The world is a mysterious place. The can of mystery highlights some of those mysteries. This site is a class project for Amanda Warren's English 101 class at the University of South Carolina Aiken.
Articles are uploaded once a year (on average) in the fall and/or spring.
If you have questions or tips on mysteries, please leave a comment or contact AmandaW at USCA dot EDU.
Many people have
claimed to see ghost, or something supernatural throughout their lives. The mysterious light that appears at night
time on US Highway 21. At the beginning of Lands End Rd. there is a moss
covered tree that it is said, if you park next to it at night you will
experience an extraordinary and ominous light blaze past you. Lands End Rd. is
located in the warmth of the coast in Beaufort, South Carolina. Much history
surrounds the low country cities. The Charleston-Beaufort area has history
embedded deep in its roots almost everywhere you go. During the civil war,
Charleston was a key city for the confederates and was eventually going to be
over taken by the Union as the war was winding down. They needed Charleston
because it was the south’s biggest port.
During
an attempted invasion of Charleston, Union soldiers were able to sneak up
behind a Confederate soldier and cut off the head of Private Frank Quigley.
Many of the Charleston and Beaufort area locals believe the mysterious “Land’s
End Light” is the deceased confederate soldier searching for his head. In the
research I did, many of the ghost light theories are believed to be the “spirits
of people who are beheaded stays on earth in search of their head. (Jones)” Although
this is a far-fetched idea it it’s still a possibility. It is also believed the
light will lead you to the spot where Private QUIGLEY http://eatsleepplaybeaufort.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/fremont5soldier.jpg
was beheaded.
For
many locals, Lands’ End Light is very real, there have been many first-hand
accounts of people who have claimed to see this supernatural light. The
Charleston newspaper usually does a story about this supernatural phenomenon
every other year during Halloween. The local police told local news stations
about the line of cars parked along the ominous stretch of highway hoping to
see the mysterious light. It can only be seen in the midst of the night and it’s
believed if you are scared or fear what isn’t known then the light won’t
appear. If you have an open mind and accept the unknown it will appear.
Humans
go out seeking the unknown because we, as a species, want to understand the unexplainable.
Two people died in the pursuit of this mysterious light in their vehicles.
While in pursuit of the supernatural light the two men ran their car off the
road into a tree. The mystery of the unknown fascinates us and makes us eager
to learn more. As long as there are folk lore and ghost tale stories, there
will always be people wanting to know more. Although some people might not
realize what they really are getting themselves into.
Works Cited:
Atteberry, Tom. “The ghosts of St. Helena’s
chapel of ease and Land’s End light – true hauntings from South Carolina’s sea
islands.” A gothic curiosity cabinet, 16 Oct. 2016,
http://www.gothichorrorstories.com/behind-urban-legends/the-ghosts-of-st-helenas-chapel-of-ease-and-lands-end-light-true-hauntings-from-south-carolinas-sea-islands/.
Gooch, Bary. “Lands End Light – Frogmore, St.
Helena Island, South Carolina.” SC Informational Highway. 16 Oct. 2016,
http://www.sciway.net/hist/lands-end-light-st-helena-island.html
Jones, Louis. “The Journal of American
Folklore.” American Folklore Society, vol. 57, no. 226, Fall 1944, pp. 237-254,
JSTOR, doi: 10.2307/535356.
Graydon, Nell. South Carolina Ghost Tales,
Beaufort Book Shop, Inc, 1969. This book is about all the supernatural
phenomenon that go on in South Carolina. In this particular excerpt of the book
it gives extensive information on Lands End Light and its history.
Heffernan, Erin. “The ghosts of Beaufort
County: From strange lights to the Blue Lady locals share favorite ghost
stories.” The Island Packet, 17 Oct. 2016,
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/community/beaufort-news/article39629214.html.
This web source talks about the many theories on what the supernatural light
came from. This article also gives locals first-hand accounts as well as other
ghost tales.
