Editorial attribution
Diana Clark covers haunted places, paranormal cases and urban legends for Morbid Index, with a focus on tracing a reported haunting or legend back to its earliest documented account and marking clearly where later retellings added detail the original source never supported.
This is an editorial byline. Read our attribution policy and sourcing standards.
38 entries
The Index · Haunted Places
Why do dogs jump from Overtoun Bridge near Dumbarton? What the 1895 records, 2005 reports and the mink-scent theory show, and which claims are unverified.
Nov 3, 2026
The Index · Paranormal
What are the Marfa lights? Field studies tie most sightings to headlights on US 67. Where the 1883 story comes from, and what remains unexplained.
Nov 3, 2026
The Index · Paranormal Cases
London's 1762 ghost accused a man of murder and sent its promoters to the pillory. Yet the period's own summary admits the noises were never explained.
Nov 1, 2026
The Index · Historical Folklore
Hamelin's legend points to 130 children lost in 1284, but every surviving text is later. What the oldest records show and which theories hold up.
Nov 1, 2026
The Index
Explore the Hand of Glory's sleeping-household tales and the object at Whitby Museum, distinguishing collected folklore from the exhibit's known history.
Oct 26, 2026
The Index
Read the history of Mercy Lena Brown's death and exhumation in Rhode Island, with family records, tuberculosis context and the limits of the Dracula link.
Oct 26, 2026
Lore & Explained · Paranormal Cases
Did a ghost help convict Edward Shue? The 1897 trial reporting separates Mary Heaster’s claimed visions from the murder evidence and later Greenbrier folklore.
Oct 9, 2026
News · Games
The Conjuring: Unspoken pairs Red Lion Inn’s Florrie legend with Vinea. Explore the real Avebury pub, old grimoire name and limits of the haunting claims.
Oct 7, 2026
The Index · Dark History
Marie Laveau was a real New Orleans religious leader. Archival records reveal her family, Catholic life, Voudou practice, and the legends added after her death.
Sep 27, 2026
The Index · Haunted Places
Poveglia has a documented Venetian quarantine history. Its global reputation as a haunted asylum island is largely a much newer media narrative.
Sep 21, 2026
The Index · Haunted Places
Borley Rectory became England's most famous haunting through reports, Harry Price's investigations and a lasting dispute over the evidence.
Sep 21, 2026
The Index · Unsolved Cases
Eight people were killed in Villisca, Iowa in 1912. The historic crime remains unsolved; the house's later paranormal reputation is a separate story.
Sep 21, 2026
Lore & Explained · Urban Legends
Hanako-san is a modern Japanese school ghost, not a documented dead child. Her third-stall ritual, variants and 1990s media boom show how living folklore travels.
Sep 16, 2026
The Index · Haunted Places
The Queen Mary's wartime service, collision with HMS Curacoa and Long Beach afterlife are documented. Its ghosts and Room B340 reputation belong to a different kind of history.
Sep 16, 2026
The Index · Paranormal
In 1955, families near Kelly, Kentucky reported small figures around a farmhouse. The police response is real; an alien siege is not established.
Sep 16, 2026
Lore & Explained · Urban Legends
Spring-Heeled Jack emerged from 1830s London reports of assaults, frightening disguises and impossible leaps. What is documented, what newspapers shaped, and how a Victorian scare became a monster.
Sep 16, 2026
Lore & Explained · Folklore
Teke Teke is a modern Japanese school legend about a legless spirit that drags itself on its arms. The railway accident said to have caused it has never been documented -- it's part of the story, not a confirmed event.
Sep 13, 2026
The Index · Folklore
SCP-173 started as a single 2007 post on 4chan's /x/ board. It's now a Creative Commons-licensed, collaboratively written fiction universe with thousands of entries -- and it has never claimed to be real.
Sep 13, 2026