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Law enforcement officers often face demanding situations. They encounter horrifying crime scenes, are tasked with delivering distressing news, and frequently receive little recognition for their efforts despite working tirelessly to resolve cases. However, there are times when officers responding to emergencies encounter something entirely unexpected. Occasionally, they don’t even need to leave the station to experience unusual phenomena.
10. Mysterious Figure on Surveillance Camera
Officer Karl Romero was on duty at the Espanola police station in New Mexico on a calm Saturday evening in 2014, monitoring the various surveillance cameras installed around the premises. Everything seemed normal until he noticed something unusual on one of the cameras focused on the station’s entrance.
Upon closely examining the footage, Romero initially assumed the bright white “blob” he saw was an insect. However, when he noticed the legs beneath it, he realized he was looking at what he could only describe as a spectral figure. Knowing the station’s entrance was secured by a gate and an alarm system, Romero concluded that the figure on the footage could not be a human.
When Romero reported his sighting to his superiors the following day, most of them believed his account. Some even shared their own eerie experiences, mentioning that they frequently heard unexplained noises in the building and had witnessed strange occurrences in the lobby. Romero shared his story with KOAT TV, expressing his belief in ghosts and suggesting that the spectral figure he observed might be connected to the unsolved murders that have occurred in the area over the years.
9. The Soul Collector
Retired Lt. Frank Marra was among the officers assigned to search through the debris of the World Trade Center towers in September 2001. It wasn’t until 2013, while conducting interviews for a 9/11-related book titled Hallowed Ground, that he recalled encountering something supernatural during his extensive hours at the site.
One detective being interviewed mentioned a ghostly story about an elderly Red Cross worker who appeared to some officers during their work. The woman attempted to offer them coffee and sandwiches, reminiscent of Red Cross duties during World War II. Hearing this, Marra remembered seeing a Black woman in a Red Cross uniform multiple times during his work. She carried a tray of sandwiches and vanished each time he tried to get a closer look.
Several officers stationed at the site after the attacks reported seeing large shadows and “dark masses” among the wreckage. After consulting a medium about his experience and learning that he might have encountered a soul collector guiding spirits to the afterlife, Marra became convinced that this was indeed what he had witnessed.
8. The Enfield Poltergeist
In 1977, a seemingly ordinary house in Enfield became the center of a major news story. The reason wasn’t a crime or a missing child but rather Peggy Hodgson’s claim that her home had been invaded by a malevolent presence. Hodgson stated that her daughter, Janet, informed her about her brothers’ beds shaking and vibrating. The following night, Hodgson heard a loud noise from the children’s bedroom. When she investigated, she witnessed a chest of drawers moving on its own. Despite their efforts, neither she nor the children could return it to its original position.
Beyond these occurrences, the house was filled with unexplained knocking sounds, and Janet appeared to levitate above her bed. The case eventually caught the attention of renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. At the time, there was significant debate and skepticism, with many accusing Hodgson and her children of fabricating the story. However, amidst these discussions about the authenticity of the Enfield haunting, WP Carolyn Heeps signed an affidavit affirming that she had witnessed a supernatural event at Hodgson’s home after being called to assist the family.
In her statement, Heeps confirmed seeing a chair float slightly above the ground before it shifted over a meter (4 ft) on its own. Following this, the police left the premises, explaining they could not help the family as no criminal activity was involved.
Regardless of its truthfulness, the Enfield events were dramatized in the popular horror film The Conjuring 2, which includes a scene where a police officer observes the chair moving independently.
7. The Haunting of Capitol Theatre
Sheriff’s deputy Dave Murphy was a staunch skeptic of the paranormal until he took on a security role at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City in 2012. Murphy appeared on the Syfy TV show Paranormal Witness, where he recounted the eerie experiences he and other officers encountered during their time at the theater.
Murphy dismissed all paranormal claims until he witnessed dark shadows moving through walls one night. Doors began slamming shut on their own despite the theater being empty. He then heard ghostly voices and music, and eventually, a spectral figure appeared on stage. On one occasion, Murphy even saw a woman dressed in early 1900s attire walk past him in the control room where he was stationed. He also described how the shadows he initially saw seemed to turn hostile, physically assaulting him to drive him out of the building.
Blair Fuller, the administrative manager of the Salt Lake County Center for the Arts, also experienced supernatural activity in the building, including an elevator operating on its own and file doors opening and closing without explanation. Fuller believes the primary spirit haunting the theater is that of a 17-year-old usher who perished in a fire at the venue in 1947.
