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.
There are some movies that everyone has heard of, and The Exorcist is one of them – a classic horror movie that tells the tale of 12-year-old Regan who is believed to be possessed by the devil. The movie was released in 1973 and quickly became wildly successful, and has since been recognized as one of the best horror movies of all time.
While the movie was based on the 1971 novel by William Blatty, it was a real-life story that was the original inspiration for the chilling tale. Instead of a 12-year-old girl, it was a 14-year-old boy who was believed to have suffered from demonic possession, and 8435 Roanoke Dr. was his home during the peak of his bizarre activity.
The Exorcism of Roland Doe
Roland Doe, the pseudonym given to the young boy at the center of this tale, was born in 1935 to German Lutheran parents in Maryland. An only child, Roland spent time with his Aunt Harriet, a spiritualist, who he was very close to. It was she who introduced him to a Ouija board, and he would play with it from time to time, either with his Aunt or by himself.
It was around the late 1940s when Roland was 14 that some unexplained activity began to take place in their home – dripping, rapping and scratching sounds, the source of which couldn’t be located, and a picture of Christ that was said to be shaking for no apparent reason. It was 11 days after this strange activity had started that Roland’s Aunt Harriet passed away, that poltergeist activity began to be experienced in the home. It is said that in an attempt to contact his Aunt, Roland took to the Ouija board once more, and it was through this attempt at contact that he became possessed by a demonic spirit.
It was then that the inexplicable activity began to escalate, with furniture moving seemingly by itself, objects levitating, and more frighteningly, scratches appearing on Roland’s body and bizarre activity following him wherever he went.
The family first turned to medical and psychiatric doctors, who could find no explanation for his changed behavior. Now frightened and confused, the family contacted their Lutheran priest for guidance. The clergyman, Rev. Luther Miles Schulze, had Roland spend the night with him for monitoring, and what he witnessed led him to conclude that evil forces were at play: unexplained sounds of vibrating and scratching, and an armchair in which Robbie was sitting tilting and tipping over with no human intervention, furniture moving by itself. This is when the exorcisms began, both Lutheran and later Catholic.
It was during an exorcism by a Catholic priest that Roland slipped free of his restraint, broke a bedspring from underneath the mattress and used it to attack the priest, halting the exorcism and leaving the priest needing stitches. It was around this time that the family decided to move to St. Louis to seek further help, and where 8435 Roanoke Dr. became their new home.
Through a cousin, the family obtained help from two priests – a college professor and an associate of College Church. They visited the home on Roanoke Dr. and witnessed the terrifying activity taking place in the home and to Roland himself. Reports say they heard Roland speaking in a voice not his own: deep and guttural, objects flying around the room and shaking furniture.
Permission was obtained from the archbishop to perform another exorcism. Another priest was asked to assist, and he stated that marks inexplicably appeared on the boy’s body, along with words such as ‘evil’ and ‘hell’ – he also had his nose broken by Roland during the violent exorcism.
Is The Exorcist House Haunted?
It is said that following this final exorcism, Roland went on to live an unremarkable life, but it is clear that the walls of Roanoke Dr. would have some disturbing tales to tell from this part of Roland’s life.
The house itself still stands, and can be found in a suburb of St. Louis called Bel Nor. A two-level brick house, it’s privately owned so it’s not possible to visit inside, but you can take a casual stroll down the residential cul-de-sac and observe the home where this spooky paranormal activity took place.
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].
Stuckey’s Bridge is in Lauderdale County, MS. It’s been listed as being built as early as 1847 and as late as 1901. So that would mean at the very least, it’s 108 years old! There are many stories that this bridge is haunted. As the story goes, Old Man Stuckey had a hotel near the bridge site in the mid 1800s. The old man would murder his hotel guests, steal their valuables, and bury the bodies along the riverbank. He was eventually found out, caught, and was hung from the bridge. Now people claim to see an old man walking the banks of the river with a lantern at night and hearing splashes in the water under the bridge when the river is otherwise perfectly quiet.
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.
Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett, was born in 1861 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. Mudgett was born to a wealthy family and was considered to have above-average intelligence. He assumed the alias H.H. Holmes when he started his career as a con artist, committing numerous frauds and scams before becoming known as one of America’s first and most prolific serial killers.
