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Hospital of the Five Wounds and the Ghost of the Nun Haunting it

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The Hospital of the Five Wounds in Seville, Spain is said to be haunted by both the many victims of the plague as well as a vicious nun called Sister Ursula that was so horrible towards her patients, she is cursed to be stuck in her afterlife as a ghost. 

In 1965 Manuel Moreno was admitted to Hospital of the Five Wounds and had snuck out in the corridor to smoke in secret. He suddenly felt cold and the cigarette went out. When he turned he was faced to face with a nun looking at him disapprovingly. Scared, he ran off, knowing that it was a ghost he had encountered and ran to tell the nurses. They didn’t believe him, and the superior nun told him, “do you see how it is not good to smoke?”. Since that day, Moreno never touched a cigarette, but countless eyewitnesses would go on to see the ghosts that are said to haunt the Hospital of Five Wounds. 

Today the building that was once a hospital called Hospital de las Cinco Llagas that means The Hospital of the Five Wounds is used to host the Andalucian Parliament in Seville, Spain. It is also known as Hospital de la Sangre, which means Hospital of Bloods.

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Spain

You can find this old building between the Arab Walls and the Basilica de la Macarena in Seville. At the time of construction Hospital of the Five Wounds was the biggest in Spain and it was in its day the biggest hospital in Europe together with the Hospital Mayor of Milan in Filerete. 

The building is old and was first started in the 1500s as a hospital for women. So the only patients were women, with the exception for poor men that had nowhere to go. But that would all have to wait when the plagues started ravaging Spain the following centuries. 

The Plague and the Hospital of Blood

Throughout the years, the hospital was the place that faced the consequences of the illness, wars and death. The second half of the 17th century in Spain was particularly hard with drought, plagues and intense rainfall that worsened the life and health of the people. 

Seville was the most affected city in the country of this disease and it is estimated that a quarter of Seville’s population died during the plague, and the hospital was where everyone was brought. Of the around 25 000 of the plague patients that passed through the hospital only around 3000 walked out alive. Even the staff couldn’t live through the pandemic and more than 800 priests died, and 80 percent of the doctors that tried to cure them.

Although the Hospital of the Five Wounds is huge, the sickness was so many that the dead were piled on the esplanade and in the huge courtyards of the hospital. It was after this horrible plague that the hospital started to get known for its second name, The Hospital de la Sangre. 

Closing the Hospital of the Five Wounds

Bad economy and another plague hit the Hospital of the Five Wounds in the 19th century and different wars also affected the hospital that had to lay off staff on several occasions due to the economy. 

The Hospital of the Five Wounds: Today the former hospital is used for the Parlamento de Andalucía. (Antiguo Hospital de las cinco llagas)//Source: Anual/wikimedia

The building functioned as a hospital until 1972. For years after, the grand building in the style of Spanish Renaissance was left abandoned. The place was huge, but it was in a terrible state not fit for modern hospitals. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from old hospitals like Hauntingly Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital, Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital or Hauntings at the Weston State Hospital or the Trans-Allegheny Asylum

In 1992 they started to restore the Hospital of the Five Wounds to be used once again and the Parliament in Andalucia moved into it. 

Hauntings at the hospital

For many years there were unexplainable and strange events that happened. Over the years there have been a lot of investigations into the haunted rumors of the Hospital of the Five Wounds. It is even said there worked a security guard there that refused to make his rounds at night alone in the building. 

Even the former president of the parliament, Plácido Fernández Viagas claimed to have experienced something paranormal while working as an elected member in the building. 

It was said that the Hospital of the Five Wounds was haunted by soldiers that died from their war wounds, plague victims, women that died giving birth. Together they have formed a sense of presence in the old building, still wandering the halls they thought would help them heal from their ailments.

The Ghost of Sister Ursula

The most impressive thing about the Hospital of the Five Wounds is without the church with its latin cross. The hospital was run by an order of nuns of the Order Charity. 

The paranormal activity was blamed on the legend of Sister Ursula. She was a nun of the Order of Charity that used to work in the hospital when the plague ravaged the city during the 17th century, and we have written accounts that she was there around 1734 and 1738. 

She is no longer a healing nun though, and roams the hall of Hospital of the Five Wounds to scare and seek to cause pain to those in the building. Apparently she was a ruthless and abominable soul while she was alive, even though she was at the hospital to nurse. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories about nuns haunting the world like Wessobrunn Abbey’s Ghosts, Dracula and Ghost Nuns in Whitby Abbey or The Haunting of The House of Hohenzollern

According to the stories, she demanded inhuman discipline from those around her and was cold and heartless with a bad temperament. Many of her patients would die just right after she had been attending to them. Some of them were not even terminally ill. 

According to the legend, she died during the plague and started appearing in the corridors at night. She was still dressed in her habit and carried a set of keys on her belt that would rattle and make a ruckus as she roamed the halls.

This was witnessed in a June day in 1968 when the 40 year old Antonio Rodríguez was in a hospital bed and spotted the nun:

“it was late, the pain in my leg did not let me sleep and I was awake, in front of me, right in front of my bed something began to “shine” which I called my attention, little by little a human body was formed that wore a habit, it was a transparent nun who began to walk down the hall, the metallic jingle of her key ring full of keys resounding, as if she were doing a round on the sick…”

Especially right after the Hospital of the Five Wounds closed down in 1972 it was said by the neighbors that they saw a nun wearing ancient clothes wandering around the hospital. Perhaps she was confused about where everyone went off to and not having anyone to bother anymore. Perhaps the fact that the parliament moved into the building suits her perfectly. 

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References:

El más ilustre de los fantasmas de Sevilla
La celebración del Sevilla FC por la Europa League: recorrido, horarios y fiesta
Hospital de las Cinco Llagas de Sevilla: así se llamaba durante la peste y estas son sus leyendas
Hospital de las Cinco Llagas – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
10 Scary Southern Spain Halloween Traditions

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The Haunted Morgan-Monroe State Forest and Stepp Cemetery

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There is not only one ghost story from Morgan-Monroe State forest and the Stepp Cemetery in the middle of it, there are many. Legends about creatures and ghosts keep the silent forest and burial ground alive. 

Morgan-Monroe State Forest stands as a silent witness to a myriad of chilling tales that have woven an enigmatic tapestry of supernatural lore. The forest in south-central Indiana is more than 25 000 acres and has steep ridges and deep valleys. 

Morgan-Monroe State Forest: Source: TrailSeeds/wikimedia

From inexplicable deaths to whispered rumors of satanic rituals and elusive encounters with mythical creatures like Yeti and Bigfoot, the Morgan-Monroe State Forest has earned its reputation as one of the most infamous haunted woodlands in the United States. It is in this forest most reported sightings of the Sasquatch in the state and there is a large and active group investigating these claims. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from USA

There are also said to be UFO sightings as well as more classical tales of something mysterious and ghostly lingering in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest. 

The Draper Cabin in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest

In the midst of the Morgan-Monroe State Forest itself, there is a cabin where hikers can spend their night. Draper Cabin offers a night of spine-tingling encounters for those daring enough to spend it within its timeworn walls – all for the modest price of $25, throughout the year. 

It is said that many hikers have to give up on staying in Draper Cabin through the night though, as they hear loud footsteps and weird noises outside, coming closer and closer to the cabin. 

Read More: Check out more ghost stories from Haunted Forests around the world

What the source of these hauntings varies. One version includes a murder that occurred there quite a long time ago. Another story states that from the time of the cabin’s existence over 130 years ago, a murderer still stalks their premises and waits for the next guests to arrive and rent out the cabin.

Draper Cabin: This cabin deep inside of the Morgan-Monroe State Forest is thought to be haunted. // Source

However, the true heart of the forest’s haunting reputation lies in the ethereal realm of Stepp Cemetery where legends and urban legends of ghosts and mysterious religious sects never let the buried rest. 

