7 Chilling Paranormal Mysteries
We’ve all heard ghost stories about creepy things happening to “a friend of a friend” or a distant relative in another city. But what about the stories that are more than just urban legends or anecdotal accounts? What about the stories reported on by reputable sources? Those that make national headlines and involve one or more credible witnesses? Believe it or not, stories like these do exist. And they’re more common than you might think. With than in mind, here are seven paranormal mysteries that will give you chills.
Crash Victim’s Cell Calls Loved Ones After His Death
On September 12, 2008, two trains collided in the Chatsworth district of Los Angeles, killing 25 people and injuring countless others. One of the victims was a man named Charles “Chuck” Peck who was traveling to L.A. for a job interview.
During the first 11 hours after the crash, Peck’s fiancée and several of his family members received numerous calls from his cell phone. All in all, Charles’s loved ones – which included his son, brother, stepmother, and sister – received a total of 35 calls. However, each time family members answered, they heard only static. Calls to Peck’s phone went straight to voice mail. Naturally, the family thought Charles was trapped in the wreckage and reaching out for help.
Twelve hours after the accident, rescuers traced the signal from Peck’s phone and discovered his body in the lead passenger car. Authorities reported that Peck had died immediately on impact, and that there was no way he could have made the calls. Adding to the mystery, rescuers never found Peck’s phone.
KTLA TV (Los Angeles) “Train Victim’s Cell Kept Calling Loved Ones After He Died“
89.3 KPCC (Southern California) “Doctor Remembers Metrolink Crash“
Child Killed in Tornado Appears in Photo Months Later
In May 2008, an F5 tornado ripped through Moore, OK, killing 24 people, including nine school children. Nine-year-old Nicholas McCabe was one of the kids who died that day, but Scott McCabe, Nicolas’s father, believes his son is still around.
The elder McCabe told an Oklahoma news station that Nicolas appeared in a photo taken on the Fourth of July (above). The girl in the photo is Nicolas’s cousin Madison, but the blurred face behind her is Nicolas, or so his family believes.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Scott said. “Nicolas loved the Fourth of July and he loved firecrackers. My brother, when he saw it, he said the hair stood up on his neck.”
News 9 (Oklahoma City) “Moore Family Sees ‘Guardian Angel’ In Photo“
Fox 8 (North Carolina) “Father Claims Dead Son Appeared in Photo with Niece“
Mysterious Woman Leads Rescuers to Dying Boy
On June 10, 1994, a motorist spotted a nude woman lying near the shoulder of a desolate mountain road near Placerville, CA. She was ghastly pale and looked dead.
Horrified, the motorist and her husband drove to the nearest phone and called the police. The responding deputy found nothing at first, but he soon came across a child’s shoe. After peering into the brush, the deputy spotted a demolished car at the bottom of a 40-foot embankment. He raced to the vehicle and found Christene Skubish, 24, and her four-year-old son Nick inside. Christene was dead, her body fully clothed in the driver’s seat. Nick was curled up nude in the passenger seat, alive, but in critical condition.
Nick ultimately survived his injuries, though he’d gone five days without food or water. Authorities believe Christene fell asleep at the wheel, leading her car to plunge off the highway and roll down the steep embankment. The coroner determined that she’d died upon impact or shortly thereafter. So who was the naked woman on the roadside? Many believe it was Christene’s ghost seeking help for her son.
“I absolutely think something special happened here,” the responding deputy said on an episode of Paranormal Witness. “I think it is a miracle. It’s a whole series of events that I can’t explain. I’ve often thought about it. I just don’t have the answers.”
Los Angeles Times “Boy, 3, Recovering After 5 Days in Car with Dead Mother”
Lodi News-Sentinel (via Supernatural World View) “Tot’s Rescue Still an Enigma”
Tsunami Survivors See Victims’ Ghosts
On March 11, 2011, a massive undersea quake triggered a huge tsunami that roared over the coast of Japan. Over 18,000 people died in the disaster, and 2,600 bodies were never recovered. Survivors have reported seeing victims’ ghosts ever since.
Journalist Kahoku Shimpo is intrigued by such tales. And there are many. There’s the mother who lost her son and later noticed his toys moving on their own. There’s the cab driver whose passenger disappeared mid-ride. There’s the firefighters who kept answering calls for homes on a certain street, only to discover the homes had been lost in the tidal wave. Once firefighters prayed for the victims, the calls stopped.
