BLOG: 13 MORE Strange and Surprising Objects That People Claim Are Haunted
Are you cursed with bad luck? Are you plagued by strange noises and creepy shadows? Your house may not be haunted - maybe something in it is! And what better time to explore the possibilities than on this dubious day of Friday the 13th?!
From guitars, to armor, to Twilight (and way too many eBay listings in between), check out these 13 MORE strange and surprising objects that people claim are haunted!
(And then flashback to our original paranormal paraphernalia post, 13 Strange and Surprising Objects That People Claim Are Haunted!)
1) One of these chivalrously chilling suits of armor.
The opulent Belcourt Castle in Newport, Rhode Island has a history of hauntings, and many of them may be connected to various antiquities and artifacts that have been collected in the home since it was built in 1894.
One such haunted item from the trove of Belcourt Castle is a 16th century suit of Italian battle armor once worn by a knight. That knight, it seems, has never taken off his suit. While most of the suits of armor displayed in the Gothic Ballroom are excellent reproductions, one genuine helmet bears a real battle scar, which is believed to be the death blow struck to the knight who wore it. Over the years, bloodcurdling screams have been heard emanating from the Gothic Ballroom, as the knight relives his agonizing death over and over. The terrifying shrieks are said to reach their crescendo every March, the month when the knight was killed. The history of the fallen knight was discovered when his spirit allegedly shared these details himself with Virginia Smith, a paranormal medium who once gave lectures and tours of Belcourt Castle. Smith also revealed that the knight was fatally injured when a spear was thrown through his helmet and his fellow not-so-chivalrous knights left him alone to die. Not only do his death screams still echo so many centuries after his death, but the helmet is also said to turn and watch guests as they make their way through the ballroom.
2) This bobble-armed musical duck man.
When the owner of a creepy, old object says “I don’t want it here anymore,” naturally their best and quickest solution to ridding themselves of said object is to list it in an eBay auction. Such is the case with this dirty bobbled-armed musical duck man. In his eBay listing, the avid seller revealed that the duck man was found in “the ashes of an old asylum that burned down after being struck by lightning in Poughkeepsie.” Apparently the seller’s brother enjoys collecting cursed objects that he uncovers while he scours abandoned buildings, but that’s another (horrifying) story. The story of the musical duck man is that the wind-up toy will walk around your house of its own accord, whether you’ve wound it up or not. There is also the pesky problem of shadows and a presence that entered the seller’s home at the same time that this wind-up duck came to stay, so the seller hopes you’ll pay to take this cursed wandering toy off his hands immediately. If not, the haunted musical duck will no doubt play the world’s smallest violin just for him.
3) This dainty vintage doll carriage.
If eBay has taught us anything, it’s that dolls are terrifying haunted vessels of horror that should be disposed of to the highest bidder. But what about doll transportation? The Merritt family in Mississippi had a scary Christmas in 2020, when they were gifted a vintage doll carriage that allegedly haunted their home for three weeks. As soon as the carriage entered their home, the family started experiencing loud booms, bangs, and knocks in the middle of the night. Following the displaced noises, objects began moving and breaking, doors slammed, and toys played music repeatedly, even when switched off. The creepiest of events occurred when Mrs. Merritt saw her husband walk into the kitchen to make himself coffee, ignoring her as she asked him a question. When she followed him, she found the kitchen empty, and discovered her husband still in bed, sound asleep. After tracing the spooky experiences in their home back to Christmastime, they concluded the doll carriage was the cause of their home’s haunting activity. The carriage was banished to the garage and the creepy encounters stopped, proving that their doll carriage was really the worst (or best?) white elephant gift ever given.
4) This painting of great and terrible beauty.