The Fox
Sisters were known to be famous for being
the creators of spiritualism. The spirits
communicate with people known as psychics and mediums. That is what you
can call the Fox sisters. The names of the three sisters were Margaret, Kate
and Leah Fox. In 1848, the sisters lived in Hydesville, New York. The Fox sisters started to believe in
spirits because they heard unusual
noises throughout the house they lived in. They were convinced the house was haunted. The
noises they would hear includedfurniture being move and knocking. The fox
sisters decided to come up with a prank to scare the mother into believing in the bad spirits and ghost in
the house. After all, the mother didn’t
need a prank to be convinced that there was a ghost in house. She started to
ask questions to the ghost by asking it to knock and answers the questions
getting ask by moments in the house. Soon after, The Fox family found out there
was a murder in their house two
years earlier. The spirit was known as an older man in his early thirties
who was married with five children
of his own. That is when the sisters started to communicate with spirits. The
Fox sisters claimed that they could receivemessages for people from different
spirits amongst the dead. The
sisters started to perform rapping’s
that were similar to the noises happening in the house. For example, the
fox sisters used their toes for the
crackling noises. The noises in the house
triggered the Fox sisters to produce creative ideas about spiritualrapping’s.
The sisters perform their very first rapping at Corinthian Hall in
Rochester. The sisters wanted people to believe in spirits after the rapping’s to prove they could communicate
with spirits, and can deliver
messages from the spirits. Many people in the 1800's questioned the Fox
sisters on if the rapping’s were
real. Did the Fox sisters communicate with spirits? It was even more difficult
to believe because one of the
sisters claimed that communicating
with the spirits were fake as well as the rapping’s
that were performed in the 1800's.
Until this day the world has no evidence that the rapping’s were real or fake. We will never
know if the Fox sisters really communicated with spirits. The fox sisters
will always be famous for their mysterious and suspenseful performances.
Work Cited: Bann, Jennifer. "Ghostly Hands and Ghostly Agency:
The Changing Figure of the Nineteenth-Century Specter." Victorian
Studies 51.4 (2009): 663-85. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/pdf/10.2979/vic.2009.51.4.663.pdf "Speaking With Spirits." Skeptic 19.2 (2014): 65. Academic
Search Premier. 8 Oct. 2016.http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=96430250&site=ehost-live&scope=site Stuart, Nancy Rubin. "The Raps Heard Around The World." American
History 40.3 (2005): 42-80. Academic Search Premier. 8 Oct. 2016, http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=11&sid=657367c5-b699-4264-bdde-ec45603b2b42%40sessionmgr102&hid=113 Walliss, John. "Continuing Bonds: Relationships Between The Living And
The Dead Within Contemporary Spiritualism." Mortality 6.2 (2001):
127-145. Academic Search Premier. 15 Oct. 2016. http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6006954&site=ehost-live&scope=site Williams, Kathy. Western Folklore 69.1 (2010): 131-32. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/pdf/25735293.pdf. Links for Further
Research: Valente, K. G. ""Who Will Explain the Explanation?": The
Ambivalent Reception of Higher Dimensional Space in the British Spiritualist
Press, 1875-1900." Victorian Periodicals Review 41.2 (2008):
124-49. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/40587440. This source
from the web, the John Hopkins University, gives information on how spiritualism begun.
Also, it provides who was involve in creating spiritualism. Monroe, John. "Making the Séance "Serious": "Tables
Tournantes" and Second Empire Bourgeois Culture, 1853-1861." History
of Religions 38.3 (1999): 219-46. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/40587440.
This web source, from University of Chicago, provides information about the Fox
sisters experiences in the house that influence them to communicate with
spirits. It gives information about the spiritual rapping performed by the Fox
sisters. Kattelman, Beth A. "Magic, Monsters, and Movies: America's Midnight
Ghost Shows." Theatre Journal 62.1 (2010): 23-39. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/stable/40587440.
This web source, from the John Hopkins University, provides information about
how spiritualism grew after the world heard about the Fox sister’s experiences.
