Borley Rectory (Essex, United Kingdom)

In Essex, located in the United Kingdom, there was built one of the most famous British haunted houses. The rectory is located in Borley, a lonely part of the eastern coast of England- not far from the Suffolk border.

A newspaper, carried an article in June of 1929, reporting the sighting of a phantom nun at the rectory. The newspaper contacted Harry Price, a now famous paranormal investigator, to conduct an investigation into this apparition. Price's contact at the paper informed him that in addition to the ghostly nun, footsteps, unexplained whispers, a unseen coach have been heard, and that inexplicable lights, the figure of a headless man, and the apparition of Henry Bull- the homes builder had been seen. The nun was reported as drifting through the garden hanging her head in sadness.

Locals told accounts of how in the 13th century, when the location had been a monastery, a monk, and an attractive young nun had been killed when they tried to elope together. They said that the monk had been hung, while the nun had been sealed within the walls of her convent while still alive. Even though, skeptical of this tale, Price was curious about what was happening at Borley Rectory.

Harry Price is known today as one of the earliest, and most accomplished paranormal investigator, and was the creator of the standard "ghost hunting kit". He used tape measures and meticulous measurements of walls in order to see if there were any secret rooms or passages ways that would allow a hoaxer to perform their tricks. The use of still cameras for indoor and outdoor investigations were common in his investigations, and he even used a remote-control motion picture camera. In addition, he applied various police techniques, such as lifting of fingerprints, as well as portable communcations devices to keep investigators connected and up to date.

During his investigation, Price would report bells ringing, knocking on the walls, objects moving from one place to another. Witnesses were interviewed, gathering a large collection of experiences from them.

Rev. Henry Bull disregarded the local warning about the land being haunted, and built Borely Rectory when he became the Borley Church pastor in 1862. Soon afterwards, came reports from servants and family members of strange noises and apparitions. Rev. Bull and his son, Harry seemed to find the unusual phenomena to be rather entertaining- go so far as to build a summer home where they could sit, enjoy a cigar and watch for the phantom nun.

Rev. Bull passed away in 1892, and his son, become pastor, and lived on the property until his own death in 1927. Rev. Guy Smith became the new pastor, but quit the rectory within a year due to the strange occurances, and the crumbling state of the house.

Things picked up at the rectory in 1930, when Rev Lionel Foyster and his wife, Marianne moved in. Now people were being locked out of rooms, furnisher and household items would move, and window would break by themselves. Mrs. Foyster got the worst treatment of all when she would get thrown out of bed, slapped at all hours, and even smothered by her mattress. Notes soon appeared on the walls. Some of the notes read, "Marianne, please help get," and "Marianne light mass prayers".

Harry Price suspected that, since Marianne Foyster was the centre of most of the poltergeist type activity, these occurances weren't necessarily caused by spirits. He felt, rather, that she was unknowingly manipulating things with psychokinetic energy. Even though he didn't believe that the events surrounding Mrs. Foyster were ghostly in nature, he did believe that the notes where. Price indicated that the notes were from a young Catholic woman- possibly a nun that had been killed on the property... though not the same nun of local legend.

After the Foysters moved out, Price leased the house for a year in order to run a round-the-clock investigation. On May 25, 1937, he placed an ad in the Times:

"HAUNTED HOUSE: Responsible persons of leisure and intellegenceintrepid, critical, and unbiased, are invited to join rota of observers in a years night and day investigation of alleged haunted house in Home countiesPrinted instructions supplied. Scientific training or ability to operate simpleinstruments an advantage. House situation in lonely hamlet, so won car is essentialWrite Box H.989, The Times, E.C.4"

Forty people were chosen, and Price printed up the first-ever paranormal investigation manual. Each member of the investigative team received a copy. It outlined procedures, as well as the type of equiptment needed. The various investigators still had a fair bit of freedom to examine things as they wished. Some used their own equiptment, some kept meticulous journals, while other used seances- these would prove interesting between 1935 and 1939

One seance gave Price information that made him confident that the mystery behind the haunting was solvable. During the sitting, a spirit using the name Marie Lairre claimed she'd been a french nun that had left in order to marry a Henry Waldegrave. Waldegrave belonged to a wealthy family, whose house once stood where Borley Rectory was. After they married, Marie was strangled by her husband, and buried in the cellar. Price felt this information fit in with the notes left for Marianne Foyster, and the reports of the ghostly nun.

