What is fear, but an aversion to danger? And in a field where fear is ubiquitous, can we honestly say there is no risk or danger associated with ghosts? If you’ve ever been sitting up late wondering if a ghost could actually physically harm you, there are a few stories that might have you leaving the light on. But there’s also a specific pattern to these incidents.
The words Alcatraz Cell Block D immediately conjure up images of an inescapable dungeon where the most hardened of criminals go, but the legends surrounding the space make it one of the most dangerous locations in the history of paranormal investigation. And in this place at least one ghost is said to have killed a man. The legend goes that a man in cell block D was placed in solitary confinement where one night in the pitch black of night he started screaming. When the guards found him he was dead. It would have been labeled a suicide except the often reported ghost known to guards as “the man in black” was seen in the area around the time of the prisoner’s death. And in a prison where no one escapes alive, this man in black simply disappeared. Of course even he couldn’t escape. He was seen on several occasions afterward always looking people in the eye with a cold stare that could stop someone’s heart. At least that’s how the story went.
In 2010, Calwyn Fearon was convicted of murder after he said a ghost drove him to murder. Taunted by this mysterious entity he took a .25 caliber pistol and murdered his girlfriend before walking to her Jaguar and passing out where he was later found. And while it’s clear ghosts would be a likely scapegoat for a person who was suffering from insanity, there’s no way of telling if any of them are actually affected by entities from beyond the normal realm we are aware of.
The legend of the Bell Witch ghost is said to have driven John Bell Senior to death by her constant tormenting. When he was found an unidentified vial of mysterious liquid was found near his body, though its origin could not be discovered. The neighbor known today as the Bell Witch (or Kate Batts at the time) would appear in spectral form to the family for years and even torment visitors that passed through.
And the grave of Carl Prutt of Eastern Kentucky was said to have been responsible for five deaths all related to his own method of demise. Five of those who interacted with Prutt’s grave died shortly thereafter either because of or nearby a chain.
And there are many more stories like these going back into antiquity. It would seem ghosts can have some effect on the living, and whether they are the actors or simply the scapegoats of misfortune, many deaths have been attributed to ghosts over the years. But before you start worrying too much, there haven’t been enough ghost related deaths to prove the phantasmal entities are directly involved. But as with so many aspects of the paranormal, it’s simply impossible to tell for sure. And not knowing is probably the most disturbing part of all.