Holy Ground

Reindeer Manor is a real haunted house located on the outskirts of Dallas with a truly haunted past, which has been open to the public for over 36 seasons. It is one of the oldest haunted attractions in the state of Texas, if not in the world. The grounds and buildings of what is now Reindeer Manor have experienced a unique, mysterious, and somewhat stormy history. In the early 1900's, a two story wooden house stood on the site of the current house. The owner of the house was James Sharp, a prominent Texas oil pioneer and banker. Unfortunately, in the quiet early hours of one morning in 1915, the silence of the farm was shattered by screams. Lightning had sparked a tragic fire which quickly consumed the wooden house. Mad because of the loss of property, Mr. Sharp decided to built on the property again, and even though it nearly tripled the cost of construction, he made sure all the buildings on the property were as fireproof as possible. However, before the Main House could be finished, Mr. Sharp suddenly died. Records are sketchy at best, but he either shot himself or was shot by his mistress in his bedroom.

In 1917, shortly after the death of his father, James Sharp's eldest son, James Jr. moved into the newly completed Manor. His wife, a prominent spiritualist at the time was convinced that the family and the Manor itself were cursed, and with ever falling income and creditors threatening, he began to act strangely. As the rumors of insanity spread within the staff, he receded more and more into himself, shunning those with whom he had formerly been quite open and spending more and more time with his wife in her "unholy pursuits". Constantly tormented by the whispers of a curse, James and his wife were obsessed with finding a solution to their problem. From psychics to witch doctors, Mr. and Mrs. Sharp had invited anyone with access to the occult to his bedroom in the vain pursuit of lifting the curse. His wife tried to contact his father from beyond the grave seeking his advice and council. Potions were mixed and incantations were chanted to rid the home and family from bad luck. The final chapter of the Sharp family in the history of Reindeer Manor ended with the discovery of James Juniors wife dead by poisoning in the main dining room , and his lifeless body swinging from a noose strung from the rafters of the barn.

After that, the Manor fell into ruin. Since then, a few people have tried to turn this house into a home, but all have failed. The house stood vacant until 1974 when it became The Haunted House at Reindeer Manor. Over the years, people that work and visit Reindeer Manor have experienced many strange occurrences. Unearthly noises are heard. Locals have seen eerie lights dancing in the windows of the buildings when the entire property was vacant. And everyone who enters the house alone feels as if someone is watching them or feels "cold spots" in some places. Some have seen objects floating in thin air. Recently, a picture was taken for a publicity stunt...when the film was developed the face of a young boy was seen faintly in the backround.

After the Sharp family was no more, a man named Jonathon Maybrick leased one of the barns for his residence and funeral parlor, which he named "the 13th Street Morgue". He was able to create a state of the art embalming facility, funeral chapel, crematory, and even his own residence for his family. The land of the west of the building was used to bury people who were too poor to afford a plot in the city cemetery. The Maybricks did well for some time, but trouble began when a local criminal met his end in a bank robbery. During the crime, a 16-year-old girl was shot and killed. Her father, Alfred Helm, religiously kept his three children indoors for fear of loosing them like he lost his wife. In a strange twist of fate, he had sent his eldest daughter, Abigail, to the bank that afternoon. The robber, Raymond Reynolds, killed both the bank teller and Abigail for no apparent reason. As he tried to flee he was shot dead by the towns police officer. After the shootings, Raymond's mother came to the Morgue to make final arrangements for her son. Alfred Helm was not at all happy to hear the news that the murderer of Abigail was to receive a proper funeral when he had to lay his child to rest on his own land with his own shovel. In one morning of December 13th, Alfred cut the phone lines and broke into the Morgue. Dressed as Santa Clause to fool the children if they awoke, he made his way into the Maybrick home and into each of their bedrooms. After strangling the two small children, the wife and Jonathon, Alfred set himself in a chair in the living room and shot himself in the chest. The note he left read: "Please watch after my children. They are the product of an unholy mind." To this day, the remains of of the Maybrick home and business still remain. No one lives there, but the spirits of the long dead still haunt the halls of the former mortuary and cemetery outside.

