By Kathy Murray

L is for…

Lemures
Evil spirits in ancient Rome. It is believed that there are certain situations where someone can become a lemure. People who died without surviving relatives, executed criminals, drowning victims and those who died under violent circumstances, are likely to become lemures. To get rid of a troublesome lemure, one must bang on drums.

Loretto
In this Virginian mansion, furniture slams around the upper bedrooms, and usually ends up blocking the doorways. A woman holding a candle also roams the hallways. Built on top of an ancient Indian burial ground, the house echoes with disembodied voices.

Little Fountain Creek
This creek in Dead Man's Canyon, Colorado, was the site of a grisly murder in 1863. The ghost of victim William Harkins, with the axe still lodged in his forehead, chases anyone who comes too close to his territory.

La Residencia
Now a nursing home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, La Residencia used to be a general hospital. Two nurses have reported seeing a particular wall in the basement ‘bleed’. A young boy also haunts Room 311. He and his father both died in an automobile crash, and the boy's constant crying keeps the staff from letting anyone occupy the room.

Leap Castle
This castle in Ireland is haunted by too many ghosts to count. Close to the castle is a dungeon with spikes at the bottom of a shaft, where many human remains were later found. The spirit most often seen is accompanied by an odor so foul that it has come close to knocking people out.

Lemp Mansion
Such tragedy lingers in the air at this mansion in St. Louis, Missouri. Four members of the Lemp family, at separate times, killed themselves and now haunt the building. Reports of apparitions of the Lemps are common, but it's thought to be the ghost of Charles, the last to die by his own hand, who causes the most activity. Candles light by themselves, cold spots come and go, as do vibrations from the floor, and doors lock themselves. Many who have visited the house have experienced such feelings of being watched that some have actually fled from the building.