This is a great and super easy craft perfect for Halloween. This is safe for the kids to help you create them and a great project for school or home school. All the instructions are on the pictures. 1) Use plastic colored cups. 2) Use a maker to make the faces on the cups upside down on the cup. 3) Make sure you use LED tealights so it doesn’t burn the cup. 4) Place 2 or more lights under the cup and great to put on stairways or for a party.  

The Scandinavian Folklore consists of a huge variety of creatures, good or evil, which have frightened people for centuries. They were often meant to scare children, but even today they are essential and important to the modern northern society. In the 1890s, something changed in the way common Scandinavians saw themselves and their culture. They looked back in time to rediscover their old myths and legends; folklore which had been forgotten because of the coming of Christianity. It was a time when people feared nature, because we were becoming more industrialized. The forests, the mountains, and the sea – it all seemed strange, dark and magic, and because of that, we are now left with evil spirits and monsters who used to represent our own way of seeing nature.     10. Huldra       Huldra (or called Tallemaja in Swedish) is a troll-like woman living in the woods. She is fair and beautiful, but wild and has a long cow-tail which she hides behind her back upon meeting a human. It is said that Adam and Eve had many children, and that one day, when Eve was giving her children a bath, God came to visit. Eve had not finished bathing all of her children, and so hid those who were still dirty. God asked: “Are there not more children?” and when Eve said no, God said: “Then let all that is hidden, remain hidden,” and the hidden children became De Underjordiske (the ones living underground), lost souls who live under the surface of the earth, calling for someone to be with them, usually human passersby. Huldra was one of them, but she somehow remained above the ground. She is a flirtatious, young girl who is neither good nor evil.     9. Nisser     These beings are actually still very important in the modern society. In the Scandinavian Christmas tradition, there is no Santa in the shape of a fat, bearded guy who lives at the North Pole. Instead, we each have our own Nisse, living in the barn (that is to say, if you are a farmer, or living in the countryside), who is like a guardian for the household. These creatures are typical pranksters, but can easily be befriended, and around Christmas they have the same function as Santa in Western traditions.    8. Dwarves/Elves     Made famous by J. R. R. Tolkien, the dwarves and the elves originate from Norse Mythology. The dwarves lived in their own part of Midgard; a place no human could find. They were small people, often pictured as little men with long beards, who were master smiths, and made the swords, shields and armor for the gods themselves. The elves lived in a deep forest nearby the castle of Frøy, the god of fertility, called Alvheim. They were fair and beautiful, and commonly seen as peaceful creatures.    7. Mare     Mare is a female Vette, who gives people bad dreams at night by sitting on them in their sleep. She is a common belief in Germanic folklore, and appears in many different shapes. The Scandinavian words for Nightmare, are: Norwegian – Mareritt, Danish – Mareridt, Swedish – Mardröm, which directly translated means Mare-ride, and Mare-dream.   6. Fossegrimmen     Fossegrimmen, or just Grim (Foss is Norwegian for Waterfall) is a water-creature. He is a young, handsome man who sits naked under waterfalls, playing the fiddle. He plays the music of nature itself, the sound of the water, the wind in the trees, it all comes from his music. He is said to teach humans how to play if they secretly brought him a stolen piece of meat. Torgeir Augundsson (1801-1872), better known as Myllarguten, was a famous fiddle-player from Telemark, Norway who was so good it was rumored he had sold his soul in exchange of Fossegrimmen’s skills.      5. Troll     The troll comes from Norse Mythology, inspired by the cruel giants who were the main enemies of the gods, known as jotner/jotuner/jötunn, who lived in the mountains of Utgard. They have a human like appearance, but they are incredibly ugly and huge, and every story about them tells of how stupid they are. In the old tales, there were trolls of all kinds, some living in the high mountains, in castles carved out of the stone, in deep forests, and some even by the shore. Upon the arrival of Christianity around the 1300s, the stories changed. The trolls were able to smell the blood of a Christian man, and basically they stood for anything of the old times, which the new religion condemned. Oh, and if they every came in contact with sunlight, they turned to stone.   4.Pesta     The Black Death was a tragedy for all of the Scandinavian countries, Denmark lost one third of its population, while Norway lost half. The plaque was so devastating, the people soon made it into a character of its own. Pesta comes as the figure of death and illness, in the shape of a hideous, old woman dressed in black, carrying a broom and a rake. She traveled from farm to farm, spreading the plague. If she carried with her the rake, some of the inhabitants would survive, but if she was carrying the broom, everyone in the family would soon die. It is still common to mention Pesta in the context of disease and illness.   