kuklinski and a known associate of the mob in nearby Rockland County, New York. A three-year investigation finally lead to the arrest of the New Jersey local, Iceman Kuklinski. He confessed to being the killer and made bold claims that he had killed hundreds of men throughout his life. The Iceman died in prison in October of 2005.
America’s Most Haunted Road?
A ghost boy, Dead Man’s Curve, the Iceman’s burial ground, a druid temple, satanic rituals, KKK rallies, animal sacrifices, and more. Is it a coincidence that so many bizarre events transpire on this road, or is there a reason so much evil is attracted to Clinton Road and its parts? The coincidences seem to have become patterns.
Most people who bring haunted or possessed objects into their homes do it by mistake, but not Ed and Lorraine Warren. In fact, not only do they keep haunted and possessed objects in the basement of their home in Monroe, Connecticut, but they’ve made it into a one of a kind Occult Museum.
What is The Warren’s Occult Museum
The Warrens began studying the paranormal in 1952 and have risen to fame from The Conjuring film series. Throughout the years, they accumulated memorabilia from their cases and opened the museum in the early 1980s. The most notable piece in their collection is the Annabelle doll in its large glass case. Along with the Annabelle doll, there is a smaller, but much more unsettling looking doll called the Shadow doll. It’s said that the doll will infiltrate people’s dreams and stop their heart while they sleep. There is a large man-shaped structure that was found in the woods Connecticut that was used for satanic rituals, a human skull with a star painted on its forehead that was used for black magic, and an organ that looks harmless but is known to play music all on its own.
All who enter the museum are warned not to touch anything. This is a strictly enforced rule. Many of the objects housed in the cramped basement can latch onto a human host with just that simple action. So watch where you place your hands and most definitely watch what you say. You never know what might be listening and if it will take offense.
According to Ed Warren, a young man came to the museum and started tapping on the glass of the Annabelle case after hearing the horror story of how it got there. He exclaimed that if the doll really did scratch someone, it should prove it and scratch him too. Ed ushered the man out himself saying, “Son, you need to leave.” On his way home, the young man and his girlfriend who was with him got into a motorcycle accident. The young man was killed upon impact and his girlfriend was hospitalized for over a year. It is believed that the Annabelle doll was behind this accident, given its history with motor accidents and its dislike of being antagonized.
The Warrens claim to have investigated over 10,000 cases during their career. Two of their most notable cases being the Old Brook Farm and the Amityville house. The former was a real-life haunting that inspired The Conjuring series, and the latter spurred countless books and movies about the horrors that took place within it. It’ll come as no surprise that the Warren’s Occult Museum, much like the Old Brook Farm and Amityville house, is a real haunted location. It is not an uncommon sight to see a priest blessing the basement to ensure the safety of the Warrens and visitors. But guests are assured an interesting look into the Warrens long history of the supernatural, as long as you respect the environment and the objects within it.
Visiting The Warren’s Occult Museum
Along with being a must-see for anyone interested in the paranormal, the Warrens house has been used in several films and television shows such as, but not limited to, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Twilight Zone, and Dexter. The Occult Museum is currently closed due to zoning issues. Check the Warren’s website for updates about where and when the new museum will open.
1120 Westchester Place, Los Angeles, CA 90019, USA
The Murder House from American Horror Story Season 1
The famous house that put American Horror Story on the map is the Rosenheim Mansion in Los Angeles. The mansion was built by famous architect Alfred Rosenheim in 1908 for his family home. The house is now better known as Murder House thanks to American Horror Story.
Murder House Inspiration
While this is the house used for the exterior shots for AHS season 1 in Los Angeles, rumors are that the inspiration for the Murder House was the Bailey Mansion. The Bailey mansion was said to have been a funeral parlor in Connecticut and the home of a murder-suicide, but those are most likely rumors to help build on the Murder House storyline. The true whereabouts of the Baily Mansion are disputed and the real Bailey Mansion has been found in Pennsylvania.
