Most Terrifying Ghosts 2023

In August 1966, Jean and Joe Pritchard moved into 30 East Drive in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. They brought their two kids, Phillip (15) and Diane (12), with them.

After moving into the house, the family started experiencing poltergeist-like activity.This activity seemed to target Phillip. Objects flew through the air. Green foam came from the faucets. A knife cut pictures on the wall.The poltergeist focused its energy on Phillip. Objects flew through the air. Green foam came from the faucets. A knife cut pictures on the wall.

The entity became violent with Diane. It threw her to the floor. It left marks on her neck. It even dragged her up the stairs in front of her whole family.

Research shows 30 East Drive was where a monk was hanged in the 16th century. This history explains the poltergeist activity and why the entity became the Black Monk of Pontefract.Mr. NobodyThe Pritchards called the poltergeist “Fred,” though. Attempts to exorcise failed. Fred slapped those trying to pray.

Research shows the 30 East Drive site hosted a monk's hanging in the 16th century. This explains the poltergeist activity and the Black Monk of Pontefract name.

A 2016 ghost hunter photo showed a face hidden by a black hood in a mirror. The mirror faced the staircase where Diane Pritchard was dragged nearly 50 years prior.

The story appeared in the 1981 book.Some versions claim a jealous lover disfigured her. Other versions say another woman envied Kuchisake-onna's beauty.Colin Wilson wrote the story. The 2012 horror film also featured it.When The Lights Went OutThe film's producer bought the Pritchards' old home. Now, it rents the place to amateur ghost hunters. Ouija boards are banned inside.

If Kuchisake-onna confronts someone, tell her she looks average. Throw money or hard candy at her to confuse her and escape.Kuchisake-onnaKuchisake-onna dates from the 17th to 19th centuries in Japan's Edo period. People think she was a beautiful woman. She was mutilated with her face sliced open from ear to ear.

Some versions state a jealous lover disfigured her. Others claim another woman envied Kuchisake-onna's beauty.

Kuchisake-onna is an onryo or vengeful spirit. She appears to people hiding her disfigured face behind a fan or, now, a surgical mask.

She asks if the person is beautiful. If the person says yes, she reveals her face and asks if they still think she is pretty. If the person says no or tries to flee, Kuchisake-onna kills them. If they say yes, she uses scissors or a knife to cut their face to match hers. The legend also claims Kuchisake-onna follows the person home and murders them.

The story ofKuchisake-onnaSightings of her appeared in the newspaper in 1979, gripping Japan again. The public took the story seriously. Adults walked children home from school in large groups to stop Kuchisake-onna from taking them.

If Kuchisake-onna confronts someone, they can escape by telling her they look average or throwing money or hard candy at her to confuse her.

The Dalton Gang, led by the Dalton brothers, robbed banks and trains in the 1800s. The gang supposedly traveled through Meridian, MS, one day and left behind a member named Stuckey.

Stuckey haunts a bridge; witnesses say he was a serial killer.Stuckey opened an inn near the Chunky River. He allegedly lured guests in, waited for them to sleep, and then killed them. He reportedly buried the bodies near a bridge crossing the Chunky River. Police focused on Stuckey after missing person reports grew.

Punishment for the more than 20 murders Stuckey allegedly committed, they hung him from the bridge. After five days of hanging, they dropped his body into the water.

Witnesses say Stuckey haunts a bridge.They have seen Stuckey's ghost hanging from the bridge. Some also hear him splash down into the water. Others claim Stuckey's ghost pushed them off the bridge, trying to get one last victim.

The Lemp Mansion, known as one of the most haunted places in the United States,William Lemp Jr. is the peeping tom ghost of the Lemp Mansion.The Lemp Mansion in St. Louis houses many ghosts, including Lemp family members. Glasses have moved at the bar over the years. Staff often see the face of a young boy staring from an upstairs window. A basement area is called the “Gates of Hell” because of intense paranormal activity. A tunnel once ran between the house and the Lemp family's brewery there.

A downstairs bathroom is one haunted spot. William Lemp Jr. used it, inheriting his father's company but losing much of the family money. Lemp shot himself in the house on December 29, 1922. His spirit appears lurking in the bathroom. Women report seeing Lemp's spirit stare at them from over the stall door, matching his bad behavior.

Gold Brook Bridge in Stowe, VT, has existed since the 1800s. A death there over 100 years later defines it for locals.

Local lore says Emily, a poor family's daughter, loved a rich man's son. Against his family's wishes, they decided to elope and meet on Gold Brook Bridge. When Emily arrived, her beau was gone. When he did not show up, she ended her life in theEmily scratches people who cross the bridge's rafters..

