Let's Get Spooky

Halloween is coming. Rather than visit just one state, I thought I would like to go searching for ghosts. There are lots of reportedly haunted places in the United States. I have just a few links below. Most people will prefer to explore the spooks near their homes so you will want to find what is closest to you. A simple search for 

haunted sites with your location will probably yield more than you have time to see. Just be careful not to take any of them home with you...  

Washington D.C. is home to many ghostly sightings. Many people report seeing Abraham Lincoln's spirit in the White House. Winston Churchill, First Lady Grace Coolidge, Theodore Roosevelt, and Maureen Reagan and her husband are among those who claim to have seen this specter. Other ghosts who seem to inhabit the White House are Abraham Lincoln's son Willie who died of typhoid, Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson, and so many more.

Also in Washington D.C. is the ghost of Phillip Barton Key, son of Francis Scott Key. He was having an affair with Theresa Bagioli Sickles who just happened to be the wife of his best friend Daniel Sickles. Daniel shot him in Lafayette Square and he died soon after of his wounds. His ghost is said to wander Lafayette Square near where he was shot.

St John's Episcopal Church has a President's Pew reserved for the president and his family when they attend. The bell for the church was made by The Revere Company founded by Paul Revere's son. When the bell tolls to mark the death of a notable person, six men in ghostly white appear in the President's Pew at midnight and then disappear.

Marie Laveau, Witch Queen of New Orleans, was actually a Voodoo priestess. And she was probably at least 2 people. The original Marie was the mother of number two. Apparently she made huge amounts of money by scaring her followers with her Voodoo powers. A song sung by Bobby Bare pictures her as a man killer in several senses of the term. She is believed to be buried in St Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans. People still bring offerings to her crypt trying to improve their fortunes. Another burial site in St Louis Cemetery #2 is covered in red crosses. It is known as the wishing vault. Young women come to petition Marie for luck when seeking a husband.

Alcatraz was a federal prison for 29 years. In that time some of the most notorious criminals ever were prisoners there. Rehabilitation was not the goal of Alcatraz. It was a place to keep dangerous criminals away from the rest of society. It is an island of rock with very little else. Prisoners had five rights; food, clothing, a private cell, a shower once a week, and the right to see a doctor. The history of Alcatraz is fascinating for anyone who wants to look it up. Floating ghostly lights and cold rushes of air are the norm when wandering through Alcatraz. The ghosts of many inmates are said to be heard, including three prisoners who died trying to flee from a foiled escape attempt. Even Al Capone has been heard playing his banjo.

"Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, gave her father forty-one."  Lizzie Borden lived in Fall River, Massachusetts. As was the custom for unmarried women of that time, she and her sister Emma lived with their father and stepmother. Emma was away on vacation when Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally murdered. Lizzie was charged with the murders, but later acquitted. The Borden home in Fall River is currently a bed and breakfast. They also have tours of the house during the day. Ghost sightings are common. As a matter of fact, I have visited this place before. The day I was there a young man came rushing into the souvenir shop as I was waiting for the tour to begin. It seems he had been there that morning and had taken some pictures in the house. In one of the pictures of Lizzie's room there seemed to be a cloudy shape that could have been a female shape. When told that he could go back in to try some more pictures, he was shocked to find that they meant he would go alone because a tour was about to begin and no one was available to go with him. He had no further luck, by the way.

Sarah Winchester was the widow of William Wirt Winchester who made a fortune producing Winchester rifles. After his death, she became obsessed by the thought of death. She went to see a medium who told her that there was a curse on her family because of all the deaths caused by the guns made and sold by her husband. The only way to appease the spirits of those spirits would be to build a house. As long as the house was unfinished. Sarah would never die. The Winchester Mansion can be found in San Jose, California. There was constant construction with the addition of new rooms and new things like indoor plumbing. It seems that there was little planning as to the architectural fluidity of the additions. Sarah was also obsessed with the number thirteen and with spiderwebs. Chandeliers, stained glass windows, and even water drains have these themes in their construction. People report that the spirits Sarah tried so hard to make happy are all through the mansion. There are also sightings of Sarah herself.

What is your favorite haunted place? I'd love to explore it. If you don't have one yet but would like to find one, check the links below or do a search for your area. I'm off in search of the Bell Witch in Adams, Tennessee.

Copas

Haunted Places Index
Real Haunts
Wikipedia Reportedly Haunted Locations In The U.S
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