Murder House for Sale
Recently, the 7,588 square foot Murder House Mansion was sold for a Market For $3.2 Million in 2015 to actress Angela Oakenfold and her partner.
Ed and Lorraine Warren were considered to be famed authorities when it came to diagnosis and remediation of paranormal situations. Their paranormal case files number in the thousands. Oftentimes they received hundreds of letters at a time from people needing help, only able to respond to the most severe. They were made globally famous when their investigation of a Rhode Island estate was made famous in The Conjuring movie.
In 1977, over three thousand miles away in the working-class town of Enfield, a borough of London, England, a mother, and her four children were suffering from a paranormal attack. The cries from help were so strong, the Warrens were convinced they had to take the case and soon found themselves in the most famous paranormal case in England. The documentation for the case is staggering and was made known to the world in the 2016 box office smash hit The Conjuring 2.
Where is the real Conjuring 2 house in Enfield, England?
284 Green Street in the Enfield borough of London, England is the address of the still-standing council house. The house was rented by a working mother named Peggy Hodgson. She lived in the home with her four children: Margaret 13, Janet 11, Johnny ten, and Billy 7. The unassuming house was situated in the middle of Green Street, and prior to the Hodgson’s living there, no paranormal activity was documented.
Paranormal Activity Begins in Enfield
Early one evening in 1977, the very first thing that was seen by the children in the home was a clothing chest that moved. The drawers it housed began to open and close, banging back and forth. The noise scared them and startled their mother who came to see what all the commotion was about. Peggy personally saw the clothing chest move but was not intimidated and tried to push it back to its original place. Only the chest would not move at all. She remained silent as the terrified children told her of it moving on its own when suddenly the chest slid across the floor towards the bedroom door to block it. Gathering her children up, Peggy took them downstairs where they often slept for the next eighteen months.
The activity was textbook poltergeist behavior, and admittedly years later, the Hodgson children had confessed to playing with a Ouija board prior to the clothing chest incident. Loud noises, objects being moved out of place, and levitations were common. There was no clock set by which the activity would occur as it was just as easy to happen in the daylight hours. The police constables were called due to the noise complaints from neighbors, and they themselves personally witnessed objects moving about the home.
With no visible crime committed or logical way to stop what was going on inside the house, the police walked away unable to assist. Next door neighbors to the Hodgson family, the Nottinghams were often a great source of refuge. After failed attempts by the police, Mrs. Nottingham personally called up a local paper, The Daily Mirror, to tell of the activity going on, in hopes that an article could be written. Reporters for the case visited the house and walked away solid believers in what was going on inside. To help the family, one of the reporters called the local Society for Psychical Research to come and help the desperate family.
The Growling and Maurice Grosse
The Society for Psychical Research was a group based out of London who investigated psychic and paranormal claims. One of their newest members was a man named Maurice Grosse. He was an inventor and businessman who after experiencing a personal tragedy in the death of his daughter, began to investigate the paranormal. Along with a local author and paranormal investigator named Guy Playfair, the two began to examine the purportedly haunted Enfield home.
Right away, the activity was upfront and frequent. The infamous clothing chest in the girl’s room began to move on its own with drawers opening and closing. The young children’s marbles would spin and roll before mysteriously floating through the air as if being carried. The coffee table in the living room where they slept levitated, spoons in the kitchen would fly off the counters at random, the iron frame in the hearth of the fireplace was torn to pieces, and constant loud bangs and footsteps permeated the home. At this stage, Grosse and Playfair knew they had a confirmed poltergeist haunting. The real terror began to set in with the growling from young Janet.
Even with all the activity that was going on, the children were on a constant stressful edge. Janet during this time seemed to suffer the most out of all the Hodgson children. She was becoming more and more detached, often with a blank expression and a feeling of which she would describe as, “being in a black forest”. In fact, she was physically attacked in the living room one day. Sitting near the curtains, they suddenly wrapped themselves around her neck and began strangling her in which it took several people to unravel the tightly wound noose.
