Spookiest Objects: Discover the World’s Most Haunted Objects

By Terrance Zepke

The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):

Well little Ghoulies here were have our fifth of several non-fiction books. These are going to be a smidge different from our fiction friends in that there are no fictional characters or situations to rant and rave about. With this my approach will be more of a reflection on the locations and histories surrounding the alleged hauntings. I’ll throw in some interesting pictures and links (just click on the pictures) to keep ones appetite whet.

I think it should be an interesting departure and prove to be very interesting. Don’t worry though I’m sure it will not be anger free, as that’s just not who I am after all. Set up like the other four previous books there is a section that gives you information on where and if you can see the objects and visitor information related to that. When you get into the meat of each chapter you get a history of the item as well as the history connected to the haunting or curse if you will. Zepke appears to have enjoyed researching this one. I mean who doesn’t like a good cursed object.

Amanda’s Chair

While the chair is the object of our chapter our author goes into a lot about the house. Interestingly enough through most of the houses history it was built in 1911 by a carpenter who allegedly murdered his wife (not a good start). Then the house was bought by the Easby family. The person there the longest was George Gordon Meade Easby who was 8 when the Easby’s moved into the house in 1926. He grew up in the house which was apparently haunted from the very beginning. The house was home to many antiques that belonged to famous historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon. In fact, it is suspected that the chair in question once belonged to Napoleon.

And while the chair resides in the home of the Easby’s it is most definitely does not seem to belong to them. George actually found comfort in the spirits that occupied the house. Accepted them as you would old friends but there is one that he tried to steer clear of and that was Amanda. Who took it upon herself to claim the chair. Several people who have sat in the chair have died soon after. Stories have been told that the malevolent spirit actually lures people to the chair so that she can curse them. It’s one thing to be territorial of the chair, it’s a whole other thing to actually set people up to die. It’s reported that she presents herself as a red ectoplasmic mist. In 2005 George passed away at the age of 87 and much of the homes belongings were sold off. The chairs current whereabouts are currently unknown. Who knows if Amanda followed in its path.

Anna’s Wedding Dress

This is another tragic story of love lost because of a stupid, snotty father who would rather see his daughter marry a worthless dandy than a hard working middle class man. Anna was in love with a steel worker, an admirable and hardworking profession if you ask me. They met in secret for a good clip but after a while the young man wanted to tell the world. The one person Anna was frightened to tell was her father because she knew he would not approve of the union. She was right in spades. In fact, not only did he turn the young man away, unwilling to be an adult and talk about it but he also used his influence getting the young man fired from his job and convincing no other business owner in town to hire him. Needless to say the young man had no choice but to leave town simply to survive. Sadly Anna vowed never to marry and asked her mother to get rid of the wedding dress that she had made for the occasion. Adding insult to injury the dress ended up going to a girl that Anna did not get along with. This was the final straw for her and she went to her grave never forgiving her father. There is more to the story of course but you’ll have to read the chapter to find out the details. I will say that the dress had been on display at a museum but it would swing back and forth so violently within its case that it would almost knock the case over. The museum, claiming that the dress was getting ruined via discoloration by being on display, have since removed it from display.

Annabelle

If you’re a horror fan like me you are well acquainted with Annabelle the demonic conduit. This chapter gives a bit of back ground to the experience the nursing students had with the doll and its passenger. Believe it or not the account told here is very close to the account told in the movies. A few more details are revealed and now I understand why the young man that is sitting next to the girls looks the way that he does.

I understand that the Warren’s are controversial, especially after that Netflix special with people talking about them being con artists and stealing money. Let’s air this right now…they were true believers in both God (very devout people) and the paranormal. They believed in great good a great evil. Weather you believe in these things is inconsequential because regardless of if they exist the people being tormented believe. By the Warrens doing what they did and the strength of true belief, they were able to help people. Even if it is just helping them deal with things on a psychological level, perhaps unknowingly. The strength of belief is very powerful and if someone believes they are possessed then an exorcism is not an out of the question treatment, especially on a psychological level. They did not, from my understanding, charge for their services which requires time, money and being away from their family and home. The story, book rights, lectures and TV appearances are their way of making a living which is something that EVERYONE needs to keep food on the table and a roof over their head so judgment is not welcome on this front. Now the existence of the supernatural for me is a mystery BUT being skeptical does not mean I don’t believe. It just means that I cannot believe on faith alone. I have not had the experiences that some have had, especially the Warren’s and even though this is the case I think the field of parapsychology is fascinating and possibly the key to deeper understanding of the natural world. If the scientific community could pull its head out of its ass long enough it would see that this field could further, physics in particularly, scientific understanding of the unexplored and mysterious world around us. We are such infants when it comes to our understanding of our natural world. Sadly the Warren’s are both gone now. I respect them both very much for sticking to what they believe in the face of bullying skeptics. RIP my friends.

