BEYOND THE GRAVE

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In 1938, stories of a "killer ghost" began to be told in eastern Kentucky. Even though no one ever saw this malevolent apparition, it was said to have caused five very similar and unexplained deaths.

In June of that year, a man named Carl Pruitt came home from work one night and found his wife in bed with another man. After her lover escaped by jumping out of a window, Pruitt strangled his wife with a small piece of chain. Immediately after, perhaps having just realized the depth of his madness, he committed suicide. He was buried in a separate cemetery from his wife.

A few weeks after he was buried, visitors to the cemetery began to notice the pattern of a chain that was slowly forming on Pruitt's gravestone. The "chain" was caused by an unusual discoloration in the stone and slowly, it gained links until it formed the shape of a cross. At that point, it stopped growing. A number of local residents suggested that perhaps the supernaturally marked tombstone should be removed from the graveyard and destroyed, but officials scoffed and nothing was done about it.

A month or so after the chain stopped growing, a group of boys were riding their bicycles past the cemetery one afternoon. One of them, a boy named James Collins, decided to throw a few stones at Pruitt's "cursed" gravestone, probably just to prove that he wasn't afraid and had little use for spooky stories. Whatever the reason for his actions, the hurled rocks managed to chip several spots from the stone. As the young men started home, Collins' bicycle suddenly began to pick up speed, to the point that he could no longer control it. It veered off the road and collided with a tree. Then, in some unexplained way, the sprocket chain tore loose and managed to wrap itself about the boy's neck, strangling him. Rumors quickly spread about this remarkable occurrence, especially after an examination of the Pruitt tombstone revealed that no marks or chips marred the surface of it. The other boys knew what they had seen however and their breathless accounts only fueled speculation about a vengeful ghost.

James Collins' mother was especially heartbroken over her son's death. Less than a month after his accident, she went out to the cemetery and destroyed the Pruitt gravestone with a small hand axe. She pounded and hacked at the stone until it lay in dozens in pieces. The following day, she was hanging the family wash on the line. Ironically, the clothesline was made from small linked chain rather than the usual rope or wire. Somehow, she slipped and fell and her neck became entangled in the chain. She twisted and tried to get free, but it was no use and she strangled to death. The legends say that after she died, the Pruitt tombstone showed no signs of destruction!

Needless to say, news of this most recent incident spread. A short time later, a local farmer and three members of his family were driving a wagon past the cemetery. For some reason, the farmer announced that he had no fear of ghosts and fired several shots at the Pruitt stone with his revolver. Chunks flew from the marker and immediately, the horses pulling the wagon began to run. Their hooves pounded faster and faster, until the wagon was out of control. The family members all jumped to safety but the farmer hung on, frantically pulling on the reins. Just as the wagon veered around a curve in the road, the farmer was thrown from his seat and he tumbled forward. His neck snagged on one of the trace chains and the motion of the horses snapped his neck. Once again, Pruitt's stone showed no signs of the damage that had been done to it.

The local residents were now convinced of the fact that the grave marker was cursed. Things got so bad that the local congressman was contacted and two police officers were sent out to the cemetery to investigate the stories. When they arrived at the graveyard, one of the men began to laugh about the stories and made fun of the idea of so-called "ghosts and curses". Regardless, they took several photos of the stone and then left to go and talk with the witnesses to the events surrounding it. As they were leaving, the doubting officer happened to look into the car's rearview mirror. In it, he saw a bright light coming from the direction of the Pruitt tombstone. At first he assumed that it was just a reflection from the car's tail lights, but then it began to get closer to the car. Startled, he began to drive faster, but the light kept coming. He drove faster and faster, always watching his mirror. His partner pleaded with him to slow down, but it was no use. The light was still coming!

Just then, the car swerved off the road and crashed between two posts. It rolled over and over again several times. The officer on the passenger side was thrown clear of the wreck and was only slightly hurt. Shaken, he climbed to his feet and went to his partner's aid. He found that his friend was dead... but he had been killed before the car had wrecked. As the car had passed between the two posts, a chain that had been hanging between then had shattered the car's windshield and had wrapped around the driver's neck. The force was so great that it had nearly severed his head!

After this death, residents began to avoid the cemetery altogether. Only one man, Arthur Lewis, dared to go there. He was determined to prove that the stories of a "cursed" tombstone were nothing but superstitious nonsense. One evening, after telling his wife what he intended to do, he went to the graveyard with a hammer and chisel and began to methodically destroy the grave marker. The sounds of the hammer and the shattering stone could be heard by all who lived near the cemetery... and they also heard the bloodcurdling scream that filled the night too! Several men grabbed lanterns and went down to investigate. When they arrived, they found Lewis dead with the long chain that had been used to close the cemetery gate wrapped about his neck. Apparently, something had frightened him and he had started running, forgetting about the chain that barred the entrance gate. Oddly, even though ten or fifteen people had heard the sound of the man breaking Pruitt's gravestone, there were no marks of broken places on it.

After this last death, other bodies in the cemetery were removed and buried again in other locations. People gradually moved away and the small burial plot was forgotten. Since Pruitt had no family left to care for his grave, the site became overgrown and tangled with weeds. In 1958, it was destroyed for good by a strip-mining operation. The five strange deaths, all linked by chains, were never explained.