March of 1938 saw another spirit communicated with the investigators. This entity claimed that the rectory would burn down that night, and that the nun's remains would be found in the cellar. The rectory may not have burnt down that very night as promised, but exactly eleven months later, when Captain WH Gregson- the new owner, was unpacking books in the library, an overturned oil lamp lead to the rectory being gutted.

After the fire, Price returned, taking the opportunity to excavate the cellar. He discovered some fragile bones- which turned out to belong to a young woman. Harry Price felt that this was proof of his theory that the ghost was that of a nun that had been murdered on the site. A Christian burial helped to settle things down, though from time to time, people still experience odd things on the property...

"Annabelle"

If you've ever heard of the Amityville Horror case, or watched the TV series "Paranormal State", then you mostly likely know of Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Warrens are well respected demonologists that have investigated many cases of poltergeist activity, and even cases of possession. They are also famous for their Occult Museum, which houses many of the items that were either the cause, or involved in their cases.

One such item is "Annabelle".

In the 1970's, the Warrens investigated case surrounding three young friends, after an Episcopal priest recommended the case to them. The occurance involved spirit communication, and physical attacks.

One of the friends, a nurse named Donna, had received the doll from her mother as a birthday gift. The activity started about a year later, when "Annabellle" started moving. When Donna and her friends left the apartment, the doll would be on the bed, arms at its side, and legs stretched out. Upon returning home, the three would find the arms folded in the doll's lap, and the legs crossed, or in other positions. Experimenting, they would arrange the doll in a random position, only to come back to find it in a differant position.

In addition to shifting poses, "Annabelle" would travel from room to room. One night, they found the doll kneeling in a chair. When they tried to position the doll in a kneeling position themselves, it would only fall over due to support in the legs. The doll, though usually kept in Donna's room (with the door closed no less), would be found on the sofa as well.

And then there were the notes. The women stated that the writing looked like that of a small child, and would read, "HELP US," or "HELP LOU," even though Lou wasn't in trouble. The notes would also be written in pencil on parchment, despite there being no pencils or parchment in the apartment.

Suspecting that maybe someone had a key, and was playing a cruel joke, the friends did whatever they could to find evidence of such trickery. They found none. It was around this time that things started to become something you'd find in a horror movie... except for the fact that it was actually happening...

One night, after returning home, Donna and the others found blood on the back of "Annabelle's" hand... and three drops of blood on its chest. They also reported to the Warrens that a small statue lifted up, and moved across the room before tumbling to the floor- in plain view of everyone present.

Consulting a medium, they were informed that a seven year old girl by the name of Annabelle Higgins had died on the property. The spirit they contacted claimed that they were the only ones that could understand her, since everyone else around them were adults- and more concerned about jobs, etc. Annabelle Higgins just wanted to be loved, and proposed to the women that she be allowed to "move into" the doll and stay with them. Being nurses, and compassionate towards the suffering of others, they agreed, and named the doll "Annabelle".

As the Warrens interviewed Donna, Angie and Lou, the latter professed a belief that "Annabelle" was actually a voodoo doll of some kind, but that the others didn't believe him. Lou recounted that the doll gave him bad dreams. In one dream, Lou woke up to find the doll at the foot of his bed, slowly moving up his body to his chest. "Annabelle" reached to either side of his neck, and he felt himself being strangled. No matter how hard he struggled, the doll's grip could not be broken until he woke up in reality.

Another night, when it was just him and Angie in the apartment, they heard a noise in Donna's room. Suspecting a possible prowler, Lou went to investigate. After carefully opening the door, and flicking the switch, he discovered the doll on the floor in the corner. He then got the sensation of someone behind him, and turned. Even though there was nobody in the room, something slashed Lou across the chest. Angie told the Warrens that it looked like claw marks. There were three up and down, and four left to right. Lou said that they'd felt hot- as if they were burns, but that within a couple of days, they'd healed fully.

Shortly after that, the church got in touch with Ed and Lorraine Warren. After the interview, the Warrens concluded that "Annabell" was not a little girl- but rather an non-human, negative entity... a demon. This demon had been manipulating the doll to create fear, weakening the friends in order to begin a campaign of human possession. By giving the doll recognition, and giving the entity permission to be a part of their lives, the three had put themselves in jeapordy. Since Lou had been the one to see through the charade of a little girl spirit, the demon wanted to get him out of the way.

The priest that contacted the Warrens was called, and came to bless the apartment and it's occupants. The blessing went without mishap. Afterwards, at Donna's request, and because they felt it was safter to do so, Ed and Lorraine Warren decided to take the doll, in case the entity's attachment to "Annabelle" was completely severed.

