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Soucouyant: The Skin-Shedding Vampire of the Caribbean

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As one of the shapeshifting vampiric witches of the Caribbean, the Soucouyant has been the nightmare for generations and the fear lurking in the dark. 

In the night traditions of the Caribbean, there exists a figure both feared and whispered about in equal measure. Known as the soucouyant, this being is not a ghost in the usual sense, nor a corpse risen from the grave. It is something far more unsettling. It is a living person who becomes a vampire by night, abandoning human form to hunt in secret.

The legend is most strongly rooted in the folklore of Trinidad, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Haiti, where it appears in slightly different forms but always carries the same essential horror. The soucouyant is a woman, often elderly, who moves among her community unnoticed by day. At night she becomes something else entirely.

Shedding the Human Form

She goes by many names. In Guyana, Belize and Jamaica they call her the Ol’  Higue. In Suriname Asema and Hag in the Bahamas and Barbados. Belief in soucouyants is still preserved to an extent in Guyana, Suriname and some Caribbean islands, including Saint Lucia, Dominica, Haïti and Trinidad. The Soucouyant’s name comes from the French Creole “sucer,” meaning to suck, and “couir,” meaning to run or flow.

By day she appears as a normal woman. Either an elderly woman on the fringes of society, or even a young woman leading men astray.

After nightfall the vampiric witch removes her skin. The discarded flesh is hidden carefully, often in a mortar, a hollow tree, or a dark corner of her home. Sometimes, the repeated shedding of her skin made her human form unusually wrinkled. Described as a ball of fire or light, sometimes flickering like an ember carried by the wind she starts her hunt.

She slips through cracks in walls, under doors, through keyholes and shutters. Entering homes while the occupants sleep, she approaches her chosen victim and drinks their blood. The focus is often on the vulnerable. The sick, the elderly, and especially children are frequent targets in the stories. In some accounts she leaves small, bruise marks, easily overlooked. The victim simply grows weaker over time without understanding why. If she feeds too much, the victim will die, or become a Soucouyant self. 

The Danger of Discovery

The greatest weakness of the soucouyant lies in the skin she leaves behind. If it is found and destroyed, or treated with certain substances, she cannot return to her human form. Folklore across the Caribbean speaks of salt, rice, or hot peppers being used to interfere with her return. Sprinkling salt into the hidden skin is said to burn her upon reentry, killing her at dawn.

The skin of the soucouyant is considered valuable and is part of black magic rituals.

Rice has another function. The soucouyant is believed to be compelled to count grains if they are scattered in her path. This obsession delays her until sunrise, when she is caught outside her skin and destroyed by the light.

Regional Variations of the Vampiric Shapeshifting Witch

This creature has many regional variations that are so similar, they seem the same, or so different it seems like a different entity entirely. 

In Haiti, it is known as the lougawou and in the Dominican Republic it is known as the Lugarú, also known as the Galipote or Zángano. Here they are a mythical shapeshifter that is able to take the form of not just various animals, but also inanimate objects like trees or stones. It has incredible strength and is immune to bullets.  Like other versions of the legend, the Lugarú was also rumoured to be immortal, and maintained this state by prowling the night to drink the blood of children.

The Lagahoo and Rougarou: The Rougarou is a legendary creature in Cajun and Creole diaspora and a trickster in oral traditions in Métis and Francophone communities like a werewolf. In Trinidad and Tobago, a similar creature called “Lagahoo” or “La Gahoo” is more like a bloodsucking, shapeshifting sorcerer. At night, he is described as taking the appearance of a man with a coffin on his neck instead of a head, atop which are three lit candles. He carries a chain around his waist, which trails behind him, and commonly feeds on livestock. Sometimes, he is so tall his head disappears among the trees. To defeat him, he must be repeatedly struck with a stick doused in holy water and holy oils for nine days. He will then rapidly switch forms, from a savage dog, an angry bull, and stormy waves, before finally turning to mist. // Image: praline3001/Flickr

In Mauritian folklore, the Lougarou is a notorious figure mostly used to scare children, appearing during the full moon. Following Cyclone Hollanda in 1994, a form of Lougarou, known as Touni Minwi, was believed to visit women in their homes at night. This led to hysteria among the local population; many witnesses would affirm having seen frightful manifestations at night time, including apparitions of Lougarou. The Touni Minwi phenomenon led to a large mobilization of people in the capital, Port Louis, and in the village of Lallmatie.

Origins and Meaning

The soucouyant belongs to a wider family of night beings found across West African and Caribbean traditions. Her closest relatives include the loogaroo and other shapeshifting vampire figures brought through the transatlantic slave trade and reshaped in the Caribbean environment. Sometimes, The Loogaroo and the Soucouyant stories are so similar, they come across as the same creature.

Soucouyants belong to a class of spirits called jumbies. Unlike the ghost folklore which represents a wispy fog-like entity, the jumbee is cast as a dark, shadowy figure. Particularly in the case of the Firerass, or ole Higue is said to share the same compulsion to count sand, salt or rice. 

Jumbies: A jumbee or jumbie, also known as mendo or chongo in Colombia and Venezuela, is a type of mythological spirit or demon in the folklore of some Caribbean countries. “Jumbee” can be a generic name given to all malevolent entities. There are numerous kinds of jumbees, reflecting the Caribbean’s complex history and ethnic makeup, drawing on African, Amerindian, East Indian, Dutch, English, and even Chinese mythology. // Image: depicting the bloodsucking Old Higue it has been known as as well.

It is likely the origin of the Soucouyant as well as the Bahamian “Hag” have a strong connection to the Aje, or the witch of the Yoruba people. Many Bahamians who descended from the Yoruba referred to old Congolese women as witches who shed their skins in the night and sucked human blood.

The book, Items of Folk-lore from Bahama Negroes, written by Clavel and published in 1904, describes the Bahamian version: “when a hag enters your house, she always shed her skin. When you first see her, she appears like the flame of a candle floating about; in some way, she puts you to sleep, and resumes her body (but without the skin); she then lies on you, and sucks away every drop of blood that God has put in you.”

There is also another creature from Ghana and Togo where there is said to be an organ eating vampire called The Adze that appears as a firefly but reverts to its human form if captured. Where one type of Vampiric creature ends and another starts, is difficult to say, but there are certainly threads from all around the world to make up the horror of the Caribbean. 

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References:

Soucouyant – Wikipedia

The Soucouyant | USC Digital Folklore Archives

Soucouyants | FOLKLORISTICS

Jumbee – Wikipedia

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The Haunted Jane Street Hotel: Echoes of the Lost Sailors

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After tragedy struck and the Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, the surviving crew members were sent to The Jane Street Hotel in New York. According to stories, they are still haunting the rooms, where the trauma of their tragedy lingers. 

In the heart of New York’s West Village stands a hotel where luxury and lingering sorrow intertwine. The Jane Street Hotel, with its vintage charm and storied past, hides a history steeped in tragedy. 

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Long before it became a fashionable stay for travelers in Greenwich Village, it was known as the American Seaman’s Friend Society Sailors’ Home and Institute, built in 1908. In 2008, it was restored and came back as a boutique hotel, often called The Jane.