BERKLEY SQUARE

London, England

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The Story

Berkley square's ghostly past may date back to the 1830's when a young woman hurled herself to her death from an upstairs window. The house then fell into the hands of a recluse known as Mr. Myers, who it is said had gone mad with grief after his fiancee eloped with another man. He has spent a small fortune refurbishing the house to his bride's liking, and he spent the rest of his life aimlessly wandering the rooms in mourning.

The house was vacant for 2 years, then in 1880 a family known as Bentley moved in. Their daughter was engaged to an army officer called Kenfield, and they were about to marry. There was a party at the house due to the forth coming wedding there were lots of guests. During the early evening loud screams were heard from the daughters room. Mr Bentley his wife and daughter and Kenfield found the servant in a near catatonic state in the bedroom, she was paralyzed with fear and unable to speak. She died in the hospital the next day after muttering that she had seen "something horrible" in the room.

Capt. Kenfield insisted on staying in the room over night, despite his fiancee's pleas. He set a bell up and promised that he would ring the bell if he saw anything he also had a loaded pistol at his side. It was in the early hours of the morning when frantic sounds of bell ringing filled the house, followed by a loud gunshot. When the family got to the room the found Kenfeild lying on the floor, convulsing in terror, just as the servant had, his eyes were fixed on a corner of the room. The pistol was still clutched in his hand, there was a bullet hole in the corner of the room that was staring at. His words were garbled and gibberish. Kenfeild recovered, but he was never his old self again - and was never able to speak of what he saw in that room. Whatever the cause, the house was turned into a bookstore after World War II and no disturbances have plagued the owners.

Another closely related story about Berkley square concerns a curious white-faced man with a gaping mouth whose appearance is said to have terrified two fog-bound sailors who stumbled one night into their house, which had been standing empty at the time. During the night they were first disrurbed by the sound of muffled footsteps mounting the stairs. Something entered the room they were in and when one of the sailors, in a effort to escape the horror creeping towards them, fell through the window, his partner succeded in escaping and was found in a state of collapse outside by a passing policeman. His companion's dead body was found in the garden but the policeman found no trace of the horrible thing that had terrified the two tough sailors. The sailor's partner's dead body was found impaled on the spiked railings.

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES

The Mothman is perhaps one of the strangest creatures to ever grace the annals of weirdness in America. A mysterious and unsolved case, "Mothman" is the name given to a creature sighted in the Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia between November 1966, and December 1967.

Most observers describe the Mothman as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth-like wings. The creature often appeared to have no head, with its eyes set into its chest. A number of hypotheses have been presented to explain eyewitness accounts, ranging from misidentification and coincidence, to paranormal phenomena and conspiracy theories.

The strange events connected to the Mothman began on November 12, 1966 near Clendenin, West Virginia. Five men were in the local cemetery that day, preparing a grave for a burial, when something that looked like a "brown human being" lifted off from some nearby trees and flew over their heads. The men were terrified. It did not appear to be a bird, but more like a man with wings. A few days later, more sightings would take place, electrifying the entire region.

Sightings of the Mothman started to escalate, with the Mothman plaguing the residents of the area for just over one year. The sightings climaxed and ended with the collapse of the Silver Bridge, plunging 46 vehicles in to the Ohio river. It was proposed that sightings of The Mothman were a sign and warning of the impending doom that was going to befall Point Pleasant in less than 12 months.

The Mothman has also been sighted just before other major world disasters; the Chernobyl explosion, the Tsunami in India, Afghanistan and Iraq, and in New York on September the 11th.

The First Sightings of the Mothman

On November 15, 1966, two young married couples from Point Pleasant, West Virginia, named David and Linda Scarberry, and Steve and Mary Mallette, were traveling late at night in the Scarberry's car. They were passing the West Virginia Ordnance Works, an abandoned World War II TNT factory, about seven miles north from Point Pleasant, in the 2,500 acre McClintic Wildlife Station, when they noticed two red lights in the shadows by an old generator plant near the factory gate.

They stopped the car, and were startled to discover that the lights were actually the glowing red eyes of a large animal, "shaped like a man, but bigger, maybe six and a half or seven feet tall, with big wings folded against its back," according to Roger Scarberry. Terrified, they drove toward Route 62, where the creature supposedly chased them at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.

Whilst driving away, the Scarberrys claimed to have noticed a dead dog on the side of the road, and in fact made such accurate note of its location that they claimed to have gone back the very next day and looked for it.

They drove to the Mason County courthouse to alert Deputy Millard Halstead, who later said, "I've known these kids all their lives. They'd never been in any trouble and they were really scared that night. I took them seriously." He then followed Roger Scarberry's car back to the secret ex-U.S. Federal bomb and missile factory, but found no trace of the strange creature.

According to the book Alien Animals, by Janet and Colin Bord, a poltergeist attack on the Scarberry home occurred later that night, during which the creature was seen several times.

Newell Partridge's Sighting of the Mothman

The harrowing experience of the two couples was not the only unusual occurrence that night in Point Pleasant. About 10:30pm contractor Newell Partridge was sitting at home in front of the television. Suddenly, the picture on the screen disappeared. It was replaced by a "herringbone pattern" and a "loud whining noise." He could now hear the familiar sounds of his dog Bandit howling on the porch.

Bandit was a big muscular German Shephard who was always on guard, alerting Partridge of any unusual happenings around the house. He was a country dog, and used to defending himself and his family. Partridge quickly made his way to the porch to see what his loyal dog Bandit was making such a fuss about. The dog headed to the family barn, located about one hundred and fifty yards away from the house.

