creepy

Jamie Marie, 24, has explored a number of spooky places – but her creepy experience at one abandoned asylum, the Mansfield Training School, chilled her to the core

An urban explorer has spoken about the ‘scariest night’ of her life after she paid a visit to a creepy abandoned hospital.

Jamie Marie is no stranger to spooky situations; she has braved more than 100 eerie sites. But there is one place she has vowed never to return to after a truly terrifying experience.

The Mansfield Training School in Connecticut, US, is a vast asylum that opened in 1860 but was finally shut in 1993 after years of scandal and neglect. It has been left to rot and has earned a reputation among ghost hunters who swear its dark corridors and tunnels are still haunted.

READ MORE: Inside ‘super creepy’ abandoned British barracks with ‘pitch black creaking corridors’READ MORE: Man walks into abandoned Kent pub and is shocked to discover deserted item on counter

Now Jamie has shared details of her own spine-chilling ordeal in a clip racking up 925,000 views and 152,000 likes. “An energy I felt there steered me away from the property for over a year,” the photographer and social media manager told What’s The Jam.

“I made my way down to the basement, which included storage, a former electroshock room and a crematorium. The air turned very cold, and I was overwhelmed with a strange feeling. I can’t even put it into words.

“I felt that I needed to get out immediately and proceeded to do so.”

Jamie says the basement, with its electroshock room and crematorium, was so horrifying she bolted upstairs in panic. And the 24-year-old has vowed never to step foot in an asylum again.

She said: “I have not visited the basement floor since, but I have returned to the other portions of the campus. The experience didn’t make me stop urban exploring, but it kept me away from hospitals and asylums.

READ MORE: Abandoned care home found littered with creepy dolls, mould and rotting beds

“Even as a sceptic, and someone who has been doing this for over a decade, I still become overwhelmed with the energy in these places.”

Jamie, who lives in New England, US, has seen her passion for the paranormal take her across the states.

She said: “I have always had a passion for abnormal and unsettling things. I have always loved stop-motion movies, puppets, the paranormal and everything Halloween.

“As I grew older, I needed to incorporate this interest into something more physical, like a hobby. I started exploring abandoned places with my best friend and found a way to mesh the non-physical interests of my childhood with an abnormal hobby.”

It comes after another urban explorer named Ben claimed to have spotted a ghostly figure lurking in the hallway of an abandoned school.

READ MORE: Abandoned UK zoo left eerily quiet with horrifying animal corpses left behind

“I was definitely alone in the building, it’s a very rural area and I called out and checked rooms before I started taking pictures,” he revealed to What’s the Jam.

The school was abandoned following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan in 2011, which claimed over 18,000 lives, including several thousands victims who were never recovered.

Ben continued: “The place is quite creepy because it is completely untouched. There are still the school bags on desks, homework on the walls, awards on the walls, even the plants which are dead in biology. It sits on its own on the outskirts of town with everything frozen in time.

“But it was only after looking back at my photos that I noticed a figure in the hallway. It was like a black and white figure and looked like a spirit. I just felt really weird after seeing it.

“I haven’t experienced much with the supernatural or spirits. But I know the Japanese believe spirits stay where they belong.”

It is proving a popular addition to the streaming giant’s library

Mayfair Witches season one trailer

Netflix fans are all watching a creepy thriller that’s been described as ‘so bad it’s good’.

The first season of Mayfair Witches has just recently been included as part of the streaming giant’s extensive offering. In just a matter of days, it has become one of the most watched titles among subscribers.

At the time of writing, it is currently seventh in the top 10 series in the UK. It is sandwiched between Hostage and My Life With the Walter Boys. It seems despite a middling 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix viewers just can’t get enough.

There’s also good news for those without a subscription to the platform. That is because all episodes are also available to stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

Based on the series of novels Lives of the Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice, who also wrote Interview With the Vampire, the series follows renowned neurosurgeon Rowan Fielding.

She has developed a serious problem, however. When she gets mad, she kills with her mind.

Across eight episodes, she undergoes a search for answers which leads her to New Orleans, the home of her biological family. Here she discovers she the heir to a family of witches which has been haunted by a sinister presence for generations.

