“I had a daughter” “My daughter… Raymunda… I never heard the word “mommy”.” These are some of the phrases recorded by a team of parapsychologists at one of the most famous haunted houses in the world: the Linares Palace, right in the heart of Madrid. Some say that the recordings are false but others still think that they are true. The first owners of this palace, which was built around 1900, had a tragic story: José de Murga married his own sister, Raymunda Osorio, without knowing. Raymunda was the product of an affair that Jose’s father had in the past. José and Raymunda had a miserable life: stigmatized by society, secluded in their palace, they carried a feeling of guilt and embarrassment that accompanied them until their grave. All the following owners of this palace since then have been murdered or have suffered through very rough health or financial problems.
In the United States a renowned haunted house is the Winchester Mystery House, in San José, California. The house was built after Sarah Winchester was advised by a medium to provide a home for the spirits of all those killed by Winchester guns.
In some cases, there is not only one haunted house in a community, but an entire neighborhood could be haunted, like in the case of Old Louisville, Kentucky. Old Louisville is considered the most haunted neighborhood in the country.
Haunted houses exist around the world and they also play an important role in literature. If you want to get in the mood for Halloween, here are some ideas of books you might want to check out:
The shining by Stephen King
House by Frank Peretti
From the dust returned: a family remembrance by Ray Bradbury
In a dark season by Vicki Lane
Deadly night by Heather Graham
If you would like to visit some of these houses, we also have some materials that can help you with your ghostly adventure:
Haunted Houses (DVD)
Haunted America
Historic Haunted America
A ghost in my suitcase: a guide to haunted travel in America
Finally, if you want to go ghost hunting yourself, here is a book that tells you how:
Picture yourself ghost hunting: step-by-step instruction for exploring haunts and finding spirits, spooks, and specters
Good luck with that and happy Halloween!
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