Chilling Tales Of Traveling Ghosts And Phantom Vehicles

Most of us are likely familiar with the notion of the hauntings of certain locations. And, in extreme circumstances, a ghostly presence might even haunt a person or a family, moving with them when they try to escape their presence. However, perhaps less familiar are the tales of ghosts who seemingly travel and appear in various locations. And even more bizarre, but no less chilling, are the tales of phantom vehicles, themselves associated with paranormal and otherworldly behavior.

What is perhaps more intriguing is that some of these paranormal incidents have connections to very down-to-earth, although dark conspiracies. And are likely cases of a local legend, in some cases engrained into the respective population, being exploited for all manner of reasons by the powers that be. Others, however, are genuine mysteries, with the most likely investigation to shed light on them being one of paranormal or supernatural considerations, although serious in nature with healthy skeptical reviews and critique as part of the process.

Like other such wide-ranging topics, particularly ones with long, rich histories of accounts to draw from, this subject alone can fill multiple books and could have entire websites dedicated to them. What follows, then, is some of the most intriguing cases of these mysterious machine-like hauntings and spirits of those who wouldn’t complete their final, fatal journeys. It is almost certainly a subject we will visit again in the future.

“Excuse Me! Have You Found My Briefcase?” – The Heathrow Hauntings!

We have examined the fascinating case of Flight 401 before. However, some entire airports have long histories of strange phenomena and ghostly apparitions. For example, the man from the country that doesn’t exist, if we can trust the authenticity of the account, took place at Japan’s Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Perhaps one of the most consistent of these locations, though, is London’s Heathrow Airport, arguably one of the busiest in the world. Perhaps, as a quick side-thought, the sheer volume of people converging on these concentrated locations, if only temporarily, plays a part in the harnessing of energies required for such paranormal incidents to unfold?

One of the most famous apparitions at Heathrow Airport is that of the mid-twentieth century gentleman dressed in a dark suit and wearing a bowler hat. He is often seen walking around the airport, but in particular along the runways near the scene of a crash in 1948. That day, in heavy fog, a Sabena Belgian Airways DC-3 Dakota plane crashed to the ground killing all 20 people on board. According to the legend, as rescue workers frantically searched for survivors, a man dressed in a dark suit and wearing a bowler hat approached them asking, “Excuse me! Have you found my briefcase?” The man then disappeared. It would appear, if the hauntings are authentic, that this man was on board the DC-3 Dakota that fateful day.

There are several other strange and recurring reports from Heathrow Airport. Many people report a sudden strange presence behind them, while at the same time being able to hear and feel the “pants of an animal” on the back of their necks. Another entity, referred to as “the ghost in the light gray suit”, occasionally appears in the VIP section.

Check out the video below.

The Paranormal Consequences Of The Flight 191 Crash

Still the worst aviation disaster in United States history, the American Airlines DC-10 Flight 191 from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, en route to Los Angeles, California on the afternoon of 25^th May 1979 very likely, according to some, is the cause of a plethora of paranormal sightings ^[1] in the area since.

It was a little after 3 pm when the plane left the runway with 258 passengers and 13 crew members on board. Only minutes later, one of the engines on the left wing simply came away sending the plane into a desperate situation. Already falling from 6,000 feet, the pilot managed to settle the aircraft momentarily. Then, however, from around 300 feet, the plane simply fell from the sky landing in a field killing everybody on board.

Not long after this tragedy, chilling accounts of strange encounters began to surface. In the immediate aftermath, residents of a trailer park bordering the field began hearing knocking on their doors and windows. When they would check, nobody was there, or even nearby. As the days and weeks went on, residents would report strange footsteps outside their homes, continued knocking, as well as door handles rattling as if someone was attempting to gain entry.

Several reports would also come from motorists claiming to see strange figures on the side, or even on the road itself. Others would report “shadowy figures” along the roadside. Perhaps even stranger are the reports of bizarre orbs that “bounce” out of nowhere as well as other strange lights. According to those local to the area, animals, particularly dogs, become extremely agitated in the vicinity of the crash. Without doubt, the most spinetingling claims are those of desperate voices, cries for help, and even screams that sometimes drift out from the crash site.

An Explosion Of Ghostly Activity Around O’Hare International Airport!