People started to be involved in the sisters spiritual rapping performances.
The Taj Mahal has been around
for a long time people in India and all around the world enjoy visiting this
beautiful mausoleum. The Taj Mahal is one of the world wonders it is a very
important to the people of India because it represents the rich history of
India. The Taj Mahal is very unique because of how it was built the fact that
they built a mausoleum this big with the tools they had back then is truly
amazing. The reason why the Taj Mahal was built also attracts a lot of people
to go visit the Taj Mahal every year which is around 3 million a year. The Taj
Mahal is known to be the jewel of Muslim art in India.
The beautiful story of the Taj
Mahal began in Agra, India when the emperor of the Mughal empire, Shah Jahan
married Mumtaz Mahal. When she died he was very upset which was very strange
because historians say that most emperors back then had multiple wives, but
Shah Jahan did not. He ordered his men to construct a big mausoleum in the
memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that Isa Mohammad was the chief
designer of the Taj Mahal construction. There were over 22,000 people involved
in the construction of the Taj Mahal. The construction of the Taj Mahal began
in 1632 A.D. and was finished in 1648 A.D. This was just the mausoleum itself
they finished the outer courtyard in 1653A.D. In all it took them 21 years to
finish the construction of the Taj Mahal. Historians believe that the Italian
designer Geronimo Veroneo designed the Taj Mahal, but they do not have solid
evidence to back this up. They had over 20 architects working on the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna river in the massive
Mughal garden.
The were some incredible
innovations that the planners and architects of emperor Shah Jahan did to build
this mausoleum. Some of these innovations were where they placed the tomb.
Emperor Shah Jahan ordered them to build the two towers on the side slightly
slanted away from the mausoleum to make sure that if there were any natural
disasters they would fall away from the mausoleum and not destroy it. They
placed it at one end of the garden instead of placing it in the center of the
garden. Which added a different perspective view from a distance of the monument.
The Taj Mahal is also protected by the UNESCO. UNESCO is a specialized agency
of the United Nations which is based in Paris. The Indian government provides
funds for the conservation, preservation, and maintenance of the Taj Mahal.
This mausoleum is unique and beautiful I’m glad that they are protecting the
Taj Mahal the way they are.
lanham In 1830’s the Indians were removed from their territory leaving the hunters to roam around and hunt.A
little girl name Gloria Farley once hiked up the hill in 1928 and found a rune in the city of Heavener Oklahoma. Which she thought was a little
rock, but came out to be a rune. Later on in life became seriously interested into the runes that
she started to study them. The runes came from the vikings who traveled here long ago when
they found the North America. Years later people around North America started finding the
runestones in Oklahoma, Minnesota, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Maine. The Heavener
runestone is in the thirds and fifth century indication. The runes that were in anglo-saxon that is
from the country England. The runes are the same writing as the same writing in the story
Beowulf. Which is a story I read in twelfth grade and we had to do a poster with a phrase and
writing it in runic. You can find the runes in the early times of Britain. People often wonder how
the runestones get to North America. It’s obvious! Someone from the Britian area had to come
over her by boat right? The answer is the Vikings are the ones who came over here and
discovered this beauty of a land and left behind these runestones. Heavener Oklahoma Runestone In Heavener Oklahoma there is a place where runestones are located. Which was discovered
first by a haunting party in the 1830's and again in the 1970's by two other men when they were
hunting in Potala Mountain for bears. Years later, the runes were taken to the Smithsonian
Museum in the Washington, DC. Back in 1928 Gloria Stuart found the runestones. She was so
fascinated with the stones that she studied this topic for years. The location the runestones are
at is a park just for the runestones.
