Haunted eBay Items

Having been in the field for so long, I have quite a collection of haunted items. In the "old days" so to speak, such items weren't very desirable to most people. The paranormal wasn't part of pop culture and people who ended up with haunted or cursed objects just wanted rid of them.

Today, it's a different story. Several reality television shows have featured haunted objects. Everyone is aware of the Ed and Lorraine Warren collection that includes the infamous Annabelle, and there are museums devoted to haunted objects.

Because of popular interest, haunted items have become a business. On any given day, a check of popular auction site eBay will reveal an interesting selection of offerings. Many of them are of questionable origin. People buy based on faith or intuition, or perhaps just fascination. How, after all, do you prove on a listing that an item is haunted?

Haunted dolls are a category in and of themselves and make up a large portion of items usually listed for sale. So do rings and pieces of jewelry purported to have spirits or djinn attached to them. Aside from that, there are often more curious items that show up. Perusing current listings, here are some of the more interesting things currently on offer:

First up...well, I'm not quite sure what to call this exactly. As is typical in many of these listings, there are a string of key words in the title to draw attention and this one really tries to run the gamut. It's noted as:

'Satanic, Demonic, Antique, Rare, Haunted, Occult, Voodoo, Ritual, Black Magic, Djinn."

They must have run out of word count before they got to ghost, or perhaps more importantly, alligator because this item is actually some kind of taxidermy creation of an alligator's head with a crystal bowl. I'll let the description speak for it:

"The skin of what appears to be a small alligator encompasses a crystal or thick glass bowl-in which, bone fragments, ash and even incense could be used for ritual purposes. The presence of the skin serves as a summoning element that represents death, and with this, it became a powerful aid in numerous dark, necromantic rituals over the years.

This one has a buy it now option with the low price of $250.00 plus shipping. More info here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Satanic-Demonic-Antique-Rare-Haunted-Occult-Voodoo-Ritual-Black-Magic-Djinn-/272506238586?hash=item3f72a3367a:g:JTwAAOSwa~BYaVLD

Next up, a listing for a haunted key. Keys are another popular haunted item with numerous listings. This one in particular is from the Rogers Hotel Room 404 in Waxahachie, Texas. The listing opens like this:

"Authentic Haunted Hotel Room Skeleton Key and Fob Historic Rogers Hotel Waxahachie Texas Bonnie & Clyde Stayed Here!
Genuine hotel room skeleton key and fob to a CONFIRMED haunted hotel. room 404."

Now, like me, you probably read that and assumed that 404 was a haunted room and that Bonnie & Clyde stayed at the hotel. But reading a bit further down in the listing, we learn that yes, the 4th floor is reportedly haunted but there is no detail offered about room 404 itself.

We are also told at the end that:

"Frank Sinatra and Bonnie & Clyde are rumored to be past guest at the Rogers Hotel."

There's plenty of accounts of the hauntings at the Rogers so it's certainly interesting in that regard. Some digging into historical records may reveal whether or not some of these historical figures stayed at the hotel, but personally, for a price of $999.00, plus another 75 bucks to ship it (yes you read that right) I would expect this key to have been in Clyde's pocket the day they were shot.

If you're so inclined to bid, check it out here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Haunted-Hotel-Room-Skeleton-Key-Rogers-Hotel-Waxahachie-Texas-Bonnie-Clyde-WOW-/182423333889?hash=item2a79472c01:g:QcsAAOSwtJZXWNbu

Next up, if you're looking for something more than an item to display on a shelf, then look no further than the haunted furniture section where you'll find this gem. Fair warning, you're going to need very deep pockets for this one:

Haunted Wolfe Manor Couch.

Featured in numerous ghost hunting shows, including Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. From the listing:

"...this antique couch was a hub of activity within the Wolfe Manor. A spirit laid on the couch and communicated with Zak, even to the point of verbalizing Zak's name.

It is truly a one-of-a-kind haunted couch."

On that matter, the listing is certainly accurate. Wolfe Manor has been torn down and this is one of the items rescued from it before the bulldozers moved in. This rare item can be yours for a mere $14,000.00:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HAUNTED-WOLFE-MANOR-Haunted-Couch-/142223166113?hash=item211d294aa1:g:QQ0AAOSwPCVX6Fih