One afternoon while being interviewed by Grosse and Playfair, Janet began to growl. Deep, unearthly sounding growls emitted from the young child. Shocked by the change, Grosse and Playfair began to take recordings of her many growls, when suddenly she began to speak. However, the voice she was speaking in was not her own. It was best compared to a much older, gravelly-voiced man. One of the more terrifying things spoken by young Janet was in the older man voice saying, “This is my home! And I resent you being here!”.
Naturally, there were detractors to the ever happening activity in the home. People who heard of Janet’s voice claimed it was merely a ventriloquist act. Grosse and Playfair personally put up several hundred British pounds as a reward for anyone who could duplicate the voice, with many trying and all failing. Janet’s voice was given the ultimate test with her mouth taped shut, and the old man’s voice was still heard. Shortly thereafter, the Warrens were called in to aid the investigation.
Enter the Warrens
Ed and Lorraine arrived at the Enfield borough prepared to help at all cost. They, alongside Grosse and Playfair, began to document the paranormal activity that was going on inside the once quiet council home that was suddenly now getting all sorts of media attention. The nighttime was becoming the worst, as even though the children had slowly accepted sleeping in their bedrooms once again, there was still poltergeist activity going on, making sleep almost impossible. Janet was once again the center of attention. During one particular night, Janet levitated out of bed in front of investigators and one of the most authentic and compelling paranormal photographs was ever taken.
The Warrens alongside Grosse and Playfair conducted countless interviews with all the Hodgson family, neighbors, and referenced all the local resources they had at their disposal to try and diagnose what exactly was causing all the activity. It was Grosse who initially made the breakthrough with young Janet. Nearly eighteen months into the entire process, Grosse was able to question Janet as she spoke in the old man voice. It was with such questioning that the spirit speaking through Janet made its name known as Bill Wilkins.
Speaking as Bill, Janet spoke about him being there at home in his chair, when suddenly he went blind. He saw total darkness before dying of a violent hemorrhage. The facts were checked, and Bill Wilkins’s still living son, Terry, was able to indeed confirm exactly what Janet was saying about the death of his father. Shortly after the revelation of the name of the spirit, the activity in the home quietly tapered off into nothingness. After 18 wildly exhausting and terrifying months, the Enfield Haunting had officially stopped as mysteriously as it began.
Years After The Enfield Haunting
Soon after activity in the home had ceased, everyone had gone their own separate ways. The Warrens, of course, returned back to the United States where they continued to help others who were suffering from paranormal attacks. In terms of their cases, the Enfield Haunting is widely considered one of their “top three” investigations of all time. Maurice Grosse continued as a researcher of the paranormal as the Enfield Haunting had given his name a lot more credibility to it. Using his experience he was able to help many more people who were victims of hauntings before ultimately passing away in 2006.
Guy Playfair took his own experience there with Enfield and further wrote, published, and produced many articles on the subject of the paranormal. Playfair passed away in London in 2018. Peggy Hodgson maintained that everything experienced in the home was authentic before passing away due to a cancer-related illness in 2003, while her son Johnny passed away in 1981. The youngest, Billy, remains quiet on the haunting to this day. His oldest sister Margaret has been quite outspoken on the authenticity of the activity and claims to this day that everything was true.
Janet Hodgson left home in her teenage years and married quite young. Due to all the publicity associated with the house, she has kept a very private life to avoid being subjected to the paranormal hell she was put through. Rarely granted any requests for interviews, one of the more recent comments she made to the public was that she fully believes what she went through was real, and still living inside the house in some capacity to this very day.
One of the most frequently used horror film tropes is the story of nubile teens alone in the woods staying the summer at a campground. Leaving the bucolic and rustic splendor of the campground, they traipse into the deep, dark woods to get to know one another’s bodies a little bit better when unbeknownst to them, they’ve secretly been selected and stalked by a masked killer along the tree lines. Screams are heard, machetes hack and heads and body parts fly. If such a setup sounds familiar to you, that’s because this idea was set up and strewn over the course of twenty-three years via ten sequels to one of the horror film world’s most iconic series, Friday the 13th.
