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The Curse of Tenaya Canyon in Yosemite

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One of the more dangerous places to travel in Yosemite National Park is the Tenaya Canyon where many people have gotten hurt or even died. Many believe that the canyon is cursed after Chief Tenaya and his people got removed from Yosemite and their ancestral land.  

Amidst the towering sequoias and breathtaking landscapes of Yosemite National Park and its surroundings, a realm of shadows and whispered stories unfolds. As the sun sets behind the colossal sequoias, legends from modern day and ancient tales creep out from the well walked trails in the darkness of Yosemite’s haunted landscape.

Yosemite National Park covers 759,620 acres and stretches into four counties in California. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1984 and is filled with granite cliffs, giant sequoia groves, crystal clear lakes and streams and storming waterfalls from the mountains. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from USA

Although the European settlers’ story in Yosemite is from 1851 when it was “found” by James D. Savage, the Native Americans story in the valley stretches back to nearly 4000 years. As for human presence, perhaps as far as 10 000 years. And by the look of it, it also seems to be one of the more haunted National Parks in the USA as well. 

Tenaya Canyon: View of Half Dome through Tenaya Canyon were the curse of Chief Tenaya is said to linger after his son was murdered by settlers: Akos Kokai/Wikimedia

The Danger of Tenaya Canyon

In Yosemite National Park lies a place of beauty and dread – Tenaya Canyon. Carved over millennia by the mighty forces of nature, this rugged gorge boasts towering cliffs, cascading waterfalls, and untamed wilderness. 

The Tenaya Canyon has a reputation for being a dangerous and tricky place to navigate without proper equipment, even for seasoned hikers and climbers. Some say because of the polished and slippery rocks, frequent rock slides and a steep ascent, some say it is also because of something more sinister than a tough terrain. 

Because beneath Tenaya Canyon’s scenic facade lurks a darker tale, one of tragedy, curses, and inexplicable occurrences that have earned it the ominous moniker: the Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite.

The Removal of the Ahwahnechee Tribe

The Mariposa War: The war erupted due to tensions arising from the influx of settlers into Native territories, encroachments on indigenous lands, and disputes over resources such as gold. The conflict resulted in the suppression of Native American resistance and the forced relocation of many indigenous peoples onto reservations.Protecting The Settlers” Illustration by JR Browne for his work “The Indians Of California” 1864. Portraying a massacre by militia men of an Indian camp.

Tenaya Canyon is named after Chief Tenaya, leader of the Ahwahnechee people who once called the Yosemite Valley their home. The Ahwahnechee people were said to have become a distinct tribe from the other local tribes and Chief Tenaya, a proud and resilient leader, fought fiercely to protect his people and their ancestral lands from encroaching settlers. 

In 1850 to 1851, the Mariposa War took place in Yosemite National Park and Sierra Nevada between the English settlers and the native tribes in the area. A bloody conflict together with sickness brought from Europe that would take their numbers in the valley down from around 7000 to only 200 or thereabout in a decade. 

It was in the middle of the California Gold Rush and the settlers wanted to send the native tribes to the Fresno Reservation. Chief Tenaya together with the local tribes fought back. However, personal tragedy struck in the 1850s when Chief Tenaya’s own son fell victim to a battalion seeking to forcibly remove the Ahwahnechee from Yosemite Valley. 

In the beginning many of the tribe decided to go to the reservation, but many fled back to the valley. One of the ones that did so was the youngest and favorite son of Chief Tenaya. His son was held captive by the European settlers and when he tried to flee, he was shot dead.

In his grief and rage, Chief Tenaya reportedly invoked a curse upon the canyon, vowing that those who trespassed upon its sacred grounds would meet misfortune and doom.

The Curse of Chief Tenaya

There are a couple of different accounts about what exactly he did say. One account of this curse can be found in Hutchings’ California Magazine from 1859 by Lafayette Bunnell:

“Kill me if you like; but if you do, my voice shall be heard at night, calling upon my people to revenge me, in louder tones than you have ever made it ring.”
Source

It is worth noting though, this is a retelling by one that was involved in removing the native tribes from Yosemite. Another account from Lafayette Bunnell goes into more details about what happened, and released in 1892 where he cursed them like this: 

 “You may kill me, sir, Captain, but you shall not live in peace. I will follow in your foot-steps, I will not leave my home, but be with the spirits among the rocks, the water-falls, in the rivers and in the winds; wheresoever you go I will be with you. You will not see me, but you will fear the spirit of the old chief, and grow cold. The great spirits have spoken! I am done.”
Source

Although the history of it all is true, its details must be taken with a grain of salt according to the historians, as the only retelling of what happened, when and what was said, only comes from the side that won the battle, and was alive to tell the tale. 