Poveglia is an island in the South Lagoon,over five kilometres from Venice,Italy.But instead of being a place of beauty,the island is not only regarded as one of the most haunted locations on the planet,but also one of the most evil places in the world.Poveglia was originally a self-governing island hundreds of years ago,before being taken by Italy.When the black plague swept over the country,Poveglia was the place where the dead bodies and even those who were still alive were dumped.Men,women,children...all left to die in agony.They were put into "plague pits" were hundreds of or even thousands of bodies and still-living victims of the disease were thrown in and either buried,burned or just left in the open to rot.As if the story is not disturbing enough,it gets worse.Centuries later,in 1922,the island became home to a psychiatric hospital complete with a large and very impressive bell tower.Soon after,the patients of the hospital began to report that they would see ghosts of plague victims and that they would be kept up at night hearing the tortured wails of the suffering spirits.Because they were already considered mad by the hospital staff,these complaints were ignored.In addition to these,one doctor decided to make a name for himself by experimenting on his patients to find a cure for insanity, using his own invented therapies.Those patients were taken to the bell tower and tortured.According to the legend,after many years of performing these immoral acts,the doctor began to see the tortured plague spirits himself.It is said that the spirits led him to the bell tower where he jumped to the grounds below.The fall did not kill him,according to a nurse who witnessed the event,but she related that as he lay on the ground in pain,a mist came up out of the ground and choked him to death.After that,the hospital closed down.Even so,there are rumores that the tower's bell can be heard across the bay on a still night.Later,the island was sold but the owner abandoned it in the 1960's and was the last person to try and live there.A family recently sought to buy the island and build a holiday home on it but they left the first night there and refused to comment on what happened.Several psychics have also visited the island and the abandoned hospital,but all of them left scared to death of what they had sensed there.In addition to this,many Venetians are fearful of speaking about such a place.Because of the piles of the dead,they believe that the people who died there reached all the way to hell.The hospital and the crematorium still stands.The island is used for farming only and no tourists are permitted there at any time.You may not believe in ghosts,but there's something about this island that will definitely make you believe in something.

Legend has it that Chambercombe Manor is said to be haunted.It is said that in 1865 a farmer living in the house was making some repairs to the roof when he looked down and saw a skeleton lying on a cramped bed in a room he never knew existed.Alexandre Oatway was one of the notorious West Country ship wreckers of 400 years ago.One night, a young Spanish girl survived the wreck and married William, Alexander's son.The couple had a daughter,Kate,who fell in love with an Irish see captain-Wallace-who took her home to Dublin as his bride.Years passed.One winter's night,a vicious storm blew up.William hurried down to the beach after spotting a ship in trouble.He found a woman lying on the rocks,disfigured.He carried her home,but she died during the night.As he checked her belongings William fell to temptation.The woman was carrying a belt with enough money and jewellery to enable him to buy his beloved manor house.Two days later,a man called,making inquiries about a missing passenger from the wrecked ship.William said he knew nothing about it.Then the visitor mentioned the name of the missing woman-Mrs.Katherine Wallace.William and his wife were devastated.They had stolen from their dead daughter,her face unrecognisable because of the impact of the rocks.Filled with remorse,they walled her body in a secret room and moved away.In 2006,Chambercombe Manor was the focus of Living TV's Most Haunted series.