The Real Camp Crystal Lake
Camp Crystal Lake is the fictional teen campground that serves as the main setting location in nearly all the Friday the 13th films. While the films never really give away a location, the actual campground exists to this day and is located in Hardwick Township, New Jersey. Contrary to the popular theory that the killer’s last name (Voorhees), is related to an actual township in the state isn’t true and this was confirmed by the film’s writer Victor Miller who simply used the last name because of a girl he once knew.
Today the camp is actually privately owned by the Boy Scouts of America and is called Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco. Despite the actual campground being on private property, trespassing by horror fans isn’t acceptable or cool. What is acceptable and cool however is the fact that the Boy Scouts do periodically open up the campground to guided tours by an authorized tour group. That’s right, Camp Crystal Lake Tours is a volunteer tour group in the area made up of dedicated and highly knowledgeable horror movie fans who lead eager horror cinephiles on the tour of a lifetime.
Camp Crystal Lake Tours
Tickets for Crytal Lake tours are incredibly difficult to obtain as it’s quite possibly the most popular tour in the New Jersey state area. A lottery-style method is employed to select a group of fans whenever the Boy Scouts approve another tour. However, once you are selected…..you can literally step inside the world of Jason Voorhees like never before. It is all there: the sign area that greeted doomed teens to Camp Crystal Lake, the main cabin hall with enormous stone fireplace, the archery range area, the lead counselor cabin, the waterfront cabins, and of course, the lake itself!
The Boy Scouts and tour group are savvy that fans want souvenirs, and they do not disappoint! Hats, shirts, pint glasses, official Camp Crystal Lake patches, and more. But the best and most popular piece is the Angry Mother Lake Water, which is bottled water right there from the actual lake. Proceeds from sales and tours go to Boy Scout non-profit organizations and all information on the tours are found at the official Camp Crystal Lake website.
Haunted 1858 Garnett House Hotel in Garnett, Kansas
Built in 1858, The Garnett House origins were as a hotel. It was the first hotel in Garnett, Kansas and is the only surviving antebellum structure in the town. Garnett House has operated in several capacities such as a residence, a school, a Doctor’s office, and hotel. The outlaw Jesse James was rumored to have stayed in the hotel as an alias at times. Several other famous documented guests include Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody, Belle Starr and Bat Masterson. A recent rumor of Harry Houdini having stayed at the Garnett has been surfaced as well.
The Garnett hotel has been investigated on occasion as it has such a rich history. Recently the Garnett House was purchased by a paranormal group with the intent of preserving the structure’s history. Is it haunted? Are the creeks in the attic just normal shifting of the building or the ghosts of the slaves that were hidden by abolitionist John Brown?
In 1902 the Vancouver Elks lodge was established.. due to popularity, it grew and moved to a bigger building. The spirits followed us there. Proven to be haunted by paranormal activity groups. We have transformed the basement based on your nightmares coming to life. The whispers… are they actors? Or are they the spirits themselves? The cool breath on your neck? The feeling of insanity slowly taking over your thoughts..? Are you brave enough to attempt what most fear? Try it…. I dare you..
14349 Patterson Rd, Houston, TX 77084, United States
The Haunted Patterson Road Bridge
The Civil War was bloody and devastating and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of US soldiers. With a path that left many deaths in its wake, there are many places that are said to be haunted by the spirits of soldiers who may still be looking for peace. Numerous spots in the US are said to be haunted by the ghosts of the Civil War, including the haunted Patterson Road Bridge in Houston, Texas.
The haunted strip of asphalt in Houston was home to a particularly vicious and bloody battle, and since then many people have reported otherworldly occurrences, particularly on the Langham Creek Bridge on Patterson Road.