In another version, Emily scratches people who cross her bridge.Emily scratches people who cross her bridge in another version.Of the story, Emily searches for her fiancé after he misses the altar. As she moves onto the bridge, she misses her turn and crashes the carriage, killing both herself and her horse.

In both versions of the legend, Emily now haunts the bridge locals name after her. Witnesses report her screaming on the covered bridge. She scratches any vehicles, animals, or people who cross her. Some people photograph odd things at the bridge, like orbs and blurry figures. Others find their electronics fail there; batteries drain without cause.

The ghost of Ballygally is haunted by Lady Shaw's restless spirit at the Ballygally Castle Hotel.The castle sits on Northern Ireland's eastern coast. John Shaw of Greenock built it in 1625. Five-foot-thick walls let the castle survive sieges during the 1641 uprising. The Shaw family held the castle for centuries. It later changed hands several times and became a hotel.

Locals believe Ballygally's ghost is almost as old as the castle itself. Lore states that...Lady Isobel ShawLady Isobel gave birth to a daughter, which angered her husband, Lord James Shaw, who wanted a son. Lord James allegedly locked Lady Isobel in a tower, where the sounds of her crying daughter drove her mad.

Lady Isobel either jumped from the tower to die or Lord James pushed her through the tower window.

Since then, residents and guests report seeing Lady Isobel's restless spirit. One family saw their baby cry and scream uncontrollably upon entering the tower, as if scared by something unseen.

Besides Lady Isobel's ghost, people hear the rustling skirts of a 19th-century woman named Madame Nixon in the castle stairwells. Others report a green mist hangs over Ballygally Castle for no clear reason.

The spirit haunting the men's bathroom at the Frodsham Street public toilets in Chester is called one of the...most disturbing ghostsThe ghost is said to be a man who ended his life near a bathroom in the 1950s or 1960s in England. People call him "Tom," but his real identity remains unknown. When Tom appears, witnesses report he bleeds and holds a straight-edge razor. Witnesses say his eyes retain life despite his pale skin.

The Frodsham Street public toilets underwent remodeling in 2011. Instead of ending Tom's spirit, the changes seem to have made his restless spirit more active.

One of the oldest poltergeist tales comes from Bingen, Germany, in the 9th century—about 858 CE. The story first appeared in the historical book called the...Annales FuldensesThis book claimed a farmer thought his children were playing pranks until the activity in his house and farm took a sinister turn.

The farmer reported the supposed pranks began with knocking in the walls day and night. Soon, rocks rained on his house, crops burned, and animals died for no apparent reason.

The farmer found Carolingian monks for help. They performed an exorcism, but it did not stop the poltergeist.the poltergeistThe farmer thought the poltergeist was a demon sent to torment him.

The public later learned the farmer molested his children and other village children. Some think the farmer's evil eye caused the issue, or perhaps a child's puberty triggered the poltergeist activity.

Other story versions claim the man simply became an outcast due to the bad luck that followed him.

Old Applewhite Bridge, outside San Antonio, TX, allegedly holds the Donkey Lady. People disagree on her start date—the 1800s or the 1950s—making one origin story hard to pin down.

The Donkey Lady either suffered disfigurement from a fire her husband started, or she somehowshe merged with a donkeyshe merged with a donkey before drowning. Sometimes the donkey allegedly caused trouble, like attacking a town figure's son.

After the Donkey Lady died, people started hearing braying in the Elm Creek woods near the Old Applewhite Bridge.The Old Applewhite Bridge.Victims claiming to see the Donkey Lady reported claw marks, broken windows, and blood on their cars from her attacks on trespassers.

The Drummer of Tedworth marks the first recorded poltergeist activity in England. The story starts in 1661 when magistrate John Mompesson found a busker namedWilliam Drury..

Mompesson apparently disliked Drury's drumming, so he had the drum taken and sent home. Soon after, the Mompesson family began hearing drumming and banging inside and outside nightly. The Mompesson children then started levitating above their beds, with scratching sounds heard underneath.

Mompesson later reported the poltergeist:

Chairs, tables, trunks, and all movable items would walk up and down the rooms. Sometimes they would tumble down the stairs, making a noise like a bowl, other times like a chain pulling them.

Bringing a priest to the home did not stop the poltergeist's terror. Many people saw the paranormal activity, including Joseph Glanville, now considered the first paranormal investigator.

William Drury eventually admitted causing the activity at the Mompesson home and was deported to the American colonies. Modern scholars think the Mompessons' children caused the activity, but the true cause of the poltergeist remains unknown.