Real-life ghost stories: 17 terrifying hauntings, exorcisms and unexplained deaths

Reddit users were left unnerved when a young man named Nathan revealed that he was receiving Facebook messages from his girlfriend, Emily in 2014.So why was he so terrified?Because Emily had died in a car crash two years earlier.She began by recycling and resending old messages, which Nathan dismissed as a bug - but then she began tagging herself in his photos.And then, all of a sudden, Emily used her first original word.

On 13th November 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shot and killed six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue, a large house situated in a suburban neighbourhood in Amityville.He was arrested, found guilty, and jailed… And his house was put on the market.Which meant that, in December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the Amityville home.For the next 28 days, the family were terrorised by unseen forces.Kathy had vivid nightmares about the murders and discovered the order in which they occurred and the rooms where they took place. The Lutz children also began sleeping on their stomachs, in the same way that the dead bodies in the DeFeo murders had been found.Things grew steadily worse, with mysterious injuries being inflicted upon the females of the household, strange footprints appearing on the ground, and the discovery of a secret room which did not appear on the blueprints of the house.Painted completely red, the room was dubbed The Red Room - and the family's dog was terrified of it.After deciding that something was wrong with their house, George and Kathy Lutz carried out a blessing on 8th January 1976.According to reports, George held a silver crucifix while they both recited the Lord's Prayer and, while in the living room, George allegedly heard a chorus of voices asking them "Will you stop?!"They attempted a second blessing later that same month - and fled the next day, describing the events that occurred as "too frightening" to ever tell.

Did you know that the hit horror movie, The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, was based on a true story?While there was never an Emily Rose, there was an Anneliese Michel.According to numerous reports, the young girl was afflicted by intense shaking and loss of control over her body.Confused by her symptoms, doctors diagnosed her with grand mal seizures… but her behaviour grew worse. She began attacking family members and drinking her own urine.Most tellingly of all, she seemed very afraid of religious objects.Her concerned family eventually convinced priests, and they went on to perform multiple exorcisms.Anneliese died in 1976 of pneumonia, before the last exorcism (there'd been 40 by that time) could be performed.

This unnerving elevator surveillance tape, that records a young woman's strange behaviour in an elevator, has been claimed by many to show proof of ghosts.Why? Because it features the last few moments of Elisa Lam's life.In the footage, Elisa's repeated attempts at pressing the lift buttons prove to be ineffective; it refuses to move, and the doors open and close apparently at random.She can also be seen moving in and out of the lift, 'hiding' from someone outside it and chatting and gesturing with some seemingly 'invisible entity'.Right after the events of the video, Elisa apparently gained access to the rooftop of the hotel, climbed to its water tank and, somehow, ended up drowning in it.The rooftop was alarmed, the tank was 8-foot-high, and she managed to close the heavy lid after herself, despite the fact workers had to cut it open with tools to remove her body.Many paranormal investigators have claimed that this - along with the frightening footage - proves that Elisa's death was caused by supernatural forces.

In the late 1940s, priests of the Roman Catholic Church performed a series of exorcisms on a young German boy.Roland Doe (so referred to in a bid to protect his identity) allegedly broke his restraints, pulled a spring out of his mattress, and used it to attack one of the priests during an exorcism which took place at Georgetown University Hospital.According to reports, strange words appeared all over the boy's body, his bed was alleged to shake during the encounter, and he spoke in a frightening, guttural voice.After breaking the priest's nose, Roland succumbed to the exorcism and went on to lead "a rather ordinary life".

Hitchhiking is a very dangerous mode of transportation - both for the driver and for the hitchhiker.But we suppose you have nothing to lose if you're already dead.On a stretch of road near Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois, an attractive blond-haired, blue-eyed young woman - all dressed in white - is often spotted with her thumb in the air, trying to wave down a car for a ride.As she's so very beautiful, plenty of men do pull over and let her hop in.Each time, she asks to be taken to the cemetery.And, each time, when they arrive at her final destination, she vanishes into thin air.

According to the HRP website, 'Skeletor' is a ghostly figure that was caught on the palace's CCTV cameras in 2003.They explain: "On three consecutive days, palace security staff were called to close one particular fire door near the palace's Introductory Exhibition."On the first day, CCTV footage showed the doors flying wide open with great force but there was nothing to reveal why."On the second day, the same thing happened but this time a ghostly-looking figure in period dress suddenly appeared on the screen and closed the doors."They add: "The doors opened again on the third day but there was no further sign of the ghostly doorkeeper."

Cannock Chase in Staffordshire is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of three children who were murdered by Raymond Leslie Morris in the 1960s.People have reported seeing the children running through the woodland at night.Some have reported that the children sometimes giggle - while other claim that they've heard them begging for help.Two things always remain the same, however; the children are clothed in white - and they have frightening, staring black eyes.Ghostbuster Tom Buckmaster, who captured the footage, said: "It looks like a child dressed in white – you can see the legs moving as it walks."I didn't even know I had captured the ghost until I went over the footage and thought, 'What the hell was that?'"

In 1981, Arne Cheyenne Johnson murdered his landlord, Alan Bono, in Connecticut.But was Johnson really to blame for his actions - or had he been possessed?In the first ever case to cite demonic possession as a defence for murder, Johnson's lawyers argued that his actions stemmed from a pattern of erratic behaviour which began when Johnson was just a child.Johnson's family had even consulted with "demonologists" Ed and Lorraine Warren, saying that the child had been taunted and harassed by spirits and demons for most of his life.Ultimately, the judge ruled that demonic possession was NOT a valid defence against first-degree murder.However, despite being found guilty, Johnson only served five years of his ten-to-twenty year sentence.