It wasn't.

On the drive home, the Warrens had place the doll in the back seat. At every dangerous curve in the road, their new car would start to stall, causing their power steering and brakes to fail. They barely avoided colliding with oncoming traffic three times before Ed sprinkled holy water on the doll. The Warrens were then allowed to proceeded without trouble.

For several weeks, the Warrens kept "Annabelle" in Ed's office at home. It would levitate, and teleport around the house- seeming to enjoy sitting in Ed's easy chair. A black cat would also appear, stalk around the office, as if making an inventory of the objects and books within, before returning to the side of the doll, and vanishing. Lorraine often heard growling noises echoing through the house, and the same growling appeared on their answering machine.

One priest, no quite believing in the strange occurances challenged the doll by saying, "You're just a rag don't, Annabelle. You can't hurt anything," before tossing the doll back onto its chair. After being warned by Lorraine to drive carefully, because she sensed an accident coming, the priest left. He later phoned back, saying that his brakes had failed, and had barely escaped a fatal accident.

While speaking with a priest in a room with the doll present, the priest saw a wall ornament move, and a twenty-four inch Boar's tooth necklace exploded loudly, drawing the other guests to the room. One person took a quick photo, which showed two rays of light going from the doll towards the priest.

Now, "Annabelle" sits in the Warrens Occult Museum in a glass fronted display box with a warning not to tap the glass... probably the most famous doll in paranormal history...

The Great Amherst Mystery (Amherst, Nova Scotia)

September 1878 saw the beginning of one of Canada's most famous poltergeist cases- the Great Amherst Mystery. Daniel Teed, wife, Olive Cox Teed took Mrs. Teed's 19 year old niece, Esther Cox into their Princess Street house, unaware of the unusual events that were to begin taking place.

Shortly before moving in with her aunt, Esther had been the victim of an attempted rape by Bob MacNeal- a local shoemaker with a bad reputation. She escaped with minor injuries, but many suspect that the incident left a deeper psychic wound that lead eventually into the strange occurances that followed.

Like many poltergeist, it began with little things: small fires that would start and go out by themselves, unexplainable noises and voices, and knocking on the floor, walls and ceiling. Eventually, other phenomena started to make themselves seen, such as Esther Cox seeming to bulge and inflate like an overblown balloon, her fingers and toes even swelling to extremes, before suddenly deflating back to normal. These events would seem like something out of a horror novel, if they hadn't been witness by numerous people in the community. One event was especially unnerving, indeed. On the wall, above Esther's bed, appeared the words, "Esther Cox,

you are mine to kill".

It became common belief that it was Esther that was haunted, rather than the house, when the inexplicable occurances followed her elsewhere. A Baptist service was interrupted by the knockings and rapping sounds coming from the front pew, even though she was sitting at the back of the church. As she fled in humiliation from the church, the loud sounds ceased.

Automatic writing and spiritualist were used in an attempt to find out what was causing these mysterious events surrounding Esther. One session of automatic writing brought forth a spirit

claiming to be Miss Maggie Fisher, who had attended the same school as Esther, but had died in 1867. Neither had known each other personally, though they had been aware of each other at school.

Some coincidences at this time cast doubts on the validity of the spiritual connection. Other spirits had names far too similar to people around her- and Bob MacNeal specifically, to be considered honest spirits. Names like Bob Nickle (same first name, similar last name, and same profession), a 60 year old spirit; Mary Fisher (Maggie Fisher's sister); Peter Teed, John Nickle, and Eliza MacNeal. Many feel that theses spirits were actually the psychic manifestation of Esther Cox's emotional trauma due to the attempted rape by Bob MacNeal.

Possibly seeing how all the coincidences might point at his somehow being the root cause of the events plaguing Esther Cox, MacNeal claimed that Bob Nickle had been haunting him as well for several years... as if to say that this spirit was the cause of MacNeal's own violent acts.

In an attempt to turn her problems to her advantage, Esther, and actor Walter Hubbell, went on tour in 1879, hoping to make some sort of living by recounting her experiences to those willing to pay. She met Hubbell when he'd travelled to Amherst for the sole purpose of seeing the ghostly mainifestations himself. Unfortunately for them, things did not go well. A riot broke out one night when a rival theatre owner leapt up and started heckling them. Soon, the crowd joined in and got out of hand.

