Most Haunted Conference House, Staten Island, New York

Posted by webmasterPLG as 12: Season Twelve USA

Captain Christopher Billopp built this grand stone manor overlooking the Arthur Kill and Perth Amboy, New Jersey, around 1680, and his grandson, Colonel Christopher Billopp, owned the house when it was taken over by Admiral Lord Richard Howe, head of the British Forces in the Americas.

The museum is named in memory of the 1776 conference convened at the house in an attempt to end the Revolutionary War.

The Conference House is owned by the City of New York, is operated by the Conference House Association, and is a member of the Historic House Trust.

The investigation team held a large group séance in the kitchen basement of the house and the results were amazing.

First Broadcast: 3rd March 2009

Most Haunted Southern Mansion, New Jersey

Posted by webmasterPLG as 12: Season Twelve USA

An industrialist by the name of George Allen constructed this structure as a summer getaway for him and his family in the year of 1863. He has an avid interest in the architecture that was common in the south, and used that interest to construct this home. While the home has experienced many architectural changes throughout history, one thing remains the same: there are a large number of spirits said to reside in and around the structure. Here, you will learn about those hauntings.

The Spirits of Southern Mansion

 There are said to be many spirits of Southern Mansion. It is believed that the renovations that have occurred at the mansion have brought these spirits into a life of their own. In the following list, you will be introduced to the various spirits that are said to occur at the haunted Southern Mansion in New Jersey :

One of the rooms in the structure has resulted in many to experience what seem to be paranormal experiences. It is believed that a highly emotional death occurred in this particular room, though it is not known whether the death was related to a murder, a suicide, a sickness, or a natural death. Individuals that enter this room claim that they feel the emotions and tension at extremely high levels. Varying degrees of anxiety and tension are said to occur in this particular location. Many often claim that they feel a very “heavy” and uncomfortable feeling, though there have not been a physical appearance of an entity; the “feeling” is there that one exists.

There was a resident of the Southern Mansion by the name of Ester Mercur. It is believed that this lovely lady still resides in the home, despite the fact that she has passed away. Prior to the most recent renovations, she was seen throughout the structure and appeared quite saddened by the overall state of the building. However, those that saw her before the renovations have claimed that her appearance has drastically changed since the renovations were completed. Ester was the niece of the original owner, George Allen. Today, when her apparition is seen, she is happy and appears to be quite content that her home looks as wonderful as it did when she was in it for the last time.

Many who work to prepare meals in the kitchen area often claim that a female apparition intently watches as they prepare the meals, cook the dishes, and clean the kitchen. It often appears as if the elderly woman is quite pleased with the kitchen staff and enjoys trying to help out in the best way possible. It is believed that this is also the spirit of Ester.

When many have visited the home, they have been quite surprised to hear the laughing and jovial voice of a happy female spirit bouncing off the walls of the inside of the structure. In some cases, they not only hear the laughter of the spirit but they see a beautiful woman dancing merrily in various rooms. This is believed to be George Allen’s niece as well! Voices and whispers have been heard throughout the haunted Southern Mansion. It is believed that several spirits of the past are still in the structure and spend time engaging in conversations. Many paranormal researchers have validated the presence of these whispers and voices through the use of EVP, or “Electronic Voice Phenomenon”.

Source: HauntedPlacesToGo

 First Broadcast: 10th February 2009

Most Haunted Fort Delaware

Posted by webmasterPLG as 12: Season Twelve USA

Fort Delaware is a harbor defense facility built in 1859 on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war. The fort and the island currently belong to the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation and encompasses a living history museum, located in Fort Delaware State Park.

History
In 1794, the French military engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant was surveying for defensive sites. He identified an island that he called Pip Ash “as an ideal site for the defense of the prize of American commerce and culture”.

The island that L’Enfant called Pip Ash was locally known as Pea Patch island. This island was mostly unaffected by humanity with one exception. Dr. Henry Gale, a New Jersey resident, used Pea Patch as a private hunting ground. Gale was offered $30,000 for the island by the US military, but he refused. The military was determined to get the island, so they appealed to the Delaware state legislature, which seized the island from Dr. Gale on May 27, 1813.
Construction of the fort and the Civil War

Construction of a fort on Pea Patch island began sometime before Dec 8, 1817. Chief Engineer Joseph Gardner Swift mentions a fort on the “Pea Patch in Delaware river” among forts that are progressing nicely. [2]. A fire destroyed much of the work in 1831. Major Richard Delafield asked for $10,000 to tear down the remaining structure the following year. The structure was torn down in 1833.

