Get to know one of the most iconic castles in France – Château de Chambord. The grand castle is, according to legend, designed by Leonardo da Vinci himself. And it is also said that the castle is haunted by the souls of the soldiers of the Franco-Prussian War.
Built by King Francis I in the 1600s, the Château de Chambord is one of France’s most iconic castles in the Loire Valley in the heart of France because of its distinct French Renaissance architecture.
The Château was originally built to be a hunting lodge for King Francis I and it is filled with centuries of history, the majestic site quickly became one of the country’s biggest attractions and remains a must-see destination for travelers today.
History of Château de Chambord
Château de Chambord was built by King Francis I of France from 1519 to 1547. The property took 14 years to build and stretch out an impressive 52,000 square meters (558,000 sq feet).
Its design was a blend of both Gothic and Renaissance architecture, with a blend of French and Italian elements the French brought home from Italy after the Hundred Years’ War. The castle is surrounded by a park 5 km (3 miles) in circumference and is home to 46 staircases, 282 fireplaces, and 440 rooms.
Designed by Leonardo Da Vinci?
The immense double staircase is an exceptional feature of the Château de Chambord, which according to legend was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, although the true architect behind it is much disputed. This design which blends together two symmetrical independent spiral staircases is perhaps one of its most remarkable features. In order to ensure this symmetry, both staircases ascend the same height and never meet each other.
Château de Chambord’s double helix also intersects with multiple rooms, creating spectacular illusions by allowing visitors to originate from any point of departure and remain completely unseen from anyone in the opposite staircase.
The Hauntings at Château de Chambord
Rumors about paranormal activity in the castle have been around since the 19th century and the castle has been abandoned many times during the long war years, revolution and so on. Many visitors reported seeing mysterious figures and hearing strange, unexplained noises inside its walls.
During the Franco-Prussian War from 1870-1871 the Château de Chambord was used as a field hospital. The war was between the Second French Empire and The North German Confederation that ended in German victory. It also ended in over 40 000 deaths on the German side and over 138 000 deaths on the French side.
Many were taken to the Château de Chambord that was a field hospital back then and ended their lives there. After this, people in the grand Château claim to see the ghosts of the dead soldiers still wandering the halls and the grand staircase.
Discover the creepy secrets hidden in the shadows of the St. Augustine Lighthouse! Uncover the truth about paranormal activity and ghost stories around this haunted location.
Have you ever felt a chill run down your spine while touring the St. Augustine Lighthouse? Explore its haunted history, find out what visitors have seen, and hear tales of ghosts, mysterious wet footprints around the keeper’s house, and strange occurrences that remain unexplained!
History of the St. Augustine Lighthouse
The current lighthouse is on Anastasia Island in Florida and was built between 1871 and 1874, but a lighthouse has been there long before that. Even as far as 1565, the place was used both for the Spanish and British government to guide their way through the waters with lit pyres.
The St. Augustine Lighthouse has a long history, with reports of paranormal activity dating back to the 1800s. It is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of three former lighthouse keepers and their families, who lived and worked in the area during its heyday.
Visitors have reported numerous strange occurrences, including eerie shadows in dark corners, doors that open and close on their own, and even disembodied voices murmuring in the night!
Stories and Sightings of Paranormal Activity
Stories of paranormal activity at the St. Augustine Lighthouse have persisted for centuries. It is said that spirits of the former lighthouse keepers wander its halls, restless and cranky.
Visitors to the lighthouse have shared stories of hearing unexplained footsteps and disembodied voices, seeing strange lights and shadows moving around in the darkness, feeling an oppressive presence overpowering them, and even being able to peer into otherworldly realms!
The Ghosts of the Pittee Girls
Some of the ghosts that are said to haunt the lighthouse are the spirits of the Pittee Girls. On July 10th, 1873 there were four girls. Three of them Mary of 15, Eliza of13 and Carrie of 4 were sisters and daughters of the superintendent of the Lighthouse Construction. The last one was an unknown African-American girl who was 10 and her father may have also been working on the site.