Back then it was a refuge for sailors arriving from the high seas. But the souls who once found rest within its walls may never have truly left.

The Jane Hotel: at 505-507 West Street on the corner of Jane Street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1907-08 as the American Seamen’s Friend Society Sailors’ Home and Institute, and was designed by William A. Boring as a hotel for sailors.// Source

The Titanic Tragedy

The hauntings are often linked to one of the most heartbreaking events in the hotel’s history. In 1912, after the sinking of the Titanic, the Jane Street building became a temporary shelter for surviving crew members brought ashore in New York, mostly British Sailors. 

The survivors of the Titanic stayed at the hotel until the end of the American Inquiry into the ship’s sinking. The surviving crew held a memorial service at the hotel four days after the ship sank. More than a hundred survivors were said to have stayed here after the accident. Afterward, the ASFS commissioned a plaque for the building, memorializing those who died in the sinking.

RMS Titanic: The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. on 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, she hit an iceberg and sank. Out of the 2,224 people onboard, 1,635 died. Many of them are now believed to haunt different parts of the world. //Image: 1912 illustration by Willy Stöwer.

According to the stories, some of the Titanic sailors, still traumatized from the tragedy, went mad. One allegedly hanged himself. Although mostly the dead from a tragedy like this are said to be the ghosts, but this time, it is the spirit of the survivors that are still here in their afterlife. Many believe that the cries heard in the night belong to these surviving sailors, still mourning the shipmates they left behind in the freezing Atlantic.

The Haunted Jane Street Hotel

Guests who spend the night here speak of strange occurrences that defy reason. According to founder of the Haunted Manhattan walking tour, Brent Pedersen, people have even fled from their rooms because of the paranormal activity. Wailing and moaning echo down the narrow hallways, often in the dead of night when the city outside lies still. The elevators stop and move by themself. Doors creak open on their own, and the sound of heavy footsteps can be heard pacing through empty corridors. 

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Some visitors have reported seeing faint figures drifting through the dimly lit rooms, their features blurred like mist, vanishing when approached. Others speak of sudden, icy chills that move through the air, lingering only long enough to raise the hair on the back of the neck.

Source

According to Pedersen, a woman staying at the hotel heard a man weeping outside of her room. When she peeked outside, no one was in the hallway, but the crying continued. When she saw the face of a crying sailor in the mirror, she screamed and checked out from the hotel at once. 

Source

Another case was on the third floor. A guest staying at the hotel noticed a figure of a woman in white through a porthole on a door. The guest opened and checked, but the woman vanished. But when the door was closed once again and the guest checked, the ghostly figure was still there, on the other side of the porthole. 

Though the Jane Street Hotel has since been transformed into a trendy boutique destination, its past continues to whisper beneath the polished wood and warm lighting. Guests may come for the vintage elegance and charm, but some leave with stories they cannot explain. Perhaps it is only the old building settling in the night. Or perhaps it is the restless souls of sailors who still wander the halls, searching for the peace they never found at sea.

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Inside the city’s spookiest destination for Halloween

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Part of NYC’s legendary Jane Hotel to become private club

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The Haunted Legends from Wailua in Hawaii

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How big can a haunted area be? Can the whole of Wailua on Kauai Island be haunted? The place certainly seems steeped in tales of Night Marchers and a procession of the dead, making their way down the river to the afterlife. 

Wailua, a place rich in ancient history and sacred sites, is not just known for its majestic heiau, or temples. The name translates to Two Waters in Hawaiian and is on the eastern side of the Kauai island. The sleeping giant, Nounou Mountain divides the coastal Wailua from the inland Wailua. 

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It’s also a land steeped in haunting legends that send shivers down the spines of locals and visitors alike. This verdant area on the island of Kauai holds tales of restless spirits, shadowy apparitions, and unexplained phenomena that have persisted for generations.

Another use for the word Wailua is often translated to ghosts, spirit or the remains of the dead, and there are many haunted legends around these parts.

Mysterious Wailua: Opaeka’s Waterfall falling into the Wailua River

Ancient Hawaiian Legends of Wailua River State Park

Around the eastern part of Kauai there is the Wailua River State Park, a place known for its historical landmarks as it was once the seat of power for the chief on the island. It has places of worship, called Heiau, refuge places known as puʻuhonua and royal birthing stones. 

The Night Marchers of Wailua River

Among the most chilling legends of Wailua are the stories of the Night Marchers—the ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors and chiefs. According to tradition, these spirits emerge during a certain phase of the moon, particularly on moonless nights. It is believed that the spirits of those who had recently died would journey down the Wailua River in large numbers, silently paddling their ghostly canoes under the cover of darkness. 

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The Wailua River is said to be the only navigable river in Hawaii for boats larger than a kayak. From there, they would make their way around the island to a cliff at Polihale, a sacred place where souls were said to leap into the next life.

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Warriors of Hawaii: Night Marchers of Hawaiian legend is not only ghosts and lingering people of people that have died, but have said to also be ancient warriors or manifestations of the Hawaiian gods. /Flickr/Jai Mansson

Holy Haunted Paths of Wailua Roads

Along with the river itself, there are many sacred paths close to the Wailua River also said to be a place the marchers go through. 

Many Hawaiians believe these Night Marchers still roam the land, particularly along the highway that stretches between Wailua and Lihu‘e. Witnesses describe eerie sightings of spectral processions, with ghostly figures moving in unison, their presence heralded by the sounds of drums and chanting. It is said that if you encounter the Night Marchers, you must lie face down on the ground, showing respect and avoiding eye contact, or else risk being taken with them into the spirit world.

A Highway of Hauntings

The highway connecting Wailua to Lihu‘e is notorious not only for sightings of the Night Marchers but also for a troubling number of car accidents. While law enforcement often attributes these wrecks to drunk driving, locals whisper of a more sinister cause—cursed spirits seeking vengeance or guiding those who disrespect the land to their doom. The road, it seems, is haunted by more than just reckless drivers. Some believe that the Night Marchers, in their ghostly procession, disrupt the living as they move between realms, leading to tragic accidents.

Wailua, with its breathtaking beauty and deep spiritual significance, remains a place where the past and present intertwine. The ancient spirits, it seems, are never far away, silently watching and waiting as they continue their eternal march through the island’s history. For those who visit, it’s a reminder that some stories are more than just tales—they are a part of the land itself, echoing through the ages in whispers and shadows.

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Wailua, Kauai County, Hawaii – Wikipedia 

Haunted Kauai – Coconut Diaries 

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The Richmond Vampire and its Mausoleum in Hollywood Cemetery

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In the pre-civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse. 

In Richmond’s historic Hollywood Cemetery, where Confederate generals, U.S. presidents, and thousands of the city’s dead lie beneath elaborate monuments and crumbling headstones, whispers persist of a vampire lurking among the graves. 

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The origins of this legend from Richmond, Virginia, trace back to a real, grim disaster in 1925 — and an even older mausoleum said to house something inhuman that still draw people wanting to check out the alleged vampire lair. 

