Visiting Restless Spirits

Europe

England

The Highgate Vampire

Highgate Cemetery in London, England has been haunted for centuries. It is associated with many spooky stories like the Highgate Vampire which has been seen among the graves here. After the cemetery was disturbed by many vampire killers the haunting grounds of this vampire had been closed off and only open for guided tours. There are local residents living near the cemetery who still believe that the vampire still lurks among the graves every night. The vampire is not the only one haunting the cemetery there have also been the sounds of banshee wails, spectral faces seen floating, a ghostly cyclist wandering about, and the spirit of a floating nun.

Scotland

MacKenzie Poltergeist

Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, Scotland was established in the early 1560s. It was built around Greyfriars Kirk, a parish church. Just south of the cemetery is a field on which once was the Covenanters’ Prison. At one time there were hundreds of prisoners from the Batlle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679, and their death brought rage and despair infecting the graveyard with bad energy. One of the most haunted spots in the Greyfriars Kirkyard is the tomb of George Mackenzie, who was one of the great villains in Scottish history. He was a lawyer and official who became notorious for prosecuting the Covenanters, religious, and political dissenters and letting guards viciously beat prisoners. When Mackenzie died he was entombed in an elaborate mausoleum which continued to be vandalized over the centuries. His spirit was awakened when a homeless man crawled into the mausoleum to sleep and fell into an inner chamber. Now the ghostly and angry Mackenzie haunts the graveyard and people say they have been pushed, scratched, bitten, bruised, and knocked unconscious by an evil force. It is said that Greyfriars Kirkyard is now one of the most dangerous since ghost hunters have attempted to encounter the angry spirit here and have regretted trying.

Africa

Egypt

Ghostly chariot

The Valley of the Kings has been a burial place for Egyptian royalty for more than 500 years. Through the centuries ghostly things have begun occurring here. One of them is the story of the ghostly chariot. People who have been in the area traveling late at night have seen a ghostly chariot pulled by black horses and driven by an Egyptian King. The chariot comes barreling toward them at high speed while other people don’t see it but hear the sound of horses and footsteps. Others have heard sounds of crying and mourning, and there are those who say they’ve seen the ghost of Pharaoh Akhenaten. He was cursed for trying to abolish old religions in Egypt, and now his spirit wanders in the desert trying to anger the old gods.

The US

Connecticut

The White Lady

The Union Cemetery in Easton, Connecticut, is among the most haunted cemeteries in the US. People have seen the spirit of a woman all in white, known as the White Lady, wandering in the cemetery. She also haunts the nearby roadways. At one time, a driver saw her at about 1 AM at the side of the road, and a man suddenly appeared in his passenger seat as the road seemed to turn red until the driver reached a church at the bottom of a hill. Another driver saw a reddish glow over the roadway and the White Lady standing in the road, and he hit her. She disappeared, but he felt the impact, and his truck had a dent. This haunted cemetery is often of interest to paranormal investigators.

Massachusetts

Meet a Witch or Two

The Old Burying Point in Salem, Massachusetts, has been around since the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 to 1693. Even though none of the victims of the trials are buried here, the trial judge John Hathorne does not lie still but wanders around near his own grave. Nearby the cemetery is Murphy’s Restaurant, and their basement is visited by the spirits of the dead. Old Burying Point also has a Lady in White, a spirit that appears in photographs taken here. Even though the victims accused of being witches had their bodies dumped outside of the cemetery they have found their way in and now wander about among the graves.

Chicago

Resurrection Mary

Resurrection Catholic Cemetery is located near Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest cemetery in the suburb of Justice, Illinois, opening in 1904. The cemetery is haunted by their most famous dead resident, Resurrection Mary. She enjoys wandering the cemetery and also going dancing. Legend has it that one evening a man named Vince met a pretty blond woman in a local ballroom and spent the evening dancing with her. The woman said her name was Mary, and when the evening was over, the man said he would drive her home. Passing by Resurrection Cemetery she told him to stop, walked up to the gate, and vanished. The following day the man went to her last known address and was told Mary had died years ago in a car accident, her grave being in the cemetery. Other occurrences with Resurrection Mary have been her disappearing in cars after being picked up, someone hitting a woman near the cemetery and then not finding her, and seeing her ghostly spirit walking along Archer Avenue just outside the burial ground.

