Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Brush with Death

Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed in his father's Dale Earnhardt Sr. footsteps to become a professional race car driver. Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Earnhardt Jr.won two Daytona 500s and holds 26 NASCAR series wins.

Earnhardt Jr. semi-retired from racing in 2016. During his career he experienced several scary incidents, but it is one fiery crash that he still wonders about till this day.

During a 60-Minutes interview he recounted how this incident has made him a believer in the paranormal.

In 2004, early in his career Earnhardt crashed his corvette during a practice run at the Sonoma Raceway, while preparing for a La Mans Series race. He miscalculated a turn and clipped a nearby wall. Earnhardt Jr.'s car then spun out of control.

On impact, the car's fuel line ruptured and spewed gasoline everywhere, catching fire. Earnhardt dazed managed to unbuckle his seatbelt.

As he lay on a stretcher on the field, he grabbed the collar of a PR rep and screamed at him "to find the man who pulled me from the car." This man confused told him, "Nobody helped you get out."

Earnhardt was then airlifted to California-Davis Memorial Medical Center, where he received treatment for second-degree burns.

Earnhardt still firmly feels someone helped him escape his burning corvette. He distinctly remembers someone grabbing him under his arms, and then pulling him out of the car.

Despite not seeing the man who helped him, he believes it was his father's ghost who assisted him that fateful morning.

A Menacing Presence at Bonito Lake

Bonito Lake (Reservoir)

“It was a robbery that went sour . . .”

Bonito Lake is located at 7300 feet in Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. Beautiful scenery surrounds this man-made reservoir, near Ruidoso.

The ghost story connected to this lake has its roots in 1855.

Most people today do not realize that the remains of a ghost town lie at the bottom of Bonito Lake.

Bonito City sprang up as a mining camp during the Gold Rush. In 1882, this city was just a cluster of tents, it residents a group of starry-eyed miners from states as far away as Virginia.

At its peak, in the mid-1800s, Bonito City had a schoolhouse, three general stores, a saloon, a post office, a boarding house, one blacksmith, and one lawyer.

For a brief period, Lincoln County was able to boast that it was the most populated area in New Mexico.

Bonito City Post Office

But Bonito City was about to become the site of a gruesome mass-murder.

Martin Nelson, aged 24, with dreams of becoming rich overnight, arrived in Bonito City, claiming to be a miner. But locals noted this particular young man never seemed to do any work.

A newspaper clipping
about Murders.

Nelson boarded with a local family for several weeks and then moved to the bustling Mayberry Family boarding house that was the town’s official hotel.

There had been a string of recent robberies in town, but no one had a clue as to who was doing them.

At 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning, May 5, 1885, Martin Nelson’s luck was about to run out. He entered the room of Dr. R. E. Flynn at the Mayberry. The doctor had recently arrived from Boston.

Nelson’s intent was to steal this man’s watch. But Dr. Flynn woke up and struggled with the thief. Nelson shot and killed him.

Hearing the commotion, the Mayberrys descended upon the room. Nelson, now panicked, began shooting at the Maybury family members.

John Mayberry Sr. and his two sons, John Jr., and Eddie (Robert) died instantly. Mrs. Mayberry wounded, ran down the stairs, attempting to escape, with her 14-year-old daughter, Nellie.

Nellie Mayberry after
murders was sent back
east to live with relatives.

Nelson shot Mrs. Mayberry a second time, killing her. This bullet also struck Nellie.

Nellie then pleaded for her life, and Nelson agreed not to kill her on the condition that she promised to attend his hanging. She did, and he spared her life.

Meanwhile, Pete Nelson, a neighbor (no relation to Martin), hearing the shots as he closed his saloon for the night, entered the Maybury house. Martin Nelson also shot and killed him.

By this time, a large number of people had gathered outside the boarding house. Nelson trapped, stayed hidden until 7 a.m. He then tried to escape out the back door.

The town grocer, Herman Beck, was waiting for him. Beck was killed by a single shot from Nelson’s rifle.

Nelson managed to leave town, and then a posse chased and caught up to him in Littleton Canyon and killed him.

