Here Are 10 of the Spookiest Ghost Stories from the United States

When you have a country with as many states as the USA, you are bound to have plenty of spooky ghost stories from all over.

So, here are 10 of the spookiest ghost stories from different parts of the U.S.

1. Alaska

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The Golden North Hotel in Skagway is the setting for Alaska’s creepiest ghost tale. Legend has it that a woman named Mary moved into the hotel during the Klondike Gold Rush with her fiancé, a man who went by the moniker “Klondike Ike.”

Ike set off to prospect gold and find fame and fortune, but he never returned from the rugged Alaskan wilderness. Mary locked herself in her hotel room and waited for her beau. Eventually, hotel workers broke down Mary’s door and found her dead in the room wearing her wedding dress. The story goes that “Scary Mary” still roams the halls, occasionally checking in on hotel guests to make sure Ike isn’t bedding down with anyone else.

2. California

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What place beside the infamous Alcatraz prison would make this list for California? The foreboding island prison in San Francisco Bay operated from 1934-1963 and housed the likes of Al Capone and James “Whitey” Bulger behind its walls.

The most famous ghost to roam Alcatraz’s hallowed grounds is a prisoner who once called cell 14D his home. Apparently, the prisoner screamed all night, claiming that a ghastly creature with glowing eyes was trying to kill him. The guards ignored his cries, and the next morning the inmate was found strangled to death. A doctor said the injuries could not have been self-inflicted and that the man had strange wounds on his neck.

3. Kansas

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The sand hills surrounding Hutchinson are known to be creepy as hell and for good reason: a creature known as the Hamburger Man is rumored to haunt the hills, looking for a fresh kill.

Rumor has it that the local legend is only partially man or perhaps survived a horrific accident and is mutilated beyond belief. One thing is for certain: the Hamburger Man is said to carry a large knife and he likes to abduct people and eat them for dinner. Chew on that one for a little while…

4. Georgia

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Lake Lanier in Georgia is said by locals to be cursed. The Army Corps of Engineers flooded nearly 60 square miles of homes, farmland, and businesses in the 1950s to create the large lake. Cemeteries were relocated to accommodate the project.

Freak accidents and mysterious drownings have plagued the lake and some people who have almost died in the waters have described being pulled underneath by a phantom force.

5. Idaho

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The spooky Old Idaho Penitentiary operated from 1872-1973 and housed more than 13,000 prisoners over 100 years. One of the most notorious inmates to call the jail home was Raymond Allen Snowden, who was known as “Idaho’s Jack the Ripper.”

Snowden was executed in the jail in 1957 and died a slow, painful death. His neck didn’t break when the rope dropped, and it took 15 minutes for Snowden to suffocate. It’s rumored that the killer haunts the premises. Visitors to the jail have described hearing strange sounds and voices and being overcome by extreme sadness.

6. Illinois

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Growing up near Chicago, I learned about the story of Resurrection Mary at a young age…and it always haunted me. The legend of the ghost says that during the Great Depression, a young woman named Mary went a dance hall near Chicago. Mary got into an argument with her boyfriend and decided to walk home along Archer Avenue, where she was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Mary was buried in nearby Resurrection Cemetery and generations of Chicagoans have reported seeing a young girl in a white dress hitchhiking along Archer Avenue late at night. Sometimes she’s even picked up but disappears from the back seat before reaching her final destination: Resurrection Cemetery.

7. Colorado

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The Buffalo Rose Saloon in Golden is said to be haunted by a young girl who drowned in a swimming pool in the saloon’s basement in the 1920s. The spirit of the girl is said to still roam the hallways and skip up and down stairs.

An employee who works nights at the bar described the basement where the pool was located as “very bad. Sometimes you can’t go [down] there.”

8. Louisiana

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The swampy lands of Louisiana are ripe for ghost stories. One legend comes from the state’s Cajun communities and centers around cauchemar: witches that arrive at night, immobilize people in their beds, and ride them like horses. Seriously. Think sleep paralysis but way more terrifying.

Even if a person attempts to scream while being attacked by a cauchemar, it’s no use: the scream can never escape someone’s throat. People have reported having marks and bruises from where a cauchemar beats them a whip. Creepy indeed.

9. Minnesota

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The Palmer House Hotel in Sauk Centre attracts ghost hunters from all over the country. A prostitute named Lucy was rumored to have worked in a brothel where the hotel now stands.

Lucy and other women died in a tragic fire at the brothel, and Lucy is not happy with men in the afterlife. So she’s taken to haunting the Palmer House, naturally. Lucy is known to slam doors and make the temperature drop drastically when a man is present. Apparently, Room 17 is her favorite haunt.

