Frangokastello, Crete, Greece and the legend of ''Drosoulites''

 

Fragokastello (from the Italian terms Franco, meaning "Free" and Castello, meaning "Castle") is a medieval castle, which is located on the south coast of Crete, approximately 12 kilometers east of Chora Sfakion, within the prefecture of Chania. It is one of the most important attractions of the area and is famous for the phenomenon known as ''Drosoulites'' or ''Dew-men'', which is observed in the plain around the castle, every year at the end of spring.

Frangokastello was built in 1371 as a garrison to impose order on the rebellious Sfakia region and to deter pirates. 

In 1828, during the Greek war or independence, the general Hatzimichalis Dalianis fortified himself in the castle with 700 men. On May 18, 1828, a fierce battle took place between the fortified Greeks and the Ottoman forces of Mustafa Nailis Pasha. The Greeks were defeated and a large number of them  were killed. After the battle, Nailis Pasha temporarily destroyed the castle so that it would not be used again by the rebel locals, but later on repaired it. The castle was not used again in the following years.

This deadly battle was linked to the rare phenomenon observed in the area known as 'Drosoulites'. 

According to local lore, Drosoulites is a long procession of visions, seen by residents around the Frangokastello castle. The visions, as described by witnesses, are a a group of human-like shadows dressed in black, walking or riding, armed with weapons, moving from the monastery of Agios Charalambos and advancing towards Frangokastello. Legend has it that this group of people are the Greek fighters that died during the Battle of Frangokastello on May 18, 1828 and since then they appear as supernatural beings in the area. The phenomenon is visible every year, on the anniversary of the Battle of Frangokastello or even in early June near a small village in southern Crete. The locals named the visions Drosoulites (“dew men”) due to the time of day that the phenomenon is taking place, i.e. when the sea is calm and the atmosphere is moist and before the sun goes too high up in the sky.

Kate Morgan - Hotel del Coronado

 

When the Hotel del Coronado opened its doors in 1888, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. Over the years it has hosted numerous high profile guests, including heads of state, A-list Hollywood actors and, if reports are to be believed, more than a few ghosts.

The most famous of these is undoubtedly Kate Morgan, who checked herself in to the Del one November morning in 1892 and checked herself out 5 days later with a bullet to the head. Or at least that's what the authorities believed.

But, who was Kate Morgan?

Kate Morgan, age 24, arrived on Thanksgiving Day, alone and unhappy. According to hotel employees, she said she was waiting for a gentleman to join her. After five lonely days, Kate supposedly took her own life.

At the time of her death, police could find nothing to positively identify her, so a description of Kate was telegraphed to police agencies around the country. As a result, newspapers began to refer to Kate as the “beautiful stranger.” After Kate Morgan’s identity was confirmed – she was married but estranged from her husband – it was surmised that she had arrived at The Del hoping to rendezvous with a lover.

Kate had been employed as a domestic in a wealthy Los Angeles household. From there, she traveled by train to the hotel, where fellow passengers reported that a woman matching Kate’s description had argued with a male companion, who then deserted her en route. During her stay, Kate was described as sickly and sorrowful, venturing into San Diego to buy a handgun, and the San Diego coroner later confirmed that Kate had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

But something about Kate's death didn't add up. The bullet that was taken from her head didn't belong to the gun that was found in her hand. She also checked in under an alias and lied about her reason for being at the hotel. While we may never know for sure what happened to Kate, one thing's certain: she never left the hotel. Guests and workers alike have reported seeing a woman matching Kate's description, period clothes and all, walking the halls of the hotel. And guests who spend the night in her old room report drastic temperature changes and feelings of being watched at night. 

The Ghost of Kate Morgan, which wanders around the hotel premises

According to the hotel’s book, Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado, since that time, guests and employees have attested to ghostly goings-on. Most have to do with Kate’s original third-floor guestroom, where visitors have experienced flickering lights, a television that turns itself on and off, breezes coming from nowhere, inexplicable scents and sounds, items moving of their own accord, doors that randomly open and close, abrupt changes in room temperature, and unexplained footsteps and voices. The story of Kate Morgan continues to intrigue hotel visitors, and the room in which she stayed is the most requested guestroom at the hotel.