Partridge aimed his flashlight in the direction of the barn, and was shocked to see "two circle-like eyes" glowing red in the darkness of the night. "I shined the flash light in that direction, and it picked up two red circles, or eyes, which looked like bicycle reflectors. I certainly know what animal eyes look like... these were much larger" described Partridge after the events. "It's a good length of a football field to that hay barn, still those eyes showed up huge for that distance."

Something wasn't right, and Partridge ran back inside the house to get his shotgun, to defend himself from whatever or whoever was trespassing on his property. He spent the night with the gun at his side. When morning broke, he went to find Bandit, worried that he was hurt, or worse, dead. There was no sign of Bandit, but Partridge did find a worrisome clue to his whereabouts. He found tracks in a circular pattern, telling him that Bandit had gone round and round probably barking at something in the air!

Bandit was never seen again. Could the body of the dog seen on the outskirts of town by the Scarberry's been that of Bandit? The news of this strange event quickly spread from police headquarters to the local news media.

By the next day, more reports of this strange creature were reported to the police. In one report, the Mothman had swooped down over another moving car, frightening the passengers.

ightings of The Mothman in November 1966

The following night, on November 16, several armed townspeople combed the area around the TNT plant for signs of the Mothman. Mr and Mrs Raymond Wamsley, and Mrs Marcella Bennett, with her baby daughter Teena in tow, were in a car en-route to visit their friends, Mr and Mrs Ralph Thomas, who lived in a bungalow among the "igloos" (concrete dome-shaped dynamite storage structures erected during WW-II) near the TNT plant.

The igloos were now empty, some owned by the county, others by companies intending to use them for storage. They were heading back to their car when a figure appeared behind their parked vehicle. Mrs Bennett said that it seemed like it had been lying down, slowly rising up from the ground, large and gray, with glowing red eyes. While Wamsley phoned the police, the creature walked onto the porch and peered in at them through the window.

On November 24, four people reported seeing the Mothman flying over the TNT area. On the morning of November 25, Thomas Ury, who was driving along Route 62 just north of the TNT, claimed to have seen the Mothman standing in a field, and then it spread its wings and flew alongside his car as he sped toward the Point Pleasant sheriff's office.

On November 26, Mrs Ruth Foster of Charleston, West Virginia reportedly saw the Mothman standing on her front lawn, but the creature was gone by the time her brother-in-law went out to investigate. Later on the morning of November 27, the creature apparently pursued a young woman near Mason, West Virginia, and was reported again in St. Albans the same night, by two children.

A Mothman sighting was again reported on January 11, 1967, and several other times that same year

Mothman sightings at the collapse of the Silver Bridge, December 1967

On the evening of December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge, which crossed the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, collapsed in rush-hour traffic. 46 Cars plunged into the Ohio River, killing many people. There had been a number of sightings of the Mothman on the bridge by drivers just before it collapsed.

The Silver Bridge, so named for its aluminum paint, was an eyebar chain suspension bridge that connected the cities of Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Kanauga over the Ohio River. The bridge was built in 1928. Investigation of the bridge wreckage pointed to the failure of a single eye-bar in a suspension chain due to a small manufacturing flaw.

Sightings continued to pour in. Certain features remained consistent - the creature's size, build and hypnotic eyes. Also, malfunctioning radios and televisions featured in many of the reports. Another consistent feature was the fear - people were terrified of the Mothman. Also, a sudden increase of dog disappearances and animal mutilations were reported - and the Mothman was thought to be responsible for those as well.

As one would expect with this kind of media coverage, thousands of people poured into the T.N.T. area, hoping for a sighting. Television crews set up at the generator plant, hoping to catch Mothman on film.

It was the biggest disaster ever to hit Point Pleasant and it seemed to mark the end of the flurry of Mothman sightings. People began to speculate that the Mothman was somehow responsible for the bridge's collapse. The severity of the accident seemed to turn public attention away from the Mothman and only scattered reports of him have surfaced since then.

The Mothman Theories

There were many theories of what the Mothman was, the demonic result of a magic ritual, a biochemically altered bird, or perhaps the embodiment of a 200-year-old Shawnee curse on the land. Not surprisingly, skeptics scoffed at these theories, stating instead that Mothman was probably just some normal bird; probably a sandhill crane. The sandhill crane has reddish patches on its head that could possibly be mistaken for large red eyes. However other large birds have been found in the area as well.

In July 1967, several boys found a large vulture near New Haven. And at Gallipolis Ferry, a farmer shot an Arctic snow owl; it was two feet tall with a five-foot wingspan. Many local people were not interested in logical explanations - they were afraid and, by the one year anniversary of the first report, over one hundred incidents linked to Mothman had been reported.

A plaque on the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant provides a version of the original legend: "On a chilly, fall night in November 1966, two young couples drove into the TNT area north of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, when they realized they were not alone. Driving down the exit road, they saw the supposed creature standing on a nearby ridge. It spread its wings and flew alongside the vehicle up to the city limits."

Some believe a crumbling set of buildings outside of Point Pleasant, West Virginia are home to one of the most bizarre and terrifying creatures ever to walk the earth: half-man, half-bird, and a portent of impending disaster. Those who have seen the creature called it "Mothman."

Whatever the explanation, the Mothman terrified all who saw it, and some even believe the creature is linked to the greatest tragedy ever to befall Point Pleasant. After nearly a year of Mothman sightings, the Silver Bridge leading out of town collapsed, killed 46 people. One witness claimed to have seen the Mothman on the bridge just prior to the disaster.