But what do Tenayas descendants and the natives have to say about this story? A spokesperson from the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation claims that the curse is common knowledge among them as well. Every time someone dies or has a terrible accident, or the very nature itself is moved by rock slides for example, they say a prayer and bless to keep the curse of Tenaya away and Yosemite safe. 

But beware, it is said for those not respecting the rocks, the plants or the waters in the park, bad things will happen. 

The Dangerous Curse of Tenaya Canyon in Yosemite

Over the years, the curse of Tenaya Canyon has become the stuff of legend, whispered among park rangers and visitors alike. It is said that the Tuolumne Meadows is the place from where the curse itself comes from and is filled with the spirit of those that died in battle there. 

Tales abound of accidents, mysterious deaths, and inexplicable disappearances that have befallen those who dared to venture into its depths. It is worth noting though that for a big part of the canyon, signs telling people “Warning. This is not a trail. Travel beyond this point is dangerous without climbing equipment. Return to Tioga road.” 

Source

Mostly, hikers and climbers in the canyon mostly talk about the sense that something is there. Like the way the climber, Rom Kauk talked about in an interview. He has felt that it is something with him in the canyon, something pulling his sleeping bag. 

But there are some that think that the curse is more dangerous than just an ominous presence and some pranks around the tents. Some believe that the curse is at fault for many of the accidents, disappearances and even deaths that have happened in the canyon. Something that has made people call the canyon the Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite. 

Many have tried hiking the 10 mile long traverse of the canyon, or the route from Tenaya Lake to Yosemite Valley.

Even the Yosemite legend, Jon Muir fell and was unconscious while he explored this part of Yosemite National Park:

I suddenly fell — for the first time since I touched foot to Sierra rocks. After several somersaults, I became insensible from the shock, and when consciousness returned I found myself wedged among short, stiff bushes, trembling as if cold, not injured in the slightest.
– Steep Trails by Jon Muir

Hiking the Cursed Canyon

Park rangers, well-versed in the park’s history and its secrets, have come to regard Tenaya Canyon with a mixture of reverence and fear. Some speak of strange occurrences and unsettling vibes that permeate the air, hinting at unseen forces at work. The remaining native tribes also take the curse at face value and urge hikers to treat the canyon with the respect it demands.

Despite its breathtaking beauty, Tenaya Canyon remains a place of caution and respect, its cursed reputation serving as a grim reminder of the enduring power of the past and the spirits that still roam the land. So the next time you find yourself drawn to the allure of Yosemite’s wilds, tread carefully and heed the warnings whispered by the wind – for Tenaya Canyon may hold secrets best left undisturbed.

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References:

So many accidents occur here, it’s called the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ of Yosemite

Tenaya Canyon – Wikipedia  

https://media.library.caltech.edu/CaltechBOOK:2007.004/mstory/tenaya.htm

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The Cursed Sailor’s Stone in the Devil’s Punch Bowl

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In Surrey, England, there is a woodland area by Hindhead Commons called the Devil’s Punch Bowl. It is said the Devil himself created it out of spite and many local legends and superstitions exist. Years later an unknown sailor was brutally murdered there and is believed to be haunting the area. 

Sometimes during the Middle Ages, the Devil himself, vexed by the many churches in Sussex, embarked on a diabolical plan. Intent on flooding the area, he commenced digging a channel from the English Channel through the South Downs. As he dug, he cast up colossal lumps of earth, each metamorphosing into local landmarks such as Chanctonbury Ring and Cissbury Ring. The Devil’s ambitious project was disrupted in the village of Poynings, now known as the Devil’s Dyke, when the crowing of a vigilant cock thwarted his efforts, or so the story goes. 

Another tale speaks of the Devil used to jump between the hills called Devil’s Jump, annoying Thor, the Norse God so much he tried to strike the Devil down with his thunder and lightning. As retaliation, the Devil started hurling earth at Thor, leading to the creation of the Punch Bowl. 

Devil’s Punch Bowl: As seen from below in the valley.//Source

What is the Devil’s Punch Bowl in Surrey?

