Happy Halloween! My Top Five #humpdayhaunts

One my favorite ways to keep the Halloween spirit going all year long is through my Instagram series #humpdayhaunts. Every Wednesday (well, sometimes Thursday), I share haunted history. I always look forward to the opportunity to research a new haunting. In a chaotic world, it is indeed my constant!

I was recently looking through my archives and began reminiscing about past posts. I thought I might share some of my favorites in preparation for the Halloween weekend.

I hope you enjoy this spooky trip down memory lane. Have a hauntingly splendid Halloween!

-Ash 👻

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#humpdayhaunts is BACK!! Skinwalker Ranch lies southeast of Ballard, Utah with 480 acres full of #paranormal activity. The property has also been dubbed "UFO Ranch," because of the high number of #UFO sightings. This place is basically Fox Mulder's Disney World. 👽 There are a number of stories associated with the place, so let's get to it. (1) A family that lived on the property reported cattle mutilation. Some cows had no sign of injury or blood other than a hole "drilled" into the eye. Other cows had organs carefully removed. (2) The same family had issues with a wolf repeatedly killing their cattle, so they shot it…multiple times and on several occasions…with no luck. A bulletproof wolf folks! (3) There has been poltergeist activity including objects moving in the home, unpacked groceries being repacked into grocery bags, and disembodied voices in an unknown language. My guess is UFO ghosts, because fun. (4) The same family from before reported lethal blue orbs on the property. One night they saw the blue orbs floating on the property. They let 3 of their dogs loose to chase the orbs, and the orbs led the dogs further and further from the house. Eventually the owner heard dog yelps in the the distance, but did not go see what was wrong out of fear. The next day, they found 3 spots burned into the ground with a weird gooey substance in the center. It is believed to be the only thing that remains of the dogs. (5) There are a lot of weird animals on and near the property, including a very muscular hyena, giant sea snakes, and a mysterious squid. (6) There's a humanoid figure called The Dark One that peers into another dimension or something. (7) Crop circles of course! Do Do Do Do Do Doooooo [#xfiles theme song] (8) Wait there's more…BIGFOOT sightings. 👽 In 1996, the The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) purchased the property. The NIDS was founded by Las Vegas hotel owner Robert Bigelow with "the purpose to research and advance serious study of various fringe science, and paranormal topics, most notably ufology" (Wikipedia). The same year Bigelow received the Pigasus Award from skeptic James Randi. (CONTINUED IN COMMENTS)

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And here's another #humpdayhaunts for #Halloween. Also check out my post from this morning! 🐰According to legend, a bus of convicts crashed in Fairfax County, VA in 1904. Convicts fled from the bus, but were quickly rounded up by police. All of them…except one. BOOOOO! 🐰 The people of Fairfax County started to notice skinned and half-eaten bunnies hanging in trees, specifically in the wooded area around (then-called) Fairfax Station Bridge. One Halloween night, some teenagers decided to hang out under the bridge. In the morning, they were found in the same condition as the bunnies, hanging from the bridge. Police and concerned citizens assumed this was the work of the escaped convict. The convict became known as The Bunny Man, because he ate bunnies and also killed his family on Easter Sunday (we got some creative legend makers in Virginia). OK so there's the legend. Wanna hear some factual creepy stuff? OK! 🐰 Fairfax County Archivist Brian Conley decided to do some research on this popular local legend. He found its beginnings in the 1970s. As reported in the Washington Post, Air Force Academy cadet Robert Bennett and his fiancée were sitting in their car on Guinea Road in Fairfax Co around midnight. A man appeared in a white suit and tall bunny ears wielding an axe. He yelled at the couple to get off his property, eventually throwing the axe through the front car window. Luckily the couple was not seriously injured. Two weeks later and a block away, the bunny dude was spotted by private security guard Paul Phillips on the front porch of a new, yet unoccupied house. Phillips began to talk to the bunny, which only angered him. Phillips reported to the Washington Post that the bunny said: “All you people trespass around here. If you don’t get out of here, I’m going to bust you on the head.” He then began chopping at the porch. The police looked into these reports, but nothing substantial came out of the investigation. As you can tell, locals took these facts and ran. 🐰 Virginians of Fairfax are warned to stay away from the bridge tonight. At the stroke of midnight, they may face the same consequences as those teenagers (and bunnies).

