Haunted Lighthouses – The St. Augustine Lighthouse

The St. Augustine Lighthouse sits on the north end of Anastasia Island in St. Augustine, Florida. The current tower, which was built in 1874, rises to 165 feet above sea level. The original lighthouse, built in 1824, was approximately 500 yards northeast of the current lighthouse. Due to the receding shoreline, it fell into the ocean back in 1880.

Throughout its early history, the lighthouse employed up to three lightkeepers at a time. There was a head keeper and two assistants. In 1955, when the lighthouse was automated, there was no longer a need for lightkeepers and the last one left at that time. The lightkeepers, who would actually live on site, were replaced by lamplighters, who would tend the light but didn’t actually live there.

According to the lighthouse’s official website, there have been seven people who have died on the lighthouse grounds: three lightkeepers, a keeper’s wife and three young girls. Several of these are said to have died of natural causes. One man fell to his death from the original lighthouse in 1859, and the three girls died in a tragic drowning accident.

St. Augustine Lighthouse Tour in Pictures

The lighthouse and its surrounding buildings have a long history of paranormal activity and stories of the hautings have been passed on and have been featured in popular television shows, books, and local lore for decades. Visitors and workers say they have seen moving shadows and heard voices along with unexplained sounds. Some tour guides claim they hear someone climbing the tower steps, but the footfalls fade away, and no one is ever there at the top of the tower. There is also said to be a little girl who likes to play pranks residing in the keeper’s house, a tall man in the basement, and a spirit who likes to play with the merchandise in the gift shop. One former keeper was infamous for enjoying his cigars. Today, the scent of his cigar can still be detected several times a week.

Several employees have reportedly seen a hazy male figure walking through the lighthouse. Footsteps from an unseen presence can be heard shuffling on the gravel and the steps outside the lighthouse. Other reports are of a woman seen on the lighthouse stairway or walking in the yard outside the buildings.

Perhaps the most famous tragic story is that of three young girls who died during the construction of the second lighthouse. The story says that there was a rail car or some type of vehicle that went from the light station to the ocean. The children liked to play on it and ride on it for fun. On July 10, 1873, the cart somehow ended up in the water. Five children fell into the water and some of the Workers managed to save a boy and a girl. Two of the construction superintendent’s daughters, Mary and Eliza, and a young black girl, either a servant or the daughter of a worker, drowned.

It’s said that today, the girls can be heard laughing in the tower late at night. The eldest of the construction superintendent’s daughters, Mary, has also been spotted wearing the same blue velvet dress and blue hair bow she was wearing when she died. Reports also say that the the figures of two little girls can sometimes be seen standing on the lighthouse catwalk.

St. Augustine Lighthouse Ghost Hunt

For years there have been reports of a large dark, male spirit that hangs around the water collecting cisterns in the basement. Supposedly he was a sailor or a former lightkeeper who hung himself in the lighthouse in the 1930′s. According to the lighthouse’s website, there isn’t any proof or evidence that anyone ever hung him/herself there.

History says that the original owner of the lighthouse was forced to sell it to the government in 1865 because it was believed that the land under the lighthouse was receding and the ocean would eventually swallow it. The state offered to buy the lighthouse for alot less than it was worth and he refused to sell. The government then threatened to take the lighthouse via eminent domain and give him nothing. At this point, the former owner was outraged and vowed never to leave the lighthouse. Lighthouse staff say he seems to have kept his vow as his spirit is sometimes seen late at night walking in and around the property.

One of my favorite episodes of Ghost Hunters was filmed at the St. Augustine Lighthouse. The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) stopped by to see if they could prove or disprove any of the hauntings. During the episode, they caught a few interesting things on both video and audio. There was a female voice that seemed to say “help me” a few times on the audio recording. The video camera captured a dark figure moving really quickly up the circular staircase and then stopping to look over the railing down at the camera crew from the top floor. The figure then disappeared. When Jason and Grant went to investigate, they realized the door at the top which would be the only exit was padlocked from the inside. There was also a motion detection light that never came on until the TAPS guys got up there. Overall, with the evidence they captured, the guys determined that they really couldn’t prove the place wasn’t haunted.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse is currently owned and maintained by the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, Inc. The lighthouse is operational and is is an official, privately-owned, active aid to navigation. The museum is open to the public and the admission price funds preservation of the lighthouse and programs in maritime archeology and education. The lighthouse offers night tours of the site, though they don’t promise any ghosts.