Kensington Runestone
Works Cited:
Covey, Cyclone, “The Oklahoma Runestone”, Ancient American Magazine,1994.
http://ancientamerica.com/the-oklahoma-runestone/
Phoenix,
Arizona: heat, vacation, family, fun, but what if I told you that it also holds
gold treasures, eerie feelings, and deadly outcomes? This is all true and it lies in the
Superstition Mountains. Located in
Phoenix, Arizona, is the mountains, where many people go, only to never be seen
again. Superstition Mountains is a
collection of rough terrain that has earned the name of one single
mountain. Over many years, thousands of
men and women lives have been taken, all in this very mountain, but why? The Apache Indians were the first to set eyes
on the mountains, followed by the Spanish conquistadors. When the Spaniards reached the area, the
Apache told them that the mountain contained gold, but refused to help the
Spaniards find it. The Apache, thought
of the Superstition Mountains as their sacred ground where they worshipped
their “Thunder God”. It was said that if
a person dared to trespass upon the sacred ground to look for the gold, the
“Thunder God”, would punish them by death (Legends of America). When the Spaniards tried to explore the
mountain on their own, they noticed that some of their men would mysteriously
vanish. Even if one man strayed only a
few feet away from the group, he was never seen alive again. The bodies of the men who were found were
mutilated, many with their heads cut off.
After seeing this, remaining Spaniards refused to return to the
mountains, and named it Monte
Superstition (Legends of America).
In
the 1870’s, Jacob Waltz who had befriended one of the Peralta heirs, was
allegedly told the location of the mine.
Waltz was a German immigrant, who had relocated to Arizona and owned a
homestead on the northern side of the Superstition Mountains (Legends of
America). While there, he met an Apache
girl named Ken-tee, who despite the fact knew Waltz was almost 60 years-old,
became his mistress. The pair moved near
the Superstition Mountains range, and the Apache Indians believed that Ken-tee
revealed the mine’s location to Waltz.
The Apache who were convinced that Ken-tee betrayed the site of their
secret ground, attacked both Waltz and Ken-tee.
Although Waltz managed to escape, Ken-tee was seized and her tongue was
cut out (Legends of America).
Years had passed, and Waltz would
often appear in Phoenix, with saddlebags filled with gold before disappearing
once again in to the Superstition Mountains.
People often asked of him the obvious questions, “Where was the gold
coming from?”, “Where was the mine?” To
these, Waltz would give contradictory statements and directions. When people tried to follow him out of town,
he would "lose” them in the many clefts and canyons on the peak (Legends
of America). In 1891, Waltz homestead
was caught in a flood and he barely survived, only to be saved by two
rescuers. The rescuers took him to a
woman named Julia who tried to take care of him but he soon caught
pneumonia. Waltz would speak to the
rescuers and Julia, until the day he had a stroke and was unable to talk. When he would speak, Waltz would drop little
hints of where the gold would be located on the mountain. Soon Waltz died, and the rescuers including
Julia tried looking for the gold throughout years. Julia, after searching for many years,
decided to give up and never return to the mountains whereas the rescuers,
continued to search until the time of their death. Since then, no one could find the hidden gold,
and the mine is now known as ‘The Lost Dutchman Mine’.
This legend has plagued the mind of
many, some saying the mine does exist, and some saying that it does not. For the many of people who do believe the
mine exist, they try to confirm their suspicions by going into the
mountains. Most never being seen alive
again, add to the chilling suspense that the legend is true and gold mine does
in fact lie within the Superstition Mountains.
Works Cited:
Forbidden Treasure 2016. “The Lost
Dutchmans Gold Mine.” YouTube, 19
June 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXjOYMpef9Y
Public
photo domain. “The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine.” 2013. https://skeptoid.com/images/barkley-large.jpg
Weiser, Kathy. “The Lost Dutchman
Mine.” Legends of America, Jan. 2015,
pp 1-2.
For more information visit other
references such as:
Dunning,
Brian. “The Lost Dutchman Mine.” Brian Dunning, writer. www.skeptoid.com/episodes/4347.
29. January. 2013. This article, written by Brian dunning, gives us the
background story of Jacob Waltz, whom the mine is named after. It tells us that
since his death, the map he has created has been reproduced several times, all
of which seems to be suspicious. The
source is unique because it focuses on the map being sold and reproduced by
many in hopes to find the lost treasure.
