Types of Hauntings: a Who's Who of Spooks.

Premonition, by Henryk Weyssenhoff, approximately 1893.
Image is in the Public Domain.

The world is an extraordinary place; there are many strange things out there, both genuine and fake. If you're experiencing or investigating a haunting, or are just curious, it's nice to know exactly what you're dealing with, as no two hauntings are ever the same. So let's take a look at the types of hauntings that can be found out there.

Intelligent

The name says it all, intelligent hauntings are intelligent and, even if you haven't experienced one for yourself, you'll be familiar with this type of haunting as it pops up all the time in movies and shows. These spirits retained their intelligence and personality in death, making them interesting to interact with during investigations. However, interesting doesn't equal easy. These spooks are smart, they might share misleading information or just choose not to interact with you at all. But if you can get one to interact with you, then it's worth experimenting a bit with different equipment or by trying to get them to move things, make noises or show themselves. It's also worth noting that although they're aware of what's going on around them, the spirit might not even know that they're dead. The ones that are aware might not want to leave or may have some unfinished business to attend to before they do.

Residual

A Residual haunting can't be interacted with in the same way as an intelligent haunting, as the spirit isn't aware of anything and can only be witnessed. When a negative event occurs, it can leave an imprint of what happened on the energies of the environment around it, like a short recording or a stain. This snapshot in time will then replay itself repeatedly or, occasionally, on the anniversary of the traumatic event that caused it. Sometimes these types of haunting are visible, other times they manifest in the form of sounds and smells. One example of this type of haunting is the Battle of Culloden Moor. This historical battle was a massacre, which took place on the 16th of April 1746 and is said to repeat itself every year on that date, with witnesses having heard the sounds of battle echoing over the otherwise silent moorland. And that's only the residual part of the haunting. Since so many people were killed there, there are also instances of intelligent hauntings occurring in this area.

Inhuman

It would be easy to jump to conclusions and assume that this type of hauntings means demonic activity, but that's not always the case. Just because a spirit is inhuman, it doesn't mean it's demonic in nature. Inhuman hauntings can include animal spirits, shadow people, elementals and other spirits that have never existed in a human form. These spirits are often part of an intelligent haunting and, as a result, differ in temperament and personality. The downside is that sometimes this type of haunting can be unpleasant, more so than a hostile intelligent haunting, leading to their demonic reputation. An excellent example of an unpleasant inhuman haunting would be the one that occurred at Berkeley Square. A much more friendly instance of this type of ghost would be Gef the talking Mongoose.

Poltergeist

Everyone will be familiar with this iconic, noisy spirit. Experts are torn on what Poltergeists actually are, with some believing them to be a type of spirit. In contrast, others consider them a form of energy inadvertently caused by a troubled household member. Think of it as a type of stress-related psychic activity. Some Poltergeists seem happy just to make a ruckus, but most will attach themselves to and actively target a member of the household they are haunting. 

Poltergeist activity often starts slowly, building up to a crescendo before suddenly stopping. The sudden lack of action doesn't always mean that the haunting is over. Sometimes it restarts at a later date. Activity often includes loud noises, disembodied voices, objects appearing from thin air, and objects being moved or flung around. Unfortunately, in some cases, the things being thrown around are the people being haunted. Examples of Poltergeist activity include the Enfield Poltergeist, the haunting of Borley Rectory and the Mackenzie Poltergeist.

The Library of Combermere Abbey, taken by Sybell Corbet, 1891.
Image is in the Public Domain

What are your theories on hauntings? Are you a believer, or do you think it's all rubbish? Heard any good ghost stories lately and just want to share them with other readers and me? Leave a comment below or tag me in a Tweet!

Killer Unknown: the Villisca Axe Murders

The daybook, Chicago, 14th June 1912.
 Public domain

Every town has it's haunted house, a grim-looking place where terrible things have happened or are
rumoured to have had happened. But not many can boast of a crime quite like the Villisca Axe Murders of 1912. A crime so brutal that it replaced the recent Titanic disaster on the front pages of many American newspapers. People were fascinated by true crime, even 108 years ago.

June 9th, 1912.

The Moore family returned to their home after an enjoyable, but busy, day out. The family was made up of Josiah (43 y/o), Sarah (39 y/o) and their four children, Paul (5 y/o), Boyd (7 y/o), Katherine (10 y/o) and Herman (11 y/o).

Joining them were Lena (8 y/o) and Ina Mae Stillinger (12 y/o), two of Katherine's friends, who had been invited over for a sleepover. They'd spent the day at their local church, attending a Children's Day event organised by Sarah and they didn't get home until late, around 9:45 or 10:00.

It's not known what time they all went to bed, but it's safe to assume they had some tea first and spent some time unwinding before they did. Eventually, the household would go to bed, the Moores and their brood in their own rooms upstares and the Stillinger girls in the guestroom downstairs.

None of them would ever wake up.

June 10th, 1912

The Moores neighbour, Mary, has started her day. But, as she goes about her morning routine, she can't help but notice that something is missing and that something was the Moores. See, at that point in the morning, the children should have been out and about, starting their daily chores. To Mary's growing concern, as the morning went on there was no sign of life over at the house next to hers. She assumed that the family had fallen ill and went to check on them. The curtains were still drawn and the house seemed dark. Mary first tried knocking on the door, then calling out to the people inside, but got no response. Her attempt to let herself in was met with something unusual; a locked door. It was unusual because in those days, in those sleepy, safe little towns, people would leave their doors unlocked. They had nothing to fear, or at least thought they didn't, but what would be discovered inside that house would have the whole town locking their doors and windows. Unable to get in, Mary called Ross Moore, Josiah's brother and owner of a spare door key. And, being the good person she was, while Ross let himself into the house, Mary fed the families chickens, thinking she was doing her friends a favour. She wasn't expecting him to come running out, calling to her to call the police.

Inside the house had been ominously silent, Ross may have been expecting to find something grim but nothing could prepare him for the horror contained inside that building. Wandering around the ground floor, calling for his family, he came across the guestroom and its chilling contents. And having guessed why the family was nowhere to be seen, he fled.

