When you hear the word haunted, you probably immediately think of a creepy haunted house - or even an asylum, castle, or abandoned building if you’re really into creepy haunted places. But it will probably shock no one in the paranormal community to learn that places are not the only things that can become haunted. Any number of ghost investigation shows, personal encounters, and internet photo galleries (you know, like this one) have revealed the prevalence of many haunted objects that have brought nothing but dread and unwanted paranormal activity to just about anyone who possesses them. It may even be the presence of some objects themselves that turn your otherwise normal home (or asylum, or castle) into a haunted house of horrors.

So just what kinds of objects are we talking about here? Based on the gallery we’ve put together below, it would appear that ghosts do not limit themselves to obvious inanimate culprits for haunting, like glassy eyed baby dolls or ancient dybbuk boxes, but will in fact haunt any stationary object within their ghostly reach - a surprising number of which seem to end up for sale on eBay. Is it any wonder why their human owners are so willing to part with their demon-possessed possessions? From decorations to furniture to undergarments, check out these 13 strange and surprising objects that people claim are haunted!

Image from Facts Legend. — *Image from* *Facts Legend*.

1) This wooden ‘Chair of Death’.

Never before has a man so loved a chair that he gave up his life for it, but so was the case with Thomas Busby, convicted murderer and chair lover extraordinaire. According to legend, Busby strangled his father-in-law to death after they had an argument and his father-in-law preceded to sit in Busby’s favorite chair without his permission. Busby was hanged for the crime in 1702, but before his death he was permitted to enjoy one last sit in the oak seat, partaking of his last meal in a pub where the chair would become a fixture of local lore for years to come. Before being hanged, Busby is said to have cursed his beloved chair, ensuring that anyone who sat in it after him would meet an untimely death. And supposedly, many did, with tales of soldiers taking a turn in the chair and then never returning home from war; victims experiencing freak accidents after daring to sit in the seat; and even some who had heart attacks right in the chair itself. Those who sat in the chair but victoriously survived claimed to have experienced unsettling paranormal activity afterward. So great were these spooky legends that when Busby’s chair was finally donated to the Thirsk Museum in the UK in 1972, it was hung from the ceiling so no one would ever again die by way of Busby’s “Chair of Death.”

Image from Mysterious Universe. — *Image from* *Mysterious Universe*.

**2) This sinister copy of The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss.**

You might think some creepy tome like a Stephen King horror novel or an old copy of Dracula could be haunted, but you probably would not expect something like a colorful kid’s book to be possessed by spirits. But one particular edition of The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss sits among the haunted memorabilia at West Virginia’s National Museum Of The Paranormal, having terrorized a poor family who only wanted to read about the many, many feet you meet. The family claimed that when their daughter would read the book, they could hear children’s voices whispering in dark corners and felt an overwhelming sense of being watched. A paranormal investigator who checked out their story discovered that this creepy copy of The Foot Book allegedly came from a home where a quadruple homicide had taken place - and the red stain visible on the cover came from the blood of a victim. Did this volume of nonsense rhymes absorb something else besides blood? With the possible spirits of murder victims trapped inside, this innocent kid’s book is no longer suitable for children, and remains locked away in its glass display case.

Image from Mental Floss. — *Image from* *Mental Floss*.

3) This accursed old screwdriver.

Not much is known about the origins of this old wooden-handled screwdriver, but according to the person who tried selling it on eBay, it is haunted by the spirit of a 32-year-old man named Xander. Xander met a grisly end when a car he was repairing fell on top of him, at which point he seems to have transferred his essence into the closest hand tool. The seller alleges that Xander will appear from the screwdriver as a smokey white apparition, accompanied by the sound of him laughing and talking. But despite Xander’s untimely death and subsequent screwdriver haunting, the seller swears that the tool is “a very positive energy item” . . . at least as positive as a sharp object possessed by the ghost of a man killed with a falling car can possibly be, anyway.

4) These worn out tap shoes.

Another haunted listing somebody tried to pawn on eBay features a pair of worn out tap shoes possessed by the spirit of a little girl named Lisa. The seller alleges they were clearing out their late aunt’s estate when they discovered the tap shoes hiding in a nursery closet with lots of other old Victorian toys and clothes. A “knocking in the nursery closet “ alerted the seller to the presence of the shoes, and to the ghost attached to them. Though there is no explanation given about how the seller came to know the name of the shoes’ ghostly owner, the same home where they were found supposedly contains many ghosts, including the spirit of 19th century woman who murdered her own baby and that of another little girl who died of sepsis. Based on that awful backstory, it actually seems pretty lucky that the new owner came away with only one set of haunted, tapping objects.

