In this world, there are many hauntings reported, but some places are more haunted than others are. Find out the top haunted places on each of the seven continents, and then what the number one most haunted place on earth is. We will explore what makes these places the most haunted and what you can do to protect yourself when you walk in the room anyplace that is haunted.
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Hauntings are a topic that will send chills down your spine, yet they are so fascinating, you can’t help but read about them, visit them, or watch programs about them. If you have intuitive abilities, you may be able to pick up on mystic energy wherever you go. You will also notice some places have stronger spirit activity than some others, and there are places where a lot of people have seen or heard from spirits. Talking about haunted places and the spirits there is one thing, but it is important to understand just how places become haunted to begin with. Perhaps more importantly, finding out how to protect yourself from unwanted energy or the influence of spirits will save you a lot of trouble and you can learn how to do that today.
How Do Hauntings Occur?
Hauntings occur two different ways. They occur from either energy left over, or the fact that a spirit or spirits simply has not or will not leave or decides to visit said location. Leftover energy creates something called imprinting and then spirit presence can occur for several reasons.
Imprinting
Imprinting is when something that happened someplace was so powerful, it can still be felt many years, decades, or centuries after it occurred. This can be good or bad. It can be said the presence of deities can be felt at old places of worship from the prayers and rituals the faithful did to fill the space with the spirit of that which they worshiped. A sense of protection, love, and even enlightenment can be felt in such places, and it is very true that early Christians built their cathedrals and churches over sacred sites that pre-Christians held as sacred because they were aware of the holy power in the place. Some people make pilgrimages to such sites so they can feel the holy power and experience spiritual breakthroughs as well as healing there. In this way, imprinting “haunts” a place with good spirits and positive energy.
Negative imprinting can happen because of events like battles, abuse, murders, and other tragedies and what will be left is the energy from the horrors there and people who enter may not realize exactly what happened, but they can feel the sense of dread and terror the people who went through such awful events endured. Some places are considered places of evil that can never be blessed, and people avoid these places at all costs. Some places have been turned into museums or heritage sites to teach how wrong the atrocities committed there were and to make sure people don’t forget the victims.
Spirit Presence
Hauntings can occur because of spirits that are there as well. Some spirits like being where they are, and just don’t ever want to leave. Some spirits stay in their homes, preferring to continue residing there in death as opposed to crossing to the spirit realm. It is reputed that some spirits resent the living for moving into their homes and want to drive out all who enter, but often, they communicate amicably with the new people and sometimes watch over them. Some other spirits are actually trapped and don’t know how to leave. In instances like this, clergy persons who practice the faith of the deceased can do home visits and do prayers, helping the deceased move on to the afterlife, and this is nothing to be afraid of.
The World’s Most Haunted Places
There are plenty of “Most Haunted Places” lists that choose places based on various criteria, but today, we have selected one site for each continent. There is no one location on Earth that is more haunted than everyplace else, but seven places stand out that qualify to be called some of the most haunted places there are. Battlefields, places where the dead enter the land of the living, sacred holy sites, and places where unspeakable tragedies occurred create powerful imprinting and leave energy that seems to be just as potent generations later than it was when the events occurred. Read on to learn more.
Gettysburg Battlefield, North America
One of the bloodiest events taking place on American soil was in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. More deaths occurred at that battle than at any other Civil War battle. There were approximately 3,155 Union and 3,903 Confederate soldiers killed with over 30,000 wounded and over 10,000 missing. The figure of how many died later from their wounds and how many missing were never heard from again is not available. The battle itself was multiple battles which raged from July 1 to July 3 in 1863 and took place at several locations in the town. Hauntings have been reported all over the general area, but the imprinting of the horrors seen by those who fought and died as well as lives was unspeakable. Over 150,000 fought in this battle.
The wounded endured medical treatment that entailed having hands, feet, or parts of arms or legs completely sawed off to try and keep gangrene from setting in which could kill them. This was done with no pain killers or anesthetics. In the medical treatment areas, those who were dying with much suffering laid along those who would live to tell about it. Thousands of fallen soldiers were buried wherever they could be buried there, and while some were exhumed back there, bodies are still being found to this day. The imprinting of the suffering, the horrors of dying that way, and the fact they were far from home and did not get funerals where their families could tell them goodbye is still very powerful.
