rockin'robin
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For those who love a good scare, sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories is typically the closest they'll ever get to the spirit world. But what about the real-life ghost stories?
All over the world, there are haunted houses -- the real kind -- where generations of people have documented the same creepy, inexplicable happenings.
The infamous Chelsea Hotel in New York City is one of the area's spookiest landmarks. Built in 1884, the hotel has been home to many notable writers, musicians and artists over the years. Even though many of its most famous occupants have since died, visitors claim to have spotted the apparitions of Dylan Thomas, Eugene O'Neil and Thomas Wolfe. Perhaps its most famous haunted spirit, however, is former Sex Pistols lead singer Sid Vicious, who reportedly lingers in the elevator.
The Winchester Mystery House is a 160-room Victorian mansion brimming with bizarre architectural features and a very eerie origin. With features such as secret passageways, labyrinth-like winding hallways and a seance room, this eccentric house is rumored to have been built for spirits themselves. It is said that after Sarah Winchester lost her child and husband, she built this mansion to accommodate spirits because she was so affected by departed souls. Some proof of this theory is the fact that there were only three mirrors in the house -- and legend has it spirits hate mirrors because their reflection causes them to vanish.
In 1974, six members of the DeFeo family were found slain in this home in Amityville, N.Y. Eldest son Ronald DeFeo Jr. was later convicted of murdering his parents and siblings. A year later, the Lutz family moved in but quickly moved out after reports of unexplained paranormal activity -- strange odors, unexplained cold drafts, levitating several feet off the bed and an apparition that took the form of a demonic pig-like creature. The terrifying account of their experience became the basis of the "Amityville Horror" franchise.
The town of Cassadaga, Fla., is famous worldwide for its spiritualist community and paranormal activity. Established in 1894, Cassadaga has long been recognized for having one of the biggest geomagnetic vortexes -- and for the inexplicable blue glow that halos the area.
The Cassadaga Hotel sits at the center of this spooky small town, which is otherwise dotted with old cottages that are home to the many mediums, psychics and other spiritualists who live there. The hotel, which houses a number of spirits, also features a very powerful energy vortex that even skeptics have admitted to sensing.
For years there have been reports that the White House is a hotbed of haunted activity. Visitors, staff and even White House residents have reported seeing the ghosts of Abraham Lincoln, Abigail Adams and Andrew Jackson, to name a few. FDR, Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill are among those who have claimed to have seen the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.
But more recently, Michelle Obama has backed up this haunting theory. In April 2009, during a visit from a group of schoolchildren, Mrs. Obama detailed some eerie activity she and President Barack Obama had experienced the previous night. According to her, they were awoken by strange sounds in the hall -- and it wasn't the first time. The Obamas claim to have repeatedly heard strange things and felt a strange sensation that seemed as if someone was gnawing at their feet in the middle of the night.
Touted as "one of the most haunted houses in America," the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, La., is one of the creepiest places in the South. Allegedly built on a Native American burial ground, the plantation has seen the likes of far too much tragedy. Legend has it that since the house was built in 1797, there have been dozens of deaths -- many untimely deaths of young children -- caused by illness, poisoning and murder.
Visitors and former residents have claimed to have witnessed many strange occurrences: disappearing jewelry; waking to find themselves completely tucked into their beds; furniture that moves on its own; a grand piano that plays by itself; mysterious hand prints and reflections in one supposedly haunted mirror; and objects and people appearing and disappearing randomly in photographs.
Once home to wealthy sea captain Joshua Ward, the Joshua Ward House is Salem, Mass., built in 1784, was originally owned by George Corwin, the High Sheriff during the Salem Witch Trials. For many years, Corwin's remains were housed in the basement, though they eventually were moved to a nearby cemetery. Rumor has it that Corwin's spirit still haunts the house.
Over the years, people have claimed to have seen objects moving on their own, candles mysteriously removed from their holders and bent into "S" shapes, and the security alarm being set off dozens of times untriggered. And many have said they've seen a ghostly woman with tangled black hair roaming the halls, who is believed to be the woman Corwin accused of being a witch and sentenced to death.
