The horrors of the Amityville House in Amityville, New York
The famous haunted house on Ocean Avenue in Long Island, New York, a Dutch colonial, witnessed horrors, including the 1974 murders of the DeFeo family. The subsequent Lutz family fled after just 28 days, inspiring the best-selling book and movie The Amityville Horror, which portrayed demonic forces at play. Though considered a hoax, many still believe the house is haunted, even predating the DeFeo family’s tragedy.
Joan Rivers made peace with a ghost in her New York penthouse
Late comedian Joan Rivers faced a ghostly foe in her swanky Upper East Side penthouse condo— the niece of infamous banker J.P. Morgan. The Gilded Age mansion turned condo became eerie during her renovations: electrical malfunctions, coldness, and strange graffiti. Even her Yorkshire Terrier avoided a room for months. Calling in a voodoo priestess eased tensions until she made peace by hanging the ghost’s portrait and leaving flowers.
The multiple witness reports of the Bridgewater Triangle
The Bridgewater Triangle, a 200 square miles area in Massachusetts, is notorious for alleged paranormal events. Witness accounts include UFO sightings, Bigfoot, ghosts, and shadow people. Thunderbird sightings of enormous flying creatures have also been reported. Cult activity involving animal mutilations and Native American curses add to its eerie reputation. The Pukwudgie, a dangerous trickster from Algonquian folklore, has been linked to the area.
Singer Sting and his wife woke up to a ghost in their bedroom
In a spooky tale, Sting shared in a 2009 BBC interview how one night he woke up at 3am and thought he saw his wife Trudie holding their child, gazing at him. But when he reached over, he realized Trudie was still in bed. A chilling feeling swept over him as Trudie woke up, exclaiming, “Gosh, who is that?” Both saw a woman and child in the room’s corner.
The haunted Frozen Elsa doll
At Christmas of 2013, a Disney Frozen Elsa doll was gifted to the daughter of a family in Houston. It soon grabbed attention online after appearing haunted. The family threw it away in December 2019, but it somehow returned to their living room. Double-bagged and taken away by a garbage truck, Elsa then reappeared in their backyard after a trip. The mysterious doll’s eerie returns puzzled and frightened the family.
The real life Exorcism of George Lukins
In 1778, English tailor George Lukins exhibited bizarre behavior—speaking in strange voices, making inhuman noises, and singing hymns backward. Seven priests conducted an exorcism at Bristol’s Temple Church, successfully commanding the demons to leave Lukins’ soul. After the ceremony, Lukins recited the Lord’s Prayer, expressing gratitude to the priests, making it a rare recorded exorcism with a positive outcome.
The seance that cost Estefania Gutiérrez Lázaro her life
In 1991, Estefania Gutiérrez Lázaro attempted a seance to contact a deceased classmate. Interrupted by a teacher, she encountered a strange trail of smoke that entered her nose and mouth. Afterward, she suffered from seizures, hallucinations, and witnessed evil shadows, freaking out family and neighbors in the process. Doctors found no physical cause for her afflictions, leading to a tragic and unexplained passing six months later.
The haunting of the Parron Family that inspired ‘The Conjuring’
Rhode Island was the home of Roger and Carolyn Perron and their five kids, living in a haunted house. Every day at 5:15 AM, bed-lifting spirits with a foul odor appeared. The spooky cellar was off-limits. One day, Andrea Perron, the eldest daughter, saw her mother briefly possessed—speaking an otherworldly language and levitating in her chair. This chilling encounter inspired the 2013 film The Conjuring.
Robert the doll
Exhibited at the East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida, legend has it that the doll named Robert can move, change expressions, and giggle supernaturally. Some say it moved voodoo figurines and was aware of its surroundings. Some tales mention it vanishing after ownership changes. Locals link Robert to misfortunes like accidents and job loss, and visitors report post-visit misfortunes for disrespecting it.
The Battersea Poltergeist
In January 1956, Shirley Hitchings of Battersea, London, found a silver key on her pillow, sparking a series of inexplicable events that haunted her family for 12 years. Dubbed ‘Donald,’ the ghost moved furniture, wrote notes, and set objects on fire, creating a reign of terror. Shirley, at the center of the case, faced suspicion for her possible involvement in the haunting during her teenage years.