The Devil’s Punch Bowl in Surrey, England, is a large natural amphitheater and beauty spot with a unique geological formation. It was created through a combination of natural processes, including the erosion of the soft, sandy rocks that form the basin. 

The name “Devil’s Punch Bowl” is associated with local folklore and legends that attempt to explain its formation. In reality, the Devil’s Punch Bowl is a result of a combination of water erosion and freeze-thaw processes. 

It is now a protected nature reserve and a popular destination for walkers and nature enthusiasts. The site offers stunning views, diverse flora and fauna, and a rich geological history.

It is also known as the site of a gruesome murder that put a stain on the area, as well as a curse on the dead man’s grave. 

The Murder of the Unknown Sailor

On 24 September in 1786, The Unknown Sailor walked into the Red Lion Inn in Thursley Village. He was walking to London to board a ship and was having drinks with three other sailors: James Marshall, Michael Casey and Edward Lonegon. 

According to witnesses The Unknown Sailor paid for all of their drink and food before leaving Hindhead Hill together with the. This was the last time anyone ever saw him alive as they killed him and took his clothes. He was close to being decapitated and left him naked in the valley. 

The murderers were arrested only hours later when they tried to sell his clothes at the Sun Inn in Rake, or Rogate as it is now. Six months later they were tried and two after they were convicted, they were hanged close to where they had committed the murder in Hindhead. 

The Cursed Sailor’s Stone

The Unknown Sailor was buried where he was killed by the help and money from the villagers. No one knew his name, and no one ever found out. It is speculated in the book Who was the Sailor murdered at Hindhead 1786 from 2000 by Peter Moorey that his name was Edward Hardman, born in 1752 in Lambeth, London.

Sailor’s Stone: Photo of reverse side of Sailor’s Stone on Gibbet Hill, where the curse is written.// Source: Wikimedia

Another stone, The Sailor’s Stone was put up near Cosford Mill, close to where the murder had happened. When it was put up, it had an inscription that said:

THIS STONE
was Erected
by order and at
the cost of
James Stilwell Esqr.
of
Cosford
1786
Cursed be the Man who injureth
or removeth this Stone

This made the local people superstitious about the stone as well as the surrounding area. Was this truly the devil’s place? Was the sailor haunting it, or perhaps even the murderers that were hanged just up on the hill?

They tried to put up a Celtic Cross on Gibbet Hill where the scaffold the hanged murderers had been that said: “Light after darkness. Peace in passing away. Hope in light. Salvation after death.” They did this to put an end to the legends and superstitions that the villagers were convinced of. But did this help at all though? After all, people still sometimes claim to see something that looks like a lonesome wanderer where the nameless sailor died. 

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References:

Featured Image: Wikimedia

Devil’s Punch Bowl – Wikipedia 

Unknown Sailor – Wikipedia 

The History of Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl 

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The Haunted History of Sierra Sky Ranch in Yosemite

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The old Sierra Sky Ranch in the Sierra Nevada Mountains has had many people coming and going. From the tragic death of a farm hand to the victims of terminally ill tuberculosis patients, this historical hotel has some guests that never checked out. 

The Sierra Sky Ranch has stood witness to the ebb and flow of time ten miles from the south entrance to Yosemite National Park since its inception in 1875 and the original ranch house from 1900.

What began as a humble cattle ranch in the Sierra Nevada Mountains ended up as the area’s largest one before metamorphosed into a sanatorium for those afflicted by the scourge of tuberculosis in the 1930s until the 1940s. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from the USA

The corridors of Sierra Sky Ranch echoed with the footsteps of children, innocent souls grappling with a relentless disease. From its time as a sanatorium it housed terminally ill patients until after the second world war when it was a halfway house for survivors.

Sierra Sky Ranch: The old ranch house has gone through many stages and today it operates as a hotel. According to sone, it is also a haunted hotel. //Source

Transitioning through the years, the ranch extended its healing touch to World War II veterans before evolving into the 29-room hotel it is today—a hotel that not only provides shelter to the living but also harbors the lingering spirits of the past.

Mostly the guests notice that a ghost could be haunting the room because of the smell of a perfume without anyone there, a piano that starts playing by itself and mysterious cloud-like things entering the room. There are also strange silhouettes that make guests and staff believe that the hotel is at least haunted by five different ghosts. 