In an article published titled “ The Haunted History of Gettysburg”, it is written that Gettysburg National Military Park is the official site of this battle, and it is said the spirits of soldiers who tragically do not know the battle ended and time went on still haunt the site. At a rocky formation dubbed The Devil’s Den, it is said tourists hear ghostly gunshots and drums playing and can sometimes feel a spirit holding their hand. The Tillie Pierce House Inn is considered to be haunted by soldiers who had been treated by Tillie when she acted fast, cleaning wounds of soldiers who were brought to her home during the battles. The Gettysburg Hotel is said to host a soldier and lady dancing in the Hotel’s ballroom, and the ghost of a Civil War nurse named Rachel is said to be checking for more soldiers who need her help.
Teotihuacan, South America
Teotihuacan , located twenty-five miles away from Mexico City in Mexico was a busy Mesoamerican city where as many as 250,000 people lived at once, and it was deserted by the eighth century. It was said that as many as ninety percent of the people in the general area lived within the city. It was one of the largest cities in the world during its heyday, and there were over two thousand buildings covering eighteen kilometers.
Not only was it a major city where so many people lived, but it was a major religious center as well. The religious structures include what is called The Pyramid of the Sun, The Pyramid of the Moon, and The Temple of the Plumed or Feathered Serpent. The city has been through several phases of development, and the first groups of people to live in the area moved in around 650 BCE. The religious structures focused on worship of not only the Plumed Serpent deity, but a Great Goddess, a jaguar god, and a storm god as well as others. Images of the serpents as well as sacred jaguars are found around the complexes, and it is believed that human sacrifice at the pyramids did indeed happen.
Buried beneath the pyramids are the remains of ceremonially dressed warriors, and nobody knows who they were. They may have been royalty who were buried respectfully under the pyramids, or they could have been placed there ceremonially to bless the pyramids themselves, we may never know. One thing is certain, an immense fire that some say was from invaders attacking while others insist there was a revolt raged throughout portions of the city, and the imprinting of this can still be felt by people who visit there today. The holy men’s voices can be heard by visitors, and some of today’s visitors say they were pushed down the stairs when touring the pyramids by the spirits.
The Temples of the Sun and Moon are climbed by tourists regularly, but the Temple of the Plumed Serpent, which had been deliberately destroyed at one point, has been rebuilt and is considered too dangerous to climb. Tourists seeing it from a distance feel they are being called to climb the pyramid anyways. Pieces from the city are at the Main Anthropological Museum in Mexico City, and the imprinting from the disastrous fire can be felt among the relics even within the museum.
More exploration of the underside of the pyramids are ongoing, and tunnels beneath each have been found. One tunnel yielded the discovery of a miniature representation of mountains, and it was surrounded by pools of liquid mercury. Its walls were decorated with glittering pyrite, magnetite, and hematite, believed to represent the night sky. Beyond this, over 75,000 objects have been found in the tunnel as of 2015. Writing distinctive to Teotihuacan has been found, but nobody knows how to read what it says. Perhaps if their system of writing is deciphered, reading their words will be possible, but in the meantime, if you visit the site, listen to what the dead say because they love to tell the living about their beautiful city.
Oweynagat Cave, Europe
Oweynagat means “Cave of Cats” and is more simply referred to as The Cave of Cats. Not just a “cat haunting”, it is a cave in County Roscommon, Ireland where it is believed the thinning veil allows the dead and spirits to leave the cave to enter the land of the living. The “Thin Veil” meaning is an old Celtic folk belief. It is believed that twice per year, once at Beltane, May Day, the beginning of their Summer, and Samhain, near November 1, their beginning of Winter, the separation between the land of the living and the realm of the spirits and ancestors thins enough for the dead to pass into the land of the living- and take the living back to their realm with them! Oweynagat is the place where the dead enter the world of men. It is referred to as the “Gateway to Hell” and it is believed the powerful triple goddess, the Morrigan lives there.
The cave is actually a part of over two hundred monuments that are a Connaught site for ancient royalty called Crucachan. It has been said that the cave used to go deeper than it does now, but dynamite was used in the area to do construction, and that made parts of the cave collapse. It is said the cave connects the caves of Kesh on the Sligo and Roscommon borders. That was said to be discovered by a woman who was dragged through the entire cave system by, of all things, a calf! The cave is accessible and tourists enter it often. However, it is said you want to stay away when the veil thins!