Yes, we've all seen the film - but, once again, the horror movie was based on real life events.Gulp.In the 1980s, the family of Carmen Snedeker reported some very strange incidents in their Connecticut home during the 1980s.It soon transpired that their home had formerly been used as a funeral parlour… and that the spirits were deeply unhappy that the living had moved in.Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in to examine the home, which they professed was infested with demons.Speaking about the horror film that came later, Lorraine said the actual case was "much, much scarier than any movie could ever be."

According to legend, Chloe was a slave in the early 19th century - but she was fiercely independent and keen to gain her freedom.As a result, she started listening at doors and windows, in a bid to garner the information she needed to break free.But, one day, she was found at the door - and the foreman cut off her ear.In revenge, she baked a poisonous cake for plantation owner Judge Clarke Woodruff… But his wife and two young daughters ate it instead.Chloe was hanged from a tree on the plantation.But her soul is still not at rest.A famous photo of taken of the plantation in 1992 - and, in it, 'Chloe' can be seen listening at the door.Staff say that she appears frequently between two trees outside the home, and she is credited with many mysterious goings-on inside, from misplaced earrings to moving furniture.

t's the happiest place on Earth, apparently - so it makes sense that ghosts would want to stick around and beat the queues at Disneyland when they reach the afterlife.This creepy footage shows a spooky figure wandering through the park late at night, looking oddly translucent on the CCTV cameras.And, yes, before you ask, several people have died in the popular amusement park - and nearly all in gruesome circumstances.

The Mothman Prophecies was based on the sightings of an enormous, moth-like creature said to be seen in Point Pleasant, West Virginia between 1966 and 1967.But what did the creature want?Well, many townsfolk have reported that they saw the creature hovering over the town's iconic Silver Bridge.These apparitions continued, becoming more and more frequent, until the bridge unexpectedly collapsed during rush hour traffic.Forty-six people were killed.The Mothman was never seen again after the accident…But did the creature cause that terrible tragedy - or was it simply an omen of things to come?

Classic horror film The Entity is absolutely chilling.In the 1982 flick, a young mother is raped and tortured by unseen, otherworldly beings - but it's even more terrifying when you know it was based on a true story.Yup, we're serious.In 1974, a woman named Doris Bither claimed she was assaulted by invisible entities.Despite the fact that many people slammed the young woman as a liar, two paranormal investigators, Barry Taff and Kerry Gaynor, decided to investigate…And what they found was very disturbing.From floating balls of light floating about to whispered voices, there's no way we would EVER set foot in that house.Doris' son Brian Harris told GhostTheory.com in 2009 that the story was completely true.He said: "What do you want to know? It was all true. Living in that home was hell. We all experienced some form of attack. There was the pushing, biting and scratching being done to us. There were about 4 entities in the home, and they made themselves known by appearing all the time. I think it took a lot of energy for them to do that.""When they would make themselves known, it was always like a fog. Like a human…but not quite. Like a silhouette. Just not clear. Translucent and foggy.""The whole rape thing was real. My room was right next door to my mother's. I would hear the attacks happening. Things being thrown, her screaming. Then she would come out of the bedroom and have all these bruises. On her legs, her inner thighs. Just like in the movie."There were times were we would see it happen in front of us. It was like if a man was standing in front of my mother and would start to beat her. Imagine a woman being beaten. You could see her being picked up and thrown around. Sounds, slaps, but there was no-one there to actually do it."

In August 1977, single mum Peggy Hodgson called police to her council home in Enfield.When they arrived, she explained that two of her four children had told her that their furniture was moving all by itself.More terrifying, they'd heard knocking sounds coming from inside the walls.A sceptical police officer looked around the house - and he admitted that he saw a chair slide on the floor.The strange events continued to happen, with demonic voices, loud noises, thrown toys, overturned chairs and LEVITATING children reported by many paranormal investigators.American paranormal investigator Ed Warren later said that he'd observed one of the children, Janet, as she lay "sound asleep, levitating in midair".He concluded that the children were the subject of demonic possession.Last year, The Conjuring 2 was released – based on the events of the real-life Enfield Poltergeist.

Ever wondered where the Blair Witch Project producers came up with the idea for their film?Look this way…In the 1800s, the Bell family moved into a house in a small town in Tennessee.And, after just a few weeks, they began experiencing some very spooky activity…It began with knocking and scratching on the walls of their house. But, slowly, the activity began to grow more violent.The youngest Bell daughter - Betsy - was constantly slapped or pinched out of nowhere, strange bruises would appear, and other family members felt themselves being kicked or their hair being pulled.Eventually, John Bell fell into a sickness and eventually died next to a black bottle that contained some type of poison.Could the Bell Witch really have been the spirit of a slave that Bell had killed, as paranormal investigators believed?And, if so, why did the spirit show so much hatred towards Betsy Bell?We guess it will remain a mystery...

Rumoured to be one of the most haunted places in the UK, the Jamaica Inn has a dark and bloody history.According to legend, a stranger stood at the bar enjoying a tankard of ale one night.He was called outside and quickly went out to see what had happened, leaving the half-finished ale.That was the last time he was seen alive.The next morning his corpse was found on the bleak moor, but the manner of his death and the identity of his assailant still remain a mystery.Nowadays, people have reported hearing footsteps tramping along the passage to the bar - and, in the 1900s, a silent stranger was often spotted sitting on the wall outside the Inn.No matter how much people tried to engage him in conversation, the stranger refused to make eye contact or speak - and would often vanish without a trace.Could it be that the dead man's spirit returned?And, if so, is he simply back to finish his drink?