- Outlaw Jesse James was Murdered - Public Domain
Ghosts of Jesse James, “Black Jack” Ketchum, Bonny and Clyde, Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel have been encountered. James’ ghost has been felt at his former farmhouse; Ketchum’s, by one of his favorite hangouts. Images of Bonnie and Clyde appear on photos taken of a marker at the site of their deaths. Capone’s specter haunts Alcatraz and in the cemetery where his body is interred. Bugsy’s phantom has been seen in the living room of his house and in the Flamingo hotel and its wedding chapel area.
Jesse James’ Ghost
Jessie Woodson James was born on September 5, 1847 and killed on April 3, 1862. He was a Confederate guerilla in the US Civil War as part of Quantrill's Raiders. After the war, he led one of history's notorious outlaw gangs with his brother Frank and the Cole Younger gang. The James-Younger band robbed banks, stagecoaches and trains; however Jesse was seen as a Robin Hood of the West.
There was a $10,000 price on Jesse, so he and his family moved to Missouri to hide out. He used an alias – Tom Howard. Jesse asked Robert and Charles Ford to help him rob the Platte City bank, but Robert shot James, ending his outlaw career.
Jesse was originally buried at the family farm in Missouri. His body was moved to the Mount Olivet Cemetery to be buried next to his wife. Although his body is no longer at the farm, many people believe he never left, as evidenced by paranormal incidents, including doors slamming shut by themselves, lights moving inside and outside of the buildings on the grounds and feeling an unearthly presence. Some people report hearing sounds of pounding hooves, muffled shots and cries.
Ghost of Thomas “Black Jack” Ketchum
Thomas Edward Ketchum was born on October 31, 1863. He was the first person to be hanged on April 26, 1901 in New Mexico and the only one for train robbery under a law that was later found to be unconstitutional. He haunts his favorite hangouts.
A man who wants to remain anonymous saw Ketchum’s ghost when he was a boy. He and several friends were backpacking through the mountains and decided to camp under an overhang over one of the outlaw’s favorite hang outs. They built a fire and talked about their trip before going to bed. The boy drifted into sleep, thinking about Black Jack. He was awakened by a noise in the bushes. He felt paralyzed and couldn’t yell. He saw a black clad cowboy, holding a gun, run out of the bushes toward Ketchum’s hideout. The figure was solid, with some translucent parts. The cowboy was unaware of the boy. The boy heard men yelling and gunfire. The cowboy fired his gun six times into the trees, ran, stood over him and discharged six shell casings that fell onto his sleeping bag. Suddenly the wraith saw the boy and said, "You're not supposed to be here," before he vanished.
As the boy rolled up his sleeping bag in the morning, he found six shell casings. The boy told his friends about his experience. They were amused by the story and shrugged it off as a prank. The boy never mentioned the incident again, but kept the casings. Later, he saw a photo of Black Jack. He was the specter he saw. He contacted a gun expert who said the casings were dated from sometime around 1878, but were in almost mint condition.
Spectral Duo: Bonnie Parker and Clyde Champion Barrow
This pair of the 1930’s outlaws were tracked down and killed on May 23, 1934 outside of Arcadia, Louisiana before dawn on May 23, 1934. Their automobile was towed into town with their bodies still in it.
Bonnie and Clyde met in Texas in January, 1930. They embarked on a crime spree in 1932. They were suspects in multiple crimes: murders, auto theft, robberies and burglaries. On May 20, 1933, the United States Commissioner at Dallas, Texas, issued a warrant for Clyde and Bonnie.
On November 22, 1933, the Dallas, Texas police department set a trap to capture then, but they escaped and resumed their crime spree. Wanted notices with fingerprints, photos, descriptions, criminal records, and other information were sent to all police departments in Texas and Louisiana. The FBI was involved.
There is a marker at the site where they died, alleged to be haunted by the duo. Photographs taken of the marker often come out with their ghostly images.
Ghostly Al “Scar Face” Capone
Alphonsus “Scarface” Capone, the US’ best known gangster, was born on January 17, 1899. During the 1920s Prohibition era, he had a leading role in illegal activities that gave Chicago its reputation as a lawless city. His most notorious caper was his part in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre on February 14, 1929 when four Capone men entered a garage that was the main liquor headquarters of bootlegger George "Bugs" Moran's North Side gang and killed seven men. Although Capone evaded jail for his crimes, he was finally found guilty of income tax evasion. He eventually was incarcerated in Alcatraz where he showed signs of syphilitic dementia and often played his banjo. He died, at home, on January 25, 1947.
Allegedly, when people are disrespectful while visiting his family plot at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois, his ghost is said to appear. His spirit is one of Alcatraz Ghosts where people have reported hearing phantom banjo music emanating from his former cell.
Spectral Bugsy Siegel
Benjamin Siegel was born on February 28, 1906. He began his criminal career when he was a teenager and was nicknamed Bugsy for his unpredictable nature. In 1918, Meyer Lansky and he established the Bugsy-Meyer Gang, a ruthless one that included a group of contract killers, Murder, Inc. His criminal empire also included bootlegging, gambling, drugs and prostitution.
In the late 1930s, began fulfilling his dream of building a gambling kingdom in Nevada. Construction of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino commenced under Siegel's supervision, with money from the eastern crime syndicate. When Lansky discovered Bugsy was stealing money from the project, he became a doomed man. On the evening of June 20, 1947, Siegel was killed, when bullets rained through his living room window.
Witnesses have reported seeing a phantom of a man running and ducking across the living room of the house, then vanish. He has been sighted in the Flamingo hotel, appearing smartly dressed in a smoking jacket with a smile on his face. His ghost has been seen in the presidential suite at the hotel and in the wedding chapel area.
Sources:
- Dennis William Hauck, Haunted Places, Penguin Books, 2002.
- Sherry Hansen-Steiger and Brad Steiger, Hollywood and the Supernatural, St Martin's Press, 1990.
Jill Stefko - I'd rather deal with the paranormal than human abnormal - having dealt extensively with both.
