A Ghost a Day

by Maureen Wood

  And since ghosts can't be prosecuted, the vandalism case was closed. However, the police have not abandoned the people of Lilieci. The services of a local priest have been obtained and an exorcism will be performed on the houses afflicted by the spectral being, with hopes that the attacks will cease and desist.

  JANUARY 19, 1875 THE FINAL DECISION

  Shanghai, China

  Sir Edmund Hornby was chief judge of the Supreme Consular of China and Japan. Each of the judge's decisions was extremely crucial to the citizens of Shanghai. He would render them the night before and then pass them off to a local reporter for morning publication.

  On one such night, he wrote his decision down, placed it in an envelope, and before retiring early, gave it to his butler. Later that night, a knocking on the bedroom door startled the judge. It was the reporter. Angry for the disturbance, he informed the reporter that the butler had his decision. The reporter said he was unable to find the butler and pressed the judge for his verdict. Furious, Sir Edmund told him to go away, but the reporter persisted. Afraid his wife would awaken, the judge gave in. As Sir Edmund spoke, the reporter scribbled shorthand. Finished, the reporter left, promising not to bother him again. It was 1:30 A.M.

  The next morning the judge was informed that the reporter had died. Shocked, he inquired of his death. It seems the reporter had been working at his home when his wife asked him to come to bed. He replied that he was just waiting for the judge's decision. At 1:30 A.M., she found him dead on the floor, notebook in hand. The coroner placed the time of death at 1:00 A.M., a half hour before he had visited the judge. Yet, the judge's decision was in his notebook. At least the reporter was true to his word — he never bothered the judge again.

  JANUARY 20, 1921 THE GLENWOOD AMBUSH

  Kilkishen, Ireland

  The Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) began with an unauthorized ambush of two RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) by IRA (Irish Republican Army) volunteers under the command of Daniel Breen. This set the tone of the war, which primarily became a guerilla conflict with ambushes and reprisals.

  In January 1921, thirty-seven members of the IRA under the command of Michael Brennan ambushed an RIC patrol in the Glenwood area just outside of the town of Kilkishen. The members of the IRA lay in wait for the patrol truck to enter the killing zone and then opened fired with rifles, shotguns, and revolvers. It was over in two minutes. The IRA fire was deadly. None of the RIC was even able to get a shot off. All but two of the patrol were either killed or mortally wounded. The IRA volunteers captured eight rifles, seven pistols, and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. This was a day they would never forget. And it seems the ghosts of their victims won't let them either. For years after the ambush, inhabitants of the area have been haunted by the horrific screams of the men who died that day.

  JANUARY 21, 2010 CHILDREN OF ST. MARK'S CEMETERY

  Picton, Australia

  Saint Mark's Cemetery in Picton is reported to be haunted by two children who died nearly sixty years apart. David Shaw, the son of a preacher, died from polio in 1946. And Blanche Moon died in 1886 when she was accidentally crushed to death while playing on a pile of railroad ties. Renee English was on a local ghost tour when something extraordinary happened. She was a skeptic, who had just gone on the tour for a lark. While teasing the guide and asking when the ghosts were going to come out, she snapped a picture with her camera of the empty cemetery.

  That night when she uploaded the photos, she couldn't believe her eyes. There in the photo were two children, a little girl and a little boy. Astonished, she called the local newspaper, Courier Mail, who published the photograph. When the reporter asked Renee to comment on the picture, she said, “I wasn't a believer in ghosts, but now I'm intrigued.” She went on to comment, “I'm never watching a scary movie again.”

  TERRIFYING TIDBIT

  Many paranormal experts believe most children are susceptible to seeing spirits prior to the age of seven.

  JANUARY 22, 1906 THE SS VALENCIA

  Beale Point, Vancouver Island

  When the SS Valencia set out on that day in 1906 it wasn't on its normal run. The ship had been assigned the route from San Francisco to Seattle because the SS City of Puebla was laid up for repairs. But nevertheless, the Valencia was a sturdy ship with a fine captain, so few had any fears.

