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62 / female
Bendover, Florida, US
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Haunted Places in America I
America is haunted.
At least several paranormal investigators, all of whom promise to have witnessed the supernatural, told CNN they believe it to be true. That's why we've taken cues from experienced investigators and experts for fright-inspired destination ideas this Halloween season. Here are some of their favorites.
Hollywood Roosevelt, California
Located on Hollywood's Walk of Fame across from Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Roosevelt has a glamorous history: Marilyn Monroe was the hotel's most famous resident. It turns out, she might still be there, according to Brad and Sherry Steiger.
Paranormal authors and investigators, the Steigers were filming at the hotel with several productions. Sherry was explaining the history of the hotel's most famous mirror, in front of which many visitors have had psychic experiences.
"And as we were standing there, a gentleman just jumped back like he'd been shoved and he said, 'Who do you think you are?' Well that stopped production and we had to find out," Brad said. "I asked the man what had happened. He said, 'Well this blonde lady came running like she owns Hollywood and pushes me aside.' "
If you go: You can simply book a room at the hotel. If you want to try to spot Marilyn, the hotel offers a "Marilyn Monroe package" ($1,800/night) which includes a stay in the Marilyn suite and tickets to the Marilyn exhibit.
Thomas House, Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee
With a history dating back to the late 1800s, the Thomas House in Red Boiling Springs began as the Cloyd Hotel. Indeed, one of the ghosts still said to roam the bed and breakfast is Sarah Cloyd. Visitors trade reports of possible deaths on the property, which may fuel activity.
The hotel was featured on "Paranormal State" in 2009, an A&E cable network program that aired until 2011.
If you go: You can go for dinner and the "Ghosts of the Inn" show and tour, and book a room at the bed and breakfast. The Thomas House also hosts several "Ghost Hunt weekends," with the next available dates in January, 2014.
The Whaley House Museum, San Diego, California
One of the Steigers' most memorable visits is "right on the tourist map, but it still packs a metaphysical punch," Brad Steiger said. "And that's the Whaley House in old San Diego."
The California house has a long history; and, like its home state, the house has been many things at different times, with origins dating back to the 1800s and including several hangings.
"It just kept growing," Brad said. "It started as, the judge, his home. Then it became a courthouse and his home. Then it became a theater and his home. Then there were hangings that took place in the backyard and eventually that hanging area, where people were hanged, became part of the house."
While investigating, Sherry said she captured psychic phenomena on film -- a picture of a noose, coming right down in the room.
"I had no inkling anything would develop and lo and behold, there were so many pictures," she said. What should have been a photo of one of the beds instead revealed a ghostly figure, just waking up.
St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, Florida
First christened as a lighthouse in 1824 (it started out as a watchtower) the structure lost a long battle with the shoreline before collapsing during a storm in 1880. Luckily, its successor had already been completed in 1874. That lighthouse is now St. Augustine's oldest structure -- a status that has given it plenty of time to attract "visitors."
What's more, a keeper's house was added to the grounds in 1876 and people lived and worked the lighthouse for decades, until 1955.
The unexpected was at play at the lighthouse when investigator Jason Hawes and his team visited. They believed they would disprove the reports of activity, finding "just local sounds and things of that nature."
"And we actually caught some of the 'holy grail,' what appeared to be people leaning over rails, showing up on thermal, showing up on infrared when there's no one else in there," said Hawes, founder of the Atlantic Paranormal Society and one of the stars and producers of SyFy's long-running "Ghost Hunters."
If you go: While other tours are available, the "Dark of the Moon" tour is billed as "the only ghost tour that gets you in the tower."
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