Are Ghosts Real?

As humans, we have all heard ghost stories before. From the time of the ancient Greeks to modern-day pop culture, there has been a fascination with these unsettling yet intriguing tales. Ghosts have been the subject of numerous stories, poems, and novels, with some reaching legendary status. With that in mind, here are 20 of the most famous hauntings to consider.

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1. Kuchisake-onna

Kuchisake-onna is a malicious Japanese spirit from the Edo period. She confronts those who attempt to conceal their face with a fan or mask by asking if she is pretty, before gruesomely attacking those who respond incorrectly. The legend has endured for centuries, with communities even telling their children how to escape her after reported sightings, while others have said she can be tricked into sparing one's life.

Hayami Shungyōsai (速水春暁斎, Japanese, *1767, †1823) on Wikimedia

2. Resurrection Mary

Resurrection Mary is one of Chicago's most famous ghosts. Said to be a young woman dressed in a white dress, she is reported to stop drivers hitchhiking along Archer Avenue. Drivers tell stories of how she disappears when they pass by Resurrection Cemetery, the cemetery she is said to be buried in. Her story is a popular variation of the "vanishing hitchhiker" urban legend in American folklore.

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3. Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's ghost is among the most well-known White House hauntings. The 16th president is said to appear in and around the Lincoln Bedroom. Many people have claimed to feel or see his tall and serious demeanor in the White House. Guests and subsequent presidents have had encounters with Lincoln's ghost. His ghost is perhaps tied to the nation's grief and strife over the Civil War.

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4. The Lady of Raynham Hall

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is one of the most well-known ghosts in England. The ghost is said to be Lady Dorothy Walpole, who was reportedly locked in a room by her husband until she passed. Her photograph is one of the most famous and controversial of all ghostly images.

Hubert C. Provand e Indre Shira on Wikimedia

5. Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette is reputed to haunt the Petit Trianon in Versailles, where she used to retire from court life. Sightings of her ghost or "time slip" occurrences that transport people to the 18th century are reported by visitors to the palace. Her spirit is connected with the horror of her fall from grace during the French Revolution.

After Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty on Wikimedia

6. The Bell Witch

The Bell Witch is a notorious American ghost story about a spirit that haunted the Bell family in Adams, Tennessee, throughout the early 1800s. The spirit spoke, assaulted members of the Bell family physically, and was even said to predict the future. This loud and violent haunting has become one of the most famous ghost stories in United States history.

M. V. Ingram on Wikimedia

7. Catherine Howard

The most well-known ghost of Catherine Howard is found at Hampton Court Palace, where she was arrested and imprisoned. It is reported that visitors to the palace can hear the sound of Catherine Howard's screams and hear her begging for her life as she wanders the corridors of the infamous Haunted Gallery.

Hans Holbein the Younger on Wikimedia

8. The Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost ship doomed to sail the oceans forever without ever making port. Sightings of his strange, luminescent ship have been reported by sailors the world over, appearing suddenly out of storms or fog. The tale of his cursed journey is one of the most famous and lasting maritime legends of all time.

Albert Pinkham Ryder on Wikimedia

9. La Llorona

La Llorona is a ghost from Latin American folklore, said to be a spirit of the “Weeping Woman” who lost her children by drowning them. She wanders along river or lake banks, crying and lamenting for her lost children. The story of La Llorona has been passed down for generations and is a well-known Hispanic cautionary tale and famous supernatural legend.

CarlosGalvanMex on Wikimedia

10. Pausanias

The ghost of Pausanias, the renowned Spartan general, was reportedly heard wailing in the Temple of Athena. Pausanias was bricked up alive in the temple when he was convicted of treason. Witnesses heard his hideous shrieks and moans echoing around the temple precincts. He was one of the most famous ghosts of antiquity and was only exorcised by a magician.

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11. Amityville

It was in the Amityville house in Long Island that the Lutz family claimed they had a series of paranormal experiences in 1975. These included ghostly voices, a demonic pig-headed creature they called Jodie, and an ooze which seeped from the walls. After less than a month, they made a hurried departure, and the house became one of the world's most famous and widely publicized haunted houses.

Cole Johnson on Unsplash

12. Bingen Poltergeist

The Bingen Poltergeist is a 9th-century German ghost that supposedly haunted a farmer in the Rhine Valley. This ghost threw stones, set fires, shook the farmhouse, and shouted at the farmer, accusing him of wrongdoing. The Bingen Poltergeist's constant activity made the farmer an outcast among his community.

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13. The Shining

Stephen King's The Shining was inspired by the Stanley Hotel, which is said to be haunted by a plethora of unsettled spirits. Objects have been seen moving by themselves, along with strange noises, and the piano in the dining room has been known to play by itself at night. Paranormal activity is thought to be most prevalent in Room 217 and the concert hall. The hotel is one of America's most renowned haunted locations.

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14. Tedworth Drummer

The Drummer of Tedworth is one of the first and most well-known poltergeist cases in Britain. In 1661, a series of strange drumbeats were heard around the house of magistrate John Mompesson. Later, the haunting progressed to include thrown objects, strange lights, bad odors, and attacks on guests, servants, and animals. The source of the mysterious disturbance turned out to be the tricks of William Drury, the confiscated drummer.

Joseph Glanvill on Wikimedia

15. Catherine

Catherine's ghost is reportedly the spirit of Catherine, who roams Catherine's Hill in the southeastern portion of the state of Maine, in the dark of night. She walks in the woods in a pale blue nightgown. Travelers have reported seeing her apparition. Those who deny her request for a ride are rumored to meet horrible and grisly fates and then roam the woods with her.

Dave Moore on Wikimedia

16. Maharajah Duleep Singh

Maharajah Duleep Singh was reputedly seen as a ghost in 1893 by his son, Victor Duleep Singh, in Berlin. Victor saw his father's face staring back at him out of a painting; it was "as if he was sitting beside me." The face "was not a portrait" but appeared to be living. On that same evening, the young man received a telegram to inform him of the passing of his father.

Richard James Lane, after Franz Xaver Winterhalter on Wikimedia

17. The Headless Horseman

The Headless Horseman is a mythical ghostly rider in folklore stories worldwide, from Ireland to Germany to America. The Headless Horseman is sometimes a harbinger of doom or a spirit of vengeance. The most well-known is Washington Irving's 1820 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, in which the rider chases Ichabod Crane on a dark, fateful night.

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18. The Pontefract Monk

The Black Monk of Pontefract is a poltergeist that was reported to have haunted 30 East Drive, West Yorkshire, from 1966. The Pritchard family home was beset by thrown objects, green foam, and violent attacks on the children, especially Diane. The family referred to the poltergeist as "Fred," and the media as "Mr. Nobody." The phantom was thought to be that of a monk who passed in the 16th century.

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19. Ghost of Ballygally

It is said to be the spirit of Lady Isobel Shaw, who was locked in a tower by her husband and driven mad by the cries of her infant child. Lady Isobel either threw herself or was pushed by her husband from the tower, thus condemning her spirit to wander the castle forever. There are many reports by guests and residents of the castle of seeing her, as well as hearing other strange noises, sights, and events such as a green mist that floods through the castle.

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20. Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn is claimed to haunt the Tower of London, where she was beheaded in 1536. Her ghost is reported to appear headless, and she is also said to have been seen in the corridors of Blickling Hall, her childhood home. She is one of the most persistent and spine-tingling legends in English history.

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