American writer Shirley Jackson is known worldwide for her novel The Haunted House on the Hill, which tells the story of several people in a ghost-filled house. At the end of the 20th century, a novel of the same name was made based on the novel, which is a remake of the 1963 painting, and in the fall of 2018, Netflix released a series based on the book, which hit all conceivable popularity ratings from the first episodes. Nevertheless, at the time of the release of the series, rumors began to spread about people who did not want to watch the show because of fear.
The horrors that Jackson's characters face are nothing more than fiction. However, there are families who really lived in terrible houses with paranormal phenomena. These families were expelled from their homes, and now they do not leave a constant sense of fear.
1
Smerl family
When Jack and Janet Smerl moved to Chase Street in the western part of Pittston, a town in Pennsylvania, they knew that he needed major repairs. The house needed redevelopment and painting, but they soon realized that repair was the least problem. For 13 years, they were tormented by the ghosts that lived in the house. In particular, Janet believed that a demon came to her in a dream, and Jack claimed to have been sexually harassed by an unknown force while watching a baseball on television. And they also witnessed how their dog was forcefully thrown into the wall.
Demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren found four ghosts in the house - a harmless old woman, a fiery girl, a man who died in the house, as well as a demon who controlled the first three spirits. By 1987, the Smerlov family was tired of attacks, having moved to another house, and not even wanting to remember the years of torment.
2
Perron family
The story of the harassment by the ghosts of the Perron family was so terrifying that it inspired filmmakers to shoot the movie The Curse, which was released in 2013. In 1970, Roger and Carolyn Perron, along with five children, drove into a house with a farm in Rhode Island, which was called "Old Arnold Manor." The house was built in 1736, and the previous tenant left a warning to the family, saying: "For the sake of your family, do not turn off the lights!"
Anxiety began almost immediately. Carolyn was awakened by the ghost of an old gray-haired woman named Bathsheba, whose head was just dangling. The ghost told the family to leave home. The ghost of a boy they called Manny often visited the children. They claimed that he was watching them from home when the girls were playing in the yard. After the family, evil spirits visited, dropping them from the bed, grabbing their feet and filling the house with the stench of rotting flesh at exactly 5:15 in the morning.
Pictured: the Perron family at the premiere of The Conjuring, 2013
The Perron family is still trying to tell its story. Andrea Perron, the matured daughter of Roger and Caroline, says: “It’s worth recognizing that there was an evil male spirit in the house that annoyed five little girls.”
3
Anfield Poltergeist
This story refers to the period between 1977 and 1979. She became known throughout the world as the Anfield Poltergeist. In Anfield, England, at 284 Green Street, there was a private house on a quiet street. In the house lived a single mother, Peggy Hodgson, with two daughters. For two years, her children were tormented by the cruel poltergeist. The girls Margaret and Janet were 13 and 11 years old respectively, and they constantly complained about scary voices, strong knocks and overturning chairs. At one time, Janet became obsessed, and began to speak in a uterine voice, which belonged to Bill Wilkins, who died in this house at the age of 72 years.
Photojournalist Graham Morris, who came home on duty, initially did not believe in the supernatural. According to the photographer, he considered this an ordinary task until he entered the home. Morris managed to take the famous picture, in which Janet is allegedly levitated, taking off from bed, while a grimace of horror is fixed on her face.
4
The Curse of the Lemp Family
Built in the second half of the 19th century, the Lemp family mansion in St. Louis, Missouri, was equipped with a cellar equipped as a family brewery. In 1901, the head of the family, William Lemp, survived a terrible tragedy by burying his son, who died due to illness. Three years later, William shot himself, and the family business was taken over by William "Billy" Lemp Jr.
The youngest daughter of William Lemp, unable to withstand the break with her husband, shot herself in 1920. After the adoption of the Prohibition Act, the brewery was sold at auction, as the family was experiencing financial difficulties, and Billy Lemp also committed suicide by shooting himself in 1922. Many years later, in 1949, the third child, Charles Lemp, shot himself in the forehead after killing his own dog. The only surviving child in the family, Edwin Lemp died for natural reasons. His suicide note spoke of the need to destroy all heirlooms.
It is not surprising that today Lemp mansion is considered to be filled with ghosts. It is operated as a hotel and restaurant, and among the employees there is a legend that William Lemp had another son who was born with a physical disability. He was hidden in the attic, and now the boy’s spirit is wandering around the house, frightening the guests.
5
Snedeker Family
The story of the Snedeker family is reflected in the book, which was used to make the film "Ghosts in Connecticut." In 1986, Allen and Carmen Snedeker, together with their three sons, a daughter and two nieces, moved to a house at 208 Meriden Avenue, in the city of Southington, Connecticut. Inspecting the house, Carmen found the Undertaker's tools in the basement, finding out that the building used to be a funeral home.
Soon, their eldest son began to attend visions with evil spirits, and both spouses claimed to have been sexually harassed by demons. The demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, invited to investigate, agreed that there were demons in the house. Since the family soon left the house, and the new tenants did not experience any problems, it was decided that evil hung around the Snedekers, and not in the dwelling itself.