Stepp Cemetery

In the middle of the Morgan-Monroe State Forest you will find Stepp Cemetery, the source of many of the haunted legends of the forest. The cemetery in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest dates back to the early 1800s and is found just north of Bloomington.

There are not many graves in the cemetery, perhaps only around 30, (other sources say 114) or so, but they surely have some stories connected to them.  

Stepp Cemetery: In the forest you will find a small cemetery with big legends. It is said to be haunted by more than one type of ghosts. //Source: Shelly/Flickr

The Crabbites and their Snake and Sex Rituals

According to historians, Stepp Cemetery might have been used by a religious sect to perform rituals that came in the early 20th century. The group’s leader, William Crab, had strange practices like getting people to be bitten by a snake. A snake handler himself, he held more circus-like sermons and claimed that a true believer would not be bitten or die from the venom. 

The sect known as Crabbites had strange beliefs, like that the earth was squared because of a part in revelations in the bible. They also had to be chased away from the cemetery because of performing a ”ritualized sexual license.” They were apparently participating in these orgies while handling the snakes as well as giving animal sacrifices. 

It is also said they believed in resurrection and that the reverend could wake people from the dead. Once they were even arrested after trying to stop a burial of a woman who was once one of them. 

It is worth noting though that the sect went largely undocumented and it is difficult to say today what was true and what was hearsay. But they said that there were roughly 600 of them in Brown and Morgan counties in 1912. 

The Crabbites didn’t stay in the area of Morgan-Monroe State Forest and Stepp Cemetery for long as they are said to have moved over to Brown county, but they undeniably left an enduring mark on the cemetery’s reputation. Some even say that their mocking of the cemetery and strange rituals evoked some spirits to come back and haunt the place as they left the cemetery with a dark energy. 

Teenage Parties on Stepp Cemetery and the Birth for Local Legends

Most of the stories from Stepp Cemetery are said to have been developed or happened from the 1950s to 1970s. Then the cemetery had become so remote and forgotten and was more as a gathering place for youth than for mourners. More people had access to cars in the following decades and used the place to party. 

Many stories that were told were about the ghost of someone that had died in a car crash in the surrounding area, but also the cemetery itself became a part of the stories. 

During the Great Depression the cemetery fell into the hands of the Civilian Conservation Corps and they carved a tree stump in the cemetery into a chair. This tree stump is today called the Warlock’s Chair, although it is gone now that it was burned down in 1974. 

In many stories the chair was cursed and whoever sat on it would be so as well. It also became a part of the haunted legends as well, even after it was gone. 

Some of the ghosts

It is also said that an old woman is haunting the Stepp Cemetery within the Morgan-Monroe State Forest after some fraternity boys hanged her beloved German Shepard from a tree. What they didn’t know though was that she apparently was a witch and cursed them as well as the cemetery. 

Read More: Check out more ghost stories from Haunted Cemeteries around the world

One of the other legends speaks of a young girl who was murdered in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest close to Stepp Cemetery and that her body wanders through the trees in search of justice and her way home because her killer was never found. 

The Woman in Black

By far the most told story is about people seeing the ghost of The Woman in Black. The air thickens with an eerie stillness as the ghostly apparition of a grief-stricken mother dressed all in black is said to materialize on the haunted Stepp Cemetery at night, sitting on a hauntingly familiar tree stump crying over her dead child. 

There are many stories about what happened, and this is also a tale we can trace back to the 1950s. Some say she was a woman named Anne, and that her man died in a dynamite explosion in the quarry and her daughter died in a car crash. The mother is said to have rarely left the grave of her child, who was the only thing she had left in her life. After she died, she is still coming to the grave to grieve. 

There are also people saying that the child was a newborn and that she never recovered from the loss. The variations and details surrounding the legends are endless. Even in 1972, there were around 30 different versions of them.

There are some details that keep popping up though, like the tree stump. Sometimes the woman in black is only sitting on it, weeping close to her child’s grave. Sometimes she was a witch and murdered her husband after he murdered their child. Sometimes she has two white wolves by her feet mourning her child’s death after she was hanged for taking revenge.

The most horrendous tale though are the stories where people claim that she is sometimes trying to exhume her dead child from the grave to hold his bones, before burying him again and leaving.

The Story of Baby Lester

But what grave and who is she grieving? Sadly, there are plenty of graves belonging to children in Stepp Cemetery and the Morgan-Monroe State Forest. For some reason, the grave most associated with the legend of the Woman in Black at Stepp Cemetery is the grave of Baby Lester. His grave is in the back in a corner and has been there for many decades now. The faded letters on the grave say 1937. He was the child of O’Leatha Pryor Lester and Harley Lester for only a few hours before he passed. They named him Paul.  

Still to this day, some people place little toys on the grave. In respect perhaps, but the urban legend of Baby Lester really hurt the family of the stillborn child.  On several occasions the grave has been vandalized, broken or the headstone removed so they had to cement it down. On July 24 in 2021, the toys were set on fire by some vandals, or by accident after a candle set fire to them on accident.

Baby Lester’s Grave: This is how the grave looked after it caught fire as the negative consequences of being the source of a ghost story. Source: Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian

The mother was only 16 when she gave birth and went on to live a long life with more children after. When she heard about how her child’s grave was the center of this urban legend, she was distraught, horrified and disgusted. Although the family tried to shield her from the legend of Baby Lester and the Woman in Black, it had come in many forms until she died in 2007.

The Dangers of Ghost Stories

As night descends upon Morgan-Monroe State Forest, the line between the living and the otherworldly blurs, leaving those who dare to explore its depths to grapple with the unsettling mysteries that lurk in the shadows and the whispers that echo through the ancient trees.

Is it Bigfoot, the Woman in Black? Perhaps a remnant of the strange cult that used the cemetery all those years back. Perhaps there are just a couple of teenagers that can’t comprehend how stories about the dead can still hurt the living. 

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References:

Stepp: A Small Rural Cemetery That Looms Large In Hoosier Lore | news-2018 – Indiana Public Media 

Gallery: Baby Lester grave at allegedly haunted Stepp Cemetery set on fire – The Bloomingtonian 

Paul “Baby” Lester (1937-1937) – Find a Grave Memorial 

Stepp Cemetery 

Stepp Cemetery — Astonishing Legends 

Paul “Baby” Lester (1937-1937) – Find a Grave Memorial 

Let Baby Lester Rest in Peace | OrangeBean Indiana 

Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology Site of the Month | WBIW

A Requiem For Baby Lester — The Hauntings of Stepp Cemetery – PARAHOLICS®  

https://www.bloomingpedia.org/wiki/Draper_Cabin

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The Haunted Colors of the Hippie Tree Outside the Asylum

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Outside the old Traverse City State Hospital in Michigan, there is an old willow called The Hippie Tree. It is said to be haunted by the former patients from the asylum and possibly a gateway to hell. 

In the secluded woods outside an abandoned state-run asylum called Old State Hospital Grounds near Traverse City, Michigan, stands The Hippie Tree, a silent witness to the spectral tales that have enshrouded it in an air of mysterious allure. Little is known about the creation of the tree, but it is said that it fell over and died when it was struck by lightning. 

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from the USA

The rotted and broken willow trees are painted with colorful neon paintings over the generations where one painting covers the faded one underneath. Its moniker derives not only from its location but from the unsettling local legend that has swirled around it for decades of it being haunted.

The Hippie Tree: In Traverse City you will find the Hippie Tree along the Hippie Tree Trail thought to be haunted or at least possess some spiritual powers from the former patients at the Traverse City Hospital.//Photo: Jeremy Thompson/Flickr

Traverse City State Hospital

But what patients are said to be haunting this particular tree? Traverse City State Hospital around there was opened in 1881, and was also once called Northern Michigan Asylum. It is the last Kirkbride Building standing in Michigan, a specific style of architecture for asylums. 

