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Elvis Presley was one of the biggest icons in American history. He was the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and had millions of fans wherever he went. On August 16th, 1977 Elvis was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack. The 42 year old shockingly then died shortly after reaching the hospital. People didn’t want to admit the fact that their hero had died so young and suddenly. Elvis sightings started to be reported all over the place. The rumors were that Elvis had faked his own death. The reason behind this was to get away from all the fans and reporters that have been bothering him all those years. Another theory was that he put away major drug dealers in a top secret witness protection program and those drug dealers threatened to kill him so he went to hide.
When it was confirmed that Elvis was dead and that he was no where else disguised as someone else, his ghost started to appear. A typical ghost sighting of Elvis took place on December 20th, 1980. A truck driver decided to pick up a hitchhiker, and when he introduced himself, the man replied he was Elvis Presley. The driver didn’t believe it at first but then he realized that this was truly the king himself. He also had to be dropped off on the block where he lived. People have also reported seeing his ghost in and around the house where he lived and died which is called the Graceland.
(Source: Cohen, Daniel. Hauntings and Horrors. 2002)
Chris Famous Ghosts, Haunted Places
photo taken from wikimedia.org
Windsor Castle is the largest inhibited castle in the world, dating back to William the Conqueror, and is the oldest in continuous occupation. It is one of the principal official residences of the present British monarchy. Over the years, the monarchy expanded it and during war, the castle is more fortified. When I went to see the castle, it seemed very-heavily guarded. The castle’s principal entrance is named after the famous King Henry VIII. Speaking of King Henry VIII, one of his wives Anne Boleyn can be found carrying her head around the castle along with her daughter Queen Elizabeth I. Anne Boleyn is sometimes spotted running down the corridor screaming.
Those claiming to have seen the ghost include King George VI, William Ewart Gladstone (former Prime Minister), and Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
Works Cited/Further Reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_castle
Jason Famous Ghosts, Ghost Encounters, Haunted Places
photo taken from cliquee.net
If you haven’t read my post about the ghost of Harry Houdini, you can read it here. Harry Houdini was a fabulous magician, as we all know. He was also an advocate of spiritualists for a while. He had a bad experience with one and became very skeptical before he died. His close friend Arthur Doyle’s wife wanted to show Harry her medium skills and contact Harry’s deceased mother. Harry agreed and she gave him a reading. The reading was not a factual one according to Harry. Lady Doyle wrote down a cross, then a message in English that, according to Lady Doyle, was from his mother.
Houdini saw this and was devastated because his mother did not speak English and was Jewish and knew that she would never commence her message with a cross. Harry knew that Lady Doyle herself used the cross a lot in her writings also. Before he died, Harry gave his wife a secret message. This secret message would be used by his wife to determine whether or not the psychics were real. She went around to every psychic and gypsy around the world and not one of them could get the secret message. Close-friend medium Arthur Ford has been known for getting the message until Houdini’s wife came out and said that it was her who passed the message on, not Harry. Is this is another piece of evidence that we have against mediums?
Jason Biographies, Famous Ghosts, Ghost Encounters
photo taken from wikipedia.org
There is a medieval legend that says the city of Rome is still haunted by the spirit of the Emperor Nero. Nero, the city when the Great Fire of 64 AD broke out, destroyed about 2/3 of Rome. Once the fire ended, Romans declared that it was perpetuated by slaves of Nero. To counter this accusation, Nero accused the Christians of having started the fire, and punished this new religious group by staging persecutions.
Medieval Romans believed that Nero’s soul could not rest at ease because of his anti-Christian actions and that his ghost haunted the area near his tomb. There, a tree that grew on the tomb was home to a flock of ravens. Romans believed the ravens were sent by demons to torment Nero, thereby making his ghost restless.
Pope Pascal II exorcised the area by chopping down the tree, throwing the tomb into the river, and building a church on the site. Today, that church is called Santa Maria del Popolo, and the exorcism of Nero’s ghost is depicted in an image in the church.
Sources/Further Reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero
Ian Famous Ghosts, Ghost Encounters, Historical Horrors
Photo taken from media-2.web.britannica.com
John Brown is considered to be one of the most important men in United States history for his actions as an abolitionist against slavery. On October 16th, 1859, Brown led a group of men in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and overtook the federal arsenal there. They killed the mayor and then took a number of high-ranking men as hostage. By doing this, Brown thought the slaves would start a rebellion with this spark. However, this did not happen and U.S. Marines were sent to Harpers Ferry to put down the situation.
The Marines broke into the firehouse where Brown and his men were, and about half of them were killed. Brown was severely wounded when captured and he was sentenced to be killed on charges of treason. On December 2nd, 1859, Brown was hung but before he died he predicted there would be a bloody Civil War over the issue of slavery.
Two years later, Civil War did break out, and this incident was one of the main things that sparked it. Brown sparked abolitionists with a passion and made them hate slavery even more after he was killed for the cause. Presently, Harpers Ferry is a tourist attraction with many people coming to visit the old 19th century town for its authentic houses, streets, and of course, the Harpers Ferry building commonly referred to as John Brown’s fort. What these tourists do also see is the ghost of John Brown still wandering the streets of Harper Ferry. He is seen walking in the center of town as a tall figure wearing black, having a full beard, 19th century clothes, and a black dog. People usually think he is part of the tourist attraction and is someone merely dressed up in the period for show. They have taken pictures with the ghost not realizing it until this person mysteriously disappears.
(Source: Cohen, Daniel. Hauntings and Horrors. 2002.)
Chris Famous Ghosts, Haunted Places