Basano Vase

The story goes something like this: There once was a bride that was given a silver vase as a wedding gift one her wedding night. That very same night the bride died under mysterious circumstances, if it was murder it is unknown, holding the vase in her had at the time. After her death the family took possession of the vase and every owner died untimely deaths after taking possession. Soon the family decided to put the vase in storage with a note of warning to anyone that should find it. Things were quiet until 1988 when the vase resurfaced and was sold at auction. After that it ran through a series of owner whom our author touches on briefly until ultimately it was buried by a police officer in an undisclosed location. You’ll have to read the chapter to see how he came to have possession of the vase. To this day it has not resurfaced and from what I’ve just read that is probably for the best. Its reputation proceeding it, there are not even many photographs of the vase out there.  

Busby’s Death Chair

We open on an argument between son-in-law and father-in-law (alcohol was probably a factor, well that and the undeniable fact that his son-in-law was most likely a loser). Tempers flare and things get heated. The next morning Father-in-law is found bludgeoned to death in the woods near his home. Busby aka son-in-law is charged with his murder, found guilty and sentenced to hang to death. He was granted a final pint at his favorite pub which conveniently sported a gallows right out back. Perhaps a selling point for some. Busby was such a regular that he even had his designated chair that he always sat in so of course that is where he rested his bottom to have his last pint. Apparently incensed during this last pint Busby placed a curse on the chair stating that anyone who sat in it would be killed. Our author includes a few stories of individuals that had the bad luck to sit in that chair and meet an untimely demise. Finally after several deaths the light bulb finally went off in the mind of the pub owner and he place the chair down in the basement in storage. Unfortunately after several years without incident folks that were working for or around the pub found the chair and would use it to rest in. More untimely death started to occur. Eventually the Mensa member pub owner decided to donate the chair to the Thirsk Museum which is where it hangs now. And I mean hangs, like on the wall. This way no one can sit in it. You know, just in case.

FYI the gallows that were behind the pub are still there but the pub has now become an Indian restaurant.

Conjure Chest

The story behind this object is absolutely heartbreaking. The chest was built by a man named Hosea who was a slave. His “master”, Jacob Cooley, was a nasty piece of work and was known for treating his slaves very badly. Hosea was commissioned (ordered) by Cooley to build a chest of drawers for his first child who was on the way, Hosea was a master carpenter and created an absolutely beautiful chest but apparently it was not good enough for Cooley and he ultimately ended up beating Hosea so badly that he died from his injuries just a few days after the beating. Whatever Cooley’s issues with the chest were he apparently got over them because ultimately the chest ended up in the infants room. In their anger and desire for retribution the other slaves placed a curse on the chest. During the ritual owl’s blood was sprinkled on the drawers. The first born died in his infancy and several children there after befell victim to the curse (serves that evil dick right). There is a trick to this one though…apparently the curse is only enacted when it is in use. My best advice don’t use it. This chapter details other deaths related to this curse and the family (the chest stayed in the family until it was donated to a museum) as well as the reversal of the curse by the last known family member to own the chest (ritual includes an owl once again). My best advice, even with the reversal, is don’t use it.

Crying Boy

Our author asks why an artist would want to paint such a painting or why someone would want to own such a painting? My answer to her is that artists want to invoke emotional responses with their work, flood the senses. A crying child is a very visceral piece especially if you are a parent. As for owning a piece like this, the answer is the same. People want to feel something. In addition to feeling this is also a beautiful painting. What an expressive face. We’ve all experienced that face too, it’s the temper tantrum in the toy isle at Walmart face. It’s the how can you do this to me face. The “Really?” face. Oh yes I can see why this his would be a popular painting. And I mean popular because apparently it was not just the original painting that had issues, the prints also seemed to be cursed.

 Several house fires mysteriously broke out with the only surviving item being the painting/print. This was documented by firefighters. Allegedly one firefighter kept track of how many times this happened and there were more than fifty fires. I guess firefighters are a superstitious lot. Supposedly the picture is of a street child that the artist, Bruno Amadio (and his many many pseudonyms) adopted. The villagers said that the boy was a bad seed, calling him “Diablo”. Allegedly the artist’s studio burned down not long after the adoption. Now this is all conjecture of course but that is one of the stories.

