It's pretty common to attend a party on New Year's Eve - but these ghostly guests would probably cause a bit of a stir. Take a look at these New Year-themed spooks, including...
- The Tragedy of the Woman in Red
- The Phantom Meat-Man of the Monte Vista Hotel
- The Ripper's Guilty Plunge
- The (Probably Fake) British Parliament Ghost
- The Isle of Wight's Spectral Manor
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| Celebration can turn to tragedy in short order... (Pexels) |
The Tragedy of the Woman in Red
Let's start by heading back to New Year's eve 1920, when the Drake Hotel of Chicago opened its doors for the first time. Crowds of the well-to-do flocked to this social event, hoping to see and be seen... and it was one such woman who would become "The Woman in Red."
Clad in a blood-red dress and expecting to spend the evening on the arm of her fiancé, the story goes that she instead found her "suitor" in the arms of another woman. Understandably distraught, she made her way to the 10th floor (or roof, depending on the account) and hurling herself to the street below. Legend has it that her phantom (still dressed in red) walks the halls, replaying the final moments of her life.
The Phantom Meat-Man of the Monte Vista Hotel
On the subject of haunted hotels, the Monte Vista of Flagstaff Arizona opened on New Years Day 1927 and seems to have become a nexus of the supernatural over the subsequent years.
One rather odd long-term occupant of room 220 made a habit of hanging raw meat from the chandelier of his suite - one can only assume he must have been an extremely good tipper to not have been thrown out! He eventually died in his room and wasn't found until three days had passed - ever since, the electrics in the room have been erratic... and guests have reported feeling cold hands in the night.
Another room (305) is said to be frequented by the shade of an old woman, with a rocking chair that rocks without an occupant and unexplained knocks that come from inside the closet. You might be tempted to ask for another room, but then you might end up in 306... where a pair of prostitutes were murdered and hurled from the window in the 1940s. Guests in 306 have reported the sensation of being strangled as they come awake. Even the corridors are supposedly haunted - there's been reports of a harmless bellboy (who knocks on doors and announces "room service.")
Perhaps you'd want to try your luck at the bar instead - but you might find drinks and stools moving of their own accord... or even be greeted by a disembodied voice. The culprit is said to be a long-dead bank robber who stopped by for a post-heist refreshment in 1970, only to bleed out from a bullet wound before finishing his drink!
The Ripper's Guilty Plunge
London is an ancient city with a complicated (and at times, extremely dark) past. One local legend tells of a scene replayed every New Year's Eve, when a figure hurls itself from Westminster bridge into the cold waters of the Thames.
Folklore claims that the jumper is none-other than the notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper, said to have drowned himself on the New Year’s Eve of 1888 - explaining how he evaded capture or identification. Curiously, one noted Ripper suspect (Montague John Druitt) was found drowned in the Thames on December 31st of 1888!
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| A curious coincidence that a Ripper suspect was found drowned... (Anonymous) |
The (Probably Fake) British Parliament Ghost
On New Year's Eve 2013 photographer Jules Annan snapped a transparent, seemingly spectral figure observing the British houses of parliament.While the figure appears to be leaning on the wall bordering the Thames, masonry can clearly be seen through the subject's body. The identity of the entity is left to the imagination, but they seem to be wearing modern clothing.
The photographer and at least one paranormal expert claim that there is no mundane explanation for the image... but others have noted that a long exposure using a tripod could produce the effect if the "ghost" left the scene partway through the shot.
The Isle of Wight's Spectral Manor
Most ghost stories center around a human (or sometimes animal) entity making an appearance - not so Knighton Gorges, a stately home that can supposedly be encountered on New Year's Eve. The house was demolished two centuries ago, yet people have been claiming to encounter it on the cusp of the year since 1915. Ghost hunters claim that the phantom manor hosts a party in full swing, so perhaps death isn't such a drag for the occupants!
The house itself has a fairly cloudy history. One of the earliest owners was Hugh de Morville, one of the four knights who assassinated Saint Thomas Becket. Later owners would experience their own ill-fortune in the property - for example, Sir Theobald Russell is said to have died from battle wounds at the manor (with his wife dying of grief shortly afterwards.)
In 1721 MP Tristram Dillington supposedly shot himself (either due to smallpox killing his family... or due to gambling debts, depending on the teller) at the property. His steward disguised the deed as an accident by tying Dillington's body to his horse and sending it into a nearby pond - in those times, suicide meant forfeiting your property to the crown.
The house was demolished by Maurice George Bisset in 1821. One story claims that he didn't want the clergyman who married his daughter to get the manor... while another claims he contracted syphilis from his lover Lady Worsley, went mad and blamed the building for his woes!
Thanks for reading - for more eerie tales, try...