Photo by Jennifer Kirkland, CC BY-ND 2.0

Town Marshal Horton and his men arrive to discover a human abattoir and a rapidly growing crowd of onlookers. A search of the house reveals that somebody has taken the families axe from the woodshed and, starting with Josiah and Sarah, killed everyone. These murders were methodical and precise. Everything seems to indicate a lot of anger and most of this rage seems to have been aimed at Josiah. Mr Moore had been struck at least thirty times, with both the blade and back of the axe. The force of the blows rained down upon him were strong enough to pop his eye right out of its socket and the murderer had gone out of his way to demolish Josiah's face. Investigators even found chunks gouged out of the ceiling above the bed, where the axe had been swung back so far that it had struck it. After finishing of the adults, he went after the children and, after he was finished, he went back to the parent's room to beat Josiah's face into an unrecognisable mush. Once he had done so he went downstairs and killed Lena and Ina Mae. And this is where it starts to get weird. Or weirder. You see, killing someone with an axe, especially when using such extreme brute strength, is going to make a lot of noise. And yet no one woke up, except for possibly Lena Stillinger. She was found lying sideways across her bed and there were signs of a struggle, defensive wounds on her arms. But other than Lena, it looks like everyone just slept through the carnage. Sarah, tucked up in bed with Josiah didn't stir as her husbands head was caved in. The children didn't wake as their siblings, in the same room as them, had their short lives ended. And Ina Mae Stillinger didn't wake as her sister fought off her attacker. Stranger still, after finishing off his victims, the killer had covered their faces, mirrors and other reflective surfaces with bedsheets and items of clothing. This could indicate two things. The first possibility is that it was an act of remorse, the killer knew they'd done wrong and this was some strange way of showing respect to the victims, much like wrapping a body in a burial shroud. The second possibility is that he was covering his tracks, much like how serial killer Andrei Chikatilo would put out his victim's eyes for fear that they somehow contained his image burnt onto them. Is it possible the killer thought this act could prevent him from being caught? For some reason, the killer also removed a 4lb cut of bacon from the pantry, only to discard it in the living room along with the murder weapon, which he propped up against the wall. Was this some bizarre attempt at making the murders look like a robbery gone wrong, or had the killer intended to take it with him but forgot it or changed his mind? Police also found a bowl of bloody water, as if the killer had tried to wash himself clean, before leaving and locking the door behind him.

Doctors on the scene work out that the crime had been committed sometime between 12:00 am and 5:00am, but it doesn't seem that they looked into why no one had woken up while it was happening. 

Considering how much of a shambles the investigation was, it's possible that they did look into it but the evidence was lost. 

Crime Scene or Circus?

Photo by Jennifer Kirkland, CC BY-ND 2.0

The local law enforcement's half-hearted attempts at investigation pretty much ensured the killer would never be found and the suspect list they came up with was based on rumours and mudslinging rather than actual evidence. They didn't rush to start a manhunt, believing that it would be a waste of time and the killer would be long gone. Some even dismissed the case as just part of a string of similar murders that had been taking place at the time. Worse yet, in a time where forensic science was still developing and relied on an untampered with crime scene, the police didn't properly secure the building. All they did was warn the crowd outside not to go in and made no real attempt to stop them when they started to do so anyway. It was a small town and news travelled fast. The crowd that had been outside when the police arrived had swelled in numbers. Driven by morbid fascination, they ignored the police and proceeded to enter the house. Over 100 people treated a tragic crime scene full of gore as a sideshow, wandering around the house like it was a museum and, most likely, destroying vital evidence. The desecration didn't stop there, as one of the ghoulish visitors took a chunk of Josiah's crushed skull home with them, as a souvenir. 

All this while the families of the dead watched on in grief and horror.

The Suspects

Despite the lack of real evidence, there was no shortage of suspects, with people being blamed left, right and centre. There were seven suspects in total, most of it comes across as a bit of a witch hunt. In some cases, it looks as if the police were trying to cover up their incompetence at the crime scene by desperately scrabbling for someone to blame. But, as you'll see, there are a couple of potential suspect here.

Sam Moyer

It's said that when a murder happens, it's usually perpetrated by someone the victim knows. And the Moore's definitely knew Moyer, as he was a family member, Sarah's brother. He became a suspect when it came to light that he'd often threatened the life of his brother-in-law, but his alibi was a solid one and resulted in him being cleared of all charges at the inquest.

It's worth noting that while Sam had a history of threatening Josiah, there are no reports of those threats being extended to his sister, nieces and nephews. 

Henry Moore

Henry's surname is just an odd coincidence, since he was in no way related to the victims. I've mentioned before that there was a slwe of violent axe murders being commited at the time, which some consider the Villisca murders to be a part of. Henry was one of the suspects for those murders, incriminating himself even further when he took and axe to his own grandmother, wife and infant child.

Despite this he wasnt officially charged for the Villisca murders, remaining only a suspect and it's worth pointing out that the murder of his family was one fueled by greed. He'd taken out insurance on each of them and it appears that he was hoping to pass the murders off as one of the many commited at that time, so that he could make a claim.

Reverend George Kelly

To the people of Villisca, Reverend George was a bit of an oddball and a creep. A travelling minister, he attended the same church event that the Moores did before their deaths and left Villisca sometime around 5:30am, not long after the murders had happened. What made people even more suspicious of him is that he'd often been seen peeping through peoples windows and had been accused, multiple times, of asking young girls to pose for naked for him. Young girls around Lena Stillinger's age and up. He was also completely obsessed with the crime, bothering the families and the police with letters and attempting to sneak onto the crime scene, when it was secured, by pretending to be a policeman. He even told a P.I. that he'd been around the house the night the murders took place and may have witnessed it, but the police didn't bother to take him into custody for the murders until 1917. That's a whole five years after the murders took place. After hours of interrogation, they got a confession out of him and sent him off to court. He would go to trial two times and be acquitted on both occasions. At the first trial, the jury looked at his history of mental illness and refused to sentence him. At the second he went back on his claim that he'd committed the crime, insisting that the police had beat the confession out of him. 