Major Delafield desired to “erect a marvel of military architecture on Pea Patch.” The present structure was erected between 1848 and 1859, becoming the largest fort in the United States at the time.

During the Civil War, beginning in 1862, the island became a prison for captured Confederates and local Southern sympathizers. They were housed not in the fort itself but in wooden barracks that soon covered much of the island. Most of the Confederates captured at Gettysburg were imprisoned there. By August 1863, there were 12,500 prisoners on the island; by war’s end, it had held some 40,000 men. The conditions were predictably notorious, and about 2,900 prisoners died at Fort Delaware.

The fort was also used to organize and muster troops from the first state. Ahl’s Heavy Artillery Company was organized there for garrison duty and served there during its entire service.
The Fort Today
Delaware acquired the Fort from the United States government in 1947 after the Pentagon declared it a “surplus site”.[3][dead link] Today, Fort Delaware State Park encompasses all of Pea Patch Island, including the Fort. Transportation to the island is provided via ferry. Once at the island, visitors are brought to the fort on a jitney. Tours and special programs are available to visitors. For example, visitors may see one of the fort’s cannons fired. There are workers who interpret the roles of people who were at the Fort during the American Civil War.

Beach erosion affecting Pea Patch Island was recognized as a potential threat to the Fort in 1999. The United States Army Corps of Engineers erected a 3,500 foot long seawall during the Winter of 2005-2006 which now protects the historical Fort site and a migratory bird rookery, considered to be the largest such habitat north of Florida.

Fort Delaware has its share of ghost stories and has recently been under investigation for paranormal activity. The Sci-Fi Channel investigation series Ghost Hunters conducted two cases there including a live televised investigation on Halloween in 2008.

Source: Wikipedia
 
First Broadcast: 27th January 2009

Most Haunted Ledge Light House, New London, Connecticut

Posted by webmasterPLG as 12: Season Twelve USA

This one-of-a-kind building was one of the last lighthouses built in New England, and it represents a rare case of an early 20th century offshore lighthouse that is not of cast-iron construction. The stately red brick building with its mansard roof and granite detailing makes a striking picture standing off by itself near the entrance to Connecticut’s New London Harbor, at the extreme eastern end of Long Island Sound.

The lighthouse was at first called Southwest Ledge Light, but the name was changed to avoid confusion with the lighthouse of the same name in New Haven Harbor.

Coast Guard crews lived at the lighthouse from 1939 until its automation in 1987. The crew worked in three man shifts, spending up to three weeks at the lighthouse followed by six days on shore. Somebody once explained why there were three men at the lighthouse at one time — if two men had a fight, there would be a third to break it up. The Coast Guardsmen spent much of their time fishing and working out in the small gym in the lighthouse.

Probably the best-known part of this station’s history and lore is the lighthouse’s infamous ghost, “Ernie.” It’s been claimed that in the 1920s or ’30s, a keeper learned that his wife had run off with the captain of the Block Island ferry. Distraught, the keeper jumped — or fell — from the roof of the lighthouse to his death, the story goes. Some versions of this story say that Ernie’s real name may have been John Randolf or Randolph. If there’s any truth behind the legend, it’s elusive.
 
First Broadcast: 6th January 2009

Most Haunted Sleepy Hollow

Posted by webmasterPLG as 12: Season Twelve USA

Sleepy Hollow is a village in the Town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about 30 miles north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line. To the south of Sleepy Hollow is the village of Tarrytown, and to the north and east are unincorporated parts of Mount Pleasant.

The village is the location of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where Washington Irving, the writer of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is buried, along with Andrew Carnegie, Walter P. Chrysler, Brooke Astor, Elizabeth Arden, Thomas J. Watson of IBM and many others. Philipsburg Manor and the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow are located in the village as well.

First Broadcast: 23rd December 2008

Most Haunted West Virginia State Penitentiary

Posted by webmasterPLG as 12: Season Twelve USA

The West Virginia State Penitentiary is a retired, Gothic style prison located in Moundsville, West Virginia. It operated from 1876 to 1995. Currently, the site is maintained as a tourist attraction and training facility.