What is believed to happen, is as night falls on the thinning veil, a slew of spirits emerge to not only take their pick of the living, but to also demolish the Summer landscape and bring with them the cold of Winter. Ancient people lit bonfires to light the night and bless the living, and also dressed in costumes to disguise themselves so they would be safe from spirits. Unlike Teotihuacan, the Irish have left the entire site intact, so we have no idea exactly what lies beneath the surface. Various spirits and large spectral cats are reported as seen and heard howling when the veil thins at Samhain, and if you are ever in the area Samhain night, you are advised to stay indoors, or dress in disguise if you have to go out. You could also carry a piece of iron to ward off trolls and fairies, or turn your clothing inside out, lest the spirits whisk you away to their realm for good.
The Forbidden City, Asia
Located in China and built as a home for royalty, the Forbidden City is no longer a home, but is called the Palace Museum and is a heritage site and tourist destination in Beijing, China. Construction began in 1406, and the last Emperor, Puyi left the Forbidden City in 1924. It has been home to twenty-four emperors and their families and political intrigue as well as murders have occurred all over the property.
The hauntings most spoken about are weeping women in the concubine quarters. One woman in particular is seen a lot and she is said to be dressed in white and when she is approached, she will not respond or even turn around. Various animal spirits have been seen running around. All of the spirit sightings occur late at night, and it is said that is why the Palace Museum closes earlier in the day. Furthermore, the very construction of the original doorways are designed to deter ghosts. There are high steps in each of the doorways, and it was believed ghosts could not jump or step over the high steps. That was done to prevent ghosts from leaving the Forbidden City so as to protect the people from the spirits that could exit and torment them.
So, the very design was to contain ghosts within the palace forever! Beyond spirits, it was forbidden for ordinary people to enter the Forbidden City, and the thing was, once you entered, you never got to leave. The first Emperor to reside at the Forbidden City, Yongle, once ordered three thousand people who were somehow associated with a huge harem he’d had executed. Some were spared from this purging but were hanged with nooses made of white silk at a later time. If the doorways worked, there are at least three thousand ghosts of innocent people who were brutally murdered in the city to this day. It is said that this and other atrocities have cursed the Forbidden City forever but visiting during the day is safe. Close to eight thousand people tour the palace Museum today, some of whom see the ghosts of those murdered, see women weeping, and see spectral whisps of silk floating in the air.
Cape Coast Castle, Africa
Perhaps one of the most haunted places on earth, it saw some of the worst treatment of human beings that ever happened. Located in Ghana, it was built as one of at least forty similar buildings and it was used to hold people who had been kidnapped to be sold into slavery. It was built in 1555 and in the mid 1600’s, was used for trade of gold and timber before being converted to basically a dungeon. Over one thousand people could be held at one time in the location.
The people were kept in underground dungeons, and the ships came in to buy slaves every six months. The prison cell doors opened just to bring the slaves out to be sold, or bring more slaves in. The unsanitary conditions in the dungeon brought disease and death, and dead bodies were just left in the cells next to living people. The slaves were starved, and many died from lack of food and water as opposed to just disease. The darkness was overwhelming, and those who survived had only a life of slavery to look forward to and could never return home. Shockingly, there were free people who lived in the upper levels of Cape Coast castle in luxury while the horrors went on below.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade lasted from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries and Cape Coast Castle was used in the slave trade until the mid-eighteen hundreds. Pirates were executed at the Castle, and countless enslaved Africans died in darkness, horror, and great pain within the walls there. Today, many state they see various spectral presences, but more than anything, an overwhelming feeling of horror and dread can be felt by visitors. Visiting this might not show individual ghosts, but the imprinting of the horror people lived in there can still be felt by the living to this day, and the Nation of Ghana operates the building as a museum, and it also serves as a heritage site to educate about slavery.
Port Arthur, Australia
Port Arthur is in Tasmania, Australia, and functioned as a penal colony from 1833 to 1853 where those considered the most dangerous and hard of criminals were shipped off from Britain. Some who had been sent to other penal colonies in Australia but who were considered to have committed more crimes while imprisoned were sent to port Arthur for harsher punishment and Port Arthur was considered to be one of the very strictest British prisons. There are plenty of prisons nobody says are haunted, but Port Arthur saw some of the harshest treatment of prisoners known.
Adult men as well as underage boys as young as nine years of age were inmates at Port Arthur, and the physical and psychological torture was horrendous. Hard lashings with whips as well as isolation from others and forcing some prisoners to wear dark covers over their heads drove many to insanity and they never recovered. Food was used to reward or punish. Those looked favorably upon by prison administration got more food, sugar, and tobacco, while those they were displeased with could be given barely enough bread and water to survive. What was worse, the prison was reputed to be one that could not be escaped, and some inmates committed murder of fellow inmates just to get the death sentence so their suffering would end.