Vampire Mausoleum: William Wortham Pool’s grave in Hollywood Cemetery is thought to be the vampire lair of the Richmond Vampire. //Source: Wikimedia

The Legend of W.W. Pool Mausoleum

Local legend held that W.W. Pool was no ordinary Richmond citizen. Some versions of the tale claimed Pool was an 18th-century Englishman exiled for vampirism, or a practitioner of the dark arts who had achieved unnatural longevity. His tomb, marked with ominous Masonic symbols and resting in one of Richmond’s oldest graveyards, was said to house either Pool himself or the ancient vampire from the tunnel.

Locals nicknamed the creature “The Richmond Vampire” or “The Hollywood Vampire,” and it became a fixture of local ghost tours and urban legend lore. At first the lore centered just around the grave of this mystic man with only initials inscribed at his tomb. WW, looking almost like fangs. There were also the Masonic and Egyptian elements to the grave, making it stand out. People also thought it was strange that for a grave for a man who died in 1922, it was strange that it had 1913 inscribed. 

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According to one of the stories, a broken glass was found inside the locked and sealed mausoleum. The question was, where did the famed Richmond Vampire go?

Hollywood Cemetery: Variations of the story grew into legend and it has become to be that W.W.Poole is a vampire that haunts Hollywood. Whether the sources mean just the cemetery or if the legend has reached Hollywood, LA yet is not mentioned. Some say he only comes out when there is no moon.

Who was W. W. Pool?

But who really was the man inside the mausoleum? In real life, his name was William Wortham Pool and lived 721 28th St, in Woodland Heights and worked as an accountant. He was in fact not in exile from England, but born in Mississippi and lived seemingly a normal and quiet life. 

He had built the tomb for his wife, Alice who died after an illness in 1913 and as an accountant, he chose to just use his initials, as you paid by the letter. William died and joined her in their mausoleum in 1922 when he died of pneumonia at the age of 75. 

Perhaps for those looking into the story a bit more, it would have ended there, but instead the vampire lore grew. As the Hollywood Cemetery is adjacent to the Virginia Commonwealth University, the story became popular from the 1960s and especially from the 1980s when it grew almost a cult-like group around the mausoleum, and in the end, another tragedy from the town would merge with the story. 

Since 2001, the story of the vampire has been told together with the collapse of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad’s Church Hill Tunnel under the neighborhood in the east called Church Hill and is rarely told without. 

The Church Hill Tunnel Collapse

On October 2, 1925, disaster struck as a work crew attempted to reopen the long-abandoned Church Hill Tunnel, a 4,000-foot passage beneath Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood. They had problems with the tunnels since they started in 1871. The soul was soft and slippery and buildings above it would tilt or sink. Sometimes workers are said to have just vanished. 

During excavation, a section of the tunnel collapsed, burying several workers alive in a sudden, suffocating wave of rock, soil, and debris. A section above the work train collapsed, entombing engineer Tom Mason together with around two or three hundred laborers.

According to legend, when they were building the tunnel, they awakened something evil that lived there and was the reason for the tunnel crashing. 

Church Hill Tunnel: The inside of the eastern entrance to the Church Hill tunnel in Richmond, Virginia, in 1981. The tunnel collapsed in 1925, and is sealed off at this end by the wall visible in the distance. // Source: Wiki

In the chaos that followed, rescuers and onlookers reportedly saw something horrifying: a blood-covered, grotesque figure with jagged teeth and hanging skin, emerging from the rubble, crouching as if feeding over the victims. The creature — with exposed flesh and sharp, animalistic features — allegedly fled from the tunnel, making its way toward Hollywood Cemetery.

Witnesses claimed it disappeared into the Mausoleum of W.W. Pool, a real tomb located within the cemetery, dating back to 1913. This bizarre incident quickly fueled rumors that a vampire had been awakened by the cave-in.

When this version merged with the existing vampire story is uncertain, but some say it was from the start. Historians and folklorists largely attribute the origin of the vampire tale to the tragic story of Benjamin F. Mosby, a 28-year-old railroad worker caught in the tunnel collapse. He had been shoveling coal into the firebox of a steam locomotive of a work train with no shirt on when the cave-in occurred and the boiler ruptured. Mosby, suffering from severe burns and catastrophic injuries, staggered from the wreckage — his flesh hanging from his bones, blood covering his body — and reportedly died shortly afterward at a Grace Hospital. He was buried at Hollywood Cemetery.

The day laborers Richard Lewis and “H. Smith”, Engine 231 and the ten flatcars remain buried inside the tunnel of misery.

Church Hill Tunnel: This is a picture of the western end of the tunnel. It is completely closed off, unlike the eastern end, and there has been speculation that it deserves better upkeep. Over the years, it has been somewhat forgotten and is now overgrown with weeds and tall grasses

Witnesses in the panic and gloom of the disaster likely misinterpreted the ghastly appearance of Mosby’s mortally wounded body as something supernatural. Over time, as Richmond’s storytelling traditions took hold, Mosby’s tragic death merged with older vampire folklore, birthing the legend of the Richmond Vampire.

Yet despite rational explanations and lack of primary sources, the myth persists and contemporary records only state that Mosby died without any of the other details. If not him, what was the thing they say lurked in the tunnels? To this day, people claim strange sightings around Hollywood Cemetery, eerie noises near the Pool Mausoleum, and spectral figures wandering the grounds at night.

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    Inside one of Munich’s landmark churches, something devilish is said to be stamped on the floor. In the middle of the room, a black footprint is clearly seen, named The Devil’s Footprint, as he was said to have left it there.
  • The Cursed Black Cat at Promenadeplatz in Munich
    Once the house of a greedy grain speculator, the haunted house at Promenadeplatz in Munich is said to be haunted by the man in the form of a cat, as penance after a curse drove him to ruin.
  • The Kuntilanak and the Pontianak: Vampiric Ghosts of the Banana Tree
    At the cusp of a vengeful ghost and a vampiric entity, the Kuntilanak of Indonesia, or the Pontianak as she is called in Malaysia, is after both vengeance and to devour her victims.
  • The City of Pontianak and the Vampiric Ghost its Named After
    How haunted is a city to be named after its ghosts? This is the case of the Indonesian city of Pontianak, said to have been haunted by the fearsome ghosts known as the Pontianak or the Kuntinalak ghosts, thirsting for blood and vengeance.
  • The Lady in White Haunting Ebersberg Forest
    Said to haunt the area around The Hubertus Chapel in the vast Ebersberg Forest in Bavaria, Germany, the Lady in White is seeking revenge for those refusing her a ride. But is she truly the only thing haunting this old and mystic forest?
  • The Plague Dance and the Dragon who Brought it to Munich
    Once, a plague ridden Lindworm was said to crawl out from the darkness, and attack the people of Munich. After defeating the dragon, and ridding themselves of the plague, a ceremonial dance has been danced through the city for over 500 years.
  • The Plague Visits Munich at Alter Peter Church
    Fantastical legends foretelling the Black Plague exist throughout Europe that would leave whole cities without any living. In Munich, Germany, a legend talks about a mysterious black hooded figure at the cemetery of St. Peter’s church being the omen of death.
  • Langsuyar: The Night Vampire of Malay Folklore
    From the despair of a mother dying in childbirth, a blood thirsty spirit rises in her place. With her alluring appearance and ability to transform into flying entities, she is one of the feared vampires from Malay folklore.
  • Ghostly Kittens at Radlsteg in Munich
    After being drowned in the river by Radlsteg in Munich, it is said that the ghosts of the discarded cats are still roaming and following passerby’s.
  • The Lady in Black at the Munich Residenz and the Wittelsbach Curse
    Before their deaths, members of the royal Wittelsbach family claimed to have seen the mystical Lady in Black appearing to them. Although the woman behind the black clothing is a mystery, her message has been clear: in the soon future, you will die.
  • The Walled Up Man’s Echoes at Sendlinger Tor
    From within the old city gate, Sendlinger Tor in Munich, it is said that the voice of the ghost is haunting its remains. If you listen carefully, it is said the laments of the man walled up inside of the gate lingers.
  • Theresia Kaiser The Last Witch of Munich
    Known as the last witch of Munich, Theresia Kaiser was condemned to death in 1701. Still, her legend and what happened to her accuser bares a haunted mystery of what really happened to this young teenager at trial.