  Soon the weather turned foul, with high winds and low visibility. The Valencia was forced to navigate by dead reckoning (using a compass and determining the distance traveled). Just before midnight, after passing the entrance of the Strait of Jaun de Fuca, the ship struck a rock ledge and ruptured it's hull. Dead reckoning had become deadly.

  For thirty-six long grueling hours the crew and passengers of the Valencia fought for their lives. Lifeboats capsized; men were swept from her decks, thrashed on the rocks, or swept out to sea. In a moment of irony, a giant wave destroyed the last remnants of the vessel just as rescuers had reached the ship. There were only thirty-seven survivors.

  TERRIFYING TIDBIT

  The four popular reasons a ghost stays on this earthly plane: unaware of its death; unfinished business; desire to say goodbye; and last but not least, guidance to a loved one.

  Five months later, a fisherman found a lifeboat from the Valencia and eight skeletons. Twenty-seven years later, another lifeboat in almost pristine condition was found floating in the sea. Over the next few years, many a sailor reported seeing the spectral image of the Valencia near the reef. It seems the spirits of the Valencia, those who lost their lives on that tragic day, were reaching out from the other side, refusing to be forgotten.

  JANUARY 23, 1897 WITNESS FROM THE GRAVE

  Greenbrier, West Virginia

  Eva Zona Heaster married a drifter named Erasmus (Edward) Stribbling Trout Shue.

  Mere months after their wedding, under mysterious circumstances, Zona was found dead. When the coroner, Dr. George W. Knapp arrived, Shue appeared so distraught by his wife's death that the doctor dismissed the possibility of foul play, listing it as “everlasting faint.”

  Zona's mother never trusted Shue, and upon hearing of her daughter's demise, she knew immediately that Zona had been murdered and Edward had done it. With no proof, she prayed for answers, and apparently, her words were heard. Over a span of four nights, Zona's ghost came calling. The spirit relayed all to her mother: the beatings, the brutality, and finally her murder. During one visitation, the ghost spun her head around indicating her neck had been broken.

  Horrified, Zona's mother sought out the local prosecutor and told him of her daughter's visit. The prosecutor, in turn, interviewed the coroner, who admitted that the body of Zona had not been examined fully. The case was reopened, and Zona's body was exhumed. During the autopsy it was discovered that her neck had indeed been broken and her windpipe crushed. Bruising in the shape of fingers was now evident and Shue was arrested. He was tried in a court of law where the defense attempted to make Zona's mother appear crazy. Much to his dismay, the jury took the ghost's side and Edward was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

  JANUARY 24, 2005 SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON

  Cape Royds, Antarctica

  Ernest Shackleton was one of Britain's most famous Antarctic explorers. From 1901 to his death in 1922 he participated and led several expeditions to the Antarctic, earning him knighthood from King Edward VII. On the Nimrod Expedition in 1907 (named after the vessel that took him there) he brought a special prefabricated hut with him. It was erected at Cape Royds and served as his base of operations. On his last expedition to the Antarctic, Shackleton died of a heart attack. Despite his death, the one-hundred-year-old hut still remains, frozen in time.

  On January 24, 2005, famed climber of Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, was visiting the hut as part of an effort to preserve it for the Antarctic Heritage Trust. When he opened the door to the hut, he had an eerie encounter.

  Hillary said of this encounter, “I'm not a person who really sees things very much but when I opened the door I distinctly saw
Shackleton walking toward me and welcoming me. It's the only time I can ever remember something like that, so I have a very warm feeling indeed for Shackleton and for his hut and I really believe Shackleton's hut must be preserved.”

  If this really was the ghost of Ernest Shackleton, it appears that his fascination with Antarctica is truly eternal.

  JANUARY 25, 1998 THE MACKENZIE POLTERGEIST

  Edinburgh, Scotland

  Greyfriar Cemetery is said to be the most haunted, if not the most dangerous, location in all of Scotland. But who is buried in Greyfriar that could be creating such a stir? George MacKenzie, the man who persecuted and hanged hundreds of Presbyterian Covenanters. During the 1600s it was the Covenanters' mission to keep Scotland a Presbyterian nation. Unfortunately for them, King Charles II, had a different plan. Members of the political group were imprisoned, tried, hanged and beheaded. Judge MacKenzie earned the name “Bloody MacKenzie” for his persecution and execution of over 18,000 Covenanters. His reign of terror only ended when he died on May 8, 1691. Ironically he was laid to rest in Greyfriars Kirkyard near the Covenanters prison. There he lay in peace until 1998, when a local man desecrated his grave.

