Continuing this month's apropos theme of all things haunted, I bring a list of 13 of the most haunted places in the world. Paranormal activity is an international affair, and ghosts and apparitions toy with the living everywhere from California to Mumbai. This list will have some familiar names, and some places you never expected to be haunted (The White House?!), but each one comes with tale after tale of weird and terrifying experiences with the phantom world.
Ballygally Castle - Ballygally Bay, Ireland
Though now a newly renovated hotel, Ballygally Castle was built in 1625 by James Shaw. True to most castles in Europe, it is, of course, haunted. The most notable ghost in Ballygally is that of Lady Isobel Shaw, who was locked in a room by her husband James and starved to death. Said to be friendly, she amuses herself by knocking on doors and then disappearing. Another apparition is Madame Nixon who can be seen and heard walking around in her silk dress. When Ballygally was actually a castle it came under attack several times and many soldiers lost their lives. Consequently, their restless souls frequent the castle grounds in military uniform toying with guests, and perhaps searching for their enemies.
The Crescent Hotel - Eureka Springs, Arkansas, US
I admit to a guiltless plug here because I am from Arkansas and have actually stayed in this hotel. Nonetheless, this place is renowned for its possession and I have friends who can attest to its haunts. This 78-year old hotel is haunted by a number of ghosts, including Michael, an Irish stones man who worked in the hotel and took a fatal fall off the roof into an area that is now room 218. His ghost is said to still roam the halls surrounding the room. Also roaming the grounds is a gentleman in Victorian clothing who haunts the lobby, the confused ghost of Doctor Baker (who ran the facility in the 1930s
when it was a hospital/health spa), and the ghost of a nurse dressed in white who wanders the entire hotel. A good friend of mine, who claims he has a knack for getting into trouble with the paranormal, swears that while he was staying in room 202 (a notably haunted room in the hotel) he saw the nurse ghost briefly when he entered his room. He also said that the nurse ghost played with the lights, touched his arm and shook the antique mirror that hung above his bed. When my mother remarried in Eureka Springs, I tried to talk her out of having the family stay in this hotel. She didn't listen but, luckily, we had a ghoul free weekend.
The Rose Hall Great House - Montego Bay, Jamaica
The Rose Hall Great House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Jamaica due in no small part to the legend of its mistress, Annie Palmer. Palmer came to Rose Hall in 1820 and was known for her gruesome treatment of slaves. Considered a Black Witch by locals, she brutally tortured slaves and killed many of them simply because she was bored by them. She is also said to have murdered three of her husbands: the first by poison, the second my stabbing and then pouring boiling oil in his ears, and the third my strangling. All of Annie's victims are said to haunt the grounds and tourists come armed with instant cameras in hopes of snapping a picture of ghosts such as the ones in the picture. There is also rumored to be secret underground tunnels on the grounds and visitors have spoke of bloodstains smeared in numerous places. It should also be noted that the included picture was taken without a flash or sun exposed windows.
Singapore
Ok, I know Singapore is an entire country, but I was reading about some pretty disturbing stuff that goes on around there. Considered Asia's most haunted city, Singapore is home to many locations that register high numbers in paranormal activity. Strange lights glitter through Hougang School near East Coast Beach and one ghost actually goes around slapping people at the Changi Beach House. Near the coast at Lor Halus, ghosts of the poor beg for food and money along the streets. Many years ago at the Bedok Tenant House, a ghost apparently killed a resident and now the woman is herself a screaming ghost who disturbs the residents at the Hou Gang Tenements. In the Fort Sentosa district, the Punggol White House is haunted by a whole family who committed suicide together, while headless apparitions terrorize passengers as they pass through certain MRT mass transit stations in the city. As you can see Singapore has a slew of hauntings that are ceaseless in their disturbance to the living.
The Catacombs Museum - Paris, France
If you know about Haussmannization, the grand remodeling of Paris in the 1860s, you may or may not know that the Catacombs of Paris were reconstructed in order to support the sprawling housing developments and massive boulevards that would come to define the city. Underneath the beautiful facade of Paris is a structural support system built of human bones. In order to strengthen his structure and alleviate the sanitation issues that were being caused by past improper burial, Haussmann had his team of workers dig up the remains of many of Paris' graveyards and use them as building materials for his project. And what, if anything, do we know
about disturbing graves? Right, it pisses the dead off. Though only a small part of the catacombs are open to the public, there are many secret entrances and tourists and trespassers alike have attested to its haunting with stories and sightings of run-ins with ghosts of a bygone Paris. Expect to see apparitions ranging from the ancients to the revolutionaries and don't forget your flashlight if you go hunting. It's dark down there
The Tower of London - London, England
The Tower of London is known historically as the prison for the crown of England. Its ghostly presence is due no doubt to the mass amounts of executions, tortures and murders that occurred within its walls. Hundreds of ghost sightings are reported there every year by tourists and Londoners alike, and, on a misty night, many hope to catch a glimpse of one of its dead prisoners. A story goes that one night a guardsman was standing watch when he heard a banging noise on his guardhouse. He went out to investigate and he saw a shapeless white figure that very well could have been the ghost of Lady Jane Grey, who was beheaded that very same date, February 12th, in 1554. Others have reported seeing the spirit of Ann Boleyn, a wife of Henry VI, who was also beheaded in 1536. Ann is a frequent visitor to the Tower and she is sometimes seen carrying her own head. Other ghosts include Henry VI, Thomas Beckett, Sir Walter Raleigh and the Countess of Salisbury, whose gruesome execution is sometimes seen being re-enacted by ghosts.
The White House - Washington D.C., USA
Even though the White House is an American institution at the center of our political climate, it is also a hot spot for ghosts. Several former presidents are said to frequent many of the rooms in the house. President Harrison has been seen and heard rummaging around in the White House attic, who knows for what. Andrew Jackson frequently joins guests in what was his bedroom during his presidency, and Abigail Adams has been spotted roaming hallways apparently carrying something. The most spotted president ghost, however, is Abraham Lincoln. Eleanor Roosevelt was said to have felt the presence of Honest Abe while she worked in the Lincoln bedroom. Also, during the Roosevelt administration, a young clerk saw Lincoln's ghost sitting on a bed removing his boots. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, during an overnight stay, was awakened by a knock at her door and, upon answering, saw the ghost of President Lincoln facing her in the hallway. Calvin Coolidge's wife reported on several occasions seeing President Lincoln standing at a window in the oval office with his hands clasped behind his back, appearing to be in a deep contemplative mood
The Queen Mary - Long Beach, California, USA
This once famous luxury cruise liner was purchased by the city of Long Beach and converted in a hotel in 1967, but many passengers and crew members from its sailing days still haunt the ship. The most haunted room is said to be the engine room where a 17-year-old sailor was crushed trying to escape a fire. It has been numerously reported that he bangs on pipes throughout the room. There have also been reports of a "lady in white" around the front desk of the hotel and the ghosts of children haunting the pool area. Many visitors claims to hear the ghost of a little girl, who reportedly broke her neck while swimming, asking her mommy for her doll. In the pool's changing room, there has been plenty of strange activity. Furniture is said to move by itself and unseen figures touch hotel guests. In the front hull of the ship, there is a ghost that some guest say they can hear screaming. He is said to be a sailor who was killed when the Queen Mary collided with another, smaller ship.