Independent paranormal researchers, in turn, have documented supernatural activity in Kate’s room using high-tech gadgetry, including infrared cameras, night vision goggles, radiation sensors, toxic-chemical indicators, microwave imaging systems, and high-frequency sound detectors.

There have also been Kate sightings in hotel hallways and along the seashore. Another very “active” area is the resort’s gift shop, Est. 1888, where visitors and employees routinely witness haunted happenings and giftware mysteriously flying off shelves, oftentimes falling upright and always unbroken.

The Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California

Special thanks to https://www.therichest.com/ and https://hoteldel.com/ for providind me with the info of this story!

The Dead Children's Playground - Alabama

 

This eerie playground adjacent to Maple Hill, Huntsville's oldest cemetery, doesn't just have an eerie nickname for fun. The playground was presumably designed to entertain kids while their parents visited the graves of loved ones. Legend has it, though, that the spirits of children, who've been buried in the cemetery since the first grave was dug there in 1822 come out to play at night. The living have observed orbs of light going down the slide, seen swings moving on their own, and even heard giggling. Creepier still, some say the spirits include victims of a rash of child murders that happened in the '60s, when bodies were rumored to have been found in the area that now houses the playground.

Furthermore, according to another legend, many children who died in Huntsville during the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic are buried in Maple Hill plots adjoining the playground. The spirits of those children, some say, come out after dark to run and play, as they might have in life. An online search turns up photos of unexplained shadows and orbs.  Dead Children's Playground receives several visitors each year including paranormal investigators. There have been several reports of strange events that have taken place at the playground, including swings moving on their own and the laughter of children. Although there is no official count of the number of children who died in Huntsville during the pandemic, or how many were buried in Maple Hill, the number must have been in the hundreds. 

Covering approximately 100 acres, and including more than 80,000 gravesites, Maple Hill Cemetery is also Huntsville's largest cemetery. Whether you believe it's haunted or not, Dead Children's Playground is most certainly Alabama's creepiest urban legend.

The black-eyed children legend

 

The black-eyed children or black-eyed kids is the legend of paranormal creatures that resemble children between the ages of six and sixteen. These creatures with pale skin and black eyes have reportedly been seen hitchhiking, panhandling, or at the doorsteps of residential homes. A bunch of stories have been circulating, all following a very similar pattern. Kids with eyes completely blacked out appear at people's home or vehicle, knock on the door, and then insist upon getting inside. Anyone who encountered them has almost immediately felt an overwhelming sense of dread. 

While tabloid coverage of these creatures has claimed that tales of black-eyed children have existed since the 1980s, most sources indicate that the legend originated from 1996 postings written by Texas reporter Brian Bethel on a "ghost-related mailing list," relating two alleged encounters with "black-eyed kids." Bethel describes encountering two such children in Abilene, Texas in 1996 and claims that a second person had a similar, unrelated encounter in Portland, Oregon. Bethel's stories have become regarded as classic examples of creepypasta, and gained such popularity that he published a FAQ "just to keep up with demand for more info about the new urban legend." In 2012, Brian Bethel told his story on reality TV series Monsters and Mysteries in America. He wrote a follow-up article for the Abilene Reporter News, describing his experience and maintaining his belief that it was legitimate.

This legend even crossed bodies of water and landed in the great land of the UK where in 2014, the Daily Star wrote three front-page stories about sightings of the black-eyed children in the haunted pub in Staffordshire. Ghost hunters who believed that the black-eyed children were extra-terrestrials, vampires or ghosts took these alleged sightings very seriously.

Nowadays, people still claim to see the black-eyed children when driving late at night down an empty road, or outside of their window late at night, or even lurking in the shadows of their room. Many people have reported seeing the black-eyed children standing in the corner of their room during their episodes of sleep paralysis or even waking up in the middle of the night because they sensed someone was watching them and in the shadows were these children.

A podcast talk about the black-eyed kids