  Since that time, hundreds of visitors and tourists have felt the wrath of the MacKenzie poltergeist. Some have been bitten, scratched, or hit; others have blacked out. In 2000, a failed exorcism was performed by Colin Grant. Coincidently, Grant died several weeks later of a heart attack. In 2004, the cemetery was desecrated again by two youths who decapitated a corpse and used its head as a hand puppet. The cemetery was closed for a while by authorities but reopened shortly after. Ghost tours still make their way through the gates of the cemetery and into the prison. Often they are greeted with vicious attacks. Not surprisingly, the majority of the attacks take place at the black tomb, where the remains of MacKenzie reside.

  JANUARY 26, 1923 THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

  Cape of Good Hope

  Perhaps the most famous ghost ship of all is the Flying Dutchman. As the story goes, in 1641, a Dutch captain by the name of Hendrik van der Decken was attempting to round the Cape of Good Hope when a brutal storm arose. Gales howled. Thunderous waves pounded the ship. The crew pleaded for him to turn back. Ignoring their cries, he pressed on. Gripped with fear, the crew mutinied. Hendrik murdered the leader of the mutineers, tossing him overboard. Just then, a dark silhouette of a man appeared and rebuked him.

  Van der Decken drew his pistol and fired at the spectral visitor to no avail. The phantom raised his head, glared at the captain, then spoke, “For your deeds, you are condemned to sail the oceans for eternity with a crew of soulless men, bringing death to all who spy your spectral ship…. You will never know a moment's peace.”

  Through the centuries, sailors have reported many encounters with the Dutchman. Some ships have found their provisions spoiled after meeting the ghost ship, and the more unfortunate have been lured to their destruction on uncharted reefs. The best-documented account was that of the corvette HMS Bacchante in 1881. While cruising off the coast of Cape Town, a strange red light appeared, and with it the Dutchman. Thirteen seamen aboard the Bacchante including Prince George, the future King of England, reported seeing the Dutchman. According to his diary, the lookout that spotted the Dutchman fell from the mast and died. Since then the Dutchman has been spotted several more times across the seven seas. It seems Captain van der Decken of the Flying Dutchman is doomed to sail the seas for eternity.

  JANUARY 27, 1918 LILLIAN COLLINS HOSPITAL

  Turlock, California

  This remodeled 1918 structure, now known as the Sierra building, is the old Lillian Collins Hospital. Since it only contained forty rooms, its usefulness as a hospital was soon outlived and it was abandoned, but not forgotten. Especially for the spirits that remain.

  The building was purchased in 1994 and the first floor was completely renovated for its new tenants, Coldwell Banker Endsley & Associates. However, it appears that the upper levels have remained full of spirits. Apparently the second floor was so spooky that local charities used the space to run yearly haunted house tours. During these fundraising events strange experiences began to occur. Items used for the haunted house started to go missing. There were reports of cold breezes and unpleasant sensations being felt. Visual encounters occurred as well — sightings of dark, shadowy masses floating throughout the building, causing those who encounter them to feel ill, a feeling that persists until they return to the first floor.

  The owner has even had motion detectors go off for no apparent reason. Curious for answers, he called in a paranormal investigation team, who found energy spikes, orbs, and light anomalies, as well as various electronic voice phenomena (EVPs). In one such example they reported capturing what sounded like a spirit singing a French lullaby. Was this the spirit of the hospital's maternity nurse still tending to some spectral child or patients who passed in childbirth? Perhaps further investigation will reveal the building's secrets.

  TERRIFYING TIDBIT

  EVP (electronic voice phenomenon), also known as voices of the dead, is the voice of a spirit manifested in the white noise of a recorder.