Raynham Hall - Norfolk, England
Raynham Hall is one of the most famous haunted places in the world due largely in part to its most famous ghost, the Brown Lady, who was captured on film in 1936 in what is said to be one of the most authentic ghost photos every taken. The Unexplained Site describes one of the first encounters with the spirit: "The first known sighting happened during the 1835 Christmas season. Colonel Loftus, who happened to be visiting for the holidays, was walking to his room late one night when he saw a strange figure ahead of him. As he tried to gain a better look, the figure promptly disappeared. The next week, the Colonel again came upon the woman. He described her as a noble woman who wore a brown satin dress. Her face seemed to glow, which highlighted her empty eye sockets." The photo has been examined multiple times by experts who all confirm it is authentic and untouched. The Brown Lady is said to have been confined in a room by her husband, unable to see her children. She soon perished in the room and has continued to haunt Raynham Hall clad in her brown dress.
The Bell Farm - Adams, Tennessee, USA
The Bell Farm has been made notorious through books, TV specials and movies. Most recently the events at this small Tennessee farm were dramatized in the 2005 movie An American Haunting. The story behind the Bell Farm haunting is so notable and recognized because it is said to be the only documented account in paranormal history when a ghost caused the death of a living person. Between the years of 1817 and 1821, the Bell Family was terrorized by some sort of entity, mostly said to be a woman, who became known as the Bell Witch or, more personally, "Kate." She is said to have perturbed and tortured John Bell (the father of the family and victim of a nervous system disorder) so much that it lead to his inevitable death. He was unable to sleep or recuperate and the ghost's antics worsened his condition. It is also said that a vile with a strange black liquid was found at John Bell's deathbed and that Kate herself claimed she gave it to him. Supposedly, in order to test the liquids validity, a drop was placed on the family cat's tongue and it immediately killed the animal. Though the haunting of the Bell Farm has been sensationalized many times over, it is still inarguable that something happened there during those three years. A family and a community were terrorized by an entity of some kind, and residents still believe Kate is up to no good.
The Borley Rectory - Borley, England
England is widely known as a land haunted by spirits, and the Borley Rectory claims to be the most haunted place in England. The rectory was built in 1863 next to the Borley Church as a home for Reverend Henry Bull. After its construction it became the site of intense poltergeist activity such as spontaneous displacement of objects, strange odors, cold spots, the sound of galloping horses and ghostly apparitions. The rectory was destroyed by fire in 1939 but photos of the ruins still contained odd images and unexplained elements. Captain W. H. Gregson, one of the last residents there, reported seeing the ghost of a nun wondering the grounds. People even reported seeing Gregson being accompanied by a lady in a gray cloak and a bald man in a long black jacket. Perhaps the most disturbing activity occurred around Marianne, the wife of Reverend Lionel Foster, who took residence in the house in 1930. An entity of some kind tried to communicate with Marianne through scratching messages on walls and the whole episode was captured on camera. Also photographed was a floating brick and a floating ribbon-like apparition. To this day odd images show up in photographs and as recently as 2000 a photo was taken with a mysterious orb floating in the background.
Edinburgh Castle - Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh Castle, suspected to be one the most haunted spots in Scotland, is appropriately judged considering Edinburgh has been said to be the most haunted city in all of Europe, and possibly the world. The castle is a historical fortress and parts of it have withstood its 900 year history. A battleground of countless deaths, Edinburgh Castle can easily be thought of as an eternal spot of unrest for fallen soldiers. Other ghosts said to haunt the castle are a phantom piper, a headless drummer, the spirits of French prisoners from the Seven Years War and colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War and even a dog that wanders the castle's cemetery. Other areas of Edinburgh also have ghostly reputations: the subterranean vaults of South Bridge and a disused street called Mary Kings Close where victims of the Black Death plague were sealed up to die. What also makes Edinburgh Castle so noteworthy among the paranormal community is that in 2001, Dr. Richard Weisman took a group of 240 volunteers, ignorant of the castle's past, on a walk-through of the castle and its surroundings in order to gather paranormal data. Armed with every ghost busting tool imaginable, almost all the volunteers reported experiences such as drops in temperature, shadowy figures, burning sensations in the limbs, physical touching, and tugging at clothes. One woman was even brave enough to stay the night alone in a South Bridge vault. She reported hearing heaving breathing from the corner of the cell that got louder throughout the night and she saw strange flashes of light. What is most intriguing about the whole experiment is that even though none of the volunteers had any previous knowledge of what rooms had haunted reputations and which ones didn't, they reported the most amount of activity from the reputed locations and saw many of the same things as other tourists.
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During Open Lines, Carlos in Miami, Florida, recalled the time he received tragic news from Argentina of his father's imminent death. Carlos said he immediately embarked to see his dad, but did not make it in time. Devastated by the loss, he remembered being in a cemetery and hearing his father's voice tell him, "Carlos, the body means nothing. What matters is your spirit. I am returning to Miami with you." Unsure if his grief had made up the message, Carlos revealed that shortly after he returned home he visited a synagogue, where a rabbi quoted the father's cemetery proclamation verbatim. There are no coincidences, Carlos noted. Andrew from Ashland, Wisconsin, phoned in to inquire about a sky spiral, similar to the one spotted in Norway, recently seen in Jordan and Israel, as well as share instances of the number '666' that he has discovered in several Looney Tunes episodes. In one such cartoon, "A pest in the house," Daffy Duck shows a guest to a hotel room numbered '666'. Carlos wondered if anyone else may have noticed this strange pattern.
A caller named Landon told George about an unusual sighting he had on his drive to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. According to Landon, a wispy cloud in a deep blue sky caught his attention as he approached Lake Crowley, California. A closer look revealed what appeared to be white dots coming out of the cloud, Landon said, noting how the UFOs moved in various formations. The objects were shiny, could be seen through his polarized sunglasses, were definitely different than planes, and disappeared after ten minutes, Landon added. Jack in Lancaster, Kentucky, shared his remarkable story of surviving a horrific accident involving a jet-powered car. The fast-moving vehicle broke in half and struck him at 250mph, Jack explained, severing both legs and pushing his organs into his chest cavity. While in the hospital recovering, Jack revealed that he had died for 15 minutes, experienced the afterlife, and been brought back. Blind since then, Jack reported how he continued on with life, enrolling at the University of Kentucky and authoring a book about his amazing account.
