Common Haunted Objects

This is a guest contribution from Lauren Hailey.

Throughout the ages, there have been countless cases of people claiming to have lived in haunted houses, sharing prime real estate with ghosts, demons or other entities from the other side.

But “haunted house” is such a blanket term — in many instances, it may not have been the house itself that was haunted. Instead, individual items that were found on the property might have been the source of the paranormal activity.

At one time or another, even seemingly benign objects like teddy bears, hairdryers and chairs have been suspected of harboring restless spirits. (There have been no recorded cases of haunted food processors, but give those ghosts time.)

In the meantime, here are five common household objects that have been suspected of being haunted.

Dolls

This is a popular one, as evidenced by its frequent use in popular culture.

For starters, who can ever forget that menacing clown doll in Poltergeist? Or that demonic titular doll in the supposedly based-on-fact Annabelle? Or the psychotic Chucky in a whole slew of films beginning with Child’s Play?

Because they basically look like miniature versions of people, dolls throughout history have received a bad rap when it comes to being a receptacle for evil spirits (voodoo dolls, for example), so it’s no surprise that ordinary household dolls have earned a similarly sinister reputation in more recent times.

And porcelain dolls seem to have it the worst, although between those emotionless features and those rolling eyes that often end up staring in opposite directions, that’s not entirely surprising

Mirrors

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then it stands to reason that mirrors are the window to the supernatural.

People spend much of their time looking at themselves in these reflective objects, so it’s believed by some that a part of the owner remains trapped in these glass objects, left behind as a haunting reminder to future generations that they once existed.

What’s more, others believe that the mirror is a gateway to the afterlife, and that the ghosts of those seeking to pass on can sometimes become trapped there. House Method shares the feng shui belief that mirrors bounce too much energy around the room, as they’re thought to magnify problems and worries. Get rid of any ghosts or similarly angst-ridden energy with a little feng shui, and move the mirror out of the bedroom.

Jewelry

From dangling earrings to diamond bracelets, precious baubles have often been accused of retaining the essence of their previous owners.

It’s a logical conclusion, since jewelry that spends much of its existence tightly gripping its owner’s various body parts have managed to get up close and personal in ways that not much else has managed.

The proximity to the person, as well as the sentimental feelings attached to these objects, charges the jewelry with supernatural vibes, although not always for the positive. If, for instance, a person experienced a gruesome death while wearing a ring, then negative energy subsequently surrounds the item, meaning that the next person who puts on the ring might be overcome with feelings of nausea or unease.

Clothing

Like jewelry, clothes have many personal properties attached to them, so much so that it’s believed they can become as possessed as any other object found within the confines of one’s home.

While there have been claims of haunted shoes or haunted military outfits, most sartorial spook stories center around wedding dresses.

While popular legends involved the bride dying on her wedding night while wearing the dress — thereby thwarted of consummating her love and cursed to wander our world forever — perhaps the most famous tale is the one centering around Anna Baker, a Pennsylvanian whose father forbade her from marrying the man she loved. She would console herself by dancing endlessly in the wedding dress she had already purchased, a garment that would end up in a historical society museum. Visitors to the museum would claim that they could see Anna’s ghostly visage staring at them through the glass case, and that said case would occasionally be spotted rocking violently.

Paintings

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but certain paintings have been known to produce a thousand shudders. Whether channeling the dark thoughts of the artist or capturing the inner demons of the subject, numerous paintings over the years have led to discomfort and sometimes even death among their viewers.

Bill Stoneham’s 1972 painting “The Hands Resist Him,” featuring a solemn boy, a spooky doll, and several pairs of disembodied hands, reportedly led to the deaths of those who first encountered it and was later sold on eBay by a couple who claim that the characters would sometimes leave the canvas and walk around their house.

“The Anguished Man” is said to have been painted in blood by its creator, who then committed suicide — a subsequent owner claims that unexplained phenomena occurs in the vicinity of the portrait.

And “The Crying Boy” is fascinating in that prints of this painting were at the center of numerous fires across England, roaring blazes that destroyed everything in these affected houses except … yes, prints of “The Crying Boy,” all completely undamaged by the raging flames. Given the nature of haunted paintings such as these, it makes one appreciate the comparative blandness of landscape portraits even more.

About the Contributor

Lauren Hailey is a writer and copy editor from Durham, NC. When she’s not typing away at her computer, Lauren enjoys walking her golden retriever, doing yoga, and gardening.