There was one last major poltergeist event in Esther's life before things settled down somewhat. Arthur Davison, another resident of Amherst, was kind enough to hire Esther to work on his ranch. Even though he was a skeptic, he did acknowledge seeing repeatedly poltergeist activity while Esther lived there. Things climaxed at the ranch when his barn caught fire, and burnt to the ground.

Accused of arson by Davidson, Esther was convicted and sentanced to four months in prison. She was released after only one month due to public support rallying behind the woman who was beset by supernatural occurances.

After the barn burning incident, the poltergeist seemed to disipate to minor annoyances. Esther was even able to find a measure of happiness by marrying first Mr. Adams of Springdale, Nova Scotia- and later Mr. Shanahan of Brockton, MA. Esther Cox Shanahan passed away in 1912. To date, this case has been one of the most famous supernatural cases of Canadian history.

"The Brown Lady" of Raynham Hall (Norfolk, United Kingdom)

One of the most famous ghost photos is that of Raynham Hall's "Brown Lady". This photo was taken in 1936 by Captain Provand, and Indre Shira. They were on assignment from the magazine Country Life, doing an article on Raynham Hall.

While they were taking photos graphs of the stairwell, Shira sensed something on the stairs and immediately triggered the flash. When they developed the photo, they discovered the shape of a woman in a veil coming down the stairs.

The ghostly figure is suspected of being Lady Townshend, the wife of Charles Townshend, who was known for a quick temper. As the story goes, Townshend learned that his wife had been unfaithful, and imprisioned her at Raynham Hall. Lady Townshend stayed there until her death as an old woman.

The Brown Lady has been sighted a few times over the centuries roaming through the halls. It is claimed that King George IV, while staying at the estate, saw her standing beside his bed, wearing a brown dress, with a pale face and disheveled hair.

Another report from 1835, around Christmas time has Colonel Loftus seeing this famour phantom. On his way to bed, one night, the figure was seen in the hall. When he tried to get a better look, the mysterious woman in the brown dress disappeared. A week later, the Colonel saw her again, and got a better look this time. The dress was made of brown satin, while her skin seemed to glow slightly. Gruesomely, however, her eyes were gone. After reporting his experience to the other staying at Raynham Hall, many of them came forward with their own stories of meeting the spirit. An artist even did a painting of the Brown Lady, which was hung up in the room where she had been seen the most.

Captain Frederick Marryat, a novelist, was staying at Raynham Hall later, and spent a night in the room where she was reported to be the most. She did not make an appearance that night. Less than a week or so later, however, Marryat saw her when he and two friends were walking down a hallway in the upstairs area. They said she had a lantern as she quietly passed them while they hid behind the door. Marryat claimed that she grinned at him in a "diabolical manner" before vanishing. Just as she did, Marryat fired his pistol at her, but it passed through her harmless, to lodge into a wall nearby.

Sightings of the Brown Lady continued through the years, until the famous photo was taken on September 19, 1936. There are many who claim the photo is fake, with a photo analyst by the name of Joe Nickell stating that it was a composite of two images. While argument continues about the factual integrity of the photo, there is no argument about the existance of the spirit. Sightings of her have dropped off as time has passed, though in the 1960, the late Marchioness of Townshend reported to Denniss Bardens that she had seen the ghostly figure several times.

The Stanely Hotel

Now, everyone, I think has heard of the Overlook Hotel from Stephen King's book, "The Shining". Well, that creepy, haunted hotel is actually based on The Stanely Hotel, located in Estes Park, Colorado. Stephen King wrote "The Shining" after staying there, and experiencing one of the unusual events that have been reported over the course of the hotel's history.

After his doctor told him to seek out fresh mountain air to help ease his tuberculosis, F.O. Stanley moved to Estes Park in 1903. At the time, his doctor suggested he not expect to be alive within six months. A friend lent Stanley their cabin, and both him and his wife fell in love the surrounding territory. Since Stanley's health started to improve, the two build a home about a half mile away from the hotel's current location.

The hotel started to be built in 1906, and opened for business three years later. Guests such as John Philip Sousa, "The Unsinkable" Molly Brown (of Titanic survival fame), President Theodore Roosevel, and the Emperor and Empress of Japan all stayed there. As did Stephen King while writing his book, "The Shining".

Strange phenomena have been reported by guests and employees alike over the years. Even though the Stanley Hotel served as inspiration for the book, the spirits that dwell within the real hotel's walls aren't so malicious. It has been claimed that F.O. Stanley himself, and his wife, Flora, haunt the famous hotel... maybe their love of the scenery lasted beyond the grave? Stanley has been sighted mostly in the lobby area, Billiard Room, and the bar. Flora has been known to play the piano- which is the one that was at the hotel during the Stanley's moral lives. Both guests and employees have heard the piano music coming from the ballroom, and seen the keys moving. Others have stated that they've seen a woman sitting at the piano.

