World's Most Haunted Places

On our way to Wilmington a few weeks ago, my husband and I stopped at a Books-a-Million in Myrtle Beach, and when I saw a magazine called World's Most Haunted Places, of course I had to buy it.  The magazine costs $9.99 and is 131 pages, and it's one of the most interesting magazines I've ever read.  The magazine is divided into 11 sections: Mystery Mansions and Paranormal Plantations, Haunted Hotels and Sinister Inns, Haunted American History, Sacred Grounds, Ghost Towns, Earthly Prisons, Military Murders, Watery Graves, Creepy Castles, Terrifying Territories, and Imprisoned Forever.  A few of the stories stood out to me, such as the story of LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans, which is really disturbing (fun fact: Nicholas Cage lived there at one point).  I knew that the Queen Mary (which I'd never heard of until Arrested Development, even though it's a very famous ship) was haunted, but I didn't realize that it's haunted by more than 130 spirits and that cabin B340 has had so much paranormal activity that guests are no longer permitted to stay there.  Most people know that the Stanley Hotel in Colorado inspired Stephen King to write The Shining; while he was staying there in 1973, he saw spirits of children playing in the hallway and several ghosts in the ballroom.  Good news for anyone who would like to stay there or go on a ghost tour: all of the ghosts are friendly.

Apparently The White House is incredibly haunted; the spirits of Abraham Lincoln, William Henry Harrison, Andrew Jackson, Dolly Madison, Thomas Jefferson, John Tyler, and Abigail Adams have all been spotted there.  Lincoln is the most frequently seen ghost, and the Lincoln Bedroom has had more paranormal activity than any other room in the house.  Mary Todd Lincoln used to hold seances at the White House to try to contact her deceased sons.

I had never heard of the Island of the Dolls (which is in Xochimico, Mexico), an island that's full of dolls hanging from trees.  Some believe that the dolls are possessed, and the pictures in the magazine really creeped me out.  Here's a link to the island's website, so you can have nightmares too. ; )

http://www.isladelasmunecas.com/Island-of-the-dolls-pictures.html

The front of the magazine says that it should only be on display until November 11th, so hopefully that means a new issue will be coming out soon.  If you really want to read this issue though, you can still buy it from the publisher's website:

http://engagedmediamags.com/sports-entertainment/magazines/special-issues?product_id=67691677