That presence is the spirit Lasher. Ciprien (Sip) Grieve, a devoted agent to the Talamasca, is assigned to protect Rowan.

He soon realises he’s in way over his head as secrets are revealed that could tarnish Rowan’s family and his role in the Talamasca. As Lasher’s seduction of Rowan deepens her role in an ancient prophecy becomes clear. This prophecy culminates in the birth of Lasher.

Rowan is determined to develop powers to fulfil her purpose as a healer, but when tragedy strikes, she must put aside her own desires and fight to save her family. The show features Alexandra Daddario in the lead role, who has previously appeared in True Detective and The White Lotus.

The eight-part first season is described by Netflix as ‘imaginative and suspenseful’, while other critics have dubbed it a ‘creepy thriller’. While one reviewer noted that period drama fans should find something to enjoy just as much as fantasy buffs due to how it moves its story back and forth in time.

While someone else praised the lead star performance and genre bending impact: “Daddario, who was a standout in the first season of HBO’s The White Lotus, makes an appealing lead in the eerie gothic series, which leans on its horror roots.”

Watch Wednesday on Netflix for free with Sky

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Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.

This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Wednesday.

Plenty of fans have also shared their recommendation. One said: “From the first episode, I was hooked—the storytelling unfolds in such an intriguing way, keeping me captivated as each new piece of the mystery falls into place.

“If you’re on the fence about watching because of the reviews—give it a chance. You might just find yourself just as enchanted as I am.”

Another added: “As someone who hasn’t read the novels & loves fantasy that takes hints from real life – I recommend it to all those who might have enjoyed series like Sabrina on Netflix.”

Meanwhile, others have acknowledged the show’s flaws but still give it their approval. One person simply noted: “Mayfair Witches is so bad but so good.” In agreement, another replied: “This is where I’m at. I can’t quit.”

Mayfair Witches is streaming on Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

HUMAN remains potentially containing contagious diseases are slowly being revealed on a creepy UK island.

While there are some spooky islands in the UK, this haunting isle was a former burial site and is off-limits to the public.

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Deadman’s Island is a small island in the River Medway estuary of Kent and has long been the subject of gruesome tales.

More than 200 years ago, the island was used as a burial ground for convicts who died aboard prison ships, known as hulks, anchored nearby in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Many succumbed to horrendous conditions with regular outbreaks of disease sweeping through the ships.

Hundreds were buried in unmarked wooden coffins, six feet under the mud.

Trevor Mason, who runs Deadman’s Island social media page, told the BBC: “Unfortunately in many cases sailors were sick, and in some cases they died, so while the boats were moored here those who succumbed to those contagious diseases were buried.”

“The sailors who would have been living on board those ships must have been in horrendous conditions – not being able to come off the ship to go [on] land and see their families etc, and the risk of catching a disease from their fellow sailor.”

He added that an archaeologist revealed some of the remains may still contain contagious diseases.

For many years the grim finds remained invisible to the human eye.

But now, changing sea levels and erosion are bringing the human remains to the surface.

It’s not uncommon for them to be washed out into the Thames Estuary or discovered on the Kent coastline.

In 2016 the remains of more than 200 humans were found on the island, believed to belong to men and boys who had died on board the floating jails.

The uninhabited mudbank is owned by Natural England, who lease it to two people.

Visitors are banned from the island, though camera crews are sometimes permitted.

Human bones are littered among the shells, while coffins that were once six feet under have risen to the surface, threatening to expose their contents.

As well as a graveyard of bones, the protected wetland also serves as an important breeding and nesting site for birds.

The Sun paid a visit to the hidden UK island last year where you can only visit by kayak.

It was said that local fisherman spotted human ghosts calling out to them to come and save them.

Historians have often been left open-mouthed as they continue to uncover skulls, ribs and jawbones on the island.

Previous footage shows dozens of human remains scaled in barnacles and littering the sludgy banks.

What looks like it could come straight out of a horror film, the truth behind the creepy area was revealed back in 2017.

A WOMAN has been left totally lost for words after receiving a passive-aggressive letter from a neighbour she’s never spoken to.

So if you thought your neighbours were bad, you may want to think again.