Hauntings of such a place with imprinting of such horrors lead some to call this the most haunted place in all of Australia. In 1996, thirty-five people were killed in a mass shooting at the site, and some say it is the spirit of the place that caused such an event to occur. Some visitors hear voices and feel attacked by spirits there. It is believed the inmates were literally driven insane by the inhuman conditions they were trapped in, and their spirits are still stuck there, and attack the living. Despite this, a lot of tourists are not deterred, and want to meet the ghosts of the victims of that horrid prison system. Some people even arrange to go for nighttime tours!
Scott’s Hut, Antarctica
The final continent, sometimes called the “final frontier” is Antarctica, and while as few as 2,000 people are said to reside on the entire continent at some points of the year, there are still plenty of reports of hauntings there. Indeed, in Winter, the temperatures in different parts of the continent can range from a low temperature of -128 Fahrenheit to -76 Fahrenheit. Yet, countless explorers brave the conditions in the name of research, and many die.
Scott’s Hut was built in England and the prefabricated structure was set up in Antarctica in 1911. It was put there for the Terra Nova Expedition also known as The British Antarctic Expedition which lasted from 1910 to 1913. Captain Scott and a party of twenty-four other men were part of this expedition and they shared the hut together. Captain Scott set out with four members to try and be the first to reach the South Pole, only to find a few days prior another group had beaten them to it. However, he and all four of his mates perished on the attempt to make the eleven-mile trek back to the hut. The journal he kept has been found, detailing how the cold drove the men back to their makeshift tent they had pitched each time they tried to get back to the hut, and how they grew weaker from lack of food as the days went by.
The remaining group of men stayed behind to search for the bodies, and the expedition was over in 1913, and food and supplies were still plentiful at the hut once they departed. A stash of the food and supplies that was left by these men is still in the Hut to this day! From 1915 to 1917, the crew of Shackleton’s Ross Sea Party had to use the hut to survive when their ship, the Aurora, got away from them and they were stranded. Once they were rescued in 1917, the Hut was ordered locked up. In the 1950’s and 1970’s it was reached and it was noted how well preserved it was. In 2008, it was included in The World Monuments Watch, and in 2016, preservation measures were taken.
The hut is said to be filled with an ominous dread and disembodied footsteps as well as apparitions are noted by those who enter it. Perhaps more frighteningly, the noise of someone dragging something across the floor is reported. Visitors report they are creeped out and they feel they are being watched also. The food that is left over is said to be well preserved due to freezing conditions, but the seal meat from all those years ago is said to have turned rancid. If you ever find yourself visiting Scott’s Hut, make sure not to eat the food, and don’t plan to stay too long, lest you meet the same fate as Captain Scott and his four crew members did in Antarctica.
The Most Haunted Thing on Earth
Believe it or not, the most haunted thing on earth is you! That’s right. Every human body contains a spirit, and some people even believe that the human body can host multiple different spirits all at the same time. Some people are scared that horror films are basically documentaries of how spirits can enslave human beings, causing them to do and feel things they don’t want to, but the author has a different viewpoint of this. No spirit or deity can enter your body without your consent, and they can’t stay if you tell them to leave. All you have to do is learn some spiritual protective techniques, and how to speak to spirits with authority.
Protecting Yourself
To protect yourself, all you need is some basic knowledge, confidence, and the expectation that spirits respect you. Speaking with authority is said by many who work with spirits to be the number one most important thing in personal protective workings, and luckily, it’s not too difficult to get good at that. For protection, you can call on the help of angels, or other guardians and deities. You can also practice simple psychic shielding techniques, and you can get very good at doing personal cleansings.
Calling on Your Angels
Spirits, deities, or angel’s help can be called upon when your intuitive senses tell you that you need protection from evil, or otherwise harmful entities or energies. Lighting a candle for prayer before visiting somewhere you know has negative energy can act as calling a spirit or deity to put their loving protection on you so when you walk into the room where the bad energy or spirits are, you need not have to worry about how to ward off bad energy on your own. How you call your protective beings depends on who they are and what your relationship with them is. One very potent protection prayer can be said to any god or goddess, or even just a protective guide spirit when you walk in the room and sense bad energy or forces, and it says:
“ My god/goddess ( name of your protective spirit) you have walked with me all my days.