References:

https://web.archive.org/web/20220523135807/https://www.wtvr.com/2013/10/31/holmberg-how-a-vampire-came-to-haunt-a-richmond-cemetery/

https://web.archive.org/web/20230415234115/https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/richmonds-reputed-nosferatu/

William Wortham Pool – Wikipedia

Church Hill Tunnel – Wikipedia

Ukategorisert

A Vampire in Ohio: The Strange and Grim Superstition of the Salladay Family

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Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves. 

America’s early history is peppered with strange, somber superstitions—rituals born of fear, desperation, and a primal struggle against diseases no one understood. Among these unsettling tales is one from Scioto County, Ohio, in the dead of winter, 1816–17: the tragic and bizarre case of the Salladay family, whose hereditary affliction with tuberculosis led to a desperate, grisly ritual in the hopes of stopping death in its tracks.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from USA

It may not have earned the infamy of New England’s vampire panics, but this haunting episode stands as a potent reminder that superstition knew no borders in early America.

The Vampire Grave in Ohio: The Salladay Cemetery in Scioto County, Ohio, where Samuel Salladay rests alongside his relatives. Source

A Family Cursed by Consumption

The Salladays were Swiss immigrants, part of the wave of European settlers moving westward after the opening of the French Grant, a parcel of land along the Ohio River. It was granted by Congress in March, 1795, to a number of French families who lost their lands at Gallipolis by invalid titles. The river bottoms are well adapted to corn, and on a great part of the hill land small grain and grass could be produced and tempted settlers inland. The name Sallaway is an americanized version of the Swiss German Salathe

Not long after settling in Scioto County, the family fell prey to the disease that had terrified communities for centuries: tuberculosis, then called consumption. It was a cruel, wasting illness, slowly claiming victims with bouts of coughing, fever, and a wasting pallor that convinced many it was the work of a malevolent force rather than mere contagion.

Consumption: Before it had a scientific explanation, TB was a horrifying, slow-moving plague. It wasted the body. Victims grew pale and thin, their cheeks sunken, eyes glassy. They coughed blood. They wheezed and gasped and sometimes appeared to grow stronger just before they died, as if something unnatural were prolonging their suffering. In this time and place, a superstition that it was the work of a vampire sprung out.

After the head of the family and the eldest son succumbed, and others began showing signs of sickness, panic overtook reason.

A Desperate and Macabre Cure

In the depths of the winter of 1816–1817, the Salladay family, surrounded by fearful neighbors, turned to a folk remedy that would be familiar to followers of New England’s vampire lore: the belief that a dead family member might be preying on the living from the grave.

The “cure” was grim. They resolved to exhume one of the deceased, burn certain organs in a ceremonial fire, and do so before the eyes of the surviving family members — an attempt to sever the sinister connection between corpse and kin.

The victim of this desperate rite was Samuel Salladay (1789-1815), one of the earlier victims of consumption who had died during the fall of 1815. His body was disinterred by Major Amos Wheeler of Wheelersburg, an official of standing in the community, lending the macabre event a disturbing legitimacy. A large crowd from the surrounding countryside gathered to witness the ritual, drawn by a mixture of morbid curiosity and communal dread.

Samuel’s entrails were removed and burned upon a fire specially prepared for the rite. The hope was that the ritual would end the spread of disease within the family and grant a reprieve to those still living.

The Folly of Superstition

Unsurprisingly, this desperate act proved futile. Consumption was a highly contagious disease, passed through airborne bacteria, not through supernatural means or malevolent corpses. Despite the burning of Samuel’s remains, the remaining Salladays continued to fall ill, one by one.

In the end, only George Salladay survived the affliction, while the rest of the family perished — victims of both disease and superstition.

Today, no marker or monument commemorates the Salladay ritual, and their story survives largely through scattered historical accounts. Perhaps this was the only vampiric exhumation that happened in Ohio. Although not strictly a New England place, Ohio carried a lot of the earlier settlers by the way people moved west from the east shore, and some of the state used to be a part of Connecticut. 

Samuel Salladay still rests in the Salladay Cemetery in Sand Hill in Scioto County, together with all of his relatives who were never cured from their life-draining disease. 

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  • The Cursed Black Cat at Promenadeplatz in Munich
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  • The Plague Dance and the Dragon who Brought it to Munich
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    From the despair of a mother dying in childbirth, a blood thirsty spirit rises in her place. With her alluring appearance and ability to transform into flying entities, she is one of the feared vampires from Malay folklore.
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  • The Lady in Black at the Munich Residenz and the Wittelsbach Curse
    Before their deaths, members of the royal Wittelsbach family claimed to have seen the mystical Lady in Black appearing to them. Although the woman behind the black clothing is a mystery, her message has been clear: in the soon future, you will die.
  • The Walled Up Man’s Echoes at Sendlinger Tor
    From within the old city gate, Sendlinger Tor in Munich, it is said that the voice of the ghost is haunting its remains. If you listen carefully, it is said the laments of the man walled up inside of the gate lingers.
  • Theresia Kaiser The Last Witch of Munich
    Known as the last witch of Munich, Theresia Kaiser was condemned to death in 1701. Still, her legend and what happened to her accuser bares a haunted mystery of what really happened to this young teenager at trial.

References:

New England vampire panic – Wikipedia

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197357043/samuel-salladay

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/43291/memorial-search?cemeteryName=Salladay+Cemetery&page=1#sr-30710534

Scioto County, Ohio 

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The Haunted Legends of Carl Beck House in Ontario, Canada

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Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members. 

Carl Beck House is an eerie but beautifully stately mansion located in Penetanguishene in Ontario, Canada. As the best Victorian mansions are, it is said to be haunted. For a long time, it was a private family home, but now you can also check in and stay the night to see for yourself as an AirBNB. This historic building has a dark past, with rumors of ghosts and hauntings that have persisted for decades. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Canada

But who is still lingering in the house? Some say that the spirits of former residents still roam the halls, while others claim to have seen mysterious apparitions in the windows at night. Some even say there are as many as twenty different spirits trapped within the walls. But what is the truth behind these haunted legends? 