Nelson’s victims were then buried in the town cemetery on a hilltop overlooking Bonito City. His body was placed near, but not in this cemetery.

The gold boom played out within a few short years, and eventually, Bonito City became a ghost town. The post office closed in 1911, and by 1920 all that remained was a store and eight houses.

In the late 1920s, the Southern Pacific Railroad gained permission to dam the Bonito Creek to create a reservoir that would fuel its steam engines. Workers removed what was left of the town.

By 1933 the lake was so high the water level was approaching the graves of Nelson and his victims.

Angus City Cemetery

The remains of the Mayberry family were relocated to a common grave in the Angus Cemetery—not far from the lake. Nelson’s body was reburied east of this cemetery. Today Nelson's plot is overgrown, but a gravestone still stands as a marker.

Mass grave marker for the victims.

When Nelson’s body was exhumed, it was noted he was thrown face down in a rough pine box. His green felt hat was intact, and several bullet holes were found in it.

He was buried with his body pointing west. Some feel this is why he does not rest in peace. The belief of that era was to place the dead facing up and pointing to the east. This assured the deceased could rise up to meet Christ.

People point to this fact as the reason Martin Nelson’s menacing ghost still wanders the area where he lived and died. And then there is the fact his body was disturbed.

When the Southern Pacific stopped using steam trains, they no longer needed the reservoir. Today Bonito Lake is the main water supply for several surrounding communities, including Ruidoso, New Mexico.

This is the reason swimming, wading, and boats are not allowed on the lake. The area is open for fishing but only from the shoreline.

Bonito Reservoir with the dam to the right.

Campers, mountain bikers, and rock hounds also frequent the area. Others still pan for gold along the Rio Bonito.

But some of these visitors have become so frightened they have left never to return.

It appears Nelson’s ghost has frightened many a tourist and some locals. His scary presence is felt along the shoreline. Some even say he appears to be at the bottom of the lake.

A strange circle of lights has been seen floating on the surface of the water. Eerie sounds are heard including gunshots.

Others have picked up some intriguing EVP’s at Nelson's gravesite.

Local residents warn paranormal enthusiasts that it is not a good idea to awaken this murderer, especially since his presence is felt in such a remote area.

Haunted Kennebunk Inn

Tavern in 1885.

This inn nestled between the Kennebunk and Mousam Rivers, in the town of Kennebunk, Maine, was built as a private home in 1799.

In 1928, this residence was converted to a tavern. During this time a man by the name of Silas Perkins was hired to be the night watchman and auditor.

The son of a sea captain, Silas was also a published poet.

Silas died, of a heart attack, in the 1940s, at the inn. He was eighty years old. Since his death, many believe that his ghost lingers.

Light mist photographed at the inn.
Click to enlarge.

In more recent years, this old tavern was converted into an inn.

Former owners of this inn, the LeBlanc’s encountered Silas’ ghost on more than one occasion.

This ghost likes to play pranks on the inn’s employees—especially on those he does not like.

At first, Angela LeBlanc was skeptical the inn was haunted. She quickly changed her mind.

Inn's bar.

One afternoon as she sat the inn’s bar, several mugs levitated off a shelf, where the bartender, named Dudley stood. These mugs hit him in the back of the head.

On other occasions wine glasses fell or flew across the bar.

Room 17 at the inn is very active. As well as the hallway outside this room.

Recently, a housekeeper was cleaning this room when she unplugged the television, to clean behind it. To her horror, this TV moments later turned on by itself.

Even though Silas is mischievous, most of the owners of the inn agree that his spirit overall is a protective presence.

He takes his role as night watchman seriously—guest often state, that he watches over them as they sleep. I am not sure if I would find this comforting or not. 

One line from a poem he wrote, entitled The Common Man, sums up his role as protector.

“I want to laugh with the common man.

Whenever he chance to be,

I want to aid him when I can

Whenever there’s need of me.”

The Hanging of Rose Butler

The land where Washington Square Park is located in New York’s Greenwich Village was used for over a hundred years as a burial site.

It was initially used as an Indian burial ground.

Then after the Revolutionary War it was a potter’s field for criminals that were hanged in New York in the 1700s.