Read More: Check out all Haunted Hospitals around the world

There are many stories about how people treated mental illnesses, and before the drug therapy in the 1950s, the Traverse City State Hospital used a “beauty is therapy” philosophy. This meant to meet patients with kindness, comfort and pleasure where straitjackets for instances were forbidden. 

The idea was also to let the patients be surrounded by beautiful things like flowers, and perhaps the idea of painting the tree comes from this philosophy as well? 

Traverse City State Hospital closed its doors in 1989. It reopened again in 2002, but as The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a place for shops, restaurants and offices, but there is still said to be ghostly remains of its time as a hospital. 

Traverse City State Hospital: Northern Michigan Asylum with its striking Kirkbride architecture is next to the Hippie Tree and housed the patients thought to possess and haunt the tree. The former hospital itself is also believed to be haunted.// Source

Haunted Legends about the Hospital

Traverse City State Hospital itself is lush with ghost stories as well. People claim they hear voices and footsteps when no one is there, as well as flickering light or an unnatural cold presence. 

This was especially talked about when they reopened the Traverse City State Hospital from the construction workers where some saw something that scared them so they refused to work on the building.

There is also a dark story about a doctor working at the hospital who killed patients as well as nurses, or about the hospital chaplain that went mad and hanged himself in the chapel they had. 

But although there are plenty of ghost stories inside the old asylum, the most well known story about this place is from the dead willow tree outside on the woodland trail. 

The Ghost of the Insane Asylum Patients

According to the lore, The Hippie Tree serves as a spectral meeting ground for the tormented souls of asylum patients coming from Traverse City State Hospital, their restless spirits lingering beneath its branches. 

The madness that once consumed them is said to echo through the rustling leaves, where they sometimes are mad, sometimes just sad.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Haunted Forests from around the world

Another ghost haunting the tree apart from the patients is a boy that allegedly was murdered around these parts, although not much information is found on this branch of the legend. 

The Hippie Tree is said to be haunted by many spirits and in the most extreme versions of the legends, it is even a portal to hell that opens up by the roots if you walk around the tree in a specific way. No one has been able to come back and tell me the right way to do it yet. 

The Hippe Rituals by the Hippie Tree

Jeremy Thompson/Flickr

Visionaries, mystics, and spiritual seekers, often dubbed “hippies” by the locals, would gather beneath the gnarled branches of The Hippie Tree, seeking solace and enlightenment in the heart of the haunted woods. Thereby the name The Hippie Tree stuck around.

A peculiar tradition emerged as these seekers meditated beneath the spectral canopy. It is said that the ghosts and the trees give out a particular energy that the hippies explore sitting on The Hippie Tree. 

In a ritualistic expression of their transcendental experiences, they would paint the revelations of their heightened consciousness onto the tree’s branches, creating a kaleidoscope of psychedelic visions amid the eerie silence of the asylum grounds.

How many people have painted on The Hippie Tree is unclear, at least thousand they say, creating another psychedelic picture on top of the other. 

Serving Colors and Ghosts

As night descends upon The Hippie Tree, the shadows cast by its haunted branches come alive, inviting those brave enough to delve into the mysteries that lurk within the heart of Traverse City’s most bewitched woodland sanctuary.

In daylight it serves as a colorful and fun thing to brighten up passersby and visitors alike in perhaps the most brightly looking haunted spot. 

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References:

Northern Michigan’s Hippie Tree | Kyle Schepperley | NewsBreak Original 

Traverse City State Hospital – Wikipedia

The Hippie Tree/Traverse City State Hospital  

Traverse City State Hospital & the Hippie Tree – Journey With Murphy 

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Veiled Spectres in the Waterfalls at Lydford Gorge

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By the cascading waterfalls at Lydford Gorge in Dartmoor, England, it is said that the White Lady is haunting the place, ready to save anyone unfortunate enough to almost drown. Right by the ghost at Kitt’s Step can be seen as well, one that didn’t make it. 

On the outskirts of Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England is Lydford Gorge, a 1.5-mile-long abyss carved by the relentless forces of the Lyd River that shrinks and swells with the rainfall. 

Maintained by the National Trust, Lydford Gorge whispers tales of spectral encounters and ethereal apparitions, casting an otherworldly veil over its cascading waters with more than one ghost said to be haunting the waters in the deepness of the gorge.

The Woman in White and the Haunted Waterfall

Following the route of the river through the gorge, you will find the tallest waterfall in Dartmoor of 30 meters, the White Lady. Aptly named after the ghost said to haunt the place. Whether the name or the name or the ghost story came first is unknown though, but a haunting legend has lingered. 

According to local lore, the ghost of the Woman in White by the waterfall can be seen with flowing tresses, standing amid the frothy veil of the waterfall. This is said to be a rather helpful ghost though, and those who see her can be counted as very lucky. 

It is said that if you are so unfortunate to fall into the water, the current of the stream can quickly become a deadly one, especially after heavy rainfall. It is said though, if you see the white lady, she will help you and rescue you from the deadly waters.

The Ghost at Kitty’s Steps

The White Lady of the Waterfall is not the only thing haunting this area though, and one can say that she perhaps didn’t save everyone. Right by the waterfall is a pool of water that has been named Kitt’s Steps. The pool was possibly a venerated water in ancient times. 

Kitt’s Step or Kitt’s Hole is pretty far up the river by Kitt’s Rock between Winney’s Down and Cut hill and is a place where people usually cross the river. Kitt’s Step is a name that is found elsewhere in the country as well, but it has become synonymous with the apparition of a woman, often described as old wearing a red kerchief on her head. 

According to the stories told about this place, there was once a woman called Kitty, Catherine or simply Kitt, that tried to jump over the gorge at this place on her horse when the water of the river was swelling. They both fell and although the horse made it safely back, Kitt got tangled up in the surrounding trees and her dead body was found many days later.

The first accounts from this accident is from 1804 when it was written about a market woman and her pony was taken by the current. 

In some version of the legend she survived. In an account from 1846, she had been at a feast in Lydford to sell her goods and is said to have maybe fallen asleep on her way home. She woke after the fall and spent the rest of the night trapped before her husband came in the morning and saved her. 

The rest of the accounts of these legends end more tragically though and by 1972, Ruth St. Ledger-Gordon wrote about the ghost of Old Kitty that is haunting the pool at the bottom of the waterfall further down the river.  

The Waterfall Ghosts Down by Lydford Gorge

Lydford Gorge, cradled by the arms of Dartmoor National Park, is not merely a geological wonder but a realm where the boundaries between the natural and supernatural blur. The haunting echoes of the old woman at Kitty’s Steps and the ethereal Woman in White at the waterfall add layers of mystery to this already enchanting landscape. 

Who knows, perhaps the ghost from these legends are one and the same? Some unfortunate soul that got taken by the current and spends the rest of the afterlife trying to help others that are about to suffer the same fate?

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References:

Lydford Gorge

Kit Steps, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park

Kitts Steps – Legendary Dartmoor   

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The Darkness of Slaughter Falls in Mount Coot-tha Forest

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Although found in Sunny Brisbane, Australia, it is said to be a darkness surrounding Slaughter Falls in the Mount Coot-tha Forest. Many violent happenings occurred and many rumors of it being haunted follows. 

At the foot of Queensland’s Mount Coot-tha Mountain and forest, the very name “Slaughter Falls” sends shivers down the spine for a reason. Despite it’s ominous sounding name Slaughter Falls is a very cozy looking wooden picnic area perfect for hiking leading up to a cascading waterfall on the Ithaca Creek in Brisbane through the eucalyptus forest.