The Pittee Girls: The two elders of the Pittee Girls along with an unnamed friend drowned when they were playing close to the lighthouse construction site. It is said that they are haunting t. Augustine Lighthouse to this day.
They were in a railway cart used for moving supplies and playing in it like it was a rollercoaster. One fateful day however the cart went into the water and trapped the girls under it. A worker on the site, Mr Dan Sessions saw it and tried to save them. But it was too late, and everyone but the youngest drowned.
After this, a lot of the paranormal activity that people say they experience are attributed to these girls like giggling in the night and the apparition of young girls running around in Victorian clothing. People that rented the keeper’s house have told that they have woken up in the middle of the night and a small girl has been standing by their bed before disappearing.
The Haunted Basement
In 1970 the keeper’s house had been empty for years. One day it burned down under mysterious circumstances and only the basement was left from the original building when they renovated it.
During the renovation, the workers reported about strange stuff happening around the house meant to house the keeper at St. Augustine Lighthouse, especially down in the basement.
Investigating and Documenting Ghostly Phenomena
For those brave enough to venture into the eerie depths of the St. Augustine Lighthouse, Paranormal Investigation teams have provided detailed reports on their experiences and findings while exploring the ghostly phenomena at the location. Many investigators use digital recorders, cameras and other devices to capture evidence of paranormal activity.
Evidence gathered can include detailed investigations into potential hauntings, recording video footage of unexplainable activity, or utilizing scientific techniques such as electromagnetic field (EMF) readings or voice analysis to uncover potentially supernatural occurrences. But can these be trusted as hard evidence?
Tales of paranormal activity around the St. Augustine Lighthouse are deep and wide. Reports of sightings here range from experiences with ghosts and strange noises in the night and although there is no concrete evidence of supernatural beings in the area as yet, visitors who have braved its depths never forget their eerie experience!
Sitting on the porch outside the historic John Lawson House, three mannequins sat on the porch for over a decade. No one really knew who lived there, or why the mannequins were there. And no one really saw when or if someone came and moved the mannequins’ positions, clothes and wigs.
The old house is found in Wappingers Falls in New York and has probably seen its fair share since it was first built. It is a really old house built in 1845 by a man named John Lawson that is not known much about and were the name comes from. What is known of this man is that he is descended from the one of the first Europeans families that took over the area. But who lived in this house now, is uncertain and up for a lot of speculation.
But one day something strange appeared on the poarch that caught the curiosity of the locals and made people speculate in the haunted rumours of the house. A couple of dressed up mannequins without any explanation suddenly appeared, and to this day, we still don’t know the full story.
Read More: Check out all of our ghost stories from USA
The John Lawson House, sitting by the road and letting the paint peel therefore has an old story, and the house would by its historic architecture and age be a breeding ground for haunting house rumors and paranormal ghost stories. But it was in recent times that the house really started to be known as the creepiest house in America.
Read More: Check out more ghost stories from haunted houses in the world.
The Mannequins on the Porch of The John Lawson House
In a span of a decade in the early 2000s, the house on 9A Main Street was known for housing a group of life size mannequins that sat on the porch of the house. In each of their rocking chairs the three mannequins sat in their vintage dresses, looking out on those passing the house.
The Mannequins on the Porch: The John Lawson House was for over a decade a place of wonder when three mannequins camped out on the porch and started a rumour of the house being haunted. They would be dressed up in different clothes, wigs and hold onto different accessories. It was a mystery as to who or why did this.
The mannequins on the porch of the John Lawson House were of the kind you would find in clothing stores. What is weirder is that someone would change their clothes and their wigs occasionally. In pictures they wore everything from vintage dresses to normal mainstream fashion, often according to the seasons as well.