Author: Denise Villani is an author and the webmaster of several websites and article directories. Find more articles and information on haunted stuff by visiting HauntedStuff.net.

Tips For Choosing a Haunted Doll on eBay

Everyone has seen a doll at some time that just gave them the creeps. Maybe it was a toy you received when you were small that scared you at night or maybe it was something you saw in an antique shop as an adult. These toys just seem to have something ominous about them.

No matter how creepy they are they all seem to find a home on eBay. Haunted dolls are very popular with the online auction crowd. They can be delicate antiques or Barbies from just a few years ago, but what they all have in common is a good story.

This doll is certified by HauntedBox.com and a rating of B+ haunting. and is for sale at eBay

The story usually involves a child who passed on much too soon. The doll may have been a favorite possession or possibly the child’s new home in the after life. Imagine spending eternity inside a plastic doll. Read more

Ripley’s Museum – Believe It’s Haunted Or Not!

“Are there ghosts in there mommy?” asked a little girl responding to her father’s comment about the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in St. Augustine, FL being “haunted as heck”. “Of course not, honey, there are no such things as ghosts!” The reality is, many people agree with her father’s comment about the place being haunted – believe it or not!

As a matter of fact, it is considered one of the most haunted locations in the United States. There are numerous reports from credible people who have visited or worked at the museum. There are cold spots; there are things that move and several places where people become extremely nauseous. Music has been heard, things are moved and a huge Buddha is found lying on its side. From time to time visitors report the smell of a smoky fire and hear crying and whimpering sounds. Read more

Robert – The Haunted Doll

Key West is home to a real life “Chucky” doll. The doll was given to artist Robert Otto in 1904 by a servant who practiced voodoo. Robert named the doll after himself and blamed all bad events on the doll. To most people Robert the doll gave off a very bad vibe but not to Otto, in fact, he loved the doll so much that it became a conflict between he and his wife who insisted the doll be kept in the attic. Instead the doll was given his own bedroom where strange occurrences took place. Local children became terrified to walk past the home because they were convinced the doll would watch and actually mock them on the street below. A plumber in the home once swore he heard the doll laugh and noticed that every time he passed the room the doll would be in different areas.

Robert, the possessed doll, is now on display in the East Marello Museum where he continues to spook those who visit. The doll is housed within a display case and yet the doll’s toy lion mysteriously moves from one knee to the other. Knocks can be heard from behind the glass where he sits. It is also said that cameras stop working only when near Robert – some believing the doll itself prevents pictures from being taken.

Robert the Haunted Doll Videos

Robert The Haunted Doll

Author Heather Graham talks about the real-life doll that inspired the “Chucky” horror movies.

Haunted Ships – The Queen Mary

The Queen Mary has been a permanent feature in Long Beach, California for a couple for decades and is one of the most famous cruise ships of all time. The ship has become a hotel, museum and popular tourist attraction, and the historic ship is internationally recognized and attracts thousands of visitors every year. Besides the living guests, the ship is said to play host to several ghosts. It has been speculated that the Queen Mary might be one of the most haunted places in the world. Reports say that as many as 150 known spirits have taken up residence and lurk in various locations all around the ship.

The Queen Mary sailed her maiden voyage on May 27, 1936. Built in Scotland to be used as part of a two-ship express service from Southampton to Cherbourg to New York, the Queen Mary is 1,000 feet long, and in her day was said to be bigger, faster and more powerful than the Titanic. She also held the record for the fastest-ever North Atlantic crossing. The historic ocean liner’s passengers included the most celebrated people of the time, including royalty, top entertainment figures and important world leaders.

At the start of World War II in 1939, luxury travel stopped and the ship was turned into a carrier ship that was used by allied forces to carry troops from March of 1940 to September of 1946. It was during this time that she would become known as “The Grey Ghost”. By the end of World War II, the ship had carried more than 700,000 troops, traveled over 500,000 miles and played a significant role in almost every major Allied campaign. She also survived a collision at sea, set the record for carrying the most people ever on a floating vessel (16,683), and participated in the D-Day invasion.

When the war ended, the Queen Mary was refurbished and started up her elegant cruises again in July, 1947, with weekly service between Southampton, Cherbourg, and New York. By the early 1960′s, the popularity of transatlantic cruises greatly decreased due to the increasing affordability of air travel. The ship attempted to revive its popularity, but without central air conditioning, outdoor pools, or other amenities offered on most other cruise ships, the attempt was unsuccessful.