History of Patterson Road and The Langham Creek Bridge
There is some dispute as to what happened near the creek and the site of the future Patterson Road bridge. The general consensus agrees that Civil War soldiers engaged in some kind of skirmish or battle on the site.
One story suggests that it was the site of a German settlement that was pro-union. The settlers were ousted and killed by Confederate troops who wanted to rid the land of Yankee influence.
Another tale tells of pitched fighting between two ragtag militias who somehow managed to fend each other off of the land. It wasn’t a strategic battle per se, so the truth around the area is a bit muddy as less was documented.
Is the Patterson Road Bridge Haunted?
The consensus is yes, the Patterson Road Bridge over Langham Creek is haunted. There have been several sightings and stories over the years. People have reported seeing ghostly figures as they make the turn to cross the bridge, seeing visions of a pale man standing by the side of the road. They appear for a brief moment, then vanish as soon as your headlights strike.
Patterson Road Bridge Ghostly Tapping
There have been numerous reports of tapping on cars on this haunted bridge. According to those who have experienced it, the noise happens only at night, and it’s only when you’re on the bridge itself. Some people will park on the bridge and turn their headlights off. The tapping is said to begin and sounds like metal is lightly tapping the car. The sound is unexplained but is definitely not from wind or no other natural phenomenon can explain the sound. Witnesses say the noises come in rapid succession as if the ghosts are trying to notify the passengers.
Dare to test the bridge for ghosts? Be safe. The bridge is trafficked and stopping can be tough especially without lights.
2027 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19130, United States
Hell on Earth: History of the Haunted Eastern State Penitentiary
Eastern State Penitentiary was built in 1829 and operated until 1971 when the prison was closed. At the time Eastern Penn was built, it was the biggest and most expensive publicly funded structure ever built. The historic prison set a new standard for architecture and design and was used as a model for 300 other prisons around the globe. This building is considered the world’s first true penitentiary, designed for reform rather than punishment by incarcerating each prisoner to their own solitary confinement cell. Solitary confinement was supposed to help the prisoners repent and find salvation when in reality it drove many of the prisoners crazy earning it the title “Hell on Earth.”
Is Eastern State Penitentiary Haunted?
There were reports of cruel and violent things that happened within the prison. Many people believe these sinister events have stained the prison with paranormal imprints of pain and suffering. The history, as well as several reports of paranormal activity from guards, prisoners, and visitors, suggest that Eastern State Penitentiary is truly haunted.
Despite the prison’s stance on reform, the inmates suffered greatly during their stay. The guards of the prison used several means of torture to punish the inmates including:
Drowning them with ice cold water and then hanging them out to dry overnight, in the middle of blistering cold winter nights
They had a chair titled “The Mad Chair” where they would strap prisoners to for days at a time with no food or water suffering in their own human waste.
The Iron Gag, which prisoners would be forced to wear if they spoke out of line. The gag would be pinched to their tongue and locked to their arms and wrists as they were bound behind their backs. If they tried to move or remove the iron gag, the would gash their tongue. Several prisoners bled to death from trying to tear out the gag.
“The Hole” is where prison guards would lock unruly prisoners. Inmates were locked in an underground cell for days or weeks at a time with little to eat or drink, sitting in the dark with no light or air circulation.
Who haunts Eastern State Penitentiary?
Eastern State Penitentiary once hosted some of the most infamous criminals in United States history including notorious gangster Al Capone and famed bank robber, Willie Sutton. Willie Sutton escaped through a tunnel in 1945 only to be recaptured the next day.
The cackling of prisoners and murmuring voices are heard in cell block 4, 6, and 12.
In cell block 6, visitors have noted strange shadows sliding quickly across the walls. In cell block 4, visitors of the penitentiary have said that they have seen faces in and around the cells. Then there is cell block 12, where visitors have reported blood-curdling laughs and voices whispering in the dark.
Cell block 4 visitors have said that they’ve seen faces in and around the cells. Then there is cell block 12, where visitors have reported blood-curdling laughs and voices whispering in the dark.