Andrew Sawyer

Andrew was a railroad worker, a bit of a loner, with no link to the Moore family. And like the rest of the nation, he was fascinated by the murders that had taken place, but fascinated to the degree that his constant talking about it unnerved his co-workers enough that they complained to the crew's foreman. The foreman, a man named Dyer, took him aside to speak to him about it, hoping to solve the strange problem. He was shocked when Andrew admitted to being in Villisca the night of the murder and told him that had heard it happen, but ran away for fear of being blamed for it. As a transient, he would have made the perfect scapegoat. Dyer was so unnerved by this that he immediately reported the man to the police. Despite his bizarre claims, Andrew was able to provide the police with a pretty solid alibi, as on the night of the murders he had been arrested for vagrancy in Osceola, Iowa. This lead to him being dismissed as a suspect.

Paul Mueller 

A European immigrant, Paul Mueller was never arrested or charged for the Villisca axe murders and is a relatively new suspect in the case, having been suggested as the murderer in Bill James and Rachel McCarthy's 2017 book The Man from the Train. Evidence against him includes him being tracked in a year-long manhunt, accused of killing a family in Massachusetts in 1897.

Frank F. Jones

Out of all the people on this list, it seems that Mr Jones had an actual reason for wanting Josiah Moore dead. An Iowa State Senator living in Villisca, before he turned to politics he had owned a store there. And who worked for him? None other than Josiah. Josiah who turned out to be so good at his job that he would go on to leave Jones' employment and open a store of his very own, taking a lot of high paying customers with him in the process. On top of that, there was an unfounded rumour going round that Josiah was having an affair with Jones' daughter in law. 

Although he went uncharged for the murders, many of the locals, including the father of the Stillinger sisters and Ross Moore himself, still strongly felt that he was the guilty party. It was suggested that he'd hired someone to commit the deed, rather than risk dirtying his own hands and reputation. Josiah's family and their friends? Collateral damage. But who could he hire to do such a terrible thing? Well, that would be William Mansfield, the next suspect on our list.

William Mansfield

I chose to place Mansfield after Jones on this list, because of their possible link to each other. He was a deeply unpleasant person and one who wasn't just a prime suspect for the string of axe murders that had been going on, some even suspect him of being a potential suspect in the Axeman of New Orleans killings. He even killed his own wife, parents-in-law and infant child with an axe just two years after the Moores murders. Yet he wasn't investigated for killings in Villisca until 1916 and was quickly acquitted as he had a seemingly solid alibi. A witness would later come forward stating that he'd seen Mansfield in Shenandoah, Iowa, heading to the train station. If this is true then it blows Mansfields alibi clear out of the water, but he was never re-arrested. At the same time of his first arrest, Frank Jones was pushing for the arrest of Reverend Kelly, an investigator at the time believes this led to Mansfields release and the subsequent trial of Kelly.

A Crime Unsolved.

There are few crimes as chaotic as the Villisca Axe Murders, with the surviving family members being failed so abysmally by those who should have been supporting them and solving the crime. Even with seven suspects, no killer was ever bought to justice. I'll leave it to you to make up your mind which one of the accused committed the crime, if any and I'd love to hear your theories in the comments. Or, as always, if you'd prefer to do so, then you can tag me in a post on Twitter. Personally, I side with the theory that it was Jones and Mansfield. Being popular in the community, Josiah Moore would have been an even bigger thorn in Jones' side had he decided to jump into politics as well, not to mention the rumours about the alleged affair would have damaged Jones' families reputation to a degree. Out of everyone on that list, Jones was the only person to have a real reason to want Moore out of the way, Mansfield was the perfect tool to get the job done and Reverend Kelly was the perfect sacrificial lamb. I'm not saying Kelly was an angel. Far from it, he was a complete dumpster fire of a human being who had already had numerous complaints raised against him for his odious behaviour, but he'd never shown signs of being violent before and seems to be the only person to be interrogated to such a degree that he admitted to the crime. Kelly was a very scrawny, malnourished looking man whom I doubt would have had the strength to kill one person with an axe, let alone do that amount of damage. Mansfield could though, and proved it by committing a near-identical crime two years later when he slaughtered his own family. It would also make sense that Jones would approach someone who didn't live locally to kill the Moores.

Photo by Jennifer Kirkland, CC BY-ND 2.0

One thing has always fascinated me though; why didn't the family wake up? Again, the murders wouldn't have been quiet. If they were sleeping naturally then they would have woken up, there would have been panic and screaming, and survivors. One theory does come to mind and that is that the family had been drugged. Barbiturates were readily available in many forms in those days, buying them was as easy as buying a packet of sweets. You picked your poison and you paid for it. If the family had a late tea planned for when they got home, Sarah probably would have prepared it in advance and left it out ready to reheat, making it easy for a home intruder to slip something a bit stronger than salt and pepper into the mix. There is a theory that instead of entering the house after everyone had gone to bed, the killer was already hiding in the house when they got home, in the attic. When searching the house for clues, the police found cigarette butts up there, adding weight to this theory, but they also could have come from one of the many townfolk who trudged through the house that day. However, the possibility of someone lurking up there, waiting for the unfortunates below to go to bed, ties in very well with the family being drugged, since the suspect would have had to enter the house to do so. It also adds another level of horror to the situation. Even if the family had locked their door, they wouldn't have escaped.

A Murder House in Modern Times

These days, the Moores home remains unlived in, but not completely abandoned. It would seem that the Moores never left. Visitors to the house have reported the sound of children playing and running from room to room, doors slamming on their own and opening just as easily, plus unexplained banging and dripping noises. The temperature will drop without warning, a feeling of darkness and heaviness will invade the atmosphere, and both shadow figures and an odd mist have been seen roaming the halls. Evidence has been caught on camera too. Subsequently, the house is on most paranormal enthusiasts bucket list and has featured on many ghost hunting programs and documentaries.

The strangest thing to happen in the house to date (other than the hauntings and the murders.) would have to be the accident that occurred there in 2014. honestly, I can't think of any other way to describe it than as an accident, but a visitor staying the night for a paranormal investigation stabbed himself, in the chest. There was no warning that it was going to happen and he didn't give a reason as to why he'd done such a thing, but the police did out foul play. Because of the building bloody history and alleged hauntings, a lot of people have linked the visitors odd behaviour to that, but he would appear to be the only person who has felt the need to harm themselves in the house.

