10 Scariest and Lesser Known Hauntings

By Jacob Shelton

While most people know of vampires, werewolves, zombies, and even the Slenderman, an entire subset of lesser-known ghosts exist throughout the world, all dedicated to haunting this mortal coil. These forgotten paranormal entities and rare ghosts may not appear all that often in pop culture, but they still wait in the shadows nonetheless. Some of these creatures are pets who returned as ghosts, or shadows that wait until you’re cozy in bed before they crawl out from the corners of your room. Another forgotten ghost is a mysterious fog that pours from a European forest at night. These may be ghosts you never knew existed, but not knowing about them will not protect you from their mischief and wrath.

These forgotten ghosts offer an insight into the history and local legends of where they come from, and are as terrifying as they are fascinating. Perhaps you even grew up with a few of them, in which case you understand how scary they can be. For those of you just learning about these unique and strange supernatural beings, make sure you take note of how best to avoid them.

Kuchisake-onna

Kuchisake-onna is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

This ghost, whose name translates loosely to “slit-mouthed woman,” first appeared during Japan’s Edo period (between 1603 and 1868) and managed to grip the consciousness of Japan to this day. According to storytellers from the Edo period, the Kuchisake-onna is a ghost that presents itself as a woman with a scarf covering her face. Modern versions of the Kuchisake-onna story depict the ghost wearing a red surgical mask rather than a scarf. She approaches victims and asks them, “Am I pretty?”

If you answer “no,” she kills you immediately; if you answer “yes,” she removes the scarf and repeats her question. If you answer “yes” again, the kuchisake-onna will follow you home and murder you there. To escape being murdered by this angry ghost, throw candy or money in her face and run away. One may also give her an open-ended or confusing answer, forcing her to think while you make your escape.

Photo: via Reddit

Onryō

Onryō is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

These vengeful spirits from Japan are some of the most powerful and terrifying paranormal creatures ever reported on earth. According to reports, the onryō are not only capable of assaulting people, they can also cause natural disasters. So what makes an onryō? These spirits all began life as women who were wronged by their lover, and who return only to make them miserable. If you’ve seen The Ring or The Grudge then you know exactly what the onryō looks like; typically they wear a white robe, with faces covered in pasty white kabuki-esque makeup, and they have jet black hair streaming into their faces. When an onryō is created, its effects go far beyond just those who incurred their initial wrath. Onryō spirits enjoy tormenting their subjects, often by killing off those around them before finally attacking their targets.

Shadow People

Shadow People is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

Of all the lesser-known ghosts, ghouls, and goblins, shadow people definitely grew in infamy as more people claim to come across these mysterious beings. Reports of shadow people increased since 2001, when Native American elder Thunder Strikes appeared on Coast To Coast AM to discuss shadow people. The discussions of shadow people on Coast to Coast provided a language for people to discuss these types of hauntings; multiple listeners submitted drawings to the show, and the topic of shadow people remained a mainstay ever since. In 2015 a study on sleep paralysis and shadow people stated a part of the brain pulls shadow people from the depths of one’s subconscious in order to “clear out confusion.” Regardless of where they come from, shadow people still terrify whomever they come across, filling witnesses with dread and on occasion even physically assaulting them.

La Llorona

La Llorona is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

Woe to whomever comes across La Llorona, “the weeping woman” while making their way through Mexico. Many different theories attempt to explain why this weeping ghost kidnaps and drowns its victims, but the main story tells of a young woman who grew jealous of the attention her husband was receiving from other women. Enraged, she ended up throwing her children in a river; when she realized what she’d done the woman committed suicide shortly there afterwards. Now, the woman haunts the darkness of Mexico as La Llorona, a weeping ghost who kidnaps children who stay out after dark, drowning them so she may make them her own.

 

Deogen

Deogen is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: F.d.W./flickr/CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0

What would you do if you walked by the forest and saw a fog with a mind of its own growing from the trees? The Deogen phenomenon, de ogen translating to “the eyes,” reportedly happened to  people who lived near the Sonian Forest in Belgium in the early ’30s. According to De Kinderen van Het Bezeten Bos, or “Children of the Haunted Forest,” the haunting began after local nuns discovered the charred remains of a group of murdered children.

People who witness Deogen claim to see a dense fog escape from the forest, often times appearing in colors like green or gray. In the midst of the fog, mysterious, child-like figures can be seen rushing through it. Drivers sometimes report the imprints of hands on the windows of their cars. It’s possible that the ghostly fog, and the book that brought it to life don’t exist, but do you really want to take that chance the next time you’re in Belgium?