3. Nökken     Nökken/Nyk/Nykkjen is a mysterious water creature, residing in fresh-water, lakes and deep ponds. He is, in Norwegian tradition, described as a dark monster with his eyes just above the surface, watching as people walk by. In Swedish tradition, he is a beautiful, young man, tricking women into jumping into the water, and then drowning them. He is a shapeshifter, and can change into a white horse, letting young children ride on his back and then jumping with them back into his pond. He is also said to be a talented musician, playing the violin so that the villagers can hear him at night. There were ways to protect oneself from him; you could throw a piece of metal into the water, like a needle or an iron cross, and so save yourself. If he had already attacked, you could overpower him by saying his name. “Nyk! Nyk! Naal i vatn. Jomfru Maria kastet styaal i vatn! Du sæk, æk flyt!” was a riddle for protection, meaning: “Nyk! Nyk! Needle in the water. The Virgin Mary threw steel in the water! You are sinking, I float!”   2. Draugen       Draugen, from Norse “draugr” meaning ghost. Yet another water creature, and this one is something you really wouldn’t want to meet when you’re out in your boat. Draugen is the ghost of a man who died at sea. He is huge and monster-like, and covered in seaweed, rowing in half a boat. He erupts a terrible scream when he appears, and legend has it he can be seen during stormy nights at sea, drowning sailors and fishermen, and sinking their boats and ships. There is a story of a man who once ran from Draugen and into a churchyard, where he shouted for the spirits of the dead to protect him. The day after, all the graves were open, and the churchyard was covered in seaweed. In these days, Draugen is commonly associated with anything dark and mystical about the sea.   1. Kraken     Kraken is probably a creature most people will recognize. It’s been used in several movies, like Pirates of the Caribbean and Clash of the Titans, but originally, the Kraken belongs in the cold Norwegian Sea, where it was first said to be seen in the early 1700s. The first detailed description was made by the Danish writer and biologist, Erik Pontoppidan, in 1752. In old times, the Kraken was said to be in the shape of a huge crab, the size of an island, and many sailors and fishermen found themselves stranded on an island that had not been there minutes before. Later descriptions tell of a monster in the shape of an enormous octopus, which dragged ships down to the bottom of the sea.    

Although many people entertain the idea that ghosts may be real, few even humor the suggestion that vampires might exist. Likewise, the very notion of vampire ghosts probably drives most people to sniggers or outright bursts of condescending laughter. As crazy as it may sound, there are certain places in this wonderful world of ours that are supposedly haunted by real-life vampires. In this list, the places are cemeteries, and each one may have their own blood drinker or blood drinkers.     10. Lafayette Municipal CemeteryLafayette, Colorado     For some unknown reason, certain cemetery headstones attract urban legends. In Rhode Island, the headstone of Nellie Vaughn, which reads “I am Waiting and Watching For You,” garnered enough attention from thrill-seekers that they made the dead woman into the undead.   Elsewhere, ordinary headstones or ordinary tombstones become the objects of irrational fear. This seems to be the case with poor Theodore “Fodor” Glava, an immigrant laborer who died of influenza at the young age of 43. A pauper, Glava was given a simple headstone reading “Mr. Glava.” Even worse, Glava was likely buried in the same coffin right beside John Trandifir (sometimes spelled Trandofir), a fellow immigrant doomed to a cramped eternity because of his meager income.   Over the years, a legend began to percolate that claimed that Glava was a vampire. Supposedly a native of Transylvania (how convenient!), Glava was believed to have been a tall, thin man with dark hair and abnormally long fingernails. One could search for years and still not find better indicators of vampirism than these.   Once realizing that a vampire was in their midst, the good people of North Central Colorado decided to place a spike into Glava’s heart. This action not only killed the vampire but also supposedly gave rise to a tree that still stands in the middle of Glava’s grave.   Nowadays, one is more likely to bump into legend-tripping kids or paranormal investigators than the vampire Glava. Still, one never knows.       9. Resurrection CemeteryJustice, Illinois     Insofar as spiritually active cemeteries go, Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois, is an all-star. The cemetery is most famous for Resurrection Mary, the ghost girl hitchhiker dressed up for a party who always asks to be dropped off at home (which is Resurrection Cemetery).   Other ghosts, from floating orbs to full-bodied apparitions that leave handprints behind when they try escape the massive cemetery, are so prevalent that some have taken to calling the cemetery and the surrounding town, which is just a few miles south of Chicago, the Resurrection Triangle as a nod to the high weirdness of the Bermuda Triangle.   Little known or studied is the often repeated story that one of Resurrection Cemetery’s many residents is a vampire that can be heard trying to claw its way out of its grave at night. Most paranormal investigators label these scratching and clawing noises the work of a ghost or multiple ghosts, but a curious few seem happy to claim that an unnamed vampire tries to come aboveground every night right after sunset.     