One other that peaked my interest, and happened to be part of a response by the artist during a TV interview was that all of his subjects were of dead boys who lived in the street. He wanted to capture their sadness through his painting. Apparently he had painted several different paintings depicting sad children, most of the subjects were boys.

There are a few details that I have left out including a letter that you are going to want to read the chapter for.

Dibbuk Box

I’ve of course seen several movies about these lovely boxes but never knew the story that inspired them. Now I know. This chapter outlines in good detail what the path of this item was. I’ll just give an outline. So…after WWII a holocaust survivor named Haleva immigrated to America brining some of her possessions of which one was a decent sized wine cabinet, family heirloom. She was the keeper of the box up until her death in 2003, she was 103. Then the box, being part of the estate, went to auction that was handled by an antique dealer by the name of Kevin Mannis. Mannis decided to keep the box and open it (he let the entity free), that was a mistake. Everyone he ever tried to give/sell the cabinet to, returned it. At his end he put it up for sale on Ebay and it was eventually bought by Jason Haxton who started to experience things as well. He reached out to Mannis and asked that he help him figure out how to trap the entity back in the box. They were able to illicit help from a Rabbis. Haxton complied with his instructions and hid the box away making himself the new keeper. Read the chapter for more details about their experiences and the experiences of those that tried to possess the box.   

Goddess of Death

This lovely lady has a bad habit of killing entire families. It seems that many of these objects that kill their owners just attack the owner but nope, not this lady. For her it’s go big or go home! The history of this object is incomplete due to its age dating back to 3500BC however it is suspected that this is a fertility statue. There are four (five if you count the curator) victims listed in the chapter and the last donated the statue, which is now locked under glass at The Museum of Scotland.

Is it just me or does the shape lend very little doubt that it is indeed a fertility statue?

Hope Diamond

The subject of TV and movie thrillers (with different names of course), this cursed and expensive stone has caused many misfortunes on those who have gotten their hands on it. Once again, allegedly, we have a jewel stolen from a, Indian idol but the interesting thing here was the person that “found” the stone did not seem to have issues. In fact, he was made a noble by King Louis XIV who bought the gem and also never had any issues. So perhaps up until it’s theft during the French Revolution it had just been found. The common theme with these stones is that once they are stolen they become cursed. Maybe there is something to this whole don’t take things that don’t belong to you thing.

Just like the Blarney Stone this curse seems to bring their owners to financial ruin. In some cases owners experienced health issues for themselves and their loved ones. In one extreme as woman not only lost her husband to insanity but also saw her children put to an early grave. If you ask me, and you probably didn’t, this stone is better left unturned.

It’s at the Smithsonian now so no worries.

Myrtles Mirror

This chapter includes a basic history of the plantation and the house but what I am interested in is the object so if you want to know more detail about this location I suggest you read the chapter. It’s very interesting.

A man named David Bradford built the house. His daughter Sarah, her husband and their children are the main focus of the haunted object. Them and a slave girl named Chloe. When Sarah was bed ridden while pregnant with her third child Clark, her husband decided it would be a good idea to start sleeping with Chole. Apparently he just was not capable of keeping it in his pants during that time. After the child was born and things were back to normal he broke off the affair. Needless to say Chole was frightened that she would be put to work on/in the plantations fields so she devised a plan to spy on Clark, likely hoping to get some inside information that she could use to for the purpose of blackmail. Needless to say she was caught and punished. Allegedly the eavesdroppers ear was cut off to make an example of what would happen to those that didn’t mind their own business.

In retaliation, (really stupid girl?) Chole decided to poison a birthday cake and ultimately killing Sarah and two of the children. Clark, the actual target didn’t even have any cake. The murders got back to the other salves and out of concern that the poisoning would be discovered and the wrong person blamed they made the decision to take the situation into their own hands. They went after Chole and hanged her. Now this story is just that, a story. Sarah and the children could have died from yellow fever which was running rampant at the time but as we all know people are stupid so it is possible that this story has some truth to it.

Now the reason to tell this back story is because it is believed that the mirror is haunted by Chloe, Sarah and her children as allegedly this mirror was neve covered after their deaths trapping there spirits within the mirror. There have been hundreds of sightings related to this mirror, many of them being caught on camera so it’s kinda hard to dispute that there is something going on.

Moral of the story: Gentlemen, keep it in your pants.

