veryoddnews:

This innocent looking city park is built on top of a graveyard. The Mount Prospect graveyard, which came to be known as Boot Hill, was created in 1858. The cemetery opened in 1858 and the first burial occurred the following year. In 1872, the U.S. Government determined that the property upon which the cemetery sat was actually federal land, having been deeded to the government in an 1860 by a treaty with the Arapaho. The government then offered the land to the City of Denver who purchased it for $200. Although today it is still mostly remembered as Mt. Prospect Cemetery, in 1873 the cemetery’s name was changed to the Denver City Cemetery…..
(via Our Strange World: Cheesman Park Cemetary, Denver Colorado)
veryoddnews:

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
Formerly known as the Weston State Hospital, this West Virginia facility served as a home for the mentally ill in the mid-1800’s. The history of the building holds fascinating stories of Civil War raids, a gold robbery, the “curative” effects of architecture, and the efforts of determined individuals to help better the lives of the mentally ill.
Like so many asylums of its day the number of patients increased dramatically over a short period of time and by 1950 the asylum became home to over 2000 patients including the infamous Charles Manson himself. Cruel and unusual medical treatments were used on patients to cure these matters of the mind. Full frontal lobotomies, shock therapy, water shock treatment, and torture were only a few of the ghastly treatments used within these walls….
(via Our Strange World: Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum)
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Shadow Ghost

fuckyeahnightmares:

This Video appears to have been made by a kid who was documenting his house for his own kid reasons. Then, unexpectedly, a shadow person seems to cross the scene. This scares the kid and the video ends. It’s interesting in that the shadow form maintains its size and shape as it crosses the field of view. If it were a real shadow, its size and shape would have changed as it receded against the objects in the background of the open doorway.

paranormalbeat:

“It was taken at Lakeview Cemetery, in Jamestown, NY.  It was a clear day, about 5pm — about 65 degrees.”
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The Midnight Game

maydaybaby:

“The Midnight Game” is an old pagan ritual used mainly as punishment for those who have broken the laws of a pagan religion.

While it is mainly used as a scare tactic to not disobey the gods, there is still a very real chance of death to those who play the Midnight Game. There’s an even higher chance of permanent mental scarring. It is highly recommended that you DO NOT play the Midnight Game.

However, for those few thrill seekers searching for a rush or those delving into obscure occult rituals, these are the simple instructions on how to play. Do so at your own risk.

INSTRUCTIONS

PREREQUISITES: It must be exactly 12:00AM when you begin performing the ritual, otherwise it will not work. The materials required include a candle, a wooden door, at least one drop of your own blood, a piece of paper, matches or a lighter, and salt. If you are playing with multiple people, they will all need their own of the aforementioned materials and will have to perform the steps below separately.

Write your full name (first, middle, and last) on a piece of paper and put at least one drop of blood on the same paper. Allow it to soak in.

Turn off all the lights in the house. Go to your door and place the paper with your name in front of it. Take the candle and light it. Afterward, place the candle on top of the paper with your name.

Knock on your own door 22 times (the hour MUST be 12:00AM upon the final knock), then open the door, blow out the candle, and close the door. You have just allowed the “Midnight Man” into your home.

Immediately relight your candle.

This is where the game begins. You must now lurk around your completely dark house with the lit candle in hand. Your goal is to avoid the Midnight Man at all costs until exactly 3:33AM.

Should your candle ever go out, it is because the Midnight Man is near you. You must relight your candle within the next ten seconds. If you are unsuccessful in relighting the candle, you must immediately surround yourself with a circle of salt.

If you are unsuccessful in both of these, the Midnight Man will induce a hallucination of your greatest fear until 3:33AM. If you are successful in relighting the candle, you may proceed. If you are successful in creating the circle of salt, you must remain within the circle until 3:33AM.

You must continue until 3:33AM without being attacked by the Midnight Man or being trapped within the circle of salt to win the Midnight Game. The Midnight Man will leave at 3:33AM and you will be safe to proceed with your morning.

Staying in one spot the entire game will only result in the Midnight Man finding you. It is highly advised you continue moving throughout the game.

DO NOT turn on any lights during the Midnight Game.

DO NOT use a flashlight during the Midnight Game.

DO NOT go to sleep during the Midnight Game.

DO NOT use another person’s blood on your name.

DO NOT use a lighter to substitute for a candle. It will not work.

DEFINITELY DO NOT attempt to provoke the Midnight Man in ANY WAY.

That is all. Have fun. 