In 1967, the Queen Mary was pulled from service and was sold to the city of Long Beach, California, to be used as a maritime museum and hotel. On December 9, 1967, she made her final voyage to Long Beach.

During her 60-year history, the Queen Mary was the site of 49 reported deaths, opening the doorway for potential spirits to haunt her. Reported hauntings include a young crewman in the engine room, swimmers in the first-class pool, a man in black, and a woman in blue. Some of the Queen Mary’s most haunted places include the propeller box, engine room, boiler room, cargo hold and first class swimming pool.

Ghosts on the Queen Mary

One of these hauntings is thought to be the spirit of John Pedder, a fireman in his late teens who was crushed to death by a watertight door in 1966 during a routine drill. Unexplained knocking has been heard around the door, and a tour guide reported she saw a figure dressed in dark clothing as she was leaving the area where the young man had been killed. She saw his face and recognized him from his photographs. He was dressed in blue coveralls and sporting a beard. The young man has often been seen walking along Shaft Alley before disappearing by door number 13. This famous door was used in the filming of the Posiedon Adventure and has reportedly crushed at least two men during the ship’s history.

The first-class swimming pool seems to be a hot spot for ghostly encounters. Wet footprints mysteriously appear even though there’s not a drop of water in the pool. These footsteps lead from the deck of the pool to the changing rooms. Women in vintage bathing suits are occasionally seen stopping by for a swim ,even though the pool has been closed for more than 30 years. There have also been reports of seeing the spirit of a young girl carrying her teddy bear along with disembodied voices, laughter and splashing sounds.

In the second class pool area the spirit of another little girl named Jackie is often been seen and heard. The girl drowned in the pool during the ship’s sailing days and doesn’t seem to want to move on. Her voice and the sound of laughter has been captured in this area.

In the room that was used as the third class playroom, there have been reports of the sound of children crying in the nursery room. There is also a report that a single baby’s cry has been heard. This crying is thought to be that of an infant boy who died there shortly after he was born.

In some of the first-class staterooms there have been reports of a tall, dark haired man wearing a 1930′s style suit showing up in various places. In addition to sightings of the man, the faucets and lights get turned on in the middle of the night, and phones ring in the early morning hours but no one is ever on the other end of the line.

There are several other reports of sightings about the ship including a beautiful young woman in an elegant white evening gown who dances alone in a shadowy corner of the salon, which was once used as the ship’s first-class lounge. Another mysterious woman in white has been seen close to the front desk. She will usually disappear behind a pillar.

Other phenomena that has been reported throughout the ship include the sounds of knocking, doors slamming and high pitched squeals, drastic temperature changes, and the recurring smells of another time.

The Queen Mary has been investigated by a number of paranormal professionals, printed publications, television shows like Ghost Hunters and Most Haunted, and several others. In addition to portions of the movie “The Poseidon Adventure” being filmed there, the X-Files filmed a 1998 WWII era episode about a time warp in the Bermuda Triangle aboard the ship. That was a great episode – it was called “Triangle” – you should check it out if you missed it!

On the Ghost Hunters episode, what was thought to be a fantastic paranormal event caught on tape turned out to be not so fantastic as it appeared someone had tampered with the video camera. So is the Queen Mary really haunted or not? The Ghost Hunters are heading back out there in February of 2008 to see if they can find out. Hopefully there won’t be any tampering this time and they can capture some evidence to support all the claims of paranormal activity on the Queen Mary.

Weird Encounter on the Queen Mary

Article by:Denise Villani

Denise Villani is an author and the webmaster of several websites and article directories. Find more articles and information on Haunted Stuff by visiting [http://www.hauntedstuff.net]HauntedStuff.net.

Haunted Asylums – Athens Mental Asylum

The building is old and quiet, the paint is peeling and many of the windows are broken. People who walk through the rooms do so quietly and speak using hushed tones. Tones that are usually reserved for funerals and libraries. They are cautious about where and how they step as though they are afraid of disturbing anything or anyone that might still be residing in the old rooms. This is the old Athens Mental Asylum, a building considered one of the most haunted places in the world.

Ghosts are said to haunt places where they have died or places where they experienced a traumatizing event in their lives. If that is the case, then the Athens Hospital would be home to hundreds of ghosts and many people believe that it is.

Construction of the building began in 1868, and the doors of the hospital officially opened in 1874. The hospital remained open until 1993 when it was forced to close its doors. During its many years in operation, the hospital was a place of horrors. Hundreds died while they were patients and the graves outside are testimony to this fact. Many graves have only numbers on the headstones to mark a patients passing. [Read More ...]