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It's a whole week of #humpdayhaunts! I'll share a haunted place or legend each day this week, because #HALLOWEEN. 👻 Have you heard about the “THE SHIP OF DEATH” in Wyoming? About every 25 years or so, a phantom ship appears on the Platte River. Witnesses of the ghost ship report a thick fog and a ghost crew covered in frost. The unfortunate witness that pursues a closer look might see the corpse of a still-living loved one lying on the deck. Sometimes the crew is surrounding the person or the captain is motioning towards the loved one's body. This loved one always dies soon after. 👻 100 or so years ago, a trapper named Leon Webber saw the ghost ship (this is the first reported sighting). When he got closer to the ship, he saw his fiancée lying on the top deck. She died that same day. The next reported sighting was 25 years later (1887) when Gene Wilson, a cattleman, saw his wife lying on the ship's deck. She too died the same day. The last reported sighting was in 1903. Victor Hiebe was chopping firewood one autumn day at his residence along the river (or he was a lumberjack). He saw the fog and then the ship…and then the body of his good friend hanging from a noose. This friend had been convicted of murder, though Victor believed in his innocence. Victor last heard his friend escaped from prison. The same day of the sighting, Victor's friend was captured and put to death. 👻 There have been no reported sightings since, but I recommend avoiding the Platte River on foggy days. . . . . . #halloween #scarystory #scarystories #fall #autumn #october #ghost #ghostship #ghosts #paranormal #supernatural #hauntedplaces #haunted #folkore #history #urbanlegend #Wyoming #scary #horror #writersofinstagram #spooky #paranormalactivity

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#humpdayhaunts | Next week I'm in New Orleans, so I'll be taking a break from #humpdayhaunts and #occultmondays. 💀 Today, I'm sharing the story of The Black Carriage of Overton Landing (Missouri). "Overton Landing was a small, isolated farming community scattered along the bluffs and flats of the Missouri River near today's Interstate 70. As with many villages, everyone in Overton knew everyone else, helped out when needed, celebrated the harvest and passed along gossip" (Mary Collins Barlie). 💀 One older couple did not fit in with the rest of the community. They lived in a wooden house off the ferry path, which they ran a tavern out of for weary travelers. Their business wasn't successful, because their reputation as being sour and cruel made travelers avoid it. 💀One night they murdered a merchant with an iron poker and threw his body in the Missouri River. They, of course, kept his money and pricey belongings. They told the community they had inherited the money. With their new fortune, they bought new clothes (the old woman bought a black crepe gown), fixed up their tavern, and bought a fine black carriage. 💀 Three years later, the old woman became ill. On her deathbed she rambled on about blood and an iron poker to neighbor women. She, about to die, asked her husband one last thing: to never remarry and finish his life alone. He promised. 💀Well, he did not keep that promise and married a young woman in St. Louis. The night he brought her back home, neighbors made a ruckus outside his house. Holding torches and lanterns, they shouted loudly. The old man came outside and angrily screamed, "Get out or I'll…" He was interrupted by a carriage coming down the drive. The carriage was black with lanterns as red as blood. The carriage wheels and horse hooves did not make a sound. The crowd and the new young wife watched in silence as the old man looked inside. There sat a woman in a black crepe gown. The coachman convinced the old man to enter and shut the door. The old man and his deceased wife disappeared into the night. As recently as 2012, people have reported seeing a black carriage on the road. It is considered a bad omen so beware!

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Today's #humpdayhaunts comes from my signed copy of Jeffrey Introduces 13 More Southern Ghosts (it's even signed by the ghost Jeffrey). This story comes from Gallatin, Tennessee. On September 23, 1880, Mrs. Lang sat on her front porch watching her children play. She was waiting impatiently for her husband, Mr. David Lang, to finish his farm work so they could go into town. He explained he had to check on the horses and then they would be off. He began walking across his wide pasture, when his name was called from a buggy on the nearby road. He looked up and waved to his friends. Mrs. Lang was watching the scene from the deck and watched as her husband VANISHED in thin air. One second he was waving, and the next second he wasn't there. ▪️ His friends jumped from the buggy. The wife jumped from the porch with the kids following. They went to the spot of his disappearance. All that was left was grass crushed from David Lang's feet. Friends and family began a search. There were no sinkholes, crevices, wells, or large shrubs. People began digging on the spot he last stood. The well-digger even brought his equipment to dig a hole, but he soon hit limestone. Bloodhounds were brought out to search for his scent, only to whimper and turn away when they reached the spot of the disappearance. ▪️ Friends and family stayed with the distraught family each night and each night they heard "Help me! Please somebody, help me.” They searched the darkness for the source of the cries, but they only seemed to come from that tainted spot. Each night the cries grew weaker and eventually they never heard from David Lang again. Mrs. Lang agreed to finally hold a funeral. ▪️ The following spring, the mysterious spot was marked by nature with brown grass 15 feet in diameter, a perfect circle. What ever happened to Mr. David Lang? 👻👽🕳

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