England is widely known as a land haunted by spirits, and the Borley Rectory claims to be the most haunted place in England.The rectory was built in 1863 next to the Borley Church as a home for Reverend Henry Bull. After its construction it became the site of intense poltergeist activity, such as spontaneous displacement of objects,strange odors,cold spots,the sound of galloping horses and ghostly apparitions.The rectory was destroyed by fire in 1939 but photos of the ruins still contained odd images and unexplained elements.Harry Price got involved in the case after a newspaper carried a story about a phantom nun at the house.Price was asked by the paper to investigate and he was told about various types of phenomena that had been reported there.Local legend had it that a monastery had once been located on the site and that a 13th century monk and a beautiful young novice were killed.The monk was hanged and his future bride was bricked up alive within the walls of her convent.Until that point, the ghosts had been relatively peaceful,but all that changed in October 1930 when Bull's successor,Rev. Guy Smith was replaced by Reverend Lionel Foyster and his wife, Marianne.Their time in the house would see a marked increase in the paranormal activity.People were locked out of rooms, household items vanished,windows were broken,furniture was moved,odd sounds were heard and much more.However,the worst of the incidents seemed to involve Mrs.Foyster,as she was thrown from her bed at night,slapped by invisible hands,forced to dodge heavy objects which flew at her day and night and was once almost suffocated with a mattress.Soon after,there began to appear a series of scrawled massages on the walls of the house,written by an unknown hand,like "Marianne,please help get" or "Marianne light mass prayers".The Foysters moved out of the house and with the place now empty, Price leased the house for an extended one year investigation.He ran an advertising in the "Times" on May 25,1937,and after choosing more than 40 people, he printed the first handbook on how to conduct a paranormal investigation.A copy was given to each investigator and it explained what to do when investigating the house,along with what equipment they would need.During a sitting with a planchette,a spirit named Marie Lairre related that she had been a nun in France but had left her convent to marry Hanry Waldegrave,a member of a wealthy family whose manor home once stood on the site of Borley Rectory.There,her husband had strangled her and had buried her remains in the cellar.In March of 1938, another spirit promised that the rectory would burn down that night and that the proof of the nun's murder would be found in the ruins.Borley Rectory did not burn that night,but exactly 11 months later,a new owner,Captain Gregson,was unpacking books in the library when an oil lamp overturned and started a fire.Price took this opportunity to excavate in the cellar of the house and discovered a few fragile bones which turned out to be that of a young women.The building itself was finally demolished in 1944.However,its legacy still continues today and it retains its reputation as one of the world's most famous haunted houses.Price wrote about Borley Rectory in two books entitled "The Most Haunted House in England" and "The End of Borley Rectory".

Built in 1796 by General David Bradford,this stately old home is said to be haunted by several restless ghosts.Some researchers say that ten murders have been committed here,while others have only been able to confirm one murder.Long perceived as one of the most haunted house in America,the Myrtles attracts an endless stream of visitors each year and many of them come in search of ghosts.David Bradford was a successful attorney and businessman.In 1785 he married Elizabeth Porter and started a family.Bradford occasionally took in students who wanted to study the law.One of them,Clark Woodrooff,not only earned a law degree but he also married his teacher's daughter Sarah Matilda.Together they had three children-Cornelia Gale,James and Mary Octavia.In 1823, Sarah died after contacting yellow fever.In 1824,his only son James and Cornelia also died from the dreaded disease.There is no question that the most famous ghostly tale of the Myrtles is that of Chloe, the vengeful slave who murdered the wife and two daughters of Clark Woodruff in a fit of jealously and anger.According to the story,the troubles that led to the haunting began in 1817 when Sarah Matilda married Clark.Sarah had given birth to two daughters and was carrying a third child,when an event took place that still haunts the Myrtles today.While his wife was pregnant with their third child,he started an intimate relationship with one of his slaves.This particular girl,whose name was Chloe,realized that if she didn't gaved in to Clark's sexual demands,she could be sent to work in the fields,which was the most brutal of the slave's work.Eventually,Woodruff tired of Chloe and chose another girl.Chloe feared the worst,sure that she was going to be sent to the fields,and she began eavesdropping on the family's private conversations.One day,the Judge caught her and ordered that one of her ears be cut off.After that time,she always wore a green turban around her head to hide the ugly scar.Because of this,Chloe put a small amount of poison into a birthday cake that was made in honor of the Woodruff's oldest daughter.The two children and Sarah had slices of the poisoned cake but Clark didn't eat any of it.Before the end of the day all of them were very sick.In a matter of hours all three of them were dead.The other slaves dragged Chloe from her room and hanged her from a tree.Her body was later cut down, weighted with rocks and thrown into the river.Woodruff closed off the children's dining room where the party was held and never allowed it to be used again as long as he lived.To this day,the room where the children were poisoned has never again been used for dining.It is called the game room today.Since her death,the ghost of Chloe has been reported at the Myrtles and was even accidentally photographed by a past owner.The plantation still sells picture postcards today with the cloudy image of what is supposed to be Chloe standing between two of the buildings.She has often been seen in her green turban,wandering the place at night.But she is not the only ghost there.During the Civil War,a confederate soldier dragged himself through the front door where he died from his wounds.Legend says that he left an impression of his fallen body that could not be removed and that the spot even resisted cleaning.The Woodruff children have also been seen and heard on the property,laughing and playing.William Drew Winter,an attorney who lived at Myrtles was shot on the side porch of the house by a stranger.Winter staggered into the house and began to climb the stairs to the second floor but didn't make it.He collapsed and died on the 17th step.It is his last dying footsteps that can still be heard on the staircase to this day.Strange sounds also seem to abound at the Myrtless.The grand piano has been known to play by itself.One movie was a television mini-series remake of The Long Hot Summer.A portion of the show was shot at the Myrtles and it was not an experience that the cast and crew would soon forget.One day the crew moved the furniture in the game room and the dining room for filming and then left the room.When they returned,the furniture had been moved back to its original position.No one was inside of either room while the crew was absent!This happened several times,although they did manage to get the shots they needed.Even after leaving out the ridiculous stories of the poisonings and Winter's dramatic death on the staircase,the history of the Myrtles is still filed with more than enough trauma and tragedy to cause the place to become haunted.There were a number of deaths in the house and it's certainly possible that any of the deceased might have stayed behind after death.If ghosts stay behind in this world because of unfinished business,there are a number of candidates to be the restless ghosts of the plantation's stories.