10. Montana

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We already covered Resurrection Mary, but another creepy hitchhiker from haunted lore is the Phantom Hitchhiker of Black Horse Lake. If you happen to drive along Highway 87, you might see a Native American man wearing a jean jacket appear out of nowhere and smash into your windshield.

Locals say the man died when he was hit by a car and has been reenacting the traumatic scene ever since. Keep your eyes peeled…

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October 8, 2018

Someone Call Charlie Brown, Cuz This is the Largest Pumpkin Ever

A man in New Hampshire recently set a new record for the largest pumpkin ever grown in North America! If that doesn’t get you excited for Fall, then we don’t know what will!

Steve Geddes broke the record last month at the Deerfield Fair in New Hampshire. Geddes’ massive prize weighed a whopping 2,528 pounds, shattering the previous record.

Photo Credit: Facebook,Deerfield Fair

Geddes won $6,000 in prize money for his behemoth.

Photo Credit: Facebook,Deerfield Fair

Even though pumpkins are extremely American (at least I think they are), the largest one ever grown in the world is actually from Belgium back in 2016. That monster weighed 2,624 pounds. Let’s hope Mr. Geddes keeps growing pumpkins and brings that title back to the USA where it belongs!

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October 6, 2018

12+ Discontinued Products That We Hope Make a Big Comeback

Photo Credit: Reddit

11. Sprite Re-Mix

12. Swoops

13. Cereal Straws

14. 15. Butterfinger BB’s

So what do you all say?!? Let’s get some campaigns going so we can get these products back in our hands!

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October 5, 2018

5+ Great Facts to Share with Your Friends

Good thing Neil deGrasse Tyson had a change of heart about his career.

If not, we might be seeing him in the flesh, lighting himself on fire.

Don’t believe me? Read through this fact set and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

1. Security blanket

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#3. If it works it works.

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#2. What other caption could you use with that face?

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#1. Real life.

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That’s it! You can now go about your regularly scheduled day but with a smile.

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October 2, 2018

People Born After 1999 Will Never Understand These 20 Tweets

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19.

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October 1, 2018

7 Cool Items That Were Created During Hard Times

It’s interesting to learn about where things like traditions and pop culture phenomenons were born. It’s often not how you’d expect. That is definitely the case for these 7 things that are now considered cool…but were once necessary evils.

#7. Dr. Martens

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

These popular shoes were born of trauma – a German doctor named Klaus Martens made his own orthopedic boots with airbags in the thick insoles to compensate for the pain in his injured leg. Comfort and durability are always a winner, though, and the shoes have been popular since WWII.

#6. Disposable pads

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Disposable pads first appeared in the late 19th and early 20th century when the people who had been manufacturing absorbent cloth for wounded soldiers decided they could make additional cash by adapting it to save women a bunch of loads of laundry.

#5. Instant coffee

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If you’re a coffee snob, you may think instant coffee is an abomination. You probably wouldn’t be so picky if you’d suffered through the economic crisis of the 1930s, though, when the world market price per pound of coffee beans fell from 22 to 5 cents. Brazil had decided to destroy its excess of coffee. Nescafe stepped in to help develop a technique for drying and processing coffee grains.

The soldiers of the Second World War were grateful.

#4. Viagra

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Turns out that this drug was not invented to help men in the bedroom – it was originally thought to treat angina pectoris and coronary heart disease. It did neither, but it did increase blood flow to pelvic organs.

And now, someone is super rich, I assume.

#3. The “bob” haircut

Photo Credit: American Red Cross

Historically, only certain types of women dared to wear their hair short – those who earned their own living, or the poorest of the poor who had to sell their own locks to survive, or even because of illnesses like typhus – but with the advent of WWI, nurses jumped on the “bob.”

As anyone who works in an unpredictable and often messy environment can tell you (or stays home with a toddler), long hair just gets in the way.

#2. Ballet flats and loafers

Photo Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art

When it came to war, no one was much concerned about the fashion sense of the people at home. People had to adapt, and when fashion designer Claire McCardell was in search of a way to bring ladies the laceless shoes they wanted, she took ballet shoes and glued a firm base to them. Voila – the modern ballet flat was born.

As far as loafers, the men are all about comfort. They come from Norwegian peasant shoes that were sewn by fishermen and called “loafers” in England since they were meant to be worn at home or at rest.

#1. Nutella

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

That’s right – everyone’s favorite faux healthy snack food came from someone’s hard times. Baker and confectioner Pietro Ferrero was forced to add hazelnuts, which were plentiful where he lived in Italy, to his chocolate paste because of a post-war shortage.

It originally came in a solid bar (be still my heart) but when it melted one day, Ferrero kept his head and smeared it on bread – and a hit was born. Way back in 1946!

