I Think We're Gonna Need A Priest

With over 50,00 deaths throughout its history, it’s no wonder that the Trans-Allegheny Asylum is haunted. I would like to say now that any derogatory words used in this post are what were used at the time and only used for historical significance. They are in no way what I would use. Anyway… on with the post. :) :) Construction began in 1858 and it was completed in 1881 but during this time patients were still admitted. The main building is the largest hand-cut stone masonry in the US and the second in the world, with the Kremlin coming in first. Originally construction was done by prison inmates – a local newspaper in the November that construction started noted “seven convict negroes” as the first to start working on the Asylum. In June 1861, the 7 th Ohio Infantry came to the town on behalf of the government and ‘stole’ $27,000 worth of gold coins (which is roughly $500,000 today). This money was to be used to build Trans-Allegheny but because of the Civil War the go...

Rose Hall was built in the 1770 and still stands to this day and when it was first built as was a sugar plantation. One of the largest on the island with over 2000 slaves working at one point in its history. Now known as Rose Hall Great House in Montego Bay, Jamaica it is now considered one of the most haunted houses in the western hemisphere. With such a notorious reputation that Johnny Cash, American singer and songwriter, wrote a song immortalising Annie Palmer. Annie Patterson was born in 1802 and had a rough start to life. When she was 10 years old she lost both of her parents to yellow fever. While living with her nanny, it said that this was the time that she apparently learned witchcraft and voodoo, because her nanny was supposedly a voodoo priestess. Now it could have been fate or Annie’s voodoo skills but hen she was 18 years old she crossed paths with John Palmer (the owner of the plantation). John whisked Annie away from Haiti to Jamaica and married her. It’s b...

Shall we play cards Satan? Not a question anyone should ask but this is what happened at Loftus Hall. Originally called Houseland Castle and built in 1170, it was rebuilt in 1350 and then again in 1870-ish by John Henry Loftus. This is when it was renamed Loftus Hall. He wanted to make it this grand house  – so grand Queen Victoria herself would want to visit when she came to Ireland (spoiler – she didn’t visit). He integrated the original Hall into the mansion that stands today. Everything that has happened started with one event, so our story begins in the mid-1600s with the untimely death of Anne Tottenham. Anne lived at Loftus Hall with her father, step-mother and siblings. On a stormy night, a stranger made his way up to the Hall and asked to take shelter within its walls. This was normal apparently, as it was the closest shelter to the docks. This particular stranger stayed for several weeks and during this time Anne fell in love. Like head over heels, puppy ...

Built on a 700-year-old extinct volcano (yes volcano), Edinburgh Castle has been home to both Scottish and English monarchs. The most famous being Mary, Queen of Scots. As one of the UK’s oldest castles, it has seen its fair share of blood and war so it's no surprise it has more than a few ghosts.  Like most haunted places you have your normal changes in temperature (brrr), shadowy figures, disembodied voices and the occasional touching (who doesn’t like to be felt up by a ghost). But at Edinburgh Castle, you get all of that and more. There were two ghost stories that tugged on my heartstrings. They were the story of the young bagpiper that disappeared and the story of Greyfriars Bobby. So, we’ll start with the lost piper boy.  Several hundred years ago, some secret tunnels were found beneath the castle seeming to lead towards Holyrood House which is located at the end of the Royal Mile. The entrance to these tunnels was so small, a young boy and his bagpipes...

Abandonment. Neglect. Abuse. Death. These are just some of the atrocities that happened at Pennhurst State School. In 1908 Pennhurst State school was built to house the children that society had dubbed as “demented’. Back then, if you were any sort of menace to society (like a pyromaniac for example) you ended up at Pennhurst. The school itself was built to house 500 patients but by 1913 it was already overcrowded and in need of more housing facilities. So in 1916, the Board of Trustees planned to build additional cottages to expand the capacity of the school. Built on over 600 acres, the site itself contains more than 30 buildings which included a hospital, a morgue, barbers and a firehouse. This impressive site became self-sustaining as it had its own power plant and the residents were sent to work on the farm that was located on site. The site also had a rail track passing through the grounds so any supplies they needed could be brought in by train. It also had an u...