Cell block 12 is where visitors have reported blood-curdling laughs and voices whispering in the dark.
Ghosts attack prison Locksmith
A former locksmith of the prison had a wildly supernatural encounter in cell block 4. He was trying to remove a 140-year-old lock from a cell block door when all of the sudden he was overcome with a force and was instantly unable to move. He reported having an out of body experience, and suddenly he could feel years of negative energy and forces being released from the cell. He reported seeing hundreds of pained faces all over the walls of the cell, swirling around like a horrific cyclone. One particular ghost was calling out specifically to the locksmith himself. He still shudders in fear when he talks about that experience to this day.
Some believe that this incident was the event that unleashed hundreds of souls that were formerly trapped behind the bars of that cell block. That this was one of the major paranormal experiences that lead this prison to become overtly haunted.
Al Capone’s Haunted Stay at ESP Prison
Al Capone reported that during his imprisonment, he was haunted by James (“Jimmy”) Clark, whom he killed in the Valentine’s Day Massacre. Capone’s fame allowed him many graces within the prison. His room was elegantly decorated with a radio, wall art, fine furniture, and even a bed with a mattress. However, his stay was far from comfortable. At night, Capone’s terrified screams would be heard throughout the prison. He would weep and wail for “Jimmy” to leave him alone. Apparently, Jimmy was Capone’s personal ghost, as his torment continued when he was moved to Atlanta US Penitentiary and eventually Alcatraz.
Eastern State Penitentiary has been featured on several paranormal shows including Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters as well as several other paranormal groups such as The Paranormal Warehouse. You can watch their review of this haunted place by clicking here.
Haunted House at Eastern State Penitentiary
On top of all of the paranormal, ESP also hosts one of the nations largest haunted houses every Halloween. Terror Behind the Walls has been featured on the TODAY Show and in Forbes magazine as one of the premier haunted attractions in the Philadelphia area. On top of that, it’s haunted!
Cielo Dr, Beverly Hills, California, United States
Fri Oct 13th and Sat Oct 14th from 8 pm to 3 am
The Haunted Oman House and the ghosts of the Manson Family murders
In the summer of August 1969, popular actress Sharon Tate and three of her closest and most personal friends were brutally murdered in a senseless killing from the notorious Manson Family. The home eventually changed hands with different owners and infamous renters over the years before being totally demolished and rebuilt with a completely new address change in 1994. But just a mere one hundred and fifty feet away lies another house on the neighboring property that experiences a vast amount of paranormal activity to this day, The Oman House.
In 1999, businessman David Oman and his father bought property on Cielo Drive and with a methodical construction plan, the home was finished in 2002. But the earliest signs of paranormal activity began during the actual construction phase of the project itself. Upon completion of the top floor, a construction worker spoke of being physically touched and having the feeling of an extremely cold and heavy object being placed on the back of his neck. Other reports included that of white colored spirits floating down the halls and around the site in the woods.
Is the Oman House Haunted?
The owner originally took the reports with a fair amount of skepticism, but it wasn’t until 2004 when he had officially moved in and had an experience of his own. Oman awoke in the middle of the night to a full-bodied apparition right there in his bedroom. The apparition did not speak but made a sort of pointing and gesturing motion towards the Tate house next door, then suddenly vanished. Now believing in the paranormal, Oman began looking into the Tate murders and discovered at his own research that the apparition who had appeared to him in the middle of the night was that of Jay Sebring, one of the murder victims in the Tate house.
To dig even further into who and what is haunting the home, Oman reached out to a local and world renown paranormal investigator, Dr. Barry Taff. Holding a doctorate in psychophysiology and research critiques in the biomedical engineering field at UCLA, Dr. Taff approaches his cases with an extreme degree of scientific analysis. At over four thousand documented research cases to his name, Dr. Taff brought all he had in to investigate the now haunted, Oman House. One of the most relied on devices by Dr. Taff is an EMF (electromagnetic field) reader. This measures any energy that is vicariously imported into a person or theorized paranormal sight. It helps to discover at the most basic if any paranormal activity has its genesis in the supernatural or is caused by a very scientific explanation.