In 1863, West Virginia seceded from Virginia at the height of the American Civil War. Consequently, the new state had a shortage of various public institutions, including prisons. From 1863 to 1866, Governor Arthur I. Boreman lobied the West Virginia Legislature for a state penitentiary but was repeatedly denied.[2] The Legislature at first tried to direct him to send the prisoners to other institutions out of the state, and then they directed him to use existing county jails, which turned out to be inadequate.[2] After nine inmates escaped in 1865, the local press took up the cause, and the Legislature took action.On 7 February 1866, the state legislature approved the purchase of land in Moundsville for the purpose of constructing a state prison.Ten acres were purchased just outside of the then city limits of Moundsville for $3000. Moundsville proved an attractive site, as it is approximately twelve miles south of Wheeling, West Virginia, which at that time was the state capital.

The state built a temporary wooden prison nearby that summer. This gave prison officials time to assess what prison design should be used. Northern Illinois Penitentiary at Joliet proved to be an attractive design. Its Gothic Revival architecture “exhibit[ed], as much as possible, great strength and convey[ed] to the mind a cheerless blank indicative of the misery which awaits the unhappy being who enters within its walls.”

The first building constructed on the site was the North Wagon Gate. It was made with hand-cut sandstone, which was quarried from a local site. The state used prison labor during the construction process, and work continued on this first phase until 1876.[1] When completed, the total cost was of $363,061. In addition to the North Wagon Gate, there was now north and south cellblock areas (both measuring 300 ft. by 52 ft. South Hall had 224 cells (7 ft. by 4 ft.), and North Hall had a kitchen, dining area, hospital, and chapel. A 4-story tower connecting the two was the administration building (measuring 75 ft. by 75 ft. It included space for female inmates and personal living quarters for the warden and his family. The facility officially opened in this year, and it had a prison population of 251 male inmates, including some who had helped construct the very prison that now held them.After this phase, work began on prison workshops and other secondary facilities.
Operation
In addition to construction, the inmates had other jobs to do in support of the prison. In the early 1900s some industries within the prison walls included a carpentry shop, a paint shop, a wagon shop, a stone yard, a brickyard, a blacksmith, a tailor, a bakery, and a hospital. At the same time, revenue from the prison farm and inmate labor helped the prison financially. It was virtually self-sufficient. A prison coal mine located a mile away opened in 1921. This mine helped serve some of the prison’s energy needs and saved the state an estimated $14,000 a year. Some inmates were allowed to stay at the mine’s camp under the supervision of a mine foreman, who was not a prison employee.

Conditions at the prison during the turn of the 20th century were good, according to a warden’s report, which stated that, “both the quantity and the quality of all the purchases of material, food and clothing have been very gradually, but steadily, improved, while the discipline has become more nearly perfect and the exaction of labor less stringent.” Education was a priority for the inmates during this time. They regularly attended class. Construction on a school and library was completed in 1900 to help reform and educate inmates.

However, the conditions at the prison worsened through the years, as the facility would be ranked on the United States Department of Justice’s Top Ten Most Violent Correctional Facilities list.[3] One of the more infamous locations in the prison, with instances of gambling, fighting, raping, and murder, was a recreation room known as “The Sugar Shack”.

A notable inmate in the early 20th Century was Eugene V. Debs, who served time here from April 13 to June 14, 1919 (at which time he was transferred to an Atlanta prison) for violating the Espionage Act of 1917.

In 1929, the state decided to double the size of the penitentiary because overcrowding was a problem. The 5 x 7-foot (2.1 m) cells were too small to hold three prisoners at a time, but until the expansion there was no other option. Two prisoners would sleep in the bunks with the third sleeping on a mattress on the floor.[3] The state utilized prison labor once again and completed this phase of construction in 1959. The construction had been delayed by a steel shortage during World War II.

In total, thirty-six homicides took place in the prison.[3] One of the more notable ones is the butchering of R.D. Wall, inmate number 44670. On 8 October 1929, after “snitching” on his fellow inmates, he was attacked by three prisoners with dull shivs while heading to the boiler room.

In 1983, Charles Manson requested to be transferred to this prison to be nearer to his family. His request was denied.

