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17 Notorious Ghosts And Their Chilling Origin Stories

Some of us enjoy watching horror movies. Undoubtedly, they’re the best choice especially when you are planning a fun get together with friends and family on a holiday. Sometimes, they are scary and sometimes they make us laugh because they make no sense. However, it’s worth noting that not all horror films are fictional; some are based on actual events.

In the world of horror, the concept of ghosts and spirit is quite popular. But, when we talk about the actual existance of ghosts, people have mixed views. Some say they are spirits of people who died a painful death and were in the state of extreme fear and anxiety. So, they never made it to the sky and were left to haunt the place of their death. There are also many theories and religious beliefs that testify to their existence. Almost all religions in this world believe in the existence of ghosts and have their own concepts.

Over the years we have heard many ghost stories. Some made us laugh, some made us cry and others just sent shivers down our spine. And that’s precisely what we will be focusing on today. Below, we have collected 17 stories about the origin of some famous ghosts and they are absolutely bone-chilling.

The Ghost of Marion Parkera 12-year-old schoolgirl abducted by a psychopath.

Credits: CreepyNews/via YouTube/Fair Use

Perry Parker who worked as a chief clerk at a downtown bank in Los Angeles was the father of a son and twin daughters one of which was Marion Parker. 12-year-old Marion was abducted from her school on May 24, 1927, by a teenage boy named Wiliam Edward Hickman who was a former messenger at the bank where her father worked. Hickman was a professional criminal who was previously involved in theft, armed robbery, forgery and murder. William started at age 11 by stealing candy and gradually upgraded to crimes like forgery and armed robbery then eventually ended up mu*dering. He took Marion and demanded a ransom of $1,500 from her father Perry Parker. Within hours of kidnapping, a telegram arrived at the Parker residence that demanded the ransom for their youngest daughter’s life. It said:

“Get this straight, Your daughter’s life hangs by a thread and I have a Gillette ready and able to handle the situation.” ~ FOX-FATE

The panicked father did all he could for a safe recovery of his beloved daughter but Hickman had other plans. He mu*dered Marion by strangling and drowning her into the bathtub. He chopped off the 12-year-old’s limbs and later neatly cleaned and wrapped them up into a newspaper and dumped them into the Elysian Park in central LA. He sewed her eyelids open and did little touch-ups with makeup to make her appear alive. He covered her torso revealing only her face and seated her corpse at the back seat of the car. He drove her up to the point where he collected the ransom amount for Perry Parker in return gave him the back his dead daughter.

In the year 1928, Hickman was caught and hanged. However, people still see Marion Parker playing around in her home at 1631 S. Wilton Place in Los Angeles, California.

Madame LaLaurie’s 3 stories haunted mansion in New Orleans.

Credits: Reading Tom/via flickr/CC BY 2.0

Madame LaLaurie belonged to an affluent family of New Orleans —  a white creole family. The family moved from Ireland to the US. She was in the second generation to be born in America in the year 1780. Her full name was Madame Marie Delphine McCarty. She was married 3 times and had 5 children. After her final marriage to Dr. Leonard Louis Nicolas LaLaurie, she was referred to as Marie Delphine LaLaurie. She was one of the cruellest women in American history as she used to torture her slaves. She would have great social gatherings at her New Orleans mansions just like any other affluent woman would at that time. She had slaves that would serve her and did the work around the house. It was common for any rich family to have slaves at the time.

In all her public engagements, she was observed to be awfully polite with all her slaves that many people assumed to be an act. Those assumptions turned out to be true when a fire broke out at the mansion at 1140 Royal Street in the French Quarter. People rushed in to help the family get to safety. They found Madame LaLaurie alone and it was strange as no slaves were in the house.

Later firefighters found the 70-year-old cook, chained to the stove. They also found bodies of some slaves mutilated and without organs in the attic. There was a barred door in the house with many slaves in unexplainable conditions. There were body parts scattered all over the place. Some corpse had large holes in their heads and wooden spoons sticking out from the skulls as if someone was stirring their brains. Madame LaLaurie escaped and was rumoured to have flown to Paris where she died in the year 1842.

After the fire, the mansion was mobbed and left unattended for years. Later, it was rebuilt and the building was used for different purposes like public school and luxury apartments. Although the life and death of Madame LaLaurie after her escape is still a mystery, some people have reported having heard the painful screams of the slaves at 1140 Royal Street in the French Quarter mansion. Some also saw them walking on the balconies.