Ridges Graveyard – Asylum Cemeteries

A neat and orderly graveyard where all the headstones are in lines. Row upon row, upon row. What makes this graveyard stand out? Maybe it is the fact that there are no names on most of the stones, only numbers. Or maybe it is the ring of graves off to the side. Or maybe it is the number of strange sightings that have been seen in this cemetery.

This is what you can expect to find if you visit the Ridges Graveyard in Athens, Ohio. It is reputed to be one of the most haunted areas in the world. Why would this cemetery be any more haunted than any other cemetery? Perhaps it has to do with the people who are buried here.

These people died within the walls of The Athens Mental Hospital. They were all patients. While they were alive they would have been subjected to numerous treatments that were to help them ‘get well’. Sadly, many of these treatments were not just horrific, many of them rendered the patient worse off than when they started. In fact, some of the treatments were often even deadly. When patients did die and were buried, they simply put a number on the headstone. No name or date, just a number. [Read More ...]

Waverly Hills Sanatorium – Ten Most Haunted Places

In 1910 Major Thomas H. Hays purchased the land in Louisville Kentucky to build a home for his family. But the family sold the home to make way for a tuberculosis hospital in the early part of the 20th century. To prevent this disease from spreading the community wanted a fairly isolated location. As more and more people contracted the disease the facility continued to be upgraded and expanded, it even included a pavilion for children. The death toll of patients was said to average more than 150 people a year. With the introduction of antibiotics the primary function of the hospital changed to that of a sanatorium. The treatment of patients was often radical and experimental and the facility was closed in 1982 due to complaints of patient abuse. [Read More ...]

Famous Haunted Graveyard – Bachelor’s Grove

Cemeteries are known for being great places to spot ghosts. But few can claim as many or as wide a variety as Chicago’s Bachelor’s Grove. The graveyard’s fist occupant arrived in 1838, a Mr. William Nobles and the last known burial came in 1989 when Robert Shield was buried with his family Although the graveyard has fallen into disrepair over the years and many gravestones are actually missing, it is said to be one of the most haunted places in the world.

A big mystery surrounding the graveyard is how it actually got it’s name. There are two theories as to the origin of the cemetery’s name.

The first is based on the belief that there was an abundance of bachelors living in the area because they were helping to build the Illinois, Michigan canal. The second theory is that the cemetery was actually named after one of the first families in the area, the Batchelder family and the word grove was used because the area was heavily wooded. But, it is not the name of the cemetery that attracts people but rather the possibility of seeing ghosts.

Probably the most famous sighting is the picture of the Madonna or White Lady which was taken in 1991 by Judith Huff-felz using an infrared film and a 35mm camera. The photograph shows a spirit sitting on a marker. Numerous sources have tried to discredit the photo, but to date nobody has been able to prove what is actually in the picture. In addition, nobody has been able to prove that the picture has been tampered with or altered in any way.

The cemetery is surrounded by a lagoon, which has given rise to a number of local legends. One of the legends is about a local farmer and his plough horse. It is said that the horse and farmer got too close to the lagoon and they fell in. Numerous people have claimed that they have seen the farmer still ploughing right beside the graveyard.

It is also said that during the days of prohibition when the mob was ruling the city of Chicago the graveyard and the lagoon surrounding the graveyard became a popular body dumping site. Nobody is quite sure how many bodies were dumped here or how often but it is said that a number of male ghosts have been seen walking around the lagoon and the graveyard.

Visitors to the graveyard also claim to have seen ghost cars from the twenties racing down the road. These cars have even been known to crash into approaching vehicles.

Another weird site at this graveyard is the vanishing farmhouse. A number of people claim that as they approached the cemetery they could see a well maintained farm house and yard. But if they tried to approach the house it simply vanished. Accounts of this house are always the same, although the location seems to change.

And probably the strangest sighting at this graveyard is the two headed ghost. Nobody seems to know where this came from or in fact much about it at all.

But if you are interested in seeing ghosts, you might want to try your luck in this very haunted cemetery.

White Lady which was taken in 1991 by Judith Huff-felz using an infrared film and a 35mm camera

Lady Ghost of Bachelors Grove.

This video is the ghost of Bachelors Grove, one of the most haunted and active places in the world. If you have been there its the first trail to the left when you enter, the head stone located there is Dora Newman. We believe she is the Lady of Bachelors Grove.

Bachelors Grove Graveyard Footage & Pics

Ghost Pictures From Bachelors Grove Graveyard