Ghost Communication
In the first hour, medium and meteorologist Rob Gutro talked about his interactions with earth-bound ghosts. Gutro recalled having his first paranormal experience as a teen, when he saw an apparition of his deceased grandfather materialize before his eyes. He spoke about the challenge of learning to separate his own thoughts from those of ghosts trying to contact him. Gutro credited falling in love with helping him more accurately tune into ghosts, noting that any positive emotion can give an entity power to communicate with the living. He said some ghosts linger here because of unresolved emotional issues, others do not realize they are dead, and some simply do not wish to leave their houses. Gutro likened earth-bound ghosts to prisoners in isolated jail cells, able to see spirits that have passed on but unable to communicate with them. He also shared an amazing paranormal experience with his father's ghost: "I felt two arms come around me, wrap around me, like I was getting a big hug from behind," he remembered.
News segment guests: Dr. Sherri Tenpenny / Dr. Christian von Lahr / Howard Bloom
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This is why I started Spell and Ritual. There are too many armchair occultists (or as in this case, “paranormal investigators”) who lack not only the basic knowledge of their field but common sense.
From WISTV.com:
STATESVILLE, NC (WBTV) – A man who was with about a dozen people who were looking for a legendary “ghost train” in Iredell County was hit by a locomotive and killed early Friday morning.
The incident happened on a train trestle at 2:45 a.m. near the 900 block of Buffalo Shoals Road.
Christopher Kaiser, 29, died at the scene and two more people were injured, according to Iredell County Sheriff Phillip Redmond. Kaiser’s body was found below the trestle down a steep incline, he said.
The injured patients were airlifted to a local hospital. Their condition was not immediately known.
“During the investigation, witnesses told deputies they were at the site in hopes of seeing a ‘ghost train’,” the Iredell County sheriff’s office said in a press release.
The sheriff said the incident coincided with the anniversary of a train wreck that occurred at the same location in 1891.
Crewmen on the train tried to warn the group to get off the trestle and most were able to get away. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Christopher Kaiser’s family and friends at this time of need, of course.
But if I may be so crass as to illustrate a larger point about the growing occult community, which includes these “paranormal investigators” who seem to primarily be thrill seekers looking for scary experiences to share with friends, I would like to ask the following questions:
1) Why was it necessary for them to be on the trestle to investigate the supposed ghost sightings? A follow up to that would be why not send only the people physically capable of reacting quickly if trouble developed?
2) Why didn’t anyone check the schedules of trains, call the railroad to get permission or even scout out the location to see how active the area was? In other words why wasn’t this “investigation” grounded in the real world?
3) Couldn’t the “ghost train” be seen from the ditch the unfortunate Mr. Kaiser ended up in?
The answer to all these questions seem obvious to me. But they weren’t to Kaiser and company. And that’s not his fault.
It’s ours. And by ours I mean the wider occult community that ignores the growing trend of amateurs and dilettantes getting on television and claiming expertise about hunting ghosts or hunting monsters who are really just hunting for quick profits by teaching people to hunt for trouble.
Standing on a section of train track where there’s no place to run waiting for a ghost train is not just foolish, it’s pointless. Had their little adventure been successful and they saw a ghost, what would have been accomplished? Who among us hasn’t seen evidence of ghosts and spirits? And how many of us know of safer and more meaningful ways to explore the outer reaches that we could show people like Kaiser if we weren’t too busy trolling forums and pretending we’re “above” these ghost hunters?
I have always seen the place of the American occultist, whether Thelemite, Chaos Magician, Wiccan or good old fashioned Witches and Warlocks, as a sort of Merlin to the American round table. The fact that we hoard ancient and arcane knowledge, often for selfish reasons, makes us important voices to help steer the wider Judeo-Christian society away from dangers they don’t actually understand. We should strive to be advisers and experts on the things the Christopher Kaisers of the world don’t know but find themselves involved in. This man is dead because he thought he needed to be on that trestle to experience a haunting. We know better but no one shared that with him.
Clearly I’m not of a mind that some Witch somewhere knew what he was up to and sat idle. But we allowed television shows like Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State to supplant real expertise, and to dispense falsehoods. Ghost Hunters, in particular, represents paranormal research as an amusement park ride available year round for people with free time on their hands. Paranormal State does worse in many ways.
And what if Kaiser and company faced metaphysical instead of physical danger? Would the Twilight themed Silver Ravenwolfery disguised as occult expertise that these shows dispense actually be enough to protect them? If you had a child who was going “ghost hunting” would you allow them to prepare by watching these shows and perusing the Internet?
The community of practitioners in America should speak out about the dangerous pseudo-occultism that is being embraced by the mainstream. Christopher Kaiser died because no sane occultist told him he could see this supposed ghost while standing somewhere safe – that he wasn’t going to see something on the tracks he couldn’t from on the road or frankly through a Black Mirror. But how many others are fed on by spirits they disturb, or “crossed” or are otherwise victims of forces they don’t understand?
And how much responsibility do you and I share for that?
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IS LLANELLI, WALES MOST HAUNTED TOWN?
Who better to talk to than Llanelli's own Spirit rescuer Irene Allen-Block, who was quoted by The Wales on Sunday as saying that Llanelli is a "hotbed of ghostly activity."
My name is Irene Allen-Block. I'm a spirit rescuer with over 40 years experience and Llanelli has more than its fair share of haunting and negative energy.
When did you first become aware of the paranormal?
I have had the ability to see spirits for as long as I can remember. This was just very normal to me, so there was never any single occurrence which I can call a turning point.
I never even realised that I was any different than other children until I was about ten years old.
It was at that time that I became aware that such a thing existed called the paranormal and realised that I could sense and see things others couldn't.
Can you tell us some of your early experiences?
The earliest experience I can remember was around the age of 4 or 5. In those days it was relatively safe to play outside as long as I didn't stray further then my mum could see.
A group of us village children all about the same age, would congregate to play outside of my house. Often as we played I would see a small boy of about the same age standing watching us.
He had wavy hair and short trousers, and he looked so sad and lonely.
Many times during these weeks of seeing him I would call out and try to get him to come and play with us but he never answered me.
I even asked the other kids to ask him, but they just looked at me strange and said 'ask who?'
One day I was playing by myself on my brothers homemade stilts and I saw the boy there again watching me.
I was trying to walk on them, but kept falling off more than staying on. I fell off and went down on my bottom. Feeling silly, I lost my temper at him and shouted for him to go away.
He just stood there and after a few more shouts, I yelled out that his mum and dad was looking for him. I could hear them calling.
With that, he took his gaze off of me, looked to the side, and disappeared right there and then!
I never saw him again and now often wonder if that was my first clearing of a spirit, I am sure it was.
Did you have any other experiences?
Looking back at those days there were lots of them. I saw spirits where ever I went, whether I was out shopping with my mum, or playing in the house.
One that stands out happened when I was about 7 years old. I then lived in a small English village in Sussex. I was allowed to go to play with my friend who lived down by the church. As I walked past the Vicarage, I saw a young girl in old clothing about my age playing in the garden.
I called out to her as I climbed up on to the gate to get a better look. She seemed to notice me, but never answered. This carried on all through the summer holidays.
Every time I went past the Vicarage garden she was there. Each time, I would stop and try to get her to talk to me with no success.