The source is relevant because the map Jacob Waltz created was also
found suspicious and unreliable because he made it on his death bed, which is
probably the reason why no one can find the hidden treasure. The article, which is online, is mostly about
the origin of The Lost Dutchman Mine story and its intended audience is all the
believers in the tale.
Rhett
Miller, Joshua. “Body of Man Who Hunted Legendary ‘Lost Dutchman’s’ Gold Mine
Believed Found in Arizona Mountains. Joshua Rhett Miller, writer. www.foxnews.com.
29. November. 2012. This article, written by Joshua Rhett Miller, gives us details
on a body that is believed to be of a person who was hunting the lost gold mine
in Arizona. This source is unique because it focuses on the discovery of the
body and how it ties into the legend that if you go looking for the treasure,
you will suffer the consequences of death. The source is relevant because there
are many stories of death that happen within the mountains because people go
looking for its hidden treasures. The deaths are supposedly related to the
curse for trespassing on the sacred ground of the Thunder God. The article,
which is online, is about the discovery of the body, how obsessed he man was
with finding the treasures in the Superstition Mountains, and the deaths that
occur which can be related to the centuries old legend. This article’s intended audience are people
who believe in the tale and are being warned that searching for the treasure
could lead to an obsession, which leads to death if you don’t heed the warning.
Speigel,
Lee. “Lost Dutchman Gold Mine: Does ‘X’ Mark the Spot?”. Lee, Speigel, writer,
reporter, paranormal expert. www.huffingtonpost.com. 3. March. 2015. This
article, written by Lee Speigel, gives us a review of a documentary of people
trying to find, The Lost Dutchman Mine, using a map. The source is unique because it is a review
of a documentary that shows a man hiking the Superstition Mountains to find the
lost gold. The source is relevant
because it is a modern day look at the mountains instead of a story from years
ago. The article, which is online, is about a man’s quest to find the lost gold
as he has been searching for years now.
The intended audience, are people who want to know more information
about the mine and get an inside look at what it is like to travel to and
through these mountains.
Spencer,
Monica. “The Legend of Arizona’s Lost Dutchman Gold Mine is Downright Deadly.”
Monica Spencer, writer. www.onlyinyourstate.com Arizona. P, 2016. This article,
written by Monica Spencer, gives us the chilling history of what has become one
of Arizona’s most attractive places.
Explaining why the gold mine is deadly, the author uses the examples of
the many deaths and disappearances that have occurred while searching for the
Superstition Mountain’s treasures. The source is unique because it focuses on
what makes the quest of finding the treasure so deadly. The source is relevant and useful because the
writer of the article lives in Arizona and writes about all other topics
related to Arizona attractions. The
article, which is online, is just one of the many articles that the author
writes about involving Arizona, and its intended audience are for people who
are curious about the legend and why it is deadly.
Taylor,
Troy. “The Lost Dutchman Mine One of America’s Most Haunting Mysteries.”Troy Taylor, author. www.prairieghosts.com
C, 2000-2008. The article by Troy Taylor, is an excerpt from his book, Out Past the Campfire Light, asks three
important questions, “What strange secrets lie hidden near Superstition
Mountain in Arizona?”, “Did a lone minor really discover a fortune in lost gold
here?, and “What strange force caused many of adventurers to die brutal deaths
and vanish without a trace in this rugged region?” The article uses the except
from the book to explain the history of the haunted mountains as well as give
examples answering each question that they asked in the beginning. The source
is unique because instead of it being a curious person who wanted to write
about a so-called legend that they heard it uses an excerpt from a book. The
source is relevant and useful because the author of the book that the article
uses, is a researcher of history, crime and the supernatural. The article,
which is featured online and a part of a collection of other unexplained
mysteries and ghost stories, is aimed at an audience who believe in hauntings
that happen across the world.
