Alarming Accounts of Mystical Experiences: Explorations of Cosmic and Terrestrial Phenomena

In the quaint ancient market town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, a ghostly bookshop stands where once a pub named 'Daft's Tap' thrived. The proprietor often smells tobacco smoke, as if one of the original pub-goers had never left.

Moving across the Atlantic, we find ourselves in Brunswick, Ohio, home to Myrtle Hill Cemetery. Beneath a large black spherical monument, known as the Witch's Ball, lies a buried witch whose restless spirit is said to spin the sphere. The witch is believed to have poisoned her family before being caught, and is bound beneath the stone to do no more harm.

Venturing further, we arrive in the Colombian plains, where the bruja del llano, a shapeshifting witch, is said to steal unbaptised children and take away cattle when angered. The witch is allied with the "duendes", who signal when the witch is on the hunt by scratching children and tangling their hair.

In Ireland, the mansion house in Old Shotton, County Durham, known as Shotton Hall, is believed to be haunted by a "grey lady" ghost. The spirit of a young woman who is said to have hanged herself in a stairwell in the "olden days" is often seen floating through the walls of the corridors during weddings or parties. In the 1990s, Shotton Hall was used as council office space and an event venue, and many people reported similar sightings.

Woodlawn House, a Georgian manor house in County Galway, Ireland, is shrouded in a dark history. The house is said to be haunted due to its association with an English aristocrat who treated the local tenants cruelly and once tortured and hanged a youth who was caught poaching on the land. The boy's mother is said to have cursed the lord and the house, and the land.

In a small village about 4 miles from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, a tragic legend unfolded. A young woman ran off before her wedding, and her body was found hanging from a tree in the woods. The man who was supposed to marry her is said to have left a note saying he had killed her and she was buried beneath the tree.

In Germany, the "Geisterhotel" is said to be haunted by two ghosts. Vilnius in Lithuania, with the Gediminas Castle ruins, hosts the ghost of Grand Duke Gediminas and other spooky sites like the Bernardine Cemetery, the Dominican Church crypt, Šventaragis Valley, and the Hill of Three Crosses.

The infamous Amityville house in Germany is known as one of the most notorious haunted houses. In the 1960s, a man is said to have hanged himself in a house near Ballinasloe, Ireland, and no one has entered the house since. The house is said to be haunted and attracts scary stories, such as lights seen in the windows after dark and screams heard from a distance.

Finally, we journey to Black Star Canyon, north of the city of Irvine, California, and the Clausland Mountains in Blauvet, NY. Both locations are rumoured to have cults and dark spirits living within their abandoned tunnels, with motor traffic blocked off and police not patrolling the areas.

In a primary school in Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, there was a belief that a monster lived in a door to an old boiler room.

These tales serve as a reminder of the rich and varied ghostly legends that exist around the world, each with its own unique history and chilling atmosphere. Whether you believe in these stories or not, they certainly make for intriguing reading!

Alarming Accounts of Mystical Experiences: Explorations of Cosmic and Terrestrial Phenomena