America's Scariest Homes: Real-Life Haunted Houses : HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate
All over the world, there are haunted houses -- the real kind -- where generations of people have documented the same creepy, inexplicable happenings.
The infamous Chelsea Hotel in New York City is one of the area's spookiest landmarks. Built in 1884, the hotel has been home to many notable writers, musicians and artists over the years. Even though many of its most famous occupants have since died, visitors claim to have spotted the apparitions of Dylan Thomas, Eugene O'Neil and Thomas Wolfe. Perhaps its most famous haunted spirit, however, is former Sex Pistols lead singer Sid Vicious, who reportedly lingers in the elevator.
The Winchester Mystery House is a 160-room Victorian mansion brimming with bizarre architectural features and a very eerie origin. With features such as secret passageways, labyrinth-like winding hallways and a seance room, this eccentric house is rumored to have been built for spirits themselves. It is said that after Sarah Winchester lost her child and husband, she built this mansion to accommodate spirits because she was so affected by departed souls. Some proof of this theory is the fact that there were only three mirrors in the house -- and legend has it spirits hate mirrors because their reflection causes them to vanish.
In 1974, six members of the DeFeo family were found slain in this home in Amityville, N.Y. Eldest son Ronald DeFeo Jr. was later convicted of murdering his parents and siblings. A year later, the Lutz family moved in but quickly moved out after reports of unexplained paranormal activity -- strange odors, unexplained cold drafts, levitating several feet off the bed and an apparition that took the form of a demonic pig-like creature. The terrifying account of their experience became the basis of the "Amityville Horror" franchise.
The town of Cassadaga, Fla., is famous worldwide for its spiritualist community and paranormal activity. Established in 1894, Cassadaga has long been recognized for having one of the biggest geomagnetic vortexes -- and for the inexplicable blue glow that halos the area.
The Cassadaga Hotel sits at the center of this spooky small town, which is otherwise dotted with old cottages that are home to the many mediums, psychics and other spiritualists who live there. The hotel, which houses a number of spirits, also features a very powerful energy vortex that even skeptics have admitted to sensing.
For years there have been reports that the White House is a hotbed of haunted activity. Visitors, staff and even White House residents have reported seeing the ghosts of Abraham Lincoln, Abigail Adams and Andrew Jackson, to name a few. FDR, Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill are among those who have claimed to have seen the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.
But more recently, Michelle Obama has backed up this haunting theory. In April 2009, during a visit from a group of schoolchildren, Mrs. Obama detailed some eerie activity she and President Barack Obama had experienced the previous night. According to her, they were awoken by strange sounds in the hall -- and it wasn't the first time. The Obamas claim to have repeatedly heard strange things and felt a strange sensation that seemed as if someone was gnawing at their feet in the middle of the night.
Touted as "one of the most haunted houses in America," the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, La., is one of the creepiest places in the South. Allegedly built on a Native American burial ground, the plantation has seen the likes of far too much tragedy. Legend has it that since the house was built in 1797, there have been dozens of deaths -- many untimely deaths of young children -- caused by illness, poisoning and murder.
Visitors and former residents have claimed to have witnessed many strange occurrences: disappearing jewelry; waking to find themselves completely tucked into their beds; furniture that moves on its own; a grand piano that plays by itself; mysterious hand prints and reflections in one supposedly haunted mirror; and objects and people appearing and disappearing randomly in photographs.
Once home to wealthy sea captain Joshua Ward, the Joshua Ward House is Salem, Mass., built in 1784, was originally owned by George Corwin, the High Sheriff during the Salem Witch Trials. For many years, Corwin's remains were housed in the basement, though they eventually were moved to a nearby cemetery. Rumor has it that Corwin's spirit still haunts the house.
Over the years, people have claimed to have seen objects moving on their own, candles mysteriously removed from their holders and bent into "S" shapes, and the security alarm being set off dozens of times untriggered. And many have said they've seen a ghostly woman with tangled black hair roaming the halls, who is believed to be the woman Corwin accused of being a witch and sentenced to death.
America's Scariest Homes: Real-Life Haunted Houses : HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate
