Real Life Ghost stories

The story of the Bell Witch of Tennessee is one of the more famous true ghost stories in American history. The story inspired several documentaries and a major motion picture, 2005's "An American Haunting." It's one of the most well-documented "true" ghost stories ever.

The story of the Bell Witch first surfaced in the early 1800s, after farmer John Bell and his family moved from North Carolina to the community of Red River, Tennessee, which later became the town of Adams. As Bell amassed more and more land in the area - eventually up to 328 acres - the family started to report a variety of strange encounters. These included finding an animal that appeared to be a hybrid between a dog and a rabbit, a series of apparent hallucinations that included night terrors about rats gnawing away at the family's beds, and eventually a series of faint whispering voices that sounded almost like old women softly singing hymns.

According to historians, family members later found a vial of an unknown liquid in the house. They gave a dose of the liquid to their cat, who immediately died.

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, built in 1909 by Stanley Steamer founder Freelan O. Stanley, is arguably the most famous haunted building in America. While staff and guests at the hotel have reported strange happenings and ghost sightings for decades, the hotel didn't become truly famous until author Stephen King lived at the hotel for a time and reportedly had his own scary ghostly experience (seeing a mysterious figure on the hotel's stairs). This encounter is believed to have inspired King's "The Shining." (Even today, the hotel runs the film version of "The Shining" on a continuous loop to guest televisions.)

- Staff have reported hearing the sounds of parties going on in the main ballroom. When they investigate, the rooms are empty.

- Some people claim to have seen ghosts standing at the end of their beds in the middle of the night.

- Patrons claim to have seen the ghost of Freelan Stanley's wife, a piano player in life, performing on the piano in the lobby.

The claims have been investigated by a variety of paranormal experts and investigators, including the teams from the Syfy television show "Ghost Hunters" and the Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures."

There isn't one solid, reliable rational explanation for all the reported phenomenon at the Stanley (unless you just think everyone - Stephen King included -

If you plan on visiting New Orleans, you should know that it is without question the most haunted city in America. Ghostly sightings are virtually everywhere throughout the city, particularly in the famed, historic French Quarter. So many hotels claim to be haunted - but one, in particular, boasts a LOT of ghosts: The Hotel Monteleone. Sitting at 214 Royal Street, the hotel is the only high-rise building in the interior of the French Quarter, and has become famous for its rotating carousel bar.

The hotel dates back to the 1880s, when Sicilian immigrant Antonio Monteleone moved to New Orleans and set up shop on the site as a cobbler. He ended up taking over the nearby hotel and expanding his business, and the enterprise has continued to grow ever since.

Reported ghostly sightings at the Monteleone are so common it's impossible to write about them all. Several guests have claimed to see and hear ghostly children playing in the hotel's halls (especially on the 14th floor). Additionally, based on the testimony of witnesses, the lobby area is apparently very, very haunted. Like, "Poltergeist" haunted. On many nights, around 8 p.m., the doors of the lobby restaurant are said to mysteriously unlock and then close themselves back. A diverse group of individuals claim to have witnessed this ghostly phenomenon.

Boring Rational Explanation: According to the hotel's own website, in 2003, the International Society of Paranormal Research investigated and made contact with a man named William Wildemere who had died in the hotel (of natural causes, oddly enough) years before. The team also believed it had made contact with a ghost that enjoyed returning to the hotel regularly in the form of a small boy to meet up with another friend (who of course was also a ghost.)