Making of a Serial Killer
Holmes became a surgeon upon college graduation and it is believed that throughout his university career, he made a habit of stealing corpses and collecting on fabricated life insurance policies. He had practiced surgery on animals as a child, and it is believed that he also used the stolen bodies to perform deranged experiments. Holmes told so many lies, that many of his own accounts contradict themselves making it tough to discern truth from his world of deception and murder.
H.H. Holmes Murder Castle – A Revolting Renovation
In 1886, Holmes took over a drug store and had it renovated into a block-long, three-story boarding house, which would become his own personal playground of terror. He turned the building into “an elaborate maze of death traps,” according to Biography.com. While the ground floor maintained the appearance of a drug store, the upper floors were converted into his own personal apartment, with an elaborate set of rooms designed specifically for torturing and killing. “It included stairs and hallways that led to nowhere, oddly angled hallways and rooms with no windows,” according to choosechicago.com. His disturbing dwelling included a gas chamber of sorts, used to, you guessed it, gas his victims. In the basement, an incinerator was used to dispose of the bodies, making it nearly impossible to determine just how many people he killed.
Over the years Holmes lured hundreds of unsuspecting women to his drug store with promises of love or money, then tortured and killed them. In 1893, Holmes generously invited visitors to the Chicago World’s Fair to lodge at his hotel during their stay. Unfortunately, many of those visitors never left.
H.H. Holmes Murder Castle Interior Diagram.
America’s First Serial Killer
While he was committing these atrocities, Holmes was simultaneously continuing his insurance schemes. It was one of these schemes that led to his capture and eventual execution. A former business partner, Benjamin Pitezel, whom Holmes had promised a large sum of money, but never delivered, turned him into the authorities. During his trial for the insurance fraud case, he managed to commit at least five more murders; surreptitiously killing the backstabbing business partner and three of his children.
H.H. Holmes mugshot. America’s first serial killer.
Holmes was tried for the murder of his business partner Pitezel and was easily convicted. He appealed his murder conviction, but lost the case and was hanged in Philadelphia on May 7, 1896, just shy of his 36th birthday.
Just before he was hanged, Holmes claimed: “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing.”
“I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing.” – H.H. Holmes
Investigators were able to confirm that 9 deaths occurred in the Murder Castle. Holmes himself confessed to the murders of 27, but there is ample evidence that he killed upwards of 200 people during his reign of terror.
Where is the H.H. Holmes Murder Castle Today?
After Holmes was executed, an assumed partner and caretaker of the murder castle, Pat Quinlan took up residence in the building. It is believed that Quinlan committed suicide after being tormented by hallucinations and visions. His ominous suicide note read, “I couldn’t sleep.”
Weeks after the hanging, Holmes’ murder castle was set aflame by an arsonist. The building was nearly ruined but the first floor remained standing and was converted to a sign shop and a bookstore. It wasn’t until 1938 that the site was truly given new life; a U.S. Post Office was constructed upon the abandoned locale.
The H.H. Holmes Murder Castle was torn down in 1938.
Murder Castle’s Haunted Grounds
One postal employee shared her haunting experience; she entered a hallway while investigating a strange noise, only to find a hallway lined with folding chairs. She retreated to the lobby, and then upon returning to the hallway, found the line of chairs had mysteriously stacked itself.
There have been several reports from post office employees of seeing a ghostly figure of a woman in the building, or outside in the courtyard where the murder castle once stood. Visitors report hearing the haunting sound of a woman humming or singing in unoccupied areas of the building.
H.H. Holmes in Print and Hollywood
In 2003, the story of H.H. Holmes was written into a best-selling novel by Erik Larson titled The Devil in the White City. The story intertwines true events of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the fair’s architect Daniel H. Burnham, and Dr. H. H. Holmes and his murder castle. Leonardo DiCaprio owns the book’s film rights and a big screen adaptation of The Devil in the White City is currently in the works. Leo is set to play the role of H.H. Holmes.
