Murders That Inspired Ghost Stories

Ghost stories are as old as time itself, and for as long as humanity can remember, they often started the same way. For one reason or another, a person dies a tragic death, and they have to come back to the world of the living to let everyone know of the tragedy that occurred.

Classic a tale as it is, it's not surprising that many ghost stories were inspired by real-life deaths. Many of the more famous legends and tales deal with murders of historic people who haunted houses where they lived or died.

Over the years, we have heard of many murders that inspired ghost stories later on. Whether or not the ghosts are real remains to be seen, but these famous killings definitely are!

Lizzie Borden took an axe Gave her mother 40 whacksWhen she saw what she'd doneShe gave her father 41.

Remember this spooky childhood rhyme? This was actually the tale of one of the most shocking murders that inspired ghost stories in the 19th century.

Lizzie Borden was an unmarried socialite who lived with her wealthy parents and her sister Emma. When Lizzie's parents were found bludgeoned to death, Lizzie was blamed. Evidence included finger prints and a dress she burned that she wore during the attack.

Due to the fact that it would have shaken up society too much, she was never fully charged for the crime. It took 90 minutes to acquit her, and that's where the story ends... sort of.

According to people who have stayed in the Lizzie Borden house in Massachusetts, it seems like the Borden family decided to stay put. It seems like ghosts are rumored to be the house's only permanent residents.

Strange orbs of light, disembodied voices, and poltergeist activity have all been noted here. Whether it's the ghost of Lizzie or the ghosts of her parents remains to be seen.

The tale Greenbrier Ghost is a tale that's both tragic and very well-known throughout West Virginia. According to the legend, a young woman named Zona Heaster had fallen for a much older blacksmith called Edward Shue. Since it was 1896, the two married despite Zona's parents' misgivings.

Within months, Zona Heaster Shue was found dead. When the doctor was called, her ex-husband Edward dressed the body already. He didn't leave her side, which kept the doctor from investigating everything thoroughly. Even then, the doctor noticed marks around the woman's neck.

The doctor declared it "death by childbirth" even though it wasn't certain she was even pregnant. Soon after Zona's burial, Zona's mother, Mary Jane, started having visions of her daughter describing her death as a murder—and saying that Zona's neck was snapped by Edward.

Using evidence the ghost gave her, Mary Jane helped bring Edward's crime to light. To day, Zona "The Greenbriar Ghost" Heaster Shue is the only ghost to have solved her murder from beyond the grave.

Most people have heard of the terrifying, inhuman-looking phenomena known as black-eyed kids. But, this isn't a story about them. Rather, it's one of the many stories of real-life murders that inspired ghost stories.

In the late 1960s, children around the Cannock Chase area began to go missing. By 1969, a local by the name of Raymond Morris was arrested for raping and killing an 8-year-old girl. When he was sent to prison, the kidnappings stopped, but something else began.

According to locals, people began to have sightings of strange kids dressed in 60s attire in the local woods where Morris would hide. The strangeness wasn't the attire, though; it was the fact that their eyes were all blacked out.

The last time that the black-eyed kids were spotted was during the anniversary of Morris's death. The child in question was a young girl who matched the appearance of the murdered girl. Could it be a sign? Who knows?

It's no secret that Ted Bundy was a serial killer. In fact, he was one of the most notorious serial killers in modern history. Chilling as his crimes against women were, it seems like he still remains spooky after his life ended via electric chair.

While many murders that inspired ghost stories involve innocent victims, Bundy really wasn't very innocent. He was sentenced to death, and fried in the electric chair shortly after he calmly smiled at the guards who were sent to fry him.

In 2001, a very shaken prison guard claimed to have seen Bundy sitting in the electric chair as he looked at him and smiled. The chair, by this point, had been decommissioned. Soon enough, others came forth with similar stories. It seems like the murderer really likes spooking prison guards.

Oddly enough, this isn't the only allegedly haunted place that involves Ted Bundy. His childhood home, where he lived as a child and teenager, also has seen some strange poltergeist material, as well as words written on walls like "LEAVE" and "HELP."

Considering that Bundy's first kill allegedly happened when he was 14, it could be the ghost of one of his victims.

Another major serial killer you might recognize is John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer who ended the lives of dozens of young men and stored their bodies in the basement of his home. He did it all while dressed as Pogo the Clown, just in case you weren't creeped out enough.

Unsurprisingly, there are multiple murders that inspired ghost stories about his home. According to the rumors, Gacy's home is so haunted, no one really seems willing to stay in it for longer than a couple of years.