January 1, 1986 was not only the beginning of a new year, but also the date of one of the most famous riots in recent history. The West Virginia Penitentiary was then undergoing many changes and problems. Security had become extremely loose in all areas. Since it was a “cons” prison, most of the locks on the cells had been picked and inmates roamed the halls freely. Bad plumbing and insects caused rapid spreading of various diseases. The prison was now holding more than 2,000 men and crowding became an issue once again. Another major contribution to the riot’s cause was the fact that it was a holiday. Many of the guards had called off work, which fueled the prisoners to conduct their plan on this specific day.

At around 5:30 pm, twenty inmates, known as a group called the Avengers, stormed the mess hall as Captain Glassock was on duty. “Within seconds, he (Captain Glassock), five other guards, and a food service worker were tackled and slammed to the floor. Inmates put knives to their throats and handcuffed them with their own handcuffs.”[5] Even though several hostages were taken throughout the day, none of them were seriously injured. However, over the course of the two-day upheaval, three inmates were slaughtered for an assortment of reasons. “The inmates who initiated the riot were not prepared to take charge of it. Danny Lehman, the Avengers’ president, was quickly agreed upon as best suited for the task of negotiating with authorities and presenting the demands to the media.”[5] Yet, Lehman was not a part of the twenty men who began the riot. Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr. was sent to the penitentiary to converse with the inmates. This meeting set up a new list of rules and standards on which the prison would build. National and local news covered the story, as well as the inmates meeting with Governor Moore.
Executions
From 1899 to 1959, ninety-four men were executed. Hanging was the method of execution until 1949 with eighty-five men meeting that fate. The public could attend hangings until 19 June 1931. On that date, Frank Hyer was executed for murdering his wife. However, when the trap door beneath him was opened and his full weight was put onto the noose, he was instantly decapitated. Following this event, attendance at hangings was by invitation only. The last man to face execution by hanging, Bud Peterson from Logan County, lies in the prison’s cemetery, as his family refused to claim his body. Beginning in 1951, electrocution became the means of execution. Ironically, the electric chair used by the prison was originally built by an inmate there, Paul Glenn.[Nine men died in the chair until the state outlawed execution entirely in 1965. The original chair is on display in the facility and is a part of the official tour.

Source : Wikipedia
 
First Broadcast : 9th December 2008

Most Haunted Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Kentucky

Posted by webmasterPLG as 12: Season Twelve USA

The land that is today known as Waverly Hill was purchased by Major Thomas H. Hays in 1883 as the Hays Family home. Since the new home was now so far away from any existing schools, Mr. Hays decided to open a local school for his daughters to attend. He started a one-room schoolhouse on Pages Lane, and hired Lizzie Lee Harris as the teacher. Miss Harris loved her tiny school nestled against the hillside, and remembered her fondness for Walter Scott’s Waverley novels, so she named her little school house “Waverly School”. Major Hays liked the peaceful-sounding name, so he named his property “Waverly Hill” and the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital kept the name when they bought the land and opened the sanatorium.[6] It is not known exactly when the spelling changed to exclude the second “e” and became Waverly Hills. However the spelling fluctuated between both spellings many times over the years.
Original sanatorium
In the early 20th century, Jefferson County was severely stricken with an outbreak of tuberculosis. There were many tuberculosis cases in Louisville at the time because of all the swampland, which was perfect for the tuberculosis bacteria. To try to contain the disease, a two-story wooden sanatorium was opened which consisted of an administrative/main building and two open air pavilions, each housing 20 patients, for the treatment of “early cases”.
“In the early part of 1911, the city of Louisville began to make preparations to build a new Louisville City Hospital, and the hospital commissioners decided in their plans that there would be no provision made in the new City Hospital for the admission of pulmonary tuberculosis, and the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital was given $25,000 to erect a hospital for the care of advanced cases of pulmonary tuberculosis”. [11]

On 22 Aug 1911, all tuberculosis patients from the City Hospital were relocated to temporary quarters in tents on the grounds of Waverly Hills pending the completion of a hospital for advanced cases.

