The Blood Countess (Halloween Special)

     We all want to be youthful for eternity. One single strand of gray hair ,and we begin to freak out. Nowadays, women and men use plastic surgery to regain their youthful skin, but many have gone through different drastic measures.
     Elizabeth Bathory, was known to be a beautiful countess. As she begin to age, she struggled with accepting her new image. The wrinkles began to make her restless. It is said that  she struck a young servant girl in the face for pulling her hair while combing it. She got some blood on her face, and stared at it in the mirror. When she cleaned it, she noticed that her skin looked somewhat youthful.
     She began to hire young women to do house cleaning and cooking. At first, no one suspected anything, but later, the nearby town noticed something was wrong. Many of the young girls never came back home. People who saw the countess, noticed that she looked younger.
     The townspeople begin spreading rumors about the Blood Countess. It was thought that she would drink the blood of the girls after she finished torturing them. The most famous part of the story, is that she would drain the blood from her victims and bathe in it. She would use the blood as a face mask ,as well. The Blood Countess killed more than 100 young women to keep her youth. It is said that her soul still lingers, and that any young lady wondering alone late at night, would become her victim.
   

Sultan's Palace

     New Orleans is the place I have always wanted to visit. It has so much history, beautiful architectural work, and best of all, haunted spots. I plan on visiting New Orleans in the near future, and I want to make sure that I know all the ghost stories the people talk about. One of the best known haunted places there is Sultan's Palace.
     This four story home is located in the French Quarter. It is more than a 100 years old, and it is filled with a dark history. It was owned by a Creole businessman, who started losing all his money towards the end of the Civil War. He had to rent out his winter home in order for him not to go broke. A man from Turkey named Prince Suleyman, who declared himself a sultan, rented the home.
     Upon arrival, he had many women, body-guards, and slaves enter his palace with him. Long curtains were placed on each window, heavy locks were placed on every door, and the smell of incense was immediately known to come from his palace. It is said that his harem not only included women, but young boys as well. He held many orges late at night, and loud music could be heard everywhere. Many rumored that he would kidnap women, girls, and boys.
     In the morning, after a late night party, it was odd for his palace to be so calm. There was blood oozing out of the door, and the police found a blood bath inside. Everyone who was in the building was cut into pieces, except for the sultan. His throat had been cut open, but was still alive when he was buried. His hand was sticking out of the ground when the cops found him.They say Suleyman had stolen riches from his brother and was found and killed for his crime.
      It is said that music can be heard from his palace late at night accompanied by laughter and screams. Many who have been inside see a fair-hair man walking and quickly disappearing. The smell of incense lingers every now and then. People believe that the sultan is still hosting his parties late at night.

Moundsville West Virginia Penitentiary

     I was thinking about prisons and how they must be the most haunted places we can encounter. Prisons have had many inmates who were killed, tortured, or just died of old age. I decided to do some research on one of the most haunted prisons in the United States. I came upon a penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia, which is claimed to be the most haunted one of all.

     The penitentiary opened in 1876 and was soon overcrowded by inmates. They had extremely small cells that were 5 by 7, and they were considered to be cruel and unusual punishment, so the prison closed in 1995. Even though the prison is closed, the stories of the murders, rapes, and tortures continue to be told. 

     There was a snitch in the prison who was attacked by three men. His throat was cut open, and his entire body was cut into pieces. His ghost is said to be lurking in the boiler room, where he was killed. There was around 86 men who were hung, about 10 were executed by electrocution, and more than 100 deaths were unrecorded. Many inmates were tortured to the point where their bodies gave out and were close to dying.

     There are claims that you can hear disembodied voices, noises in the cells, and see a well known "shadow man". Most paranormal activity takes place in the "Sugar Shack", where the inmates would gamble, murder, rape, and fight. Since many prisoners were buried in the land, you may also be able to see more activity in the cemetery. This place delivers when it comes to showing you how much the souls of the prisoners can interact with the living.