The History of Carl Beck House

Carl Beck House was built in 1866 by a wealthy businessman named Karl Maxillian (Charles) Beck (1838-1915). A German immigrant, he became the wealthiest of the local lumber magnates and made a lasting name for himself. He was also mayor of the town from 1892 to 1895 and owned the first car in the area.

The mansion was designed in the Italianate style and was the largest residence in the area at the time. Beck lived in the mansion with his wife Emelia and nine children until his death. 

The Haunted Legends of Carl Beck House

Despite its grandeur, Carl Beck House has long been associated with ghostly tales and hauntings. There are many theories about why Carl Beck House is haunted. Some believe that the mansion is simply a victim of the many tragedies and deaths that occurred within its walls over the years. Others believe that the mansion is haunted by the ghosts of former residents who are unable to move on from their earthly lives.

Visitors to the mansion have reported hearing unexplained noises, such as footsteps and whispers, and feeling a sense of being watched. There have been multiple reports of objects moving on their own and lights turn on and off for apparently no reason.

In the guestbook in the house for people to write down their experiences, there are entrances detailing how blankets moved by themselves when they were sleeping. Some have even claimed to have seen the apparitions of former residents, dressed in Victorian-era clothing, wandering through the halls. They are also warning about the doll in the green dress in the house.

The Spurned Daughter Back to Haunt her Childhood Home

According to local legend, the mansion is haunted by the ghosts of former residents, including Carl Beck himself, Emilia, Mary and her two younger sisters who passed away in the house very young on 2 Jun 1893 (aged 42–43).

One of the most famous ghost stories associated with Carl Beck House is the tale of the “Lady in White.” According to legend, a young woman named Mary lived in the mansion in the late 1800s. She was Carl’s eldest daughter, and was expected to take responsibility for caring for her siblings after her mother died young. 

However, after some time, Mary saw another life for herself when she became acquainted with a man and decided to marry him. Her father strongly opposed their union, believing that Mary deserved a better spouse and didn’t want her to leave the house, even though she had taken care of her sibling for 10 years already. 

Still, she followed her heart and left with her chosen one called George Robinson. This disagreement was so intense that it caused Carl to remove Mary from his will. According to other sources, Mary received only $1 after her father passed away in an accident in 1915, although he left assets totaling $10 million. He drowned while his horse was getting a drink, the buggy flipped. 

This is put up as a reason for her coming back to haunt her childhood home after she died in 1954 (aged 84–85). Although not much is known about her life after she left the Beck House, it looks like she stayed in Penetanguishene. Although there isn’t much mentioned of this dispute outside of retellings of the haunted rumours from the house, it remains the most well known cause for ghost lingering. 

A Night at the Haunted Beck House

Carl Beck House has long been shrouded in mystery and legend, with tales of ghostly activity and hauntings that have persisted for decades. Who are the one still lingering and haunting for their guests. Not only is the inside of the house said to be haunted, but there are also the ones claiming the ghosts also leaves it. They are said to appear on the adjacent Church Street where they claim to see apparitions of Victorian women strolling along the street, naturally connecting them to the Beck House. 

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  • The Cursed Black Cat at Promenadeplatz in Munich
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  • Theresia Kaiser The Last Witch of Munich
    Known as the last witch of Munich, Theresia Kaiser was condemned to death in 1701. Still, her legend and what happened to her accuser bares a haunted mystery of what really happened to this young teenager at trial.

References:

Ontario Heritage Trust | C. Beck Manufacturing Company

Charles Maximilian Beck (1838-1915) – Find a Grave Memorial

Mary Ethel Beck Robinson (1869-1954) – Find a Grave Memorial

Ukategorisert

The Dying Screams of a Girl on Fire Haunting the Screaming Tunnel in Canada

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Said to be haunted by the dying screams of a young girl who was set on fire and died, the Screaming Tunnel in Niagara Falls in Canada has become the site of some of the most eerily ghost legends said to linger within the dark. 

The Screaming Tunnel is located in the Canadian town of Niagara Falls in Ontario and the haunted site can be easily accessed by car or on foot. It is today said to be one of the most haunted places in the country although the root of the haunting remains a mystery. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Canada

The Screaming Tunnel is a small limestone tunnel that runs underneath the railroad tracks, and it’s said to be haunted by the ghost of a young girl who died in a tragic fire.This 125-foot-long mysterious tunnel has been the subject of many chilling tales and legends for over a century. The tunnel is situated off Warner Road, just a short distance from the Niagara Parkway. 

Source

The limestone tunnel built in the early 1800s was running underneath what once was a Grand Trunk Railway line, now the Canadian National Railway. The Screaming Tunnel actually shares the same railway with the supposedly haunted Blue Ghost Tunnel as well. This has led to the belief that the spirits are using this railway to travel. It wasn’t made for passage though, but as a drainage passage to keep the tracks from being lost beneath flood waters.

The Legend Behind the Screaming Tunnel

Embraced with overgrown mosses, vines, and vibrant foliage, The Screaming Tunnel has a tragic story behind its eerie reputation, although no one can quite prove that it actually happened. The natural smell of sulfur is heavily prevalent.  According to the legend, the tunnel was once part of a farm owned by a wealthy family in the early 1900s in an old farmhouse behind the south side of the tunnel. The far end of the tunnel leads to a pathway through woods and a small cluster of homes was found around here.

One night, the family’s house caught fire, and the girl was trapped inside and her clothing and hair caught fire. She managed to get out by herself and ran out from the burning house aflame. She made it to the tunnel where she tried to extinguish herself as the flames tore through her clothes and skin. Panicked, she was looking for help from one of the nearby houses or anything that would extinguish the flames. But it was futile as she didn’t manage to put the flames out by herself and she died alone in the darkness of the tunnel. 

Source

While the story of the girl set on fire inside of the Screaming Tunnel is widely accepted, there are some variations to the legend. 

Some believe that the girl was murdered by her father who was mentally unstable. This is speculation, but it could seem like this version of the legend is a bit more modern. According to this version, he was abusive and a drunkard and that he was the one setting her on fire in the midst of a bitter custody battle. His wife had finally had enough and was taking their daughter with her when she was leaving him. Another fight ensued and the daughter ran away from them. But her father chased her and when he found her hiding in the tunnel before pouring gasoline over her and setting her on fire himself. 

Others claim that she was a victim of a love triangle gone wrong or even more disturbingly, the girl was raped by a drunkard she met when she was passing through the tunnel. In this version her body burned to destroy the evidence. Regardless of the specifics, the story has become a part of Canadian folklore and continues to attract visitors from around the world.

Evoking the Ghost of the Screaming Tunnel

As you walk through the tunnel, you can feel the weight of the legend on your shoulders, and every sound seems to echo louder than it should. Those brave enough to test the legend come prepared to the tunnel with matches. 

According to the legend, if you light a match in the tunnel at midnight and say the girl’s name three times, her ghost will appear, and you’ll hear her scream. Although what name she has been given is strangely not really known. 

Source

Some say that there is no name needed and that evoking her ghost is much simpler. If you light a wooden match while standing in the middle of the tunnel, you’ll hear a shrilling scream and your match will immediately blow out. Perhaps a cruel test to do on a ghost legend who perished in this exact way, but a rite of passage for the teens in Niagara Falls and a path of litter of beer and liquor bottles and graffiti trails after them.