Shortly after arriving and measuring all around the Oman House, Dr. Taff was quoted at saying the EMF readings in the home were so high that he considers the site, “the Mount Everest of EMF readings”. Investigating down into the basement, the EMF readings became so high that Dr. Taff actually became physically ill and passed out. Not to be outdone, upon investigating the home again in 2006, Dr. Taff passed out under the same circumstances despite having a clean bill of health. While the readings were routinely scoring off the charts for Dr. Taff, no concrete point of origin for them could ever be explained after his short recovery from the basement experience in the house. Another time, a local KCOP news crew came to do a story on the activity in the house, but could not get their broadcast feeds operating due to a mysterious EMF source that blocked out any incoming or outgoing television transmission feeds.
Ever more involved in the paranormal and looking for more answers, Oman has reached out to such noted psychic mediums as Chris Medina and James Van Prague. Medina, upon first arriving at the home and stepping foot on the property’s ground, immediately became nauseous and was subject to an intensely overwhelming psychic energy experience. Van Prague ultimately walked away from the home concluding that the likely ghosts of Sharon Tate and her friends will not stop their haunting the home until their real-life murderers have all died.
Visit the Oman House
Oman has opened his home to untold numbers of paranormal investigator groups and researchers, always encouraging those to visit who may be able to find what is causing all the activity. Zak Bagans, in particular, chronicled a very intense episode during the filming of his popular television show, Ghost Adventures. Still, Oman allows overnight stays in the home to the paranormally curious, as reports of EVPs, orbs, and objects moving around the home make it ever the popular ghost hunting destination. Whether it’s a day trip excursion or a VIP overnight package that you are looking for, the home is incredibly accessible to anyone who is curious about the paranormal activity.
If you are interested in renting the Oman House out for a private event or investigation contact [email protected].
The Fort East Martello Museum is home to the Robert the Doll aka, Robert the Haunted Doll. People come from all over the world to see famed artist Gene Otto’s even more famous counterpart, Robert the Doll. Gene kept Robert the Doll with him until his passing in 1974. Robert is said to have been cursed by a Bahamian servant who made the doll out of wire, hay, old clothes and some of Gene Otto’s own hair.
Robert the Doll in his glass case in Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, FL
This haunted doll receives tons of fanmail every day asking for his forgiveness for museum goers taking his picture. People’s luck has turned dramatically to the unfortunate. Do you have the will to come eye to eye with the doll that inspired Child’s Play and helped put Annabelle on the map? If so, you should ask Robert’s permission before you take his picture.
525 South Winchester Boulevard, San Jose, CA 95128, USA
The Winchester House, (AKA the Winchester Mystery House) is probably one of the most well known private residences in the United States. The elaborate mansion located at 525 South Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, CA is renowned for its massive size and structural oddities, even landing a spot on the National Register of Historic Places and being officially designated a historical landmark in California. This structure is perhaps most impressive as it was built almost completely without blueprints.
Winchester History
Following the death of her husband, William Wirt Winchester, founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, Sarah Winchester supposedly packed up and moved from her Connecticut home to California, where she purchased an unfinished 2 story, eight room farmhouse. Tabloids at the time reported that the move was at the behest of a medium, claiming to channel Sarah’s late husband, who insisted that Sarah must atone for the victims who had fallen to Winchester rifles. As such, the medium suggested that Sarah build a continuously evolving mansion to appease (or perhaps confuse) the restless spirits.
Structural Oddities
In 1884, three years after her husband’s death, construction began on the behemoth architectural project. Built in an American Queen Anne Revival style, the elaborate 24,000 square foot mansion boasts some very curious features. In addition to over 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms, 17 chimneys, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, and 13 bathrooms (but only one functional in an effort to confuse the spirits), the house features several unique rooms and features that stand apart from your typical, run of the mill mansions.
