Ghost Stories

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 h...

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