Time went on and eventually, as a family, we moved to London. I never gave the little girl another thought.
Years later, I went back to the village as an adult and whilst there, I decided to visit the church and the graves of my grandparents.
I had forgotten the little girl now, and went straight past the Vicarage garden and into the church. On the side there was a pile of small books that had been written on the history of the village.
Whilst flicking through the pages of one, I noticed my family name so I decided to buy a copy.
While I was returning home to London on the train I started to read it. There was a piece in there that talked about the time that renovations had been done on the Vicarage about 10 years previous.
The builders had discovered the skeleton of a young girl. It was thought that she was aged
between 7 or 8 years, and dated to about 250 to 300 years ago. She had been taken and given a proper burial in the churchyard. Somehow I know this was my little girl I used to watch playing.
Were any of them evil or bad spirits?
As a child I never saw anything malevolent and although sometimes I did see spirits that were in the form of adults, they just seemed to pass me by.
It was nearly always the spirits of children that I saw, and was interested in. Maybe because that was where my attention lay.
Children don't have fear until they have knowledge, and a lot of that is put into children by their parents. Much of it is for safety, for example look both ways crossing the street and don't talk to strangers etc.
I was always trying to touch things to learn about them. Smoke, mists, ugly things, etc.
I had no fear. I felt we were connected. That all was connected, all part of life.
This is why I say don't dismiss a child when they talk about friends unseen; it could be imagination or not.
Just keep an eye on the situation. As long as the character of the child does not change then most times, as the child gets older, the child seems to grow out of their friend.
I was lucky here, I had a father who understood and explained things in a way that wasn't frightening.
To be continued in Part 2 when Irene talks about a very frightening experience for one family.
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The occurance of ghosts in film or pics has been studied by many throughout history. Some researchers believe if the spirit is experiencing deep emotions before death then it can be seen again when it relives this as a ghost. Others believe that sometimes the camera picks up the energy around warmth or cold created by the ghost (occassionally ghosts create this when trying to gather energy) and so sometimes this comes up. And lastly others speculate that all ghost images are fakes.
Whether they are fakes or not, let's look at history first before judging, ghosts were more excepted as reality about 100 years ago in most parts of the world. People would spend time actually studying ghost behaviour and trying to understand it more. People in high positions had experiences with ghosts and more commonly they were excepted as a part of life. This takes me to the understanding of two possibilities, one was that all ghost concepts were fake which is not what I believe but I will say it anyway or the other that ghosts are more noticeable when looking for them..
I tend to lean towards the other, some people I find really attract or notice ghosts all the time. In fact they tend to go from almost one haunted dwelling to another, yet others if they were in their shoes may not feel the same. It all seems to come down to understanding consciousness in the end.. Maybe this means these ghost photoes or pics were taken from those that understood this consciousness.
Another question to ask yourself is are ghosts really scary or not? It all comes down to one thing, the mind judges that, in most peoples experiences most lean to the idea of when it was happening their was no fear but later on when thinking about it fear creeps in.. Does this mean most fear is just what the mind creates, I mean a ghost really is a human after all?
Throughout history what many claim as being REALLY SCARY GHOST PICS have been captured. In this video above are some ones from history to show what I mean. It is good to look at these with a clear mind and reflect, remember most of these were taken a long time ago and some maybe very real..
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Basically there are two main differences between Ghosts and Nature Spirits, the theory is that ghosts are the souls or memory of someone who has died where as nature spirits never knew life as we know it as they originate from another realm of existence. But in today's society people are more readily to accept a belief in ghosts rather than nature spirits, I think this originates from the fact too many people have been affected by ghosts during their lives or they know close friends or family who have been affected but today's society finds belief in the typical Victorian Fairy very hard, described as no more than four inches tall these creatures displayed butterfly wings and danced around in fancy dresses.
Quantum physicists will openly discuss the theory of alternative universes but mention you have Fairies at the bottom of your garden and before you know it you are enjoying your lunch through and straw in the confines of a padded cell.
Incidentally, the word "nature" derives from a Latin word "natus" which is
the past participle of "nasci" meaning "to be born". So nature is what has
been born, and "physics" is originally the study of what has been born (in
a broader sense, the universe, then), it seems. Over the course of time I think it has strayed from its original meaning as we have seen physics become the study of physically measurable quantities and their relations, but we as a whole in the paranormal field know there is much more to nature than that which can be physically measured. Ironic to think that modern physics makes use of "invisible fairies, which cannot be measured": they are referred to as "quantum fields".
A reference taken from the Fortean times describes the Earth Spirits as particles, which are there and not there; like electrons they are both material and non-magical. they are quantum events at the bottom of the garden. we cannot know particles in themselves, but only by the traces they leave, like tiny yetis. they are as elusive, maddening and paradoxical as fairies ever were.
Well, what an easy explanation! Or is it?
I know from my own experiences with nature spirits that the phenomenon is strikingly different from that of a typical haunting if indeed you can have such a thing as a typical haunting. On most occasions you will be able to walk into a property and you can almost sense if a ghost in present, I am aware at times they can mess the team about and stay well away. But a nature spirit, should it choose to, will approach you and its vibrations are much more prominent. One case we are currently studying in Northern Ireland involves a Rath, a pre-Christian settlement. In local folklore there have always been tales of a chamber underneath the Rath, but there has never been any archaeological digs to prove or disprove this tale.
From our own experience the nature spirit, which is linked to the site has indicated through a series of loud thumps where this hidden chamber lies. The chamber is known as a Souterrain, which was often used as ritual sites and hiding places. If the Iron Age settlement became threatened the women and children fled into these passageways and would have been protected by one of the males from anyone who would have dared to crawl through to the main chamber.
Christianity identified it as a demon. Legend states the reason for it being there was to protect treasure, I know from experience it is just as curious about us as we are of it. One account of a clergyman entering a renowned Fairy ring at night, tells of the man being held down by these small creatures and hearing an unforgettable buzzing. I too have been on site at sunset and experienced the buzzing almost similar to a mosquito, and several times after. An associate of mine who is a practising pagan claimed the buzzing was not myself getting in tune with the entity but the entity getting in tune with me.
Unfortunately due to other commitments and cases I have not been able to return to the Rath, but I do plan on being back in the next few weeks, both with recording gear and night vision, though this is to try and capture footage and understand the movements of the badgers that live near the Rath.
They say there are over 3000 different breeds of Nature Spirit though I suspect there maybe mis-identification over continents but I'm only familiar with about 30. Ireland is renowned for its Fairy Tales and it's a well-known fact when men moved out of the old forts and Abbeys the Fairy moved in. Even in today's environment I can travel approx a mile from home and find a Fairy tree. These thinly crooked and rather worthless trees dot the landscape and are usually found near the middle of a cleared field, but a great superstition lingers about cutting one down as they are links to the Fairy world.
There are various legends and claims made about these entities but in fairness we know so little. In the late twentieth century they were nearly forgotten and resigned to myth, but I have been watching a growing interest near the end of the 1990's to present and hopefully we may get the chance to observe and understand this close and yet very distant world.