(Source: inuscreepystuff.blogspot.co.nz)

Frightful Japan: Playing Hide and Seek by Yourself (Hitori Kakurenbo)

spookymrsboo:

Frightful Japan: Playing Hide and Seek by Yourself (Hitori Kakurenbo) Hitori kakurenbo etegami 339x500

I fondly remember my teens. I like to think of those years as that precious time when I was old enough not to be frightened by all the creatures lurking under my bed, and yet still young enough that I wasn’t terrified by mortgages, yearly health check ups, and my own teenage son announcing that he wants to be a rock ’n’ roll guitarist when he grows up. Those were the invincible years. And they probably should have lasted until my late twenties and early thirties except I did something truly scary.

I moved to Japan.

Japan is a wonderful country filled with kind and generous people, but when you peel back the layers you find that the Japanese culture takes “scary” to a entirely new level.

I remember as a kid being freaked out by the game Bloody Mary — going into a bathroom, turning around, reciting something three times, and looking into the mirror. I thought nothing could be creepier than that. Well, let me tell you about Japan’s take on the old bathroom scare.

I first heard about hitori kakurenbo (playing hide and seek by yourself) back in late 2007. It sounded like an anticlimactic game geared to sad shut-ins with no friends. Or so I thought until I did some online research to find out how the game was played.

Here are the rules if you want to play. Go on. I dare you. Prepare:

*A stuffed animal that has both arms and legs
*Rice
*Fingernail clippers
*A knife, shard of glass, or some sharp instrument
*A needle with a long piece of red thread
*A cup of salt water or Japanese sake
*And you’ll also need to draw a bath

First, you must give your stuffed animal a name. Let’s say you have a teddy bear and you decide to call him Cuddles. Next, you cut Cuddles open and remove all his stuffing, replacing it with rice and a few of your fingernail clippings. After the stuffing/rice transfusion, you need to sew him back up. Use the needle and red thread making sure you have thread left over so that you can wrap it tightly around Cuddles’ body. You know, making him look even more sinister that he already looks.

At three am you take Cuddles into the bathroom and draw a bath. You hold Cuddles in both hands and say out loud, “For the first game I’m (say your name) going to be it.” Say this three times and then drop Cuddles into the water.

Here you’ll want to run around the house turning off all the lights. You’re allowed to leave the TV on, but only if it’s on a static-filled station. Close your eyes and count to ten. When you’re finished, open your eyes and grab the knife (or whatever instrument you have chosen) and return to the bathroom. Say, “I found Cuddles!” and proceed to stab him with the knife.

Congratulations! You won that game.

Note: In Japanese the word for “it” — in hide and seek and tag — is “oni” or “devil”. Knowing that fact makes the next part a little creepier.

Next, you say, “Okay, now Cuddles is it (the devil).” And leaving the impaled teddy bear in the bathroom (either in the water or on the floor) you quickly (yes, the instructions say “quickly”) hurry out of the room and hide quietly (yes, the instructions also say to hide “quietly”). It is very important that whatever you do, make sure you have your glass of salt water or sake with you in your hiding place.

Closets make excellent hiding places. So let’s say you’re in the closet. You remain there waiting and listening. All sorts of strange things are said to happen. Apart from sounds (footsteps and things being moved around) people have reported horrible smells, changes in temperature, and having the TV suddenly switch off or the volume change dramatically. Some reported the sensation of being touched or pulled on, others said that their household pets freaked out (cowered or cried out). Whatever happens, stay hidden for as long as you can or until sunrise.

The ending ritual is extremely important. You can’t just hop out of the closet at sunrise and announce that you’ve won. Let’s say it’s still dark, something has freaked you out and you want to end the game. Take as much salt water (or sake) in your mouth as you can, holding it there while you return to the bathroom. Don’t assume Cuddles will be where you left him. There have been people who find either him or the knife moved or missing entirely. Keep searching until you find Cuddles.

Once you find the bear, spit the salt water (sake) all over him and tell him three times, “I won!” That almost ends the game. As a final precaution it is imperative you burn the stuffed animal you used. Even though the game is over people have posted that they’ve become ill, gotten into some kind of accident, or continued to  feel the presence of someone or something.

Oh, and another note of warning is not to play while someone else is in the house. There is the possibility that they will be “found” instead of you. And something terrible will happen to them. You must be alone in the house when you play.

Hitori Kakurenbo became such a phenomena that a movie was made about it in 2009 called (you guessed it) Hitori Kakurenbo. I did see the flick but wasn’t much impressed. What is infinitely more frightening is checking out the streaming conversations of dozens of invincible teens all around Japan playing the game at three in the morning. They use their cell phones to chat about what they are experiencing real time. Some even dare to peek out from their hiding places to snap photos or record strange noises. Now that’s scary.

paranormalbeat:

“Josh also took this picture, but in Peck Cemetery in Decatur, Illinois.  This cemetery is a well known haunted place around our neck of the woods, and this photo sure shows it.  This apparition was no man standing in the picture, it appeared after development.  Notice, there is no separation of the shirt and pants…freaky.”