Haunted Locations

Awesome Friday, everyone! *waves* My topic today is haunted locations. Before I get to that, I have a personal experience I wanted to share first before I delve into my topic. My best friend’s mother passed away this past Sunday. It was sudden and this time last week, she was babysitting my friend’s children. I went to my friend’s home on Tuesday to help her go through a box of documents left by her mother and grandmother. We were in search of life insurance policies. The computer, cow box was full of bills dating back to the 1930s and straight through to her grandmother’s time of death in 2004. It was fascinating to look at the rate of inflation for a vehicle from 1939 to today; $300 was the amount of the new Chevrolet Sedan her grandmother purchased. But, I veer off course. We even found her grandfather’s original social security card where his name and number were etched into a metal card. It was awesome to see the difference between then and now. And again, I veer off course.

We didn’t find the insurance policies. So, giving up, we left her home to eat lunch. When we returned, her door mat had a section torn off of it in the design of a cross on her stoop. It wasn’t there when we left as I have a tendency to watch my feet when descending stairs. It’s a habit after falling on a flight of stairs and injuring myself in my teenage years. Upon spying this cross, I immediately insisted that it was a sign from her mother, saying everything was okay. Later, we found a folder of documents titled “Bev’s stuff” located on the table near the box of stuff we had gone through. That folder was NOT present when we went through those documents in the box. We spent several hours in the same spot, only for the folder to appear after we left and returned. No one else was present but the two of us.

You can think I’m crazy, but I don’t care. To me the cross was like a calling card from Bev, saying she was taking care of her daughter, the important insurance folder had been located and placed in a visible location. It was a strange, somewhat eerie moment for us both. Even stranger still, as we left for lunch my friend asked me if I had felt a presence with us while searching through the box.

Okay, now on to my topic….

The Winchester Mystery House

This home was built by Sarah Winchester, who was the sole heir to the Winchester rifle fortune after her daughter and husband’s death. Sarah consulted a medium and was told that her family was cursed because of the people who had died as a result of the Winchester gun. Through this seance, Sarah's husband, John, told her that the only way she could break this curse was if she moved to California and began to build a home for the spirits. There was one strange catch, however. If she ever stopped building on the house, the curse would reappear and take her life.

Sarah did exactly as instructed by her husband, building an oddly designed home where doors joined to windows and the number 13 prevailed. There were staircases with 13 steps, but they would lead to the ceiling and nowhere else. The thirteenth bathroom had 13 windows, while the kitchen sink had 13 drain holes. Most of the windows had 13 panes of glass, while there were 13 cupolas in the greenhouse and the walls had 13 panes as well. Aside from her fascination with the number thirteen, doors opened onto brick walls or dropped off to the landscaping below. Needless to say, Sarah Winchester's mental stability was in question.

There is haunting evidence of pages in books turning by themselves, organs playing when no one is present, doors banging, spots of light, cold spots, voices and fog-like sightings of people.

I’ve seen a documentary on television about this house, and “oddly designed” is putting it mildly. Fascinating story. It was said she had a seance room and she would hold seances there at will. Maybe by doing so she was inviting spirits the freedom to come into this realm at will. What do you think?

The Alcatraz Hauntings

Once home to some of the worst criminals, it is also rumored to be haunted. Moreover, it is rumored that the Native Americans believe it is a portal where malevolent spirits are permitted to enter into this world. There were reports of “The Thing” that had glowing eyes, witnessed by inmates and staff. There were further reports of shrieks, banging metal doors, rancid smells, weeping and ghostly figures.

Alcatraz was sometimes called “Hellcatraz” because it was sometimes the last stop before entering Hell. Death was a common occurrence at Alcatraz, from prisoner-on-prisoner murder, to guard beatings, and failed escape attempts. The first reported death was in 1857, wherein Daniel Pewter and Jacob Unger were excavating between the guard-house and wharf and were buried beneath a landslide.

It is believed that ghosts are caused by a life cut too short, typically in some traumatic way or because of some unsolved business. Alcatraz would certainly qualify for this type of residual afterlife.

There is still an unexplained event that transpired in the wee hours of the isolation block of Alcatraz, which was known as “The Hole” or the “Strip Cells”. It was located at the bottom of the prison, Cell Block D, and the most serious offenders of Alcatraz’s rules were kept here. As a punishment, they would be stripped of their clothing, held in a cold cell with a mattress that was removed each morning and given only the basic necessities, sink, lavatory and a small light. It was reported by guards that a figure from the 1800's haunted Cell Block D. The apparition was seen repeatedly and inmates asserted that they had been assaulted by a man with glowing eyes.

One evening, a prisoner shrieked throughout the night that the man with glowing eyes was assaulting him. Finally he fell silent. When his cell door was opened the next morning, he was found dead, a grimace marring his face and handprints on his neck. It was determined that the handprints were not self-inflicted. Whether this inmate died at the hands of “The Thing” with the glowing eyes or by an irate guard no one knows. It is believed that the murdered inmate became a ghost of Alcatraz. It was reported that this man showed up in a line-up with other inmates and then immediately dissipated to the astonishment of everyone in attendance.

Cold spots, along with impulsive emotional outbursts, apparitions alleging cruelty, vibrations and innumerable other ghostly traces have been reported by numerous psychics. These areas of ghostly encounters range from the hospital, Cell Blocks C and D, the Warden’s House, the therapy room, the lighthouse and the utility rooms.

If Alcatraz is indeed haunted to this extraordinary extent, one can only imagine the horrific atrocities committed against mankind there in order to create such a ghostly vortex. Tell me what do you think?

These are only two of the haunted places I researched. There are so many out there that if you are interested in this topic, I would encourage you to research it. It’s there free for your viewing on the world wide web. Share with us your haunted research or experiences.

Wish my boys luck as they are going to a karate tournment tomorrow! Have a great weekend everyone! *waves*

P.S. If you get a chance, don't forget to check out my post entitled Nominated for Night Owl Romance's Best Erotic Paranormal Romance where Terry Spear and I were nominated for Awards!!!