Speaking of paranormal investigations; the house had various different owners after the 1912 tragedy, until it was bought in 1994 and renovated. All modernities were stripped back and the house returned to it's early 1900's glory, to how it would have been when the murders occurred, complete with historically accurate furnishings, decore and accessories. The owners now allow people to visit the house, running daytime tours and night experiences that allow you to sleepover. And if you're unable to travel to Villisca for a tour (or are just too scared to.), you can take a virtual tour of the house instead. 

Photo by The Man-Machine, CC0 1.0

Have you visited the Villisca Axe Murder house? Have a story of your own to tell, maybe some evidence of the paranormal or just your own theories as to who committed the terrible deed? Let me know in the comments below or tag me in a Tweet! As always, I adore getting comments from you guys and hearing any fascinating stories you have to tell.

Horror in Isolation.

As the lockdown continues, so too does the risk of boredom. And at The Strangeways HQ we are completely against boredom. So, in the hopes of introducing you to something you've never seen before, I present to you a list of films and series to check out while you're in lockdown. 



Ravenous (1999)
It's the 1800's and Lieutenant Boyd has been sent/banished to Fort Spencer, a remote garrison at the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountain range. Home to the militaries outcasts, this frozen place is where the army sends the people it would rather forget. Despite this, everything seems to be going fine for Boyd and his companion. That is until a snowstorm blows a mysterious stranger, Colqhoun, their way and everything rapidly spirals out of control.
An interesting take on the Wendigo legend, the best way to describe Ravenous is glorious, gleeful chaos; it's humour at it's darkest.
The most important thing about this movie it to double-check which one you're watching. If you watch the 2018 Ravenous instead of the 1999 Ravenous then you'll be stuck with zombies eating people instead of Robert Carlyle eating people, and nobody want that.
Format: Movie
Available: Amazon
Subtitles: n/a


Noroi: the curse (2005)
After a fire at his home, which seemingly killed his wife, our protagonist Kobayashi has vanished without a trace and at this point it's unknown whether he was responsible or not. As a famous paranormal investigator and documentary maker, Kobayashi was in the middle of filming a new documentary, investigating a series of strange events that have been taking place just before the tragic incident took place. The tapes he took leading up to the disaster help us retrace his steps, as the seemingly random paranormal events he was documenting are revealed to be linked and are the sign of something much more sinister and, ultimately, unstoppable.
Most found footage movies try to play themselves off as true stories, but few manage as well as Noroi. This gem of a horror movie is atmospheric, disturbing and its complex and fascinating plot will leave your skin crawling.
Format: Movie
Available: Shudder
Subtitles: yes

Lake Mungo (2008)
Lake Mungo documentary-style movie that follows the family of Alice, after her untimely death by drowning. As friends and family are interviewed, we get to know Alice through their memories. Meanwhile, her brother has set up video cameras in an attempt to catch signs of her spirit, after she starts to appear in the documentary footage and photos, seemingly to help bring some closure to the family. As filming continues and strange events occur, we soon discover there's a bigger mystery afoot. Is the ghost of Alice everything it seems? And what really led to the teenagers death? The truth is more shocking than you'd expect.
I'm not big on documentary horror movies, since there's so many bad ones out there since the genre became popular, but I will always recommend Lake Mungo. It's spooky and a little sad, and so well acted that you could believe that it's a real documentary.
Format: Movie
Available: Amazon
Subtitles: n/a

Marianne (2019)
Successful novelist Emma is forced to return to the hometown she left behind her at the behest of an old childhood friend, who's mother has become disturbingly obsessed with the horror novel Emma writes. To her utter dismay, she soon finds herself having to stay there due to the chaotic events that are unfolding in the small town, all of which are linked to Emma, her novels and the dark spirit that inspired them. As the lines between fact and fiction become blurred, the question is can the horror be stopped and, if it can, at what price?
Watching Marianne with my friends, I found myself doing something that I haven't done for a long time while watching a horror series. I was watching through my fingers. Even my friend M, usually distracted by his phone, couldn't tear himself away from the screen.
Format: Series
Available: Netflix
Subtitles: yes

As Above So Below (2014)
The film follows Archaeologist Scarlett and her cameraman as they descend into the darker areas of the Catacombs with a group of urban explorers. Their goal? Scarlett is frantically searching for the infamous philosophers stone. Her father spent his life in pursuit of the stone and, as a result of his obsession, was mocked and scorned by his fellow academics. His reputation ruined, he hung himself. Following her fathers notes, Scarlett has traced its hiding place to somewhere within the twisting depths of the ancient catacombs. Our heroine's mistake was believing that such a powerful object would be unguarded and easy to obtain. Her quest continues regardless and this mistake puts her life, and the lives of her companions, in danger.
Claustrophobic and incredibly creepy, As Above So Below is well-acted, with an engaging and original plot. It's also nice to see a film based in the Paris Catacombs, as there really aren't enough and it's an excellent location.
Format: Movie
Available: Netflix
Subtitles: some

Pulse (Kairo) (2001)
Atmospheric, eerie and, at the same time, oddly beautiful. This melancholy story follows two groups of characters as they deal with the lonely dead coming back to the land of the living via an increasingly popular website, the people around them vanishing into delicate clouds of ash and what this paranormal invasion means for mankind as a whole.
Since Hollywood went through a stage of churning out terrible reboots of Japanese horror movies, you may have heard of Pulse before. But you've probably heard of the remake, which was pretty awful, despite Wes Craven being involved. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke then don't fix it.
Format: Movie
Available: Amazon prime
Subtitles: yes.

