International paranormal stories from abandoned locations: part 1

Warning: contains topics that may cause an uneased feeling. Advised to not read at night or rather with someone when easily feeling unsettled.

There are many (abandoned) buildings that behold ghost stories, or well, paranormal ones. I’ve always been interested in such stories, including abandoned buildings. Sure, the question will always be the same: are such stories true? Multiple buildings have been visited by paranormal scientists, and they said it was true. I’ve researched multiple stories last year, for no real purpose. In several parts, I’ll be telling all international paranormal stories! Today: part 1!

1. West Virginia Penitentiary (Moundsville, West Virginia)

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Almost 1000 prisoners died in this prison that got closed in 1995. The history of this penitentiary includes multiple riots, escapes, hangings, electrocutions and horrendous murders. People say to feel the presence of the prisoners that are still ‘sitting’ there. The original electrocution chair, named Old Sparky, is also still present. From 1899 till 1959, 94 men were executed. Hanging was the method for doing this, until 1949. 85 men were killed by hanging. There were public sightings for the hangings, until June 19, 1931. At that date, Frank Hyer got executed for murdering his wife. When the trap door opened and he dropped into the noose with his full weight, he was immediately beheaded. After this event, you could only attend a hanging on an invitation. The last man to be executed by hanging, Bud Peterson from Logan County, was buried at the cemetery belonging to the prison, because his family refused to claim his body. From 1951, the execution was done by electrocution. The electric chair, named Old Sparky, was built by a prisoner named Paul Glenn. 9 men were electrocuted before the State declared the death sentence ‘prohibited’ in 1965.

2. Oradour-Sur-Glane (France)

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A small farmer’s village, in the middle of the German-occupied territory back in World War II. On June 10, 1944, the German troops killed 642 people (almost the entire population. After that, they destroyed the village. Only 6 people survived the massacre. The carcass of the mayor’s Peugeot 202 is still parked. When people visit this village, they see faces. Doubting if they see people or ghosts. It’s the most important ghost village for Europe and there are fears that its ghosts are under threat. The execution began with an explosion after they had separated the men and women. After this ‘signal’, the men were killed with machine guns in several spots in the village. Their bodies were burned. The women and children were combined in the church. The Germans placed a chest in front of the door, a few fuses visible. They set it aflame, spreading suffocating smoke. The women tried to break the door, to which the Germans pointed their machine guns at them, causing them to flee back inside. One woman survived the massacre. The youngest child that got killed, was only 8 days old.

3. Dudleytown (Connecticut)

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Legend tells a centuries-old curse was placed upon Dudleytown in Connecticut. The town turned into a horrible place where people committed suicide or went insane. By the 1800s, Dudleytown was abandoned and it became famous as America’s own Village of the Damned. A local rumour that has been frequently shared on the internet. The founders of Dudleytown were descended from Edmund Dudley, an English nobleman who was beheaded for treason during the reign of Henry VIII. Ever since the Dudley family was doomed with a curse. It costs crops to fail and mental illness to occur wherever you go. Say you take something from this ‘cursed’ place, you’ll bring the curse back home as well.

4. Gulliver’s Kingdom (Japan)

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This park opened in 1997 but was open for only 4 years. How come? Well, they didn’t have many rides for kids. But that wasn’t the biggest issue. The location was. It was built next to the famously known Suicide Forest. The second biggest suicide location in the world. The first being the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco. In Japan, it’s the location where the most suicides happen. Also, it was located next to the infamous village named Kamikuishiki. It’s known as the location for the headquarters for the nerve gas production facility, from the doomsday cult centre from the group known as Aum Shinrikyo. Translated in English, it means supreme truth. Gulliver’s Kingdom was opened only 2 years after the gas attack on a subway station in Tokyo.

5. Bhangarh (India)

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Bhangarh’s abandoned fort is a haunted place. Access to the side between dusk and dawn is prohibited. Why? Because it is said to be haunted. According to locals, spirits enter the place after sunset and thus nobody is allowed to enter the borders during this time. Locals have even moved their town beyond the boundaries of the fort. Legend says a 16th-century wizard curse the city because he was turned down by a princess. Another legend tells that a holy man cursed Bhangarh. Only because the fort was putting his house in the shadows.

That’s it for part 1! Which story had you heard before? And which one seems the most ‘creepy’ to you?

Love, Deem ❤

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