Located in San Diego, California, the Whaley House has earned the title of "the most haunted hause in the U.S." The hause was built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley on land that was partially once a cemetery. The hauntings of the Whaley House have been reported on numerous television programs and been written up in countless publications and books since the house first opened as a museum in 1960. The earliest documented ghost is "Yankee Jim". James Robinson was convicted of attempted grand larceny in 1852 and hanged on a gallows off the back of a wagon on the site where the house now stands. Many visitors to the house have reported encountering Thomas Whaley himself. June Reading, former curator of the museum, said "We had a little girl perhaps 5 or 6 years old who waved to a man she said was standing in the parlor. We couldn't see him. But often children's sensitivity is greater than an adult's". The ghost of Anna Whaley has also been reported, usually in the downstairs rooms or in the garden. In 1964, her drifting spirit appeared to Regis Philbin. "All of a sudden I noticed something on the wall. There was something filmy white, it looked like an apparition of some kind, I got so excited I couldn't restrain myself! I flipped on the flashlight and nothing was there but a portrait of Anna Whaley, the long-dead mistress of the house." Other visitors have described seeing or sensing the presence of a woman in the courtroom. None of the Whaleys fit her description, but the house was rented out to numerous tenants over the years. Perhaps the mysterious woman in the courtroom was one of these. Author Traci Regula relates her experiences with the house: "Over the years, while dinning across the street at the Old Town Mexican Cafe, I became accustomed to noticing that the shutters of the second-story windows would sometimes open while we ate dinner, long after the house was closed for the day. On a recent visit, I could feel the energy in several spots in the house, particularly in the courtroom, where I also smelled the faint scent of a cigar." Another presence reported by visitors is that of a young girl, who is usually found in the dining room. Psychic Sybil Leek encountered the spirit during a visit in 1960s. "It was a long-haired girl. She was very quick, you know, in a long dress." Urban legend has it that this is the ghost of a playmate of the Whaley children who accidentally broke her neck on a law-hanging clothesline in the backyard, and whose name was either Annabel or Carrie Washburn. There are no historic records of any child dying this way at the Whaley House; nor is there record of any family named Washburn residing in San Diego at the time. Even animal spirits have been reported. A reporter saw a spotted dog, like a fox terrier, that ran down the hall. When they lived in the house, the Whaley's owned a terrier named Dolly Varden.