"Ay, mis hijos!"

     "Don't stay outside for too long, or she will get you," is what my mom would say. One way for my mom to keep me from staying out too late, was to tell me that La Llorona will think I was one of her children. She would tell me that she will take me with her to the nearby lake and drown me to keep me forever.
     From what I've heard, the story took place in Mexico. There was a poor women named Maria, who had two or three children. She wanted to be with a man, but he would not commit to her because of her children. She was so in love with him, that she drowned her children to be with him.
     Once she told him that she could now be with him, he rejected her for another woman. She became crazy over the loss of her children, that she drowned herself to get rid of the pain. They say that before the gates of heaven, they asked her where her children were. Without her children, she may not enter heaven. She is said to wonder late at night, asking for her children.
     That is why many parents warn their children about her. If you do not obey your parents, La Llorona will find you and take you with her.

Devil's Lagoon

     I've always known about haunted houses, schools, and other haunted roads. The one thing that I did not know could be haunted were bodies of water. When I heard of a haunted lagoon, I was shocked.
     Devil's Lagoon is located at San Perlita, Texas. It is said that a young couple was going to get married, but were late for their own wedding. They got on a stagecoach with an unknown handler that told them he had a shortcut to the chapel. They were moving at a fast speed and did not notice that the stagecoach was going the wrong way until, they reached a bridge. Once on the bridge, the couple knew they were not making it to their wedding because the bridge collapsed. Trapped in the stagecoach, they got a look at the handler. It is said that they saw a demon face. They hugged and promised each other eternal love before they drowned.
      A famous story is that in the 1960's, a group of high school football players went to the Devil's Lagoon as an act of courage. At midnight, they swore to have seen two figures coming out of the lagoon screaming for help, as a stagecoach comes out as well. They said you can also hear the handler whip the horse as it heads towards them.
   

Old Insane Asylum

     After watching a great deal of scary movies for Halloween, I noticed that being stuck in an asylum is the worst thing that could happen. All the screaming and fighting will definitely cause souls to stay trapped. In Wichita Falls, Tx, there is the White Sanitarium, which is famous for ghost sightings.

     It opened in 1926 as a drug and alcohol abuse treatment center. It is said that some of the medical procedures done on the patients lead to their deaths. Sometime in the 1950's, it was abandoned due to severe floods and remained empty for more than a decade until, 2002. A man named Gilbert Rios, bought the asylum to one day turn it into an apartment complex.

     This is a place where many local people heard of different stories, yet, many of them have seen similar apparitions. By the recreational room, ghosts are seen around a table playing cards, just how they used to when the asylum was opened. If you look at one of the windows, you may catch a glimpse of a women in white watching you.

     Wichita Falls has so many haunted sights that are filled with history, but this one is known to be a place where you can catch more than enough activity. All the screams from the people who died from medical procedures, may drive you crazy.

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.

Stewart Mansion

     I have heard of a place in Galveston, Tx that involved hauntings of Indians and Pirates. It was all caused by a battle that involved a daughter of an Indian tribe chief. Then, some man built a mansion on part of the land. I wanted to know the actual story, so I did some research.
     It is said, that a cannibalistic tribe called the Karankawas and a pirate named Jean Lafitte, went into battle. Jean Lafitte and his fellow pirates, stole the daughter of the Karankawa's Chief. The Karankawa tribe sent more than a hundred men to kill the pirates, but only had bows and arrows. The pirates killed most of the Indians in three days, which is known as the Battle of the Three Trees on 1821.
     A mansion was built in 1926 on part of the land that the battle took place by George Sealey, who was a famous industrialist. Later on in 1944, Maco Stewart bought the mansion. Stewart Mansion is known to have different pieces of Spanish Conquest and pirate art drawn on the walls and tiles.
     Many people who are interested in the haunted aspect of this mansion, say that there is plenty of paranormal activity that occurs late at night. There are claims that involve apparitions of Indians and Pirates at midnight. Others go inside the mansion and hear voices and footsteps that come and go. There are a few that claim to see what appears to be the daughter of the Karankawa's chief. This is definitely a place I would love to visit, but I only have enough courage to go in the day time.