The Amityville Horror, although now considered a hoax, is one of the most well-known "hauntings" of all time. The house in Amityville, New York was made famous in the mid-70s when George and Kathy Lutz told the media of bizarre happenings which they alleged had taken place at the house during the month they lived there. These happenings included such things as flying demented pigs with glowing red eyes (my personal favorite), walls that oozed blood, an infestation of flies in the attic, and a pit to hell in the basement.
Supposedly, whatever had tormented the Lutzes was also the thing that had driven Ronald DeFeo to gun down his entire family in that house in 1974.
The Lutzes chronicled their experiences in a book authored by Jay Anson. Later the book was made into a movie. Many sequels as well as a remake followed.
The Brown Lady is famous mostly as being one of the most reliably photographed ghost in history. Although she has not been seen since 1936, she is said to wear a long brown dress or cape. No one knows who the Brown Lady is, or how she is connected to Raynham Hall.
The first sighting was reported in 1835 by a house guest, Colonel Loftus. He actually viewed her twice. He said she was wearing a brown satin dress and had only black empty sockets for eyes.
Another sighting was made by Captain Frederick Marryat. He inten- tionally slept in the "haunted room," but instead caught a glimpse of the Brown Lady in an upstairs hallway. His description was the same as Loftus', except this time the Brown Lady was carrying a lantern. Marryat happened to have a gun with him, and fired point-blank at the figure. The bullets, of course, passed right through the ghost.
The ghost was not reported again until 1926, at which time it was viewed by two little boys. In 1936, the famous photograph was taken by photographers Captain Provand and Indre Shira during a shoot for the magazine Country Life. Shira saw the ghost on the stairs, and instructed Provand to take a picture. [Note: In The Encyclopedia of Ghosts, Daniel Cohen notes that this photograph could have been easily faked. It is a fascinating picture nonetheless.]
"The Bell Witch" haunted the Bell home in Tennessee in the early 1800s. The "witch" was actually a poltergeist, which performed annoying acts like throw things around and scream or knock loudly at all hours. John Bell, the father, died during the Bell Witch's tenure. Some claim he was poisoned by the Witch. Betsy Bell, John's daughter, is suspected of having faked the whole thing. Reliable records are lacking, so we'll probably never know whether the Bell Farm was truly haunted.
Interestingly, the Bell Witch story has been merged with the Bloody Mary legend in parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.
Borley Rectory is often called "The most haunted house in England." The site of the rectory originally held a monastery, which was inhabited by Benedictine monks. Subsequent to this, the monastery came under the ownership of the Waldergrave family, who occupied it for three centuries. In the late 1800's a descendant of the Walde- graves, the reverend H.D.E. Bull, built a new rectory on the site of the old monastery. It was not until after the new rectory was built that strange things started to happen.
One of the spectres that was said to roam the grounds was a nun who in the 13th century fell in love with and tried to elope with a monk. According to legend, the nun and monk were caught in their get-away horse and carriage. As punishment, the monk was hung and the nun was walled up alive in the rectory. Some people reported seeing the ghostly form of the horse and carriage in addition to the nun.
The reverend Harry Bull, who died at Borley, also was reputed to have haunted the rectory. He would appear dressed in the grey jacket in which he passed away.
In the late 1920s, the house was owned by a reverend (Lionel A. Foyster) and his wife who reported poltergeist-like phenomena. Supposedly the prankish spirit locked the wife in the bedroom, and other times threw her out of the bed. There were also pebbles thrown at the windows, and mysterious writing which would appear on walls.
Harry Price, a famous ghost hunter, investigated Borley Rectory in 1929, and again in 1937. He supposedly witnessed some of the activity, including the ghostly nun. Although Price spent a great deal of time in the Rectory, his research is generally considered to be biased and therefore flawed.
Borley Rectory after the fire.
Unfortunately, Borley Rectory burned down in 1939, taking its secrets with it. It had recently been purchased by Captain William Hart Gregson, who planned to turn the rectory into a tourist attraction. Some suspected Gregson of arson. In 1945, human remains rumored to be those of the nun were found on the site, and were given a proper burial. But the legend of Borley has not died yet; people still visit the site today to see if they can spot the ghostly nun.
In this picture you can see a brick apparently suspended in mid-air in front of Borley Rectory. The picture was taken by a magazine photographer after the rectory had burned down. He claimed the picture to be genuine, although it is easy to imagine how it could have been faked.
