13 True Crime Cases with a Paranormal Edge

At the intersection of true crime and the paranormal, there are tales that simultaneously intrigue and terrify.

These instances combine the chilling reality of human malice with the mystifying realm of the supernatural.

Here are 13 real-life paranormal instances within the realm of true crime that will have you second-guessing every creak and shadow in your house tonight.

The Greenbrier Ghost

In 1897 West Virginia, Elva Zona Heaster was found dead under mysterious circumstances.

Her ghost allegedly appeared to her mother, claiming that her husband had murdered her – a claim later substantiated by an autopsy.

The Villisca Axe Murder House

In 1912, an entire family and two guests were brutally murdered in their home in Villisca, Iowa.

The crime remains unsolved, and many visitors to the now infamous Villisca Axe Murder House report encounters with restless spirits.

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The Tower of London

Many executions and tortures have taken place in this historic castle.

Apparitions include Anne Boleyn, Thomas A. Becket, and the Princes in the Tower, all victims of brutal crimes within the castle walls.

The Hinterkaifeck Murders

In 1922 Germany, the Gruber family was slain on their remote farm.

Reports of footprints in the snow, unfamiliar sounds, and a mysterious newspaper predated the murders, suggesting a chilling premonition.

The Amityville Horror

After Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his family in their Amityville, New York home, the subsequent homeowners reported intense paranormal activity, leading to one of the most famous haunted house stories in history.

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The Sallie House

This Kansas home was the site of alleged malicious paranormal activity experienced by a couple in the ’90s.

They believed the spirit of a young girl named Sallie was the cause, possibly linked to a botched surgery that occurred in the house.

The Moors Murders

The infamous Moors murders carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley have left a paranormal imprint on Saddleworth Moor, with multiple sightings of ghostly children and spectral figures reported.

The Whitechapel Murders

The infamous Jack the Ripper, who terrorised London’s Whitechapel district in the late 1800s, remains unidentified to this day.

The spirits of his victims reportedly haunt the streets, while some even claim to have encountered the ghostly figure of the killer himself.

The Lizzie Borden House

Lizzie Borden was acquitted for the brutal axe murders of her father and stepmother in 1892.

Today, their Fall River, Massachusetts home operates as a bed and breakfast, with guests reporting sightings of the victims’ spirits and other unexplained phenomena.

The Ghost of Sharon Tate

Actress Sharon Tate, along with four others, was brutally murdered by Charles Manson’s Family in 1969.

Sightings of her spirit have been reported near her former home, as well as at the nearby Chateau Marmont hotel.

The Black Monk of Pontefract

A chilling case from Yorkshire, England, the Pritchard family was terrorised by an aggressive poltergeist in the 1960s.

The entity, dubbed the Black Monk, is believed to be the spirit of a 16th-century monk who was executed for a heinous crime.

The Texarkana Moonlight Murders

An unidentified killer, known as the Phantom, murdered five people and injured three others in Texarkana, Texas in 1946.

Residents have reported ghostly encounters near the crime scenes and a lingering sense of unease in the area.

The Smurl Haunting

The Smurl family of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, experienced a terrifying haunting in the 1980s.

They believed the paranormal activity was caused by a malevolent demon with a violent past, as they endured violent attacks and disturbing manifestations.

There is an intricate relationship between the paranormal and the world of crime, where the borders between reality and the supernatural can blur.

It is a glimpse into the eerie intersection of the spectral and the criminal, a place where history’s horrors take on an otherworldly dimension.

If you believe in ghosts, of course!

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