8. Southern NecropolisGlasgow, Scotland     Located in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, the Southern Necropolis is a mammoth burial site containing over 250,000 tombs. Many famous and well-known figures are buried at the Southern Necropolis, including politician John Robertson, architect Alexander Thomson, and Sir Thomas Lipton, the founder of Lipton Tea. In 1954, the cemetery itself became famous when a police officer named Alex Deeprose received a rather strange call.   On the night of September 23, Deeprose arrived at the Southern Necropolis to see hundreds of children patrolling the cemetery with knives and wooden stakes. They claimed that they were looking for a 2-meter-tall (7 ft) vampire with metal teeth. Apparently, the vampire had already eaten two local boys. Soon enough, however, the headmaster of the boys’ school convinced them that vampires don’t exist. Besides, Deeprose knew that no murder, let alone a double murder, had occurred in Gorbals for quite some time.   Despite this, the boys continued to gossip about the vampire on the playground, which in turn drove many of them to take up their patrol again the next night. They did it a third time, thus concluding a minor panic among Glaswegian children.   Oddly enough, the three-day vampire hunt helped to form an alliance between Christians, the National Union of Teachers, and Scottish communists, all of whom blamed American horror films and comic books for the outbreak. Even odder, over a decade later, London’s Highgate Cemetery experienced a similar vampire hunt, except it was adults doing all the patrolling this time instead of children.     7. The Erie CemeteryErie, Pennsylvania     When your name is “Erie,” it’s hard not to be a little spooky. This once-prominent economic hub in northwestern Pennsylvania is no stranger to ghosts. However, according to many, Erie Cemetery hosts its own vampire. Of course, the Erie vampire is buried in what is called the Vampire’s Crypt—an elaborate mausoleum that looks like a series of Vs built on top of each other. The crypt looks terrifying, and it has been the catalyst for several strange ghost stories.   Many claim that the crypt gives off an “unnatural” or otherwise oppressive vibe that is unlike the usual uneasiness that most people feel in cemeteries. Others claim that the crypt had been previously burned by superstitious locals, quite possibly the same people who chiseled the name off the mausoleum. (Cemetery records claim that the tomb’s owners are the Brown family).   Also, two legends concerning the crypt make it clear that its occupant is not resting in peace. In one story, a young man scaled the crypt’s walls after agreeing to a dare. Once high up, the young man saw something terrifying and fell. When he woke up in the hospital, he saw the same specter again and fled in terror before accidentally falling to his death. In the other story, a widow visiting her husband’s grave was attacked by a pack of feral dogs that seemed be the guardians of the Vampire’s Crypt.   Finally, it has also been claimed that the Vampire’s Crypt and the Witches’ Circle, which is a ring of partially burned headstones in the same cemetery, have been the scene of many pagan ceremonies over the years. Who knows, maybe one of these ceremonies brought the vampire to life. That’s how it worked in Dracula A.D. 1972 after all.     6. St. Mary’s ChurchyardTarrant Gunville, Dorset     During the heyday of vampire superstition, it was commonly believed that people who committed suicide were likely to become vampires after death. So when workers in the Dorset village of Tarrant Gunville exhumed the corpse of “Old Doggett,” a suicide victim buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s, they were understandably petrified. Over 100 years earlier in 1762, Old Doggett had killed himself after his employer, Eastbury House owner George Bubb Dodington, cottoned on to his financial scheme.   In reality, Old Doggett was William Doggett, Dodington’s steward. Doggett tried to get rich by selling off parts of the Eastbury House while his master was away in Italy. Since his death, stories proclaim that the ghost of Doggett can be seen waiting outside the gates of Eastbury House for a coach driven by a headless driver.   Other stories say that Doggett, with a face full of blood, haunts the house itself. Similarly, Doggett’s ghost may haunt St. Mary’s churchyard, where his body was put to rest with yellow silk ribbon tied around his legs to prevent him from rising up again.           5. Dellwood CemeteryManchester, Vermont     In 1789, Captain Isaac Burton, a military hero and a deacon in a local Congregational church, married Rachel Harris. The couple was a happy pair until things started going very south for Rachel. Once a healthy, vivacious woman, her health deteriorated rapidly not long after marrying Captain Burton. Within a year, Rachel died of tuberculosis.   With no time to mourn, Captain Burton married Hulda Powell four years later. Again, Powell, a formerly healthy woman, fell ill with consumption and died within a few years of her wedding. Convinced that a vampire was plaguing him, Captain Burton and Judge John S. Pettibone exhumed Rachel’s body to remove her heart, liver, and lungs.   Once in hand, the organs were burned to ashes and mixed with water. Captain Burton drank this concoction to remove the vampire’s curse from his body while hundreds of townspeople from surrounding areas traveled to Manchester to see the vampire totally destroyed.   Today, the bodies of Captain Burton and his fourth wife, Dency Raymond, can be located in Manchester’s Dellwood Cemetery. As for Rachel, her final resting place was once the village green, but when the burial ground was moved to make room for a courthouse, her grave was lost. Some continue to look for her ghost in Dellwood, but none have found any convincing evidence.     