Today, I wanted to do something a little different with my blog and split this story into two parts. This next haunted location is a long story so this first part will be explaining the backstory to this house. Enjoy!

Part 1: The Backstory

The Winchester Mystery House is located in San Jose California and was built from 1886 to 1922. This house was owned by a widow named Sarah Winchester. Her husband had a company that had invented the “Winchester Rifle” that was used in war to kill multiple people. Some say that he was haunted by the ghosts of the people who were killed by the rifle he made and that this haunting followed Mrs.Winchester. When her husband died, Sarah Winchester inherited the equivalent of 1 billion dollars in today’s money.

Now that Sarah had all of this money she thought of nothing better to do than to renovate a small 8-room farmhouse. After the renovations were all finished, the house was a mansion that had over 160 rooms and 40 bedrooms. It also had over 10,000 window, that is more windows than the Empire State building has. This house also cost 5.5 million dollars in the money of that time. Now, why would one woman need to build a house so big?

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/winchester-mystery-house-california/index.html

Sarah had new blueprints for the construction workers every day to add something new to the house. She had the workers renovating the house 24/7, 365 days of the year. She never stopped until the day she died which was over 30 years.

This was no ordinary mansion, it had staircases that would lead straight to the ceiling and doors that lead to 8-foot drops. There were also doors that just had a wall behind them. No one knows the exact reason for these constant and random renovations every day, but there are rumors that Sarah Winchester was not coming up with these plans by herself.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/winchester-mystery-house

What was causing Sarah Winchester to have the strange ideas of new renovations and why did she continuously add to this house for 36 years without a break? Find out in part 2: The Reasons.

If you would like to read more about this mansion look at :Winchester Mystery House

Today, I am going to explain the story of the Moundsville Prison located in Moundsville, West Virginia. This prison was in use from 1866 to 1995 and is well know as the location for the film Shawshank Redemption. This prison housed 119 years worth of inmates and with that comes multiple exicutions over the years either by hangings or the later method of the “electric chair.” Hauntings in this prison we reported as early as the 1930s I bet you could see why, there were more than one hundred people who were executed at the is prison over the course of a century.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g59336-d116991-Reviews-West_Virginia_Penitentiary-Moundsville_West_Virginia.html

The earlier hauntings were stories where guards would see an inmate walking the grounds, but when the alarm was set off and the guards went to go investigate, there was no one to be seen for miles. This prison was said to be housing spirits since it was opened. There are many rumors for why this prison has seen so many paranormal situations, but only one seems to be the most popular. It is said that the prison was built on ground that belonged to a group of Native Americans. This ground was an ancient burial ground that housed many negative Native American spirits. It is also said that a curse was put upon the land for those that disrupted the rest of those spirits. Now having a prison on an ancient burial ground would help to make the facility haunted no matter how many people died after it was built.

One of the most notable hauntings is that of the “Shadow Man”. The Shadow Man is a spirits who roams the halls of the cells in the prison. It is said that his appearance has no features, he is just made of pure darkness. The shadow man is said to be either the spirit of a guard who is checking the cells or an inmate who is trying to find his way out of the darkness within his soul. The Shadow Man has been caught on camera more than once. In the picture below you can see the Shadow Man lurking in the shadows of the prison hallway.

https://www.clipmass.com/story/98710

This prison seems pretty creepy doesn’t it? What do you think? Do you think that picture of the “Shadow Man” is real or is it fake? Also, let me know what you would like me to explore next!

If you would like to learn more visit:The Haunted Prison

If you would like to watch a video visit: West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, WV – YouTube

So, today I have decided to talk about the Stanley Hotel which is most famous for the filming of The Shining miniseries (not the movie). This Hotel was even given credit for the idea of the novel,  The Shining, based on the stay that the author, Stephen King had there. King had spent the night in room 217 where he had a nightmare that his toddler was being chased through the hotel. Thus, the idea of the novel, The Shining, was born.

http://aripictures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/hotel-shining-stanley-kubrick.jpg

The hotel is said to not only be spooky but also incredibly haunted. Room 217 is said to be the most haunted room in the hotel (the room where Stephen King stayed) as there have been multiple paranormal experiences in that room. Room 217 is said to be haunted by a woman named Elizabeth Wilson. In 1911, Elizabeth Wilson had caused an explosion upon entering the room with a candle, sending her crashing through the floor, landing on the floor below and breaking her ankle. Elizabeth survived the explosion and went on to live the rest of her happy and long life. After she died, hotel workers believe that she has returned to the Stanley Hotel.

https://www.stanleyhotel.com/uploads/9/8/6/9/98696462/edited/superior-king-001_3.jpg

Guests who stayed in room 217 have reported that their belongings are out of place and unpacked. Some also say that they see the apparition of Mrs. Wilson walking around the room and then exiting through a wall where an exit used to be.

in the hotel, if you take a picture, you might catch an orb or maybe even see the outline of a person who once stayed at the Stanley Hotel. There are many other stories that are to be told of the past guests and hauntings of this historical hotel, but maybe I’ll save that for another time.

Would you ever spend the night at the haunted Stanley Hotel? Are the ghost stories real? let me know what you think!

If you would like to take a virtual tour of the Stanley Hotel watch this video that also includes a paranormalinvestigation: Stanley Hotel Room 217 Ghost tour & Paranormal investigation

I know you have all seen the “scary” movies that show paranormal entities launching items at people and shadows lurking in the corner, but is that what actually happens in the real world? If your answer to this question is unclear, then maybe you just haven’t been to the right places. I will attempt to open your skeptic minds up to the unknown through stories of the most haunted places around.

The Queen Mary Ship/Hotel

Let’s begin with the Queen Mary Ship which is now used as a hotel and tourist attraction. The Queen Mary was said to be larger than the Titanic and began voyaging in the 1930s. This ship was originally a luxury ship (today we would call it a cruise ship), but when world war II started, it became a “troopship” that carried troops across the ocean. In December 1967 the Queen Mary was docked in Long Beach California to be used as a luxury hotel for guests to experience a tranquil and relaxing break. The experience became quite the opposite for the guests.

Picture from:  https://www.tripsavvy.com/touring-the-queen-mary-1474854

Guests reported seeing full apparitions and hearing laughter when no person was to be seen. The Queen Mary is said to be the most haunted ship in America with almost 50 reported deaths on the ship in the past 60 years including since it’s been a hotel. A writer named Adam Mock, who stayed aboard the Queen Mary reported that “the entire ship is haunted”.  It is said that overnight guests experience the most paranormal activity on deck B. Room B340 is reportedly the most haunted room on the ship. Guests have reported covers being pulled off the bed while sleeping, clothes hangers rattling, footsteps, and even knocks.

This haunted room has become a very popular tourist attraction and ghost games have even been placed in the room such as bloody mary (pictured below). Through researching, I have found more than enough evidence on this ship being haunted, but I want to know if you think this is true or a load of garbage.

picture from: http://www.crescentavalleyweekly.com/leisure/04/19/2018/the-legend-of-b340/

Do you believe that the stories are true or do you think this was a publicity stunt to get guests? leave your answers in the comments! Also, let me know what other haunted places you would like me to explore next time!

If you want to read more about the Queen Mary feel free to check out this website: the legend of B340