6
MacPike Mansion
The city of Elton, Illinois is one of the most mystical places in the United States of America, as it is considered to be filled with ghosts. Nevertheless, even in such a city there is its own "star" - the MacPike mansion. Businessman Henry McPike built the house in 1969, it had 16 bedrooms for comfortable accommodation of the whole family.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the house was sold to Paul Leicinger, who rented rooms to various tenants. Soon, tenants began to hear strange sounds, children's voices reaching them. The children talked and laughed, although there was no one in the rooms.
After the death of Leichinger in 1945, the mansion fell into disrepair, remaining abandoned until 1994, when it was bought by Sharin and George Ludke. The couple saw it as a restoration project. However, from the very first days of working in the garden, Sharin began to notice a figure resembling a ghost, who observed it from the windows of the house. Of the other paranormal events that took place in the house, it is worth highlighting the spherical bodies captured by the camera, and constantly slamming metal doors. The ghost hunters who examined the house came to the conclusion that the wine cellar was the most “active” room in the mansion.
7
Sprag Mansion
In the mid-19th century, Lucy Chase Sprag, who had lost all her fortune, died a pauper in a family mansion in Cranston, Rhode Island. Since then, the history of the house has been shrouded in darkness. In 1967, the Lynch family moved into the mansion. Viola and Robert settled in a huge house with 28 bedrooms, as well as a separate room reserved for creepy dolls. In the late 60s in the middle of the night, Bob Lynch Jr. and several of his friends climbed under the covers using an impromptu spiritualistic board, they contacted the ghost who wrote to them: “Tell my story!” Another ghost haunting this house is Amas Sprag, the son of the owner of the house, who was found beaten to death near the mansion in 1843.
After the Lynch family moved, paranormal experts began to visit the house. They found that the eyes of the dolls were moving behind the camera, and also revealed many inexplicable phenomena in the wine cellar, including the appearance of spherical balls and the flickering of lights.
8
The murders of Daniel LaPlante
In the winter of 1987, teenagers Jessica and Annie Andrews heard a loud clatter coming from the walls of their bedroom. They also saw a bloody inscription appearing on the wall: “I am back. Find me if you can. ” The girls recently lost their mother, so they thought that her spirit wanted to contact them. Later, the girls' father saw in the house a guy dressed in his wife’s dress and holding an ax. The man chased after him, driving him out of the house. Police later discovered a hidden basement in the house, as well as a “ghost,” which turned out to be 17-year-old Daniel LaPlante.
After a short detention of a minor, LaPlante was released. This was a fatal mistake, as the guy's eyes were turned to another family. At the end of the same year (December 1), he shot and killed 33-year-old Priscilla Gustafson, after which he drowned her children, five-year-old William and seven-year-old Abigail. The crime was committed at their home in Townsend, Massachusetts. The court sentenced LaPlanta to life imprisonment.
9
Lutz family
November 13, 1974 in the American city of Amityville, in the state of Long Island, a mass murder was committed. On Ocean Avenue 112, Ronald Defeo Jr. killed his entire family, including a mother, father, two sisters and two brothers. The murder was committed with a 35-caliber rifle at a time when all family members were sleeping in their beds. Defeo claimed that there were voices in his head ordering him to commit a crime.
A year later, the house was bought by George and Kathleen Lutz, who entered it with three children. The couple was incredibly happy with such a bargain buying a spacious five-bedroom house. From the first day, the head of the family began to wake up in the middle of the night at 3:15. at about the same time, “Butch” (derived from the executioner or the butcher), which is what Defeo was called, committed his murders. They also saw a pig-like creature with red eyes in the house who watched them from the windows of the house, and small children were levitated above the beds.
The couple passed a lie detector test, after reporting horrors in the house. In the end, they moved out of there, leaving behind this place the glory of a house filled with ghosts.
10
Mysterious Winchester House
In the California city of San Jose is perhaps the most famous building in the world, overgrown with rumors of perfume. Its foundation was laid in 1884, and it was named after the mistress - the Winchester’s house. The mansion is striking in its beauty. And by the way, on most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article about the most beautiful houses in the world.
After burying her husband William Winchester, his wife Sarah inherited all his wealth equivalent to a daily maintenance of $ 1,000 (for example, while the average daily wage was $ 1.5). The woman turned to the spiritualist, who was supposed to help her cope with grief in connection with the death of her husband. In addition, Sarah's only daughter died at the age of six.
Pictured: Winchester House inside
The spiritualist told Sarah that she was cursed and advised to build a house where she would live with perfumes. The curse was caused by dead people who fell due to the rifle that William's father invented. Sarah sold her home in Connecticut, starting the construction of the Winchester Mansion. According to the spiritualist, Sarah will not threaten anything, while the construction of the house will continue, as soon as she stops, his mistress will die.
Over the next 38 years, Sarah worked hard to build a house (of course, not her own). It had 160 rooms, 47 fireplaces, as well as many traps, secret passages and stairs leading to nowhere. Until now, the labyrinth house has attracted paranormal experts from around the world.
And here is an interesting video