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Not only was the typed-up letter extremely harsh, but it even accused the anonymous woman and her husband Joe of being ‘creepy’ and ‘strange.’

Stunned by the note and unsure on what to do next, the woman who lives in a flat with her hubby, took to social media to ask for advice.

Posting on Reddit on the r/BadNeighbors thread, the woman uploaded a snap of the direct letter and titled her post “At a complete loss.”

She then asked: “What would you do if you received this letter from a neighbour you’ve never spoken to?”

The long letter read: ‘Can you please stop with all of the noise. I live below you. I work from home full time and I am in school full time, online, at ECU for accounting. 

‘I am also having to take care of my 13 year old dog in-between those times. In case you haven’t noticed, I am always home. 

‘Your loud banging and stomping around is in all of my recorded WebEx meetings and proctored exams. 

‘Can you please, for the love of God, stop with all of the noise.

‘Every time you bang your dining room table chair on the floor, slam your kitchen drawers, and have a martial argument you are also causing my animals, and myself, to be in a constant state of hyper awareness and stress. It makes me jump and scares my animals.”

The neighbour then accused the woman of being ‘creepy,’ as the letter went on: ‘Why are you coming home 5 times a day in different cars and sometimes parking on the side of the building and creeping past my window? The other day you were staking my apartment out. Why? 

‘It’s creepy. I’m installing a camera to keep track of your strange activity because it is not normal. Please stop looking in my window while walking your dog and please stop parking your truck directly in front of my apartment window.’

The neighbour, who claimed to have been a property manager since 2016, continued: ‘I am not sure why it bothers you so much that I am home all the time. A lot of people work from home and do school remotely. 

What would you do if you received this letter from a neighbour you’ve never spoken to?

Reddit poster

‘I am at a loss as to why it bothers you so badly and makes you suspicious of me. I have family and friends in law enforcement. If l have to report you for noise complaints and suspicious activity I will. 

‘I have lived in this apartment for 5 years and you guys are the only neighbours that I’ve had that intentionally try to make my life a living hell. 

‘Per the NC lease agreement, it is my right to live in a safe quiet place. You are currently not respecting that law.’

As well as keeping a copy of the letter, the neighbour also stressed that they would be ‘keeping track of all activity to further support my case in the instance I need to show proof.’

The letter continued: ‘I really hope we can be done with the passive aggressiveness and become civil neighbours. You may be accustomed to living in a loud angry household, but I am not.’

Reddit users react 

But Reddit users were left gobsmacked by the letter and many eagerly raced to the comments to share their shock and advice. 

One person said: “So YOU have to change your life because THEY work odd hours? Umm no. 

“They are trying to threaten you…tell them to go ahead and call the police. 

Ignore it, but keep it if they try any other type of communication with you

Reddit user

“They can’t do anything about your living noises if they aren’t excessive. This person feels entitled.” 

Another added: “Talk to the landlord and inform them of your confusion and that these allegations are groundless.” 

A third commented: “Ignore it, but keep it if they try any other type of communication with you. They should be contacting property management if they have a noise issue with you.” 

Meanwhile, someone else penned: “My response would depend on what complaints were valid, if any.”

I had a two-year bin war with my next door neighbour

Gemma Smith and Sophie Wood were engaged in a weekly feud for a year over their wheelie bins.

When Gemma moved next door to Sophie, 34, who is unemployed, in November 2020 they were civil to one another.

Gemma, who is single and doesn’t work due to stress, says: “Sophie seemed nice and we’d stop and exchange pleasantries.

“But it all changed at the beginning of 2022, when Sophie’s bin was full and she put her rubbish bag in mine.

“I took it out and put it on top of her bin.

“It fell off, gulls pecked at it and there was rubbish everywhere.”

Both women refused to clear up the mess, claiming it was the other one’s fault.

Gemma says: “I felt so angry.

“There was cat litter spread all over my drive — it was absolutely disgusting and we ended up shouting at each other.

“We were both as bad as each other — we’d walk past each other and I’d tell her she was a lazy cow and to clean up after herself.

“We’d scream insults at each other.”

Within six months Sophie had set up a CCTV camera and threatened to report Gemma to the council.

In retaliation, Gemma set up the baby monitor — which can record video — to try to pin more wrongdoing on Sophie.

