History Of 10 Haunted Places In America - Part 3
The 'Iolani Palace was built in 1882 by King Kalākau, the last king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The opulent residence was ahead of its time, boasting electricity, telephones, and even indoor plumbing.
After Kalākau's death in 1891, his sister, Queen Lili'uokalani, took over both the palace and the kingdom, until the monarchy was overthrown two years later. The new government seized the palace and held Queen Lili'uokalani as a prisoner in her own former home.
Today, the palace is a museum, but many visitors say the royals never really left. Visitors have reported seeing ghosts and hearing mysterious music and chanting in the room where Queen Lili'uokalani was imprisoned.
Indiana Medical History Museum sits on the grounds of the Central State Hospital, a hospital that opened in 1848 and treated patients with illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, hysteria, alcoholism, senile dementia, and epilepsy. It was referred to as the "Indiana hospital for the insane," and was often accused of abusing its patients.
The hospital's pathological department was opened in 1896, with the goal of researching and educating people about the physical causes of mental diseases. The department was in operation until the 1960s, but now serves as a museum. It's the oldest pathology facility in the country, and it still houses preserved specimens, like brains.
If that's not creepy enough, people say the site is allegedly haunted by former patients.
Now a historic hotel and spa nestled into the Ozarks, the Crescent Hotel and Spa wasn't always such a lovely place. A year before the hotel even opened in 1886, someone fell from one of the building's windows and died.
Then, in the 1930s, Norman G. Baker turned the hotel into an institute for cancer patients. Baker, a millionaire from Iowa who was former magician, radio broadcaster, and inventor, claimed that he could cure cancer and that organized medicine was corrupt. In reality, though, Baker had absolutely no medical background.
One of his most well-known patients was Lula Tunis, whose husband John, was desperate to find someone who could save her. She died only months after being "treated" by Baker. Baker was eventually discovered as a hoax and imprisoned, but many say his spirit, and many others, still haunt the hotel.
There's not one single landmark in Pine Barrens, New Jersey, that hosts spirits and mysterious creatures — the forest spans seven counties and contains ghost towns galore.
During the colonial era, the area was bustling with sawmills, paper mills, and towns to accompany them, but they were all abandoned when coal was discovered in Pennsylvania.
It's also said to be home to the infamous Jersey Devil, a beast that the Pinelands Preservation Alliance describes as "a kangaroo-like creature with the face of a horse, the head of a dog, bat-like wings, horns and a tail." According to folklore, it was the 13th child of a woman named Deborah Leeds, who offered it to the devil while pregnant with it in 1735. Upon its birth, the newborn sprouted talons, hooves, and wings, and killed its mother, siblings, and the midwife before disappearing. Sightings persist today, as it continues to terrorize livestock (and humans).
What looks like an inviting suburban home was actually the scene of a mass murder. In 1974, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo shot and killed his whole family — his mother, father, and four siblings — while they were asleep in the house.
Just over a year later, the Lutz family moved into the home. The family didn't even stay a full month before moving, no longer able to take the strange paranormal activity they reported witnessing in the house. Their stories included strange smells, waking up at 3:15 am (which is when the murders were committed), a spirit knocking a knife down in the kitchen, levitating while asleep, and more.
These stories inspired a series of books, movies, and documentaries. Ronald DeFeo is still serving his sentence for the murders.
Colonel Jesse Driskill, a cattle baron, opened the Driskill Hotel in 1886. He was a compulsive gambler though, and had to give it up soon after. He died only four years after the hotel opened, and his ghost supposedly wanders the hotel — but as a woman, a disguise that is said to help him look out for other women.
Room 525 is particularly haunted; two women, both on their honeymoons, committed suicide in this same room, 20 years apart. Then there's the portrait of Samantha Houston, the four-year-old daughter of a US senator who died in the hotel. Visitors who look at her portrait report a strange feeling.
The Shanghai Tunnels in Portland get their name from the practice that became known as "Shanghaiing" — kidnapping and selling men as workers on ships headed to East Asia.
Restless, agitated spirits of men who were drugged and trafficked in the city's ports during the early 19th century are said to haunt the underground tunnels through which they were reportedly sold. Legend has it that the local saloons contained entrances to the tunnels, enabling swindlers to prey on unsuspecting patrons and bring them directly underground before they even knew what was going on.
Today, visitors can take walking tours to learn more about the dark history of the tunnels.
Considered by many people to be one of the "gateways to Hell," Stull Cemetery is allegedly a place where Satan himself comes to wreak havoc and where occult ceremonies and meetings take place.
It has inspired many movies and used to draw its fair share of ghost hunters — that is, until the local police put a $1,000 fine in place for unauthorized visitors, following multiple incidents where headstones were been tipped over.
The Masonic Temple in Detroit is filled with winding staircases, hidden compartments, and cavernous arches — perfect for ghostly residents, one of which is reportedly the man responsible for its 1912 construction, George D. Mason himself.
According to Haunted Rooms, the temple features several cold spots interpreted as indicators of paranormal activity, and has roof doors that are known to swing open moments after being locked.
The Temple attracts visitors from around the world hoping to spot a ghost.
Chester Thorne had Thornewood Castle built in 1908 for his bride, Anna. The grand, 54-room estate was made from the bricks of a 400-year-old Elizabethan manor in England that Thorne purchased and dismantled; he had the bricks, oak paneling and stained glass shipped from England for the construction of the castle.
Today, Thornewood is a bed and breakfast, as well as a popular venue for weddings and events. The site is allegedly haunted by several former residents. Some say the lightbulbs in Chester's former room are commonly found unscrewed. Others say they've seen Anna sitting near the window in her old room, or as a reflection in a mirror that dates back to her time.
Thornewood was also featured in Stephen King's mini-series, "Rose Red" in 2002 as the "haunted mansion."
Article By:- Thisisinsider.com
Comments
Post a Comment