HIGHGATE VAMPIRE

London, England

Many popular books on ghosts mention a vampire which purportedly haunted Highgate Cemetery in the early 1970s, like the book called "The Highgate Vampire". The growth of its reputation is an example of modern legend-building, which can be traced through contemporary media reports and subsequent books by two participants, Seán Manchester and David Farrant. The most academic account is given by a folklore scholar, Professor Bill Ellis, in the journal Folklore He writes from the viewpoint of sociological legend study; this concerns public perceptions of a real or purported event, and how these are shaped into a narrative by processes of rumour, selection, exaggeration and stereotyping.

Other narratives which treat these purported happenings as fact are available in the books and websites of Seán Manchester and David Farrant.

The publicity was initiated by a group of young people interested in the occult who began roaming the overgrown and dilapidated cemetery in the late 1960s, a time when it was being much vandalised by intruders On 21 December 1969 one of their members, David Farrant, spent the night there, according to his account written in 1991. In a letter to the Hampstead and Highgate Express on 6 February 1970, he wrote that when passing the cemetery on 24 December 1969 he had glimpsed "a grey figure", which he considered to be supernatural, and asked if others had seen anything similar. On the 13th, several people replied, describing a variety of ghosts said to haunt the cemetery or the adjoining Swains Lane. These ghosts were described as a tall man in a hat, a spectral cyclist, a woman in white, a face glaring through the bars of a gate, a figure wading into a pond, a pale gliding form, bells ringing, and voices calling Hardly two correspondents gave the same story

A second local man, Seán Manchester, was just as keen as Farrant to identify and eliminate what he and Farrant believed was a supernatural entity in the cemetery. The Hampstead and Highgate Express reported him on 27 February 1970 as saying that he believed that 'a King Vampire of the Undead', a medieval nobleman who had practised black magic in medieval Wallachia, had been brought to England in a coffin in the early eighteenth century, by followers who bought a house for him in the West End. He was buried on the site that later became Highgate Cemetery, and Manchester claimed that modern Satanists had roused him. He said the right thing to do would be to stake the vampire's body, and then behead and burn it, but regrettably this would nowadays be illegal. The paper headlined this: 'Does a Vampyr walk in Highgate?'

(Manchester has claimed, however that the reference to 'a King Vampire from Wallachia' was a journalistic embellishment. Nevertheless, the 1985 edition of his book also speaks of an unnamed nobleman's body brought to Highgate in a coffin from somewhere in Europe.)

In his interview of 27 February, Manchester offered no evidence in support of his theory. The following week, on 6 March, the same paper reported David Farrant as saying he had seen dead foxes in the cemetery, 'and the odd thing was there was no outward sign of how they died.' When told of this, Manchester said it seemed to complement his theory In later writings, both men reported seeing other dead foxes with throat wounds and drained of blood

Farrant was more hesitant in identifying the phenomenon he had seen. In some interviews he called it simply a ghost or spectre, sometimes he agreed that it might be vampiric. It is the 'vampire' label which has stuck

THE CHASE VAULT

Christ Church, Barbados.

The Moving Coffins of Barbados

The Chase Vault is a burial vault in the cemetery of the Christ Church in Oistins, Barbados. It is best known for a series of unexplained incidents in the early 19th century involving the coffins within the vault. Each time when the vault was opened to bury a family member, all coffins but one had changed position. When this had happened several times without explanation over a number of years, the vault was eventually abandoned.

The vault, located about seven miles from Bridgetown, was a large structure built for the Chase family and their close friends. The vault was built roughly half above and half below the ground, which allowed for some degree of protection from the elements.

The first placed inside the vault was Mrs. Thomasina Goddard, in a simple wooden coffin built in July 1807. Two year old Mary Ann Chase was placed in the vault the very next year. The older sister of Mary Ann, Dorcas Chase, was put into the vault on July 6, 1812. Some claim that Dorcas starved herself after she was forced into depression by her father.

A few weeks later her father, Thomas Chase, died and was to be placed into the vault. Legend says that Thomas was one of the most hated men in Barbados.

When the Chase Vault was open for the burial of Thomas Chase, the eight pallbearers who carried Chase's coffin down into the vault were the first to notice that the two lead coffins already in the tomb were not where they had been left a month earlier. Mary Ann's coffin was lying upside-down in the opposite corner from where it had been placed. The workers returned the coffins to their side-by-side positions and left that of Thomas Chase next to them. The smaller coffin of Mary Ann was placed on top of one of the larger ones. After the crypt was resealed with its heavy marble door, a curious murmuring started amongst the Bajans.

The mourners soon resolved to place the blame on the slaves who had assisted in the burials. The alleged cruelty of Thomas Chase toward his servants offered an easy revenge motive. The case apparently having been solved, the crypt remained undisturbed for four more years.

On September 25, 1816, the vault was opened for the burial of eleven year old Charles Brewster Ames. As with the previous time the vault was opened, each of the coffins were misplaced and thrown about, including the two hundred forty pound coffin of Thomas. The vault was put back in order and resealed.

Fifty two days later, Samuel Brewster was to be buried inside the Chase Vault. This time, a large group of witnesses crowded around the vault, looking for the mystery to continue. The slab of stone, which covered the door, was carefully examined. No defects were found, and the vault was opened. The vault was once again found in disarray. Mrs. Goddard's coffin, the only wooden one placed in the vault, was badly damaged, and was later wrapped in wire to keep it together.