The Ghost of the Farm Hand Elmer

The first and most likely the oldest ghost haunting the Sierra Sky Ranch hotel is thought to be Elmer, who was the original ranch hand when the ranch first opened. 

It is said old Elmer spent so much time in solitude and he started to drink and ended his life by hanging himself in a back tree at the property. Why he did as he did, no one knows, some claim that his home was sold off and he had no place to go. 

Another version of this story is that his ax slipped when chopping wood and he severed the main artery in his legs. He called for help but no one heard him and he bled to death. 

Many claim they can still hear his boots walking in the halls as well feeling a certain presence when they drink at the bar at Sierra Sky Ranch. 

The Haunted Bar: By the old bar at Sierra Sky Ranch it is believed that the old Elmer is haunting and has been seen wandering by the guests and staff. Source

The Ghost of the Nurse Sarah

Another ghost said to haunt the ranch is from the time when Sierra Sky Ranch was used as a sanatorium. Sarah was supposedly a nurse tending to the terminal patients and said to have a kind and calm presence, even in the way she is haunting the place. 

It is this ghost people write mostly about in the red guest book they use to collect all the strange and ghostly encounters guests have at Sierra Sky Ranch.  

The Ghosts of the Sickly Children

Sierra Sky Ranch is no stranger to the whispers of the supernatural, with reports of spectral activity painting an eerie portrait of its haunted legacy. At the heart of these ethereal tales are the “phantom children,” spirits of a bygone era who continue to frolic and play within the confines of the hotel. Guests and staff alike recount the unmistakable sounds of giggles and whispers reverberating through the halls.

A pair of ghosts are said to have been siblings in life, and are haunting together in their afterlife. They are said to be mischievous children that are playing and moving objects as the sound of them laughing and running is heard. 

Guests complain about the sound of children when there is no one there, or wake up and find two ghostly small silhouettes by the end of their beds. Staff finds doors they closed opened and objects around the hotel misplaced. 

A Night at the Haunted Sierra Sky Ranch

In the quiet corners and dimly lit corridors of Sierra Sky Ranch, the past asserts its presence as more and more ghosts are talked about. A World War II soldier in the library, ghosts from its Hollywood heydays as a luxury resort in the honeymoon suits. 

Read More: Check out all Haunted Hotels from around the world

As guests traverse the realms of the living and the spectral, the haunted history of this Yosemite haven continues to unfold—a testament to the enduring legacy of those who once sought refuge within its walls.

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References:

Weird Fresno: The ghosts and legends of Sierra Sky Ranch 

A Halloween Tale From Sierra Sky Ranch 

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Drumbeg House and the Haunted Rooms

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From the many rooms at Drumbeg House in Ireland, there have been reports about the haunted screams from a woman and other strange occurrences that guests claim have to be of the paranormal sort. 

Amid the rugged landscapes of County Donegal, Ireland, Drumbeg House stands as a testament to time, its walls holding secrets and stories that have become the stuff of legend. In the most northern part of Ireland, the County Donegal comes from Dhún na nGall, which means “fort of the foreigners” . It got its name because Vikings landed their ships in the 9th century (year 801 through 900 AD) and created camps on the shorelines.

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

This imposing estate, once a symbol of wealth and power, has earned a reputation as one of Europe’s most haunted places. Within its storied walls, tales of apparitions, ghostly noises, and poltergeist activity have chilled the hearts of those who dare to enter.

A Manor Steeped in History

Drumbeg means little ridge, and Drumbeg House was built by Captain Alexander Montogemery Stewart in the 1820s. Little is known about his life though, but the house he built had more than one purpose: Sometime in the late 1800s, it was turned into a hotel. It has also been used as an orphanage as well as a nursing home, and has had many souls passing through. 

For centuries, it has been a silent witness to the ebb and flow of history, and the stories it holds within are both enchanting and unsettling.

Drumbeg House: The old manor has been used as many things over the years. As a residential house, a school, nursing home and as a hotel on several occasions. People that have stayed and worked in the house have told many stories about it being haunted.

There is a story of an unfortunate soul that resided in the house and managed it when it was a hotel. The house belonged to William Hemmersbach from Cologne in Germany who came to Ireland in the early 1900s when it was used as a hotel. But when the war broke out in 1914, German residents in Ireland were rounded up because they were now seen as the enemy of the state and were sent to the Isle of Man to prison. He never got back his hotel business. 

