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©2007 About. Inc

We don’t usually think of games when we consider the paranormal. The paranormal is something to be investigated, researched and taken seriously, not trifled with in something as frivolous as what we’d consider a “game.” We’re not talking about the harmless games children play at Halloween or even the various paranormal-themed action and role-playing computer games available. We’re talking about the games that are played in the dark of night that truly can be paranormal in nature and have unexpected, even terrifying results. Games such as “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board,” the Ouija board, “Bloody Mary” and spoon bending seem to be favorites of teenagers particularly.

At parties, sleepovers and when the opportunity arises to sneak into an abandoned or rumored-to-be-haunted building, these games are very often played. Teens like them not only because they challenge the unknown, but also for the same reason they love horror and slasher movies – they like to be scared. Adults and paranormal researchers usually discourage such games – particularly the Ouija and Bloody Mary – because of the negative psychological impact they can have on the participants. Whether the game players are merely scaring themselves or they really are tapping into negative realms, many researchers advise that these “games” are best left alone. And for that reason, we cannot recommend their practice. Light as a Feather and spoon bending are more harmless and may have a scientific basis, but some argue that any game that has elements of the unknown should be avoided. People, play them at their own risk.

Bloody Mary : The conjuring of Bloody Mary has been a favorite way for teenagers, girls in particular, to scare themselves silly. The appearance of the Bloody Mary spirit has become the stuff of urban legend, yet many have testified that she really does appear. Basically, the ritual goes like this: stand in a darkened or lightless room where there is a mirror. Stare into the mirror and chant “Bloody Mary” 13 times. The gruesome spirit of Bloody Mary will appear behind you in the mirror...

©2007 About. Inc

Just south of San Antonio, Texas, in an unremarkable neighborhood not far from the San Juan Mission is an intersection of roadway and railroad track that has become somewhat famous in the catalog of American ghost lore. The intersection, so the story goes, was the site of a tragic accident in which several school-aged children were killed - but their ghosts linger at the spot. And the curious from all over the country come to this section of railroad track to witness firsthand the paranormal phenomena they've heard takes place there. The story - at least 20 years old - is the stuff of urban legend and its details vary from telling to telling, but this is essentially it: Back in the 1930s or 1940s, a school bus full of children was making its way down the road and toward the intersection when it stalled on the railroad tracks. A speeding train smashed into the bus, killing 10 of the children and the bus driver. Since that dreadful accident many years ago, any car stopped near the railroad tracks will be pushed by unseen hands across the tracks to safety. It is the spirits of the children, they say, who push the cars across the tracks to prevent a tragedy and fate like their own.

Even today, cars line up at the haunted intersection to see if the legend is true. The driver stops the cars some 20 to 30 yards from the tracks and puts the car in neutral gear. Some even turn off their engines. And sure enough, even though it appears that the road is on an upward grade, the car begins to roll. It rolls slowly first, then steadily gaining speed - seemingly of its own accord and against gravity - up and over the tracks. This has been tested time and time again, and cars really do roll up and over the tracks - every time. But that's not all. The second half of this legend is that if a light powder - like talcum or baby powder - is sprinkled over the car's trunk and rear bumper, tiny fingerprints and handprints will appear - the prints of the ghost children pushing the car. Many who have tried it swear that indeed they can see the evidence of small children's handprints in the powder...

Copyright © 1997-2006 Haunted Bay

Often called the most haunted ship in history, the USS Hornet rests deceptively still in its berth at the decommissioned Alameda Naval Base. The USS Hornet CV-12 is the eighth US ship to carry the Hornet name. The first was commissioned in 1775 and battled the British in the Revolutionary war. The second Hornet commissioned in 1805 gained fame in America's battle against the Barbary Pirates and landed Marines on the shores of Tripoli. The seventh Hornet (CV-8) launched 16 Army B-25s to strike the Japanese home islands in one of the most daring raids in the history of warfare, the "Doolittle Raid". She went on to fight at the Battle of Midway and was lost to an overwhelming air attack at the Battle of Santa Cruz.

The eighth USS Hornet, the one currently docked in Alameda, was commissioned in 1943 at the height of the war in the Pacific. She quickly became one of the most highly decorated ships in the Navy. She destroyed 1,410 Japanese aircraft and destroyed or damaged 1,269,710 tons of enemy shipping. Ten Hornet pilots attained "Ace in a Day" status. She supported nearly every Pacific amphibious landing after March 1944 and struck the critical first hits in sinking the super battleship Yamato. Her pilots are also credited with the first strikes against Tokyo since the 1942 Doolittle Raid. During the cold war the Hornet had the honor of recovering astronauts from both the Apollo 11 and 12 missions. Her impressive record did not come without cost. An aircraft carrier, in times of war or peace, is a dangerous place. Sailors have walked into aircraft's spinning props, been sucked into their air intakes, and blown off deck by their exhaust. Dropped ordnance has exploded, burning and maiming sailors. Snapping flight arrest cables are known to have decapitated at least three men on the USS Hornet. All told, in her 27 years of active service, more than 300 people lost their lives aboard ship...

© D O'Donnell 2006

Montpellier in 1981: Shortly before midnight a two-door Renault pulled over to pick up a woman. Four people were already inside the car, so the hitchhiker’s unexpected presence necessitated some rearrangement of seating. Eventually, she settled in the rear seat. The car continued on its way, loud music blaring from its cassette player. As it approached a sharp curve the hitchhiker suddenly shouted, ‘Mind the bend. You are risking your life!’ The driver slowed up and safely negotiated the turn. Then everyone realized that their passenger had vanished! So shaken were the four that they called at the Montpellier police station and reported their experience. Inspector Lopez was impressed and later told researchers, ‘Their panic wasn’t put on and we soon realized they were genuine. It worried us, ‘But there was little that could be done after the event.

Resurrection Mary: This cemetery is home to a well known ghost story. It's the story of Resurrection Mary. Her name is Mary Bregavy, a young Polish girl that was killed in a car accident in 1939 while going home from a dance at the O'Henry Ballroom, now the Willowbrook Ballroom. Her ghost makes appearances all along the cemetery roads and at the Willowbrook Ballroom. She has been known to dance with men at the ballroom and ask them for a ride home only to disappear from their cars as they pass the cemetery. She's been seen hitchhiking on the nearby roads by many creditable witnesses. A taxi cab driver saw young girl walking one evening in 1989 and picked her up. The two of them were talking and driving but as the cab passed Resurrection Cemetery the girl, (Mary), disappeared from the front seat of the cab. In the summer of 1976, the Justice police received a phone call from a man who said that he saw a girl locked in the cemetery after hours. It was 10:30 PM when Sergeant Pat Homa responded to the call. Homa shined his flashlight through the cemetery bars into the darkened burial grounds. He didn't find any girl. He did find two of the bars on the gate were bent apart at a weird angle. They appeared have been bent apart by human hands...