4. Santa Paula CemeteryGuadalajara, Mexico     Santa Paula Cemetery (known in Spanish as El Panteon de Belen) is not only very old and very beautiful, but it is also very haunted. At least, that’s the word on the street, for numerous visitors have reported seeing ghosts or other supernatural phenomena. As it turns out, Santa Paula Cemetery is associated with plenty of stories, from rumors of buried treasure to a “dog man.” No legend is more disturbing than the vampire tree, however.   In the distant past, a vampire stalked the streets of Guadalajara. First, it fed on animals, and then it started feeding on infants. After weeks of living in abject terror, certain Guadalajara citizens formed a vigilante group that tracked down the vampire and drove a stake through its heart. Hoping to keep the creature from rising again, the vigilantes buried the vampire’s body underneath large concrete slabs.   Somehow, these slabs were cracked by a mysterious tree that grew out of the vampire’s staked heart. Nowadays, the large central tree of Santa Paula is associated with this vampire legend. It is said that if anyone cuts a limb from this tree, they will see blood appear. Also, if the tree ever grows so large that it pulls the vampire’s coffin aboveground, then the vampire will return and begin hunting down the living.     3. CulmenKaldus, Poland     “Culmen” is the Latin name for a medieval burial ground in the Polish village of Kaldus where the dead were first buried in the 10th century. Before being burned to the ground by Teutonic Knights in the 13th century, Kaldus was an important city for the Polish crown. As such, Culmen was quite popular, with well over 1,000 graves.   Archaeologists under the supervision of Wojciech Chudziak, a professor from Nicolaus Copernicus University, uncovered several skeletons from the medieval cemetery in 2007 and discovered that 14 bodies, most of which showed signs of disease, had been decapitated and buried on their sides. Why? The townspeople of Kaldus believed that they were vampires.   The image reproduced most often from the excavation shows a man and a woman who died in the 11th century. At the time, Christianity still hadn’t fully conquered Poland, thus allowing anti-vampire practices to flourish.   According to the archaeologists, both the man and the woman had been decapitated after death while several of their bones had also been crushed with large stones. All of this was done to guarantee that the diseased dead would not return to plague the living as vampires. The discovery of the Kaldus cemetery is part of a larger series of discoveries throughout Poland that show that the medieval Poles generally feared vampires and went to great lengths to protect themselves from the undead.     2. Dummerston Center CemeteryDummerston, Vermont     As recorded by Henry David Thoreau in 1859, rural New Englanders commonly blamed tuberculosis on vampires. Their remedy for such an affliction was to exhume the bodies of suspected vampires, remove their hearts and major organs, burn those organs, and mix them with water to create a fortifying drink that would get rid of consumption. In Vermont, the practice was widespread and inspired several half-true, half-false stories about vampire panics in the Green Mountain State.   According to David Lufkin Mansfield’s The History of the Town of Dummerston, a certain Lieutenant Spaulding suffered blow after blow before the US Civil War. Specifically, Spaulding’s children, all of whom were nominally healthy and younger than 40, died suddenly of consumption. Few remained, so when one his daughters grew desperately ill, Spaulding decided to take matters into his own hands.   Knowing full well that vines grow from vampire graves, Spaulding went to where his children were buried in Dummerston, removed the vine from the most recent grave, and dug up the corpse. The heart, lungs, and stomach were burned and fed to the sick young girl, who recovered soon after.   Although Lieutenant Spaulding and his wife were buried in unmarked graves, two of the Spaulding children are housed in Dummerston Center Cemetery. If the legends are true, then the Spaulding family vampire was burned up in the 19th century. However, people still visit Dummerston Center Cemetery today in the hopes of catching a glimpse of a vampire ghost.     1. Hollywood CemeteryRichmond, Virginia     In life, William Wortham Pool was a bookkeeper originally from Mississippi. He moved to Richmond, Virginia, in the 1870s to work at a tobacco shop, but after that, he plied his chosen trade for decades. He was, in a word, completely average. In 1913, at age 80, Pool died and was interred in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery. His modest mausoleum, which currently forms the center of one of America’s most unique vampire legends, says very little about the man.   Shortly after 1925, stories about the Richmond Vampire began to circulate when a railway tunnel collapsed just one month before Halloween. Several workers were killed in the falling rubble of Church Hill Tunnel. Apparently, more superstitious locals (including some of the men working in the tunnel) believed that the collapse awakened a foul creature wet with the blood of the recent dead. The hideous monstrosity fled the tunnel and disappeared inside Pool’s crypt.   Another version of the tragic tale claims that Benjamin Mosby, a railway worker brutally mutilated by the accident at Church Hill, ran blindly into Hollywood Cemetery before dying. While not true, this story, along with the rumor that Pool was a vampire banished from England due to his activities, helps Hollywood Cemetery to maintain a reputation as one of America’s more unusual cemeteries.  