Beyond its scenic facade however lies a chilling history more appropriate to its name, marked by a series of macabre events that have etched an indelible mark on this once serene hiking trail.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Australia

Slaughter Falls, named after a town clerk JC Slaughter, and not what has happened here, conceals a dark past, a grim reputation that the name nonetheless pointed to its haunted legacy. The whispers of the forest tell tales of murders, suicides, and lingering spirits, prompting one to ponder why this particular spot has become a magnet for such malevolent occurrences.

Slaughter Falls: An area of Mount Coot-tha Mountain and forest in Brisbane in Australia. After a series of bizarre and macabre events, the place has been believed to be haunted.//Source

The forest area is said to be haunted, and many paranormal seekers try to find the answer close to Slaughter Falls. One legend that is very persistent is a report about people seeing the ghost of a woman close to Slaughter Falls wandering about. So let’s have a look at some of the dark history the forest brings with it. 

The Christmas Day Shooting

The ominous chronicles of Slaughter Falls date back to Christmas day in 1925, when the tranquil surroundings close to Slaughter Falls were shattered by a gunshot. A woman, walking innocently along the trail, fell victim to an assailant lurking in the bushes. 

Margaret Francis Sinclaire Donald was picking flowers with her friend when she was shot, and although her friend took her to the hospital and got treated.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Haunted Forests 

When apprehended wandering the streets of Toowong, the assailant, 23 year old Patrick Terrence O’Hara provided no motive, claiming an inexplicable force had seized control of him to do what he did. They had no previous relationship and according to the man, he had no plan of doing it until this feeling just came over him. 

What happened that day no one could explain, but it surely was the start of the forest’s more ominous history. 

The Double Suicide

A year later, in 1926, the falls bore witness to a haunting double suicide that left the reasons shrouded in mystery. Two men plunged into the abyss, leaving behind unanswered questions that continue to echo through time.

The two men were both working for the same company but were found separate and no one really knew if the two deaths were connected or more like a horrible coincidence. 

The Murder Suicide at Slaughter Falls

The following year, 1927, unfolded a chilling murder-suicide saga at the falls. A seemingly romantic walk took a ghastly turn when a man, seemingly possessed by a malevolent force, shot his girlfriend before attempting to end his own life with poison. Cecilia Josephine Miller was only 20 years old.

The boyfriend survived, but his subsequent survival offered no solace, as he professed a disturbing lack of recollection. He said it was like darkness just consumed him, a cloud that took over and the next thing he remembered was staring at the dead body of his girlfriend. The locals all thought highly of him, and couldn’t believe that he would do something like this. 

Cecilia’s sister however, claimed she had heard him threaten to kill her if she ever left him. The truth of the matter however was never uncovered as the boyfriend was sent to an asylum and kept claiming that he couldn’t remember it at all. 

The Ghost from the Transmitting Towers

Another ghost said to be haunting Mount Coot-tha is a former workman that worked on the television transmitting towers west of the city. Apparently he fell to his death when the towers were being built. 

A technician that worked on Channel Seven claimed to have seen the workman in overalls walking on the tower in the 1970s, but not many stories about this ghost are reported about in the later years. 

Brisbane Transmitting Towers: Another haunted location on Mount Coot-tha.//Photo by: Angus Veitch/Flickr

Ghost Hole Mine

Also around the old mine that was closed in 1959, you will find ghost stories. The stories are not specific, but are as the rest of the legends, filled with darkness and paranormal experiences like hearing voices and seeing shadows. 

Satanic Rituals

Speculations abound that Slaughter Falls harbored the echoes of Satanic rituals, casting an even darker pall over its reputation. Although as with most whispers of satanism and witchcraft, unsubstantiated.

Whatever the true reason behind these meaningless acts of violence, the area is now thought to be haunted by its victims. Could it truly be a darkness that possesses people to do these things? Or is the fact that they are so close together in time a sign about how inspiring and contagious it can be to try and blame it on something like a vague darkness and memory loss?

Slaughter Falls has a dark and disturbing past, but in daylight it is a beautiful and popular place to hike and enjoy nature. But as daylight fades and shadows dance upon the trail, those who venture into the heart of Slaughter Falls may find themselves entangled in the enigma of its haunting secrets, where the past continues to cast a spectral veil over the present.

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References:

5 “Haunted” Campsites & Hiking Trails in Australia – Novapro Sports Camping Store

Mt Coot-Tha – The Darker Side of Brisbane 

Mount Coot-tha Forest – Wikipedia 

J C Slaughter Falls – Wikipedia 

https://www.chapelhill.homeip.net/FamilyHistory/Other/QueenslandHistory/TheGhostsofQueensland.htm

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Ross Castle and the Tragic Haunting of a Doomed Love

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In the castle belonging to the Black Baron, it is said ghosts are haunting both the Ross Castle as well as the lake close to it. According to the legend, it is the ghost of the Baron and his daughter that lingers, both of them filled with regret and tragedy after the daughters doomed love. 

In the heart of County Meath, Ireland, where the emerald landscape conceals ancient tales and timeless legends, stands Ross Castle built on ancient Celtic land close to the Hill of Tara, where the High Kings of Ireland were crowned. 

Read More: Check out all of the ghost stories from Ireland

This historic building has long been known for its picturesque charm overlooking Lough Sheelin, one of Ireland’s midland lakes, welcoming guests from near and far as a popular Bed & Breakfast. Yet, beyond its inviting facade, Ross Castle harbors chilling stories of love, betrayal, and lingering spirits.

Ross Castle and Lough Sheelin: The castle looms over the lake and houses more than one spirit that are said to haunt the area.

A Castle Born of Controversy

The castle was constructed in 1536 under the patronage of Richard Nugent, the 12th Lord of Delvin, infamously known as the “Black Baron” because of his dark reputation. Nugent was a man of stern disposition, and his cruelty earned him the dread of locals who lived in fear of his wrath. 

Read More: Check out all of the Haunted Castles from around the world

One story says he killed an innocent beggar, because he had heard someone had stolen a loaf of bread in the village. There was no trial, and he acted as both the judge and executioner. When the truth of the matter was revealed after the man had been hanged at the gallows, they erected a cross where he died. 

Forbidden Love: Sabrina and Orwin

Within the castle’s walls resided Richard Nugent’s daughter, Sabrina. Far from the tyrannical figure her father cut, Sabrina was beloved by those she encountered during her rare ventures beyond the castle’s confines. She was of poor health, but had a curious mind and was beloved by the Irish villagers even though she was the daughter of an English lord that had a horrible reputation and was feared. 

In one of these escapades where she escaped her governess on her walks, Sabrina’s path intertwined with that of Orwin, the son of an O’Reilly Chieftain and a sworn enemy of her father. 

Away from their family feud and alone, they fell in love and met up in secret away from their parents and dreamed of a life where they could finally be together. 

A Tragic Escape and Lake Sheelin’s Wrath

The young lovers could bear the weight of their secret love no longer and decided to elope to be together. One fateful day, they commandeered a rowing boat and set off across the turbulent waters of Lough Sheelin. On their way over the dark waters their boat capsized, casting them into the dark depths.

The Doomed Love: To finally be together, Sabrina and Owen tried to escape on a boat over Lough Sheelin, away from Ross Castle and their families. It ended in tragedy. Painting: Lovers by Arthur Georg von Ramberg

Sabrina was the lucky one and was plucked from the water by a guard her father had dispatched upon learning of her escape. She was rescued, but her beloved Orwin met a watery grave as he drowned and was not looked for by her father. Several days later, his lifeless body was recovered from the lake when it washed ashore.

A Haunting Love Story

The tragedy left Sabrina bereft and consumed by grief. She locked herself in the castle’s tower, refusing sustenance until she, too, succumbed to her sorrow and starved herself to death.

It is said that Sabrina’s tormented spirit lingers within the castle’s ancient walls, endlessly roaming its corridors, forever seeking her lost love she never got the chance to be with. 

