25 Scary Paranormal Events Shared by Reliable Witnesses

Posted by , Updated on December 14, 2023

A lot of people have a fascination with the occult.  Maybe it’s about life and death, or maybe it’s the rush that comes from being afraid, or maybe it’s the confirmation that something else might be out there… something more.  Of course, it’s all fun and games until something more is threatening to make you something a lot less.  From ghosts, to demons, to aliens, fascination quickly changes to fear when facing the unknown. It’s one thing to hear a legend or read a story that might be true (but probably isn’t), but it’s a completely different thing when somebody you trust and put your faith in tells you that the things you always thought were unreal are very, very real, and very, very close to home.  All of a sudden you’re hearing noises, looking over your shoulder, avoiding that dark basement, and turning on a night light.  But in a lot of these cases, that’s not going to help you.  Here are 25 Frightening Paranormal Events Witnessed By People You’d Trust.

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25

Lincoln’s Levitating Piano

sepia-pianoSource: http://www.prairieghosts.com/, Image: Martinak15 via https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinaphotography/6415488805

Nettie Colburn Maynard was said to be Mary Todd Lincoln’s closest spiritualist friend, and during a séance, when compelled “by the spirits” to play the Grand Piano, it began to rise off the floor.  Both President Lincoln and Colonel Simon Kase are said to have climbed on the piano, causing it to jump and shake violently until they climbed off.  It is recorded that Lincoln would later refer to the levitation as proof of an “invisible power.”

24

Mary Lincoln’s Ghostly Photo

mumler-lincoln-photoSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/, Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mumler_(Lincoln).jpg

After her husband died, Mary Todd Lincoln met with the “spiritual photographer,” William H. Mumler for a photograph. Surprisingly, long before Photoshop was invented, Mumler did indeed produce a photograph that appears to show the ghost of President Lincoln behind her.  That photo is now displayed in the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

23

The New Mexico Police Ghost

espanola-ghost-sightingSource: www.huffingtonpost.com, Image: News Leaks TV via (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw6iPBb5cqo)

Officer Karl Romero of the Espanola, New Mexico Police was on guard duty in 2014 when he saw something in the heavily secured entryway to the station on camera.  Initially, he thought it might be an insect, but closer inspection does indeed reveal a blurry, white humanoid figure.  The story made local news, and detectives at the station claim that isn’t the first time paranormal activity has occurred.

You can find a link to the video here.

22

Bobby Jindal – Former Governor of Louisiana/Failed Exorcist

bobby_jindal_official_109th_congressional_photoSource: https://www.washingtonpost.com, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Jindal

Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana up to 2016, wrote that his crush, “Susan” was diagnosed with cancer. Shortly after this, she began having visions and smelling of sulfur.  One day, when they had all gathered as friends to pray for her, Susan began emitting “strange, guttural sounds” and fell to the floor.  As Jindal put his hand on her to help with the prayer, a strange voice came from her and berated him for not being able to reveal his true feelings for her.  Eventually, she came around and was seemingly cured.

21

Salt Lake’s Capital Theater Haunting

capitol-theaterSource: http://archive.sltrib.com/, Image: Paul Sableman via https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasa/4958533855

Dave Murphy, a Salt Lake County Sherriff’s Deputy, was moonlighting as overnight security in Salt Lake City’s historic Capitol Theater when he claims he saw “dark shadows moving through walls.” Once he was on patrol when he began hearing doors violently slamming, causing the windows to vibrate.  He then looked up to see a woman dressed in clothing from the early 1900’s, who walked right past him while he was in the control room. At one point the black shadows actually attacked him.

20

Lincoln and Naked Churchill

winston_churchillSource: http://io9.gizmodo.com/, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill_as_writer#/media/File:Winston_Churchill_As_Prime_Minister_1940-1945_MH26392.jpg

During World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited the White House several times. He was staying in the Lincoln bedroom (where else!?) and had just finished a bath. As he strolled into the bedroom, naked and smoking his customary cigar, he found President Lincoln leaning on the fireplace.  According to Churchill, he addressed the spirit amiably, making eye contact and saying, “Good evening, Mr. President. You seem to have me at a disadvantage.” In response, Lincoln’s ghost smiled and then faded away.

19

The Voice of the Mother

flooded-carSource: http://www.nydailynews.com/, Image: Chris Waits via https://www.flickr.com/photos/chriswaits/6126989839

In 2015, a 25-year old woman and her 18-month-old daughter were heading home when her car hit a concrete barrier and ended up upside-down in a river.  When officers spotted an arm hanging out of the wreckage, they immediately jumped into the river to see if there were any survivors.  On their way to the car all four men heard a woman’s voice calling out to them for help. They pushed through the river to the car, only to find that the mother was dead. However, once the car was turned over, they immediately spotted and removed the 18-month-old who was suspended from the water by a safety belt. Miraculously, the little girl survived. They still cannot rationally say where the voice came from though.