Evan Peters’ American Horror Story: Hotel character, James Patrick March, was also based on H.H. Holmes as was the hotel that the season was based off. AHS: Hotel had other interesting true life inspirations such as the Cecil Hotel Amanda Lam missing persons incident. It’s getting all too real.
Did Holmes Escape His Own Death?
Recent rumors have surfaced that Holmes may have escaped his execution. Locals believe that Holmes may have been able to bribe prison guards to help him escape. Holmes had requested his coffin to be encased in cement and buried 10 feet below the surface. Ironically, his reasoning was to avoid grave robbers who might use his corpse for experiments and dissection.
One theory was that Holmes escaped to South America. A report in 1898 from the Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean claimed that Holmes was able to bribe his priest, lawyer and jailors to bury another inmates’ body in Holmes coffin. The report suggests that after the hanging, the undertaker’s carriage left the prison yard with Holmes still living body and that he then escaped to San Parinarimbo, Paraguay. However, that town doesn’t truly exist on the map.
Holmes Exhumed in 2017
Did the H.H. Holmes escape his own death? We may never truly know. In 2017, Mudgett descendants petitioned to exhume the body of Holmes in an effort to identify if his body was indeed buried in his cement tomb. Anthropologists at the University of Pennsylvania are still conducting tests.
The result of the exhumation confirmed that H.H. Holmes’ body was indeed in the tomb.
Was H.H. Holmes “Jack the Ripper?”
More rumors abound that H.H. Holmes could have been “Jack the Ripper.” Jeff Mudgett, a Holmes descendant, found 2 diaries in which Holmes examines his participation in the murder of several prostitutes in London. The timing was right as Holmes may have been in London at the time and there were similarities in the brutality between “The Ripper” and Holmes murders. While the theory is interesting, the claims are loosely put together and there has yet to be any conclusive evidence and there may never be.
There is this mysterious looking old building that people stare at while driving on Texas State Highway 67 through Ballinger. This building is easy to see as it looms adjacent to the courthouse. Everyone wonders what the building is and what happens inside. For people who actually do dare to stop to visit and go inside……they soon feel its history and ghosts.
Historic Cowboy Haunt
The historic circa 1886 Olde Park Hotel was originally used as a cowboy lodging, meeting hall, schoolhouse, courthouse (while the courthouse across the street was completed in 1889), as well as housing a brothel/bordello twice during the earliest days of Ballinger, Texas development. The original building has been added on to & renovated over the years, used as a bed & breakfast, restaurant, rental to hunters, apartment rentals & and has served as a retail Music and Antique Store With lots of foot traffic, it is located next to a very popular restaurant which was once one of the old saloons in town. With a passion for Texas history, paranormal researchers Dan & Connie LaFave purchased the hotel in July 2016 with a wish to preserve its unique history, its style, and its spirits. The hotel up to that time already had a secret for decades as to being highly rumored to be haunted. Dan and Connie soon heard from many people as to all its paranormal haunting story folklore and soon also had their many experiences.
The Ghosts of The Olde Park Hotel
Some of the ghost stories include talking with women who used to live in the building when it was a parlor house, and then not realizing that they weren’t employees of the antique store. Other spirits such as “Glenn” and “Cowboy” have been noticed by employees, as well as apparition sightings of the brothel women, with voices and doors opening and closing by themselves. People used to walk around the upstairs of the building encountering other people. They would ask questions only to see those people disappear into a room. They would soon find out, when downstairs, that the antiques store had no other employees. The former owner has reported that she feels there are close to 30 identified ghosts in the building which was once told to her by a proven psychic. Footsteps, and strong cold spots accompany the phenomenon along with visitors being touched. Dan LaFave tells visitors that if they suddenly have the feeling of spider webs on their skin and face…..that signals that something bigger as to the paranormal is probably about to occur. People have mentioned that they have had their clothes tugged on and report feelings of extreme uneasiness in the building. Guests who have come to explore the paranormal stories heard and who then also decide to stay overnight encounter a lot. Some guests have encountered extreme scary haunting events, and they have left in the middle of the night. People who come to explore will experience heavy footsteps that sound like cowboy boots, doors opening and closing by themselves and sometimes even locking on their own. There are ghostly voices and noises heard. Objects in the hotel move on their own. People are touched quite often by unseen forces. The scariest moments for some are when they see and encounter the numerous dark shadow figure entities of the hotel. The spirits also late at night like to jiggle the old doorknobs and then sometimes open the room doors while people are sleeping inside.