Several investigators, including the Reverend Thomas Oderson, examined the vault. Nothing could be found that would indicate a cause for the strange happenings, so the vault was once again cleaned and sealed.

On July 17, 1819 the vault was once again opened, and once again the vault was found to be in disorder. The only coffin untouched was the wooden, and fragile, one of Mrs. Goddard's. This time, the governor of the island, Lord Combermere ordered his own professional investigation. The entire vault was looked over, and nothing strange could be found.

The coffins were restacked with Mrs. Goddard's wooden coffin being stacked against a wall, as it was so frail. Sand was placed on the floor to catch the footprints of the perpetrators. The vault was then re-closed, and personal seals of the governor were placed on concrete. Everyone of the island awaited the next reopening.

The next opening of the vault was not for a burial, but for the governors curiosity. On April 18, 1820 the governor and several friends traveled to the vault and found his seal unbroken. When the vault was opened, however, it was found that the coffins were in disarray; some even flipped upside down! The sand revealed no footprints.

After this incident, the vault was abandoned, and the coffins were buried elsewhere. The vault still exists today at Christ Church Parish Church, and is still vacant.

THE CARISBROOKE REAPER

Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight, England

Well, this begins on the grounds around Carisbrooke castle on the Isle of Wight. I and three other friends witnessed an unexpected late night visitor.

This was a few years ago now and we were all just 16. We'd been messing about on the moats and surrounding grounds of the castle for hours and it was well into the early hours of the morning. We were making a lot of noise and could have been the brunt of a quite eerie practical joke, but there were unexplainable details. We were walking past one of the four corners of the castle (for people who know the castle, the corner with the mini traffic light and steps down into the village), when a figure appeared on the first level of the castle, the first of a set of walls approx 3 meters above us.

The figure was all in black, the head covered by a shroud and a cloak covering the length of the figure. The only illumination was from the mini traffic light used on that corner (because of a small side road leading to the car park) and the moonlight. Details of the figure were difficult to make out but a voice stated at us to leave this place and produced a small illuminated object (maybe a candle) from under its cloak. The voice was unusually low and unsettling. Naturally, being young we taunted the figure to come and get us etc. (but using more expressive language).

As we did so the figure revealed a 2 meter scythe and waved the illuminated object in front of it.

At this point we had come to two conclusions: firstly, it could be a ghost/spirit/grim-reaper, and secondly, it could be a man dressed up. Either way we decided whatever it was had a massive offensive weapon so within moments we were off and ran down the length of one side of the castle to the next corner (approx. 400 meters to steps leading to entrance to the shrubbery). Once we reached this corner we turned and faced the same figure. It was still on the upper level looking down on us as before and at the corner we'd reached. We then fled the area and agreed to return the next day.

After a careful look at the upper level which the figure was on we concluded that it would have been impossible to have reached the second corner at the same time as we had and face us again. This was based on the fact that all four of us were sprinting on flat open ground on the moat bank whilst the figure (if a man) would have had to negotiate several tall walls, lines of bushes and ditches on his upper level to reach the second corner. This made our practical joke theory sit uneasy and still makes us wonder what we really saw. I would like to hear from anyone who's had a similar experience at the castle.

The castle is reputed to have a number of ghosts, befitting its long history. The deep well was the scene of the tragic drowning of Elizabeth Ruffin, her disembodied face is reputed to have been seen in the well water. The castle also has a Grey Lady, a phantom wearing a long cloak accompanied by four dogs, the ghosts of a man in a brown jerkin and trousers - seen near the moat, and other presences that have been felt by castle visitors.

THE GREY MAN OF BEN MACDHUI

Cairngorms, Scotland

The highland mountain ranges in Scotland are rough, beautiful, and magnificent places that attract many international visitors, but their slopes have a darker side that has terrified many people throughout the years.

With a height of 1309 metres (4296 feet), Ben MacDhui is the highest peak in the Cairngorms and the second highest peak in Scotland, but it is claimed that the mountain is haunted.

Many mountaineers are certain that the regions of the Cairngorms and Skye harbour a malign humanoid entity known locally as 'Fear Liath Mor' (meaning big grey man) that is grey in colour, big, and fearsome in appearance. The legends tell of these beings stalking anyone who trespassed into their territory.

Actual sightings of the Big Grey Man have been rare, but "eye-witness" descriptions of his appearance describe him as being around ten feet tall, covered in hair, with very long arms and legs.

Ben MacDhui's sinister occupant first came to widespread notice when eminent climber Professor Norman Collie made an announcement to the members of the Annual General Meeting of the Cairngorm Club during their 1925 gathering. He reported that in 1891 he had been descending from this mountain's summit through heavy mist when suddenly: "I began to hear the sound of noises in the loose rock behind me coming down from the natural cairn on the high plateau. Every few steps I took, I heard a crunch, and then another crunch as if someone was walking after me but taking steps three or four times the length of my own."

Dismissing this as an aural hallucination, he continued, but so did the mysterious steps. Gradually he became more and more apprehensive, until he was seized with terror and fled blindly down the mountain for five miles until he reached Rothiemurchus Forest.

Although he was unable to catch any real sight of it, Collie was left with a sinister impression of being stalked by a huge and menacing creature. He vowed never to return to Ben Macdhui alone, and remained convinced that there was "something very queer about the top of Ben MacDhui".