Robert the Doll

The back story goes that a servant who was angry with the family, gave the doll to the family for their son Gene but not before placing a voodoo curse on the doll. Using black magic to attach an evil spirit to the doll. The experiences with Robert are very similar to those of Annabelle, especially when it comes to the doll moving around on its own. There have been several individuals that have experienced the doll moving around, hearing footsteps, giggling and voices. Apparently Gene’s family used to hear him talking to someone, hearing two distinctly different voices, but when they went to check on him it would just be Gene and his doll Robert. The doll can now be found in the East Martello Museum. Oh and don’t take his picture without permission as guests that have experienced disturbances after doing so. Read about more individual experiences in this chapter.  

Royal Chairs of Belcourt

A house with an interesting history. Apparently it started with humble beginnings with only one bedroom and one bathroom to its name, in fact the stable was more grand than the lodge but soon the plans changed and those plans gave birth to a sixty room mansion that was worth three million dollars in 1894. With inflation that house would be worth over seventy million dollars today. The man footing the bill was Oliver Belmont. Eventually, after being passed from family member to family member the house was sold in 1940 it was sold to an individual outside of the family. Apparently ownership changed hands several times until it was bought by Harold Tinney who renovated the mansion back to its former glory plus. He filled the mansion with many fantastic pieces of artwork and glorious antiques including the chairs. The chairs reside in the most haunted room in the home, the ballroom.

These royal chairs, also known as salt chairs, as salt was at one time more valuable than gold or diamonds, because they had a compartment where the royal salt was kept for gifting to esteemed guests (for real, not making it up). Those that have tried to sit in the chairs were in for the surprise of a life time as they were allegedly ejected from the chairs and thrown across the room. It was reported that while sitting in the chairs it felt as though they were visiting a mall Santa, sitting in their lap. Other experiences have included getting a shock simply from touching the chairs and feeling sick to ones stomach or getting a chill just from being around them.

Needless to say no one is permitted to sit in these electrolyte infused electric chairs anymore. The mansion is currently privately owned and not open to the public BUT they do have private tours throughout the year including a ghost tour as the rest of the mansion is said to be haunted as well. Our author goes into some of that as well in this chapter.

Tallman Bunk Bed

This object was found by the Tallman family in a thrift shop (Annabelle was also a thrift shop purchase…hint hint) It turns out that the bed was apparently bad news. Once the bed was in use, bad and frightening things started to happen to the family. To the point where eventually they had their pastor come to bless the bed. That seemed to work for a while but eventually the horrific disturbances came back ten-fold eventually forcing the family from their home. More details of their ordeal as well as the fate of the bed and the aftermath are in the chapter.

The Anguished Man

Yup…NOPE! Aside from there being paranormal experiences attached to this painting, this sucker is just plain creepy. The first time I saw it I broke out into goose flesh. The artist is unknown however the paint used to make the painting was tested. I’m assuming this was for dating the painting, trying to figure out it provenance. It was found that mixed in with the oil paint was human blood. Because it’s not even known who the artist is we cannot know that this was the artist’s blood BUT it’s a good guess. That’s not to say that the artist was not a psychotic who killed the subject of the painting, using their blood as part of the piece or that this is a self-portrait of the persons tormented soul. Either way you slice it…it’s disturbing. Read the chapter for more details which includes a paranormal investigation into the painting…I can’t look at it anymore.

The Hands Resist Him

Honestly I am at a loss for words. Looking at the painting makes me feel uneasy. The high forehead of the boy alone makes this uncomfortable but when you look closely at the widow behind the two figures you see hands pressing against the glass. The girl is a life size doll. According to our author the artist Bill Stoneham used a photo taken of him during his childhood to paint the picture. The glass panel, according to Stoneham, represents a portal between our waking world and our dream world. For me the true discomfort comes from looking at the series as a whole. There are now four additional paintings that were done. One Prequel and three sequels to the original painting. Visit stonehamstudios.com to view them. Here’s the thing…I like them. They draw me in. Make me feel. So I can see why people continue to purchase the painting. It’s a fascinating series of work. As for the curse…you’ll have to read the chapter to find out the details but for me the creepiest experience would have to be the boy crawling out of the painting. Supposedly this was caught on video…I’d like to see that video.

Valentino Ring

It seems that Valentino was warned that his ring was bad news from the jeweler that he bought it from. However, though reluctant, the dude sold it to him anyway. A friend of Valentino’s allegedly saw a pale visage of the actor in a reflection on the stone. A bad omen if I ever heard one. It was not long before bad luck befell the actor whose two post ring purchase films bombed. In six years from the purchase of that ring the actor died at the age of 31 from sepsis (ulcer perforation).