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Ghost Hunters was live at Waverly Hills Sanatorium last night for their second annual Halloween investigation. Unable to watch the entire 6 hours, I made it through the first 2. On the second floor, where the ghost of a little boy is said to remain, a ball was recorded moving by itself on command. Also, sounds of footsteps and strange lights were seen by team members in the infamous body chute. Unfortunately for me, I missed whatever came next. I will be looking forward to the reveal which will be aired next week on SciFi.
I do have to say the one thing that really annoyed me during the show was the overlay of "creepy" music. I found it loud and quite irritating. I was unable to hear if any "unexplainable" noises were occurring. Other shows dealing with the paranormal do this too. I guess producers try to set the mood. I wish they would omit the cheesy music already!
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Date: 1983 Time: Approx: 9:00 p.m.
Location of Sighting: South Vancouver. Number of witnesses: 2 Number of objects: 1 Shape of objects: Walking figure of a man in a longish old style tweed coat and flat tweed hat.
Full Description of event/sighting: Hello Brian, you asked for ghost stories and I happen to have had a very strange, unexplainable thing happen at my house years ago. It was approx: 9:00 in the evening, and my wife and I were sitting in the living room of our 'just bought house'. We had only just moved in a few months previously. Our house was built in 1903 and was the first house built in our neighborhood, back when it was mostly farmland and orchards. We had just finished dinner and were sitting watching TV and relaxing after a hard days work at our respective jobs. All of a sudden we heard a loud scraping noise coming from our basement area, and our cat came flying up the staircase all puffed up and looking completely insane and terrified at what he was seeing. He was staring bug-eyed at the basement stairs, and from where I and my wife were sitting, we couldn't see the area that the cat could.
I jumped from my chair and ran into the kitchen where 'Hugo' the cat was now spitting and growling madly at the top steps. I was in the process of trying to calm the cat down, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a movement, and as I turned to see what it was I saw the back of the figure of a man wearing a longish tweed coat and a flat old styled tweed cap moving through what was our open bathroom door into our bathroom. I stood speechless watching this 'person' disappear across the bathroom and into our toilet area, with no apparent legs, it was just drifting over the floor. I yelled to my wife what I had seen, and after finally calming down a bit, I felt I should phone my father and see if everything was alright with my parents. For some reason I thought I was seeing some kind of premonition of someone's demise, but everyone was fine at my parents house. I told my Dad what I'd seen and we talked about it for a bit, and he suggested I make a search downstairs in the basement, and check the floor joist patterns and see what was once built in the area directly above and into what is now our bathroom.
I did and found out that before the renovations and the added on back part of our house, the back stairs had once been located directly where the bathroom door now was situated, and whoever it was I saw that night, was walking out on to a long gone staircase, and out into our back yard. We've lived here now for 24 years and have had a couple of other 'supernatural things' happen, but never another sighting of the old guy in the tweed coat and hat.
Thank you to the person for telling this awesome story.
Would you like to be a guest on my radio show ? (The Vike Report) If so and have an interesting UFO or Sasquatch story to relate, please drop Brian Vike, Director of HBCC UFO Research a line with the information, please include your telephone number so I can make arrangements for the interview. Please note that HBCC UFO Research does not ever give out anyone's private information to anyone.
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A "67 Not Out" reader's paranormal story today. A ghostly tale from when Jan was a child. Thank you, Jan.
"You wrote a post recently about a poltergeist and this reminded me of an experience I had, though I'm not sure if it comes under that category. Maybe it's more of a ghost story.
This happened about ten years ago when I was eight years old. I know it may sound like this is some kid's made up story but I remember it so distinctly because my father had just died.
His passing away upset me very much. He had a heart attack and died in our house. Mum and my younger brother were also devastated. I'll never forget the picture of my mum's sad face, it was like her world had ended.
After the funeral we started to hear some strange noises. It was like someone was walking backwards and forwards in our upstairs hall. This became especially scary at night when we were in bed.
This continued but became less frequent but we would also hear a sort of humming noise in the kitchen. A bit like the sound my dad used to make when he was concentrating on some DIY job. Cupboards in the kitchen started to open and close by themselves.
Mum did her best to laugh it all off but even as a child I felt she was only putting on a brave face.
One of my school friends, Mandy, came to stay for the weekend. We were going to go horse riding as a special treat. We were in my bedroom when Mandy said she could hear footsteps. I made out she must be hearing things but then out of the blue the bedroom door opened and shut itself again with a loud bang.
We managed to giggle about it but I was getting quite scared. We then heard loud footsteps outside the bedroom door, which we thought was my mum. Bravely I opened the door but there was nobody there. I called out and mum was in the kitchen making us a snack.
This freaked Mandy out and she asked to go home. Mum phoned for her mother to pick her up.
Mum, my brother and I often heard noises, even music playing plus that humming noise. After what I think was about two or three months it all stopped. We still live in the same house today. Mum won't move as she remembers dad being there. Ten years on, to my knowledge, she has never had another man friend. She loved dad so much.
I did talk about the noises with mum a short while ago and she said she thought it was dad making sure we were all alright. But what it actually was, I'm not sure. I just know it happened."
FURTHER READING:
Her Grandmother Visits from Beyond The Grave
Ghostly Rye: The Most Haunted Town In England
TheUnusual Contact With her Dead Mother
Image: "jilewis"
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Join livescifi.tv for this LIVE Broadcast event as we investigate for 48 hours from one of the most haunted locations in the US, the Sallie House in Atchison Kansas. This FREE broadcast will start on Friday, November 16th at 8pm central time, and will last for 48 hours!
According to Stephen Wagner from about.com, the Sallie House is 15th most haunted location in the world, and we are going there again to prove it. Filled with ghostly and demonic activity, the team will be armed with various new equipment, guests, to further document the paranormal activity which occurs at this location.
* Some of the documented paranormal activity includes
* Wall-hung pictures turned upside-down
* Strangely melted candles and burnt finger marks
* Multiple photo anomalies
* Demonic Physical Contact
* Possession
About Us: livescifi.tv offers interactive, and broadcasts from some of the most haunted locations in the world. We use multiple mobile cam set ups, and state of the art ghost hunting equipment which brings the experience to you, via the net.
* WHEN: November 16th, 2012 6 pm pacific / 8pm cst / 9 pm eastern
* HOW LONG: 48 Hours!
* HOW TO WATCH : visit, http://livescifi.tv/in-search-of-the-paranormal
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A team of ghost hunters spent last Saturday evening looking for spirits in the Russ House, and plan to come back soon to see if they can spot the "burning bride of Bellamy Bridge."
She is the central figure in what may be Jackson County's best-known ghost story.
Saturday's trip to Marianna, though, was a search for recordable evidence that the refurbished Russ House is inhabited by unseen residents as well as serving as home to the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.
The Big Bend Ghost Trackers team has come to the conclusion that, while paranormal activity was not particularly high that night, "there is without a doubt something there," according to group founder Betty Davis.