A Vault full of bones found
beneath the park.

There are an additional 20,000 souls buried in a mass grave, lost to a yellow fever epidemic that lasted from 1791 to 1821.

As New York’s wealthier citizens moved into the area, this extensive graveyard was covered over for a military parade ground.

It was at this point that the shallow graves of the potter’s field began to surface. As a result, several bones of the deceased poor were crushed underfoot.

The military parade ground at what was to become the park.

This stark history, plus the disturbance of these graves—point to this ground being haunted. After this location became a park in 1828, people began to note unexplained activity.

Today, the buildings that surround Washington Square, house the various NYU departments. The young people that flock to this park often do not know, about the morbid history of their favorite hangout.

Many bodies lie beneath the famous fountain and arch at this park.

Hangman's Elm

Most of NYUs students have never heard of Rose Butler, even though some have encountered her ghost. On windy nights, she is seen swinging from a large tree in the park’s northwest corner known as the “Hangman’s Elm.”

She is described as a shadow dangling in the tree that appears to disappear when witnesses move closer, to get a better view. Others have noticed this dangling figure from the various windows that overlook the park.

Some have seen her apparition walking through the park. Cold spots accompany her, even on hot summer days. Most disturbing is the witnesses who claim they felt her walk right through them.

Rose Butler was a house slave owned by the Morris family. At age sixteen, the family accused her of stealing. Previous owners had also caught her stealing.

Rose resentful, was also angered at the fact many blacks that were “free” lived near the Morris household.*

She hatched a plan to kill the family. She tried to burn down their house. She set it ablaze and tied their only exit shut.

But she only managed to burn part of the staircase, the family escaped unharmed.

Rose was arrested and tried for arson.

Arson was a heinous crime at the time—for there were not firefighters, and many perished in house fires.

Butler was condemned to death by hanging. This was a harsh penalty—for a woman. The case went all the way to the New York Supreme Court, but they upheld the ruling.

Some state this was because New York was in transition at the time. Slavery was on the decline, and there was a lot of tension between slaveholders and non-slaveholders.

At the age of nineteen, in 1799, Rose Butler was the last criminal hanged in what would become Washington Square Park. She was buried in the nearby potter’s field.

Some feel her grave was one of the many desecrated—hence the haunting.

*   She should have been free, slavery was an abomination, but some because of this sentiment, claim she was innocent--the fire was just an accident. But my research reflected otherwise.

But another question remains--

Since Rose didn't succeed, should she have been hanged? 

Screaming Hotel Guest

This video has been floating around the net for several years. It has been the subject of a hot debate.

Is it real? Or just a fledgling film director’s attempt to sensationalize the interest in ghosts?

Regardless, this video captured something that is both scary and captivating.

It was filmed in 2003, at a Wingate Hotel, in Illinois.

Guests staying at this hotel, reported they heard screams on the second floor, near, or in Room 209.

This confused the hotel staff, since no guests had checked into this room—it was supposed to be empty.

A hotel security manager, and a desk clerk, Amy, sent a workman, John to check out what is going on.

The hotel security cameras with John at door to Room 209.

This video records the sound of screams, while John hears them at the same time, near Room 209.

This man is encouraged by the manager, who also hears the screams, via security camera and radio, to wait for the police to be called in. Instead, John enters the room.

Open door after John enters the room.

Observe, at 1:31 on the video, a bilious cloud figure exits the room just seconds after John enters the room and at 1:32 walks down the hall—to right of the door. (The video at the end shows this figure again.)

Flashing lights are recorded, not just his flashlight beam, coming from the room and John exits, noticeably scared a minute or so later.

John immediately demands the other staff, call the police.

He describes, to the two other two employees, what he found.

All the furniture in the room is upside down and the shower water is running, but no one is in the restroom.

The carpet in the room has been ripped up. But again, no one is in the room.

The security manager, whose voice is only heard on the radio, admits he is now officially freaked out.

Here is the video.

Many have tried to debunk this video, stating it was just staged.

But a variety of hotel guests heard these screams, as well as these three hotel employees claiming what they saw and heard was real.

And one cannot ignore the fact a repairman was contracted by the hotel chain to restore the room.

