I've gathered these little tidbits from around the globe. Enjoy!
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| Photo by Glen Bowman |
Northumberland, England.
Chillingham Castle is a 13th-century castle reputed to be the most haunted place in the world. The most famous ghost in the castle was the "Radiant Boy" who used to haunt the Pink Room. His cries would emanate from a spot near where a passage was (later) found. As his cries faded away, a bright halo of light appeared, followed by the figure of a young boy dressed in blue. During some renovation work, they found the bones of a young child behind the wall, wrapped in decaying fragments of blue cloth. The child was given a proper burial and the hauntings ceased.
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| Used by Permission via Mr. Harman |
Chicago, Illinois
There are many hitchhiker ghosts reported across the USA. The most famous resides near Resurrection Cemetery on Chicago's Southside. Since the 1930s, many have reported picking up the blonde, blue-eyed young woman dressed in a white party dress. Once the driver reaches the cemetery, the young woman asks to be let out and then disappears. She is thought to be the spirit of Mary Bregovy, who died in a 1934 auto accident in the Chicago Loop, or possibly Anna Norkus, who died in a 1927 auto accident while on her way home from the Oh Henry Ballroom.
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| Used by Permission via McKarri |
Oceans of Europe, Asia, and Africa
The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ghost ship doomed to sail the oceans forever, unable to make port. The myth likely originated from the 17th-century golden age of the Dutch East India Company. The ship and its crew became eternally cursed when its Dutch captain refused to take safe harbor during a storm despite pleas from the crew and passengers. Instead, the captain challenged God to take them down. There are many sightings and literary references to this ship. If hailed by another ship, the crew of the Flying Dutchman will try to send messages to land, or to people long dead. In ocean lore, the sight of this phantom ship is a bad omen.
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| Blackbeard's Flag Used by Permission via Fred the Oyster |
Oracoke Island, North Carolina
Ocracoke Island is an inlet off the coast of North Carolina. The inlet is reported to be the favored spot where Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, anchored ship. It's also said to be where he met his end. Some say his ghost haunts the spot to this day. On moonlit nights, people have reported that the ghost of Blackbeard (Edward Teach) can be seen swimming around Ocracoke Island cove where he died. It was rumored that after being shot and stabbed repeatedly, his headless body swam three times around the boat before it finally sunk. Many people report seeing a strange light moving beneath the waters of the cove. This ghostly light is thought to be Blackbeard's spirit searching for his missing head.
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| Eleonore Zugun (right) Used by Permission via Unbekannt, Wien |
Teleorman County, Romania
In 1926, Eleonore Zugun, an illiterate 13-year-old Romanian peasant girl, suffered spontaneous attacks of poltergeist activity and stigmata. Fearing she was possessed by the devil, the villagers locked her away in an asylum. She was brought to London for a series of experiments at the National Laboratory of Psychical Research. Conclusions were made that the stigmatic markings (ranging from a whip, scratch or teeth bitemarks) were spontaneous and she was not consciously responsible for the production of the marks. According to the report, she could also move small objects without physical contact. There were over 1,070 recorded instances of either stigmata or poltergeist activity. The activity soon diminished and by 1928, Eleonore returned to Romania where she later married and was said to have lived a “normal life”.
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| Used by Permission via KatyaMSL |
La Llorona ("The Weeping Woman")
Mexico
The story tells of a woman by the name of Maria who drowned her children in order to be with the man she loved. The man would not have her, and she ended up drowning herself in a river in Mexico City. Maria was not permitted to enter the afterlife until she found her children. Trapped between the living and spirit world, she wanders the Earth for all eternity. Her constant weeping as she searches for her children has earned her the name "La Llorona."
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| Portrait of Lady Dorothy Walpole by Charles Jervas, circa 1805 Public Domain |
The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall
Norfolk, England
Said to be the ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole (1686–1726). She became one of the most famous hauntings in Great Britain when photographers from Country Life magazine claimed to have captured her image in 1936. Lady Dorothy Walpole was the second wife of Charles Townshend, who was notorious for his violent temper. The story says when Townshend discovered that his wife had committed adultery, he punished her by locking her in her room. She remained at Raynham Hall until her death in 1726 from smallpox.
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