Grave Encounters (2011)
For those of you who love watching ghost hunting shows, but have always wondered what it would be like if one went terribly wrong, this is the ideal movie for you. Presented as a found-footage documentary, it aims to explain what happened to the crew of Grave Encounters, a Ghost Adventures style television program that had to be cancelled after the entire crew disappeared mysteriously while filming at an abandoned mental asylum. The footage they filmed there is recovered, soon the whole horrific story of what happened that night reveals itself to the viewer and all we can do is watch as what should have been a simple ghost hunt turns into something much more sinister.
The acting is good, the plot interesting and the ghosts? They'll haunt your nightmares. There's also a sequel, but it's nowhere as good as its predecessor and is nothing to write home about.
Format: Movie
Available: Shudder
Subtitles: n/a

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
While it has a nicely sized cast, The Autopsy of Jane Doe spends most of its screen time focusing on just three of the characters. Tommy is the local coroner in his small town and Austin, his bored of the job son, often helps him out at the family business. Austin is planning to go out on a date with his girlfriend, but all that goes out the window when the local sheriff arrives at the mortuary with the body of an unknown woman. This is Jane Doe, a common nickname given to an unnamed female corpse. Found at the scene of a multiple homicide, Jane doesn't appear to have been involved at all and her cause of death is a mystery. As a result, the Sherrif needs Tommy and Austin to work through the night to solve this mystery. The autopsy begins, but Jane's corpse defies all logic. The situation only gets worse as our baffled duo find themselves trapped in the building due to a storm and terrifying activity starts to occur around the mortuary.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe was yet another pleasant surprise for me and my friends, during our attempts to find a terrible horror movie we instead found this wonderful one. This movie will keep you glued to the screen and you'll find yourself playing detective, trying to decipher what is going on from the clues that the movie gives you.
Format: Movie
Available: Amazon Prime
Subtitles: n/a

The Terror, (2018)
Based on the book of the same name, The Terror follows a semi-fictional account of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition. Tasked with finding the Northwest Passage, our heroes set sail for the Arctic in the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. However, they soon find themselves stuck in the ice with no thaw in sight, thanks to freak weather conditions and the hubris of expedition leader Sir John Franklin. After his untimely death, his second in command Captain Francis Crozier is reluctantly forced to take command and save his crew. But if the threat of frostbite and the fear of scurvy and starvation wasn't bad enough, there's something ancient and angry out on the ice and it wants them dead, picking the crew off one by one. And so what should have been a one year voyage turns into a terrifying cat and mouse battle for survival.
Part horror, part tragedy, The Terror will keep you glued to the screen, worried for the welfare of your favourite character. And trust me, you'll have a favourite character. The acting is top-notch, the special effects are excellent and the attention to historical detail is out of this world. This series didn't get enough attention when it first came out, but I highly recommend it. And if you enjoy it, then don't forget to check out season two.

Format: Series
Available: Amazon Prime
Subtitles: some

Hellier (2019)
Make yourself comfortable, because you'll find yourself wanting to binge-watch this. Hellier is presented as a documentary, following a team of paranormal investigators as they receive and investigate an email from a man who claims to be under siege by mysterious creatures, at his home in rural Hellier, Kentucky. On arrival in Hellier, our characters discover that the man who emailed them doesn't seem to exist but something paranormal is going on. They soon find themselves sucked into a mystery that's even bigger than they could ever have imagined, unable to tear themselves away from it as they proceed to investigate, despite being in over their heads.
I discovered Hellier through Twitter and I was instantly hooked. Gentle but at the same time spine-chillingly creepy due to its realism, there's something about Hellier that gives me podcast vibes. Well paced, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. You want to know what happens next and will end up genuinely caring for the welfare of the characters.
Format: Series
Available: Amazon Prime
Subtitles: n/a


I hope my little list has given you some ideas to keep you entertained while everything is in chaos. If you have any movie suggestions for me or have found a new favourite movie/series thanks to this list, then let me know over at Twitter or in the comments below. Until then, stay safe, dear readers.

The Tower of London and it's Permanent Residents.

Photo by Haris Krikelis, CC

The Tower of London is one of England's most famous landmarks and one of London's most
imposing ones. Here people have been imprisoned, tortured, executed and murdered: it's history written in blood and horrors, which have seeped into the ancient stones that make up its walls and floors. The Tower was founded around 1066, so it's had a lot to time to accumulate quite a lot of ghosts, some of them innocent and some of them not. Some of them human and some of them not. My aim with this blog post is to provide a brief but info packed run down of all of the phantoms lurking within those old walls, so that any of you paranormal loving wanderers out there know exactly what you're looking for.

The Two Princes.
These two little heartbreakers are allegedly the spirits of Edward (12 years old) and Richard (9 years old), sons of King Edward IV and his wife, Elizabeth. After the death of their father in 1483, their care was entrusted to their Uncle Richard, who promptly sent the two to stay in the tower, since this was not a prison at the time but the traditional home of those members of the royal family who were awaiting coronation. Poor little Edward never reached his throne. While they were in the tower, Parliament declared the boys to be illegitimate and their Uncle Richard took the throne. Although they were initially seen playing in the Tower gardens, the children were seen less and less until they disappeared completely. Rumors spread, saying that the two boys had been murdered, and unfortunately it's highly likely, although there is no firm evidence. The blame fell on the boys Uncle, Richard III. It is one of the things he is remembered for the most, even though he had no need to harm the boys as the throne was his and most of the "evidence" seems to come from the play written about him by William Shakespeare's, during the reign of his successor, Henry Tudor. During this time there was a lot of anti-Richard III propaganda, this is no surprise as history is written by the victors.
Their cause of death unknown, there was no sign of the boys until 1674, when some workers found a large wooden box while doing some work on the tower. Opening it they found the skeletal remains of two children with the remains of velvet clothing around them. It's believed by many that these are the bodies of the two princes, but these weren't the only bodies of children found at the tower. Some time previously a bricked up room had been discovered and inside were the skeletons of two children. Either the remains in the room or the remains in the box could be the two princes, but the box is the most well known story.
Since then the two boys have made their presence known about the tower. Sometimes the only thing heard is the sound of laughter, but sometimes two little spirits in white night shirts have been spotted playing in the grounds around the tower, on the battlements or wandering down the stairs. Sometimes the poor things have even been spotted huddled and weeping in the rooms they lived in, only to fade away when approached. Keep an eye out and maybe you might see these tragic and harmless spirits for yourself.