18

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert…via John Brown

queen_victoria-and-john-brownSource: http://www.thedailybeast.com/, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(servant)#/media/File:Queen_Victoria,_photographed_by_George_Washington_Wilson_(1863).jpg

Two years after Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria was contacted by a 13-year-old clairvoyant boy, who claimed to have spoken to Albert and later produced a letter from him. The letter apparently used details and a pet name that nobody would’ve known. Eventually, a young John Brown took his place. He took up residence at the queen’s request, and acted as the intermediary between Queen Victoria and the ghost of Albert for thirty years. Whenever she had an important decision to make, she consulted Albert through Brown.

17

Air Force Meets UFO

raf_woodbridge_east_gateSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendlesham_Forest_incident#/media/File:RAF_Woodbridge_East_Gate.jpg

On December 28, 1980 strange lights were reported just outside of the Royal Air Force Base Woodridge in the United Kingdom. The force found themselves facing a triangular UFO.  The craft seemed electrified and gave off blue and yellow light.  It had engraved inscriptions on its sides that Sgt. James Penniston touched, and later claimed had downloaded some kind of binary code directly to his brain.  After his retirement Sgt. Pennison publicly shared his account, which was denied by officials, and Woodridge has since been known as Britain’s Rosswell.

16

The Devil and Don Decker

flickr-rain-reflectionSource: www.listverse.com, Image: Brian via https://www.flickr.com/photos/lincolnian/132738090

Don Decker was a low-level inmate for receiving stolen property. While on compassion leave in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Decker became dizzy and fell unconscious in the upstairs bathroom where he was washing his hands.  When his friends noticed he had deep scratches on his wrist, they asked him what had happened, and he claimed to have had a vision of an old man wearing a crown. Shortly after his story, water began dripping from the roof and walls. Despite no pipes running in that part of the house, the indoor rain continued as well as began rising from the floor to the ceiling. Decker started levitating in a trance state after police showed up. When Decker returned to prison, the strange phenomena continued until after an exorcism was performed.

15

The Ghost of 9/11

world_trade_center_wreckageSource: http://nypost.com/, Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Trade_Center_wreckage-Fresh_Kills_landfill_on_Staten_Island.jpg

Several First Responders at the Staten Island landfill, where the 9/11 rubble was taken, report being offered coffee and sandwiches by an African American lady dressed in an old-style red cross uniform. Lt. Frank Marra of the NYPD (now retired) saw the lady several times from about 50 yards away, but when he strained to get a better look at here each time, she was gone. There are separate reports from different officers regarding the same woman.

14

The Scottish Poltergeist

scottish-polterguistSource: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/, Image: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/poltergeist-baffles-hardened-police-scotland-8620581

On August 15th, 2016, police were called to a home in Rutherglen, Glasgow. Police arrived and were immediately stunned to witness the disturbances for themselves.  Odd incidences like clothes flying across the room on their own, lights turning themselves off, oven doors opening and closing, and even a Chihuahua moved from the ground to the top of a seven foot hedge. The officers that witnessed the incidences are considered credible and have 20 years on the force.

13

The Queen and the Return of President Lincoln

queen_wilhelmina_of_the_netherlandsSource: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelmina_of_the_Netherlands

No doubt about it, Abe Lincoln is the busiest presidential ghost on record. In 1942, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was staying in the White House, waiting to return to her country. Late in the evening, she heard footsteps coming down the hall, and finally a knock at the door. Hoping for good news from her country, she dressed appropriately and answered the door. When she opened the door, she saw an immensely tall man in a frock coat and top hat. She was confused until she realized she could partially see through this strange man, at which point she fainted. When she came to, she described the man to the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who sent everyone away and apologized for not having warned the Queen of Lincoln’s ghost sooner.

12

Jimmy Carter's UFO Experience

jimmycarterportrait2Source: https://en.wikipedia.org, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JimmyCarterPortrait2.jpg

One night while preparing to give a speech in 1969, two years before becoming governor, Jimmy Carter claims to have witnessed a UFO. The object in the sky turned from blue to red and then to white. According to the report, ten to twelve other people witnessed the phenomenon.

11

Roswell

roswelldailyrecordjuly81947Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/, Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RoswellDailyRecordJuly8,1947.jpg

The story goes that a UFO crashed and an official headline was released saying the military had captured a flying disk. 24 hours later, that headline was retracted and replaced by a crashed weather balloon. Lieutenant Walter Haut was the public relations officer at the base in 1947, and upon his death, a previously written account of having been shown the UFO wreckage and the bodies of their alien inhabitants was released.

10

Enfield Poltergeist

enfieldSource: http://www.historyvshollywood.com/, Image: Twist TV via youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpBqYkJA1kY)

Police and the now famous paranormal investigators were called to a seemingly possessed home.  All the makings of a classic poltergeist were there, but the one part of the story that is exceptional was that when the police were called, Constable Carolyn Heeps witnessed an armchair levitating off the floor and moving four feet on it’s own. Though she had no means of helping the family, she signed an affidavit swearing what she witnessed to be true.