2476 San Diego Avenue, San Diego, CA 92110, United States
The Haunted Whaley House
Bad omens had been following the Whaley family for years. Long before the tragic deaths of Thomas Jr. and young Violet, who took her own life in the parlor of the home. It seemed a curse had fallen on the Whaley House and even after moving 500 miles away, Thomas Whaley and his family could not escape its torment.
The Haunting of Whaley House
Early days at the Whaley House
In 1857, Whaley began construction on a home in which he and his wife Anna would raise their children. Like many structures built in the 1800’s, the home became the site of several other businesses, including a granary, a courthouse, a school, a general store, as well as San Diego’s very first commercial theater. Five years before the home was built, Thomas Whaley witnessed a public execution; the hanging of a boat thief named James “Yankee Jim” Robinson. The gallows were constructed on a parcel of land that had at one time been a graveyard; the very same parcel of land that Thomas Whaley purchased and upon which he built his cursed family home.
Not long after the family moved into the home, Thomas Whaley began noticing that something was amiss. He complained of the sound of loud footsteps that couldn’t have been made by his dainty wife or young children. He concluded that the spirit of Yankee Jim was haunting the residence. While living in the home, Thomas and his wife Anna had 3 children; Francis, Thomas Jr., and Anna Amelia. Tragically, Thomas Jr. died of scarlet fever at only 18 months of age. That same year Thomas Sr.’s general store was destroyed by arson.
In 1859, in an attempt at starting over, the Whaleys moved to San Francisco where they added 3 more children to their family: George, Violet, and Corinne Lillian. Several years later, in 1868, the family moved back to San Diego and returned to settle back into the old homestead.
Til death do us part…
Violet Whaley
Years later, Violet Whaley was married to a man named George Bertolacci. However, two weeks into the marriage, her new husband left in the middle of the night never to be heard from again. She would later learn that Bertolacci had been a con artist who only married her in hopes of acquiring a dowry. So humiliated by the betrayal and the backlash it caused to her reputation, Violet sunk into a deep depression. In 1885, Thomas Whaley found his daughter Violet lying in a pool of blood. She had shot herself with his handgun.
22-year-old Violet died in the parlor of the home, leaving behind a sorrowful note:
“Mad from life’s history,
Swift to death’s mystery;
Glad to be hurled,
Anywhere, anywhere, out of this world.”
She borrowed the poem from Thomas Hood’s book of prose, Bridge of Sighs. Violet was the first of four family members who would die inside the Whaley House. Anna Whaley, as well as Francis and Corinne Lillian all died in the Whaley residence, though of natural causes.
The family that haunts together…
Parlor Room
While Yankee Jim was the first spectral inhabitant to be reported at the Whaley House, there have been reports of hearing an infant wailing as well as witnesses who claim to have seen an apparition of a sad young woman sitting alone in the courtroom. An overwhelming feeling of melancholy, and a distinct feeling of being watched have passed over many visitors to the home, especially while in the parlor.
While on tours of the home, visitors have had their flashlights suddenly snuff out, and have reported hearing an empty chair begin to creak. Otherwise healthy visitors have reported a feeling of unease followed by dizzy spells that mysteriously disappeared once they left the residence.
A retired police officer reportedly approached a woman from behind who appeared to be crying. When he asked if she was okay, the woman turned around and smiled. When he shined his flashlight directly on her, she vanished in front of his eyes.
A tour guide vehemently believes Thomas and Anna still inhabit the home. On one occasion, the guide heard a woman’s voice ask: “Why are you here?”
Phantom Philbin?
In 1960, the Whaley House was repurposed into a historical museum. According to Wikipedia, the US Commerce Department deemed the residence an official “haunted house.”
Regis Philbin once visited the museum, and reported having a spooky interaction with Anna Whaley.
