Haunted vehicles

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Haunted vehicles, also known as ghost vehicles or cursed vehicles are vehicles which are believed to be supernaturally afflicted, potentially holding curses or being inhabitated by spirits.

Contents

Haunted vehicles can be based on real life vehicles, or urban legends detailing them. The use of haunted vehicles is a common trope in horror media.

Types

Ships

Trains

Planes

Following the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, reported sightings of deceased crew members sitting aboard other L-1011s, with speculation around the refitting of salvaged parts of the flight onto other planes causing these apparitions.; [1] [2] [3] A 1976 book and 1978 television film, both named The Ghost of Flight 401, were released.

The TV series Ghost Whisperer had a two-part episode featuring ghosts that died onboard a airplane.

Automobiles

James Dean's car, a Porsche 550 known as "Little Bastard" is a well known case of a "haunted car". James Dean himself died in the vehicle, and it is said to have caught fire years after his death, and it is claimed that parts taken from the car have caused crashes and accidents. The transaxle was salvaged from the car and bought by Zak Bagans in May 2021. He spent $382,000 on the item, which he planned to showcase at his Haunted Museum in Las Vegas. [4] [5] [6]

Vehicles which have the been the place of assassinations or other violent deaths are often deemed haunted, such as Archduke Franz Ferdinand's 1911 Graf, and J.F.K.'s Kennedy Lincoln Continental. The term "death car" has been given to vehicles such as Jack Kerkovian's 1968 Volkswagen Type 2 that he used for assisted suicide of his patients [7] , and the 1934 Ford in which notorius criminals Bonnie and Clyde were killed. [6] [8]

Urban legends

The Black Volga is an urban legend originating in Eastern Europe, detailing a black GAZ-21 Volga used to abduct and murder people. [6] [9]

Other notable urban legends include a double-decker in London [6] [10] and a phantom car wreck in Surrey. [11] A 1964 Dodge 330 dubbed "The Golden Eagle" has been rumoured to be the inspiration behind Stephen King's 1983 novel Christine , and to have been the cause of a number of deaths. [6]

The concept of haunted vehicles have been used in different forms of media, being classified as techno-horror. Stephen King's first wrote about a haunted vehicle in the 1973 short story Trucks . Following this was his most notable work on the subject, the 1983 novel Christine, and the 1983 film of the same name. He revisited this concept with his 1986 film Maximum Overdrive , 1997 film Trucks , and 2002 novel From a Buick 8 . [12] [13]

Examples [14]

American paranormal investigator Zak Bagans, the host of Ghost Adventures has purchased multiple supposedly haunted vehicles, including James Dean's car's transaxle, Jack Kerkovian's minibus, and David Koresh's 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. [7] [15] [16] [17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins, Greg (2005). Florida's Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore. Vol. 1. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press. pp. 35–40.
  2. ↑ Floyd, E. Randall. (2002). In the Realm of Ghosts and Hauntings. Boyne City, Michigan: Harbor House. pp. 64–67.
  3. ↑ Hauck, Dennis William (2002). Haunted Places. London: Penguin.
  4. ↑ Gutoskey, Ellen; Puchko, Kristy (2023-01-23). "16 Supposedly Cursed Objects and Places". Mental Floss . Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  5. ↑ Mills, James (2020-11-03). "The curse of James Dean's 'Little Bastard' Porsche 550 Spyder". Hagerty UK. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Cataldo, Lou (25 February 2024). "10 Of The Most Haunted Cars In Automotive History". carbuzz.com. CarBuzz. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Infamous Kevorkian van sold to ghost hunter". Archived from the original on September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  8. ↑ Morgan, Amber (25 June 2024). "Bonnie And Clyde's 'Death Car': The Ford That Was Left With 120 Bullet Holes After Police Ambushed The Couple". allthatsintersting.com. All That's Interesting. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  9. ↑ Brunvand, J.H. (2001). Encyclopedia of Urban Legends . ABC-CLIO. ISBN   9781576070765.
  10. ↑ Craig, Zoe (26 October 2016). "London's Phantom Double-Decker Bus". londonist.com. Londonist. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  11. ↑ O'Brien, Christy (29 October 2022). "Looking back at the infamous A3 'ghost crash' near Guildford that led to a grim discovery nearly 20 years ago". getsurrey.com. Get Surrey. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  12. ↑ Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew; Findley, Mary (2004). Spectral America: phantoms and the national imagination. Madison London: University of Wisconsin Press/Popular Press. p. 207. ISBN   0299199541.
  13. ↑ Deininger, Keith (23 August 2020). "Every Killer Car In Stephen King Books & Short Stories". screenrant.com. ScreenRant. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  14. ↑ Etemesi, Phillip (21 August 2023). "Best Haunted Vehicle Movies of All Time". movieweb.com. Movie Web. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  15. ↑ "James Dean's Infamous 'Little Bastard' Porsche Transaxle Sells for $382,000". TheDrive. June 2021.
  16. ↑ "Waco Cult Leader David Koresh '68 Camaro From Deadly Siege ... Zak Bagans Selling Creepy Artifact". tmz.com. TMZ. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  17. ↑ Charles, Rob (15 December 2021). "The Strange Story Behind American Cult Leader David Koresh's Camaro: 'Armageddon's Relic'". hotcars.com. Hot Cars. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
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