9

Silbury Hill Beings

silbury_hill_2_dbSource: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/, Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silbury_Hill_2_db.jpg

A Police Sergeant that requested to not be named was off-duty when he witnessed suspicious individuals examining recent crop circles near Silbury Hill. The figures all appeared to be over six feet tall with blonde hair. As he approached the field, he heard a noise that resembled the crackle of static electricity. When he tried to enter the field, they looked up and ran away with supernatural speed.

8

Michelle Obama's White House Haunting Stories

michelle_obama_official_portrait_headshotSource: latimesblog.com, Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelle_Obama_official_portrait_headshot.jpg

As we’ve seen, there’s no shortage of Lincoln ghost stories. Apparently the Obama’s have woken up to strange sounds in the hallway, and other family members have reported sensations of someone or something chewing on their feet.

7

Indiana Demon House

indiana-houseSource: http://gawker.com/, Image: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2815759/Young-girl-exorcised-evil-demon-visiting-haunted-portal-Hell-house-family-claims.html

A police captain in Gary, Indiana says he believes a family experienced supernatural terror in a rental house.  There are reports of the children levitating, mysterious footprints appearing throughout the house, swarms of files in the winter time, invisible friends, and one reported incident in which the children walked backwards up the wall in the presence of a family case manager and hospital nurse that were visiting. Family services caseworkers, priests, and the aforementioned police captain are among those who say they believe the little house was filled with supernatural evil.

6

Devil’s Peak

rural-farmSource: http://www.the-line-up.com/, Image: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=59171&picture=rural-farm (not actual Theriault farm)

Maurice “Frenchy” Theriault had a traumatic childhood, suffering various forms of abuse form his father. By 1985, he had married and purchased a farm in Warren, MA.  It didn’t take long for Frenchy’s demons to begin to materialize.  Blood would appear randomly throughout the house, fires would break out in random places, and they both began hearing voices. Eventually a duplicate of Frenchy would appear to his wife in other rooms, but trying to talk to or follow the ghost would cause it to disappear (this was witnessed by several people, including a local police officer.)

5

Your Weapons Are Useless

intercontinental-ballistic-missilesSource: http://listverse.com/, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercontinental_ballistic_missile

Former Air Force Captain Robert Salas had the insane job of working on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in Montana. He outright affirms that UFO’s are not only real, but they have no trouble messing with our ultimate nuclear weapons. Flybys were allegedly common and would scramble the nukes so the Air Force had to go back and reactivate them manually every time. Captain Salas also give an account of he and his men approaching a triangular craft spewing some kind of molten metal.  When he reported to his superiors, they didn’t dismiss or mock him, but simply told him it “didn’t happen.”

The YouTube Video of his account can be found here.

4

Panteones Metro Station

metro_panteones_entranceSource: https://www.scoopwhoop.com, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reportedly_haunted_locations_in_Mexico

Train engineers and station workers have heard knocks and screams down the track in the tunnels when no trains are running and a grey “apparition” shows up every time the station closes.  What caps it off is that an entire video of engineers hearing those screams exists to prove it. Fittingly, “Panteones” means “graveyard” in Spanish.

3

The Devil Is Angry

fire-danger-dangerous-fight-68138-largeSource: http://www.theoccultmuseum.com/, Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silhouette-outside-fire-dangerous-68138/

When firefighters assembled to respond to a 911 call, the engine that had been running fine 20 minutes before wouldn’t start. When they finally got it running and made it to the house, it was fully enveloped and burning in very odd ways. Flames would shoot out the windows parallel to the ground and make a sharp 90-degree turn upward, and the basement was determined to be “rocking.” Investigators the next day found that nothing in the basement had been burned even though the house itself was incinerated.  Photos of the fire developed by the investigator allegedly show the face of the devil in the smoke and flames.

2

The Montrose Ghost

royal_flying_corps_posterSource: http://listverse.com/, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Flying_Corps

When an Royal Flying Corps biplane pilot crashed and died in 1913, a government investigation determined the pilot, Lieutenant Desmond Arthur, was at fault for the crash despite a previous belief it was due to a faulty repair. Personnel at Montrose Air Field began having visions of a ghostly pilot, and some recognized it as Desmond. Finally, an editor of a flight magazine lobbied to have the investigation reopened and the verdict was that Desmond was not responsible. The ghost of Desmond was never seen again, except allegedly once, when he appeared to be smiling.

1

Reagan’s Lincoln Story

official_portrait_of_president_reagan_1981Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/j, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan

At a 1986 State Dinner, President Reagan relayed a tale of Lucky, the first dog, who had twice barked frantically in the Lincoln bedroom and backed out, refusing to set foot over the threshold.  Later, he continued by explaining that his daughter (Maureen) and her husband stay in the Lincoln bedroom when they visit.  Maureen’s husband had awoken in the middle of the night to see a transparent figure standing at the window, looking out. Then it turned and disappeared. Maureen teased her husband about it for a month until she woke up one morning and saw the same figure, in the same place.