Within the hotel, there seems to be certain room that are more prone to paranormal activity than others. Room 418 seems to be a favorite "haunt" for ghostly children, with their sounds of laughter and playing being heard just outside the room's door. Complaints of children playing in the hallway late at night are common, as are indentations on the bed (as if someone were sitting or laying there), and unexplained noises inside the suite itself. Stephen King reported hearing a little boy calling for his nanny.

Another room known for being haunted is Room 407. The spirit in this room seems to enjoy turning the lights on and off. It's been reported that if you request that the lights be turned back off, the spirit will do so. As with other rooms, noises inside and outside have been reported to the managers. A face looking out the window has been seen, even when the room has been empty.

While it seems that most of the phenomena reported occurs on the fourth floor, the rest of the hotel has been known to echo with footsteps, and various apparitions sighted elsewhere.

Not only was the Stanley Hotel the inspiration for a spooky novel, but the TV series, "Ghost Hunters" did an investigation there. The Stanely Hotel is quite proud of it's haunted heritage, and holds "Ghost Tours" to celebrate it's place as one of America's Most Haunted Hotels.

"Albert" of the Sagebrush Theatre (Kamloops, British Columbia)

I think it would be safe to say that the odds of a town having at least ONE place that can be considered to be haunted are pretty good. If that place happens to be a theatre, the odds of a spirit being around are better... and if that theatre just happens to be next to a cemetary? All the better.

One such place is located at 1300 9th Avenue, Kamloops, British Columbia. The Sagebrush Threatre actually used to have its stage on top of the graveyard, until a flood in 1939 revealed those buried beneath. The city decided to move the caskets, and the 100 hand-carved gravestones across the street.

Some say, however, that the city workers missed one. Albert's.

Albert is the name affectionately given to the spirit reported to haunt the theatre. This spirit's real name is suspected to be Arnold Mallot, who was the first man to be hung in Kamloops when he was tried and convicted in November 1886 of murder. He was a bartender who worked at O'Keffel's Saloon near Revelstoke. Mallot suspected a man of stealing from his bar, and killed him.

Some of the phenomena experienced at the Sagebrush Theatre are knockings from behind the walls of the stage- an area that can't be accessed. It was reported that one session that Bronwyn Bowlby (the head technical director for Western Canada Theatre Company at the time) experience lasted for half an hour. The sounds ceased after Bowlby asked Albert to stop.

Lighting configurations have also been manipulated by the spirit. Lights that had been programmed for upcoming show have been found to be re-programmed for the previous show... even though the software disk and lighting cues were nowhere to be found.

And of course there's the voices. One former employee reported hearing a little girl singing coming from the speakers in the green room, despite the microphone used to tell actors their cues for appearances was not on. In one case, a voice even saved an employee's life. While practicing cues for spotlights, Auben Muillwrath, was alone nine metres above the seats. Muillwrath neglected to clip her safety harness on until a voice said, "Auben, clip in". Right after obeying the voice, one of the spotlights slammed through the catwalk in front of her, taking her after it. When she was found, Muillwrath was dangling by her harness eight metres above the seats. "Albert saved her life," claimed Bowlby.

A janitor was "saved" by Albert as well, when they were unexplainably prevented from taking a potentially serious fall into a hole after the lights had burnt out.

Some people have claimed to see apparitions in the theatre. Samantha MacDonald, former technical director, called out to one such apparition, receiving no reply back.

Of course, there are those that don't believe in Albert. One such person found out that disrespecting Albert was not wise. Roger Lantz, a former sound technician, would laugh at people who believed in the spirt, and often ask, "where are you Albert?" jokingly. After one such jest, during a performance, Lanzt lost control of all the sound cues. Afterwards, he came to believe that Albert decided to get revenge for Lantz's disbelief.

Of the 706 seats in the Sagebrush Theatre, there is one that is never sold... or at least not to anything human. Seat Z24 is Albert's seat, and has been reported by audience members to lower at the beginning of shows, and raise back up at the end of a performance.

If you're ever in Kamloops, feel free to stop by and catch a show at the Sagebrush Theatre, and say hello to Albert... as it's become tradition for employees to greet the spirit when they enter and leave the theatre...