  JANUARY 28, 1772 THE WITCH OF ROSE HALL MANSION

  Montego Bay, Jamaica

  Rose Hall mansion was once considered among the finest of homes in the West Indian Islands. This Georgian home, built in the late 1700s, now houses a restaurant where haunted tours are conducted. But how and why did the paranormal happenings begin? Possibly the answer lies in the legend of Annie Palmer.

  It is said that Annie, the witch of Rose Hall, learned her voodoo practices as a child growing up in Haiti. It's also believed that she disposed of three husbands and various slaves. Because of her voracious sexual appetite, she quickly tired of them. One husband was done away with by poison, another stabbing, and the third by pouring boiling oil into his ears. Her third husband, Robert Rutherford, was foolish enough to have an affair with Millicent, the maid. But then again, it was this affair that led to Annie's own downfall.

  Millicent's mother, Takoo, was known to be a fierce voodoo practitioner. When Annie learned of her husband's infidelity, she cursed Millicent with her black magic. Suddenly the maid became deathly ill. Apparently Takoo and a group of slaves, unwilling to allow Annie to continue on her path of evil, suffocated Annie in her sleep.

  Is it the “witch of Rose Hall” lingering within the walls of the mansion? Or, perhaps the soul of a spirit that was unfortunate enough to cross paths with Annie Palmer. If you're really curious, and you decide to make a visit and see for yourself, you may not be disappointed. It's said that many a tourist captures the ghostly face on film.

  JANUARY 29, 1829 NIDDRY STREET VAULTS

  Edinburgh, Scotland

  When William Hare's boarder fell behind on the rent, he asked William Burke to collect it from him. Arriving at his room, Burke found the tenant dead of natural causes. Furious that the tenant died owing money, the two men came up with a macabre solution. They would sell the body to Edinburgh's Medical College. The college was desperate for cadavers, and the only legitimate supply was the bodies of executed criminals. Because of a recent reduction in executions, universities began offering decent money for bodies, with few questions asked. It wasn't long before gangs began raiding local cemeteries and snatching bodies from graves.

  Burke and Hare, pleased with their return on the body of the tenant, decided that collecting fresh bodies might be more profitable than collecting rent. Rather than waiting for someone to die, the two men began a string of fourteen murders that lasted from November 1827 to October 1828. Eventually their macabre business was discovered, and they were arrested. Hare escaped the gallows, but Burke was hanged. Ironically his body was given to the university for dissection. Today, you can find Burke's skeleton, death mask, and a variety of items made from his skin on display at the university's museum. However, his ghost prefers to hang around the Niddry Street Vaults.

  Guests on the local ghost tours have reported extreme cold spots, diz
ziness, and the sighting of a spirit thought to be the ghost of William Burke. Why is he there? The vaults are where he was known to store his victims. Perhaps he is looking for a misplaced corpse. Or is he still searching for a “fresh kill”?

  TERRIFYING TIDBIT

  The term graveyard shift dates back to the sixteenth century. Occasionally, persons were mistakenly buried alive, so bells were attached to strings in the coffins. Workers would make the rounds through the cemeteries several times a night listening for the ringing of the undead.

  JANUARY 30, 2009 HOSPITAL SPECTER

  Derby, England

  It appears that ghostly sightings at Derby City General hospital in England have its employees on edge. There have been repeated reports of a shadowy figure clad in a long black cape seen darting in and out of the hospital rooms, down the hallways, and always disappearing into the wall. However, the spirit apparently has a penchant for the dead as well as the living, since his presence is most often seen hovering about the morgue.

  What could be the source of this paranormal phenomenon? It has been said that during construction of the hospital, ignoring recommendations for an alternate location, developers built a portion of the building over ancient Britain's old Roman Road. It is thought that perhaps the ghostly specter is the wandering spirit of a Roman soldier. The manager of the hospital, concerned for the well-being of her staff, placed a call to the bishop requesting assistance. In response, a paranormal advisor and exorcist from a local diocese promised to perform a blessing. It is hoped that this ceremonial cleansing will put the minds of the staff to rest, and hopefully the spirit as well.