Anne Boleyn
The second wife of Henry VIII, poor Anne only lasted three years as his Queen. While she gave birth to a daughter, she was unable to give the tyrant the son he desperately craved, suffering a miscarriage and then later giving birth to a stillborn baby boy. It was around this time that Henry had started to court Jane Seymour, who was to become his third wife and in 1536 Anne found herself banished to the Tower, and was executed under false charges of incest, adultery and treason. In death her ghost is quite active and has been seen walking the tower and it's gardens, sometimes intact, but other times carrying her head tucked under one arm. She has also been spotted walking around St Peter's Chapel, near the Tower, where her body was originally laid to rest under the altar. The most famous sighting of her occurred in 1864, when a guard mistook her for a living trespasser and, when she failed to stop walking towards him, attempted to run her through with his bayonet. This of course failed miserably and the poor man just ended up running straight through the ghostly queen. He promptly fainted upon realising what had happened and narrowly avoided a court marshall.

The White Lady
What old English building would be complete without a White Lady? With so many deaths having occured at the Tower of London, this soul has no identity. She's very active, having been sighted by guards and members of the public alike, as she wanders around the rooms and corridors of the White Tower. Once she was even sighted at a window, waving to a group of visiting school children outside. While her presence is mostly benign, her perfume is not. Smelt most often at the entrance to St John's Chapel, her perfume carries a noxious odor that has been known to turn stomachs.

Lady Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury
Lady Margaret was yet another victim if Henry VIII's infamous bad temper. Her son had somehow offended the King, but was out of the country at the time and well out of Henry's reach. So Henry tuned his spite on the other mans mother instead, having the dignified older lady falsely charged with Treason (I'm beginning to see a pattern her, Henry.) and sent to the executioners block with not trial. In 1541, the Countess approached the scaffold. She was 70 years old, quite an accomplishment in Tudor times, and she was about to prove to the King, the executioner and the audience of over 100 spectators that she had plenty of life left in her, even if it was to be cruelly cut short. Facing the executioner she refused to lower her head for him, if he was to kill her then he would have to do so where she stood. Eventually guards forced her to kneel, but the executioner was rattled by the encounter and his aim was off. Instead of her neck, his axe met with her shoulder. Lady Margaret let out a blood curdling scream and, tearing herself from the block and the grasp of the guards, RAN. The poor woman fled around the execution site, trailing blood behind her, while the executioner chased after her trying to cut her down. When he caught up with her, probably due to her being slowed by blood loss and shock, it took him 11 blows to end the Countesses suffering.
Now on the anniversary of her death the whole horrid spectacle plays itself out again. It is said that the blood soaked spirit of Lady Margaret Pole can be seen re-enacting her desperate flight from the block, being pursued by a spectral executioner, franticly swinging his axe to bring the Lady down. Whether this is a residual spirit or a case of Stone Tape Theory is unknown, but if you are able to visit the Tower on the evening of the 27th of May, maybe you'll see this saddening sight for yourself.

King Henry VIII's Armour
King Henry was bad tempered, a cruel man and a couple of scones short of a cream tea. While he doesn't haunt the Tower himself, it would seem like some of his bad vibes have seeped into his armour and stayed there. Guards patrolling the gallery where it is kept have reported a horrific crushing sensation descending upon them when they get near it. One even felt as if a heavy blanket had been thrown over his head before it was pulled tight around his neck. He managed to escape but was left with marks on his neck to prove his story to the other guards. This nightmarish feeling is said to lift when the sufferer escapes the room and seems to be a nocturnal phenomenon, as I could find no reports of it effecting people during the day.
Henry VIII wasn't the healthiest of people. Knocked unconscious at a jousting tournament, when he awoke his personality had done a complete 360 from being a relatively pleasant man to being the foul, bad tempered, spiteful despot he is known as today. A recent theory has been put forward that the blow that knocked him unconscious may have resulted in brain damaged, which would explain the personality change. Whatever the reason, from that moment on his health spiraled out of control, as Henry began to rapidly gain weight and developed leg ulcers, which could not be healed and were instead kept open. On top of this, wearing heavy armour would have felt unbearable. I believe it's possible that the vibes given off by the armour are a type of stone tape effect, likely to be how Henry felt when he squeezed himself into it.

King Henry VI
Henry VI was not the strongest of monarchs, but he neither expected or deserved to be killed. He was imprisoned by the House of York, with Edward IV taking the throne the very day after his untimely death. While the first reports of his death state that he died of a broken heart, he was actually stabbed to death while praying at a small window altar in his prison cell in the Wakefield Tower. He died not long before midnight and on the anniversary of his death, on the 21st of May, he has been sighted pacing his room until he fades away to nothing at the strike of midnight.

Lady Jane Grey
King Edward VI had declared Jane his successor upon his death, much to the annoyance of his own sister, Mary. Abandoned by her Father, who chose to side with Mary to save his own hide, Jane found herself left to the mercy of the woman who would become known as Bloody Mary. Jane lasted only 9 days before Queen Mary seized the throne and started as she meant to go on, with Lady Jane and her husband being her first victims. Jane's father was pardoned, but Jane and her husband were charged with Treason. Jane was forced to watch the execution of the man she loved from the window of her cell, before being lead to her own death. She was only 16 years old.
In death she is seen as a floating, shimmering figure that walks the green and the battlements, eventually fading into nothing.
Jane is not alone. Her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, has been sited around the Beauchamp Tower with tears running down his face.

Thomas Beckett
First seen 1241, Thomas Beckett is one of the first recorded ghosts at the Tower and one of the few to have been put to rest. Henry III was responsible for the Inner Circle of the Tower having been built, but his Grandfather, Henry II, was responsible for Beckett's murder and it seems the former Archbishop of Canterbury had neither forgotten nor forgiven. So when builders tried to build the wall, Thomas Beckett manifested himself and reduced it to rubble with one strike of his cross. This, allegedly, happened twice before Henry III had a tower named after Beckett. This seemed to please the spirit and he wasn't seen again.
Interestingly, in more recent times the spirit of a monk has been sighted in the same areas that the ghost of Thomas Beckett was. But is this really just a random monk? Or has Thomas Beckett returned to haunt the Tower once more?