Two-Headed Monster

Tell yourself that whispering is just the wind and that monsters aren’t real, but wait till you are faced with Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. This burial ground was abandoned in the 1950s, and as years have gone by, there have been some urban legends about this place. One of the most haunted spots is the cemetery pond. In the 1970s, two park rangers saw the ghostly figure of a horse pulling itself out of the pond. Another story is about a supposed two-headed monster. At one time, this was a deformed human who hid in the woods so he would not be seen. After death, he is now a monster with two heads haunting Bachelor Grove Cemetery.

Kentucky

Witches and Devil Worshippers

Come to Stull Cemetery near Lawrence, Kansas, and guess what? The Devil might just get you. This cemetery has been associated with devil worship, and according to some local legends, it is a portal to hell. The legends began during the 1960s when people said that the grave of Bettie and Frankie Thomas has been damaged by a tree because the pair were evil witches. Other tales surrounding Stull Cemetery are about a half-human child that was born to a woman in relation to Satan. Even though the child died in infancy it appears to walk through the cemetery, and devil worshippers who come here say there is a secret stairway on the property that leads straight to the underworld.

Alabama

Ghosts enjoying a playground

Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama, has a spooky feel to it. In 1985 a playground was built next to the cemetery, so when parents came to visit graves their children would have a place to play and wait for them. However, as it turned out, the ghostly spirits of the cemetery began enjoying the playground the most. People have seen orbs of light going down the slide and empty swings, swinging back and forth to the sound of giggles. Local people believe that these are the spirits of victims of the child murders in the 1960s who were buried nearby. Though long dead, their spirits still enjoy playing in the playground.

Arizona

Cowboy ghosts

Visiting Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona, you can be sure that you’ll hear the jangling of boot spurs and the clomp of cowboy boots and then the click of a gun – ghosts can’t shoot you, can they? Your imagination will tell you what to think.

The infamous gunfight at OK Corral occurred in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881. This has become one of the most haunted spots in the American West, and supposedly not only the graveyard, but the whole town is haunted. Between 1878 and 1884, more than 200 burials were made at Boothill Graveyard. Among them were victims of the famous shootout like Billy Clanton and Tom and Frank McLaury. At this spot, unexplained sounds are heard, and eerie lights are seen. Some say that the spirit of Clanton comes out of his grave and walks along the road heading for town.

Florida

Spirits of yellow fever victims

Huguenot Cemetery in St. Augustine, Florida, looks like a haunted place with moss-covered headstones and old stone mausoleums. St. Augustine was founded by the Spanish in 1565 and is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the US. The cemetery was founded during the yellow fever epidemic in the city in 1821. People claim to have seen yellow fever victims roaming around the graves. One haunted story is about Judge John Stickney, who died in 1882. After he was buried in Huguenot Cemetery his family decided to move his remains to Washington DC where his children lived, During the exhumation thieves stole the man’s gold teeth, so his spirit remains at this cemetery looking for them.

Louisiana

Queen of Voodoo spirit

You know that the Queen of Voodoo would not stay buried too long and when you visit this cemetery, you can be sure that if you’re not careful, voodoo will do it to you.

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the oldest graveyard in the city. One of the most famous residents at the cemetery is the Queen of Voodoo, Marie Laveau, and her tomb is marked by occult images left by visitors. Supposedly she is still around and not only walking about the cemetery but also walking around the city. They say she comes storming out of her tomb and frightens people at the cemetery. She is not the only restless spirit here. This is another cemetery haunted by a Lady in White who wears a wedding dress. A taxi driver picked her up and took her to the address she gave but then someone told the driver that the girl sitting in his back seat had died years ago and the driver looked and she was gone.

South America

Argentina

Restless spirit

La Recoleta is a cemetery in Buenas Aires, Argentina, filled with ornate tombs and statuary. It is the resting place of some of the most important and influential citizens of the country. The most famous ghost here is Rufina Cambaceres who died suddenly at 19 in 1902. The girl could not be buried right away due to heavy rain. The following morning undertakers saw that her casket was disturbed and they worried it might be grave robbers. Opening the casket, they saw Rufina’s body bruised and bloody, with claw marks marring the top of the casket. It was horrid to realize that she must have been alive when placed in the casket and dying such a tragic death her ghostly spirits now wanders the cemetery.