Eerie Encounters

Sabrina is not alone in haunting the castle though; her father, the Black Baron, is also condemned to wander, haunted by the cruelty he inflicted upon others and the grief he felt after losing his daughter in that manner.

While many guests at Ross Castle enjoy peaceful slumber, others report unsettling experiences. A pervasive feeling of being watched, glimpses of an ominous male presence, and sudden, inexplicable drops in temperature have all been documented.

Disembodied voices, thunderous banging noises from empty upper floors, and doors that mysteriously swing open and slam shut unnerve those who stay within its historic walls from the ghost of the father and daughter haunting the castle.

Frozen in Time: The Lake’s Tragic Tale

The spectral activity extends beyond the castle’s interior. Guests staying in the castle tower may witness a recurring tragedy from centuries past. Legend speaks of the lake freezing during winters, enabling carriages to traverse the icy expanse to reach a nearby island and its church.

One chilling tale recounts the ice giving way, plunging a funeral procession into the frigid waters. The the priest of the funeral was the sole survivor as the rest of the procession died in the lake, following the person they were on their way to bury.

This haunting event is said to replay every hundred years, a ghostly echo of the past. It is not specified when it is happening though, but if you look out the window and see shadows trying to pass the frozen lake, you might be witnessing their ghosts.

Funeral Proceccion: A group of people was walking over the lake as it was frozen on their way to a funeral. It is said that the entire procession is now haunting the lake. Paining from Jack B. Yeats (Irish, 1871-1957)  from 1918

Ross Castle: Where History and the Supernatural Collide

Standing on the shore of Lough Sheelin, beneath the shadow of Ross Castle, one can’t help but feel the weight of the tragic love story that unfolded within its ancient walls. As the wind whispers through the trees and the waves break against the rocks, the ghosts of the Black Baron and his daughter, Sabrina, continue to haunt the castle and the lake.

Over the years, countless visitors have been drawn to the ethereal beauty and historical significance of Ross Castle. Some come in search of supernatural encounters, while others seek to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Irish history. Regardless of their reasons for visiting, all leave with a sense of the lingering presence that pervades the castle.

Sabrina’s spirit, forever yearning for her lost love, wanders the corridors and staircases, hoping to reunite with Orwin, the love she was tragically torn apart from. The Black Baron, burdened by his past deeds and the sorrow he feels for the loss of his daughter, roams the castle in perpetual torment.

Ross Castle stands as a testament to Ireland’s captivating history, where tales of love, betrayal, and tragedy intertwine. Whether you visit as a curious traveler or an avid ghost hunter, the stories of Ross Castle will leave an indelible mark on your soul. As you depart its mysterious halls, the echoes of the past will linger, whispering in the winds, forever entwined with the haunting beauty of Ross Castle on the shores of Lough Sheelin.

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References:

Ross Castle – Ghosts 

Ross Castle, Haunted Meath, Ireland | Spirited Isle 

I went in search of Ireland’s most troubled ghosts – The Irish Times 

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10 Most Haunted Places in China

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From modern urban legends to old ghost stories from the ancient buildings and palaces, here is a list of some of the most haunted places in China.

Confucius once said: “Respect the ghosts and gods, but keep away from them.” This seems to be the standpoint of haunted ghost stories in China to this day as well and people can go far to avoid the mere rumor of a ghost. Apartments thought to be haunted are avoided, haunted buildings are torn down and people pay good money to have places cleansed for any lingering spirit.

Although ghosts are thought to be avoided there are no shortage of haunted places or ghost stories from China. From the old and ancient palaces to the urban high risers, they all have stories to tell.

If you are interested in the full list of articles written about ghost stories and haunted places in China, head over here.

Here is a closer look at the most haunted places in China.

Fengdu Ghost City | 丰都鬼城 | Chongqing — The Necropolis tourist attraction in the mountains

Most Haunted Places in China: Source

Along the Yangtzee river In the Chongqing region in China, lies Fengdu Ghost City in the mist covered mountains, a realm where the veil between the living and the dead grows thin. Fengdu Ghost city is more of an amusement park than a city and is steeped in centuries of myth and legend, beckons travelers from far and wide to its ghostly embrace from the lord of the underworld himself carved into Ming Mountain.

The story of Fengdu Ghost City goes back for nearly 2000 years and makes it on the list of Most Haunted Places in China, not only because of its haunting origin story, but how it can help us understand the rest of the list of haunted places. Here, the whispers of the past echo through time, as tales of restless spirits and otherworldly encounters abound. From the haunting sculptures that adorn its pathways to the shadowy corridors of its temples, every corner of Fengdu teems with spectral energy, inviting intrepid souls to uncover its secrets of how to successfully overcome the Buddhist trials in the afterlife.

Read the whole story here: Fengdu Ghost City

Chaonei No. 81 |  朝内81号 | Beijing — The horror house in the former church

Most Haunted Places in China

Amidst the bustling streets and ancient alleyways of Beijing, looms Chaonei No. 81, a place whispered in hushed tones as the “Beijing Horror House.” Within its walls, shadowy figures are said to dance behind curtained windows, their ghostly forms flickering in and out of view like phantoms in the night.

According to the most commonly told legend, it is to a woman that once resided in Chaonei No. 81. The woman is said to have been a wife or maybe a lover of an officer of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the nationalist party of China) that fought against the communist party during the Chinese civil war in the 1940s. The nationalist lost, and fled to Taiwan as the communists came into power. The woman was allegedly left behind by her officer man who fled with the army to Taiwan, and she is said to have hung herself from the rafters of the house. 

Even on the hottest summer days, an icy chill hangs heavy in the air, sending shivers down the spines of all who dare to approach one of the most haunted places in China.

Read the whole story here: Chaonei No. 81 — Beijing Horror House

Prince Gong’s Mansion | 恭王府 | Beijing — The ghost of a grieving mother in white

Most Haunted Places in China

The mansion is considered one of the most exquisite Chinese imperial mansions, representing the elegant lifestyle of Qing Dynasty royalty as well as being one of the most haunted places in China. 

One of the most haunting phenomena reported is the apparition of a woman cloaked in white, her ethereal presence lingering in the corridors and shadowy corners of the mansion. Legend has it that she is the ghost of a grieving mother, Feng Jiwen , forever trapped in a state of sorrow and anguish after the untimely loss of her beloved son when he died in a battle fighting rebels.

It is said she died of a broken heart soon after. She and several former escorts have been seen around the palace, and the guards working there have claimed to have seen a woman in white walking the premises. Her mournful wails are said to echo through the halls, sending shivers down the spines of all who dare to venture within.

Read the whole story here: The Haunted History of Prince Gong’s Mansion in Beijing

The Great Wall of China | 萬里長城/万里长城 | Northern China — Sounds of ghostly battle cries seeping through the mist

Most Haunted Places in China

Shrouded in mist and mystery, the Great Wall of China reveals its darker secrets to those who dare to listen. The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world and stretches for 8,850 km and it is said that it is also a haunted place, perhaps one of the most haunted places in China even?

Tourists and visitors claim to have seen soldiers patrolling the wall as well as hearing the sound of marching footsteps belonging to no one. The worst stories are those claiming to be overcome with a sudden nausea and dizziness that must have been something else than the steep steps of the wall. Many who traverse its ancient pathways speak of spectral apparitions, phantom warriors condemned to eternal vigilance along the rugged terrain.

Read the whole story here: Hidden Haunted Wonders of the Great Wall of China 

The Forbidden City | 紫禁城 | Beijing — Ghost of Concubines and curses at one of the most haunted places in China

Most Haunted Places in China

Built in the early 1400s, Beijing’s Forbidden City, or Zijin Cheng in Chinese (紫禁城), literally means the purple forbidden city and is a complex of majestic buildings and grounds that bears witness to the rise and fall of China’s powerful emperors and countless of people that lived and worked inside of the imperial walls. It is also perhaps one of the most haunted places in China

Legends speak of curses woven into the very fabric of these Imperial Palaces, warning those who dare to tread where mortals are forbidden. It is not just a singular haunted spot, but a plethora of them, perhaps is it the most haunted places in China? There were also said to be a well outside Jinghe Gate where a group of female ghosts live. Fortunately there was an iron plate on Jinghe Gate to suppress them, otherwise they would come out every day. In the middle of Sanhai On the Jin’ao Jade Bridge it was said that every three years a person walking over it would be pulled down by a ghost under the bridge.”