So this incident remains a mystery.

Hotel employees, to this day, state they avoid or are uncomfortable offering this room to guests when they check-in.

The Ghost at Valentine High School

Today this old school in the small town of Valentine, Nebraska, is a museum called Centennial Hall.

Centennial Hall Museum

Its’ twelve rooms house a variety of antiques, including the 1,700 Hallock Bell collection that takes up an entire room.

Charles F. Bendoff designed this two-story school in 1897. It was built in 1898. It was used both as a primary and secondary school for the Cherry County School District.

This building is the oldest high school still standing in Nebraska. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

It was Valentine High School teachers, that first noted a ghostly girl, often seen roaming the halls.

It is believed she was a student at the school in 1944. As a joke, another student poisoned her Clarinet reed. She then tragically suffered a heart attack and died.

Her apparition is still seen in the museum today. Visitors state they experienced an uncontrollable feeling of being unwell at the same time they saw this ghost.

Centennial Hall Museum

Other activity includes--

Cold spots are felt, and strange noises are also heard. Band music is often heard coming from the school’s old music room. Instruments are no longer stored in the building.

Items are also seen moving on their own. Most notably a rocking chair that is seen rocking without cause.

Local residents claim the building itself is spooky. As they drive by they state, “it is as if the building is watching them.”

Stone Lion Inn

Guests have trouble sleeping at this bed and breakfast located in Guthrie, Oklahoma. A small child often bothers them.

In 1907, F.E. Houghton had this 3-story, 8,000 square foot home built for his wife and six children. Once they moved in, the Houghton’s had six more children.

Tragedy struck his family when their 8-year-old daughter contracted whooping cough. This young girl, Augusta was bedridden and despondent.

She was given the only medicine used at the time. It was cough syrup laced with codeine and opium.

The nurse accidentally gave her too much, and she died.

The Houghton family leased the house in the 1920s, to an undertaker, who used it as a funeral home for eight years.

The Houghton’s moved back into the house in the 1930s. Mr. Houghton died of a stroke in 1943. Mrs. Houghton, her children grown, then ran the home as a “boarding house” until her death in 1958.

Stone Lion Inn

By 1986, Becky Luker turned the building into a B&B. The renovations made on the old home, during this time, stirred the paranormal activity up.

But ghosts were present before this.

F.E. Houghton is believed to haunt the home as well as a dark, intimidating male presence in the basement. This mysterious entity is connected to this room because it was once used as the morgue.

Embalming table.

The embalming table used, still remains in the home.

But the ghost at Stone Lion that is seen the most is Augusta. She is a mischievous presence.

At first, Luker and her sons, hearing footsteps on a nightly basis, called the police—afraid of intruders. But these officers never found anyone.

On the third floor is a toy chest that once belonged to the Houghton children. The new owners often found the toys strewn about in the morning.

The remaining Houghton family members reassured them not to be concerned. It was just Augusta playing—as she had done for years, after her death.

Augusta is also heard running up and down the back staircase as well as running around the third floor. She is often heard giggling.

Many guests at this inn have reported encounters with this little girl.

Guest room.

They have seen her small figure tucking them into bed at night, and she often strokes people’s faces to wake them up in the morning.

She likes to squeeze guests toes as they sleep.

Other guests have complained that they couldn’t rest because Augusta played on their bed all night. Or that she bounced a wooden ball throughout the night.

Paranormal teams that have investigated this B&B have picked up cold spots throughout the inn, as well as EVPs of both a child’s voice and a male voice.

Kings Island’s Playful Ghost

Visitors go to Ohio’s Kings Island amusement park to eat funnel cake and enjoy the exciting rides.

Kings Island is located in Mason just outside Cincinnati. It opened in 1972 and has been this state’s favorite amusement park since.

The Beast

The most popular ride is called “The Beast.” When this wooden rollercoaster first opened in 1979, it was the tallest, fastest and longest coaster in the world.

Even today, forty years later, The Beast is still Kings Island's most popular ride.

But some visitors, while at the park, have gotten “ a thrill” of a very different kind.