Image from The Lineup. — *Image from* *The Lineup*.

5) These secondhand bunk beds.

When you buy something secondhand, you never know what you’re bringing home with it until it starts terrorizing you in the middle of the night. Such was the experience of the Tallman family when they purchased a seemingly benign set of bunk beds, and spent the next nine months in hell. According to the Tallmans, from the first night the bed was slept in, their house - where they had never before witnessed any paranormal activity - became intensely haunted. The Tallman children, who were always well, suddenly became constantly sick for no reason. Their son claimed his radio started turning on and off and changing channels of its own accord. Their daughter swore she saw a red-eyed witch and also a fire in the bedroom; her father also witnessed a fire in the garage, only to find it gone and the area undamaged when he returned to put it out with a fire extinguisher. Ghostly voices were heard, doors slammed, and a horrible nightmare figure was seen on several occasions. When the Tallmans’ pastor visited them after the hauntings began, he believed they were living in the presence of something demonic, maybe even the Devil himself. Somehow the family traced their terror back to the bunk beds and had them destroyed, after which all of the sinister activity in their home stopped, never to return. It remains ominously ironic that a pair of beds could cause so many sleepless nights.

6) This tragic wedding dress.

What is a haunted wedding dress without a history of heartbreak and tragedy? In 1849, the dress’s original owner Anna Baker was secretly engaged to a lowly working man far below her station - the prime romantic ingredients for an unhappy ending in the making. The pair had already begun planning their wedding and purchased Anna’s gown, when Anna’s father discovered their love and tore it asunder. A bitter and heartbroken Anna decided then to never marry, and died a recluse in 1914. The dress she had chosen for the-wedding-that-never-was remained in her home, now a museum, and there are many who have claimed to see the wedding dress moving all by itself inside its display case. It has also been known to change positions, and some even swear that on full moon nights, the dress beats violently against the glass, as though Anna herself is trying to break free of the societal constraints that kept her from marrying her true love. Since the museum that contains the dress is also Anna’s former family mansion, her ghost itself and that of her father have been seen on the grounds, at odds with one another for the rest of eternity.

7) This tacky deer bottle full of actual spirits.

You wouldn’t know by looking it, but this kitsch deer bottle possesses some kind of supernatural powers that were only discovered after its original owner died. According to the current owner, their grandmother had kept this deer drinking set for years, and it was always full of water. Assuming the grandmother had been responsible for filling it, they were more than surprised when, after she died, the bottle continued to fill with water on its own, even after it had been emptied. The strange miracle or paranormal activity, depending on how you want to look at it, continues to happen sporadically, and the current owner has listed the mysterious ceramic beast on eBay in hopes that someone will pay actual money to take it off their hands. "I'm not scared or anything but I'm just not into this type of stuff,” quoted the owner. Whether by “not into this type of stuff” they mean the supernatural activity or the brown kitsch stamped with Wildcat Juice is something that could probably be debated.

Image from OfferUp. — *Image from* *OfferUp*.

8) These horrifying restraints from Pennhurst Asylum.

If you haven’t been to Pennhurst Asylum (we have, and it’s very scary - you should go), you may not be aware of how truly creepy is its history. An overcrowded facility that operated for years by abusing and neglecting its patients, Pennhurst Asylum was shut down in the 1980s but remained haunted by former inhabitants. Recently a seller on the website OfferUp decided to list a pair of ‘humane’ restraint cuffs that they swiped while trespassing at the abandoned asylum, claiming they are “paranormal historical restraints” that may contain a ghost or two, as they still display “stains from people in Pennhurst that wore them.” As horrifying as this piece of Pennhurst memorabilia is, it is nearly as shocking that someone somewhere actually bought them for $125. Wonder what they’re doing with them now?

9) This disturbing three-faced piece of art.

Another strange listing that sold on OfferUp is this disturbing three-faced piece of art that the previous owner kept hanging in their bathroom - an ideal place for a giant staring death mask. The original listing from the former owner reads: “I’m pretty sure this thing is haunted. I hung it in my bathroom and the toilet would flush at random times. It also had the effect of keeping any guests from being able to go number 2 in my bathroom, which I considered a plus. It might have been because I had it facing the toilet directly, but I’m pretty sure it’s because it’s haunted. I never really paid it any thought because I’m always looking at my phone. Anyway, this is a steal.” As flush with bad energy as it appears to be, the seller was glad to wash his hands of this cursed wall hanging, which was sold for $20 to someone else who must have wanted a haunted bathroom of their very own.

