- There exists objects in this world
that are more than meets the eye.
These objects were the result of influence
from a realm beyond ours, and although difficult to explain,
accounts exist of the paranormal influence
that affected these objects and how many of them
were the result of pure evil.
Here are 10 paranormal objects with chilling backstories.
Number 10 is the Ohio State hand print.
There's a slab of concrete at Ohio State University
with a large dark hand print on it which cannot be removed.
While documentary evidence is sparse,
there's a campus story
which explains where the hand print came from.
The story goes that many years ago,
a student on the campus found herself stuck in an elevator.
The power went out, and she was trapped
in the darkness for hours.
No one knew she was there,
and she was only discovered the following morning.
When she was finally let out of the elevator,
she was traumatized, having left her hand prints
on the elevator walls as she tried in vain
to find a way out in the darkness.
Supposedly, the girl passed away years later,
and now a dark hand print can be seen
on a concrete slab outside
of the building where she was trapped,
as if a supernatural reminder of her struggle.
Number nine is the Jamesian Gate.
M.R. James was a famous writer of the English ghost stories
in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
He was often asked if he had ever actually seen
a ghost in real life.
Many believe that because he was a respected academic
that he felt admitting to a supernatural encounter
would have been career suicide,
however just before his death,
he wrote a story called A Vignette.
Many people believe that this was based
on a real experience.
Near where he lived as a boy,
there was a gate which led onto a plantation.
After being followed by something in the nearby woods,
he looked out of his window
and saw a creeping apparition peering through the gate,
and he felt as though it meant to do him harm.
Part of the gate still exists and to this day,
some believe that a malevolent spirit haunts it
waiting for unsuspecting victims nearby.
Number eight is the Eye of Brahma.
Also known as the Black Orlov, the Eye of Brahma
is a diamond with a creepy supernatural backstory.
It was discovered in the early 19th century in India.
Some believe that the diamond is actually an eye
from a statue of the Hindu god, Brahma.
Supposedly, this was stolen by a monk
and then the diamond fell into the black market.
The theft of this religious item allegedly created a curse.
The diamond dealer, J.W. Paris who took the diamonds
to the United States in 1932 supposedly committed suicide
in New York.
One day he suddenly jumped off of a skyscraper.
After this, two Russian princesses owned the jewel
and both jumped to their deaths as well in the 1940s.
Due to a number of other untimely deaths,
a man by the name of Charles F. Winson broke the diamond
into three pieces hoping to end the curse for good.
Number seven is the Conjure Chest.
The Conjure Chest has a horrific history
and a terrifying paranormal backstory
which goes back 150 years.
A slave owner named Jacob Cooley ordered one of his salves
to build a chest for his child.
Although the chest was well constructed,
Cooley was displeased with it
and in a fit of rage beat the slave to death.
The man's name was Josiah,
and his loved ones allegedly sprinkled dried owl blood
onto the chest to create a curse.
Soon after, Cooley's first born child died.
Following this, successive generations
of Cooley's descendants who also owned the box
have also perished under unusual circumstances.
The curse was apparently lifted
when the family finally discovered a ritual
which would reverse it.
However, despite this, the Conjure Chest remains in storage
from when the family gave it away to a museum in 1976.
To this day, nobody dare open it
or for that matter even go near it.
Number six is the Anguished Man.
In 2010, Sean Robinson discovered a strange painting
in his grandmother's attic.
She claimed that it was evil
and had kept it hidden for 25 years.
When the painting had been displayed in her home,
she saw a dark figure wandering around her house at night
and even heard bizarre noises as if someone was crying.
Sean was told by his grandmother that the painting was made
by an artist who committed suicide
and mixed some of his own blood
into the paint before he killed himself.
Once the painting was moved from the attic
and displayed once more, Sean claims to have seen
the apparition that his grandmother described.
Not only that but others who have looked
at the same painting have suffered nose bleeds
and Sean believes that both his son and his father
have been pushed down the stairs by an unseen figure.
Number five is Belcourt Screaming Armour.
Built as a huge summer villa in 1894,
Newport's Belcourt Castle has 60 rooms,
many of which contain items connected
to paranormal activity.
One of the most interesting of these paranormal objects
can be found in the large ballroom.
With its gothic design, the ballroom displays
a number of suits of armor, which line the walls.
All of these suits are reproductions with the exception
of a helmet which was damaged in battle.
The owners of Belcourt Castle claim the last person
to use the helmet was killed by a spear
which pierced the knight's eye.
Accounts exist of ghostly blood curdling screams
emanating from the ballroom at all hours of the night.
Many believe these are the death cries of the dying knight.
However, he isn't alone.
The ghostly voices of long dead revelers
have also been heard celebrating
in the old ballroom uninvited.
Number four is the Goddess of Death.
The lemb statue depicts a female figure often referred to
as the goddess of death.
It's allegedly a statue which causes the death
of those who touch it.
Reports suggest that the statue was found in Lemb, Cyprus
and dates back to 3500 B.C.
It seems to be one of the several statues found there
called Idols of Pomas.
This is another case where documentation is thin
on the ground but from the few sources out there,
it seems that after coming into possession of the idol,
several members of the same family all died
within a six year period.
After that, several other owners and their families died
and the curse became dangerously real.
Finally, it was allegedly donated to a museum in Edinburgh.
However, the museum curator there also died.
The statue is now kept behind glass out of arm's reach
from anyone who might want to touch it.
Number three is a haunted swing.
In an isolated park in Huntsville, Alabama,
there sits a children's playground
complete with a haunted swing.
This shouldn't come as a surprise,
considering that the park is in the middle of a cemetery.
Why the play park was built in the middle
of a massive cemetery is anyone's guess
but many have reported hearing strange,
disembodied voices around the area.
Not only that, but it's been said that the apparitions
of dead children from the cemetery play on the swings.
The residents of Huntsville have become attached
to what they call Dead Children's Playground
and were so protective of it that they urged local officials
to replace the aging playground swings
and chutes with new ones.
Now, both the dead and the living can play together.
Number two is the Devil's Tree.
The Devil's Tree can be found in an empty field
in Somerset County, New Jersey.
This solitary oak has the unfavorable distinction
of being connected to a number of untimely deaths.
Many in the local area believe that anyone who damages
or disrespects the tree will come under
its malevolent influence.
This has allegedly resulted in several car accidents
and even fatalities.
It's been said that a local farmer hanged himself
from the tree, cursing anyone who tried to cut it down,
almost as it the tree itself was his memorial.
Others claim that the tree was used during colonial times
to hang slaves who tried to escape.
But perhaps most strangely
is that those who have investigated the tree
have found that when winter comes, the snow melts around it.
They found that the devil tree feels warm to the touch
and some go as far as to say
that the tree's roots reach down to hell.
And number one is the Skull of Burton Agnes Hall.
In 1620, the apparition of Anne Griffith was first seen
at Burton Agnes Hall in England.
While alive, Anne watched with delight
as the house that she was to live in was constructed,
but before the house was completed,
she was attacked by robbers
and died of her injuries a few days later.
Anne's dying wish was to be a part of the house forever,
and so she asked that her head be kept inside the building.
When she died, the family did not honor her wishes.
They simply buried Anne in a nearby churchyard.
However, soon after, her apparition began walking the halls
and rooms of the house wailing loudly.
The disturbance was so frightening that a few years later,
Anne's skull was finally removed from her grave
and placed inside the hall.
The haunting died down and only ever returns
if someone attempts to remove the skull from the house.
(creepy music)