The people orchestrating the mannequins would also get different props to hold in their hands like standard props like books opened for the mannequins to look like they just relaxed on their porch, reading as if they are taking the view in. There were however also occasions where the mannequins held onto things that made the weird sight, even weirder. Like when they held onto stuff like an empty birdcage or tool boxes.
Whenever there was bad weather in New Hamburg, the mannequins would disappear from sitting on the porch so they would not get caught in the rain, but come back when the weather cleared up.
What was this supposed to be? At the time, no one really knew who lived in the house, and no one really saw who changed the props or clothes of the mannequins in between sets. This of course led to people thinking the house was really haunted and people started to look to the old history of the house for an explanation.
The Haunting Accidents near The John Lawson House
There are mainly two tragedies from the past the locals used to explain the reason behind the supposed hauntings of The John Lawson House, although the most disturbing thing yet seems to be the thing sitting on the poarch that everyone can see and touch. But can we really explain it?
Historic Building filled with Dolls Living their Lives: The John Lawson House is thought to be one of the oldest houses in this area. According to some, this house is also a haunted one.
One of the dark legends connected to the John Lawson House comes from a terrible accident decades ago. Back in 1871 a freight train derailed close by the John Lawson House on February 6th. It ended up colliding with a passenger train that was unable to stop and it all ended in a big tragedy.
The train was carrying oil which caught fire and ended in an explosion only 200 feet from the John Lawson House. That night, 22 people were killed, and this is one of the events that are said to haunt the house. But what came first? Did the haunted legends fuel the urge to put eerie dolls on display, or did the dolls sitting there like the uncanny valley give a head start to the haunted rumours?
Another thing that is attributed to the haunting is the second fire that broke out in the neighborhood around John Lawson House. In 1877 on May 3rd, seven buildings burned to the ground and the John Lawson House was one of the few houses that survived the fire for some reason. There were at the time theories that the fire was arson and a very strategic one at that. If there were any casualties in the fire is unknown, but the ghost stories claim that there really was.
If there was any local legends surrounding the the John Lawson House before the mannequins showed up on the porch is unknown. Or if these two tragedies have been told as a ghost story before they started hanging out on the poarch, is also unknown. Most likely the stories have been used to create the legend of a haunted house, not just the house of an eccentric.
The Haunting Mannequins
According to the legends told, the mannequins were haunted by the spirits of those that died in those two accidents. But as the article has already have stated, what came first, the hauntings or the mannequins is a bit unclear.
There are also those that connect the dots that some of the mannequins are facing the site of the train derailing and others are facing the other historic house that survived the second fire. Coincidence? Like most things in life, most likely. Or…
The strange house has made many theories about what really went down in the John Lawson House. The most likely scenario is of course the house was owned by some really committed pranksters or just some with a strange hobby. And although one can very easily find out who lived in the house or occasionally comes to rearrange 3 real life dolls outside on the Main Street, everyone loves a good mystery without an unsatisfying truth behind. Could this be one of the cases were the locals simply don’t want the truth and full story, as the life in these parts are boring enough?
Read Also: Another haunted case were the locals didn’t want the truth to ruin the fun local legend is the case of The Anson Lights Highway Ghost in Texas.
The Disappearance of the Mannequins of the John Lawson House
Relaxing: The mannequins relaxing with a book and a coffee mug on the porch outside of John Lawson House before they disappeared in 2016.
This strange house with its strange inhabitants started to become more than just a local legend of the quaint town of New Hamburg and the story of the weird mannequins started to draw tourists wanting to have a look around The John Lawson House and see for themselves what the thing was all about.
What outfits would they wear? What items would they clutch in their cold and stiff hands?
But if you are curious about the house and the mannequins, you are now in bad luck most likely as it seems that the pranksters got tired of the constant upkeep of the dolls. Today there are no more mannequins sitting on the front porch of the house.
One day in the summer of 2016, the locals in the town found that the porch was empty and the mannequins had simply vanished during the night. Even when the weather cleared up, they were nowhere in sight. No one really knows where they have gone or why they were there in the first place.