Following his disclosure, he received a letter from Dr A.M.Kellas detailing his own strange experience on that mountain. Dr Kellas and his brother Henry were on the mountain close to the summit when they saw a 'giant figure' approaching them from the direction of the cairn. For a moment it disappeared from sight as it moved into a dip, but the men did not wait to see it reappear, and ran as fast as they could to get off the mountain.

This chilling account, coupled with the unquestionable reliability of professor Collie's story, attracted great media attention. Moreover, other mountaineers began to confess that they too had experienced similar sensations of uncontrollable fear and panic with no rational reason while on Ben MacDhui and had come away with the vivid impression that a malevolent, paranormal presence existed here, which sought to frighten away anyone venturing upon this lonely, desolate peak.

n a possibly related event the author of "The Thirty Nine Steps", John Buchan was walking in 1910 through a wood of pine trees on the Alps in Bavaria with a local forester. Suddenly both men were overcome at the same instant by a feeling of panic. Neither man spoke but they ran together down to the valley below where they collapsed from exertion.

One story related to the author of 'The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui', a man called Richard Frere. He told of a friend of his who decided to spend a night camping on the top of the mountain in 1940. In his tent near the cairn he began to suffer a feeling of morbidity and a sense of unreality but finally fell asleep.

He woke up with moonlight shining through a gap into his tent and suddenly realized that he could see something brownish between himself and the moon. Horrified, he froze, and waited for the thing to move away. When it did, he looked out into the brilliant moonlight and saw a large brown creature 'swaggering' away down the mountain side. He said the creature had 'an air of insolent strength' about it. Incredibly, he estimated the height of the thing to be twenty feet, and described it as having an erect posture, broad shoulders and a tapering waist.

Wendy Wood, author of 'The Secret of Spey' approached the pass of Lairig Ghru in winter whereupon she heard a voice. She described the voice as being of 'gigantic resonance' and reminiscent of Gaelic. After a brief and brave scouting out of the local area to see if she could find the person she had heard speaking, she realized that she was indeed alone. When she hurried away, she could hear footsteps following her as if immediately behind. At first she thought the footfalls to be echoes of her own, but then noticed that they did not coincide or correspond to her own footsteps.

In 1965, footprints were discovered measuring 14 inches and with a massive stride that covered around 5 feet, just as Norman Collie had estimated prior to his panic-filled descent down the mountainside in 1891.

n the early 1990's a group of three men walked along a forestry plantation track in the countryside close to Aberdeen when one saw ahead a 'dark human-shaped' figure run from the left of the track to the right about 200 yards ahead. He felt a 'sense of terror and foreboding'. His friends had not seen the creature but when they looked ahead they saw a face looking at them from between the branches, a face which was 'human... but not human'. One man threw a stone at it and it disappeared into the trees.

A few weeks after this encounter the trio were driving towards Torphins near Aberdeen when their car was pursued by the very same type of creature. They reported this dark, tall being running alongside their car as they drove at close to 45 mph. Eventually it gave up the chase and simply stood in the middle of the road and peered after the car.

A female friend of one of the men later told him that while she had been staying in a cottage in the countryside near there, she had seen a 'dark, hairy figure' standing just inside the tree line nearby watching the building on two occasions. After a while, it moved off into the undergrowth.

The sightings of strange creatures are not the only things people have experienced while on the mountain or in the area. Other people have reported being in the area and suddenly overwhelmed by either a feeling of utter panic or a downward turning of their thoughts which made them incredibly depressed, or both. Some have reported being drawn as if hypnotically to the edge of dangerous ledges while others are believed to have been chased to their deaths, in their desperation to escape, over the edge of the cliff known as Lurcher's Crag.

There have even been reports that ghostly music and laughter could be heard wafting across the shadowy slopes and many accounts of heavy footsteps like those heard by Collie have been documented.

Reports are not wholly confined to Ben MacDhui either. One day during the early 1920s, experienced mountaineer Tom Crowley was coming down alone from Braeraich in Glen Eanaich, close to Ben MacDhui, when he was horrified to see a huge grey mist shrouded figure with pointed ears, long legs and finger-like talons on its feet. He did not stay for a closer look.

It may also be linked to other mountainous regions of the world. Another noteworthy possibility is that in view of the vast variety of unexplained phenomena reported from Ben MacDhui over the years, could this mountain be a "window" area; an interface between different dimensions or alternate worlds? If so, there is a good chance that such a significant portal would have a guardian, to deter would-be intruders or trespassers. Is it just coincidence that this is the precise effect so successfully demonstrated by Ben MacDhui's sinister Big Grey Man?

WOODCHESTER MANSION

Gloucestershire, England

Even on a bright sunny day there's no doubt that Woodchester Mansion certainly looks like the classic haunted house, with its gothic architecture. This huge stone building stands ominously, its dark windows looking out across Woodchester Park. Woodchester Mansion replaced a Georgian country house called Spring Park, which was built at the beginning of the 17th Century and named because of the many springs in the valley. The estate has much earlier origins wich evidence of occupation dating back to pre Roman times.

The building itself was commission by William Leigh a freemason he had bought the previous building Spring Park and decided to demolish it and build Woodchester Mansion over its foundations. Williams cash ran out before the building was finished and died in 1873. It remained in the Leigh family until 1938 until the estate was sold. In the 1940's American and Canadian forces were stationed here until the end of the war. It now belongs to the Woodchester Trust who are trying to return it to its original state.

