Ghost Stories

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Ghost Stories!

On Christmas Day, most celebrate with presents, stockings and Christmas trees and traditionally believe the naughty kids receive lumps of coal for all the trouble they caused throughout the year. However, there are those who believe Santa Claus turns to a much darker character to dish out the punishment. Krampus is known throughout the world but mostly in Alpine regions like Austria and Hungary as a beast-like creature who enjoys punishing naughty children. Descriptions of Krampus vary but he is mostly known to be devil-like. He is covered in brown or black hair with cloven hooves, long horns and a pointed tongue. He has also been described as a sinister gentleman in black or a man beast. He is known to swat at bad children with switches and chains and carry them away in baskets and bags. His origins dates back to pre-Christian Germanic traditions, sharing characteristics with the satyrs of Greek mythology. Despite efforts to rid the world of this creature, Krampus figures continue

Villisca, Iowa was a close community in Iowa but everything changed on June 10, 1912 when the bodies of eight people were discovered. The Josiah B. Moore family and two overnight guests were founded murdered in their beds. Over 90 years later, the murders still remain unsolved. What happened? All is known is that Sarah and Josiah B. Moore, their four kids Herman, Catherine, Boyd and Paul and two of their two friends Lena and Ina Stillinger walked home after a children's program at their Presbyterian Church at around 9:30 pm. The next day, a concerned neighbor Mary Peckham noticed the family was strangely quiet most of the day. She didn't see Moore leave for work. Sarah wasn't cooking breakfast or doing chores. No sounds of their children running and playing. She examined the house, looking for signs of life prior to calling Josiah B.'s brother, Ross. When he arrived, he unlocked the door with his set of keys and along with Mary, began searching for the family. When

Many cemeteries have their own "rock star" that draws in visitors and Dick Duck is no different. Dick Duck Cemetery in Catoosa, Oklahoma was already being used as a cemetery when Richard "Dick" Duck donated it in the early 1830s. However, people don't come to see Richard. It's a different "Duck" that lures them in. Bluford "Blue" Duck (no relation to Richard) was born in Cherokee Nation and an outlaw who participated in stage hold-ups and rustlings. On the long list of famous outlaws, his name didn't rank high. However, stories have circulated that Blue not only knew female outlaw Belle Starr but had an affair with her prior to her marriage to Sam Starr. Only a single photograph is proof the two knew each other which may have helped him later on in his life. Also, Larry McMurty used Blue as inspiration for his book Lonesome Dove. Blue, also known by his Cherokee name Sha-con-gah Kaw-wan-nu, got drunk on the night of June 23, 1884

I’ve written about Robert the doll and the Island of Dolls in the past. Today’s entry is about one located in the Quesnel Museum in British Columbia, Canada. Mandy is an antique porcelain doll over 90 years old with a ripped body, cracked head and wearing dirty clothing and was supposedly made in Germany or England around 1910 or 1920. She was donated to the museum in 1991 by a lady named Mereanda. What makes her so unusual is the powers some say she possesses. Her previous owner related to the museum all the strange things she is supposedly capable of. The donor would wake up to the sounds of a crying baby in the basement. Upon inspection, she found an open window and no baby. After Mandy was donated to the museum, the crying stopped. However, the museum staff and volunteers problems were just beginning. Lunches would mysteriously disappear from the refrigerator and be found in a drawer later. Objects such as pens, books and pictures would go missing. Some would turn up later. Oth

Have a happy and safe Halloween! 

Many flock to the Taj Mahal to lay eyes on one of the most grand romantic gestures a man could do for his wife. In 1877, John Wells Snowball, an English businessman, had a beautiful mansion built for his new bride Lucy Ann Knight, daughter of William Knight who founded Knights Landing. John made his fortune as a merchant (opening the first store in Knights Landing after a previous store burned down), gold miner in 1850, Associate Justice of the Court of Sessions and land investor, He married Lucy in 1853 and their fairy tale life began. Unfortunately, their blessed existence would meet with tragedy. One night, Lucy discovered her child not breathing. It had died of unknown causes. Lucy fell into a deep depression. Despite living well into her 70s, she never recovered from the lost of her child. John died on February 6, 1906. The mansion remained in the Snowball family until 1944. The Fuhring family converted the Snowball Mansion into a Bed & Breakfast. For $145, you stayed in o

I don't often get an opportunity to write about a haunted location in my hometown of Texarkana, Texas, but I'm happy to introduce you to The Perot Theater. Originally the Saenger Theatre, it was built in 1924 and was designed by Emil Weil. It came with a price tag of $300,000, taking 17 months to complete. The Saenger officially opened its doors on November 18, 1924; the first production was “Foot Loose”, starring Margaret Anglin and William Faversham. Over a 15 year span, the grand Italian Renaissance building hosted many performers including John Drew Barrymore, Will Rogers, Annie Oakley and Douglas Fairbanks. The plays and silent movies attracted many patrons until 1931 when it was purchased by the Paramount-Public Corp and renamed as the “Paramount”. It offered many premieres including  "Papa's Delicate Condition," with Jackie Gleason, "The Legend of Boggy Creek," and Charles Pierce's "Bootlegger." During World War II, Orson Welles