An experience from a reader:
From: "Stuart Lloyd" (stuart.lloyd@coedpoeth78.fsnet.co.uk)
To: obiwan@ghosts.org
Subject: Borley Rectory
Date: Thursday, January 01, 2004 6:50 AM
Hi Obiwan....
I was interested in your articles about Borley Rectory & living in the UK I am of course familiar with the stories of Harry Price & his research on what was to become known as the "Most Haunted House in England". I am Welsh and live in Wales, but my job takes me all over the UK.
Last year I was working in Suffolk, close to the Essex border & I knew that Borley was located close by. However, Borley really is a tiny place, no more than 20 houses and a church. Furthermore, the local authorities have tried to wipe it from the map, no sign posts or direction indicators exist, as both Suffolk & Essex County Councils have removed them to try and prevent visitors. A friend of mine who lives locally told me how to find Borley, and having finished work early one afternoon, I thought I would go and see if I could find it.
As most people are aware, the rectory no longer exists, it having been demolished following a fire at the start of the Second World War. But the church which the rectory served still exists & I knew that the rectory was located directly opposite the church. I eventually found Borley at around 3pm. The road through the village is extremely narrow, and all places where it may be possible to park a car have been banked up by the local authorities to try and prevent people from parking. I drove slowly through the village and past the church, a heavy atmosphere seemed to be present, whether this was my own imagination, knowing the history of the place, or whether it was for real is difficult to say.
I had passed through Borley before I found a place to stop the car. This was on the Bulmer Tye road about 200 yards outside the village. I stopped and got out of the car and looked across at the church and the site of the rectory. The air was very still & it was a beautiful day. I decided to take a photograph of the scene. To steady my hand I leant on the roof of the car & took a couple of pictures. After a short period I decided to carry on back to my destination for the night in Bury St Edmunds.
A week or two later, after arriving home in Wrecsam I had the film developed. On the frame I had taken of the site of the rectory, there was an eerie red patch. The photos either side of this were not affected at all, so light entering the camera can be discounted. I am at a loss to explain what this glow is.... if you would like a copy of the picture I think this could be done.
Best regards
Stuart
Mike Czaplinski (mcc@nsscmail.att.com) writes the following about the ghost of Drury Lane Theatre:
"Drury Lane Theatre. From my fuzzy recollection, the ghost is described at various times as a soft green glow, or a handsome young man. I seem to recall there being an entry on this particular haunting in THE BOOK OF LISTS (circa 1980). According to the entry (again, subject to my faulty memory), during renovation in the late 1970's, they stumbled on a skeleton with the remnants of a grey riding coat with a knife sticking out of its ribs.
The folklore is that whoever sees the ghost is destined for theatrical greatness." [end quote from Mike Czaplinski]
Further details (provided directly from The Book of Lists, Bantam, 1977): The ghost is that of a young man who was murdered in 1780. J. Wentworth Day, a ghost hunter, reported seeing a moving blue light in the theatre in 1939.
More details from a reader:
From: "Alan" (alandp@flash.net)
To: obiwan@netcom.com
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 10:06:20 +6
Subject: The Drury Lane Ghosts
Hello,
I've just been reading the a.f.g-s FAQ, and not long ago I also read a book that had a section on the ghosts at the Drury Lane Theatre. This book is by Daniel Cohen, published 1978, called "The World's Most Famous Ghosts." I think it was meant to be a children's book, (or juvenile, anyway), but I suppose the information is still valid.
First, regarding the ghost of the handsome young man mentioned in the FAQ. In this book he is referred to as the "Man in Grey." He is described as very dignified, dressed in eighteenth-century clothes, with either powdered hair or wig, and wearing or carrying a three-cornered hat. He gets his name from the long grey cloak he wears, and sometimes the hilt of a sword has been seen sticking out of the cloak. He seems to be part of the audience, rather than a ghost of a performer, although people who see him might mistake him for a (living) performer wearing a costume. He is often seen before a play that is going to be a hit, so he's considered an omen of good luck. He never shows up for failures. Someone once offered to exorcise him and was turned down.
Drury Lane was opened during the reign of King Charles II, who loved theatre. In 1948, during the extremely successful run of "Oklahoma," King Charles II and a crowd of his attendants were seen on stage.
Also during the run of "Oklahoma," there was a young American actress named Betty Jo Jones who wasn't doing a very good performance. Then during one scene she felt hands pushing her into a new position, and the invisible hands continued to guide her around the stage during the performance. Her performance got better.