One story that keeps being repeated is that of the crying women, and in the Forbidden City, there were plenty of them throughout the years. Many speculate it is the ghost of one or more concubines as the crying woman is often seen in or around the quarter for the imperial concubines. 

Read the whole story here: The Secrets of Beijing’s Haunted Forbidden City

Fengmen Village | 封門村 | Henan Province — The curse of bad feng shui coming back to haunt

Most Haunted Places in China

Tucked away in the remote mountains of China lies the desolate Fengmen Village, a place where time seems to stand still and the whispers of the past linger in the air like restless spirits. Legends shroud this abandoned hamlet with its strange customs and tales of souls trapped within its borders, unable to find peace even in death. Could this be one of the most haunted places in China?

Some of the suspicion and eeriness to the village is their complete disregard for the Feng Shui of the buildings. According to legends, most of the houses face east-west, the complete opposite of Feng Shui, leading some people to think this is the reason why the place is so off and strange stuff is happening here. 

Over the years as the Fengmen Village population dwindled and hiking became more popular, many hikers decided to make their destination this strange and remote village. Some hikers have claimed to have called out their names into the dark night as they were camped outside the now abandoned village, and to their surprise, something called their names back. 

Travelers faint or feverish when they step into the village and wake up with scratches all over their body they have no idea where it came from. People that choose to travel to this far away place come back and tell of unusual noises and shouts can be heard and there is no phone reception to call for help when needing it. 

Read the whole story here: Dead Fengmen Village

Qiu Mansion | 查公館 | Shanghai — The strange disappearances and ghostly animals

Most Haunted Places in China

Once the opulent abode of the enigmatic Qiu brothers, its grandeur now lies in ruin, shrouded in the chilling whispers of its haunting past. Legends abound of the brothers’ sudden disappearance, leaving behind a mansion cloaked in darkness and despair.

At the height of their fame and notoriety, the Qiu brothers mysteriously disappeared as their paint industry started to decline in the wake of the wars raging. Their mansions started to decay and their once great gardens withered. The animals disappeared one by one, many just straight up killed to get rid off or eaten.

Rumors emerged of strange occurrences such as objects moving by themselves or shadows appearing in the abandoned mansion and eerie noises could be heard in the night. Yet, no one has been able to prove the legends. 

Just across the street there is a Four Seasons Hotel facing the former Qiu Mansion. From there, many visitors as well as staff have reported hearing and seeing strange animals roaming around the abandoned site. Construction workers from the restoration have sometimes sought hospital treatment for strange bites they believe come from animals, even though no one knows where and how they got injured, making people speculate that this mansion had to be one of the most haunted places in China.

Read the whole story here: The Haunted Qiu Mansion of Shanghai 

The Hello Kitty Murder Case | | Hong Kong — The ghost haunting the harrowing murder case

Most Haunted Places in China

The gruesome discovery of a woman’s skull concealed within the innocent facade of a Hello Kitty doll sent shockwaves rippling through the community, revealing the depths of human depravity in 1999. A young woman named Ah Fong, had fallen victim to a brutal and sadistic torture session orchestrated by a group of individuals involved in the criminal underworld.

Ah Fong had been held imprisoned in the apartment, tortured in the most barbaric and vicious ways as well as raped over and over for over a month before she died. But as the perpetrators faced justice for their heinous crime, whispers began to circulate of a darker force at play.

Many unusual events have occurred that are regarded as supernatural by the public. And rumors about something paranormal and strange going on started already during trial with the light flickering when the culprits tried to defend themselves.

The building where the murder happened had strange things going on as well and has made the list of more than one list of Most Haunted Places in China. A woman rented a unit on the fourth floor without knowing about the murder. Her friend often heard women crying at night, and at that time, there were no people living downstairs. There have also been reports about seeing the ghost of a young woman wandering in the building.

In the end the building itself was torn down. No one wanted anything to do with it as it was tainted and haunted in their eyes. But even when a new building was built there, a memorial was put in place just in case it could help stop with the haunting.

Read the whole story here: The Ghost of the Hello Kitty Murder

Last Bus to Fragrant Hill | | Beijing — The cities most haunting urban legend

Most Haunted Places in China

As dusk descends upon the bustling streets of Beijing, an eerie tale whispers through the city’s alleys and avenues, shrouded in mystery and dread. There are many public transportation systems with haunted lore attached to them like, the Haunted Subway in Beijing or The Haunted Metro Stations on Hong Kong MTR’s Island Line that could have made the list of Most Haunted Places in China. But the most told ghost story though, comes from the buses.

The legend of the Last Bus to Fragrant Hill, also known as Bus 330, haunts the minds of those who dare to venture into the realm of urban folklore. On a fateful November night in 1995, passengers board the No. 330 (many different numbers in different variations of the legend) bus departing from Yuanmingyuan main station bound for Fragrant Hill in Beijing. Among them are a young couple, an old woman, and the bus driver and conductor.

As the bus traverses the darkened streets, it encounters two peculiar passengers dressed in Qing Dynasty attire, accompanied by a seemingly unconscious man. Despite the oddity of their appearance, the passengers pay little attention, assuming them to be part of a film crew. However, the atmosphere takes a sinister twist when the old woman accuses one of the Qing Dynasty-clad men of theft, claiming he stole her wallet.

Sensing danger, the old woman persuades another passenger to get off with her, revealing that the strange men are legless ghosts from the Qing Dynasty. The bus mysteriously vanishes without a trace. Days later, the bus is discovered submerged in Miyun Reservoir, its interior bearing signs of a grisly demise: three bloodied corpses in advanced stages of decomposition.

Read the whole story here: The Disappearance of the Last Bus to Fragrant Hill in Beijing

The Takeout Ordering Ghost |鬼叫餐 | Hong Kong — An urban legend that is still haunting the streets

Most Haunted Places in China

In the bustling streets of Hong Kong, whispers of a ghostly phenomenon have long haunted the city’s residents. The tale of the Takeout Ordering Ghost, a spectral entity that summons food deliveries from beyond the grave, has become a chilling legend passed down through generations. Some believe that the origins of this eerie story can be traced back to a real incident, shrouded in mystery and superstition.

The story goes that after a restaurant receives an order by phone, the delivery boy heads to a nearby condo on Leighton Road, where he encounters a hand emerging from the door gap to pay him. Upon returning to the restaurant, however, he discovers that the money has transformed into ghostly joss paper, unsettling the owner and casting suspicion on the employee.

As the eerie incidents repeat themselves, with the money consistently morphing into ghost currency, the restaurant owner grows increasingly alarmed. Determined to uncover the truth, he decides to personally deliver the next order to the condo. What he discovers inside shocks him to the core: four decomposing bodies seated around a Mahjong table, with remnants of the restaurant’s food containers nearby.

Police investigations reveal that the deceased succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning, indicating that they had been dead for some time, although the neighbors had all heard them playing and partying.

Read the whole story here: The Takeout Ordering Ghost in Hong Kong

The most haunted places in China

These are only some of the Most Haunted Places in China, but far from every haunted place or ghost story from China. For more articles about this, head over to the entire archive of ghost stories from the country for more of the most haunted places in China.

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Most Haunted Places in China – links to sources are found in the respective articles

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The Haunted Preventorio de Aigües in Alicante

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The former wellness hotel and sanatorium called Preventorio de Aigües is said to have healing thermal water as well as the ruins of the buildings are said to have attracted ghosts. This abandoned building close to Alicante is popular with paranormal seekers and ghosts alike. 