The Bell Witch

The Bell Witch is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

Spooky tales from the South tell of ghosts, witches, and demons haunting their pitch black fields, but the story of the Bell Witch still sends shivers down the spine of anyone who knows of it. In the early 1800s a farmer named John Bell and his family fell victim to a mysterious creature who used everything in the paranormal handbook to completely ruin their lives. The haunting began, as many do, with a series of knocks happening around their home. From there the activity became more harrowing; blankets yanked from beds, hair pulled, and eventually an unseen force assaulted the Bell children. Then the entity began speaking to the family, revealing “herself” to be Kate Batts, a neighbor of the Bells who disagreed with them over the sale of slaves. After John Bell began suffering a mysterious illness, Batts allowed him no rest until he died; even then she made a point of causing a scene at his funeral too.

After that the Bell Witch began to make the rounds in Robertson County, Tennessee and haunt whomever it felt deserved it. According to locals, terrifying happenings are still going on in the area, so take a trip down to Adams, Tennessee if you dare.

Chindi

Chindi is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

In the lore of the Navajo people it’s believed the last breath a person takes contains everything bad about them and everything that kept them from becoming one with the universe. The final expulsion of negative energy creates a malicious spirit called a chindi. To ensure your dying self will not create a chindi, one must pass away in an open area like a field or a desert so the chindi may dissipate. For those without that luxury, your family must burn all of your belongings and never say your name again. Worst case scenario: if you or a loved one passes away inside a house, the house will be haunted forever. If you ever been drive through the desert and come across a dust devil, then you’ve encountered a chindi, and that’s about as close as you want to come to one unless you’re aching to be infected with a “ghost sickness.”

 

Old Book

Old Book is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

The weeping ghost known as “Old Book,” haunts the grounds of the Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville, Illinois. This mental institution operating from 1902 to 1973 plays host to a series of different hauntings, but none are as apparent as the cries of Old Book. Before his death, Old Book lived as a patient in the hospital who also worked as a grave digger; because no one knew his real name he was checked in under the pseudonym “A. Bookbinder.” Supposedly before being sent to the mental institution he worked in the world of bookbinding, and at one point became so overwhelmed with stress it rendered mute.

The story goes that Old Book attended every funeral and lean against an elm tree where he would cry, even if he hadn’t known the person in life. When he died in 1910 hundreds of people attended his funeral. As pallbearers prepared to lower his casket into his grave, it bounced up and into the grave, knocking the pallbearers down. The man in charge of the institution, Dr. Zeller, wrote in his journal after the casket fell everyone who hadn’t fled the harrowing sight could hear someone crying against an old elm tree. “Every man and woman stood transfixed, for there, just as had always been the case, stood Old Book, weeping and moaning with an earnestness that out-rivaled anything he had ever shown before. We could not be mistaken. It was the same Old Book.”

If you visit the grounds of the now abandoned hospital make sure you listen carefully, you may hear the cries of Old Book.

Kobolds

Kobolds is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

Unless you read up on Germanic mythology, you likely never hear of the Kobold outside of a game of Dungeons & Dragons. This creatures isn’t a ghost nor a demon, but instead something rarely ever seen in American paranormal mythology – a sprite. Dating all the way back to ancient Greece as creatures associated with Dionysus, these little European creatures appear almost anywhere such houses, mines, and even ships. But their “appearance” are difficult to confirm, as the sprites usually perform tasks under invisibility. While many Kobolds act as benevolent helpers, some possess more mischievous personalities, especially if you wrong them. One tale tells of a Kobold who tore a boy apart and proceeded to cook him all because the boy offended the sprit.. Scholars believe that these creatures first came about in the 13th century, and that they’re where the idea of a gobbling originated.

Animal Spirits

Animal Spirits is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list These Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities Are Far More Terrifying Than Your Average Ghost
Photo: YouTube

Despite the myriad theories of what ghosts are (multi-dimensional creatures, energy beings that weren’t able to cross over to the afterlife, etc.), general consensus agrees that ghosts are the spirits of something that was once alive. Thus, it makes sense both pets and feral animals run the risk of having their spirits trapped on the mortal coil. According to Dale Kaczmarek, president of the Ghost Research Society, the most widely seen animal spirits are “dogs, cats, and horses in that order respectively.” He theorizes only intelligent creatures possess the capability to return to life as a ghost, an explanation as to why there are no phantom mosquitos. And rather than returning because they suffered a traumatic death, Kaczmarek believes an animal may return as a spirit due to their owner’s intense grief.

