This blog post serves as the promised sequel to the first half titled “Haunted Objects”. The reason for writing this in two parts (and possibly three parts) is because there are so many haunted objects of interest in the world that if I had to compile them all into a single post you might get bored and die. Then I would be sitting with a haunted blog post.
There are so many theories out there as to why spirits become attached to objects. Some believe that when you die you can become attached to an object that you were touching in that moment. Your energy and soul transfer into the object allowing you to use it and manipulate it. Some believe that humans can form such a strong attachment to a special item that when we die our souls still won’t let it go. This way, instead of you keeping the object the way you had in life, the object now keeps you and no matter where the object goes, you are bound to take the same path.
Thomas Busby’s Murder Chair
Thomas Busby was a petty thief with a very short temper who loved nothing more than to go to his favourite bar and sit in his favourite seat and drink many of his favourite drinks. His short temper meant that usually when there was confrontation at the bar or any episode of violence, Busby was involved. Busby’s father-in-law, Daniel Awerty was a very successful coin forger. After plenty of success he needed to get away from the eyes of the “good folk” to continue to grow his business. Awerty bought a farm which he named “Danerty Hall” – after himself of course. One day Awerty decided to sit in Busby’s favourite chair without permission or acknowledgement which, naturally, led to a large confrontation between the two men. After Awerty threatened to take his daughter and keep her away on his farm, Busby snuck into Danerty Hall and murdered his father-in-law. It did not take long for the police to tie Busby to the murder and he was sentenced to death by hanging. His final request was a drink at his favourite bar, in his favourite chair of course. After his drink he was taken to his hanging where he stated “Death shall come swiftly to anyone that dares sit in my chair”. The chair has a long history of victims.
The first victim was an unnamed chimney sweep who had no choice but to sit in the only available chair to rest. Several minutes after using the chair he fell off the roof and died. During WWII numerous airforce officers made a dare game out of sitting in Busby’s chair but few noticed that all who did never returned from the war. In 1967 three RAF pilots challenged the chair, all three later died when their vehicle hit a tree. After numerous deaths the bar owner put the chair in the basement to avoid anyone from ever touching it. One day a brick layer doing renovations on the building saw the chair in the basement and decided to rest and take a seat on the chair. That same afternoon he also fell off the roof and to his death. A cleaning woman who had accidentally stumbled onto the chair died of an aneurysm and a delivery man that used the chair crashed his delivery van and died within an hour of coming into contact with the chair.
After too many deaths the bar owner could not take it any longer and had the chair carefully moved to Thirsk Museum where it now hangs nearly two metres from the ground and staff are forbidden to touch the chair.
Basano Vase
The Basano Vase is a beautiful vase carved from silver in the 15th century. Legend states that the vase was a wedding gift but it never got used. The bride was found on her wedding night clutching the vase as she died. After this incident the vase was passed on from family member to family member each member dying shortly afterwards. After too many deaths the vase was boxed and buried, hidden away where nobody would find it. Until 1988 when someone found it. It was found with a parchment inside that read “Beware…this vase brings death”. The parchment was thrown away and the vase was sold on auction for 4 million Lera.
The new owner of the vase died only 3 months later, after which it was sold to a 37 year old surgeon who died 2 months after that. Then the vase was sold to an archaeologist and collector who died of an unknown and unexplained infection 2 months after coming in possession of the vase. Due to the vase’s growing reputation the family could not sell it back or get a refund of their money. With nothing else to do they threw it out of a window where it narrowly missed the head of a police officer. They were fined but refused to take the vase back, which meant it then was in police custody. With no museums wanting the vase either, the police buried the vase once again in an undisclosed cemetery where it will hopefully never get found again.
Myrtle’s Plantation Mirror
Myrtle’s Plantation is considered one of the most haunted building in the world. In the building hangs a 200 year old mirror with a beautifully ornate gold frame. The story goes that a slave named Chloé baked a cake containing traces of oleander and poisoned three family members who later died. The lady of the manor and her two daughters were murdered by the poisoned cake. It is unsure if Chloé intended to murder the three ladies or if her intention was only to make them horribly sick. It is believed that the souls of Sara and her two daughters are trapped within the mirror and you can sometimes see their hands pressed against the glass. Staff have also regularly come across unexplainable drip marks on the mirror that cannot be washed off and some visitors have claimed to see figure in old-fashioned clothing staring back at them when they looked into the mirror. Although there is no record of there ever being a slave named Chloé and no evidence of the three murders there are many people that still firmly believe the mirror is haunted by the three souls.
The Tallman Bunkbeds
In 1987 Allen and Debbie Tallman purchased a set of second hand bunkbeds. Almost immediately after bringing the bunkbeds home they started to experience unexplainable events in their home. Their home radio would change stations on its own, doors would bang for no reason, chairs would rock back and forth, disembodied voices would call family members from empty rooms and the children often saw an apparition of an ugly old woman with glowing skin and dark hair. The Tallman’s eventually called in a priest after the entity seemed to focus mostly on their one son. The priest, claiming there was an unholy spirit in their home, performed a blessing but the activity continued.