With Halloween just around the corner, now’€™s the time to get into the Halloween spirit with some gorgeous and spooky decorations. But, don’t go about splurging money on store-bought stuff this year, instead spruce the festive season by making them all by yourself. Surprise everyone with your dark and evil side using these Breathtaking And Effortless DIY Halloween Decorations.   1. Spooky Eyes in the Busshes

We all love spooky tales which defy explanation – which is clear from the popularity of our many unsolved mysteries lists. Therefore, we have dug around the vast body of literature on anomalous phenomena to present you with yet another list of mysteries of the unexplained. Because we have so many “unsolved mysteries” lists, it seems sensible to list them here so you can look over them before asking why we have not included your favorite in this list!     10. Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp       The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp is a humanoid cryptid which is said to inhabit areas of swampland in and around Lee County, South Carolina. He is described as being seven feet tall (over 2m), bipedal, and well built, with green scaly skin and glowing orange eyes. It is said to have three toes on each foot and three fingers on each hand which end in a circular pad on them that stick to walls. The first reported sighting of the creature was made by Christopher Davis, a 17 year old local, who said he encountered the creature while driving home from work at 2 AM on June 29, 1988. According to his account, Davis stopped on a road bordering Scape Ore Swamp in order to change a tire which had blown out. When he was finishing up he reported having heard a thumping noise from behind him and having turned around to see the creature running towards him. Davis said the creature tried to grab at the car and then jumped on its roof as he tried to escape, clinging on to it as Davis swerved from side to side in an effort to throw it off. After he returned home, Davis’ side-view-mirror was found to be badly damaged, and scratch marks were found on the car’s roof–though there was no other physical evidence of his encounter.   In the month that followed the Davis sighting there were several further reports of a large lizard like creature, and of unusual scratches and bite marks found on cars parked close to the swamp. Most of these are said to have occurred within a three-mile (5 km) radius of the swamps of Bishopville. Two weeks after the Davis sighting the sheriff’s department made several plaster casts of what appeared to be three-toed footprints – measuring some 14 inches (360 mm) in length – but decided against sending them on to the FBI for further analysis after biologists advised them that they were unclassifiable.       9. Hopkinsville Goblins       The Hopkinsville Goblins case, is a well-known and well-documented alleged Close Encounter event in the history of UFO incidents. The event occurred near the towns of Kelly and Hopkinsville, Kentucky beginning on the evening of August 21, 1955 and continuing through the next morning. UFO researcher Allan Hendry wrote “this case is distinguished by its duration and also by the number of witnesses involved.” Multiple eyewitnesses would claim that, for several hours stretching over a late evening and early morning, they repeatedly saw five glowing, silvery creatures, each three feet tall and seeming to float above the ground. The witnesses additionally claimed to have used firearms to shoot at the creatures, with little or no effect.   On the evening of August 21, 1955, Billy Ray Taylor was visiting friends for dinner when he observed strange lights in the sky to the west. He called the others outside. The group saw a luminous, three-and-a-half-foot-tall being with an oversized head, big, floppy, pointed ears, glowing eyes, and hands with talons at their ends. The figure, either made of or simply dressed in silvery metal, had its hands raised. When the creature approached to within about 20 feet of the Taylor home, the men began shooting at it, one using a shotgun, the other man using a .22 rifle. The creature, they said, then flipped over and fled into the darkness. As the men stepped from the porch to look for the body, a taloned hand reached from the roof and touched them. For the next few hours, all members of the household witnessed the creatures repeatedly moving toward the house.      8. Summerwind Mansion       Summerwind Mansion, formerly known as Lamont Mansion, is a now derelict cellar hole on the shores of West Bay Lake in Vilas County, North East Wisconsin. It is reputed to be one of the most haunted locations in Wisconsin. Due to abandonment, the elements and fire, little of the mansion currently remains standing. Summerwind was originally constructed during the early 20th century as a fishing lodge. In 1916 it was purchased by Robert P. Lamont, who employed Chicago architects Tallmadge and Watson to substantially remodel the property and convert it into a mansion. Lamont remained in Summerwind for approximately 15 years, during which time the maids told Lamont that the mansion was haunted, but he did not believe them. However, he is then reported to have abandoned the property suddenly in the mid 1930s after witnessing an apparition in the mansion’s kitchen.   After remaining vacant for some time, the house became the residence of Arnold and Ginger Hinshaw and their four children, who moved in during the early 1970s. It is from this time onwards that most of the haunting reports originate. After taking up residence, the Hinshaws reported a number of strange occurrences, ranging from flickering shadows that appeared to move down the hallways and soft voices that stopped when they entered rooms, to unexplained electrical/mechanical problems and sash windows that raised themselves. They also reported seeing the ghost of an unidentified woman who appeared several times in the vicinity of the house’s dining room. Within six months of moving into Summerwind, Arnold suffered a breakdown and Ginger attempted suicide. Arnold was sent for treatment and Ginger moved in with her parents in Granton, Wisconsin.   In June 1988 Summerwind was struck by lightning several times, resulting in a fire that destroyed much of the mansion. Oddly, lightning struck the house, not the taller trees around it. Today, only the house’s chimney stacks, foundations, and stone steps remain.     