Image here and below from The Conversation. — *Image here and below from* *The Conversation*.

10) This grisly polar bear painting.

In 1845, Sir John Franklin manned an expedition to explore the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean. He and his crew disappeared without a trace. Sometime later several bodies were discovered that were believed to be part of Franklin’s expedition; these bodies revealed signs of cannibalism among them, indicating that something terrible and tragic had befallen the explorers. In 1864, the gruesome painting “Man Proposes, God Disposes” was created by Edwin Landseer, depicting what he believed may have happened to Franklin’s party - namely, death by polar bear. His painting was purchased by the founder of Royal Holloway College, Thomas Holloway, for a whopping $8,000, and from then on was displayed on the campus grounds.

*The cursed painting covered by the Union Jack flag.*

Due to its macabre subject matter, it’s no wonder that the painting earned a reputation for being haunted. The legend of the painting’s haunting comes from a story originating in the 1920s or ‘30s, when a student sitting for an exam - in front of the death picture - allegedly stabbed a pencil into their own eye, wrote “The polar bears made me do it” on their exam paper, and then took their own life. Since there is no actual record of a student death in the exam hall, this urban legend sounds a bit extreme - even for a stressed out, overworked college student during finals week - but it nevertheless incited the tradition of covering up “Man Proposes, God Disposes” with a Union Jack flag whenever students sit for testing. If the painting is not covered up, whichever hapless pupil has the dubious honor of sitting next to it will, without fail, fail their exam.

11) This bra cursed with sexiness.

If you don’t currently possess the level of sexiness you desire, why not let the sexiness possess you when you harness the supernatural powers of this haunted bra! According to its eBay seller (is eBay just a virtual dumping ground for unwanted haunted objects?), this 1950s-era strapless bra is supported by the “spirit of a sexy woman” who ensures that its wearer will be lavished with gifts and admiration from others. But that’s not all - the legend of the bra says that if you light a white candle next to it, the specter of the sexy woman inside will appear as a full body apparition. There’s also a bad ghost joke hovering around this haunted bra, but I’ll leave you to work that one out.

Image from Cracked. — *Image from* *Cracked.*

12) This bizarre pinecone with eyeballs.

Yet another supposed paranormal item that was found up for sale is this unattractive crumbling pinecone with glued-on eyes. At least I hope they’re glued on… if they’re grown-on eyes, then this really is one especially scary pinecone. According to the seller known as ghostlyencounter45 (so you know they are legit), this tiny monstrosity is a “very old magical ancient sleep charm” that was handcrafted by a “third generational White Witch.” Considering the seller seems to think that 1948 - the year he claims this preternatural pinecone was created - is “ancient", his definition of “magical” is also probably pretty questionable, but that did not deter one magic-seeker from buying this alleged witch’s charm for $24.95, plus shipping and handling. Here’s hoping he got the good night’s sleep he was searching for, even with this creepy craft project looking at him all night long.

13) This supernatural sandwich bag.

Will the haunted wonders selling on eBay never cease? This final paranormal object looks just like an ordinary Ziploc bag, but its seller pledges that it is, in fact, overflowing with supernatural healing powers. For the bargain price of $25, the buyer can “use the haunted Ziploc bag of restoration” to give new life to food items, purifying, decontaminating, and reviving anything from vegetables to Cheetos to pizza. What’s even more extraordinary is the seller’s claim that if you place a lock of a loved one’s hair in the plastic bag, it can “heal, resurrect, protect, or lessen the burden” of that person through the intervention of a higher interplanetary plane - which to be honest sounds like a much cooler selling point than just making some carrots crispier. If you are in need of some extra restoration, these haunted bags can be sold in sets of three, six, or nine - quite the deal for a bagful of healing spirits!

For more stories featuring haunted and cursed objects, tune in to The Confessionals Podcast free Episode 58: The Unwelcomed Roommate or The Confessionals Member Episode 140: The Ring!

What is the strangest haunted object you’ve ever seen? Have you ever possessed a seemingly haunted object yourself? Share your comments and experiences with us below!

~ Lindsay W. Merkel

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