Do you believe in ghosts? Many people do, and for good reason. There are countless ghost stories that have been passed down through the years, and some of them are downright scary. In this blog post, we will be sharing five ghost stories that will make you believe in the supernatural. These stories are all based on true events, so beware… they may give you nightmares!
The Bell Witch Ghost Story
In 1817, the Bell family of Adams, Tennessee, began to experience strange things. John Bell and his wife Lucy, along with their children and friends in the community, were tormented by an invisible entity that seemed to have a vendetta against them. This entity was able to speak, affect the physical environment, and even shapeshift into different forms. For four years, the Bell Witch Haunting was one of America’s most notorious paranormal cases.
The Bell family were farmers who lived in Adams, Tennessee. John and Lucy Bell had five children: Betsy, Joshua, Joel, John Jr., and Margaret. The family was well-loved in the community and considered very pious Christians.
The strange events began in 1817, when the family’s dog refused to enter the house. The dog had always been very protective of the family and would bark at anyone who came too close, but now it seemed terrified of something inside the house.
Soon after, unusual noises started coming from all around the property – footsteps in the attic, banging on the walls, and strange whispers. The family began to feel like they were being watched all the time and started experiencing physical manifestations such as scratches and bruises.
The worst of it came in 1819, when John Bell Jr. died after a visit from the entity. Some say that the Witch killed him, while others believe he died of natural causes. After John Jr.’s death, the entity seemed to focus its attacks on Lucy Bell. She often reported feeling something sitting on her chest, preventing her from breathing. The family eventually moved away in 1821, and the Witch was never heard from again.
To this day, the Bell Witch Haunting is considered one of the most intense and documented paranormal cases in American history. There are still people who claim to have seen or heard the Witch, and many believe that her spirit is still out there, waiting to torment anyone who crosses her path.
The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall
The Brown Lady of Raynhall Hall is one of the most famous ghost stories of all time.
The Brown Lady’s real name was Lady Dorothy Walpole. She was the sister of Rober Walpole who is considered to be the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. Her husband Charles Townsend was known for having a violent temper.
When her husband discovered that she was having an affair, he locked her in Raynhall Hall, not allowing her to see anyone including her children. She eventually died of smallpox in 1726.
Her ghost has been seen by many people over the years, including members of the Royal Family.
The first sighting of The Brown Lady was in 1835 by Colonel Loftus who was a guest at Raynhall Hall. He saw the ghost while he was going up to bed. He described her as being a woman with brown hair and wearing a brown dress.
Another sighting of The Brown Lady was in 1936 when Captain Hubert C. Provand, a photographer, took a picture of her while she was floating down the staircase. He did not see her with his own eyes, but when he developed the film, there she was.
What do you think of the picture? Is it real?
The Ghost Story that Inspired the Haunting of Hill House (Winchester Mystery House)
The Winchester Mystery House was built by Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Winchester, in 1886. After her husband’s death, Sarah became obsessed with the belief that she was being haunted by the ghosts of all the people who had been killed by Winchester rifles. In an attempt to appease the ghosts, she began construction on a massive house in San Jose, California, which eventually grew to have 160 rooms, secret passages, and bizarre architectural features.
The bizarre architectural features of the Winchester Mystery House include:
– A staircase that leads to nowhere
– A door that opens to a wall
– A window that looks out onto a brick wall
– Secret passages hidden behind bookcases and in walls
Sarah was a spiritualist who held nightly seances during which she said the spirits would instruct her on how to build the house. Some say the house is full of portals to the spirit world allowing the spirits to walk freely through the house.
The Enfield Poltergeist
The Enfield Poltergeist was a ghost story that terrified England in the 1970s. The story goes that two young sisters, Peggy and Janet, were terrorized by unseen forces in their home in Enfield, London. The girls would hear strange noises, see furniture move on its own, and be attacked by invisible forces. The case gained national attention when it was investigated by the police and paranormal researchers.
The story was the basis for The Conjuring.
The family who lived in the house said that the furniture would move on its own and they’d hear loud noises in the house at night. When strange things started happening in the home, they called the police. The officers sent to investigate even witnessed the furniture moving.
The girls would levitate and the most affected child in the house, Janet, would talk in an older man’s voice.
Eventually, they called professional paranormal investigators to help them. The family became minor celebrities in the area. They were interviewed on TV many times. No one could figure out what was going on with the case. Then the haunting ended as mysteriously as it started.
Do you believe in ghosts? After reading these stories, it’s hard not to! Whether or not you believe, ghost stories are always fun to read and think about.