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September 29, 2018

7 “Unsolved Mysteries” That Are Still Unsolved Today

The extremely popular and highly watched television show Unsolved Mysteries debuted in January of 1987 and featured cold cases about things like missing persons, murders, and paranormal activity. Thanks to its wide and fervent viewership, many of the cold cases have actually been solved. They’ve even exonerated a few wrongfully-convicted inmates along the way.

Despite the attention, a number of the 1000 cases remain open. Below are 7 of the 10 that co-creators John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer told Mental Floss really stuck with them.

#1. Tupac Shakur

The puzzling details that led to the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur have fascinated the public since they came to light on this show and elsewhere. Tupac was in Vegas to watch a Mike Tyson boxing match. After the fight, it was rumored that he and fellow rapper Marion “Suge” Knight got into an altercation with the Crips — a notorious street gang — while they were at a stoplight, and a white Cadillac pulled up and opened fire.

Knight was injured and Shakur died from his wounds. A witness was later gunned down at his home in New Jersey. No one has ever been arrested for either crime.

#2. Dial H for Abduction

In 1991, Angela Hammond was talking to her boyfriend Rob on a pay phone and commented that a green Ford pickup had been circling the block, and that a “filthy, bearded man” had exited and was using the phone next to hers. They were still on the phone when Hammond screamed and stopped responding to Rob.

Rob hopped in his car and drove to the phones, passing the kidnappers in a pickup truck with Hammond inside screaming his name on the way there. He lost them when his transmission failed. The only clue he had to go on was the truck had a giant decal on the back window.

The boyfriend was originally a suspect, but was soon cleared, and there have been no leads since. Police do think that Hammond’s disappearance could be related to other abductions near Clinton, MO, where she lived.

#3. One Minute Million

On April 19, 1989, an armored car in Eden Prairie, MN, was stopped by a gang of armed robbers that got away with a million dollars in under a minute. It was the second of what would be three similar heists within a couple of years, but the case was never solved.

Police suspect that, because of the precise nature of the attacks, the gang might have been ex military.

#4. A.W.O.L.

This case followed Private Justin Burgwinkel, an Army man who aspired to become a Ranger and was committed to a career in the military. Then out of nowhere, he began to act oddly at home, abruptly leaving his girlfriend for meetings and telling her they were secret. After three years, Burgwinkel vanished. His car was found at a motel filled with all of his personal effects, and his dog tags were among them. He had once told his girlfriend that if they were found, “that means I’m dead.”

No one has seen or heard from him since June 12, 1993.

#5. D.B. Cooper

D.B. Cooper is an alias for a man or woman who successfully hijacked a plane bound for Seattle in November of 1971. Cooper told a stewardess he had a bomb and asked for $200k when the plane landed. When he got his money, he jumped out of the plane with a parachute. The police have never come up with a single suspect.

In 2018, an amateur sleuth named Rick Sherwood suggested that Cooper might be Robert Rackstraw, a Vietnam vet with parachuting experience, but the FBI hasn’t made any further comments.

#6. Dreamy Disappearance

Cynthia Anderson began having a recurring nightmare in which she let someone into her house who meant her harm. Around the same time, she began receiving threatening calls at work, to the point where her employers installed an emergency buzzer at her desk.

Then, in August of 1981, when the attorneys she worked for arrived at the office, she wasn’t behind her desk. The police later received two phone calls stating that Anderson was being held in a basement of an occupied house. However, without any more information to go on, the case has never been solved.

#7. The Kecksburg U.F.O. Incident

On December 9, 1965, thousands of people reported a strange light over the northeastern United States and Canada. Citizens of Kecksburg, PA, saw it too, but also saw a commotion around what seemed to be a crash site. There were reports of the crash being a meteor or space debris, but UFO researchers have insisted an extraterrestrial craft was to blame.

NASA and the Air Force have to this day declined to identify what landed in Kecksburg that night.

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September 27, 2018

10 Origins Stories of Your Favorite Ghosts, Monsters, and Creepy Things

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year and that’s mostly because October is hands down the best month. The weather gets nice and cool, the leaves change colors, and there are all sorts of spooky activities to enjoy!

In the spirit of the season, here are the interesting origins behind 10 monsters, ghosts, and spooky things.

1. Jack-o’-lanterns

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What’s Halloween without jack-o’-lanterns? The answer: no fun at all. The ubiquitous decoration is named after an Irish myth wherein a character called Stingy Jack is doomed to walk the Earth, unable to get into Heaven or Hell, because he tricked the Devil.

Jack used a lantern made out of a carved-up turnip to light his endless wandering way. Irish immigrants changed the candle holder to a pumpkin after they made their way to their new country, America.

2. Poltergeist

Photo Credit: Public Domain

This German word means “noisy spirit.” The first claim of a poltergeist may date all the way back to 94 A.D. to Jewish historian Flavius Josephus when he reported on an exorcism. The “unclean spirit” turned over a bowl of water after being exorcised from the unfortunate individual.