Then last July Sophie spotted Gemma in tears on her doorstep following a burglary at her home.

Gemma says: “Sophie came straight round and asked if there was anything she could do.

“We are now the best of friends and help each other out all the time.”

In response, the woman shared: “The complaints are not valid at all.” 

At the same time, one user suggested: “Perhaps talk to her, and explain the noise? If you do make noise, just shift things around and show an effort.”

To this, the frustrated woman wrote back and explained: “I was really upset and anxious about it.

“We joke about it now, whenever my husband farts (it can be LOUD) or I drop my phone, we roll our eyes and say the cops might be on the way.” 

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Pyramiden, a town in the Arctic Circle that has stood empty of humans since 1998, is a living museum to Soviet life. Visit today and you will find cups left on the table, skiing equipment abandoned in the hallway and newspaper cuttings on the wall

An eerie ghost town has been left exactly as it was when crews abandoned it 27 years ago.

The Mary Celeste ship has been etched into the memories of school children for decades. The American merchant brigantine was discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores on December 4, 1872, with food still on plates as if the crew was about to sit down to dinner. The mystery surrounding the abandoned ship has captivated people for over 150 years, leading to numerous theories about the fate of its crew.

Far less well known is the story of Pyramiden, a town in the Arctic Circle that has stood empty of humans since 1998. Visit today and you will find cups left on the table, skiing equipment abandoned in the hallway and newspaper cuttings on the wall.

“Walking Pyramiden today gives you a glimpes into the Soviet-style nostalgia, outdoor as well as indoor. Best of all, its not an artificial scenery aimed for some kind of movie-production. This is real. The smell of papirosa, likely the strongest cigarette ever made, stains on the indoor walls. Hammer and Sickle ornaments and the Soviet star are used as decoration around the town,” the Barent Observer writes of Pyramiden.

READ MORE: ‘Travel’s hottest destination – a location that’s killed 1/1000th of all visitors’

“In a remote room inside the Palace of Culture are a few empty bottles of the cheap domestic Rossiya- and Priviet vodka. A book with the transcripts from the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union lays on a desk. That was the first congress presided over by Mikhail Gorbachev as General Secretary of the Central Committee.”

There are few signs of life beyond the occasional hardy seabird, an Arctic fox or a polar bear looking for its next meal.

Unlike the Mary Celeste, there is no mystery around why the occupants of Pyramiden left in such a hurry. The Russian state-owned mining company Trust Arktikugol closed down Pyramiden’s mining operations in April 1998, following 53 years of continuous activity.

The end of the settlement neared as coal prices dwindled, difficulties with coal extraction from the mountain became more apparent, and 141 people tragically lost their lives in 1996 at Operafjellet. Miners and their families perished in the plane crash that had been ferrying them from Pyramiden to Barentsburg. Such was the scale of the tragedy and the impact it had on the town of 1,000 that its continued operation proved impossible.

READ MORE: Beautiful Game of Thrones city brought back from the brink of ‘death by tourism’READ MORE: Inside Antarctica’s biggest tourist destination – a mass whale grave on an active volcano

The town was first founded by Sweden in 1910 but was sold to the USSR 17 years later. From 1955 to 1998, up to nine million tonnes of coal were thought to have been pumped out of Pyramiden. Svalbard belongs to Norway under the Svalbard treaty, which allows citizens from all its member countries to become residents. The treaty reads: “All citizens and all companies of every nation under the treaty are allowed to become residents and to have access to Svalbard including the right to fish, hunt or undertake any kind of maritime, industrial, mining or trade activity.”

In its pomp, it boasted a theatre, studios for creative arts, and a library. The schools, 24-hour canteen, and sports complex are all gone. All that remains is a statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, the northernmost monument to him in the world.

Today, the main thing occupying the ghost town now are the terrifying polar bears. However, six people operate as rifle-carrying warders in the summer. Despite the nearest settlement being some 31 miles away, dark tourism has been gently ticking along since 2013, but you can only access Pyramiden by boat or snowmobile for nine months of the year. One visitor to the town in 2018 wrote in Haaretz : “There are thousands of angry polar bears all around us.”