The sunshine state otherwise
known as Florida has sand castles all around the coast, but have you ever heard
of a coral castle in Florida? Well there is one and it has a mystery behind
it. A 5 foot, 100 pound man who moved from Latvia to America by the name
Edward Leedskalnin supposedly built this whole piece of art by himself in
Homestead, Florida. The whole castle is made of sedimentary rock which is a
limestone and he made into shaped walls, tables, and crescent moons, so the
mystery is how did almost 100 years ago this little Latvian man build it all by
himself over the course of 20 years (Radford).
Wally Wallington a construction worker tried to
replicate the work that Ed would have done to complete Coral Castle. Wallington
said it is somewhat possible with the pull and levy technique, since there was
not machinery while Ed was building the Castle. But there also is the belief
that he had a unique insights to magnetism and electricity. People don’t know
if it was on a spiritual level or he had built machinery since Ed unusually
worked on building it at night with tall walls surrounding his work, he was
very private (Dunning). Another theory behind the castle was that, local
teenagers would spy of Ed at night while he was hard at work and they stated
they heard him sing and see him lift his hands and the work would be done
(Wagner). Why wouldn’t other people do the same thing as him then? It all is a
mystery like the 9 ton gate that sits at the entrance to Coral Castle could be
moved by the touch of a finger, when Ed was still alive and gave tours of his
beloved museum people were fascinated, but later once Ed had passed away
workers took down the gate and noticed a metal rod was the reason behind
the work. But still how did the little Latvian man do all this work by himself?
Apparently Ed had recovered the secrets of the pyramids and he just knew how
the Egyptians were able to create the massive pyramids, so that could of been a
way that he built Coral Castle (Wagner).
The reason Coral Castle was built was for Ed’s former
fiancé Agnes Scuffs. He moved away from his home country to America in hopes to
get over his heartbreak when Agnes called off the wedding leaving Ed completely
heartbroken. His broken heart couldn’t be fixed so he started to build Coral
Castle in hopes that Agnes would take him back and the little Latvian man
dedicated the rest of his life to building this for her, but it quickly became
an obsession. He invited her in countless letters to come visit the castle and
take him back, but his dream sadly never came true.
Coral Castle is just a handful of places that have a
mystery of how they were built or how they appeared there. But this one stands
out in its own way Edward Leedskalnin dedicated his whole life into his love
story and built a quite beautiful and mysterious now Museum that is toured and
tells his love story to many tourists and local residents of Florida.
Works Cited:
Dunning, Brian. “Coral Castle.”Skeptoid.2009.
McLachlan, Sean. “Coral Castle:
Testament to a Broken Heart.”Gadling.2012.
Radford, Benjamin. “Mystery of the
Coral Castle Explained.”Live
Science.2013.
Wagner, Stephen. “The Secrets of Coral
Castle.”About Entertainment.n.d.
“9 Ton Gate- Megalitihic at Coral
Castle, Florida.”Phenomal
Travel Videos.2015.
Shanghai tunnels are located underneath the streets of Portland, Oregon that run from the north to the south end. The tunnels provide access to many local downtown areas. They are made up of a series of catacombs (passageways to a religious place) and tunnels that wrap around to one level from the streets that come from the north side which is the historical downtown part of Portland. It is known to be a mysteriously haunting place.
This end consists of attractions such as Skidmore fountain and China town. The south end tunnels lead visitors to the riverfront, to look at different businesses such as dance halls, saloons, and brothels (house of prostitution) such as the White Eagle Saloon and Brothel, gambling parlors, and a couple hotels. The Merchant hotel has different services of providing sensual pleasure via a sex slave/ prostitute. It is said, that the act of shanghaiing occurred in these tunnels in the 1850’s and ended around the 1940’s. They would steal men that would wander around the tunnels, many hung around the bars above the tunnels, and would be taken then sold to ship owners. The owners would pick out “able-bodied men” as they were called and used them as slaves on the ships.