Sir Walter Raleigh
In 1618 this great explorer lost his head to the Executioner after upsetting James I, being charged with treason and being imprisoned at the Tower. It wasn't the first time he'd been locked up there and had a relatively good life there, living in luxury with his family being allowed to visit. He was known to grow exotic plants in his rooms and his second son was even conceived there. 
His spirit has been seen and heard walking the battlements and one of the homes on Tower Green.

Henry Walpole
Henry had a rather dangerous occupation. He was a Jesuit Priest during the 16th century. When he was captured and imprisoned in the Tower he suffered many tortures, including the rack. Between torture and sentencing, he managed to carve his own name and that of Saints into the walls of his prison. Eventually this poor man was executed. His carvings remain, but it would seem that some trace of Henry does too. Lone visitors in this room have heard the low murmurs of a man praying and a golden yellow glow which grows to fill the room before it vanishes.

Guy Fawkes
This poor soul is heard rather than seen. In 1605, Guy was involved in a failed plot to assassinate King James I and his government. As you may already know, this assassination attempt involved rather a lot of gunpowder. After his capture, Guy Fawkes was horrifically tortured to get his to reveal the names of his co-conspirators and their plan. He resisted at first but couldn't hold out forever. Put on trial and sentenced to be executed by being hung, drawn and quartered, Guy Fawkes was so weak from the tortures he had undergone that he never got past the hanging part. His neck broke, killing him instantly. Despite being dead, he was still drawn and quartered.
These days we remember him with Guy Fawkes night and by his terrifying, pain filled screams that have been heard echoing around the rooms where he was held captive and tortured.

The Mysterious and the Inhuman
In 1977, two workmen in the Middle Tower heard heavy footsteps walking around on the floor above them. With some help they searched for the source of the sounds, but nothing was found. There was nobody there, nobody visible anyway.
In the 1960's a guard was found in shock after having witnessed a cloaked and headless figure which approached him.
In the Tudor Times the Tower was used as a zoo and it's said that even now the roars of Lions can sometimes still be heard. But when it comes to animal spirits, the Towers Bear is the first thing most people think of. In the 1800's a guard at the Martin Tower was alarmed to see the figure of a bear emerging from a doorway. In a panic he attempted to run the beast through with his bayonet, but this had no effect as it just passed clean through the spirit and got stuck in a door. The poor guard fainted from the shock and is said to have died three days later.
In the 1800's, the Keeper of the Crown Jewels had a ghostly encounter in the Martin Tower, where he lived with his family. Edmund Swifte reported that a liquid-like column floated through the room where he was sitting with his family. It eventually floated behind his wife and the distressed lady swore that it had tried to grab her. Edmund jumped to her defence, throwing a chair at the thing, but the chair went straight through it and the thing floated to the window and vanished.
In the 1980's a Yeoman Warder was astonished to come across two Beefeaters chatting to each other as they sat by a fireplace. This wouldn't have been unusual, but their uniforms were older one, very much out of date. When the two spirits spotted him, they faded into thin air.

Photo by Thorsten Hansen, CC

So, those are the ghosties and ghoulies that can be found stalking the ancient halls and rooms of the Tower of London. Have you seen or heard any of these ghosts yourself? Have I missed anyone out? Don't be shy, let me know. Drop me a message in the comments below or find me on Twitter. I would love to hear any stories you might have.
And if you intend to visit the Tower and are not 100% sure where to go, I've included a map to get you on the right path.

It's Alive...IT'S ALIVE!

Quote by Terry Pratchett, photo by myself.

Well hello there. It's been a while, hasn't it?
I'd like to start by apologising to my readers for the unplanned hiatus, I've had a few issues in my personal life and things got in the way of blogging. Fear not, dear readers, The Strange Ways hasn't become just another abandoned Blog, haunting the internet with the ghosts of posts that never were. I've got new posts lined up and ready to be published, starting from tomorrow with the odd tale of a very unusual Saint! So lets pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and continue our journey down the weird and twisted roads that make up The Strange Ways.

Back to basics: the original Jack'o'lantern

Thanks to IrishFireside, CC

Halloween is upon us and the supermarkets are packed with beautiful, bright pumpkins, just ready to be carved into all sorts of wonderful and terrifying designs. Perfect to ward off the ghosties, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, right?
How about if I told you that the humble Jack-o-Lantern has a long history, it has evolved over time and is linked to folklore? Two of my favourite things in one candlelit package; folklore and Halloween. Which is why I found myself standing in our local supermarket, trying to choose between a Swede and a turnip whilst wondering how the hell I'm going to fit a candle in such tiny turnips. One awkward internet search later (have you ever tried to maintain your grip on a turnip, a swede and use a mobile phone at the same time? Not easy.) and I discover that the rather handsome fellow on the right is, in fact, a swede. Still not easy to carve, but probably more forgiving than a tiny turnip. I would be lying if I said I wasn't relieved, I'm clumsy and I value my fingers. Our local A&E is not where I want to spend my Halloween, thank you very much. I make my purchases and scuttle off home. There's an icy chill in the air, as a cold front has crept down from the Arctic. Many parts of the country will spend Halloween under a blanket of snow. I am lucky, being too far down the country to experience anything other than the biting cold.