7. The Clapham Wood Mystery       The Clapham Wood Mystery is the name given to a collection of unusual events which are associated with the Clapham Wood, West Sussex, England, resulting in the area developing its own lore in popular culture. Events have included reports of people making unusual sights or experiencing unusual phenomena, and of family pets disappearing or sickening. There have also been several human deaths associated with the location. Since the 1960s the area has experienced a rash of UFO sighting, reports of people, experiencing nausea or the sensation of being pushed by unseen forces, or of witnessing patches of strange grey mist developing suddenly on pathways through the woods. Some people have also reported a strong sense of being followed. Studies with a gieger counter have revealed slightly elevated levels of background radiation in the area, which is surprising since the area is situated on chalk which is normally low in radiation. Early photographs of the wood appear to show a large crater or depression somewhere in the wood, though now the area is highly wooded and difficult to search.   Four deaths have occurred either in or close to the woods and have since become part of the lore surrounding it. The first death was in June 1972 when police officer Peter Goldsmith disappeared while hiking in the region. His body was discovered 6 months later. The second death was that of Leon Foster whose body was discovered in August 1975. He had been missing for 3 weeks. The third death was of Reverend Harry Neil Snelling, the former vicar of Clapham. He disappeared in October 1978 and his body was not found until 3 years later. English coroners ruled open verdicts in all three cases.     6. The Bridgewater Triangle       The Bridgewater Triangle is an area of about 200 square miles (520 km2) within southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. Since colonial times the area has been a site of alleged paranormal phenomena, ranging from UFO and “black helicopter” sightings (including many with multiple points of corroboration including police and a local news team), to poltergeists and orbs, balls of fire and other spectral phenomena, various “bigfoot” sightings, giant snakes and ‘thunderbirds’, as well as the mutilation of cattle and other livestock. Central to the area is the mysterious and largely untouched Hockomock Swamp, which means “the place where spirits dwell”, and which was called “The Devil’s Swamp” by early settlers. The Triangle also has been known to house several Indian burial grounds.   One of the most common phenomena reportedly observed in the area is “spooklights” or what otherwise matches the description of will-o’-the-wisp, sometimes known as ghost lights which are typically seen in boggy or swampy areas. The behavior of this phenomenon is consistent with mysterious lights allegedly observed within the Bridgewater Triangle, including those which are said to appear along train tracks every January.        5. The Mad Gasser of Mattoon       The Mad Gasser of Mattoon was the name given to the person or persons believed to be behind a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in Botetourt County, Virginia, during the early 1930s, and in Mattoon, Illinois, during the mid-1940s. The first reported gasser incident occurred at the home of Cal Huffman, in Haymakertown, Botetourt County, where there were three reported attacks over the course of a single night. At about 10:00 pm on December 22, 1933, Mrs. Huffman reported smelling an unusual odor, and was overcome by a feeling of nausea. The odor and the nausea returned again at about 10:30pm, at which time Cal Huffman contacted the police. A third attack occurred around 1:00 a.m., this time affecting the entire house; in total, eight members of the Huffman family were affected by the gas, along with Ashby Henderson, a guest staying at the house.   The next recorded incident occurred in Cloverdale on December 24. Clarence Hall, his wife, and their two children returned from a church service at about 9:00 p.m. They detected a strong, sweet odor and immediately began to feel weak and nauseated. Police investigating the case discovered that a nail had been pulled from a rear window, near where the gas appeared to be the most concentrated, and presumed that the nail hole had been used to inject it into the house. A third incident occurred on December 27, in which Troutville resident A. Kelly and his mother reported similar signs and symptoms to the Huffman and Hall cases. A fourth and fifth incident occurred on January 10, when Mrs. Moore, a guest in home of Haymakertown resident Homer Hylton, reported hearing voices outside before gas was injected into the room through a damaged window. The second attack that night was reported in Troutville, at the home of G. Kinzie.   At least 10 other cases were reported in Botetourt, and 10 years later, over 20 new cases were reported in Mattoon. One witness claimed to have seen the gasser and described “him” as a tall thin woman dressed as a man and footprints belonging to a woman were discovered at some of the scenes.     4. Zana       In the mid-eighteenth century, hunters in the Ochamchir region of Georgia (a Province of Russia on the edge of the Black sea) captured a ‘wild woman’ who had ape-like features, a massive bosom, thick arms, legs, and fingers, and was covered with hair. This ‘wild woman’, named Zana by her captors, was so violent at first that she had to spend many years in a cage with food being tossed to her. Eventually, she was domesticated and would perform simple tasks, like grinding corn. She had an incredible endurance against cold, and couldn’t stand to be in a heated room. She enjoyed gorging herself on grapes from the vine, and also had a weakness for wines, often drinking so heavily she would sleep for hours. As Colin Wilson points out in The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries, this is likely how she became the mother of many children to different fathers. These children usually died when she tried to wash them in the freezing river. The villagers started to take her children away from her and raise them as their own; unlike their mother, the children developed the ability to communicate as well as any other villager. Zana died in the village about 1890; the youngest of her children died in 1954. Her story was researched by Professor Porchnev who interviewed many old people (one as old as a hundred and five) who remembered Zana, as well as two of her grandchildren. The grandchildren had dark skin, and the grandson, named Shalikula, had jaws so powerful that he could lift a chair with a man sitting in it. It is believed that Zana may have somehow been a surviving member a previous evolutionary state of man.   3. The Devil’s Footprints       The Devil’s Footprints was the name given to a peculiar phenomenon that occurred in Devon, England on 8 February 1855. After a light snowfall, during the night, a series of hoof-like marks appeared in the snow. These footprints, measuring 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide and eight inches apart, continued throughout the countryside for a total of over 100 miles, and, although veering at various points, for the greater part of their course followed straight lines. Houses, rivers, haystacks and other obstacles were travelled straight over, and footprints appeared on the tops of snow-covered roofs and high walls which lay in the footprints’ path, as well as leading up to and exiting various drain pipes of as small as a four inch diameter. Reports of similar anomalous, obstacle-unheeded footprints exist from other parts of the world, although none is of such a scale as that of the case of the Devil’s Footprints.     