Studies showed in The Haunted Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, Oregon, not all of the people who were taken on these ships were men, some of them were females, that were sold as prostitutes to work on the ships. There was one well-known individual named Nina. She is said to haunt the tunnels underneath “Old Town Pizza.” Locals claimed that Nina was a prostitute who was drugged one night and thrown down the stairway to the tunnels. The fall was fatal, and it is said that her ghost haunts the tunnels and locals can smell the scent of her perfume in the air (The Haunted Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, Oregon). Also, there is a carving in the brick in one of the passageways said to have been there since the tunnels were first used for shanghaiing that says “Nina.” (Haunt in Shanghai Tunnels Portland). Nina isn’t the only ghost that is said to haunt these tunnels. Many people who go through the tunnels of Portland have heard moans, talking, screaming, and even crying. It's believed that many of those sounds may be a result of the energy in that specific area, and could be residual based hauntings. Most of these hauntings are caused because most don't know how they got into the tunnels to start with, they have a hard time finding their way out.
There are many different tours that visitors travel to Portland to come find out if these hauntings are real and the history behind the tunnels. The Shanghai tunnels heritage tour is the main tour that gives information about history of the shanghai trade in Portland. They offer evening, day-time, and private tours. The shanghai tunnels ghost tour accesses spirits that still work or are imprisoned there. Shanghai Tunnel Ethnic History tour shares historical stories of the Chinese, Japanese and the Gypsies relate to the activities that took place in the underground community. The Portland walking tour begins just outside of the Old Town Pizza, offers a more detailed tour of the tunnels. This tour shows visitors the physical remains underground as well as the subcultures, political, and immortal underground of the city’s history, and exposes the myths and legends of the so-called “Shanghai Tunnels.”
This article provides information about where the tunnels are located and the destinations that they take visitors to. It also talks about the places that are located around the tunnels and their mysterious hauntings that have been said occur there.
This article discusses deeper about the history of the tunnels and where the word “shanghaiing” originally comes from. It gives information about what happened in the tunnels around the prohibition period. The purpose of this article is to give readers a greater understanding about the shanghai tunnels and why the hauntings occur there.
Ghost stories can
sometimes be grueling and creepy; they can give you nightmares even. Very
rarely do you hear of any ghost stories that don’t have some horrifying story
to go along with it. Alice of the Hermitage’s ghost is one of the exceptions.
This story is about a sad, young teenaged girl who was in love with someone whose
social class wouldn’t allow her to be with. She doesn’t haunt just because she
wants to scare people, she haunts the earth in search of her beloved engagement
ring.
Alice lived with
her mother and brother in Murrells Inlet in South Carolina near the coast. She lived
in a house that still stands today called The Hermitage , which was built by her brother. Alice came from a family of wealthy doctors, so
understandably when she fell for a lumberman who was beneath her wealth status,
it was frowned upon. Alice paid it no mind, she loved him regardless of his
economic status and ended up accepting an engagement ring from him. When her
older brother and mother caught wind of this, they forbade it and told her to
take off her ring. She did as they asked but in turn, she concealed the ring by
tying it to a ribbon around her neck and hiding it underneath her shirt.
Eventually, she had more disagreements with her mother and brother about her
fiancé, which resulted in Alice agreeing to be sent off to boarding school in
Charleston. While she was there she got “love-sick” and fell ill and weak to
the point of borderline immobility. Her brother ended up having to take a 4-day
carriage ride to go pick her up. The long ride didn’t help her already
declining condition at all and it caused her to fall even more ill by the time
they reached Murrell’s Inlet. While bed-ridden and weak, she had no energy to
continue concealing her ribbon tied ring and it accidentally slipped out in her
brother’s presence. He saw it and angrily threw her ring into a nearby marsh.
After several attempts of asking guests to find her ring, no one ever attempted
to search for it. About a week of being bedridden in her home in Murrells Inlet,
she fell into a coma and she ended up passing away before she could search for
her ring.