Or is this simply another case of the: the story is better if we don’t know the truth? Because rumor has it they are found at a house near Route 9W, ready to create another urban legend, sitting ready in their outfits, reading a book and enjoying the nice weather outside.
Guarding the old mining community, these ghosts of these two women have been dubbed witches by the locals, feared as well as revered in their lives. Who were The White Witches of the Black Diamond Mines?
Before the place in the San Francisco Bay area used to be a bustling mining community at the turn of the century. The coal mines was operating until 1945. Now the mines are closed and the place forgotten, but the remains can still be reached an hour away from San Francisco.
Although named the Diamond mines, there was no sparkling diamonds to be found in the mines. Instead it was coal, the black type of diamonds. It is here the legend of the white witches started to take hold of the mining community.
The Contra Costa County is ranked as the scariest place in California because of legends like the Black Diamond Mines and the White Witches that are said to be haunting the place.
The White Witch in Rose Hill Cemetery
Sara Norton worked as a midwife to the people living in the small towns across the bay area and she delivered over 600 babies in her time. She was a widow to Noah Norton that even got the town Nortonville named after himself.
She died however in 1879 at the age of 68. She was on call at her midwife duties when she was thrown from a carriage to make a delivery in Clayton and was killed in the accident.
According to the legend, Sarah was not a religious person and told her own kids that she didn’t want a church funeral. However, when she died that was exactly what they gave her and her spirit became enraged. On the day of the funeral a storm crashed their plan and they decided to go through with the funeral the next day. The next day however, another storm came crashing and ruined their plans. The townspeople took the hint and skipped the formalities and buried her in the Rosehill Cemetery.
From then on the spirit of Sarah has been spotted in the old mining towns as well as floating around the tombstones in the graveyard.
Mary the Wailing Witch in the Black Diamond Mines
Another lady that is haunting the place is Mary, who history forgot her last name. She was working as a nanny in the 1870s, but in contrast to Sarah that brought life into this world, her legacy tells that she put life out.
All of her children that she cared for died of illness and it was not soon before she was accused of witchcraft after some local townspeople allegedly found evidence of her dark rituals that resulted in the death of their children.
In some variations of the legend, she worked as a school teacher, not a nanny. And with the diseases of the times, it is not unlikely diseases went through the community, striking the kids at the same time. So was it a tragedy or witchcraft? The townspeople certainly was of the belief that it was and set out to punish her.
The legend differs from how Mary met her death. Although the evidence is lost to us, it supposedly was enough to hang her for her crimes in some versions of the story. In other version her dead body was found in the mines under strange circumstances. But it was not enough to bring her out of this world.
To this day she is spotted guarding the mines wearing all white and seeking revenge for her murder. But there is also another side to her hauntings. It is said that it is mostly children that see her, and she pushes them out from the dangerous mines that are filled with harmful gasses and unstable tunnels.
So the question remains, is she remaining in the world as a resentful witch, or as a protector of children that she wasn’t able to be alive?
From beyond the veil, some mediums claimed that ghosts and spirits guided them to paint and draw. One of them was Georgiana Houghton and her spirit drawings.
Now mainly referred to Spiritualist art, spirit art, mediumistic art or psychic painting, this was and to a certain extent, still is a form of painting or drawing highly influenced by spiritualism. Spiritualism was a movement where connecting with the spirit world was both a performative and at times lucrative business. And the mediums that held these seances had different ways of reaching out to the spirits. One of the ways was by the pen.
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Although perhaps not the psychic or spiritual part of the art is put much weight in today, the movement had a huge impact on modern art as part of the abstract art department. There are perhaps more famous men behind this genre of abstract art known today, like Piet Mondrian, Vasily Kandinsku, Kasimir Malevish and František Kupka.
Often overlooked goes the women that may have been the pioneers within this type of paintings and drawings, decades before the textbook pioneers. One of them is Georgiana Houghton (1814–1884)
The Artist and the Medium
The Spiritualist painter: Georgiana Houghton was both a medium and a trained artist.