According to legend, Sir Rupert de Lansigny, who inherited Spring Park after killing his cousin, once owned the estate. Several locals have reported seeing a headless horseman, believed to be Sir Rupert, near one of the park lakes. A coffin has also been observed hovering above one of the estate's lakes, which possibly belonged to a Dominican friar who killed himself by drowning! More recently, February 2004 and September 2005 saw sightings of a black dog inside the mansion itself which appeared to coincide with the deaths of individuals closely associated with the building.

In 1902 a local vicar saw a strange apparition at the gates to the mansion needless to say he never returned to the building again. A few years later a phantom horseman was also seen on the drive dressed in civil war clothing. But it is the Mansion itself that is the epicentre of the haunting.

As you step in through the front door you find yourself suddenly transported back to the late 1800's, standing amidst what is effectively a Victorian building site. But as soon as you've taken in the amazing sight of fireplaces suspended in mid-air, doorways leading nowhere and the strange undulating floor which is in fact the vaulted ceiling of the cellar below, you have to wonder why it is that the building was never finished. Some of the rooms still have the abandoned workman's tools and equipment. During the building work there were seven deaths six from accidents and a reported murder.

The mansion has its very own chapel lit by two large stained glass windows. One of the more intriguing stories surrounding the chapel involves apparent 'Satanic rituals', which are said to have taken place, during the 1980's. How true these stories are is difficult to say. To the left of the main chapel, beside the corridor, which leads away toward what would have been the servant's quarters; there is a small private chapel, intended for Leigh's personal use. A short arched passageway connects these two rooms. On more than one occasion visitors to the chapel have witnessed the ghost of a small man standing in the doorway. This figure stands gazing up at the two huge ornate stained glass windows, as if concerned for their poor state of repair, as most of the glass panels are now missing or cracked. Guests and visitors have also reported seeing stones and other bits of masonry being thrown across the room.

Moving on from the main chapel we enter a corridor which leads past the smaller chapel, the larder and on to another passage, at right angles to the first. This corridor has been the location of a number of sightings of an unknown 'tall man'. This strange figure has been spotted standing at one end, beside the door that leads to the laundry room. This figure does not simply remain standing in the one area, but has been seen walking along the corridor, which leads to the chapel, although he is never actually seen entering it.

n the scullery if you listen closely you just might catch the sound of a woman's voice singing an Irish folk song. As Woodchester was never occupied for any length of time it would never have had any staff that could have 'returned' in spirit. Many of the spirits residing at Woodchester are thought to be linked to the previous residence Spring Park. It is known that Woodchester's kitchen and scullery occupy the same spot as the previous building. Indeed it is worth noting that the floor of the scullery and kitchen seem to be much older the building itself. In the short passageway between the two rooms the floor is worn and pitted, as if it has experienced centuries of use.

Walking through the passage we enter Woodchester's kitchen, it's here where the clock intended for the mansion's main tower, now stands. One of the more famous ghost stories about the property concerns this clock, which is said to start of its own accord. Visitors have heard its chime, even when the clock has not been working.

The spirit of a young girl has been seen on numerous occasions playing and running up and down the stairs to the first floor. This staircase is positioned almost exactly where Spring Park's stairs once stood, so it is possible that the girls spirit could be from that period too. Once you reach the first-floor landing and look to your right you may spot either one of two other ghosts who've been spotted within along the landing. The first ghost is that of a man whom Little is known of, except that he is seen he is aware of the person viewing him. The second is a much smaller man usually dressed all in black and wearing a hat.

Walking back along the corridor, 'occupied' by the ghost of an unknown man, we find ourselves heading for what has become known as the 'World War II' section. U.S. and Canadian soldiers once occupied this part of the mansion during the Second World War. Some of the lakes in Woodchester Park were used for training in preparation for the the D-Day landings. And it was during these exercises that tragedy struck, whilst testing out the strength of a pontoon bridge, built across one of the lake. The bridge collapsed and a tank and upto 20 soldiers fell into the lake. Those who went in were killed either by being crushed by the fall of the tank, or by parts of the bridge that crashed down on top of them. The Woodchester Park Angel was said to have appeared the night before at the same location as the incident .

As well as sensing the presence of 'people' in military uniform, music from the 1940's has been heard. And, some visitors have reported the smell of bacon frying to guides.

Woodchester mansions cellar is, considered by many to be the most haunted part of the building. The rooms high vaulted ceiling and lack of light, gives the cellar a daunting atmosphere. Behind the many and varied manifestations that have occured in the cellar, there seems to lurk one powerful and possibly demonic presence. On a number of occasions a figure, often described as a 'ragged dwarf', has been seen.

The Mansion is open to the public on certain days from the beginning of April, to the end of October:

Whaley House Hauntings

Whaley House has been long known to be haunted. In fact, it is commonly referred to as the most haunted house in California, and is only one of two properties recognised by the United States government as being officially haunted. The haunting and strange happenings have been observed by many visitors, volunteers and guests. Very few of these can be easily discounted often witnessed by more than one visitor.

In the early 19th century the booming city of San Diego had started to encroach on the nearby Native American settlement. Due to disease and conflict, the Kumeyaay Indian population dropped quickly, of 16,000 Kumeyaay baptised in a ten-year period, 9,000 died. The cemetery from the nearby Catholic Church expanded. Whaley House would later be built on this Indian burial ground.