The Pyre of Donald Jordanson

A completely different legend that has emerged in newer times though is the legend of Donald Jordanson that has been making rounds online. He lived on 16 acres of farming land. In 1924, he was newly married and had a newborn baby named Sam. That year it was a drought after the El Nino and the wheat and corn crops failed after the stormy weather. That dreadful summer, he lost everything. His wife left him and he lost his farm, and he lost himself in a psychosis. 

He disappeared and soon others did too. The lawyer Frank Male, his former neighbour Ethal Davidson and his business partner John Frew. When the police went to his farm to investigate, they noticed smoke coming from the tunnel. At least a dozen bodies were piled up on each other in a blazing pyre. The farmer, crazed and screaming, wawed a pitchfork towards the officers and fell over, impaling himself. So perhaps it is really the ghost of Donald Jordanson who is crying out in the tunnel? 

Although as with most of the urban legends, there really isn’t much substantial evidence that this even happened. And considering there are few, close to no sources for this as well, makes it even less likely to be rooted in truth. 

Source

Alternative Stories Behind the Screaming Tunnel

But really, how much of the legend is actually true? Despite being a very popular legend, it is strangely without many details and facts. A reporter for the Niagara Falls Review once tried to find any historical evidence of a farmhouse set on fire, but found nothing. 

Historically there used to be a small group of houses on the other side of the tunnel a bit away from the main road like in the legend. The small village is gone now, but you can still see the old foundations of the houses among the trees. It is said that one of the people living in one of the houses was a woman who was known by the neighbours for being a bit off, or at least enough enraged to leave her mark.

Read also: Ghostly Encounters in Moonville Tunnel in Ohio, The Haunted Cantabrian Tunnel of Engaña and The Hangman’s Tunnel in Loja for more haunted tunnels around the world

It is said that she had a tumultuous marriage and got in a lot of loud fights with her husband. But she wouldn’t necessarily unleash all of her anger towards him. After having a fight with her husband, she would bottle up all that anger and hold it in until he left for work and would walk to the very middle of the “Screaming Tunnel” and scream at the top of her lungs. 

Neighbours would hear this but ignore it, as many didn’t want to deal with the woman, or perhaps understood her anger. This is what many believe to be the true origins of the name “The Screaming Tunnel”

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  • The Cursed Black Cat at Promenadeplatz in Munich
    Once the house of a greedy grain speculator, the haunted house at Promenadeplatz in Munich is said to be haunted by the man in the form of a cat, as penance after a curse drove him to ruin.
  • The Kuntilanak and the Pontianak: Vampiric Ghosts of the Banana Tree
    At the cusp of a vengeful ghost and a vampiric entity, the Kuntilanak of Indonesia, or the Pontianak as she is called in Malaysia, is after both vengeance and to devour her victims.
  • The City of Pontianak and the Vampiric Ghost its Named After
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  • The Lady in White Haunting Ebersberg Forest
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  • The Plague Dance and the Dragon who Brought it to Munich
    Once, a plague ridden Lindworm was said to crawl out from the darkness, and attack the people of Munich. After defeating the dragon, and ridding themselves of the plague, a ceremonial dance has been danced through the city for over 500 years.
  • The Plague Visits Munich at Alter Peter Church
    Fantastical legends foretelling the Black Plague exist throughout Europe that would leave whole cities without any living. In Munich, Germany, a legend talks about a mysterious black hooded figure at the cemetery of St. Peter’s church being the omen of death.
  • Langsuyar: The Night Vampire of Malay Folklore
    From the despair of a mother dying in childbirth, a blood thirsty spirit rises in her place. With her alluring appearance and ability to transform into flying entities, she is one of the feared vampires from Malay folklore.
  • Ghostly Kittens at Radlsteg in Munich
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  • The Walled Up Man’s Echoes at Sendlinger Tor
    From within the old city gate, Sendlinger Tor in Munich, it is said that the voice of the ghost is haunting its remains. If you listen carefully, it is said the laments of the man walled up inside of the gate lingers.
  • Theresia Kaiser The Last Witch of Munich
    Known as the last witch of Munich, Theresia Kaiser was condemned to death in 1701. Still, her legend and what happened to her accuser bares a haunted mystery of what really happened to this young teenager at trial.

References:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120102103052/http://www.hauntedhamilton.com/14_niagara_screamingtunnel.html

Screaming Tunnel – Atlas Obscura

Screaming Tunnel | Niagara’s Haunted Place to Visit | Articles

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The Eerie and Haunted History of Old City Hall in Toronto

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Said to be haunted by numerous ghosts, the Old City Hall in Toronto, Canada is now known as one of the creepiest buildings in the city. From strange entities targeting judges’ robes in the stairs to the last executed prisoners in the country, the spirits of the building are said to linger. 

The eerie history of Old City Hall in Toronto has many believe that it is the most haunted building in the city. This Romanesque building of justice was constructed in the late 1800s and has served as a city hall, courthouse, and even a movie set. It was originally home to Toronto’s city council from 1899 to 1966 and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1984.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Canada

Designed by prominent architect E.J. Lennox, known as the builder of Toronto, the building was constructed between 1889 and 1899, replacing the original city hall that stood on the same site on the corner of Queen and Bay street. The building features a clock tower that stands over 300 feet tall, making it one of the tallest structures in Toronto at the time and was such for the next 18 years.

Source

The Haunted Prison Cellar

The Old City Hall is known for its dark and eerie past, and many people believe that the building is haunted. There are several ghostly tales associated with the building, including reports of apparitions, strange noises, and unexplained occurrences. It is also said that some security guards will not venture into certain areas or floors late at night.

Source

The first place said to be haunted is the building’s basement. The cellars acted at one time as a holding center for prisoners and still today the old cells are still there. Because of this, it is no wonder that people believe this place was also a place of haunting, although the prisoners who spent time here didn’t stay for long. 

But could it be that some of their ghosts stayed for eternity? According to legends about the Old City hall,  the moans of the incarcerated have been heard as well. 

The Northwest attic that was used to store the City’s first record archive, is also a spot where a presence is felt, but no one is quite sure what it is. People who have been in the attic claim they are often suddenly overcome with a peculiar “feeling” that no one has ever managed to solve the mystery of. .

The Haunted Staircase and the Tugging Poltergeist

The rear staircase is one of the haunted locations within the building and has a lot of documentation and anecdotes. According to both visitors as well as working judges, the staircase is haunted by a poltergeist-like spirit that seems to enjoy tugging at judges’ robes. In addition to targeting judges specifically, visitors have been frightened by the sounds of footsteps walking up and down the stairs in the darkness of night when no one is supposed to be there. 

The haunting was first reported by Judge S. Tupper Bigelow (3 August 1901–13 June 1993), who said he would hear footsteps behind him and feel something pulling at his judicial robe. Perhaps it is also worth noting that this judge was one of the world’s leading authorities on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery novels, and loved a good story and strange occurrence. 

The same experience of the tugging ghost was however also said to have happened to Judge Pete Wilch.

Source

The Condemned Prisoners in Courtroom 33

Although there are several rooms within the building said to be haunted, none more than one of the old courtrooms where some of the prisoners learned their fatal fate. Courtroom 33 is said to be haunted by the spirits of the last men condemned to hang in Canada in 1962. 