Not sure that the ring was worth the fashion statement. I mean who’s wearing bad luck these days anyway?!

Several other people met an unhappy ending after taking the ring for a test drive as well including the actor that wore the ring while playing Valentino in a movie about his life and career. Didn’t even own the ring, it was just out on loan, still managed to cut his life short via shooting accident. At this point, luckily, the whereabouts of the ring are unknown, it is believed to be in a safe deposit box in Hollywood somewhere but that has never been verified.

Our author talks about others that were effected by the curse until it’s safety deposit box retirement.

Fun fact about Rodolpho Valentino: His father was a veterinary surgeon.

More Spooky Objects…

With each of these objects I have given a smidge more information about the hauntings than our author in some cases. Please be sure to click on the pictures to learn more about these hauntings.

Black Orlov

Allegedly stolen from a Hindu shrine, the “Eye of Brahma” is a rather volatile set of compressed minerals. Apparently it makes people think that they can fly off of tall structures. Several of the gems previous owners have met their demise via a jump from a tall structure not long after acquiring it. Here is the kicker little Ghoulies, apparently the curse has been broken since the 1950’s when Charles Wilson bought the diamond and had it re-cut. I guess all it needed was a fresh start.

Blarney Stone

I think when it comes to this curse we are essentially talking about karma. Yes while it is traditionally thought that the stone brings one good fortune should you give in a smooch while touring in Ireland it can also bring you miss fortune as well. So should you decide to become a thief and destructor of property while on holiday perhaps choose a different location to break your criminal cherry.

It has been reported from these fledgling thieves that after taking part of the stone they have experienced bouts of severe depression and suffered job losses and financial hardships.

Moral of this story…leave the damn rock alone.

Little Bastard

It sounds to me like Dean was warned that this fancy piece of machinery was trouble. Turns out that it was, for multiple people. According to what our author there have been no less than three (not including Dean’s accident) fatal accidents involving the bits and pieces of this vehicle as well as a fair share of accidents that could have been tragically fatal as well. Not to mention the storeroom fire that destroyed everything in the room EXCEPT the twisted remains of this Little Bastard.

I think the most notable story is the one of the passenger of the vehicle in the car with Dean, Rolf Wutherich, who was a Porch mechanic. Wutherich was thrown from the vehicle during the crash and got away with a few bumps and bruises. This dude had some serious survivor’s guilt going on as he attempted to commit suicide twice in the 1960’s. He also consequently stabbed his wife 14 times in a failed murder/suicide attempt in 1967 and eventually ended up killing himself in a drunk driving accident in 1981. Talk about being cursed.

Koh-i-Noor Diamond

This object is beautiful, worth a dump truck load of cash and as it so happens is akin to a black widow. We’re talking a sexist expensive rock here. This lovely mix of compressed minerals likes to lure men to their demise. And while there are many middle eastern entities trying to lay claim to it now that Elizabeth the II has passed (it became part of the crown jewels of England) perhaps it is not in the best interest of a patriarchal society to get their hands on it. Unless of course they have a death wish, to each their own I say.

Uluru Rocks

This is sacred land people. These rocks represent proof to the aboriginal peoples in its most glorious and impressive form of the ancestral spirits time on earth. It is believed that the world was, in the beginning, a bland, flat, boring, featureless place. That is of course until the ancestral beings made their journey across the land and in their wake left places like Uluru.

The act of theft once again brings bad tidings on the thief. No brainer there. It is actually illegal to take a piece of the huge rock formation. Putting becoming a criminal aside and the $8500 fine, who in their right mind would sign up for bad luck by taking a rock. We all know that it’s gonna land on a shelf or table somewhere and grow dust so I say leave this sacred stone formation alone and buy yourself a didgeridoo.

Closing thoughts:

I think that out of all five books in this series that this one was the creepiest. These objects, especially “The Anguished Man”, are all disturbing in their own way, bringing with them their own unique form of tragedy and terror. When I was doing research for “The Anguished Man” painting picture I had chills when they all pulled up and I had warm air blowing on me at the time. It has a feeling of dread about it that I just can’t shake. The fact that they considered and still might make a movie based on this makes my blood run even colder than it already is. As for the book itself, once again our author is consistent in her writing as well as her format. There are a few word errors here and there but honestly I feel that some of these have to be due to the transfer to the digital format. I knew about some of these objects but some were completely new to me. Like the Tallman bunk beds. Talk about being terrorized by something. Over all recommended read.

Happy Devouring! 

The Sexton