These features include:
The $25,000 Room – A storeroom that held Mrs. Winchester’s artisan, stained glass windows commissioned specifically for the home. These stained glass masterpieces, some supposedly built by the Tiffany Company, are currently on display in the $25,000 room and are now valued around $350,000. Many of the windows have a spider web pattern and the number 13 embedded or hidden throughout their motifs.
The Séance Room – The Séance Room is purportedly exactly that, a room where Mrs. Winchester could communicate with the spirits in order to determine her next architectural design cues. It is claimed that only Mrs. Winchester had a key to the room, which offers only one entrance but three exits.
Witch’s Cap – Assumed to simply be used as nothing more than attic space, the Witch’s Cap – named for its large conical ceiling, boasts some rather unique acoustics. If a person stands in the middle of the room and speaks, it is said that their voice will echo and “bounce” around the room, making it seem as if they’re surrounded by the noise.
Doorway to Nowhere and more – Various oddly built structures including a doorway on the second floor (the “Doorway to Nowhere”) that opens to nothing, offering anyone that steps through the thresholds a two-story drop straight onto the ground below. Another doorway opens to a one-story drop into a sink on the first floor. Windows were often constructed facing walls, and others in internal walls with no outside light source at all.
Construction on the home supposedly went on around the clock, seven days a week for decades, from 1884 until Mrs. Winchester’s death in 1922, only pausing for brief intervals, according to a Winchester biographer, for Sarah to rest and recuperate and for a small duration following the 1906 earthquake. The earthquake leveled 3 floors of the once 7 story home and went unrepaired, simply being boarded up from view.
Is the Winchester Mystery House Haunted?
Sarah built the Winchester Mansion not only for herself but for the countless people who lost their lives at the barrel end of a Winchester rifle. It’s as if she was inviting them in.
“The Handyman” – An apparition that is thought to be a previous incredibly dedicated worker on the mansion. He has been seen repairing a fireplace and lugging around a ghostly wheelbarrow around various parts of the property.
“The Invisible Hand” – Another handyman, although this one living, reported having an encounter on the property while working in the Hall of Fires (a section of the house that featured numerous fireplaces). While working up on a ladder he felt someone tap him on the back. He dismissed it when he realized no one was in the room with him, until he felt the tap turn to a shove. He quickly left the project and picked up work elsewhere on the property, deciding he wasn’t quite welcome in the Hall of Fires.
”The Sigh” – A tour guide on the property was taking a group through the Daisy Bedroom, a room with once bright wallpaper and stunning daisy stained glass windows. The Daisy Bedroom was supposedly the location in which Mrs. Winchester was trapped during the 1906 earthquake. An audible sigh could be heard from the hallway prompting the tour guide to check for any stragglers in her guided group. A dark figure was seen at the end of the hallway before gliding around a corner out of sight, where another loud sigh could be heard. It has been suggested that perhaps this spirit is Sarah herself, upset at the tour group invading her space.
EVPs and more – The Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventure Crew has visited the Winchester Mystery House and emerged with some pretty fascinating finds, including a full 7 degree temperature drop as filming began, EVP’s that purportedly repeated the crew members names as well as phrases like “I hate you” and “Kill!”.
The house still stands today and is open for tours to the public, including a newly enhanced “Explore More Tour” that offers views into rooms never before opened to the public.
The Widow Jane Mine is a 145-year-old cement mine that has been said to feature the ghost of a young woman walking between the stone pillars of this cavernous man-made mine. The ghost is presumed to be that of Jane, a young widow who walks the mine in her long white dress.
The mine is a great place to visit to witness an amazing feat in US history as some of it’s cement provided the foundation for the Statue of Liberty and New York’s Brooklyn Bridge.
The mine sometimes plays host to events such as a horror film viewing or even an occasional party. The mine has even been a recording studio, mushroom farm, and provides some of the ingredients in Widow Jane Whiskey. Have a story about the Widow Jane Mine? Leave it in the comments below.