In 1853 Yankee Jim Robinson a colourful figure attempted to steal a boat, The Plutus, it was rumoured to be his first step in becoming a pirate. During the attempt, Yankee Jim was clubbed over the head with the butt of a sword and badly injured. Rumour has it that Yankee Jim was tried straight away even though he was probably still suffering from concussion. The judge was drunk during the trial and the court that was set up to convict him found his delirium convenient, and the semi-conscious Jim Robinson was hung on a makeshift scaffold on the spot where the future Whaley House was built. Because of Jim's height his feet could just touch the floor resulting in slow suffocation; it took him nearly an hour to die.

Whaley House is located at the intersection of San Diego Avenue and Harney Street, at the heart of historic "Old Town" San Diego. Whaley house was at the centre of early San Diego, it is now preserved as a museum. The visiting hours are from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A small fee is required for entrance to the house.

Whaley House was built between 1856 and 1856 by San Diego Pioneer Thomas Whaley. Thomas Whaley was a prominent man, and a great deal of old San Diego's high tone socializing took place here. Mr. Whaley rented the first floor living room as a court room for San Diego County Court House. Part of property was later used as a theatre by "The Tanner Troupe".

The last Whaley to live in the house was Corinne Lillian Whaley, youngest of Whaley's six children. She died at the age of 89 in 1953. Whaley himself died in December 14, 1890, at the age of 67. His wife Anna lived on until February 24, 1913. They are both buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego.

Whaley House fell into disrepair over the years. Its demolition was prevented, in 1956, by the formation of the Historical Shrine Foundation of San Diego County, which bought the land and the building. Eventually San Diego County was convinced to preserve the house as a historical museum. Over time, Whaley House was restored to its original splendour, as it remains to this day

Whaley House - Thomas Whaley's Ghost

Thomas Whaley's ghost is one of the most active spirits in the house, some visitors and volunteers have encountered the sweet aroma of Cuban cigar smoke (a favourite of Thomas Whaley), at other times it can be so overpowering that they have had to leave the room. Thomas Whaley's ghost is usually seen wearing a long coat and top hat. Thomas's Spirit has been seen through out the house. Most often he is encountered at the top of the stairs or in the master bedroom. The most common manifestation is Thomas Whaley's booming laughter which is regularly heard through out the house.

Anna Whaley, Thomas's wife has not left her husbands side even in death. When Ann was alive she was a keen pianist and very good singer. In life she was described as a petite and beautiful lady. Some of Anna handmade dresses have been preserved in the house and they can be seen displayed in her room.

The ghost of Anna has been sighted throughout the house; the majority of the sightings have been in the downstairs rooms and in the garden. A distinct smell of perfume is often reported, sometimes accompanied by sightings of orbs. One visitor whilst in the garden noticed a lady picking flowers, the visitor was concerned that this woman was picking flowers without permission decided to approach the woman. The witness described the woman as wearing a long cream dress and her hair done in an old fashion style. The witness got to about ten feet and the woman just vanished in front of her.

The Whaley's red-haired daughter died under mysterious circumstances at age eleven. For an unknown reason, she ate a quantity of poisonous powder. She is one of the most playful ghosts in the house. She prefers to appear to other children, in such a clear form that they usually don't realize she is anything but just another kid. Pulling hair and tickling other children are her specialty, especially little girls of about her age. Her ghost is also believed to be behind the swinging meat clever in the kitchen which hundred's of visitors have witnessed.

One morning Mrs Reading, the curator, arrived at the Whaley House early, getting ready to open it up for another day of visitors, and as was standard, she began to walk the house for a quick morning inspection. When she rounded the corner into the dining room, she was greeted by the image of a Native American Indian, who looked to be real as anything else in the room except that he had no feet. He hovered in view for a few moments before fading from view.

Yankee Jim is said to haunt the stairs from the first floor to the second, specifically the ninth step, which is believed to be where he dangled during his drawn-out death. Some visitors have experienced the feeling of a noose tightening around their necks as they tour the house. Yankee Jim has also been observed standing behind tour guides during their presentations.

The Whaley House Poltergeists

In 1964, Regis Philbin, a then local television celebrity and a companion decided to spend the night in the house. About 2:30 a.m., they saw someone or something walk from the study into the music room. Regis told reporters "There was something filmy white, it looked like an apparition of some kind, and I got so excited I couldn't restrain myself! I switched on the flashlight and nothing was there but a portrait of Anna Whaley."

Several years ago a tour group were being shown the rooms upstairs, the whole group heard the piano being played downstairs. The piano continued to be played until the tour group got to the stairs. By the time they had got to the bottom the music had stopped and there was no one in the room where the music had come from. As well as been heard playing the piano, Anna also seems to enjoy a good tune on the music box. The sound of music and singing has been heard long after the building has been shut up for the night. Lights have also been seen in the windows, and the shutters being opened and closed.

In any room in the house at any time during the day, a guest to the Whaley House may find themselves witnessing Orbs, brilliant balls of light and unexplained mist's floating from room to room. These appear randomly, move around between rooms, and it is even said that ghostly shapes can be seen in the patterns.

In Thomas Whaley's time as the nearby cemetery reveals, children were at a greater risk for early death in those days. The Whaley's lost one son as a toddler, and a young boy has been seen playing in the master bedroom. The sounds of children laughing and crying have been heard in the house