The 9 Most Successful Ghosts Of All Time
July 22, 2017 6:00 AM ‐ Paranormal • Ghosts
This article is more than seven years old and was last updated in May 2019.
Have you ever wondered who the highest earning ghosts of all time are? Let's take a look at the spirits which have pulled the most tourists into their haunted houses or the real life spooks which have sold the most books.
9. Hell Fire Club, Dublin
Photo: © Joe King
It's been described as "the most terrifying experience in Dublin" and it's not surprising when you hear that it was built on the disturbed graves on an ancient burial site, at the time locals were convinced the ruined hunting lodge at the top of Montpelier Hill was haunted by the devil himself.
So, it seems we have to credit Lucifer as the demon who has put this Irish tourist attraction on the map.
8. Jamaica Inn, Cornwall, England
Photo: © Trish Steel
More than 100 years ago a stranger walked into Jamaica Inn, a pub in the middle of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. The man sat alone in a corner drinking a mug of ale, until he was called outside. He left his drink of the table, walked out of the inn and was never seen alive again but ever since his ghost has been drawing tourists into the pub.
The traditional pub as built in 1750 and now markets itself as a haunted inn. Due to its history of hosting smugglers the pub has been the subject of books, television shows and an Alfred Hitchcock movie. That unsuspecting stranger sipping on an ale years ago as inadvertently gone on to make the inn one of the most famous pubs in the South of England.
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7. Casper
OK, he may be fictional but stop a strange on the street and shout at them "name a famous ghost" and they'll panic, cower and whimper "Casper." Casper made his first appearance in the children's book 'The Friendly Ghost' in 1939, he's had his own a comic book series, an animated television series and even a big budget movie. The friendly spooky must have raked in a decent chunk of cash for his creators Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo.
6. Hampton Court Palace, London
There are a few ghosts which the events team at Hampton Court Palace seem very happy to perpetuate as they get visitors flocking to the royal palace in Richmond-upon-Thames. One of the palace's most famous spooks is the Grey Lady of Hampton Court, it's said she was once a servant at the house, Prince Edward's nurse and the carer of Queen Elizabeth I.
She was first sighted at the palace in 1829 after the tomb where she was laid to rest was disturbed. The tourist attraction even released CCTV footage in 2003 which apparently showed the Grey Lady open a fire exit door, leaving security staff baffled.
5. Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
The Scottish capital is said to be one of the most haunted cities in the world, and the castle which overlooks it also has its fair share of spooks and like other tourist attraction on this list, the ghostly tales do't seem to put off perspective visitors despite the fact many tourists have reported plenty of paranormal activity over the years.
So who is this ghost that's boosting ticket sales at the historic fortress? Well, there are actually a few, the most commonly sighted are an old man in apron, a piper who mysteriously lost his life after getting lost in the tunnels below the castle and a headless drummer boy... just don't ask him to do the company's books.
4. The Enfield Poltergeist, North London
The 2016 movie 'The Conjuring 2' is already the seventh highest grossing horror movie of all time and it's based on the true story of a family living in a council house in Enfield in London. Their story is one of the most famous poltergeist stories of all time.
As well as 'The Conjuring 2' the story was also the subject of the definitive book for ghost hunters, 'This House Is Haunted' by Guy Lyon Playfair, one of the original investigators at the case. Playfair's account of the story was inspiration for the 2015 Sky Living series 'The Enfield Haunting' starring Timothy Spall.
3. The Amityville House, Long Island, New York
It maybe widely regarded as a hoax but the story of the Lutz family who were haunted by the murdered former residents of their Dutch Colonial house situated in a suburban neighbourhood in Amityville is one of the highest earning properties of all time.
In 1977, Jay Anson published his book 'The Amityville Horror' which was based on the haunting, the book has gone on to inspire a total of 13 Amityville movies including the 1979 horror classic 'The Amityville Horror' and a remake in 2005.
2. The Tower Of London
Photo: © Pikous
Millions of tourists flock to London every year to uncover its history and one of the city's busiest and most famous attractions is the Tower Of London, it's regarded as one of the most haunted buildings in London and with a history of over 900 years of torture and execution, it's no surprise.
The most notable spook visitors to the historic castle hope to spot is that of Anne Boleyn, the wife of King Henry VIII. She was beheaded in 1536, and her headless body has been seen walking throughout the building, often near the place of her execution.
1. King Hamlet
Photo: © Will Hart
The one ghost who has drawn in more crowds and filled the most seats at performances over the year must be King Hamlet who appears in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. The bard was no stranger to including ghosts in his plays, like 'MacBeth' and 'Julius Caesar' but in 'Hamlet' the spirit plays an integral role.
The play's central character is Hamlet, but the ghost of his father, King Hamlet appears three times in the play to tell Hamlet that he was murdered by his treacherous brother Claudius, and asks Hamlet to avenge his death.
'Hamlet' has been described as "the world's most filmed story after Cinderella", there have been countless on screen version produced for television and cinema, dating back to a a five minute film produced in 1900. Full feature length silent movie versions were released in 1907, 1908, 1910, 1913, 1917, and 1920. The story even featured in a 2002 episode of The Simpsons entitled 'Tales From The Public Domain'.
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