I pray you protect me from all evil now and all my life.
I sense the presence of malevolence, and I have faith
You will ward all of this away from me and keep my spirit , mind, and body
Pure and free from all harm and bad influences.
My psychic ability will continue to warn me and my protector
Will guard me from all harm.”
Psychic Shielding
When you are an intuitive person, you will know which charms of protection, visualizations, or prayers to use in shielding yourself from negative energies. Knowing how to see energy whether it is to practice clairvoyance, or any other method easily alerts intuitive people and mediums that shielding is necessary. Some people don’t need to make séance time or join a spiritualist movement to learn shielding skills, although studying in person with experts never hurts. Ignoring your psychic abilities when they are telling you that malevolent spirits are seeking to influence you is a perfect way of how to become insane, or possessed, some spiritual people warn, but if you practice proper spiritual shielding, you need never worry about such things.
The easiest way to shield yourself from spirits or malevolent energy is by two powerful statements you can make aloud at any time you feel said influences trying to put a hold on you. First, emphatically state “NO!” and focus on pushing whatever malevolent energy or spirit away from you. Nobody has more authority over your own body or spirit than you do, and no means no! Secondly, if spirits or energies have invaded your home, office, or anyplace indoors, simply state “You are not welcome here. Leave, now!” Or just say “Get out!” Movies might show spirits invading spaces and nobody is able to remove them, but for such a thing to happen would be extremely rare if not impossible. Keep the attitude of authority over your own body and domain, and spirits will recognize and respect this.
Cleansing
There are so many different ways of how to cleanse your energy. If you belong to a specific religious or magical tradition, your clergy persons will be able to advise you on the perfect techniques for cleansing. If you are a solitary practitioner, and want techniques, you can use banishing techniques, do smudging, or even nature to help cleanse.
Lesser Banishing of the Pentagram
This is a short ritual that was developed for use in Ceremonial Magic, but many swear by it as a way to cleanse both the human body and the spiritual energy surrounding you. It uses Hebrew names of god combined with the protection of Archangels to cleanse and protect. In the operation, the human aura, or energy and spiritual body is filled with the power of the angels and this god, and all unwanted energy and spirit forces are cleaned out. Be aware, however, this particular banishing lacks power if understanding of the meanings of the names, movements, and meanings of the words is not present, and study should happen if the desire is to attain cleansing and protection from this. An excellent online tutorial can be found here: (64) Full LBRP Tutorial (Fully Explained Golden Dawn + my own Heretical Version) [Esoteric Saturdays] - YouTube
Smudging
It is quite possible that every religion has some form of blessings and cleansings with incenses and the burning of resins. It is believed by many that certain herbs are blessed and holy by their very nature and they can be used with no other tools or operations to cleanse spiritual energy. Sage smudge sticks are used for purification, and any sandalwood or blend using it is used to cleanse ritual spaces, and the human body or any sacred space, such as your home and sanctuary, qualifies as being a ritual space. Another substance used for purification during smudging is the tree resin of copal and then of course frankincense and myrrh. Make sure to have a door or window open so any negative energy you are sending away when you smudge has a place to escape.
Nature
Beyond prayers, and rituals for cleansing, nature provides simple ways to cleanse as well. Stressful surroundings can immediately be alleviated by allowing sunlight or moonlight to cleanse them. Fresh air can also be good for this, and asking whatever negative energies are present to leave through open windows or doors can be done. Sprinkling water that is blessed with prayer, salt, or by clergy is also potent in cleansing workings. Escaping stressful environments to get into nature is also an excellent way to cleanse negativity, and sitting a bowl of water that has been blessed or is filled with clear quartz crystals in the four corners of a room helps to absorb negative energy or spirits, thus cleansing the space. A substance that is not widely known to be cleansing is actually a bit of soil from someplace that is sacred, and while you don’t want to literally sprinkle dirt around your house, spreading some blessed or sacred soil around your yard will help keep negative forces from entering.
Places might be considered haunted, or filled with spirits, but so are we, so being terrified of imprinting from horrific events or the influence of malevolent spirits is not necessary. If you are a spiritual medium or in any way intuitive, spirits might talk to you, and some of them might not be too nice. With knowledge of how to send spirits and energies away, protection of your body and spirit can dispel any fear of spirits or hauntings you may have. Keep reading our articles to learn more techniques you can use in your own magical and solitary spiritual practice!
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