“PLACE” MEMORIES AND PSYCHIC ABILITIES

When apparitions appear, it could be that the source of this phenomena is that they are actually “place” memories.  These apparitions can appear as “solid” (the same as any person.)  The theory in parapsychology used to explain apparitional “place” phenomena (which were imprinted upon the location years ago) is that one can respond to past images.

Scientifically speaking, the world we live in is governed by light and energy.  Memories can be stored in an environment.  A “place” memory is similar to a recording that exists long after a person has died.  Some people have a sensitivity to place memories and can pick up those traces.  Scientists have yet to understand how these energies are stored in the environment or why so few individuals can perceive them.  We all have these abilities, but in some people they are much further progressed.  One source could be fluctuations in magnetic fields that occur when rocks shift beneath the earth’s surface.  These fluctuations are known to affect the right temporal lobe of the brain and can cause hallucinations.  Studies have shown that a person’s perceptions can also be influenced by ions or electrically charged particles in the air.  Strong positive ions noted in the air have a negative effect on a person’s mood and perceptions.

To measure differences in a magnetic field an electromagnetometer is used.  Power lines, electrical appliances, and electrical wiring are known to cause magnetic fluctuations.  To a sensitive person these can cause hallucinations.  To have a negative effect on brain activity the magnetic field would have to fluctuate over time, thus must be read over time.  A reading of .01 Milligauss would be a low reading while a reading that reaches 40 Milliguass would be a high reading that could explain visual phenomena.  A dwelling can be wired with sensors and a computer can record the readings in order to understand what is occurring.  But doing so will not stop apparitions.  In fact, it can antagonize them and cause any havoc they are creating to worsen.

High reading results can be indicative of a haunting.  Geological research may reveal that a small earthquake can cause a fluctuation such as this in the earth’s magnetic field.  If there happens to be a seismic fault near a property, apparitions/hauntings may result.  Magnetic impulses generated by movements along the fault may stimulate a person’s brain, and positive ions can adversely affect a person’s perceptions.  (Also relevant is the fact that place memories are commonly known to be recorded in limestone and other certain, specific rock.)

Should physical harm such as scratches appear on the subject however, or shadow people or haunting noises (such as banging noises) or perceptions of evil that instill fear, indicate that there is something more at work and that it is definitely of a paranormal nature.   (Scratches that occur in a series of three are of an evil entity/spirit that is mocking the holy trinity.)  Enlisting the services of a psychic or physical medium (such as Amy Allan or one’s local paranormal society investigators) can be very helpful in tracing the origin of, and of ridding a haunting.  There can also be a genetic link.  Investigating the family of origin and to explore whether or not there were psychic abilities that can be traced back and that have been genetically “handed-down.”

Sometimes hauntings can actually be attracted to a particular family.  There are several different factors involved in this; location (see above information), one or more members who are mediums and do not realize this fact about themselves and who have psychic abilities.  In this case, a family could not just move/relocate and expect nothing more of a paranormal nature to happen.  Because of their abilities things will happen throughout their lives.  This is not to say that any family is plagued by demons.  Entities or spirits who come through that way tend to be people who were not great people in life.  They were angry in life and are still angry in death; some are serial killers, murderers, rapists and the like.  They can also manipulate how we perceive them – basically feeding off of our fear.  To decide that an angry, mean presence is demonic is to create more fearfulness and thus runs the risk of becoming a vicious cycle.

Many people turn to their faith (i.e. their pastor or church.)  While this can be comforting, it seldom rids a family or their home of spirits, evil or otherwise.  (Which the movie “The Exorcist” – which was based on a true story – bears out.)  It is far more important to understand exactly what it is that is happening to the individual:

  • An extremely active location/home,
  • What are the individual’s abilities (psychic, mediums)
  • What is the reason the deceased individuals are attracted to them, (i.e. mediums are a type of beacon for the dead; almost like a light in a pitch black room and they’re just attracted to that light)
  • The individual must accept their abilities.

I can bear this out in that while I am not a medium, I am psychic (i.e. I sometimes know things without there having been any explainable way for me to have known them.)  I believe that I inherited this ability from my maternal grandmother who was psychic.

~Jeanie Cooke-Fredlund, Paranormal Researcher

 

 

 

 

POLTERGEISTS vs EVIL SPIRITS

Poltergeists, Evil Spirits, and Demons—Do You Know the Difference?

Most people believe that an evil spirit and a demon are the same, but this is not true. Even more people don’t know what a poltergeist is. Please join me on this article as I shed some light on these differences.