The Sultan’s Palace in New Orleans.

Credits: lickr/CC-BY 2.0

Prince Suleyman was a Turk Sultan who resided in 716 Dauphine Street palace with his many wives, children, and slaves. He was a man with a suspicious taste. In his Hermes, there were not only women but also young boys. He was reported to have hosted parties, orgies and also was involved in the abduction of young girls and boys for his pleasure. People often observed an intense scent coming from the palace whenever the doors were opened.

One the day a neighbour noticed that the palace was unusually silent and there was blood dripping through the top floor gallery which was also flowing out through the main entrance. When the police arrived on the scene, they found body parts of all the women, children and slaves scattered throughout the palace. They were beheaded and all were killed alike except one body that was of Sultan. He was buried alive with his claw sticking out as if he was trying to escape the grave.

At first, the police thought it was the pirates who broke in and mu*dered the entire palace and robbed the place. Later, it was found that Prince Suleyman was not a Sultan at all. He was a brother of one instead. In his region, he would have been executed so he stole some of his brother’s treasures and escaped to the US. Somehow, the real Sultan tracked him down and executed everyone on the palace. People who stay at the palace now have reported having seen the sultan walking in the palace, noises of partying and body parts falling to the floor at night were also heard.

Villisca Ax House.

Credits: Tim Vrtiska/via flickr/CC BY 2.0

The Moore family was sound asleep in their Villisca, Iowa residence when a heinous crime took place on the 11th of June 1912. The family was brutally mu*dered with an axe. Joe Moore along with his wife Sarah Moore, their four children, and two children from the neighbours who came to stay with them for the night, all were killed. The killer beheaded the corpse and smashed the heads into a pulp then wrapped the bloody mess with clothes. He covered every mirror and piece of glass in the same way with clothes. He washed his hands and took out a two-pound bacon slab from the icebox and wrapped it up in a towel placing it on the floor along with a short key chain that wasn’t Moore’s.

The identity of the culprit is still a mystery to date but the house is said to be haunted. Many ghost hunters have confirmed the presence of the ill-fated victims roaming around the house.

The Sausage Ghost Of New Orleans.

Credits: The Packers’ Encyclopedia (1922) – Internet Archive Book Images/via Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

A rather enthusiastic and entrepreneurial young German couple moved to New Orleans and started their business of a sausage factory in the 1800s. They made finger-licking sausages and their business was making great progress but their married life wasn’t. They were failing as a couple and their marriage was not what it used to be. The man met a young mistress and wanted to be in a serious relationship with her but his wife was a stumbling block in the way of his new relationship.

One day after closing the shop at night the man quietly went up to his wife who was busy making sausages in the backroom and strangled her to death. Unsure of how to take care of her corpse, he did what he was good at. Soon after his wife went missing and the quality of their sausages wasn’t the same. One of the customers reported having found pieces of gold ring in his sausage. After so many complaints being made, the police investigated and found the husband screaming to the sausage grinder in the corner. Upon inquiry, he told the police, that after he dumped his wife’s body into the grinder, her bloody ghost emerged demanding revenge from the husband. He was sent to the mental asylum but the ghost of his wife continued to haunt him. People who visit the old Hans Mueller residence today still complain about the woman haunting the place though years have passed to the sausage incident.

The Black-eyed child.

Raymond Morris, a paedophile took a 7-year-old girl named Christine Darby in the year 1967. He assaulted Christine and then mu*dered her and buried her body in a ditch in Cannock Chase. During the police investigation, two more similar cases of young girls were found in the same area, both were linking to Raymond Morris. People have reported seeing the ghost of a young girl with black eyes. It is said to be Christine’s ghost with black eyes from being blindfolded during the mu*der.

San Antonio’s tragic children bus accident.

Credits: Ed Bierman/via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0

In the 1930s an ill-fated children’s bus met a tragic accident. The driver was dropping off 10 children. It was a regular day just like every day but his bus was acting a bit strange. The engine stalled and the bus was pushed right in front of the railroad crossing. Unfortunately, before the driver could restart and drive off the train came and hit the bus despite of the conductor’s efforts to prevent it from happening by slamming the breaks. Sadly, it was too late and all the 10 children and the driver died.