Corpse roads were a means of transporting corpses from remote communities to cemeteries in parts of Europe. Many such roads have disappeared. In spirit lore, spirits, phantasms, wraiths, and fairies traveled the land along special routes. These such routes were believed to be straight and have something in common with ley lines. Mazes and labyrinths would hinder their movements. Spirits would fly along a direct course close to the ground. Any obstructions such as buildings, fences and walls were kept clear to avoid them. The roads would begin or end at cemeteries and thus believed to have similar characteristics to allow ghosts to thrive. Corpses traveled along defined corpse roads to avoid their spirits returning to haunt the living. It was a widespread custom that the feet of the corpse be kept pointing away from the family home on its way to the cemetery. It was believed spirits could not cross running water. Often, corpses were taken over bridges in route to their burial. Other

One of Wisconsin's most haunted places is located on the shores of West Bay Lake. A grand mansion known as Lamont Mansion and later Summerwind once stood on this piece of land but is now long gone. However, the ghost stories and legends still remains. It was a fishing lodge before Robert P. Lamont converted it in to a mansion in 1916 to be a summer home for him and his family. He and his family remained on the property for 15 years before suddenly abandoning the home in the 1930s. Legend goes his maids informed Lamont of the property being haunted. He didn't believe them until one day while eating dessert with his wife in the kitchen when the basement door swung open and an apparition of a man appeared. The door slammed shut when Lamont pulled out a pistol and fired two shots. Then he fled the residence with his wife. After Lamont's death, the house was sold. During the 1940s, the Keefer family purchased the mansion. They maintained the property but never lived in the h

California State Historic Landmark #65 also known as The Whaley House is one of the most important historical homes in San Diego. The house has been transformed into many different businesses including a ballroom, school, polling place and even Thomas Whaley's General store. The Whaley House, at one time, was also the Country Court House and San Diego's first commercial theater. Since 1960, the house is now a museum. It is safe to say that The Whaley House has been the home for many things including tragedy. The Travel Channel's America's Most Haunted had dubbed the house the number one most haunted house in the United States. Of course, America's Most Haunted isn't the only television program the Whaley House has been featured on and probably won't be the last. It's history of hangings, violent death and the seizure of court documents is enough to make someone interested in it, for paranormal reasons or not. Is it haunted? No one can say for sure but

Ever been to a cement bridge known as Darr Bridge in Nebraska? Located off of I-80 between Cozad and Lexington, many visitors have reported ghostly encounters. There is a story of an old Pioneer covered wagon crashing off the bridge in to the river below. A woman and her baby boy did not survive the accident. With such an alleged tragedy, a haunting is born. Supposedly, if you travel over the bridge at midnight during a foggy winter's night, you may see her. She will not appear in front of you. She is always seen from the rear view mirror either in a covered wagon or searching for her dead son. I warn you though. If you want to visit the bridge but don't live near the area, you may want to reconsider. All those who go to Darr Bridge, there is not guarantee you will see this female spirit. You may drive a long way just to go home with nothing. Sources: Strange USA Unexplainable.net Hauntin.gs (this site has photos)

I would like to share an experience I had in August 2013. Photo provided by Donald Ray I accompanied my son and a group of Scout age boys and couple of their parents on an overnight camp on Newcastle Island off the Coast of British Columbia. We had read how Newcastle Island is a hot spot for paranormal activity so we thought this would be a fun experience. One of the boys brought along an EMF ghost meter. One of the youth had seen a found footage movie that he believed to be true, about a group of college students filming a documentary about the paranormal happenings on Newcastle Island back in 2007. Apparently they were searching for the ghost of the notorious axe murderer, Kanaka Pete who was hung then buried in an unmarked grave on the far side of Newcastle Island near Kanaka Bay. The college students went missing that night, their video tape was later found and shortly afterwards severed feet in running shoes were discovered along the shoreline.  This is all true as I had s

Where the Armstrong Road meets the train tracks in Columbus, Mississippi, there is a story about a young woman who committed suicide. Supposedly, her husband died by accident due to a train on his way home from the war. Grieving over her lost, she stood in front of an oncoming train and died. They say if you stop your car on the tracks and honk your horn, you can see a light in the distance. It's allegedly a lantern being used by the spirit of the woman looking for her husband. However, there are some reasonable explanations for the presence of the light. It could be a streetlamp partially obscurred by trees or the headlights of a car crossing over further down the tracks. Either way, I don't recommend attempting to test this for safety purposes. Sources: Strangeusa Hauntedplaces.org

I appologize for the lack of posts lately. I have been without a computer for the past month. I'm in the process of researching new topics and will have something posted soon. In the meantime, you can leave a comment with a personal paranormal experience or submit your story via the new submission form to be published here at a later date. Thanks for your patience. Have a great day!

Seth Bullock traveled from Montana to Deadwood, South Dakota in 1876 with his partner Sol Star. They bought a piece of property where the Bullock Hotel stands today and built a hardware store and warehouse. The selling of goods was not the only service they provided Deadwood. With Star at his side, Bullock was appointed the town's first sheriff and put an end to barroom brawls, gunfights and murder. Unfortunately, his success would hit a few road blocks. In 1879, his hardware store suffered and survived a devastating fire. However, the second one in 1894 would claim the store, leaving Bullock with only the brick warehouse. He could have rebuilt the business but instead decided to provide Deadwood with a luxury hotel. When the Italianate style building was completed in 1896, it was equipped with a restaurant, lobby with red velvet carpeting, offices, sample room for salesmen, brass chandeliers, Steinway grand piano, 63 furnished rooms with skylights, bathrooms, library and parlor.