The Most Famous Ghosts In The United States

The story of the Greenbrier Ghost begins on January 23, 1897, with the discovery of a young woman’s body in her Greenbrier County, WV, home.

Andy Jones, the 11-year-old boy who helped with chores around the home, discovered Elva Zona Heaster’s body at the bottom of the staircase in the log house she shared with her husband, Edward S. Shue. Shue and Heaster had only been married three months when this tragedy struck.

Initially, authorities claimed Heaster died from a heart attack, and Shue requested the coroner not further examine the body. Shue then dressed Heaster in clothes that covered her entirely, including her neck, around which he tied a scarf.

Soon after, Heaster’s mother, Mary Jane, claimed her daughter’s ghost came to her and told her Shue had murdered her. Mary Jane managed to convince John A. Preston, a prosecutor, to look into the case. Heaster’s body was exhumed, and medical examiners discovered her windpipe was crushed and her neck was broken.

Mary Jane insisted her daughter was been murdered after discovering Shue’s second wife (Heaster was his third) died under mysterious circumstances.

Shue was arrested, and a trial was held. A jury found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison. The trial was considered one of a kind, and today, a highway marker in Greenbrier reads, “Only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer.”

Pawleys Island, SC, is one of the oldest summer resort towns on the East Coast. Since it's located along the coast, Pawleys Island is especially vulnerable to storms, and legend says the Grey Man has appeared prior to every major hurricane that has struck the area for the last 200 years.

People who have seen the Grey Man claim he appeared dressed in all grey clothing and warned them to leave the island.

The Grey Man's origin is thought to be tied to a tragedy that struck a young couple: A young woman was waiting for her fiancé to return home to her, and while the young man made it back to the island, he decided to take a shortcut. Unbeknownst to him, the shortcut would lead him through a patch of quicksand, which quickly sucked in both him and his horse. His manservant was riding behind him and witnessed the incident but was unable to save him.

The young woman was heartbroken. She claimed that one day, she was walking along the beach when a figure who looked like her fiancé appeared and told her to leave the island at once because she was in danger. The young woman and her family heeded the warning and went to their inland home.

A storm hit the coast that night, destroying most of the homes but sparing the one belonging to the woman and her family. Since then, locals believe the Grey Man continues to warn others of impending danger.

Chicago's history is rich with dark occurrences, so it’s no wonder the city has plenty of ghost stories to go around. One of these is that of a ghost known as Resurrection Mary.

Mary’s ghost is believed to belong to a young woman who was killed in a hit-and-run accident while she was walking home from a party in the 1920s. Countless people have seen her ghost along Archer Avenue in Willow Springs, an area about 30 minutes from downtown Chicago.

Mary fits the hitchhiker/woman in white archetype: Legend claims that at night, she walks along the road in her white gown and asks strangers for rides. Those who pick her up say she disappears into thin air before reaching her requested destination.

Some also claim they’ve seen Mary’s ghost in nightclubs on the Southside of Chicago and that they’ve even shared a dance with her, only noting something was off by her extremely cold hands. This has led people to describe her as having “cold hands but a warm heart.”

Her name, Resurrection Mary, comes from the Resurrection Cemetery located close to the site where many believe she was killed. It’s also the site where she’s allegedly buried - and where she frequently asks drivers to drop her off.

The Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is located near the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve roughly 25 miles outside of Chicago. The cemetery is the oldest in the Cook County area, and according to many, it's also the most haunted.

Visitors have reported encounters with a variety of specters, including a woman in a white dress, blue and red orbs of light, a man and his horse, and a disappearing farmhouse.

The woman in white, in particular, has appeared in many visitors' photographs, all of whom insist no one was around when they took the picture. Many theories persist regarding who she may be, but two of the most popular include a woman buried far away (but whose baby was buried at Bachelor's), and the spirit of a hit-and-run victim who died close to the cemetery and was buried there.

The cemetery was in use from 1834 to 1989, and today it's open for visitors from sunrise to sunset. Many believe the vandalism the cemetery has seen over the years has caused further unrest to the spirits there, making it a very active place of paranormal activity.

The RMS Queen Mary has been permanently docked in the harbor of Long Beach, CA, since 1967. The ship has the distinction of being one of the greatest cruise ships built - and also one of the most haunted. Paranormal investigation teams from all over the world have visited the ship to investigate.

Officially, there are approximately 49 deaths that occurred aboard the ship. Reports of scary occurrences have been come from all areas of the ship, from the engine room to the swimming pool area. Many of the deaths were very gruesome.

Two of the most famous include the deaths of crew member John Pedder and Senior 2nd Officer W.E. Stark. Stark, who died after he accidentally drank acid he thought was gin. Pedder, an 18-year-old fireman, was crushed by an iron mechanical door on July 10, 1966.

Legend claims the ship was conducting an emergency drill in which the watertight doors closed automatically, and unfortunately, Pedder didn't make it through in time. Since then, guests have reported seeing the apparition of a young man in coveralls near the door where Pedder lost his life.

Odd sounds, lights, and cold spots are some of the many paranormal phenomena that occur on a daily basis aboard the ship. Visitors can join specific haunted tours aimed at visiting the most spiritually active spots aboard the ship.

The Bell Witch haunting has spurred people's imaginations for centuries and has led to many movies and documentaries. The story behind the US's most famous haunting starts with a man named John Bell and his family moving to a farm in Robertson County, TN, in 1804.

For the first 13 years on the farm, the Bell family lived peacefully. That all changed in the summer of 1817, however, when the family began seeing strange creatures on their land and hearing odd noises in their home. The sounds reportedly escalated from bumps and knocks to actual voices that spoke directly to the family members. The entity would start conversations about religion and even predict the future.

John and his youngest daughter, Betsy, were especially tormented by the entity, who came to be known as the Bell Witch. John would often hear the witch threaten him directly, while Betsy was beaten into unconsciousness. John died in 1820, and many attributed his death to the Bell Witch, who never stopped tormenting him.

The entity allegedly came and went for decades, often letting the family know it would be gone for several years but would eventually return. To this day, the property is a hotbed of paranormal activity, with many people experiencing odd things on the land.

Photography also shows odd lights, mist, and even entities that weren't visible to the human eye.