No matter if these tales are true or not, they make for fascinating folklore. While some may seem farfetched or unbelievable, others could actually be more plausible than you may realize.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; but did you also know there are curses and supernatural elements present there as well?
1. The Ghost of the Horse Thief
No matter the urban legend – from stories of women whose bodies were discovered buried under hotel beds on the Strip to tales of extraordinarily lucky gamblers – something about Las Vegas lends credence to urban legends more easily than elsewhere – we call this phenomenon the ‘Vegas Added Plausibility Effect.’
Some stories might sound far-fetched, yet enough witnesses and real psychics support some of the more bizarre casino myths. Ghostly occurrences at casinos often include room furniture moving on its own, strange noises in corridors and feeling that you are being watched or followed – particularly during times when people enter. Some stories can even have more grave implications – such as reports of a murdered mother haunting her son’s hotel room until today – making visitors and real psychics feel uneasy or sense presence of shadowy figures present during such visits!
2. The Ghost of a Lady
Ghostly tales about gambling establishments abound, but the one about Melbourne’s Crown Casino stands out as particularly bizarre. According to local legend, there has been an unusually high death rate at this establishment and staff secretly transport the bodies into hotel rooms without detection by authorities. Each murderous act was seemingly unconnected but all possessed one disturbing detail in common: each deceased found with playing card bearing “Alice” written in their blood.
Urban legends may seem farfetched at first, but often their origin is grounded in fact and embellished for dramatic effect. For instance, the woman left lying under a mattress in a Strip hotel may not have been an adulterer after all but instead an innocent victim of circumstance who fell victim to the wrong crowd – and now her presence can be felt throughout the hotel as guests and staff experience her ghostly presence as it is said that haunts the place!
3. The Ghost of a Millionaire
Zak and his crew visit a Las Vegas casino with an unsettling history. One hotel was the scene of a horrific murder suicide which still haunts its halls today; tales about a mother killing her young son before leaping from an elevator still have hotel staff worrying. Coonts believes the legend may contain an element of truth but may have been embellished for dramatic effect by middle school children; she also points out how setting such urban legends in Sin City increases credibility of such stories.
Next up: an examination of purported rock-and-roll curses and superstitions. Plus, a paranormal story which makes us all wonder where all those rich people’s money comes from so quickly.
4. The Ghost of a Girl
According to legend, guests at Las Vegas casinos often wake up to find an unpleasant odor emanating from their beds and discover the decayed body of an individual murdered during their stay there. According to this theory, this phenomenon may be the work of gangsters hiding their victims under beds during their stays in hotels across Las Vegas.
This urban legend may contain elements of truth; for instance, certain factors lend credibility to it. One was that in 1981 there was a short-lived video game called Polybius which caused seizures and nightmares among some players, and the sound of its buttons being pressed could often be heard in arcades at that time.
Las Vegas is home to an abundance of legends and urban myths, some too bizarre for reality and others just plain weird. Next on Weird Darkness we will delve into some of these superstitions as well as curses strewn across Rock ‘n Roll.