Another young actress named Doreen Duke was trying out for a part in "The King and I." She was very nervous, and during the audition she felt the invisible hands guiding her around. She got the part. A theatre expert named W.J. Macqueen-Pope thinks that this may be the ghost of Joe Grimaldi, who performed often at Drury Lane and gave his farewell performance there. He was always known by other actors to be very helpful.
Another ghost at Drury Lane is described as being tall, thin, and ugly, and is thought to be the ghost of actor Charles Macklin. He had a bad temper, and in 1735 he killed actor Thomas Hallam during an argument. Macklin was charged with manslaughter but never punished, and finally died at the ripe old age of 107. The ghost wasn't seen until after his death.
A comedian named Stanley Lupino was putting on his makeup when he looked up and saw another face reflected in the mirror beside his own. It was the face of Dan Leno, another comedian who had died recently. Lupino later learned he was using Leno's favorite dressing room.
W.J. Macqueen-Pope got a letter from a woman who said she had seen what must have been a ghost intently watching the play that was being performed. It was a man wearing old-fashioned clothes sitting at the end of the row where she was. When the lights went up, the man was gone, though to get out he would have had to walk right past her, and he hadn't. Later when she was looking through a book of old theatre pictures she saw his picture. It was Charles Kean, an actor of the nineteenth century.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Alan Peschke
alandp@flash.net
The Tower of London has a long and bloody history, and of course many ghostly legends are associated with the Tower. In 1483, two young princes were murdered in the Tower, and their ghosts were reported to have haunted the tower until the year 1674, when their bones were found and buried in a proper ceremony.
The most famous and most often reported ghost in the Tower is Anne Boleyn. She was beheaded by her husband, Henry VIII, in 1536. Other Tower ghosts include Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes, and even the apparition of a bear. In 1816, a palace guard who was on duty spied the bear. Not realizing he was facing an apparition, the guard attempted to lunge at the creature with his bayonet. The guard repor- tedly later died of shock.
In 1864, a soldier saw a ghost and again attempted to use his bayonet. The soldier fainted when he realized his antagonist was a ghost, and was later court-martialed for neglecting his duties (hard to guard the castle when you're fainted dead away). However, the charges against the soldier were dropped when two witnesses came forward to support the soldier's ghost story.
The Winchester Mansion, in San Jose, California, was built by Sara Winchester, the widow of William Winchester. Sara visited a psychic who told her that she must build a house large enough to house the souls of all those who'd been killed by Winchester guns, and Sara spent the remaining 36 years of her life (until she died in 1922) doing just that.
The mansion's construction is just as odd as Sara's personality. There are stairways and doors that go nowhere, secret rooms and passages, and elevators that only go up one floor. Some believe that Sara had the house built in a confusing way so that the sprits wouldn't be able to find her and seek revenge. The number 13 is prevalent throughout: 13 bathrooms, stairways with 13 steps, and so on.
There is a rumor that Sara would never give her workmen the day off, because she was afraid that the day she stopped building she would die. One day, however, after many complaints, she finally gave her staff a day off, and that is the day she died.
Contributed by Matthew Hucke (hucke@mcs.com):
In Christ Church cemetery on the island of Barbados there is a burial vault of unknown origin. The earliest records call it the "Chase vault". It was first used for the burial of a Mrs. Goddard in 1807, followed by two-year-old Mary Ann Chase in 1808 and her sister Dorcas in 1812, a probable suicide. A few weeks later, Dorcas' father Thomas Chase died. When the vault was opened, all the coffins had been moved from their original places. It was thought that thieves had been in the vault, but the concrete seal of the tomb was still in place.
Two more burials were made in 1816. In both cases, when the vault was opened, the coffins already present had been moved about. The casket of Thomas Chase was of lead, weighing 240 pounds, far too large to be moved by a single vandal. In each of these burials, the wor- kers returned the coffins to their proper places and sealed the mauso- leum with cement.
It happened again in 1819. This time, the Governor sprinkled sand on the floor (to show footprints), and pressed his personal seal into the fresh cement. In 1820 the tomb was opened again, and the coffins were again out of place, even though no footprints showed and the concrete seal was undisturbed. The governor ordered the coffins removed and the vault left open; the mystery has never been solved.
[ information taken from Daniel Cohen's _The Encyclopedia of Ghosts_, Avon Books 1984.]
Ghostly goodies!