If you find a lovely hand-painted piece of art in the garbage, there may be a good reason to leave it there. A lady from Brighton learned that art lesson the hard way, after she discovered the painting of a beautiful woman dumped next to a trash bin in the street, and decided to take it home. The woman claims that from that point on, dark paranormal activity began. Among the unexplainable and scary events she endured were a breakup with her partner, her dog’s unexpected death, doors slamming, TV channels changing on their own, the sound of invisible keys turning in her door locks, her own descent into alcoholism, and an overall feeling of darkness and badness in her home. Finally, after three years of turmoil and paranormal events, the woman decided to throw away the painting for herself. She alleged that almost immediately after the painting was removed, the dark activity ceased. It seems her haunted artwork was one of great and terrible beauty!
5) This pious monk statue.
Another of Belcourt Castle’s many haunted objects is this ornate statue of a monk dressed in brown, which reportedly has the uncanny ability to manifest the ghost of — yes, you guessed it — a monk dressed in brown. The ghostly apparition was observed several times by Harle Tinney, only ever appearing near the statue of its likeness. Seen on at least five different occasions, it seemed that when the carved monk figure was moved from room to room, its ghostly counterpart would appear at the same location. Eventually, the Tinney family moved the haunted monk statue to the Belcourt Castle chapel, after a psychic told them that was where the statute and its spirit wanted to be placed. Finally, the restless spirit of the brown monk seemed to find some peace!
6) This nightmare toy from the ‘80s.
Why this small frightening hairy thing was created is anybody’s guess, and why anyone would want to own one is even more of a mystery. Da Grunt, a bulbous-nosed nightmare toy from the 1980s, looks a lot like the love child of Crite from Critters and a Labyrinth puppet. It’s no small wonder, then, that one particular Da Grunt doll being sold online allegedly possesses paranormal powers, according to its seller. In a brief ad, the seller of Da Grunt revealed that the doll once had a “dark voodoo ritual performed over it,” resulting in its ability to move on its own even without batteries. It also may have possibly been responsible for causing a tornado once. Real casual-like, no big deal, really. I’m sure it was just an accident, Da Grunt.
7) This instrument of the Devil’s music.
If you enjoy playing the Devil’s music, this “Haunted Paranormal Ghost Guitar” may be just the right instrument to strike a chord with Satan. Selling for an appropriate $666, the guitar allegedly has a dark history that could be straight out of an urban legend: first owned by a devil-worshipping teenager (ugh, youths), the boy is said to have been found dead in his bed, with the guitar on top of him - naturally. Shockingly, the boy appeared to have been electrocuted, even though his guitar was acoustic. His sudden demise went unsolved, and his suspicious guitar was passed on to another musician, who was horrified to witness its haunted behavior.
This paranormal six string has been known to play of its own accord, appear in different locations after it has been carefully put away, and even levitate. Whomever purchases this guitar may first need to anoint it with a little holy Fretboard 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil before playing, lest their strumming conjures up a minion of darkness, or the ghost of a 13-year-old boy.
8) These bright green little kid sneakers.
If you hear footsteps creeping late at night, no need to be alarmed - it might just be a pair of possessed shoes. These little green sneakers are said to contain the spirit of an Irish child from the 1990s. Although the owner provided no details about how the child came to be a spirit, they do know he/it is named Keith, who has been a very friendly, polite entity to live with for five years since they first came in possession of the shoes. Along with hearing disembodied footsteps and the sound of running feet, these sneakers also seem to manifest the shadowy shape of a child, especially if one plays hits from the ‘90s - Keith’s favorite era - so he can dance.
9) This nightmare-inducing Han Solo Stormtrooper.
Are you having trouble sleeping? No? Do you want some? Then this nightmare-inducing Han Solo Stormtrooper is the deal for you! The seller of Horror Han claims that once this doll is in your possession, your mind will be fire-bombed with graphic images of a house set ablaze, and “a man screaming while trapped in the same burning house.” There’s always a slim possibility that Stormtrooper Han is just psychically conveying the scene of the Death Star’s epic fiery explosion… but judging by his creepy, soulless eyes, it seems more likely that he’s sharing his favorite memory of his previous owner….