Eventually the son no longer wanted to stay in the house and so Tallman got fed up and yelled out “Pick on me! Leave my kids alone!” The challenge was accepted. From the very next day Allen Tallman started to hear a disembodied voice taunting him from different areas of the house and that night he witnessed a human-shaped fog cloud rise up from the ground while he was in bed. It had green eyes that stared at Allen and said “You’re dead” before disappearing before his eyes. One evening a family friend was helping Debbie with the kids while Allen was away on business. When he went to put the kids to bed he saw a “horrific figure” materialize. That was enough for the Tallman family who moved away as soon as they possibly could. The media got hold of the story and soon largely exaggerated tales of what became known as “The Horicon Haunted House” began to spread and nobody would go near it. All of this begs for one question though…why not just get rid of the bunkbeds?
The Salt Chairs of Belcourt Castle
The mansion was designed by architect Richard Morris for Perry Belmont, a young bachelor in 1894, although he would not remain a bachelor for much longer. In 1896 he married socialite Alva Vanderbilt and the couple only lived in the manor about 6-8 weeks a year. After Belmont’s death in 1908, Alva spent most of her time travelling the world and the Belmont Manor was left in disrepair. It was eventually sold a few times, each time with the hope of using the building as a museum or a business, but each time the building remained unused and was resold.
Eventually the property was bought by the Tinney family who went on to own the property for 56 years. They had completely restored the building to its former glory and added some of their own antique collection to the assets of the manor. There is a long list of objects in this home that are considered haunted, but by far the most haunted are the salt chairs located in the gothic ballroom. Visitors claim that if you hold your hands over the chairs you can feel a warm energy emanating from somewhere within the material. Often visitors who have sat on the chairs have experienced waves of nausea and feeling icy cold. With some even saying that it feels as if someone is already sitting in the chair. On one occasion, 70 witnesses saw what looked like a bolt of lightning come from one of the chairs and go straight through the room and out. One tour guide watched a visitor get thrown about 2 meters out of the chair by an invisible force. What could cause the activity in the chairs is unknown as the house was never all that important to the original owners and I can find very little information on the origin of the chairs.
The “Conjuring Mirror”
This mirror is currently located in the Warren’s occult museum. For those who do not know who the Warren’s are, Ed and Lorraine Warren are the most prolific demonologists of our time with many of their cases being the inspiration for horror movies. They run a museum from their home where you can see many of the artifacts they have taken from investigations. They take it with them in order to keep an eye on it and make sure that nothing bad comes from them ever again. Amongst the collection is the infamous “Annabelle” doll in her glass case.
The “Conjuring Mirror” has an interesting history. The 1.5 meter tall, ornate mirror comes from the home of then 55 year old Steven Zellner who used the mirror to practice an ancient medieval ritual. This form of mirror-magic is not well known but surprisingly easy to do (See my blog on mirror superstitions). Although Steven struggled in the beginning with getting the ritual to work, he eventually started to get better at it and would obsessively perform the ritual for months until the visions in the mirror became so clear and strong that he could make them do what he asked. It is believed that Steven could not only see dark spirits in the mirror but events that were going to happen in the future. He would pick victims from these events and send out the darker spirits to do horrible things to them. What Steven forgot was the rule of three. Everything you do will be done unto you, three times over.
A few months later the spirits in the mirror began to oppress Steven in his home, taking over his life and threatening his own safety. He would hear disembodies voices and his home was plagued with shadow figures. He called on Ed & Lorraine Warren to help him cleanse his home of the dark spirits. The Warren’s took the mirror home with them to avoid any more rituals and to keep a close eye on the paranormal activity surrounding it. On their way home they hit a pothole and their brand new tyre exploded causing them to swerve into oncoming traffic. A truck that was on the same route as them would relentlessly spill green sludge on their car causing them to lose visibility over and over again and just before home they were faced with a black car headed straight for them on a drawbridge. However, when the time came for the head-on collision the car simply vanished. The Warren’s nearly did not make it home that night and the mirror now resides near their office where they can keep a watchful eye on it.
It really is a pity that the prettiest objects have to come with such a negative history. Be careful what you buy from the antique shop next time. You never know what you might be bringing into your home. However, while I enjoy a haunted object, I need to keep in mind that there are many other possibilities. Placement of the object could cause a negative space and, in turn, a negative feeling towards it. Older objects could carry strange and negative connotations that we are not aware of and give us a sensation that something is wrong when there is, in fact, nothing wrong. We must also not forget that most hauntings are caused by one event that was never properly explained which eventually leads to mass hysteria within the home. What we do not understand frightens us and fear causes an unreasonable reaction to the environment around us. Next time you have an object in your home that you suspect might be haunted try moving it somewhere else. Perhaps your feng-shui is iffy. Or perhaps you just don’t like it as much as you thought you did.