Among the many haunted places around the world, Haunted Hospital in Spain is known for its eerie atmosphere. The ghost that is said to linger in the hospital has been a topic of discussion for horror enthusiasts for a long time. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Spain

The hospital has a dark history, and it’s not hard to imagine the spirits of those who perished there still wandering through its corridors.

The Time as a Wellbeing Hotel

This 19th century building high up in the mountains 25 kilometers from the city of Alicante in Spain was originally built as a luxury hotel in Aguas de Busot by Count de Casa de Rojas and Marquis de Bosh for the rich and wealthy. 

The hotel was known as Hotel Miramar Winter Station and was built out with many buildings, chapels, a casino, a playground and sport facilities. It was a state of luxury, and the guests were all from high society where even the King and Queen of Spain visited.

Haunted Building: the Preventorio de Aigües now abandoned is thought to be haunted by the children that used to live there when it was used as a sanatorium//Source: Jesús Alenda/wikimedia

Today the only building still standing from it is the building from 1816 designed by the architect Pedro Garcia Faria and the once glorious place is now only an abandoned shell of what it once was. And throughout the years, it truly was a lot.   

The Civil War Closed the Door of the Hotel

But the story took a sharp turn in the later years. In 1930 the luxury hotel closed its doors as a hotel and spa. According to the stories, it is said that the owner, Marquis de Bosch lost the hotel in a poker game.

At the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Preventorio de Aguas de Busot was turned into a sanatorium for children. The idea was to take uninfected children and keep them away to prevent them from being infected as well as to accommodate orphans. 

When the disease started to die out the hospital was abandoned in the late 1960s and remains so to this day. 

The Building as a Sanatorium

A sanatorium is an old name for specialized hospitals that were made for specific ailments. They were often built in the countryside with plenty of fresh air in a healthy climate isolated from the outside world. Sanatoriums across Europe and America were very popular to treat tuberculosis until the discovery of antibiotics. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from old hospitals like Hauntingly Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital, Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital or Hauntings at the Weston State Hospital or the Trans-Allegheny Asylum

It could however also be a place for people to heal from things like alcoholism, nervous diseases like hysteria or emotional exhaustions. After medical advances the use of sanatoriums declined and many were abandoned in the mid 1900s often and has since gained a haunted reputation. 

The Healing Thermal Water

The water in the area was thought to contain healing properties all the way back to Roman times and it is also chronicled by Arabs that resided in Spain in medieval times. 

They have talked about the good water in the hot springs found in the area, making it a perfect spot for a wellbeing hotel. It is also a place perfect for where mysterious things happen.

The Haunting in the Abandoned building

Now the building is abandoned and the only visitors are those seeking out the paranormal rumors and trying to investigate if they are true or not. In 2005 they tried to install some fences around the place, but no fences have ever held the most intense people out. 

People that have visited the place say that you can find many secret tunnels from the war leading as far to the neighboring town called Campello. There is even paperwork from both the time it served as a hotel as well as a hospital where even old patient files lie scattered around in the ruins. They have also come back claiming to have seen a ghost or two. 

Inside the old hospital it is said you can hear whistles while a translucent figure is climbing the ruined stairs.

It is said the place is haunted by the children that ended their life here, even though there are not really any recordings of deaths related to tuberculosis in the building. The legend persists and there are many who claim to have seen the ghosts of children around the ruins. 

Although no one really died of tuberculosis, there were recorded deaths of fires, sunstrokes and falls. 

The Woman in White

It is also said that a woman in white is seen crying when calamities approach. According to the legend, she could be seen in the reflection in a mirror that hung by the stairs to the first floor.  If you saw her laughing and crying at the same time, it was all good. But if you saw her only sobbing it meant something bad was going to happen. 

She is most often seen walking around the building at night and some claim that was  the wife of the Count of Casas Rojas, the former owner of the hotel and spas. Some of the variations of the legends says that she used to reside inside of a mirror, but when the mirror broke, she escaped and is now walking freely around.

According to the locals, the staff that used to work there used black magic in the church in the building and there are rumors that the place was also the place for a sect with ill intentions. 

The Future of the Sanatorium

Through the knocked down fences, the dark building stands looming on the hill. 

What will happen with the building is unclear, as it has been the topic of debate and in court for decades now. Some want to construct a hotel again, perhaps turn it into a museum. Some even want to tear the entire building to the ground. 

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References:


El preventorio de Aigües de Bussot – Mitos y Leyendas en la provincia de Alicante
Leyendas urbanas: fantasmas en Alicante – Hoja del Lunes
Blog escrito desde Alicante: PREVENTORIO AGUAS DE BUSOT (2ª PARTE)
El preventorio de Aigües, lugar maldito donde habita lo paranormal
El abandonado preventorio de Aigües de Busot: sanatorio de tuberculosos
El Preventorio de Aguas de Busot en Alicante | Excursiones
Preventorio de Aguas de Busot: Siniestro Levante | Traveler
Preventorio de Aguas de Busot – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
Road trip through the gloomiest haunted houses in Spain
Visiting Spain’s Most Haunted Locations | Right Casa Estates

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Haunted Trails and Tales of Ballyboley Forest

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When the Gaelic Celts first set their foot on the emerald isle, they brought with them their ancient rites and magic. And in Ballyboley Forest in Antrim in Northern Ireland, it is said that something from this time still lingers within the woods. 

By the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Ballyboley Forest unveils a scenic trail that winds through meadows and woodlands to the serene Kilylane Reservoir. 

While the trail promises a breathtaking journey through Antrim’s beautiful landscape, it also carries with it spooky legends and ghostly tales that have woven themselves into the fabric of this Northern Irish landscape, and the story of the haunted Ballyboley Forest have topped various lists of Top Haunted Places.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Haunted Forests around the world

The current forest was planted in 1957, but the ghost stories and local legends go much further back than that, with a forest area like Ballyboley Forest going as far back to 300 BC, to ancient druid and celtic times. But just how many of these legends can we believe?

Source: Albert Bridge / Ballyboley forest near Larne (8) / CC BY-SA 2.0

Ancient Druid Meeting Place

The Ballyboley Forest, it is said, carries an ancient energy, having served as an ancient meeting place for druids. Artifacts discovered over the years hint at the rituals and gatherings that once transpired beneath its leafy canopy.

It is said that you can find circular trenches and stone formations in the north east part of the forest that are now grown over, but can still be seen. These megalithic structures are only claimed through rumors though and no archeological overview shows any particular monuments from Gaelic times inside of the forest.

If there really were druids in the area is unclear though the coastal area close to it like in Larne is thought to be one of the earliest inhabited areas of Ireland, when people came over from Scotland. But did they really venture over to what became Ballyboley Forest, or did these stories first come after the current forest was planted?

Haunted Histories from Ballyboley Forest

Let’s have a look at the haunted stories coming from the forest. It is said local legends speak of haunting occurrences within its depths—plumes of black smoke rising above the trees, and echoes of ghostly screams that linger in the twilight. 

Throughout the 15t, 16th as well as the 17th century, there have supposedly been many strange disappearances of the local people that went to the area. Some sources claim it is as many as thirty different cases of the missing people.

There are according to local lore, strange paths going through a gateway to The Otherworld of Celtic mythology.

The Stories Sources

These stories about smoke in the Ballyboley Forest and screams come from a couple of sources. First is a story supposedly relayed from a young couple that were hiking in the area and they were scared of the screams and the cloud-like black smoke that appeared. They quickly left the forest when this happened, and what really went down then, we don’t know. And who this couple was, there really isn’t a trail of either.

In a news report from 1997, in an unknown newspaper, there were two men in the Ballyboley Forest that heard the sound of something flapping. After a while they heard the sound of a woman like she was in pain and tried to find the source of the lady as she could be in need of help. 