3. Friday the 13th

Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

There’s actually a word that describes a fear of the number 13: triskaidekaphobia. Some believe that the superstition around Friday the 13th stems from the Last Supper because 12 disciples joined Jesus and he was crucified on a Friday. Others argue that the fear of the date comes from the early 20th-century when author Thomas Lawson wrote a book called Friday the Thirteenth.

4. Vampires

Photo Credit: Max Pixel

Vampires saturate our pop culture landscape, from books to movies to TV to comic books. These creatures became part of the popular lexicon through books such as The Vampyre John Polidori by in 1819 and Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1897.

5. The Kraken

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The Kraken is a mythical sea creature in Nordic folklore that was rumored to be able to swallow entire ships. Some believe that the creature has its origins with sailors’ encounters with giant squid.

6. Boo!

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Bet you’ve never thought about the origins of this word, have you? The word is found in a book from 1738 called Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence Display’d by author Gilbert Crokatt and described as “a word that’s used in the north of Scotland to frighten crying children.” Boo!

7. Crystal balls

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Crystal balls may have been described as early as the 1st century by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History. The Roman author describes magic performed with all kinds of tools, including water and balls. Pliny also discussed “scrying”, a procedure that Druids used to gain insight by staring into water, crystals, and mirrors.

8. Banshee

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Another Irish creation (they are clever, aren’t they?) also known as a “fairy woman”, banshees foretell the death of a family by wailing and screaming…like a banshee. Get it?

9. Bloody Mary

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

How many times did you turn off the lights and chant “Bloody Mary” into a mirror with your friends on a dark, scary night? This ritual may be named after Queen Mary I, who put many Protestants to death and thus earned the nickname “Bloody Mary.” Try it again this Halloween and see if she shows up!

10. Trick or treating

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Trick or treating began in the Middle Ages in Europe when children and poor adults would dress up in costumes (then called “guising”) and beg for food in exchange for songs and prayers.

Guising morphed into trick or treating in North America, and the first recorded instance of the term is from Alberta, Canada in 1927.

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September 26, 2018

Here’s Why Supreme Court Justices Serve Life Terms

Supreme Court nominations – and the justices themselves – have been a hot button issue lately. They’ve come under increased scrutiny in recent years due to the fact that once approved, they serve for life. With increasing life spans for both men and women, justices can now be expected to serve an average of 35 years, much longer than the 16 years they served in the past, which mean the choices are more important than ever.

If you’ve never thought about why the appointment to the highest court in the land could potentially be one of the longest, well, here’s your chance to get answers to the question you never thought to ask. And if you have – congrats! And here we go…

Photo Credit: Pixabay

First off, the Constitution doesn’t necessarily say they have to serve until the die or retire. Article III says that judges “shall hold their offices during good behavior,” which technically means there’s no term limit, but a justice could potentially be removed for dancing naked on tables or whatever. Not many have – in the history of the United States, only 15 federal judges have ever been impeached (8 of them removed).

The only Supreme Court justice that Congress even tried to remove was Samuel Chase, and that was back in 1796. He was impeached by the House of Representatives for, among other things, promoting his political views from the bench, but he was acquitted on all counts by the Senate. He remained a Supreme Court justice until his death in 1811.

The reasoning behind making the appointments for life is to attempt to shield the court from partisan politics. The court is supposed to act as a check against the powers of Congress and the president, which means judges who don’t have to worry about being replaced in a changing of the guard should be able to rule without feeling political pressure. There is even data that suggests justices tend to shift leftward as they age, and with a lifetime appointment, they can’t be replaced by a more conservative judge if they change their views.

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Alexander Hamilton weighed in on the decision in Federalist No.78, saying that the lack of term limits “is the best expedient which can be devised in any government, to secure a steady, upright and impartial administration of the laws. The judiciary is in continual jeopardy of being overpowered, awed, or influenced by its coordinate branches, and nothing can contribute so much to its firmness and independence as permanency in office.”

Which is all to say, the lifetime appointments of Supreme Court justices might be a longstanding tradition, but it’s not law – nor is it the norm in other parts of the world. Most democracies employ either term limits or mandatory retirement ages, and there have been recent proposals to implement similar polices here. Term limits could combat imbalances like we’re currently seeing implemented, which would also make the political stakes for appointments slightly lower.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

That said, there are still plenty of kinks to work out (hypothetically, of course) – like, if all of the justices were appointed at roughly the same time or were roughly the same age, it would be possible for a single president to end up nominating most of the Court, etc.

I’m not sure it’s something we’ll see anytime soon, but it is interesting to note that it’s being discussed – and that there’s nothing in the Constitution to prevent it.

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