The team used a variety of devices. One was an electronic magnetic field detector, which picks up "fluctuations in magnetic, electric and radio/microwave energy levels. Paranormal investigators believe that anomalous readings in those energy fields are a sign of a ghost," Davis explained in an e-mail about the visit.
According to Davis, the device registered a "medium-high" reading just after an "ectoplasm" was seen floating in the room. An ectoplasm, Davis explained, is "a misty, slightly foggy substance" that is considered by believers to be "residue left over by a spirit who was recently in an area."
This substance was seen where the Russ family nursery used to be, Davis reported.
Whether one believes in ghosts or not, there have been eerie reports at the Russ House over the years. The elevator is said to move up and down the floors when no one's aboard to push its buttons. The sound of footsteps have been reported in empty rooms. Objects are said to have inexplicably moved from place to place, seemingly on their own.
Davis said the team came to the Russ House based in part on a chance meeting with Mary Pettis, vice president of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.
Pettis recently went on a "ghost hunt" sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in Monticello, where she has family. In fact, her uncle, the late Ben Ervin, had been instrumental in getting the old Monticello Opera House back in operation and was active in other community affairs there.
Pettis still has other family members living in the area, and visits from time to time.
At the end of the ghost tour that Pettis had learned of by chance, the guide asked whether anyone had had a paranormal experience.
Pettis had heard stories from others about the Russ House, and she's had some spooky experiences of her own as she worked late into the night on one Chamber project or another.
Sometime last year, she and her daughter saw something they still can't explain. Pettis's daughter was keeping her company in the otherwise empty house one night and put a soft drink can on her desk.
All of a sudden, it started to move. It shifted about a foot, with no "sweat-stream" trailing behind it that might explain the movement as the result of condensation.
Wide-eyed, Pettis and her daughter left immediately.
Pettis sad she has also witnessed the elevator moving from floor to floor with no one aboard.
She said she's talked to elevator experts who told her that, because of its particular operational style, it shouldn't be able to move? even if it were to malfunction ? without someone there to push the button.
She's also heard footsteps on the upper floors when she was there alone.
And there there were the peculiar reactions of her dogs on separate late-night visits to the Russ House.
Her male mastiff weighs more than 150 pounds and cuts a formidable figure as a guard dog when she's there alone. She typically lets the dog make a run-through of the house to make sure no intruder is lying in wait.
One night, he came to a skidding stop near the back staircase and refused to go further. Growling deep in his throat, the dog seemed uncharacteristically afraid, and his eyes started glinting with a silvery glow.
Her large female mastiff reacted similarly at the same spot in the house on a different outing. Both were anxious to leave, and Pettis was ready to oblige.
While she's not ready to say she believes in ghosts, Pettis acknowledges that she's seen some things she hasn't been able to explain away.
And she's not the only one. Many visitors to the house have reported odd experiences to staff, and some people swear that the ghost of Joseph W. Russ resides within the walls of the house he built.
Russ committed suicide in his bedroom there on Feb. 7, 1930, around the time of the infamous Wall Street crash and as the Great Depression had descended on the country.
News of his death appeared in the newspaper a few days later, and one item reads, in part, that "in a fit of despondency last Friday night, Joseph W. Russ, leading citizen of Marianna and one of Jackson County's largest property owners, fired a bullet into his brain."
Davis explained various theories that would fit with this belief.
Some believe that the spirits of those who die unexpectedly tend to stay behind in their familiar and favorite environs, and may not realize they're dead.
The "burning bride of Bellamy Bridge" has had multiple reported sightings through many decades and various incarnations of the tale abound.
Davis and her group are working out the details of a return visit to Jackson County in hopes of getting what they would consider evidence of her presence at the old iron bridge.
They'll be traveling with Dale Cox, a historian who lived here for many years and has written extensively of the local past.
By DEBORAH BUCKHALTER, Jackson County Floridan
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When a location has a ghost or spirit that is able to communicate, respond and/or interact with the living, it is believed to be the result of an intelligent haunting. In theory, this type of haunting involves the spirit/ghost of a deceased person. Sites where gruesome murders took place and other tragic events are often linked with paranormal activity of this type. Sometimes a spirit will remain earthbound because of unfinished business or to bring comfort to family members. An intelligent haunting can also be the result of a spirit unable to leave a place that once brought them happiness and peace.
Signs of a possible intelligent haunting in your home or place of business could be:
1) Objects being moved about/hidden
2) Slamming, opening and closing of doors and windows
3) Unexplainable electrical disturbances
4) The manifestation of an apparition resembling the person as they were in life
5) Strange sounds, voices and unexplainable scents/odors
6) A strong presence can be felt around you
7) The feeling of being touched, cold spots
This is for me (many of you would agree) the most frightening type of haunting. Experts will tell you that it is important to not let fear take over here. One, including myself, must try and remember that it is most likely the spirit seeking attention for help or its inability to detach its emotional ties to a place/person. However, it is important to eliminate all other possibilities before concluding that an intelligent haunting is taking place.
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We all know the most tragic maritime story of all time: the sinking of the Titanic by an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 14th, 1912. However, what many of us may not know is that, over the years, there have been many strange stories centred around the ill-fated ship. The most reported story has been that involving the Titanic Exhibit, which is housed in the Georgia Museum, and which travels from one major city to the next, giving people the opportunity to view many of the once-lost artefacts from the monumental wreckage. The exhibit is reported to be haunted.
Ghostly apparitions, disembodied voices and strange footsteps have been reported at many locations on the Titanic exhibit tour, and volunteers who work at the exhibit claim to have experienced an eerie presence around them while walking through the artefacts. These reports cannot be so easily dismissed, for it is quite often the case that spirits do attach themselves to certain artefacts, and haunt whatever location houses them This could well be the case with the Titanic, for obviously, unlike haunted properties, it is no longer actually standing, but has left behind many artefacts which could quite easily have been left with supernatural potential.
It is not known for sure just how many ghosts haunt the Titanic Exhibition. More than 1,500 people went down with the ship on that fateful evening of April 14th, 1912, so it could be any one or any number of those deceased souls.
A spokeswoman for the aquarium, Meghann Gibbons, has expressed her belief, and the belief of many volunteers working on the exhibit, that it is in fact haunted. One visitor to the Titanic Exhibit, with her daughter and 4-year-old grandson, firmly agree. According to her story, while viewing the 1st class quarters, she and her daughter thought little of the young boy's repeated questioning, "Who is that lady?" and "What is she doing?" They assured him that there was only a dress laid out over the love seat, as if waiting to be adorned. It wasn't until they heard later that the TAPS ghost hunting team was investigating paranormal activity in the Titanic Exhibit that they believed the boy had experienced his first ghostly encounter.
