[jiffy]

A good spooky story is one that makes us question the things we know, one that draws us in. There’s something entertaining about a good scare, and that’s why we love horror movies : the “ jump scares” , the strange happenings in the basement of a haunted house that convince us to never go somewhere alone. There are towns and buildings all over the world that are haunted by ghosts. Whether it’s an old woman in a long white dress, a little girl who likes to giggle and run down the hallways, or an angry old man seeking revenge–there’s always something…or someone.

[GeorgeH]

The Crescent Hotel is considered to be America’s most haunted hotel, based on the story of Norman Baker, a medical fraud who bought the hotel and turned it into a hospital to treat patients after he claimed to have had the cure to cancer. When his patients died under his care, he buried their bodies in the basement as a makeshift morgue.

[gemmaljh]

Salem, Massachusetts is legendary for its history of the witch trials and other spooky entities. The Turner-Ingersoll Mansion is known as the House of the Seven Gables , and it has had a number of ghostly reports. Because the house is now a museum quite popular around Halloween, visitors have seen some spooky, unsettling things: a man climbing up and down the secret staircase, a little boy who giggles and runs around the attic, and even Susannah Ingersoll, the cousin of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the author of the novel The House of the Seven Gables. One visitor heard a woman’s voice in his ear whispering “shhh”, and when he turned around expecting to see his girlfriend, no one was there. here

[canadaduane]

In the first century A.D., the great Roman author and statesman Pliny the Younger recorded one of the first notable ghost stories in his letters, which became famous for their vivid account of life during the heyday of the Roman Empire. Pliny reported that the specter of an old man with a long beard, rattling chains, was haunting his house in Athens. The Greek writer Lucian and Pliny’s fellow Roman Plautus also wrote memorable ghost stories. more

[LuciferUA]

Another particularly active center for paranormal activity is the HMS Queen Mary, a cruise ship built in 1936 for the Cunard-White Star Line. After serving in the British Royal Navy in World War II, the 81,000-ton ship retired in Long Beach, California in 1967; the plan was to turn it into a floating luxury hotel and resort. Since then, the Queen Mary has become notorious for its spectral presences, with more than 50 ghosts reported over the years. The ship’s last chief engineer, John Smith, reported hearing unexplained sounds and voices from the area near the ship’s bow, in almost the same location as a doomed British aircraft cruiser, the Coracoa, had pierced a hole when it sank after an accidental wartime crash that killed more than 300 sailors aboard. Smith also claimed to have encountered the ghost of Winston Churchill–or at least his spectral cigar smoke–n the prime minister’s old stateroom aboard the ship. Many visitors to the Queen Mary have reported seeing a phantom crewmember in blue overalls walking the decks. Around the ship’s swimming pool, reports have been made of mysterious splashes and ghostly women in old fashioned bathing suits or dresses, along with trails of wet footsteps appearing long after the pool had been drained.

[Metal]

America’s own rich tradition of historical ghosts begins with one of its most illustrious founding fathers: Benjamin Franklin. Beginning in the late 19th century, Franklin’s ghost was seen near the library of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; some reports held that the statue of Franklin in front of the society comes to life and dances in the streets. [links]

[gullungen]

Though many ghost sightings have been reported at the White House in Washington, D.C., over the years, perhaps no political figure has made so frequent an appearance in the afterlife as Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 16th president, who was killed by an assassin’s bullet in April 1865. Lincoln, formerly a lawyer and congresseman from Illinois, is said to have been seen wandering near the old Springfield capitol building, as well as his nearby law offices. At the White House, everyone from first ladies to queens to prime ministers have reported seeing the ghost or feeling the presence of Honest Abe–particularly during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, another president who guided the country through a time of great upheaval and war. [links]

[livingsoulnation]

"Land o' Goshen, what have you got those big eyes fer?" he snapped, thinking the kids were trying to scare him with some crazy mask. [links]

[strella6black]

As the story goes, a powerful but more or less benevolent witch lived alone with a pet razorback hog named Raw Head. The hog was able to walk and talk like a man, because hey, magic. Up until now, it sounds like a Disney musical cartoon, but it only gets edgier and less family-friendly from here. here

[markharry114]

"Land o' Goshen, what have you got that crazy tail fer?"

[Differance]

Which brings us to the story of the Shirime. In this tale, a samurai warrior is walking around Kyoto late one night when he is accosted by some naked pervert, seemingly the dumbest rapist in all of Japan.

[hvac001]

Variations of the theme might replace the Shirime with a snake-necked woman, or a woman without a face, or a chick with a slit mouth, or that thing from Pan's Labyrinth. Basically, give somebody eyes where they wouldn't usually have eyes, and make them chase a samurai around, and you've got a Japanese ghost story. more

[vfdsaq]

"To see your grave," Raw Head rumbled very softly. [links]

[emarques]

"Fast forward a few years later, Halloween 2009, I'm in the car with a friend stopped at a gas station. I'm about to pull out and merge onto a highway when I get a phone call from a random number, so I stop the car but no one answered.

[reverselockup23]

A young man in Lansing, Michigan hears a strange two-toned whistle that seems to come from out of nowhere. Oddly enough, this incident was repeated at random intervals throughout his life, and always left him with a feeling of intense dread. The last time he heard the sound, he managed to take a video of the whistler, though he is still no closer to figuring out who (or what) seems to be watching and following him wherever he goes. [links]

[L29Ah]

"It was the strangest thing I've ever seen. Both my stepmother and I still remember it and talk about it to this day. here

[ritobanb]

You can read the entire story here. [links]

[videodude]

The Hampton Court Palace in Surrey is thought to be one of the most haunted buildings in England. more

[Doozer]

Ever since these two student deaths, anyone who lived in the room reported terribly scary occurrences at all hours of the day and night. Objects flew across the room and smashed against the walls. Students heard voices whispering and even shouting even though no one was there. The door would often open and then slam shut of its own accord. Stranger still, demonic faces kept appearing in the wood grain of the room's door. Although the school replaced the door many times, the tortured, ghoulish faces reappeared every time.