Before 1961, murder carried a mandatory death sentence in Canada. In July 1961, the Canadian government adopted a law establishing two degrees of murder: capital murder and non-capital murder. Capital murder carried a death sentence, while non-capital murder carried a life sentence with parole eligibility after 10 years. 

Ronald Arthur Turpin was convicted of killing an officer and was charged with capital murder since the victim was a police officer. The Toronto Star reports Turpin to have said in his final hours “If our dying means capital punishment in this country will be abolished for good, we will not have died in vain.”

Arthur Lucas was the other prisoner executed alongside Turpin. He was convicted for killing an undercover narcotics agent, Therland Crater from Detroit in a Toronto hotel. He is also assumed to have killed 20-year-old Carolyn Ann Newman, Crater’s common-law wife, but was never tried in her death. Lucas was charged with capital murder since the crime was premeditated.

They were tried for separate crimes but had the same lawyer, Ross MacKay, who believed both men to be innocent or acted in self defense. Lucas maintained that he was framed for the murders of Crater and Newman, but also that “he’d done many other terrible things in his so-called career that it was just catching up with him.” 

They were both hanged at the Don Jail. The ghosts of Turpin and Lucas are also rumored to haunt the Old Don Jail, known for its inhumane living conditions and where they served time before their executions. 

Source

Haunted Nights in the Old City Halls of Toronto

On Halloween it has become a tradition for journalists to stay in courtroom 33 to see if they can experience any paranormal activity that is said to exist in the courtroom. In John Robert Colombo’s book Haunted Toronto, he tells of a pair of reporters that almost managed to spend the night but gave in by 4am. But then the reporters experienced what they described as “cool fogs” and weird noises that left them, at times, glued to the floor and they decided to pack up and leave.

Source

Old City Hall is a fascinating and eerie landmark in Toronto’s history. From its stunning architecture to its dark past and ghostly tales, the building has captured the imaginations of visitors and locals alike. In April 2025, the government moved out from the building and it will no longer serve as a courthouse. 

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References:

Old City Hall

Ronald Turpin – Wikipedia 

Arthur Lucas – Wikipedia 

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Troubling Encounters With the Ghosts of Tranquille Sanatorium in Canada

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Tranquille Sanatorium near Kamloops is said to be one of the most haunted places in Canada. Once a hospital treating tuberculosis, later a place for the mentally ill has a history filled with mystery, tragedy, and an eerie atmosphere that still lingers to this day. Visitors report spooky sightings of ghostly figures wandering the grounds and warning whispers in dark corridors.

Is there something more haunting and creates a more scary atmosphere than the now abandoned sanatoriums that exist around the world? Canada’s historic Tranquille Sanatorium near Kamloops (Tk’emlúps) in British Colombia hides many secrets of its past, including a host of creepy sightings and paranormal activity. 

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Located not far from Kamloops in British Columbia, the Tranquille Sanatorium opened its doors back in 1907. By 1910, the hospital was able to accommodate almost 50 patients, 4 nurses, and 12 attendants. By 1932, the Tranquille Sanatorium was able to house over 600 patients and staff and was operating as a fully functioning and self-sustaining community. 

Tranquille Sanatorium around 1920

Originally designed to treat tuberculosis known as the white plague back in the days, the Tranquille Sanatorium hospitalized thousands of people over the years. The facility was called the King Edward VII Sanatorium. The community built around the facility had gardens, houses, a gymnasium, a farm, a fire department as well as recreational areas such as an auditorium, a cafeteria, a laundry mat and tennis courts. It even had a school for handicapped children named “Stsmemelt Village” and a community and life grew around the sanatorium outside the hospital as well.

In 1958, the hospital closed and was reopened in 1959 to treat the mentally ill until the late 80s. In September 1991, an Italian developer, Giovanni Camporese, the president of A&A Foods, bought the land to turn it into a resort and renamed it “Padova City” from his hometown. There have been many plans to demolish it, but is for now an abandoned and derelict building and a farming community around. 

source

Many did not survive their stay in this haunted building as the white plague once was the single biggest killer in Canada, and its tragic history has added to its eerie reputation. 

Tranquille Sanatorium: A former TB hospital near Kamloops, with plans to become a sustainable community. Here from 2014. // Source

Paranormal Activity at Tranquille Sanatorium

Although the place is closed off as it is private property, you can still visit to participate in their historic tours. It is said that both visitors and staff at Tranquille Sanatorium have reported a wide range of paranormal occurrences like strange sightings and ghostly images. Moans and groans that from disembodied voices ring through the location and others have even reported seeing apparitions wandering the grounds. Some visitors have even reported feeling like they were being watched or followed by something unseen in the shadows.

One of the more retold rumours is about seeing light orbs and faint floating lights traveling in circles. This is especially reported on happening around the main entrance. Apparently, lights in the sanatorium also go on and off by themselves.

But what or who is behind the haunting rumours? According to the stories, these paranormal occurrences are linked to the dark history of Tranquille Sanatorium and those who lost their lives here as patients are still lingering. 

There are not many names and specific ghosts connected to this place, but they are certainly active, and sometimes even violent. Visitors report a figure pushing past them before disappearing and one even claimed to have been chased out of the hospital by a mist looking like the silhouette of a human. The spirit of a nurse who was supposedly murdered by a patient can be seen in several of the rooms have also made its rounds as a haunted legend. 

The Mother’s Cries on the Eight Floor

Although the stories from the haunted Tranquille Sanatorium can be very vague, there are some rumors that seem to echo through many sources. 

The sounds of children crying can be heard coming from the 8th floor, an area where pediatrics used to be. This is also a place where many people talk about seeing the mysterious orbs that have been observed throughout the sanatorium grounds. They have also claimed to have heard the voices of ghostly children playing in the abandoned children’s ward. 

Another ghost said to appear in these rooms is a female ghost believed to be a mother to one of the children. She can be heard crying for her child and even seen on both the eight as well as the sixth floor. When those seeing her approach her though, she vanishes into thin air. 

The Haunted Tunnels Below

The most haunted place though it is said to be the tunnels that have been dug out underneath the sunken gardens. Not only were these tunnels used to transport food and supplies into the sanatorium, they were also used to transport the dead bodies of the patients to the cemetery. Although it sounds dark, it was actually to spare the living patients the distress of seeing others succumbing to the illness they were battling with themselves. By using the tunnels, the staff would be able to discreetly transport them without anyone seeing it. 

Could these tunnels be haunted now? Throughout the decades, local teenagers have used these tunnels as a hang out and party place, and many of the haunted rumours come from this period.  There are reports that the tunnels below are filled with lonely voices and cries. 

The Ancestral Burial Site

It is not only the dark history of the sanatorium that has made people think it is haunted. Tranquille is a particularly active area when it comes to First Nations history. This land west of Tk’emlúps which is Secwépemctsín for “where the rivers meet”  is also the site of a major Secwépemc settlement dating back thousands of years. The Secwepemc used the area around Tranquille Sanatorium as a fishing and hunting settlement before the first colonists took over the area. Their ancestral burial sites and gravel pits have been found under the structures of the sanatorium. 