Many visitors to the exhibit claimed to have experienced an eerie feeling, as if being watched, or feeling an immense sadness around specific objects or areas of the exhibit. Most assumed it was a general sombre mood evoked by the 1912 disaster, but as more and more reports come in with similar claims, a lot of people are starting to give these reports credence - including the TAPS team of paranormal investigators from Sci-Fi's "Ghost Hunters". The TAPS lead investigators, Jay and Grant, strongly believe that the Titanic Exhibit is haunted. After a lengthy investigation, which aired on the 97th anniversary of the ship's tragic demise, the TAPS team found sufficient evidence of paranormal activity, including an eerie EVP recording. They were seated in a room trying to communicate with the ghost, and asked the spirit if it wanted them to leave. The voice distinctly replied, "Now - please, wait." Unfortunately, Jay and Grant could not follow up on the questions, since they did not hear the voice until later, when the evidence was being analysed.
This year (2012), a group of ghost hunters plan to mark the 100th anniversary of the 'Titanic's' sinking by travelling out to the exact location of the ship's sinking and searching for any residual impressions left behind from the incident. The group - appropriately named D.E.A.D (direct, evidence, after, death) - hope to achieve results mainly from the use of sophisticated EVP recorders. Their spokesperson, William Brower, says they will be recreating the atmosphere of the doomed 'Titanic's' last hours by serving up the same meals and listening to the same type of music heard on that fateful night a century ago. One of the group, Angelica Harris, hopes this will be a fitting tribute to those that died, including her great uncle who was aboard.
The supernatural incidents revolving around the Titanic could be attributable to residual impressions, which are often left behind after an event of extreme trauma, like the emotional trauma experienced by all those people who went down with the Titanic. Will the group pick up sounds of those who died, desperately screaming out for help in the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean? Only time will tell.
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This is a question asked by millions of people by now, as The Ghost Adventures crew and Zak Bagans have soared to popularity. Since their first independent documentary in which Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin set out on a quest to prove the existence of ghosts, the three friends have been talked and chattered about globally. This chatter was taking place within the paranormal community and by people who had never even had an interest in ghosts..Until they saw Ghost Adventures.
It wasn't long until the Ghost Hunting team had their own show, which first aired on October 17, 2008. And was practically an instant hit. But the question left lingering in peoples minds was "Is Ghost Adventures Real?"
The best way to investigate this frequently asked question is to first take a look at Bagans himself, which is the producer and narrator of the show "Ghost Adventures". Zak Bagans has stated in various interviews that he was once a skeptic, who had never believed in ghosts. It wasn't until he had his own encounter with a ghost that Haunted his apartment building he lived in that he became a real believer. The details about Zak Bagan's experience that changed his life and set him on a quest to capture evidence of ghosts are few, but Bagans believes that it was the ghost of a woman who had committed suicide in his apartment building. Now years later, Bagans, Groff and Goodwin are three of the most talked about and popular people in the Paranormal world. It does help to know that Bagans was a skeptic for most of life until "the experience"
The Ghost Adventures Crew is known for it's no hold's barred approach to Ghost Hunting. Zak Bagans has used the word "emotional" to describe their methods of investigating. Bagans is often seen taunting what he believes to be evil spirits or ghosts. Unfortunately for Bagans, the spirits have taunted back. On the bright side.. It was all caught on film numerous times. But Is Ghost Adventures Real?
In an interview with CinemaSuicide.com, when asked if the Ghost Adventures footage was available for analysis by independent researchers, Zak Bagans stated " Actually that's why we feature various independent experts to analyze our footage in all our documentaries/ shows to get as close as we can to validating it for the public." So chances are that Bagans and The Ghost Adventures Crew won't be handing over their crown jewels of paranormal evidence anytime soon to the general public. However, Zak also made it clear in the very same interview that when filming his documentary, it took three years and countless hundreds of hours of filming and investigating just to get the evidence for the "Ghost Adventures" documentary.
This is something that we as viewers of paranormal television often forget. The investigations that we see took a lot longer than the 30 minute or one hour shows (including commercials) that we see. Often paranormal investigators leave haunted locations with nothing. It's trial and error, hit and miss for most Ghost Hunters. So the fact that there are many pieces of ghostly and paranormal footage obtained by The Ghost Adventures Crew does not make it fake or any less Real..It just means that they could have spent many hours in a quest to obtain it. Which they did..And still do.
Let's face it. All paranormal investigation shows are "spruced" up by Hollywood in the name of ratings and entertainment. But the footage by Ghost Adventures may very well be real. It's just presented in a more shocking and disturbing way for obvious reasons. Bagans, Groff, Goodwin and even our friends over at T.A.P.S. are all normal people who loved and were fascinated with Ghosts and the Paranormal long before we knew who they were. They were for the most part..Regular people like you and I.
So what if they allow Syfy or the Travel Channel to spruce up or creatively edit footage before airing. Do they even have a choice? Would you be okay with a few stretches of the truth as long as fans were happy and you got to do what you loved to do..And get paid well for it? Something to ponder. So Is Ghost Adventures Real? Only the ones sitting in those dark places with cameras and equipment know that. But I for one..Believe.
A couple of months ago a did a review on a haunting that has been happening in the Hanover area called the Hanover Haunting. Since then I have received some more recent photos that she has taken of different parts of the house, each one revealing some good evidence of ghost and paranormal activity.
All images and information has been shared with me by Deanna Simpson, the owner of the House.
RECENT GHOST PICTURES FROM THE BASEMENT
As you can see from the images below they are in sequence of events. Showing a slight change as the purple mist starts to form. At first I thought it may of been the fluorescent light on but then realised that the light was not on at all. No lights were on, just natural light. As you move down you will see the purple form and in the third image below to the far right there is an rough image of a face. Whether this is a ghost or movement of paranormal energy it is hard to tell. Very interesting sequences though.
RECENT GHOST IMAGES FROM DOWNSTAIRS
These images are taken downstairs in the house. All taken with a high quality hunters camera used to take images when hunting in the outback. When movement is detected an image is taken. The first image is of nothing, however later on a ghostly apparition is revealed. Quite spooky this one. By the way in all photos above and below have no one is in the room and there is no tampering is involved with the shots.
With the basement ones it is supposedly where the young boy died as discussed in my previous post on the subject and where a portal or door has been opened. As described by Deanna with the images there is less a feeling of fear and more so a feeling of sadness when in the area. Maybe the boys sadness in a way.
Let me know what you think of the images above by commenting below. Also feel free to share this post via the social networks as well.
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Brisbane Times:
Unexplained whooshes of air rushing down corridors, a seemingly-possessed elevator and a judge's chair that mysteriously spins in the night.
If you ask staff at Brisbane's Supreme and District Court building - the place is haunted.
Security officers who patrol the court building's corridors after hours say dozens of "spooky and freaky" incidents within the walls of the 40-year-old building have them believing in ghosts.
Even burly tradesmen called to do maintenance have high-tailed out of the place after what they believed was a supernatural incident in the basement.
And Brisbane historian Jack Sim says it's not just nonsense: ghosts are attracted to gruesome places such as courts.
Speaking to brisbanetimes.com.au, a female security guard at the court complex said she was certain ghosts roamed the building.