2. The Death of Mary Reeser       Mary Reeser, born in 1881, was found almost completely consumed by fire in her Florida home in 1951. The odd thing about the discovery of her body was that part of her left foot was left completely unscathed, and the extremely high temperature required to cremate a human body did not cause damage to the room or objects around the pile of ash which remained. The FBI investigators called in Professor Krogman from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, in the hopes that he might explain the mystery. He said: “I find it hard to believe that a human body, once ignited, will literally consume itself — burn itself out, as does a candle wick, guttering in the last residual pool of melted wax  Just what did happen on the night of July 1, 1951, in St. Petersburg, Florida? We may never know, though this case still haunts me. I cannot conceive of such complete cremation without more burning of the apartment itself. In fact the apartment and everything in it should have been consumed.  I regard it as the most amazing thing I have ever seen. As I review it, the short hairs on my neck bristle with vague fear. Were I living in the Middle Ages, I’d mutter something about black magic.” The mystery has never been solved.     1. The Amityville Incident       There won’t be many people reading this list who have not heard of the Amityville horror movie – and the majority will no doubt have watched it. What you may not know is that it is based on true events. The authors of the original book (George and Kathy Lutz) were convinced right up to their deaths that the story was true. In 1975, the couple moved in to a home in Amityville, New York. Unbeknownst to them, 13 months earlier, the son of the previous owners shot and killed all six members of his family – claiming to have been directed by voices in his head. The killer (Ronald DeFeo) is still in prison in New York and will remain there until his death. Most strangely, all six of the victims were found lying face down in their beds with no signs of a struggle or sedatives having been administered.   Within 28 days of moving in to the house, George and Kathy Lutz fled – claiming a series of horrific experiences forced them to leave. The family experienced foul smells, loud voices, physical attacks, and unexplained noises. All members of the family, at one time or another, witnessed glowing red eyes in the house. Kathy discovered a small hidden room that was painted red and the family dog refused to go near it. A priest was called in to bless the house and he also witnessed some of the phenomena which he later testified to on camera. The current owners, and those after the Lutzes claim to have had no unusual experiences in the house. The distinctive Dutch style windows have been remodeled to keep curiosity seekers away.  

Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore. Many legendary creatures have this ability, which is represented in a full body transformation. It enables the creature to trick, deceive, hunt, and kill humans. Throughout history many murder sprees have been attributed to the presence of these beings.    10. Leshy   The Leshy is a male woodland spirit in Slavic mythology believed to protect wild animals and the forests. They usually appear as tall men, but have the ability to change size and shapeshift into any form, animal or plant. Leshies have beards made of living grass and vines, and are often depicted with a tail, hooves, and horns. The Leshy has pale white skin and dark green eyes. They are the lords of the forest and hold close bonds with gray wolves, bears, and all animal life. When a leshy is in human form it looks like a common peasant, although its eyes glow. The creatures can shrink themselves to the height of a blade of grass or grow to the size of the tallest trees. It is commonly understood that leshies will lead peasants astray, make people sick, and even tickle them to death. The creatures are terribly mischievous and have horrible cries. However, Leshies can also imitate human voices and often times lure lost wanderers to their caves. They aren’t always evil, but enjoy misguiding humans and kidnapping young women.    9. Selkie   Selkies are creatures found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish mythology. They have the ability to transform themselves from seal to human form. Selkies are able to shapeshift by shedding their seal skin, a risky endeavor because they must reapply the same skin in order to return to seal form. Stories surrounding these creatures are usually romantic tragedies. They are allowed to make contact with humans for only a short amount of time before they must return to the sea. In many cases humans have unknowingly fallen in love with selkies. Other times, humans have hidden the skin of the selkie, thus preventing it from returning to seal form. Male selkies are very handsome in their human form, and have great seduction powers over women. If a man finds and steals a female selkie’s skin then she will be under his control and is often times forced to become his wife. The creatures have been known to lure humans into the sea, by creating illusions and a false sense of reality.   8. Berserker   Berserkers were a group of Norse warriors. They are human, but in battle entered into a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, and transformed into wolves, bears, and wild bulls. This enabled the men to fight more effectively. Their name would give rise to the English word “berserk”. Berserkers were said to wear the pelts of bears and wolves as they entered battle and could make the full transformation as they felt necessary. They are characterized as having bloodshot eyes, incredible strength, and endurance. Various Scandinavian kings used berserkers as part of their army or as hired men and royal bodyguards. Similar behavior is described in the Iliad, in which warriors are possessed by Gods and given the power to exhibit superhuman abilities.   