If you ever drive in front of that crossing today at San Juanita Mission your car would be pushed to safety even if the engine is off. If you sprinkle some flour or powder on your bumper, You will see 10 handprints of babies and one of an adult on your bumper.

The Bloody walls of Clifford’s Tower.

Credits: flickr/CC-BY-ND 2.0

In the history of York, England the year 1190 is called out as one of the darkest years. Anti-Semitism widespread and the local Jews were at great risk. Every passing moment was fearful of them. They felt extremely threatened by the whole situation and closed themselves up in Clifford’s tower.

Back in the days the tower was made out of wood and wasn’t very durable. Authorities tried to conquer the tower again and this fight turned into mobbed violence. Some jews inside the tower preferred to end their lives instead of surrendering. The ones that were left were later killed during the attack. Ever since the walls of the tower bleed every year on the anniversary of the bloodshed. Some local people have also reported seeing the appearance of ghosts at the tower.

The woman who drowned her children.

Near the Shores of Santa Fe River, lived a gorgeous, young peasant woman named Maria. She was married to a privileged man and gave birth to two boys out of that wedlock. With the passing time, the rich man lost all interest in Maria and spent most of his time drinking, gambling and womanizing.

He often thought of leaving Maria and taking his boys and now he had started saying it to Maria’s face. He mostly stayed away and only came to visit his boys. One day he showed up with a graceful privileged woman in a coach to meet the boys and entirely ignored Maria.

Broken-hearted Maria couldn’t bear her husband’s cold behavior and decided to take the life of her boys. She took the boys to the river bank where she drowned the boys despite their cries.

When she had the realization of her heinous act she broke down in utter anguish and ran in and out of the river in search of her boys, but it was too late. She continued her search for days and eventually passed away due to hunger.

Today, people who visit the rive often encounter a strange woman in white dress crying, looking for her boys. She’s wearing the same dress she was wearing when she died. People call her La Llorona or “weeping woman”. If she finds a child alone in the river bank she tries to push the child in the river to join her boys.

Constance de Beverley of the Whitby Abbey.

Credits: flickr/CC-BY-ND 2.0

The famous Whitby Abbey the 7th-century Christian monastery was built in Yorkshire in 657 AD. It was later ruined by the Vikings in the year 870. It was then rebuilt after the Norman Conquest was over in the year 1067. Abbey has existed for over 1500 years now and has a vast history. During its time there once lived a nun named Constance de Beverley who was said to have fallen head over heels in love with a young knight. They both committed the sin and she broke her vows. When the deed was disclosed, she was punished by the higher authorities for breaking her vows of chastity as a nun. She was bricked into the walls of Abbey. She screamed and yelled for days until she finally died. People who visit the ruins of Whitby Abbey still hear the echoes of her screams.

The ill-fated little girl who survived the black death.

Credits: flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0

During the time of bubonic plague, there lived a young girl along with her parents in a town of York, England. The small family lived in a house behind the church. The parents somehow contracted the disease and begun showing symptoms. To prevent the disease from spreading, people bolted the entire house and the family was trapped inside. Eventually, the parents of the little girl passed away from the deadly disease. While the girl luckily never got infected. Now, she was trapped with the corpse of her parents. She would stick her face to the windows of the house and scream for help thinking someone would help her. Unfortunately, no one listened and the little girl starved to death. People have reported seeing the ghost of the little girl peeping through the windows of the house asking for help.

A 19-year-old pregnant woman’s ghost.

Credits: A Place in the Sun (1951)/Paramount Pictures/Fair Use

A 19-year-old girl Grace Brown who worked at the Gillette Skirt factory in 1905 fell in love with the nephew of the factory owner named Chester Gillette. They both dated for some time but Gillette wasn’t serious about the relationship. He had trouble being committed to Brown and was often seen hanging out with other women. Grace became pregnant with Chester’s child. The two were sent for a trip to upstate New York. Grace thought it was a wedding trip but Chester had other plans. The couple went to the Big Moose Lake and rented a rowboat from a man named Robert Morrison and rowed it to the lake alone. The boat didn’t return on the promised time, Morrison went out for searching with his team. They found the boat with remains of dead Grace Brown and no sign of Chester Gillette.

Two days after the incident, police found Gillette from the hotel in the whereabouts. He told the cops that Brown drowned herself when he told her that he no longer loved her. But unfortunately, the evidence was against his statement and eventually, he met his end at the electric chair. Some people have reported seeing the ghost of Grace Brown at the Big Moose Lake.