The Haunting of Drumbeg House

The paranormal activity that infuses Drumbeg House has attracted the attention of ghost enthusiasts and thrill-seekers from around the world. Witnesses have reported a multitude of eerie phenomena, leaving no doubt that this manor is not for the faint of heart.

Although the house is mostly known as: Most Haunted in Ireland, there is not much information about the hauntings itself and who could be behind it. There are however two stories that people have reported about. 

The Woman’s Scream

One of the most spine-tingling occurrences at Drumbeg House is the sound of a woman’s screams that reverberate through its halls. These anguished cries have left many shaken and bewildered. The identity of this tormented soul remains a mystery, her story lost to the ages.

The Mysterious Man in White

Another enigmatic figure said to wander the manor’s long corridors is the spectral “Man in White.” This apparition, often glimpsed out of the corner of one’s eye, leaves a trail of intrigue in its wake. Who he was in life and why he lingers in death remain questions without answers.

Ghostly Noises and Poltergeist Activity

Beyond the apparitions, Drumbeg House is a cacophony of ghostly noises. Unexplained footsteps echo in empty rooms, and the air is filled with whispers and murmurs from unseen entities. Poltergeist activity, from objects moving on their own to inexplicable temperature drops, adds to the mansion’s eerie reputation.

The Haunted Drumbeg House

Drumbeg House in County Donegal remains an enigmatic and haunting presence in Ireland’s rich tapestry of history and folklore. 

So if you stay at Drumbeg House and hear something you can’t quite  figure out, or if there is a sudden drop in temperature, perhaps there is something to the rumors of the old house being haunted after all. 

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References:

Documenting the World’s Haunted Locations One at a Time – Site #24 

History of Drumbeg house,… – Belong to Inver, Co.Donegal | Facebook

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10 Most Haunted Places in Beijing

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The ghost of executed prisoners, concubines in old palaces and poltergeists in modern buildings, let’s have a look at some of the Most Haunted Places in Beijing.

The capital of China, Beijing is today a city of contrasts with some of the oldest and historic buildings right next to the newest and most modern one. The bustling streets and ancient alleyways of Beijing holds tales of ghostly encounters and spectral sightings from mysterious things lurking in the old palaces and horror stories from the modern apartment buildings.

For a more extensive list of haunted ghost stories from Beijing and China as a whole, head over to the archive filled with them here. But in this article, let’s have a closer look of some of the most haunted places in Beijing.

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

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

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 Beijing.

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

The Beijing Subway | 北京地铁 | — Perhaps the Most Haunted Places in Beijing throughout the city?

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

Beneath the bustling streets of Beijing lies a shadowy realm steeped in mystery and dread: the haunted subway. From spirits to ghosts, tales of strange encounters abound in this underground labyrinth – with many passengers claiming to have experienced something extraordinary while riding along Metro Line No. 1. According to legends, people have disappeared into the tunnels and simply vanished into thin air, never to be seen again, and some people claimed that something sinister had pushed passengers onto the rails.

But what bones exactly were disturbed during the construction as has been told according to the legends? There is more than one story about what graves they encountered when building the metro line, perhaps making it one of the most haunted places in Beijing. On Line 1 there is a subway station called Gongzhufen Station, or The Princess Tombs that have several local legends connected to the place. line one was made right through their tomb, a ghost story centered around this subway station started, when the passengers and staff started seeing a female ghost on the station platform, wearing a traditional Qing dress and sometimes being carried in a sedan chair. 

From phantom footsteps echoing through deserted corridors to ghostly apparitions glimpsed in the flickering lights, the subway’s spectral inhabitants cast a chilling pall over the underground labyrinth.

Read the whole story here: Take the Haunted Subway in Beijing

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

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

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 Beijing. 

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 Bell Tower Goddess of Beijing | 鐘樓 |  Di’anmen Outer Street, Dongcheng District —

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

Perched majestically at the heart of Beijing stands the Bell Tower, a silent sentinel guarding ancient secrets and spectral tales. Among its whispered legends is that of the Bell Tower Goddess, a spectral figure said to inhabit the tower’s hallowed halls. According to legend it was a man named Deng, an official with the mission to create this new bronze bell. They tried so hard for over a year to get the perfect bell that sounded as clear and loud as they needed for the emperor.