First of all, I would like to state that if you find yourself being haunted by something, the best place to start is by getting in contact with a medium and asking them to come out to where the haunting is taking place. That way, you know exactly what you are dealing with. Mediums have the ability to communicate with spirits of the dead, so they will be able to determine what you have. After a medium has visited the area in question, they can tell you the origin of the problem and what steps you need to take to get rid it.

Mediums can be found online. When you do your search, make sure it is a medium, not a clairvoyant or a psychic. A psychic medium is a good choice as well, the important part being that the professional is a medium. In my research, I have learned that in most cases demons are not very common. The most common things I have found are poltergeists.

Differences between Poltergeists, Evil Spirits, and Demons

  Poltergeist Evil Spirit Demon
Origin A living human’s negative energy. A deceased human’s spirit. Hell.
Solution Impossible to get rid of. Minimize effects by enabling the person causing the poltergeist to express emotions in a healthy manner. Cleanse or bless your home. Exorcism.

Identifying Characteristics of Poltergeists

A poltergeist is a manifestation made up of an individual’s negative energy, thoughts, and emotions. The negative energy, thoughts, and emotions will most often cause items to levitate, move, fall off shelves or topple over, or break. Most of the time, the individual sending out these negative vibrations doesn’t even know he or she is causing things to happen.

What types of individuals are responsible for creating a poltergeist? Individuals known as “sensitives,” which means that they have a medium’s abilities. Surprisingly, 85% of these people have no idea that they have these abilities. When they keep their emotions bottled up and don’t know how to deal with their personal issues correctly, they subconsciously create a poltergeist. Poltergeists are very dangerous. Unfortunately, they are impossible to get rid of; at best, you can calm them down if you learn to dispense your emotions and thoughts properly. You can seek the help of a medium for ways to suppress these happenings.

A poltergeist can levitate furniture with negative energy.

Identifying Characteristics of Evil Spirits

Evil spirits are entities that at some point had a physical body. While living, an evil spirit was most likely a bad person and did not have much regard for other people.

In death, its mission is total torture and its main goal is to make you suffer in every way within its power. Evil spirits want to fill your life with fear. They can inflict pain upon a person and make a person very sick. They are the main culprits responsible for eerie feelings, such as the feeling of constantly being watched. Evil spirits are often accompanied by a spontaneous feeling of tremendous dread, anxiety, or despair. If you find yourself haunted by an evil spirit, it will be fairly easy to get rid of with a cleansing or blessing of your home. A medium can advise you of step-by-step instructions on how to perform these. Cleansing your home will ultimately force the spirit to cross over and go where it belongs.

An evil spirit can make you feel as though eyes are always watching you.

Identifying Characteristics of Demons

Unlike evil spirits, demons never had a physical body. They come straight from hell. They are master munipulators. Demons can present themselves however they choose in order to gain the trust of certain individuals.

Children are usually a choice target, due to the simple fact that they are are very open and innocent, which makes them susceptible. Individuals who have disabilities such as autism and down syndrome are also a top targets. Demons prey on the weak and vulnerable, making the elderly good targets as well.

Demons have one mission, and that is to seek and destroy. Unlike evil spirits, a demon can actually kill you; they are very powerful forces to be reckoned with. Certain structures can have a demonic attachment as well. Demons can possess an individual, which means they can completely take over the person and make them do anything they want.

If a person is possessed, the only way to resolve the issue is to get a priest to perform a ritual called an exorcism. An exorcism is a true battle of good vs. evil. The priest uses his knowledge of God and faith to pull the demon out of a person and send it straight back to hell where it belongs. In some cases, a medium may recommend seeking out a witch doctor and a spiritual healer. In structural attachment cases, the property would have to be exorcised as well. Structures are much harder to exorcise, and in most cases property exorcisms are unsuccessful, in which case, the person would have to move.

I hope and pray that nobody ever comes in contact with a demonic force. But if you should be so unfortunate, I hope that you can read this article and are a little more knowledgeable about what steps to take to protect yourself as well as your loved ones. Do not be submissive, but instead take action immediately and stay strong and steadfast. Thank you for joining me in this article.

Demons come straight from hell and require an exorcism to remove.

The Danger of Trying to Communicate with Your Poltergeist, Evil Spirit, or Demon with a Ouija Board

A medium’s role is to communicate with the dead. Unless you are sure that you have a demon, then that is the recommended route. It may be tempting to try to communicate yourself. The most well-known and accessible route is through a Ouija board. According the the Smithsonian, “even psychologists believe that [Ouija boards] may offer a link between the known and the unknown,” and the board was proven to work at the Patent Office before issued its patent. However, as this video shows, that can be a dangerous idea, and actually serve as an invitation for unwanted presences in your home.