During night shift she often sees the chair in Court 21 slowly spinning as if someone was sitting in it.
"There's no draught in there, no way that any breeze is causing that," she said.
Other court sources say Court 21 used to be the court used by an old judge who died from a heart attack and the spinning chair is his spirit haunting his old workplace.
Another worker says in Court 21 and next door in Court 22, the duress alarm repeatedly goes off and when the room is unlocked and checked out, there's not a soul around.
One guard tells how two years ago two painters were in a sealed-off room in the building's basement doing maintenance work when, they claimed, a gust of icy cold wind "whooshed" past them.
"They were quick out of there and never came back," said a court source.
"They were convinced there was something freaky going on down there."
One night as one security officer manned the front desk, he heard a nearby elevator 'ding' and then the doors open as if someone was about to get out on to the ground floor.
No one was in the lift, but moments later heard the hand dryer go off in the nearby public bathroom. Again, no one there.
"Then about a minute after that the exit doors just started to rattle rattle rattle, as if someone had grabbed the handles and was desperately trying to get out," he said.
"It got me worked up all right. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen."
The worker said he often felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up while he was walking around the building on night shift.
"You get the feeling someone's right behind you and when you turn around of course there's nothing there," he said.
"But I do think there are ghosts around here, for sure."
Another court staffer often in the building after hours said portraits of old judges on the walls and plastic dummies dressed in 1800s clothes as part of an historical display on the second floor certainly did not help him to forget the haunted rumours.
"A few times those faces have given me a scare," he said.
"Also one of the elevators, the one which goes to the basement, seems to be possessed with all its door slamming and doors staying jammed open, that sort of thing."
Horror historian Jack Sim said he had heard many stories about the Supreme and District Court building being haunted.
A stop at the building, on the corner of George and Adelaide streets, is included in Ghost Tours he conducts in the city.
"The court building is such a dark place with so much drama and so much of our most gruesome criminal history has been played out there," he said.
"It's a place where stories of violence and horror have been heard and ghosts are often drawn to these sort of places. Their spirits get trapped there."
Mr Sim, author of the book Haunted Brisbane, has interviewed several staffers who claimed to have witnessed ghost activity in the building, particularly in the basement.
He said the workers believed the ghosts belonged to prisoners who died in the cells of the original court building built in 1876.
The structure was burnt down by an arsonist in 1968 but some of the original basement cells were kept and form part of today's court building, he said.
"It's an amazing place in the history of Queensland," he said.
Originally posted 10/8/07
Brisbane Has It's Share Of Paranormal Activity
Brisbane has been called many things in its time, but haunted is probably not a common classification. Yet one paranormal enthusiast believes our sleepy little town is a hotbed of ghostly activity.
Strange noises, chilling wails, unexplained lights captured on film and bumps in the night are apparently common occurrences at dozens of locations across South-East Queensland.
Historic buildings like Old Government House and City Hall send a shiver up the spine of Lianna Turner, who researches and documents paranormal oddities.
- Old Government House
- Queensland University of Technology
- Gardens Point Campus
This impressive mansion, located inside the grounds of the Queensland University of Technology in the city, was built to accommodate the state's first Governor.
It was used right up until the construction of the current Government House in Bardon.
While exploring Old Government House, Ms Turner explained that the mansion was one of her "main haunts" (no pun intended) because of its active paranormal atmosphere.
Over several years she has amassed a vast collection of photoghraphs documenting her exploration of the house.
Many contain strange lights and "orbs" that Ms Turner believes represent ghostly beings and spirits.
The term "orb" is the popular name given to anomalies that appear in photographs or video, and are thought by some to be paranormal phenomenon.
Others believe orbs are little more than flash reflection from dust particles.
On the second floor of Old Government House, just to the right of the top of the staircase, is an anonymous-looking door with a glass feature panel. Inside is a steep, wooden staircase that leads to the attic.
A member of staff from QUT, who accompanied us on the tour, said that the door was frequently found to be locked from the inside.
Staff had to remove a panel of glass so the door could be unlocked.
On the day of our visit the door had again been locked from the inside. There is no secondary access to this room.
Just around the corner is a large room that was once the home's day nursery. As we rounded a dark and musky corridor, the door to the room blew open.
Inside, the three doors that led out onto the balcony were open and blowing wildly in the wind.
"These are supposed to be locked," our guide remarked. She bolted them closed before we moved on to the next room.
A few minutes later, I returned to the room to take some more photographs. Despite being locked a moment earlier, the three doors to the balcony were again open and blowing in the wind.
The echo of slamming doors throughout the house was common as we made our way from room to room although it must be said that it was a particularly windy day.
Yet Ms Turner said she could often feel a "presence" in what is thought to be the Governor's bedroom and the day nursery.
She believes the spirit of a young girl named Wendy inhabits the house. Historical records detailing the house's early residents are largely unavailable, so it may never be known if a little girl named Wendy once lived here.
- City Hall
- King George Sqaure
- Brisbane
Several stories of deaths at City Hall circulate, spanning the eras before and after construction of the impressive structure.
During the building's construction workmen were said to have died while placing the foundations, which were on top of a former swamp.
It is also said that the area was once a significant Aboriginal site - either a meeting place or camp ground.
There was a story told of a little girl who fell to her death near the entrance to the elevator that takes current visitors to the top of the bell tower.
Another story claims an American soldier was stabbed to death during the war after a fight over an Australian girl turned ugly.
Staff are said to have reported the sounds of an argument from the Red Cross Tea Room.
A caretaker is also said to have taken his life in room 203 on the third floor sometime during the 1940s.
While visiting, Ms Turner asked staff in the concert hall if they had ever experienced anything out of the ordinary.
One man said that a colleague was working in the spot light box at the top of the hall one evening when he heard a knock at the door.
He went to greet the visitor, only to find no one there. He returned to his work when the knock came again a short time later.
He again found no one at the door. Suspecting a group of children were to blame, he waited by the closed door for the knock to come again.
When it did, he flung the door open and charged out, only to find an empty hallway.
Ms Turner took a number of photographs of the concert hall during out visit and later noticed an orb on the photograph.
She showed me another she had taken months earlier that showed a similar-sized orb floating in the air of the hall.
- Nudgee Cemetery
- Bora Ring
- Nudgee
It's hardly surprising that a paranormal enthusiast would find a cemetery interesting, but Ms Turner describes Nudgee's resting place as "cold, dark and uninviting".
She has taken a number of photographs that show strange streaks of light and orbs in the dead of night.
The section of the cemetery where a priest and nuns are buried even holds a level of eeriness, especially at night, she said.
Just down the road at the back of a sports field is Nudgee's very own bora ring.
Bora is the name given both to an Aboriginal initiation ceremony and the land on which it was performed.
It is here that young boys were transformed into men, with ceremonies varying from culture to culture.
Bora rings are circles of hardened earth surrounded by raised embankments, and are generally found in pairs.
Ms Turner finds the ring to be relaxing and peaceful, and captured a strange white light at the bottom of a photograph.
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