The ghost of Toni Jo Henry.

Toni Jo who was also known by the name Annie Beatrice McQuiston, had a rough start at life. Her mom passed away when she was four. She was begrudgingly taken in by her aunt who failed to raise her right. Toni Jo started running away from home at the age of 13 until she finally ran away for good at the age of 17. She got addicted to cocaine and got employed at the local brothel.

She met a cowboy named Henry at the brothel and fell in love. Henry helped Toni with the cocaine addiction and they both tied the knot. Everything was going great until Henry’s past affected their present. He had killed a cop in Texas and was sentenced for 50  years.

Toni Jo wanted to break her beloved husband from jail and travelled to Texas with the help of a man named Harold Finnon Burkers. On their way, they met a car salesman J.P. Crowley, who gave them a ride. Toni Jo and Harold pulled the pistol at Crowley, tormented him and forced him into stripping naked. Toni Jo shot Crowley between the eyes and was eventually convicted in the year 1942. Toni Jo was the first and only women in Louisiana to be executed in the electric chair. Her ghost still haunts the Calcasieu Courthouse. People have reported hearing her husky voice and in the halls. Sometimes even smell her perfume and burnt hair.

The soldier who was hanged to death during the civil war.

Credits:  Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

A brave soldier named Bill Sketoe who fought on the front line during the civil war for three years. One day during the war he got a letter from his sick wife back home in 1864. She was very ill and wanted her husband to visit her. He took off and hired a substitute to take his place at the front line.

On his way to his sick wife, Bill was mistaken for an escaped solider by the home guard and was ambused by him. On December 3, 1864, the home guard took him at the Choctawhatchee River with the intention to hang him. He did so, but the branch of the tree was rather weak so it bent a little and Sketoe was able to stand on his tiptoes. So, the guard dug a hole in the ground and bill slowly suffocated. All these years later, that hole in the ground still exists. People try to cover it but the next morning it’s still there like a freshly dug hole the night before.

Chloe’s ghost at the Myrtles Plantation.

Credits: Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

Chloe was one of the slave girls at the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana. She was the mistress of the owner of the plantation at that time named judge Clarke Woodruff. Over time she developed a bad habit of eavesdropping. She was caught redhanded and was punished by having her ears removed. She plotted revenge against the family. She poisoned their food that resulted in the death of Woodruff’s wife and one of his daughters. When the culprit was disclosed, Chloe was hung till death and her body was thrown in the river. Decades later, in 1992, a photograph was taken at the plantation and Chloe’s ghost was spotted standing between the building. That photograph is considered to be the most convincing spirit photographs in existence.

The Screams Of Elizabeth Pratt.

Elizabeth Pratt lived at the Fort Mifflin with her husband who was an officer and a daughter. This story dates back to the early 1800s. Elizabeth’s daughter ran away from home with an enlisted man who she fell in love with. Her parents disowned her and she never came back. Later Elizabeth’s daughter suffered from dysentery and died. Elizabeth loved her daughter and not being with her in her last days made her mad. She would scream and run around the fort. One day she tied a rope around her neck and jumped off the second floor. Even today, her ghost haunts the Fort along with many other spirits. People have also heard her screams.

The Greenbrier Ghost

Credits: StMU History Media/Public Domain

In the year 1896, Elva Zona Heaster met a blacksmith named Trout Shue. They both fell in love and tied the knot. Elva was previously married and had a child as well at the age of 22. Not long after their marriage, one day Heaster’s body was found at the bottom of the stairs by a young servant.

Before the police came to investigate the incident at the Greenbrier, Shue had already prepared the body for the funeral and dressed it in a high-necked dress. Shue convinced the police that she fainted and died due to pregnancy. Although there were no reports of Heaster being pregnant. The police examined the corpse lightly and declared her death.

Heaster’s mother who was never in favour of this marriage saw her late daughter’s ghost who told her about the real cause of her death. She said Shue had broken her neck in rage that resulted in her death. Mary Jane, Heaster’s mother, convinced the police on reexamination of her daughter’s corpse. She was validated when the officers found the broken neck during the autopsy. Shue met his end in the prison and Heaster’s ghost was never seen again.

All of these stories are mind-blowing creepy. Did you ever encounter a ghost? Let us know about it in the comments below. Also don’t forget to share this with others for some spooky fun.

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