Source

The same location that was once Tranquille Sanatorium is now known as Tranquille Farm Fresh, which offers escape rooms and heritage tours, often connected to the haunted rumours for Halloween. For now, further development of the place remains in a place of limbo, where private development, agricultural needs as well as First People rights is trapped in a crossroad. 

Ghost Hunting in the Sanatorium

But is it really haunted? Several blogs have recounted their own experiences of partying and fuelling the haunted rumours with playing and pranking, pretending to be the ghosts. A lot of the modern takes on the haunted sanatorium actually comes from the MTV Show “MTV Fear” that aired from 2000 to 2002. Contestants are blindfolded and led by guides to the supposedly haunted area. Once night arrives, a computer terminal will usually pick one or two colors and assign a dare. This computer also provides the group with background information about the area. Tranquille Sanatorium was chosen as a location in episode 5 of season 2. 

Some teenagers remember the time they were paid in pizza to act as the ghosts rumored to haunt the place. The show had perhaps even created several unique characters that were unknown to everyone before airing the show. They had for instance the wife of one of the doctors, Ellison, who was consumed by tuberculosis haunting the place, and the ghost of the Pig Man as well. 

Question is: Did the show create the haunted rumors, or did the haunted rumors just inspire the show? 

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References:

The buried history of Tranquille 

Tranquille: A Timeline 

Vanishing B.C. Tranquille – Kamloops 

The deep, dark and mysterious history of Tranquille Sanatorium and psychiatric institution | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan’s News Source

Sanatorium near Kamloops one of Canada’s most haunted places – Vancouver Is Awesome

Is Tranquille the victim of wild imaginations? – The Superstitious Times

Ukategorisert

Legends of Oriental Theater and the Ghosts from The Great Chicago Fire Disaster

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After a devastating fire in the old Iroquois Theater in Chicago around 600 people died trying to escape the flames. Even after the Oriental Theater was built in its place, some still believe the ghost from the fire is haunting the stage. 

The Oriental Theater in the windy city of Chicago is a grand venue that has been entertaining audiences for over 90 years. But behind the grandeur and glitz lies a dark and eerie history, filled with ghostly legends and supernatural stories. 

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Many people believe that the Oriental Theater is one of the most haunted venues in Chicago, with a long list of ghostly sightings and unexplained phenomena. What sets this ghost story apart though is how the haunting origin story is more scary than the haunting itself. And the most deadly haunting happened as soon as this spot in the city was turned into a theater. 

The Nederlander: The theater has had many names and is today called The Nederlander. Before this exact theater were built, another one who burnt is said to have caused the haunting said to go on inside of the building.

The Fire of the Iroquois Theater and Death Alley

The Oriental Theater, formerly known as the Iroquois Theater, opened its doors in 1903 at 24 W. Randolph Street. It was a grand venue, with a seating capacity of over 1,700, and was designed to be the most luxurious theater in the world. The newspaper also advertised with it being fireproof. But just as Titanic was unsinkable, the theater would catch fire as soon as it opened.

Just five weeks after its opening during a performance of a comedy-musical called Mr. Bluebeard starring Eddie Foy, tragedy struck when a fire broke. The show had been a success and the theatre were sold out with extra standing tickets being issued. Most of the spectators were women attending with their children. 

A spark from the stage lights hit the very flammable muslin backdrop and it burst into flames quickly. First, they weren’t too panicked, as they all believed it when they said it would be safe from fire. But then the fire started to spread, and none of the fire prevention equipment seemed to be working.

When the spectators tried to flee the theater, they were unable to locate the exits as they were not labeled and doors were locked. In the staircase people were trampled, crushed or asphyxiated to death. 

When the crew and actors escape in the backscene doors, the cold air caused a fireball that shot out from the stage onto the crowd. Those who managed to find a window or get to the roof jumped to their death. 

There were no fire-alarm box in the building and when the fire department finally arrived, it was already too late. 602 people lost their lives in the 30 minutes blaze, making it one of the deadliest theater fires in history and was remembered as The Great Chicago Fire Disaster.

Hundreds of bodies were piled up in the theater of mostly women and children. It reportedly took over five hours to gather them all, the amount of bodies raging six feet above the ground. The next door space turned into a temporary morgue and hospital. Soon, the alley right next to the theater was called the Death Alley and was remembered as such for a long time.

Ever since there have been rumors about it being haunted and the spirit of the dead lingering in the alley now known as Couch Place. Whispers in the night as well as people feeling the ghostly touch on the shoulders.

So some say that the theater was cursed from the start, but it was certainly not the end though. 

Couch Place: Commonly called the Alley of Death, was the place they place the bodies after the fire and many have experienced strange things in this backstage place of the Chicago theater district. // Source

The Start of Oriental Theater

After the fire, the theater was rebuilt and renamed the Oriental Theater in 1926. In 1988 the Oriental Theater closed down and fell into disrepair,  but it was restored in 1998 and is now a popular venue once again. 

Read More: Check out all Haunted Theaters

However, the history of the Iroquois Theater fire has left a lasting impact on the theater, and many believe that it is responsible for the ghostly sightings and unexplained phenomena that occur there.

Ghostly Legends and Reports

There have been many reports of ghostly activity at the Oriental Theater over the years. The ghosts of those who perished in the fire is also said to haunt the newly built theater and people claim to have seen their spirit leaping out from the window onto the street as a death loop. There is also the smell of smoke coming from nowhere that people claim is a remnant lingering from the deadly fire. 

When actors are on stage they report about seeing shadows moving on the balconies. In the fire, they perhaps had it worse, as they were the ones locked inside and were unable to open the doors leading down to the first floor. 

The Wicked Incident

One of the stories told was during a production of the musical Wicked. Ana Gasteyer had the role of Elphaba. In the end of Act I, there is a scene where she learns to fly and smog and fog comes from the auditorium and filling the stage. She told in the writing Celebrity Ghost Stories that she looked to the sides in the wings. They were filled with people, more people than the stagehands of the production used to have there. 

The people didn’t look like crew either, they looked like families, but when she landed and the smoke cleared, there was no one there. 

She also claimed to have seen a woman in the hallways with a boy and a girl, all wearing period clothes. It was first when she asked her dresser about it that she thought they might have been ghosts, as Dec 30. was coming up. 

Could this have been one of the performances she claimed to have seen the ghosts?

Spooky Events and Experiences at Oriental Theater

The Oriental Theater in Chicago is a grand venue that has entertained audiences for over ninety years. In 2018 it was renamed to the James M. Nederlander Theatre, after the founder of Broadway in Chicago.

But behind the glamour and glitz lies a dark and eerie history, filled with ghostly legends and supernatural stories and the danger of fire.

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References:

 The Oriental Theatre, now James M. Nederlander Theatre in Chicago is one of the world’s most haunted places – NBC Chicago
Chicago Hauntings: The Horrors Of The Iroquois Theater Fire That Killed 602 People Downtown In 1903, And Stories About Ghosts Left Behind
Death Alley Near Nederlander Theatre – Windy City Ghosts
Iroquois Theatre Fire: History & Discovery of GhostsIroquois Theatre fire – Wikipedia