In December 1912 a hospital for advanced cases opened for the treatment of another 50 patients. And in 1916 a children’s pavilion added another 40 beds[12] making the known “capacity” around 130 patients. This report also mentions that the goal was to add a new building each year to continually grow so there may have even been more beds available than specifically listed. It is a common misconception that the hospital made for 40 was over packed with well over 100 patients, but this is just a miscalculation due to lack of information, with only one major exception which is mentioned above.
Sanatorium expansions
Due to constant need for repairs on the wooden structures, need for a more durable structure, as well as need for more beds so that people wouldn’t be turned away due to lack of space,[14] construction of a five-story building that could hold more than 400 patients began in March 1924. The new building opened on October 17, 1926, but after the introduction of streptomycin in 1943, the number of tuberculosis cases gradually lowered, until there was no longer need for such a large hospital. The remaining patients were sent to Hazelwood Sanatorium, which was also located in Louisville, and Waverly Hills closed in June 1961.
Woodhaven Medical Services
The building was reopened in 1962 as Woodhaven Geriatrics Hospital; Woodhaven was closed in 1981 allegedly due to patient abuse.
The BodyChute
The BodyChute is a misconception, a tunnel used for many things named by passing tourists. Patients of TB were not thrown down the “chute” when dead. It is about 500 feet (150 m) long. The workers used it to get across the hill it was on, and to pass patients through on gerders. There is an air hole every hundred feet to let in light and fresh air.

Source: Wikipedia

First Broadcast : 25th November 2008

Most Haunted The Stanley Hotel, Colorado

Posted by webmasterPLG as 12: Season Twelve USA

The Stanley Hotel is a 138-room Georgian hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Located within sight of the Rocky Mountain National Park, the Stanley offers panoramic views of the Rockies. It was built in 1909 by Freelan O. Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame and catered to the rich and famous. The hotel and its surrounding lands are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Stanley has hosted many famous guests, including the Titanic survivor Margaret Brown, John Philip Sousa, Theodore Roosevelt, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and a variety of Hollywood personalities. The Stanley Hotel also hosted Stephen King, inspiring him to write The Shining. Contrary to information sometimes published King was living in Boulder at the time and did not actually write the novel at the hotel. Parts of the mini-series version of The Shining were filmed there, although it was not used for Stanley Kubrick’s cinematic version.

The Stanley Hotel shows the uncut R-rated version of Kubrick’s The Shining on a continuous loop on Channel 42 on guest room televisions

History
In 1903, F. O. Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile, came to Estes Park for his health. Stanley suffered from tuberculosis and came West at his doctor’s suggestion. The doctor arranged for the couple to stay in a cabin in Estes Park for the summer. Immediately, they fell in love with the area and Stanley’s health began to dramatically improve.[1] Impressed by the beauty of the valley and grateful for the improvement in his health, he decided to invest his money and his future there. In 1909, he opened the elegant Stanley Hotel, a classic hostelry exemplifying the golden age of touring.

Hotel Lobby
‎After spending the summer in the cabin, Flora wanted a home like the one she had left in Maine. Their home was built about one-half mile west of where the Stanley Hotel would later be built. Today the house is a private residence.

Stanley built the hotel on land that he purchased from the English Earl Lord Dunraven. Dunraven came to the area in 1872 while on a hunting trip. He built a hunting lodge, cabin, and hotel for his guests and illegally homesteaded up to 15,000 acres (61 km2) in an unsuccessful attempt to create a private hunting preserve. Dunraven, was finally run out of the area after trying to swindle folks out of their land and money.

Vintage Stanley Steamer in hotel lobbyIn 1907, construction started on the Stanley Hotel. Wood and rock were obtained from the nearby mountains and the hotel was built in the Georgian architectural style, which experienced a revival in the early Twentieth century. Equipped with running water, electricity, and telephones, the only amenity the hotel lacked was heat, as the hotel was designed as a summer resort.
Popular culture
The neoclassical hotel was the inspiration for the fictional Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s novel The Shining. While he and his wife were staying at the Stanley, King conceived the basic idea for the novel. The 1997 television miniseries version of The Shining was filmed at the Stanley, and it has been used as a location site for other films as well, most notably as the “Hotel Danbury” in Dumb and Dumber.[4]

In May 2006, investigators with The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) investigated the hotel for the SciFi Channel program Ghost Hunters. TAPS returned to the hotel on October 31st, 2006 for a live, six hour follow-up investigation.

Source: wikipedia 

First Broadcast : 11th November 2008