“There was something filmy white, it looked like an apparition of some kind, I got so excited I couldn’t restrain myself! I flipped on the [flash]light and nothing was there but a portrait of Anna Whaley, the long-dead mistress of the house.”
-Regis Philbin
Travel Channel and LIFE magazine both assert that the Whaley House in San Diego, California, is “The most haunted house in America.”
108 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, NY 11701, United States
The Real Amityville Horror House
The story behind the real Amityville Horror house is a gruesome tale. The horrific murders that took place in the Amityville home in November of 1974 forever haunt this tainted residence. And what followed has been told and retold.
The Amityville Horror Story
Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr., otherwise known as “Butch,” was convicted in 1974 for murdering his entire family in a cold-blooded shooting spree. His mother, father and four siblings were all shot dead in the Amityville home while they slept.
DeFeo, who was 23 at the time of the murders, was the eldest of the family’s five children. While originally fabricating a story about a mob hitman who was responsible for the bloodbath, DeFeo eventually confessed to the murders, asserting that “voices” within the house had convinced him to do it. He was arrested by Suffolk County Police and charged with six counts of second-degree murder.
Robert “Butch” DeFeo remains incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility in New York. He has been denied all appeals and continues to serve out his six consecutive life sentences.
Accounts of Paranormal Activity
Two years after the murders took place, George and Kathy Lutz, along with her three children from a previous marriage, moved into what they imagined would become their dream home. In fewer than 30 days, the terrifying truth drove them from the home and nearly their sanity.
After fewer than four weeks of living at the Ocean Avenue home, George and Kathy Lutz left behind nearly all of their worldly possessions and fled to live with a relative outside the city. They never set foot in the residence again. But what drove them to swoop up their children and flee?
The real Lutz Family from Amityville Horror
Reports of paranormal activity began almost immediately. Danny, one of the Lutz boys, reported that he was swarmed by flies while unpacking clothes in his new bedroom. Minutes later, the insects disappeared without a trace. On more than one occasion, Danny recalls levitating above his bed. Random objects were said to have flown across a room without warning. The eyes of a hellish hog appeared to glow red in the night, and the walls oozed a green goo of unknown origin. A voice reportedly warned the local priest to “GET OUT” while he prayed incantations in a vain attempt to rid the house of its pesky poltergeists.
None of these accounts could ever be verified by anyone outside of the Lutz family, but over the years, George and Kathy’s stories never changed, and neither did their children’s. They passed lie detector tests and surprisingly reaped very little financial reward for the notoriety the house brought them.
When the Lutz family moved out of the Amityville House in 1977, they had hoped to leave the paranormal activity behind. Unfortunately for them, it seemed the haunting was not attached to the house itself, but to their own family. They claimed that they continued to be haunted for years after departing the infamous house. And the new owners, who purchased the house for far below what the Lutz’s had paid for it, never reported any unusual activity in the home.
George and Kathy Lutz divorced in the 1980s; George had become prone to bouts of rage and was at times feared by his stepchildren. In 2004, Kathy died of emphysema, and two years later George succumbed to a long illness. Their three children currently live in and around New York City.
Where is the Real Amityville Horror House?
The home was built in 1927 at 112 Ocean Avenue in Long Island, just south of New York City. However, the address has changed and now sits upon 108 Ocean Avenue. The original address was expunged from all maps at the behest of one of the subsequent owners because of the notoriety of the films. The home has been remodeled several times and the paint has changed. Don’t confuse the movie home for the true home as they don’t look exactly alike. The easiest way to recognize the real Amityville Horror house is by its half-moon windows that have haunted all of us since the first movie.
Popular Culture
The murders and the subsequent paranormal activity associated with the house inspired numerous books and films.
Jay Anson wrote a book titled The Amityville Horror which was released in September 1977. The text recounts the tribulations of the Lutz family during their brief occupancy of the home.
The 1979 hit movie, The Amityville Horror, was later adapted from the book and documented the chronicles of the Lutz family. George Lutz, who was known to be a bit “out there,” and possessed numerous books on Satanism and sorcery, was portrayed by actor James Brolin.