In a similar way to the sighting of the gentleman in the dark suit presumably from the 1948 DC-3 crash, many residents of the aforementioned trailer park, as well as other nearby areas, would report people approaching them to ask them about lost luggage or for information about a “connecting flight”. They would, though, disappear into thin air before the bemused residents could answer.

One particularly intriguing story that stands out is that of a gentleman walking his dog who happened upon a person wondering around the crash site. According to the man, this stranger had a heavy smell of gasoline on his person and even a slight trace of smoke near him. This mystery person asked directions to a payphone which, despite the sheer bizarreness of the situation, he began to respond to. However, when he turned back to the man after pointing out a nearby payphone, he was no longer there.

Perhaps even more chilling is the recurring sightings of a businessman wearing distinctly late-1970s business attire. Most often sightings of this particular gentleman feature him using the payphone before he disappears into thin air. The payphone is the nearest one to the gate from which Flight 191 left from.

While there is no doubt other reasons and events will contribute to the paranormal activity at O’Hare, the Flight 191 disaster had an obvious effect on such activity there. Many paranormal researchers have used the location to conduct studies, with many pictures captured also. Perhaps even more intriguing and chilling in equal measure are some of the Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) recordings. These simply lend another layer of credibility to the reports of ghostly goings-on.

The short video below looks at just some of the ghostly phenomena at O’Hare International Airport.

The Cursed Airport On The “Cobra Swamp”

Perhaps one of the strangest and frightening haunted airports would be Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. According to local history, the airport was built on a cemetery – called Nong Nguhao, or “Cobra Swamp”. As you might imagine, many believe a curse has the airport in its grip, likely because of its destination. With similar tales to the Stocksbridge Bypass, ^[2] reports of strange activity began almost immediately after construction began.

Workers, already disturbed at working over such a sacred resting place, would regularly report strange whispering around them, chanting, and even bone-piercing shouts and screams. When strange accidents began occurring during construction, some of which would result in the deaths of several construction workers, rumors and panic was rife among those who worked on-site. Not that authorities didn’t take the sightings and encounters seriously. At one stage, before the airport’s opening, they would arrange for 99 Buddhist monks to perform and exorcising ritual in an effort to calm any paranormal activity. It didn’t, however, appear to work.

Strange reports would continue upon the apparently doomed airport’s opening in 2005, including several further deadly “accidents” of airport workers. Maybe the sightings of the “woman with an infant” might be to blame. Stories state that this apparent ghostly figure appears in front of oncoming cars. And vanishes again just before the cars would hit her. In some cases, cars have swerved to avoid impact and accidents have occurred.

Undoubtedly the strangest of the many apparitions of the airport is that of an elderly gentleman named Poo Ming. This mysterious man suddenly appears in front of unsuspecting travelers and speaks with a faint, mystical voice. What’s more, he has a blue face and a glowing aura around him.

Secret Experimental Government “Ghost Trains”

Train stations around the world, particularly given their age and the number of tragic deaths they would have witnessed, both in their construction and following their respective openings, are undoubtedly hotbeds of strange activity. Several train stations in the United Kingdom, for example, have reputations of “mystery footsteps” of an apparent invisible presence on the platforms. Or strange sightings of an unfortunate person who might have met their end on the tracks. And when we factor in some of the underground systems of London, New York, Paris, and Moscow, to name but some, the stories and legends are in abundance.

Claims of actual “real-life ghost trains”, however, are a little more few and far between. Perhaps that is what makes the accounts of the “Silverpilen” (The Silver Arrow) in the subway systems of Stockholm ^[3] in Sweden even more intriguing. Particularly as the Silverpilen is very much a real train. An experimental one that, while utilized at extremely busy times, would never receive the go-ahead to go into mass-production. From these rare sightings of the strange silver train (Swedish carts are generally green) with no advertising or any signs of everyday use came the legends that exist today.

Many claim if you are unlucky enough to board the train, you might end up at the abandoned (and very real) station called “The Station of the Dead” in local legend. Or you might disappear entirely. Maybe to another realm? Or possibly as part of some unknown and top-secret government experiment.

Although these claims of secret experimental government train carriages taking unsuspecting victims to one unforgiving location or another are highly unlikely and fanciful, they are not that much of a stretch. If only in theory. Many similar claims would revolve around the Black Volga cars from the Cold War, for example.