Kings Island was built on land that was used for an ammunition factory (King’s Powder) from the late 1880s until the 1940s. During this time, there was a massive explosion that killed over one hundred people.

Dog Street Cemetery with
The Beast in background.

All that remains of this company is a small cemetery (Dog Street Cemetery)—that sits near the park’s exit, next to the parking lot.

This cemetery is one reason some feel the park is haunted.

One active spirit at Kings Island is a little girl. She is seen wearing a blue dress. Her ghost is spotted mostly in the park’s parking lot, skipping or playing “hide-and-seek” among the cars.

Park employees call her “Tram Girl” because of a game she likes to play with them.

As these drivers deliver their passengers at various points throughout the parking lot, this ghost likes to jump out in front of their vehicles—daring them to run over her.

One driver, in 2017, had just finished dropping off the last few passengers for the night and was headed for the main parking lot.

He was tired after a long day. So when his tram headlights illuminated a young girl, wearing a blue dress, run right in front of his vehicle, he was slow to react.

This driver did slam on his brakes, but he was sure he had hit her. But oddly he didn’t feel an impact or hear any screams.

He climbed out, but the parking lot was empty, and nothing was under the tram. After inspecting the front for damage, he was surprised there was none.

The little girl had disappeared as quickly, as she had appeared.

White Water Canyon at Kings Island.

This mischievous spirit is also seen at White Water Canyon in the park.

She is believed to be Jane Galeener, who lived with her mother, father, and younger brother on a section of the property that is now Kings Island.

Jane Galeener's gravestone in
Dog Street Cemetery.

She drowned in 1846, at the age of 5 in a lake, where White Water Canyon is located in the park today.

She is buried in Dog Street Cemetery.

Here is a video that shows how much fun The Beast is to ride.

The Restless Spirits at Waverly Plantation

Wavery Plantation Oaks

A loving husband had this unique Southern plantation home designed and built for his wife in the mid-1800s. But she tragically died, before Waverly Mansion, located in Clay County Mississippi was finished.

George Hampton Young was a colonel who moved from Georgia to Mississippi to establish a cotton plantation along the Tombigbee River.

Waverly Mansion--today.

Young and his ten children moved into their new home in the 1850s. He ran an impressive farm.

Waverly, besides providing large quantities of cotton had a tannery, lumber mill, gristmill, brick kiln, icehouse, gardens, orchards, and livestock. The plantation also manufactured its own gas, which was piped into the house to illuminate it.

Waverly has a unique architectural feature, not often seen in the South, a massive copula sits atop this home that affords the visitor a 360-degree view of the surrounding countryside.

This mansion also is known as one of the most haunted homes in the South.

The Young family maintained Waverly until the last of the ten children died in 1913. It then was left to slowly deteriorate.

Robert and Donna Snow fell in love with the old house and spent several years in the 1960s, restoring it to its original splendor. It was made a National Historic Landmark in 1973.

During this time, the Snow’s became acquainted with an assortment of ghosts that haunt Waverly.

The home today is run as a house museum.

During the Civil War several Confederate officers, friends of the Young family, recuperated from battle wounds at Waverly.

In one mirror from this period, a strange sight is seen. Visitors report a Confederate soldier standing behind them, only to turn around and find no one is there.

Colonel Young’s wife, who never lived in the house, is observed wandering through the second-floor rooms. She turns and stares at visitors and then slowly disappears.

Waverly family cemetery.

The Colonel himself is seen riding a phantom horse near the family cemetery. He is also seen walking through this graveyard and in the yard near the mansion.

The most active ghost at the plantation has been seen and heard by many tour guides and visitors.

This four-year-old girl is believed to be the daughter of a Young family friend. Her apparition appears so real that visitor’s on tours have tried to find what adults she belongs to.

Staircase landing.

She is usually spotted on the landing of the spiral staircase between the second and third floors.

It is believed that she died of diphtheria in the home during the Civil War.

This young ghost is also heard crying for her mother.

Another sound often noted involves many voices attending a dinner party—they are heard laughing and enjoying music in the mansion’s ballroom.

Here is a brief video about the young ghost, known as “Little Girl Lost.” The Snow’s daughter and another witness are interviewed.