I love to explore creepy places. Haunted houses are always cool, old dilapidated buildings at night, attics, basements, cemeteries in the fog, those kinds of places. I like to check out all the little nooks and crannies to see if there’s any hidden switches that open doorways to secret rooms. You know, the kinds of stuff you see on TV.
Photo courtesy Google Images
Here are some photos of some mysterious and supposedly haunted places I’ve had the privilege of exploring:
We’ll start with a local one. These pictures were taken on one of the nights I took the haunted tour over at the McRaven Tour Home here in Vicksburg
If you are interested in touring this fabulous house, and you should if you’re in Vicksburg, here is the link for more information https://www.mcraventourhome.com/
Next we’ll go to California, to a VERY small town called Ione in Amador County. One of the last places I visited before leaving California for Mississippi was Preston Castle. Here is a brief bit of information about Preston Castle:
In 1890, the California State Legislature purchased 230 acres from the Ione Coal & Iron Company for construction of the Preston School of Industry, a place where troubled boys could learn a trade instead of being incarcerated in juvenile prisons.
The complex was highly self-sufficient; the large acreage of the purchase allowed the boys to grow their own food, raise livestock and learn farming trades. Additionally, there was a print shop, bakery and cobbler shop where the young delinquents and otherwise homeless boys could learn skills for self-preservation in the real world.
The school officially opened on June 13, 1894, and the first wards moved in only two weeks later. The superintendent controlled life inside the Preston School of Industry, where discipline was extreme. Loss of privileges seemed minor in comparison to starvation, isolation, and public paddling and lashings, severe strategies that were common at Preston.
Here are some of the photos from my tour:
For a brief time in 1954 country music legend Merle Haggard did time at Preston Castle for auto theft. For more information about Preston Castle click here:Â http://www.prestoncastle.com/
Next we’ll head up north to Victoria, British Columbia and take a peek at Craigdarroch Castle. The castle is a historic, Victorian-era Scottish Baronial mansion. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to its landmark status in Victoria
All of these places are reportedly quite haunted although I never experienced anything supernatural while I was there. Quite a few of my photographs from Craigdarroch Castle have what appear to be orbs in them, but it might just be dust motes in the air. This one in particular is of interest.
Me and Corey on the grand staircase at Craigdarroch Castle.
I don’t know what that big cloudy bubble thing is near my hand but it darn near touched me. And, there are at least 3 more smaller orbs in this photo. Do you see them?
Anyway, if you’d like more information about this creepy cool place, here’s where you need to start:Â https://thecastle.ca/
So there you have it my friends, my nod to keeping it creepy in February. What creepy places have you explored? Do you like visiting haunted houses?
Word of the day: Zloty
Fun fact about me: I guess I live in a haunted house, at least that’s what people tell me.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, January 2019. Photos by P. Rickrode and Google Images.
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jansenschmidt 
Ooh, I love creepy places, especially if they’re old. I think those two factors kind of go together, right? 🙂 The creepiest place I’ve ever visited is Winchester House. As much as it was beautiful, it was equally weird and you know when you just have that feeling that you shouldn’t be there? Yeah. I wouldn’t take a night tour in that place. And the pictures I took – I get chills just thinking about them. Orbs and mists…and one of those mists had a face in it that looked waaaaay too close to a clown for me. Shudder.
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And you know what? That’s one place I never visited even though I lived relatively close. I will get there some day. I like weird mists in pictures and clown faces. What does that say about me?
Thanks for sharing your story. Have a great, non-creepy week.
Patricia
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Cool history and photos! Heck yeah, gotta love places like this. There is an old, ramshackle farmhouse on our land in TN that we haven’t yet been inside, as it’s very overgrown around it. But many of the neighbors have, and I recently learned that a couple of them lived there as children! Once we move there, I am really looking forward to checking out the old house and learning more about its history.
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Oh – pictures and video please. In fact, Tennessee’s not that far away from Vicksburg, just let me know when you’re going exploring and I’ll come up and explore with you.
Thanks for sharing. I’m looking forward to an update.
Patricia
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The old Natchez jail is amazing. The most interactive paranormal experience I have had. Including a very fast moving orb which I saw but sadly too fast to photograph.
A “friend” went to the ruins Arlington in Natchez, and when asked permission to enter, one of the interior doors moved. Needless to say that “friend” did not go inside!
Ive also stayed in a hotel in NOLA which was haunted. Something keep throwing my bf’s toiletries bag onto the bathroom floor every day. The final clincher was when we were getting ready to go out and the tv suddenly came on. The funny thing was that we both thought that the other person had turned it on. When I asked him if it was ok to turn it off, he said “Oh, I thought you had turned it on for some reason!”
Kinda creepy!
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There are lots of creepy places in NOLA! I went on a cemetery tour there. It was fun, but we didn’t go at night – bummer. That would have been better. I wanted to take the voodoo tour too but my traveling companion absolutely would not under any circumstances go so we didn’t.
I’m sure Australia has some creepy places too. You’ll have to post some pictures of what’s haunted down under.
Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing you again one day soon.
Patricia
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