The Ominous Legends Of The Black Volga Cars

In fact, and while there is no “smoking gun” evidence to prove it, the stories of the Black Volga likely originate from dark truth. ^[4] According to the legends, this Volga limousine car, complete with blacked-out windows (or thick curtains) would appear out of nowhere. Often, children would go missing in the vicinity of sightings of this mystery car. Presumably kidnapped, although many adults would also fall victim to it.

The conspiracies as to just who, or what, was behind this mystery vehicle are many. Some believe priests and nuns were behind the wheel, looking to kidnap children for some unknown reason for the Church. Others would claim Devil-worshipers were the culprits. Some people, though, at least privately, suspected the KGB to be behind the strange appearances of the Black Volga. Some theories suggest that the children were sold to countries friendly with the Soviet Union. Possibly for their organs and even blood. Many who weren’t kidnapped would often become extremely ill in the following days. In fact, many would die a sudden and painful death. This would add but more mystery to the sightings.

Whoever was behind these ominous black cars throughout the 1960s and 70s, the population lived in fear of them. Such territories required this fear to help them rule with the iron hand they wished to rule with. And such legends as the Black Volga certainly didn’t hurt their cause. Perhaps interestingly, then, as the Cold War rhetoric began to warm progressively during the later years of the 1980s, and with the eventual fall of the Soviet Union, sightings of the Black Volga cars ceased almost entirely.

Ghostly Apparitions And Possessed Vehicles

Although there is no suggestion of dark government conspiracies, other phantom road vehicles are on record around the world. In London, England, for example, is the “Phantom Bus of London”, which has reports stretching over sixty years between the 1930s to the 1990s. According to such reports, the sightings themselves are random. This mystery double-decker, however, suddenly appears at the same place, and always at 1:15 am. It simply roars down the road straight towards any oncoming drivers, who naturally swerve to avoid it. Several accidents are on record. The most horrific in 1934, when a motorist swerved his vehicle into a wall. And then burned to death in the immediate explosion of his car’s engine. Although nobody else witnessed the bus that evening, many locals suspected that is what this unfortunate driver had seen.

Another account of a driverless vehicle comes from 2004 in Cape Town in South Africa. And it reads like a real-life “Christine” account, only without the murders. ^[5] According to the report, the family in question awoke one morning just after 6 am to hear loud crashing sounds. When they went out to investigate, they could see the car of one of their guests stopping and starting. And “jerking backwards up an incline”, its engine “roaring”. This despite no engine running and the hand-break in position.

It would eventually come to a stop, although local police refused to believe the family’s report. However, shortly after their arrival, the car burst into motion once more before coming to a stop against a tree. Investigators claimed a “rusty starter cable” was responsible for the bizarre incident. However, while that might cause such strange movement, it wouldn’t cause the supernatural sounds of the car’s engine.

A (Sort Of) UFO Connection?

If there are accounts of “phantom-cars” and “ghost-ships”, then, might this also explain at least some UFO sightings? It would obviously fall short in explaining close encounters with occupants and abduction cases. It might explain, though, some of the sightings of “strange shapes” or “lights”. Ones that seemingly disappear right in front of the witness. Perhaps these strange aerial crafts are from a time long before recorded history? Perhaps they are representations of the flying machines of a long-lost but advanced civilization right here on Earth? After all, it is surely (given the abundance of dated finds) all but proven civilization on Earth goes back hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years. What kind of civilizations these might have been, though, should be very much open to debate.

Of course, like the other more conventional ghostly vehicles, these UFOs could also be a glimpse into another realm. Or even an example of a rip in space-time. Allowing these vehicles to pass into our plane of existence, if only temporarily. This might explain such historical accounts as the Battle of Nuremberg in 1561, for example. Which many UFO researchers claim is a sighting of a battle between feuding aliens.

It is a speculative idea that some UFO sightings may be “ghost-machines” from a lost world on our own planet. It would, however, also open up the suggestion of genuine flying machines in antiquity. As well as providing a thin, admittedly tentative thread. One tying together certain aspects of UFO phenomenon, ghostly apparitions, and mysteries of the distant past. It is certainly an idea worth keeping on the backburner, at the very least.

The video below looks at the bizarre but intriguing notion of ghostly vehicles.