In 2005, Ryan Reynolds starred in a remake alongside actress Melissa George. While the film grossed over $100,000,000 worldwide, it was critically a bust.
The story continues to inspire filmmakers nearly 50 years later with the forthcoming Amityville – The Awakening, expected to hit theaters in January 2017.
Chilling tales of pirates, boo hags, and ghostly apparitions are part of this family-friendly tour. Historic squares (and one graveyard) are waiting to be explored. The casual one-mile walk is an interactive adventure to catch a ghost. Savannah Ghost Show features the professional magic of international illusionist, Jimi Gibson. Tricks and tales are added throughout the year. Because each walking show is performed by Jimi, ticket availability is limited. 75 Minutes.
Do you have a larger group, big family, or special occasion and want to set your own tour schedule? Contact us for private tour pricing. Afternoon and evening times are available throughout the year. Maximum group size is 30 for a walking tour. Is your group larger than 30? We can perform a theater-style ghost show at a historic location downtown. Give us a call at 912-388-0601 and provide us the details of your request. If you’d like group pricing as part of our regularly scheduled tours, visit our Savannah Ghost Tour pricing page.
9601 Steilacoom Boulevard Southwest, Lakewood, WA 98498, United States
Old Haunted Western State Hospital
Old Western State Mental Hospital is one of the eeriest places in all of Washington State. It was originally Fort Steilacoom Asylum in 1871, but the building dates back to 1849 when it was part of the Fort Steilacoom Army post.
The history of the hospital tells stories of frontal lobotomies, mental wards that were secretly open for prostitution by the orderlies and brutal attacks on patients. The grounds are creepy indeed and many paranormal groups will ghost hunt at night after the park closes. Be careful and watch your step.
The hospital catered to the insane and stories from the high security wards of beatings and crazed outbreaks are plentiful.
How to get to the Old Western State Hospital
The ruins of the old mental hospital are inside Fort Steilacoom County Park in Lakewood. The address is located on the map tab above. There is a path at the end of the parking lot that takes you through the woods. You’ll walk a little bit and find the old hospital in ruins and graffiti. The grounds have deteriorated with time.
The ruins of the hospital are slowly disappearing. The cemetery is ominous and paranormal researchers have captured orbs and strong signals suggesting ghostly inhabitants. A walk around the grounds during the day can be spooky, but at night things get even more interesting.
Nirvana and Western State Hospital’s most famous patient
Frances Farmer was an up and coming Hollywood actress in the 1930s, starring in films with Bing Crosby and Cary Grant. Unfortunately she struggled with alcoholism and was arrested for drunk driving with her car’s headlights on during a war time blackout. You read that right. While awaiting trial she was very violent and had to be regularly subdued. At her sentencing, her family urged the judge to move her to a psychiatric hospital, believing that she needed treatment. She spent a short time in a California hospital but eventually made her way to Western State Hospital where she spent almost 5 years.
This time of her life was documented in the 1978 book Shadowland by William Arnold. As popular as this book was, it wasn’t very factual. Arnold admitted in 1983 to making up the story that Frances was given a lobotomy during her stay at the hospital. But 1983 was a bit too late and Hollywood made their film Frances, starring Jessica Lang, where she indeed get’s a lobotomy. Oops!
This isn’t to say that her stay at Western State wasn’t a horrible experience. In her biography, Will There Really Be A Morning? she states that she was “raped by orderlies, gnawed on by rats and poisoned by tainted food…chained in padded cells, strapped into strait jackets and half drowned in ice baths.”
Frances was released from the hospital for good in 1950. She made a small comeback in Hollywood but never regained her much desired stardom. She died in 1970 of esophageal cancer at the young age of 57.
Being from Seattle and all, super group Nirvana took a shine to the story of Frances. In 1993, Nirvana released the song Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle off of their album In Utero. Nirvana’s singer Kurt Cobain said of the song, “I guess that’s my way of letting the world know that bureaucracy is everywhere and it can happen to anybody and it’s a really evil thing,.” He went on to say “The story of Frances Farmer is so sad and it can happen to anybody and it almost felt at a time that it was happening to us.”
Nirvana’s Frances Farmer Will Have Revenge On Seattle