7.Kitsune   In Japanese folklore the Kitsune is an intelligent and magical being. The creature’s strength increases with age, wisdom, and life experience. Kitsune is a Japanese fox. They have the ability to assume human form and are great tricksters. The creatures are noted for having as many as nine tails. A kitsune may take human form when it reaches a certain age, usually 100 years. They prefer to assume the shape of a beautiful woman, young girl, or elderly man. The creatures have the ability to clone the appearance of an individual. Kitsune have a fear and hatred of dogs. They can willingly manifest themselves in people’s dreams and create illusions so elaborate that they are perceived as reality. The kitsune can fly, become invisible, and often times generate fire or lightning. In some regions of the world the creatures can bend time, space, and drive people mad.   6. Púca   The púca is a legendary creature of Celtic folklore, most notably in Ireland, the West of Scotland, and Wales. The púca is a mythological fairy and ultimate shapeshifter. The creatures are capable of assuming a variety of terrifying forms, including a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin, or dog. No matter what shape the púca takes, its fur is always dark. They are most commonly seen as a black horse with a flowing mane and luminescent orange eyes. Púcas have the power to use human speech and although they are known for giving good advice, they also enjoy confusing and terrifying humans. Púcas have a fondness for riddles and are sociable creatures. They love to gather and play pranks on unsuspecting people and children. In many regions of the world the púca is seen as a creature of the mountains and hills. They are incredibly respected and if treated nicely will help humans.    5.Wendigo   The Wendigo is a creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. Descriptions of the Wendigo vary across culture, but they are generally described as a large alien-like canine beast. They are malevolent and cannibalistic creatures. Wendigos are strongly associated with the winter, the north, and coldness. Human beings will transform into Wendigos if they perform cannibalism. The person will become possessed by the demonic spirit of the beast, usually in a dream. Once transformed, the individual will become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh. These monsters are the embodiments of gluttony, greed, and excess. They are never satisfied with killing and consuming one person. Wendigos are constantly searching for new victims. They have been classified as giants and upon transformation the human will grow considerably in size. They populate rural and highly forested, mountainous regions. Recently the Wendigo has become a horror entity, much like the vampire, werewolf, or zombie.   4. Encantado             An encantado is a Brazilian legendary creature. They live in a deep underwater realm named the Encante. Encantados are most commonly viewed as a type of freshwater dolphin or sea snake that has the ability to shapeshift into human form. They are characterized by superior musical ability, seductiveness, and attraction to parties. The creature’s transformation into human form seems to be rare, and usually occurs at night. While in human form the encantado will wear a hat to hide its protruding forehead. It does not disappear while shapeshifting and frequently displays magical abilities, such as the power to control storms and haunt humans. They use various mind control techniques and can inflict illness, insanity, and even death. The creatures are known for kidnapping humans. Many villagers will not go near the Amazon River at night because of this. Plenty of South Americans believe in the existence of the encantado and claim to have seen and interacted with the species.   3. Aswang   An aswang is a mythical creature in Filipino folklore. The legend of the aswang is well known throughout the Philippines, except in the IIocos region. The creature is described as a combination of vampire and witch and is almost always female. The aswang is an eater of the dead and a cannibal. They are capable of transforming into either a huge black dog or a black boar. The creatures stalk and eat human beings at night. Garlic bulbs, holy water, and other objects are believed to repel aswang. Many stories revolve around these creatures eating children and unborn fetuses. In human form they appear normal, and are quiet, shy, and elusive. At night, they transform into the deadly beast. One key feature of the aswang is its bloodshot eyes. In the Middle Ages, the aswang was the most feared among the mythical creatures in the Philippines.   2. Vampires   Vampires are legendary creatures said to feed on the blood of humans and animals. It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, although they were usually reported as bloated in appearance, ruddy, purplish, or dark in color. They are shapeshifters and can take many forms, predominantly bats or humans. Vampires are typically described as the undead, although some cultures believe that they can be living. Beginning in the 19th century, modern fiction began to portray vampires as gaunt and pale. In the past, vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria, which resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Many violent killing sprees have been attributed to vampires. They are known to terrorize their previous neighborhoods and will seduce their victims, waiting for the right moment to attack the neck. The creatures will frequently visit their relatives, particularly their spouses. Vampires are masters of disguise and camouflage. The most recently recorded case of vampirism is that of nineteen-year-old Mercy Brown, who died in Exeter, Rhode Island in 1892.   1. Lycanthrope   Lycanthropes or werewolves are mythological humans that have the ability to shapeshift into wolves or anthropomorphic wolf-like creatures. They can infect the human population with a bite and the creature’s transformation is often associated with a full moon. The lycanthropes mythology originated in Europe, but many accounts are found all over the ancient world. Features of the werewolf include the meeting of both eyebrows at the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low set ears, and a swinging stride. They have super-human strength and senses, far beyond those of either wolves or men. The beasts are known to feed on the homeless and easy prey. A person can be identified as a werewolf by cutting into their flesh to reveal hair or by revealing special bristles under their tongue. In returning to the human form the creature becomes weak and debilitated. Up until the 20th century wolf attacks on humans were widely reported causes of mass death in Europe.