Did the earthquake create thousands of new ghosts? Or are the traumatized survivors merely seeing things? Whatever the case, the sightings continue to this day.
Japan Today “Journalist Researches Ghost Stories of Relatives Bereaved by 2011 Tohoku Disaster”
London Review of Books “Ghosts of the Tsunami”
Mysterious Voice Leads Rescuers to Trapped Child
On March 7th, 2015, a fisherman spotted an overturned vehicle in a Spanish Fork, UT river. The car was partially submerged, but when officers approached they heard a desperate voice pleading for help.
“The four of us can swear that we heard somebody inside the car saying, ‘Help,’” officer Jared Warner told KSL TV. “We were down on the car and a distinct voice says, ‘Help me, help me.’ It wasn’t just something that was just in our heads. To me it was plain as day.”
However, when officers searched the wreckage they found only 18-month-old Lily, unconscious, and her deceased mother, Jenny Groesbeck. Rescuers believe Jenny died in the crash, leaving Lily trapped for up to 14 hours. So who, or what, called for help?
“I don’t know what I thought I heard,” officer Tyler Beddoes said. “I’m not a typically religious guy. It’s hard to explain — it was definitely something. Where and why it came from, I’m not sure.”
KSL TV (Salt Lake) “Child Stuck 14 Hours in Wrecked Car Still Critical, Mom Remembered as ‘Compassionate‘”
CNN “Men Hear Mystery Voice While Rescuing Baby“
Accident Victim’s Ghost Appears on Camera
In 2002, Oklahoma City resident Tracy Martin died in an automobile accident. Eighteen days after her death, a staff member at Puckett’s Wrecker Services saw a transparent white figure floating on the business’s security monitor (screenshot above).
The staff at Puckett’s believe the figure was Tracy searching for her red truck which the business had recently moved. Tracy’s husband agreed the figure was her and even showed the video to his young twins in an attempt to bring them comfort. The story made international headlines and was featured in an episode of My Ghost Story. Critics, however, claim the video shows nothing more than a doll dangled close to the lens.
KFOR (Oklahoma City) “Family Convinced Woman’s ‘Ghost’ is Image on Tape“
Police Captain, Case Worker, Others Witness Demonic Activity
In November 2011, Latoya Ammons and her three children moved into a small rental home in Gary, IN (above). There, Ammons says, demons latched onto her family, leading to months of confusion and terror. What’s interesting about this case is that Ammons and her children weren’t the only people to witness paranormal activity. Medical staff, a family case manager, a police captain, and a Catholic priest all saw or experienced things they simply couldn’t explain.
Soon after moving to the Gary home, Ammons and her family were disturbed by creaking doors, thudding footsteps, and shadowy forms in the middle of the night. These frightening, but relatively minor disturbances, soon gave way to more harrowing experiences like flying objects and Ammons’ daughter levitating in her sleep.
Terrified, Ammons soon beginning reach out for help. First to local churches, then her family physician. While at the physician’s office, medical staff saw Ammons’ 9-year-old son “lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him”. The boy was taken to the hospital where a DCS case manager and the boy’s nurse saw him walk backwards up a wall and to the ceiling. He then flipped over the case manager, all while holding on to his grandmother’s hand. The case manager and the nurse fled the room. DCS later removed Ammons’ children citing “spiritual and emotional distress.”
In April 2011, a priest visited Ammons’ home and concluded ghosts and demons resided there. Police and DCS officials, including Gary’s police captain, also visited the home where they felt intensely ill and uneasy. A strange oil-like substance also dripped from the blinds. Police cleaned it off and sealed the room, but the oil returned 25 minutes later.
Ammon’s priest ultimately performed three exorcisms, and the third seemed to get rid of the demons once and for all. Ammons eventually regained custody of her children and moved into a new home. The family has not had any trouble since.
In 2014, Ghost Adventures‘ star Zak Bagans purchased Ammons’ “demon house,” but had it demolished in early 2016. Bagans insists the home was haunted and says an upcoming documentary will reveal more about the haunted property and why he ordered its demolition.
Indy Star (Indianapolis) “The Exorcisms of Latoya Ammons“