She was a British artist and medium born on Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, but moved and lived in London. She was remembered more like an eccentric amateur artist that was more known for her medium role than of an artist. And she gave more credit to the spirits that guided her paintings than to herself as their creator.
This is also where she produced her first abstract work, or as they called it then, spirit drawings. Many of the pieces remind more of 196 or 1970 psychedelic art then Victorian from the 1860s and 70s. In 1859 she started having these private seances where she allegedly were guided to paint by different spirits and celestial beings.
Precipitated Paintings
Often, these particular paintings would come during a seance where the medium claimed that it was in fact spirits that guided the artist to produce the paintings.
When spiritism was at its peak of popularity, it was very common for the mediums to sketch a portrait of the spirit they were in contact with during their seances. Another form of this was by automatic drawing where mediums and other practitioners controlled the body of the artist.
Georgiana Houghton started her spirit art career first by drawing and then with watercolors. She was one of those relying on an automatic process where she told she was directed by spirits. First she drew flowers and fruits, and was somewhat of a floral artist. This was the one way of painting that was looked at as more of a respectable practice for Victorian artists. But then her style turned to something else entirely.
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The floral pictures evolved to project the spiritual experience more than objects of the natural world. She had complex pictures with several layers, colors and details. She described the abstract shapes she found in her and colors as sacred symbolism
Not only was spiritualism on the edge of what was perceived as ordinary, at this time, the abstract way of painting was still not a concept, so the reception of the paintings was received more as a curious rarity than art.
In the beginning, Houghton claimed that it was her dead family members like her sister Zilla that guided her, but as her work evolved, so did her artist spirit guides. And she would later claim that it was the likes of Renaissance artists Titian and Correggio that led her brush.
The Frauds and the Performers
Spirit photographs: She was not only a painter that drew her seances. Here she is posing for a photograph, also used a lot within the spiritism movement.
She started gaining quite the notoriety for her paintings and even held an exhibition at the New British Gallery in Bond Street in London in 1871. Although it perplexed the visitors and was an eye opener for many of those watching the exhibition, it was not a commercial success at all. It almost bankrupted Houghton.
Despite this, she spent every day for around three months talking about her paintings to visitors and discussing the meaning behind her sacred symbols and what they could have meant.
In 1882 she published the book: ‘Chronicles of the Photographs of Spiritual Beings and Phenomena Invisible to the Material Eye’. This book featured spirit photographs from many well known spirit photographers that were active in the 1870s like Agnes Guppy-Volckman, Stainton Moses and spiritualists Alfred Russel Wallace and William Howitt.
There were also pictures from Frederick Hudson, well known for being the first spirit photographer in Britain, but also a well known fraudulent one that was exposed already in the 1870s. The book itself was heavily criticized for featuring dubious pictures where the pictures themselves were unconvincing and could be replicated with double exposure and .
Her Legacy as the Artist and not the Eccentric
Now, the collection is missing many of her works. Because it is not the museums, galleries or art historians that kept her legacy intact. Most of her works were kept by the Victorian Spiritualists Union in Melbourne. Like so many other women’s achievements they are kept hidden in their diaries, botanical albums and embroideries that not often are looked at as real art. And the irony that she attributes her work to the likes of ghost men speaks echoes with a bitter aftertaste today.
Although more known for her medium role than that of an artist, her work speaks for itself. Especially when we look at the way the art movement moved in the modern world, and her art were so ahead of its time. In 2016, the The Courtauld Gallery held an exhibition of her paintings where they acknowledged, not only the curious and peculiar origin story behind the paintings, but her craftsmanship and artistry as well. Because no matter how we feel about the spiritualism part, we cannot ignore how in modern art, the pieces we watch in a gallery, can help us see past the realism of the world and our thinking and reach a place in our sub consciousness we otherwise couldn’t see.
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.
