True stories of ghosts, monsters and other weirdness in every state
WHEN YOU HEAR or read stories about ghosts, strange creatures, UFOs, and other strange phenomena, you probably say to yourself, "That's scary, but that could never happen around here." Oh yeah? Crazy, weird unexplained phenomena of just about every description occur all over the place - even your state, perhaps your town and on your block.
As you travel around these United States, keep in mind that every state has a variety of paranormal goings-on. Following is a sampling - one true story from each state - that will have you looking over your shoulder no matter where you live.
ALABAMA
Smoke entity. Around 1995 in Talladega, Alabama, Kathy J. encountered an extraordinary phenomenon right out of the TV series Lost; but this occurred long before the TV show was created. One morning at around 5 a.m., Kathy awoke to the sound of heavy breathing coming from the other end of her house. "I heard the breathing coming closer to my bedroom," she says. "I knew nothing had come into my house that night because the burglar alarm would have gone off if there had been. This being came into my bedroom. Of course, I was scared out of my mind, but I had to see what it was. I glanced up at it and it was like dark smoke in the form of a man. Its face was completely black and it was looking at me. It smelled like a fire pit. I lay there scared to move with my eyes closed now, and I felt it sit down on my bed.
I began to pray that this thing would leave my home, and after a few minutes I felt it get up off the bed and it proceeded to go back the way it came in." Sorry, but that is much scarier than the Lost Smoke Monster. Full story.
ALASKA
Phantom gas station. Stories of phantom places such as restaurants, inns and houses are among the most intriguing in paranormal annals. This one involves a gas station as experienced by Jennifer in 1994 en route to Seward, Alaska. She and her husband had been on the road for awhile when they realized they were low on gas. Thankfully, they came upon an old gas station with even older looking gas pumps. Inside the station was even stranger. Everything was old, decrepit and covered with dust and cobwebs. But Jennifer's husband did talk to a boy inside the station who, oddly, tried to get Jennifer's husband to go fishing with him. They left quickly, and at a diner some miles down the road, the couple was told that no such gas station even existed. Full story.
ARIZONA
Arizona skinwalker. This creepy tale come from Lance, who was traveling with his dad near Sanders, Arizona. It was winter and snowing at 2 a.m. when they saw a woman walking along the side of the road without a coat or even shoes. She did not appear to be hitchhiking, but Lance's dad pulled over and asked her in both English and Navajo if she wanted a ride. "She turned around slowly to look at us and her long hair was covering her face," Lance says. "You couldn't even see what her face looked like; her hair covered her whole head like a mop head. She walked up to the truck on the passenger side where I was sitting and just stood by the window for like 15 seconds just looking at me." But when Lance opened the back door for her to get in, she just turned and ran away into the forest. Full story.
ARKANSAS
Arkansas creature. The Ozark mountains have long been a source of mystery, legend and folklore. And Crys has a story about what her father experienced there in 1962 when he was ten years old. His family lived in the mountains in a small cabin, and on this particular day he was home alone with his mom when they heard their pigs squealing. The two of them went out to investigate, but only saw hoof prints, like that of a deer, in the mud. After they hurried back into the house, whatever it was came up on their porch and began to ram at their door for nearly an hour. After it left, further investigation showed that the hoofprints went from four to two; as if this creature suddenly started to walk only on its hind legs! Full story.
CALIFORNIA
Pack of werewolves. There are a lot of werewolves coming out of California - mainly Hollywood in the form of popular movies. But are there real werewolves in the The Golden State? Rich says there are, near Newport Beach, where he saw them in November, 2009. Sometime after 11 p.m., Rich was driving home from work on a route he normally takes. "On this night, I was coming off the exit for the 133 road connector, and I'll never forget what I saw," he says. "While stopped at the stop light, I saw a group of three large, four-legged creatures dash out from the trees along the road." But these weren't dogs or even deer, he testifies. "Those three beasts were running upright! The wolves, which seems to be the most logical guess, were about 6.5 feet tall and looked like they easily weighed 250-275 pounds each. They even started to chase after him as he drove away. Full story.
COLORADO
Stanley hotel spirit. Estes Park, Colorado is home to the famous Stanley Hotel, which has a solid reputation for being haunted and has been investigated by many paranormal investigators. Steve Santel was touring the hotel when he took a photo in the Billiard Room that shows something most unusual. "Visible through two windows leading to the adjacent room, there are two completely separate 'apparitions,'" he says, "one viewed through each window. Both forms are very distinct and each shows facial features. Go take a look at his photo.