With the date coming up they grew more and more desperate. The whole family felt it, especially Deng’s daughter as she was afraid it would bring shame on her family, her father in particular. In a desperate last attempt, the daughter flung herself into the fire, sacrificing herself to get the heat needed to make the bell. The father tried to stop her and reached out to save her. The only thing he managed to get a hold of, was one of her embroidered slippers, the only thing left of her after being consumed in the furnace. 

On particularly stormy nights the bell doesn’t chime as clear as it usually does, but emits a sound, sounding distinctly as the words ‘xie’, meaning shoes in Chinese. The haunted spirit of the girl who sacrificed herself still echoes through the bell. And the mothers that lived were the bell was heard would tuck their children in, telling them ‘Go to sleep, the Bell Tower is ringing, the Goddess wants her slipper back’.

Read the whole story here: The Bell Tower Goddess of 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 Beijing

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 Beijing area 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 

Caishikou Execution Grounds | 菜市口法场 | Chaoyang District — Haunted by the ghosts of executed prisoners

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

The legends of Caishikou Execution Grounds, shrouded in a veil of darkness and dread with execution methods like Death by a Thousand Cuts. The exact location of the execution grounds in modern day urban Beijing has been a matter of debate for some time as it was definitely not the only place in Beijing they held executions. While most people agree that it is located in what is now the Chaoyang District of Beijing, there is disagreement about exactly which area it was located in and its size. What is definitely said though is that the area is one of the most haunted places in Beijing.

This macabre site bears witness to a chilling chapter in history, where countless souls met their untimely demise. Because of its dark history and the blood that was shed on the spot, many claim that this is one of the more haunted places in the city and there have been many reports about people seeing the ghost of the executed convicts in the old vegetable market. 

The most talked about ghosts haunting this site must be The Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days Reform (戊戌六君子) or the Six Gentlemen of Wuxu who were executed by the Empress Dowager Cixi in 1898 by beheading. These executed men are said to be haunting the place as well as Chinese history and the what if of what would have happened to the course of the country if the reforms had been successful. 

Read the whole story here: The Dark History of the Caishikou Execution Grounds

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

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

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 Beijing.

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? 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

The Haunted Apartment Building | 劲松街道 | Jinsong — A mass haunting making people flee their homes

Most Haunted Places in Beijing – Illustration Photo by 尾 賀

In 1984, a wave of terror gripped the residents of a residential building around Jinsong in Beijing, as rumors of haunting spread like wildfire. In the dark when they came home from work or peeked outside in the corridors, the people living there could hear miserable crying as soon as you stepped inside the building. There were also ghostly shadows that roamed around on the walls as the lights flickered on and off. 

People didn’t want to live in this haunted building in Jinsong, even though the building itself was brand new. And after a while of experiencing all the paranormal stuff going on, the residents moved out, one by one and the building was left empty. Or was it?

One chilling encounter involved an old lady who encountered a mysterious figure standing outside her door, a harrowing sight that left her trembling and traumatized. As news of the haunting spread, even making it to the newspapers, scientists and authorities were called in to investigate, but the truth behind the supernatural occurrences remained elusive. While some attributed the disturbances to teenage mischief, others speculated darker forces at play, leaving the mystery of Jinsong’s haunting unsolved and shrouded in uncertainty.

Read the whole story here: The Ghost House in Jinsong Terrorizing the Residents

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

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

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 Beijing. 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 Tomb of General Yuan | 袁崇煥 | Chongwen District — The ever watching guardian in one of Most Haunted Places in Beijing

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

The Tomb of General Yuan, is found amidst the bustling streets of Beijing and holds an old tale of heroism, betrayal, and lingering unrest. General Yuan Chonghuan, a revered military leader of the Ming Dynasty, met a tragic fate at the hands of his own court, accused unjustly of treason and sentenced to a gruesome death by lingchi, the infamous “death by a thousand cuts.”

Despite his valiant efforts in defending China’s borders and repelling invading forces, General Yuan’s reputation was tarnished, and his demise marked by indignity and cruelty. Legend has it that his spirit, bound by duty and unfulfilled justice, haunts his final resting place, guarded faithfully by the She family for generations.

The tomb, hidden amidst modernity, has since gotten a haunted reputation and it is said that General Yuan is still guarding his post, even in his afterlife.

Read the whole story here: The Haunted Tomb of General Yuan

Most Haunted Places in Beijing

So these were some of the Most Haunted Places in Beijing, but far from everyone. For more ghost stories from Chine, head over to the archive with more haunted places, urban legends and ghosts from China.

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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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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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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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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