10) This harmlessly horrifying Thomas the Tank Engine toy.
This horrifying Thomas the Tank Engine toy may have the vaguest symptoms of haunting on this list, but it nonetheless made its way to the sacred selling ground of eBay as an object of paranormal power. The seller of Spooky Thomas alleges that the toy is a trigger object with an energy attachment, and whomever brings the haunted train home will certainly hear it start playing and lighting up at all hours of the night. Instead of a dark energy attachment, it sounds as though poor Thomas may just need an energy replacement in the form of some fresh batteries. But, as the parent of two kids who own 4,129 battery-operated toys (give or take), I can tell you firsthand that hearing even one toy’s noises playing on an endless loop all day long is truly a horror that will drive you to the brink of insanity.
11) This horrifying piece of Twilight memorabilia.
If you were a Twihard fan caught up in the Twilight mania of the early 2000s, you’ll probably remember that the scariest part of the final movie Breaking Dawn Part 2 wasn’t the vampires or the werewolves - it was the CGI used to create the half-vampire baby Renesmee. But you may not know that the original incarnation of Renesmee was a thousand times worse. Instead of the CGI infant used in the movie’s final cut, little Renesmee was first portrayed by an animatronic doll that looked nothing like an actual baby. The soulless-eyed moving doll was, in fact, so creepy that the crew started calling it “Chuckesmee”, and the cast felt uncomfortable acting with it in scenes. Thankfully, the horrifying fake child was replaced by some memorably awful CGI, which is infinitely better by comparison.
But that’s not the end of the saga! After filming, Chuckesmee ended up as part of the Forever Twilight collection at a museum in Forks, Washington (instead of being, say, thrown in a fire). And that’s where museum workers say the doll moves around all on its own. Though the doll is kept in its own glass case, workers and guests will often find it in different poses - sometimes standing, sometimes “in a weird position.” Even more strangely, the dolls’s once pure white socks have become increasingly browned, almost like they’ve taken a stroll or two across a dirty floor….
12) This cheeky buff man doll.
If you’ve been having a run of bad luck in the love department lately, you can always try buying a significant other on eBay! One small character flaw though - he’s probably a demon trapped inside a tangible vessel. One seller on the internet’s infamous virtual haunted warehouse is offering up a “sexy male model incubus.” Not only is the item up for bids a figure of a dude with a perfect Ken doll physique, it also has an incubus sex demon housed inside it. If purchased, the seller will kindly include its name and instructions on how to call the demon forth so you can see if “you connect with his big, infectious, energy.” Because if there are any words that you want to hear applied to your sex life, I’m sure “demon” and “infectious” are right at the top of the list.
13) This… thing.
Even the seller doesn’t seem to know what this strange object is. From some angles it looks like it has a small screaming face. From others it looks like the world’s ugliest sink. But, whatever it is, it’s definitely haunted, and it’s given the seller terribly bad luck since it came into her possession. Although we don’t know where this sculpted monstrosity came from, the seller alleges that has given her bad dreams, manifested marching shadows that take the shape of the object, and driven all her friends from her home. Somehow it has also managed to be responsible for the seller breaking her ribs, getting E.coli, falling down the stairs, losing her job, forgetting things, and sitting in the dark a lot - just to name a few of its unlucky attributes. Buyers must be getting in line to bring this accursed thing home! Since the seller says she can’t throw it away, it’s logically made its way to eBay.
(Is it “can’t” as in she doesn’t want to just throw it in the trash, or like, the statue won’t let her throw it out…? That may be the true mystery.)
Which haunted object on this list is the most frightening? (And which is the most ridiculous?!) Drop a comment below with your strangest haunted object story!
For more Friday the 13th bad luck, check out our blog 13 Unfortunate Occurrences That May Just Prove Friday the 13th is an Unlucky Day!
~ Lindsay W. Merkel