Next page:Connecticut - Idaho
WHEN YOU HEAR or read stories about ghosts, strange creatures, UFOs, and other strange phenomena, you probably say to yourself, "That's scary, but that could never happen around here." Oh yeah? Crazy, weird unexplained phenomena of just about every description occur all over the place - even your state, perhaps your town and on your block.
As you travel around these United States, keep in mind that every state has a variety of paranormal goings-on. Following is a sampling - one true story from each state - that will have you looking over your shoulder no matter where you live.
ALABAMA
Smoke entity. Around 1995 in Talladega, Alabama, Kathy J. encountered an extraordinary phenomenon right out of the TV series Lost; but this occurred long before the TV show was created. One morning at around 5 a.m., Kathy awoke to the sound of heavy breathing coming from the other end of her house. "I heard the breathing coming closer to my bedroom," she says. "I knew nothing had come into my house that night because the burglar alarm would have gone off if there had been. This being came into my bedroom. Of course, I was scared out of my mind, but I had to see what it was. I glanced up at it and it was like dark smoke in the form of a man. Its face was completely black and it was looking at me. It smelled like a fire pit. I lay there scared to move with my eyes closed now, and I felt it sit down on my bed.
I began to pray that this thing would leave my home, and after a few minutes I felt it get up off the bed and it proceeded to go back the way it came in." Sorry, but that is much scarier than the Lost Smoke Monster. Full story.
ALASKA
Phantom gas station. Stories of phantom places such as restaurants, inns and houses are among the most intriguing in paranormal annals. This one involves a gas station as experienced by Jennifer in 1994 en route to Seward, Alaska. She and her husband had been on the road for awhile when they realized they were low on gas. Thankfully, they came upon an old gas station with even older looking gas pumps. Inside the station was even stranger. Everything was old, decrepit and covered with dust and cobwebs. But Jennifer's husband did talk to a boy inside the station who, oddly, tried to get Jennifer's husband to go fishing with him. They left quickly, and at a diner some miles down the road, the couple was told that no such gas station even existed. Full story.
ARIZONA
Arizona skinwalker. This creepy tale come from Lance, who was traveling with his dad near Sanders, Arizona. It was winter and snowing at 2 a.m. when they saw a woman walking along the side of the road without a coat or even shoes. She did not appear to be hitchhiking, but Lance's dad pulled over and asked her in both English and Navajo if she wanted a ride. "She turned around slowly to look at us and her long hair was covering her face," Lance says. "You couldn't even see what her face looked like; her hair covered her whole head like a mop head. She walked up to the truck on the passenger side where I was sitting and just stood by the window for like 15 seconds just looking at me." But when Lance opened the back door for her to get in, she just turned and ran away into the forest. Full story.
ARKANSAS
Arkansas creature. The Ozark mountains have long been a source of mystery, legend and folklore. And Crys has a story about what her father experienced there in 1962 when he was ten years old. His family lived in the mountains in a small cabin, and on this particular day he was home alone with his mom when they heard their pigs squealing. The two of them went out to investigate, but only saw hoof prints, like that of a deer, in the mud. After they hurried back into the house, whatever it was came up on their porch and began to ram at their door for nearly an hour. After it left, further investigation showed that the hoofprints went from four to two; as if this creature suddenly started to walk only on its hind legs! Full story.
CALIFORNIA
Pack of werewolves. There are a lot of werewolves coming out of California - mainly Hollywood in the form of popular movies. But are there real werewolves in the The Golden State? Rich says there are, near Newport Beach, where he saw them in November, 2009. Sometime after 11 p.m., Rich was driving home from work on a route he normally takes. "On this night, I was coming off the exit for the 133 road connector, and I'll never forget what I saw," he says. "While stopped at the stop light, I saw a group of three large, four-legged creatures dash out from the trees along the road." But these weren't dogs or even deer, he testifies. "Those three beasts were running upright! The wolves, which seems to be the most logical guess, were about 6.5 feet tall and looked like they easily weighed 250-275 pounds each. They even started to chase after him as he drove away. Full story.
COLORADO
Stanley hotel spirit. Estes Park, Colorado is home to the famous Stanley Hotel, which has a solid reputation for being haunted and has been investigated by many paranormal investigators. Steve Santel was touring the hotel when he took a photo in the Billiard Room that shows something most unusual. "Visible through two windows leading to the adjacent room, there are two completely separate 'apparitions,'" he says, "one viewed through each window. Both forms are very distinct and each shows facial features. Go take a look at his photo.
Next page:Connecticut - Idaho