Instead they left the tracks and stumbled upon a place where the trees were smeared with something that looked eerily like blood. They turned to get out of the place, but four human shaped figures were standing still behind them. All were dressed in brown rags and their heads were covered. 

Most of the accounts of the strange things people have experienced in the forest though, seems to be repostings from online forums from anonymous posters without any clear sources. Also the newspaper clippings that supposedly the stories were retold in, are missing. 

This is the case with the alleged experiences of a poster on Reddit as well from 2005 that also claimed to have seen the four rag clad figures holding torches and hearing the screeching sound of unknown animals. 

Although this was supposed to have happened in 2005 and the poster read the post made on The Shadowlands, seemingly the earliest posts about this hauntings online, the information has been out online since the late 90s on the page. 

Conclusion About the Haunting of the Forest

Ballyboley Forest, with its picturesque trails and hidden mysteries, invites adventurers to delve into a realm where beauty and the supernatural intertwine. But are the local legends really local, or are they merely a figment of the rapid copy paste culture of the internet?

As the wind rustles through the ancient trees, it carries with it the tales of plumes of black smoke, blood-stained trees, and the ethereal screams that have become part of the forest’s haunted legacy. The trail, though outwardly serene, unravels a tapestry of legends that adds a dark layer to the Northern Irish landscape. 

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References:

Ballyboley Forest and Kilylane Reservoir Circular, Antrim and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland – 138 Reviews, Map | AllTrails

Shadowlands Haunted Places Index – Ireland 

https://emadion.it/en/mysteries/mysterious-places-2/ballyboley-dark-forest/

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St. Katherine’s Abbey and Hauntings of the Black Hag

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In the ruins of an old Abbey in Ireland, the locals claim they can still hear the dying screams of a woman that was buried alive, as well as feel the dark forces from the Black Hag that were practicing dark magic in the St. Katherine’s Abbey.

In the picturesque landscapes of County Limerick, Ireland, amidst the serene countryside, lies a silent witness to centuries of history, both sacred and macabre — St. Katherine’s Abbey as it is officially consecrated as. 

The ruins of the once Augustinian abbey are known under many names though like Monasternagalliaghduff or Mainistir na gCailleach Dubh. It is also called the Abbey of St Catherine de O’Conyl or simply Old Abbey.

Read More: Check out all of the ghost stories from Ireland

There are several legends from this place and it is said to be haunted to this day as the dark magic that once were cast still lingers.

The Timeless Convent of Monasternagalliaghduff

Dating back to the 13th century, the Abbey of the Black Hag is a weathered and abandoned convent that has witnessed the passage of time, preserving within its ancient stones the stories of the faithful, the echoes of prayer, and the secrets of its enigmatic past.

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St. Katherine’s Abbey is one of the earliest recorded nunneries in Ireland and was probably in operation until the 1500s until the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the Reformation in Ireland, or perhaps before this.

Monasternagalliaghduff: Only the few ruins are left fro the old abbey in the open field, now covered in grass. Many legends are tied to this place, and some claim St. Katherine’s Abbey is still haunted by them. //Source: JohnArmagh/wikimedia

The Countess Buried Alive in St. Katherine’s Abbey

But it is not the passage of time or the hallowed echoes of devotion that have etched St. Katherine’s Abbey into the annals of Irish folklore. Instead, it is the eerie legends and ghosts said to haunt the abbey, casting an ominous shadow over the abbey’s ruins no matter how much the sun is shining.

One of the legends comes from Countess Fitzgerald. She was the wife of The Earl of Desmond that had a bloody feud against the Butler family that was the Earls of Ormond during the 15th century. 

The Fitzgeral were attacked and the Earl was going to get his wife to safety. She was shot in the thigh by an arrow and throughout the night, she lost so much blood and the Earl thought she had died when they reached the abbey. 

She was buried underneath the altar of the abbey before he quickly rode on. But the nuns started to hear terrible screams coming from the grave during the night. In the end they chose to open the grave, but it was too late and they found the Countess dead, but with broken fingers and torn out nails. She had been buried alive and she had tried to claw her way out. 

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It is believed that she never found peace through and that she is still waiting for her husband to save her, still trying to claw her way out from her grave. 

The Tale of the Black Hag St. Katherine’s Abbey

As local lore has it, the last head nun or abbess of St. Katherine’s Abbey possessed knowledge of the dark arts and wielded them with terrifying skill. The Black Hag or the Black Nun as she was known as was actually a witch and Satanist according to the legends. 

Her mastery of these forbidden arts cast a long shadow of fear over the locals. Whispers of her malevolent practices spread like wildfire, shrouding the abbey in a sinister reputation.

Read More: Check out all of the stories about Witches at the MoonMausoleum.

According to the legends, the Black Nun wanted power, and to get it she sold her soul to get it. She was said to look gaunt with a skeletal figure wearing her all black robes. Even her face was said to darken, either from ashes or her dark magic. 

The Black Hag’s Cell

In the present day, the room within the abbey’s south end that once served as the abbess’s quarters has become infamous as the Black Hag’s Cell. It is in this chamber that the alleged witch’s spirit is said to linger, her spectral presence a chilling reminder of the darker chapters of the abbey’s history.

The Black Hag: Was she a witch? Did she practice dark arts? Or perhaps she was just the victim of terrible rumours? Was she real at all? One of the enduring legends from the former abbey is that of the Black Nun, or Black Hag, that were said to be the abbess of the abbey and a practitioner of the black arts.

It was in this cell that she performed Black Magic and worshiped Satan. Other nuns fled from the abbey according to legend when they found out what their abbess was up to, and she was left in the darkness. What happened to this supposed witch is uncertain.

The darkest rumor about the Black Nun is that she also sacrificed children during her dark rituals, taken from the nearby villagers, and there actually have been found bones of children on the grounds.

A Wicked End of the Black Hag

Where these legends come from though is uncertain. There certainly came some stories to justify the dissolutions of the nunneries in Ireland when the old Catholicism was seen as something filled with superstition and possible dark magic. 

Also, tales about single women living secluded have always had a trail of witch rumors following them. Because what in the world are unmarried single women up to if not worshiping Satan?

Haunting Echoes coming from the Old Abbey Ruins

Locals who live in the vicinity of St. Katherine’s Abbey speak in hushed tones of nights disturbed by blood-curdling screams that pierce the darkness. These ghostly wails, they claim, are the anguished cries of the Black Hag herself, echoing through the lonely hours of the night.

Or perhaps it is from the ghost of Countess Fitzgerald, who is still trying to let people know that she is alive, replaying her final hours trapped in the coffin. 

The Ruins of St. Katherine’s Abbey

As the moon cast an ethereal glow upon the ancient ruins of St. Katherine’s Abbey, the whispers of the past faded into the night. The haunting echoes of the Black Hag’s chilling cries and the anguished screams of Countess Fitzgerald began to dissipate, carried away by the gentle breeze.

And the Black Hag, a figure shrouded in mystery and fear, gradually faded into the realm of folklore. Her malevolence became a distant memory, forever entwined with the legends of the abbey.

The ruins of St. Katherine’s Abbey, now bathed in the light of a new day visitors wandered through the weathered stones, admiring the beauty of the landscape and contemplating the rich history that had unfolded within those crumbling walls.

As the sun set on St. Katherine’s Abbey, casting a golden hue over the landscape, a sense of tranquility and closure settled upon the abbey grounds. The tales of the Black Hag and the buried Countess became mere echoes, floating in the winds of time. Or do they?

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References:

IN THE ABBEY OF THE BLACK HAG – DARK EMERALD TALES 

Monasternagalliaghduff – Wikipedia 

An online magazine about the paranormal, haunted and macabre. We collect the ghost stories from all around the world as well as review horror and gothic media.

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