The Jack-o-Lantern we know today has changed a lot over the years. They started off as an Irish tradition, with their roots firmly planted in folklore. With the pumpkin not being native to Ireland, the people would use turnips or swedes instead. These tough veggies are hard to cut, even with a good knife. It must have been a relief when they were introduced to pumpkins, so bright and easy to carve. So unlike the swede, which is a devil to hollow out and shape, seemingly resenting and resisting all attempts to do so. Their origin can be traced back to a folktale concerning a man known as Stingy Jack. An unpleasant nickname for an unpleasant man. Jack had a terrible reputation; a drunkard, tight with his money and a cheat. And, as so often happens in such tales, Jack became so infamous that the Devil himself came to to hear about him and decided to see if the stories he had been told were true. What persuaded him that the rumors were true we may never know, but the Devil approached Jack with the intention of dragging his soul to Hell. Imagine his surprise when Jack agreed to go, providing the Devil would allow him one last drink first. Unable to resist granting such a harmless and simple wish, the Devil agreed, taking Jack to the nearest pub where the two whiled the night away while Jack savoured his last pint. The problems started when it came to paying for the ale. Jack was quite unwilling to pay for it himself, insisting that the Devil pick up the tab, even suggesting the Devil trick the bar tender by turning himself into a sixpence to cover the cost. After all, the Devil could take so many forms, and he could always take his original form afterwards. How hard could it be to turn into one little coin? Annoyed at Jack's baiting, but up for the prank, the Devil turned himself into a coin as asked, fully expecting to be handed over to the barkeep. It was the moment Jack had been waiting for all evening. He took hold of the coin and, instead of handing it over in payment, thrust it deep into his coat pocket where he kept a crucifix. This small, holy item prevented the Devil from turning back to his previous form and he found himself trapped. A master trickster, Jack had played the Devil like a fiddle. He was not a stupid man either and had already guessed he couldn't avoid the Devil forever. Although trapped in the form of a coin, eventually the Devil would escape and then there would be hell to pay. So Jack offered his captive a deal; ten more years of freedom for Jack in exchange for it's freedom. The Devil took the deal and made his escape.

Ten years passed quickly.
Staggering home drunk, Jack once again found himself approached by the Devil. And once again Jack seemed remarkably fine with the whole situation. But he did have one last request. Before he was carried to Hell he would like an apple. Just one last taste of an apple. Like with Jack's last last request the Devil saw no harm in it. He wasn't changing his form, so he couldn't be trapped in Jack's pocket and granting the request was childs play, all he had to do was climb up a nearby apple tree and fetch the fruit. Jack was too drunk to do it himself. What could go wrong? As you've probably guessed, quite a lot could go wrong. Cunning Jack waited til the Devil was up the tree picking the apple, then used his pocket knife to carve crosses in the tree trunk. The poor Devil* didn't realise what his victim was doing until it was far too late and he was trapped in the tree by the sign of the cross. Jack had done it again and once more agreed to give the Devil his freedom if he would make a another deal with Jack. This time Jack didn't ask for another ten years of freedom, his request was that the Devil would never be able to take his soul and drag it to hell. The Devil gladly agreed. He was eager to get out of the tree and to wash his hands of Stingy Jack forever. Jack cut the crosses from the tree bark. Freed at last, the Devil scuttled back to Hell, hoping to never see Jack again. Jack staggered home to sleep off that nights beers. Thinking his soul safe from the Devil, Jack didn't even bother to change his way. The drinking continued, as did the trickery. Years passed, eventually this unhealthy lifestyle ended his life and Jack marched on up to the Heavenly Gates, expecting to be let in. But, to his horror, he was turned away. He'd been so awful in life that there was no way God was going to let him into heaven. Annoyed by what had happened, Jack decided to try his luck elsewhere and headed to the gates of Hell instead. The Devil still hadn't forgotten their deal or how Jack had tricked him, not once but twice and he was still angry about it. He turned Jack away like the afterlife's best bouncer, Jack's name wasn't on the list, he wasn't getting in. However, feeling merciful, the Devil tossed Jack a small chunk of burning hot ember to light his way as he walked the earth for the rest of eternity. Jack happened to have a turnip in his pocket and hollowed it out so he could carry the burning coal without hurting himself. From then til the end of time, the phantom of Stingy Jack roams the night, his way lit by his hellish turnip lantern. This lead to a change of names for him, Stingy Jack being changed to Jack of the Lantern, or simply just Jack o Lantern.
It's possible that this tale was the result of people seeing swamp lights** or ball lighting and not knowing what it was. Nevertheless the story stuck in peoples imaginations and evolved over time along with the Jack o Lantern itself. It became common practice to hollow yourself out a turnip lamp and carve a terrifying face in it. When lit, this lamp was guaranteed to scare away any evil spirits or undead ghouls that might be stalking you on All Hallows Eve, when the dead roamed the earth. This practice changed even more when taken to America and switched to pumpkins. In 19th Century America it became a fun prank for children to carve a pumpkin lamp and roam around at night to terrify other travelers. Oh, and of course, like the veggies before them, a pumpkin lamp could scare away wandering ghosts.

Back at home, tucked up in the warm with a cup of tea, it's my turn to carve a traditional Jack o Lantern. Eager to get started, I have neglected to research exactly how to do this. I choose to wing it.
🎃 Take a sharp knife and take the top of the turnip off. 

🎃 Hollow the turnip out. This will take a while, as turnips are tough vegetables. Your best bet is to score the inside with a knife and then hack away with a spoon and strong sense of determination. It took me around three hours to hollow my turnip out, but that's only because I stopped for a break half way through.
I would advice leaving at least a centimeter of solid flesh at the bottom of the turnip. This will stop your candle from falling out.
🎃 Grab a pen and outline your lanterns face. Keep it simple and be careful while you're carving. I found this to be the toughest part of carving my turnip and narrowly avoided stabbing myself in my finger. I also tried to keep mine similar to the original, though I could never manage that level of terrifying.
🎃 Once you've got the face sorted you can punch two holes on either side of your lantern, for the string used as the handle. Once again, be careful if doing this with a knife. Environmentally friendly and an excellent improvised hole punch, I used the mental drinking straws my friend Fee bought me for Christmas to make my holes. Thread the string through the holes and the some nice big knots to secure them. I wouldn't advise doing this if you are using real candles to light the lantern, as the string can burn. As can the lid of the lantern.

🎃 Now your lantern is ready to terrorise trick-or-treaters with and forever haunt their nightmares, pop an LED candle or a glowstick inside and hang it outside your door.

And there you have it, how to carve a Traditional Jack o Lantern and the folklore behind it. I wish you all a Happy Halloween and, if you carve a turnip lantern of your own, please leave a comment with a photo or tag me in the photos on Twitter; I'd love to see the ghoulish horrors that you've created.

*This isn't the only story where he gets tricked. In some stories he gets tricked into greater feats than these, even being tricked into building bridges and church doors. The Devil in folklore is a bit stupid and arrogant, and is sometimes easily fooled.

**Swamp Gas will sometimes erupt into flames, resulting in an eerie, floating light. This fascinating natural occurrence also lead to the legend of Will-o-the-Wisp.