Residents who owned Gacy's home claimed they had to sell it due to the violent poltergeist behavior they encountered. EVPs of Gacy, wild screams of young boys, and phantom footsteps have all been mentioned as well.

To make things even more terrifying, people who have spent nights there claimed to also see a man dressed as a clown walking past them. Somehow, we're willing to bet this is some hard real estate to sell.

If you've watched The Amityville Horror, then you already probably know that the entire ghost story is based on a mass murder committed by a man named Ronald DeFeo.

The DeFeo murders took the lives of six people, and if you believe the legend, the evil vibes that arose from the murders never really left the home. Though the movie exaggerated a lot, there are some serious tales of terror dealing with the Amityville home.

Disembodied voices and poltergeist activity have been regularly reported here—even by skeptics. Could the energy of a mass murder really cause so much damage, or is this just another one of the many murders that inspired ghost stories for fun's sake?

If you are a fan of reading true crime books about serial killers, chances are you've already heard about the devilishly handsome Richard Ramirez—also known as "the Night Stalker."

Known for killing five people, raping a bunch more, and using lipstick as his serial killer calling card, Richard Ramirez ran his criminal activities out of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. Ever since then, people who stayed at his hotel room started to report strange cold spots, occasional appearances of the killer himself, and objects that move by themselves.

That being said, the Cecil Hotel has seen more murders that inspired ghost stories than just Richard Ramirez's. The sketchy hotel has seen serious numbers of deaths in its years. The most recent one also happens to be the most baffling: Elisa Lam.

If you have ever gone to Eastern State Penitentiary, then you already know that it's considered to be one of the most haunted jails in America.

The place definitely has reason to be heavily haunted, too. At least five prisoners committed suicide while at Eastern State. Countless others were killed by fellow inmates or guards, and some just literally died in their sleep while serving life sentences. Long story short, a lot of death happened here.

Though a lot of unnamed ghosts have been reported here, there is one ghost in particular that has gotten a lot of notice. This ghost was only known as "Jimmy," and he gained his fame by haunting Al Capone—the famous mafioso.

Jimmy was killed by Al Capone during the infamous Valentine's Day massacre, and according to Capone, he started to see Jimmy in his jail cell. Al Capone feared no living man, but Jimmy terrified him. At night, prison guards would hear him talking to Jimmy and begging him to leave him alone.

When Capone left jail, Jimmy followed him. When he went to Alcatraz, Jimmy followed him there again. Capone's screaming at Jimmy became increasingly disturbing—especially after syphilis started to aggressively attack his organs.

Rumor has it that Jimmy haunted him until the day he died, and that his last words involved uttering something to the ghostly man who made sure he knew there was an afterlife.

Much like Eastern State Penitentiary, Bobby Mackey's Music World is a location that has a very strong reputation for being haunted. Negative vibes just seem to congregate here, which means that the hauntings and events here tend to be fairly aggressive.

Bobby Mackey's has been the site of alleged Satanic rituals, a pig slaughterhouse, as well as a number of murders that inspired ghost stories about the event venue's grounds.

One such murder involved a woman named Pearl Bryan, a local socialite who was well-liked throughout the region. When Pearl was introduced to a man by the name of Scott Jackson, they almost immediately hit it off. Pearl quickly became pregnant—a scandal that would mean terrible things for her 19th century self.

When news got out, Jackson and a friend decided to help Pearl get an abortion in Cincinnati. After failed attempts to abort the fetus using cocaine and dental tools, Pearl started to bleed out. Panicked about their potential fall from grace, the two men killed Pearl by cutting her head off.

An investigation revealed Jackson and his friend to be the killers, and they were hanged. However, Pearl's head was never found. For over 100 years, people who have gone to the location now known as Bobby Mackey's have spotted a headless woman walking around. Could it be Pearl looking for her head?

It seems like 1920s gangsters really can't seem to catch a break, especially when it comes to the sheer number of murders that inspired ghost stories about them. The casino-loving entrepreneur and gangster was known for a tumultuous love life, being Al Capone's rival, and for helping Las Vegas become the city it is today.

However, during 1940s, things weren't good for Bugsy. His syndicate grew angry with him after one of his venues, the Flamingo, became a major financial bust. After a vote, he was gunned down by his own mob while in the comfort of his own home.

Those who bought his home afterward regularly saw Bugsy Siegel crouching down in a corner of the house, clearly trying to hide from the bullets that took his life.