Now, she roams
the earth in search of her ring because it was the only thing she had from her
beloved since her family forbade their relationship. There are ritualsperformed by walking circles around her grave backwards thirteen times at night
and then leaving a ring on her grave. Legend says that doing so will make Alice
appear. There are other rituals performed, some that have reported granted your
wishes or made a ring suddenly fly off of a visitor’s finger. People often
visit her grave and leave different things from coins, jewelry, and flowers.
Alice is just a mere, teenaged ghost who died of a broken heart and only longs
for her dear ring.
“The
Hermitage.” Sciway.net. Sciway LLC. http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/georgetown-county/the-hermitage.html.
Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.
“The
Legend of Alice Flagg.” Angel Fire. http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/mytrip/alice.html.
Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.
“Ghost
of Alice Flagg.” Hauntedstories.net. https://hauntedstories.net/ghost-stories/south-carolina/ghost-alice-flagg.
Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.
Links
for even more leads than this article provides visit:
The Ghost of Alice Flagg, Scary EPVs and Videos and Pictures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9qSY6ODMCs
In this video, YouTube user Joey Blackrose is at the cemetery
where Alice is buried and is taking a video of what he is experiencing, as well
as EVPs of him trying to communicate with her spirit.
In this movie, a young couple honeymoons to low country South
Carolina but they end up getting stuck due to a hurricane and get haunted by
the alleged ghost of Alice Flagg.
Ghosts of South Carolina: Two Stories of Lost Love and Tragic
Death
Ariana McMahon With
a landscape full of seemingly random crosses, the country of Lithuania displays
its religious devotion and pride. In their article on Lithuanian crosses, Giedre Mikneviciene and Marija Nemuniene, say,
“Crosses are an inseparable part of the Lithuanian scenery”
(1). Many people travel
to on pilgrimages different places. The more popular places being Mecca,
Jerusalem, or Stonehenge. One of the less known destinations is a hill located in
the town of Siauliai,
in Lithuania. The Hill of Crosses is known for being a place of remembrance for
Lithuanian Catholics. The Hill is exactly like its name and is covered in
crosses, placed there over the years by the many people who visit. The reason
why the people of Lithuania placed crosses in different places is because of
religious reason. Before the spread of Christianity stone pillars were placed
to worship pagan gods. The different types of crosses are Cross
Double-cross crest, Double-toried, roofed pillar, Pillar-type chapel, Chapel,
and Curonian cross board (3).
In this image only a tiny
portion of the Hill’s crosses are shown, but the variety of crosses is clearly
seen
Siauliai,
the town where the Hill is located was “occupied by Teutonic Knights during the 14th century.The
tradition of placing crosses dates from this period…” (Gray). Though the hill has a long history
many of the crosses are relatively new. This is because the Hill has been
destroyed several times. Once when the Tsarist Russia oppressed Lithuania and
Poland. The people of Lithuania revolted and many were killed on the Hill of
Crosses. So, to remember their countrymen crosses were placed, but were
immediately destroyed multiple times. The Hill survived through german
occupation during World war II, and both Mikneviciene
and Nemuniene state, “There
were four organized cross demolition waves but the Hill of Crosses would
constantly revive. The fight for the survival of the Hill of Crosses lasted for
about 20 years” (6).
In 1993, the
Pope John Paul II paid his respects to the those who lost their lives during
the revolt. He commended their efforts in keeping their religion alive and then
erected a cross in their memory. Also, “ahermit of the Franciscan Brothers was consecrated
on July 7, 2000” (“Hill of Crosses”).
Now the number of crosses placed on the Hill has grown exponentially due to
tourism and the Hill is a place of peace remembrance and worship.
Mikneviciene, Giedre and Marija Nemuniene.
"Lithuanian crosses and the spirit of place: Transmitting the spirit of
place." The
Institute for Design and Restoration. Vol. 16, Fall 2008, pp. 1-10.
Motuzas, Alfonsas. "The Origin of the Hill
of Crosses, Devotional Practices and Music of the Pilgrimages." Scholarly Papers University of Latvia: Oriental Studies, vol. 793, no.
10, Fall 2013, pp. 79-83.