6. The Entities of Silbury Hill
In July 2009, an off-duty police sergeant was driving near Silbury Hill when he spotted three figures resembling forensic officers in white coveralls standing in a field, intently examining something on the ground. Upon stopping to investigate, he noticed the figures were over 2 meters (6 ft) tall with blond hair. As he approached, he heard a sound resembling static electricity echoing across the field. When the figures noticed him, they fled at an inhuman speed, disappearing from sight. The sergeant later claimed these “beings” were inspecting a crop circle that had appeared in the field days earlier.
After encountering further unexplained phenomena, the sergeant reached out to UFO experts. Crop circle researchers Andrew Russell and Colin Andrews investigated the incident on his behalf. The Wiltshire police station declined to comment, stating the sighting was a personal matter since the sergeant was off duty. Russell and Andrews, however, firmly believe the officer witnessed something extraterrestrial.
5. The Enigmatic Voice
In 2015, Jennifer Groesbeck, aged 25, was driving home with her 18-month-old daughter, Lily, when her vehicle struck a cement barrier and flipped into a river. A fisherman discovered the wreckage submerged in the water 14 hours later and promptly notified the authorities.
Officer Tyler Beddoes was among the first responders. Upon spotting an arm through the window of the submerged car, he and three colleagues leaped into the water to search for survivors. As they approached, all four men distinctly heard a woman’s voice calling for help. Fueled by the urgency to save a life, they worked tirelessly to reach the car, only to find Jennifer Groesbeck deceased and having been so for hours.
Lily was suspended upside down, thankfully above the freezing water. Initially unnoticed, the officers spotted her as they righted the vehicle and swiftly pulled her out. Though unconscious, her fluttering eyelids offered hope for survival. She was rushed to the hospital and ultimately survived.
The officers remain uncertain about the origin of the mysterious voice but believe it spurred them to act quickly, potentially saving Lily’s life.
4. Don Decker and the Supernatural
In 1983, Don Decker, an inmate on compassionate leave to attend his grandfather’s funeral, was staying with family friends in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. One evening, while washing his hands in an upstairs bathroom, Decker suddenly felt disoriented and collapsed to the floor.
When he came downstairs afterward, Bob Kieffer noticed deep scratches on Decker’s wrist and asked what had happened. Decker explained that he had collapsed in the bathroom and described seeing a vision of an elderly man wearing what looked like a crown. Shortly after, water began dripping from the ceiling and walls.
Kieffer contacted his landlord, suspecting a burst or leaking pipe. However, they discovered the pipes were on the opposite side of the house and in perfect condition. Meanwhile, water inside the house began falling like rain and even rising from the floor. Observing Decker, the two men noticed he appeared to be in a trance and quickly called the police. The situation escalated after the call, with Decker levitating, being thrown around the room, and sustaining new scratches on his body.
Officers John Baujan and Richard Wolbert arrived at the scene. While Baujan sensed something supernatural was occurring, Wolbert remained skeptical and left without filing a report. The following day, two other officers, William Davies and John Rundle, ignored Wolbert’s instructions and visited the house to investigate. They reported seeing a gold cross burn Decker’s skin and witnessed him being lifted off the ground and hurled across the room.
After Decker was returned to prison, officers on duty described water defying gravity by climbing his cell walls and a silicone-like liquid appearing on a supervisor’s shirt. A plumber called to the station became visibly distressed and left immediately after observing the phenomena in Decker’s cell. Many officers firmly believe Decker was demonically possessed, granting him supernatural abilities.
3. The Incident at Devil’s Peak
Maurice “Frenchy” Theriault endured a traumatic childhood, suffering abuse from his father and witnessing a horrifying event in the family barn. Though the details remain unclear, Frenchy was forced to participate in unspeakable acts following the incident. As he grew older, he discovered unusual abilities, such as inexplicable knowledge of unfamiliar subjects and extraordinary physical strength.
Prevented from joining the army by his father, Frenchy left home and eventually moved to Warren, Massachusetts. By 1985, he had married, and the couple lived on a farm in Warren. However, their home was far from peaceful. Blood would inexplicably appear throughout the house, and the couple began hearing voices and witnessing apparitions that vanished without a trace. Unexplained fires erupted on the farm, prompting Frenchy to take his firearms to the local sheriff for safekeeping, fearing for their safety.
The strange occurrences persisted. Frenchy would seemingly be in one room but appear to his wife in another. Attempting to speak to or follow him would result in his sudden disappearance, only for her to find him in the original room, where he insisted he had remained the entire time. Multiple witnesses, including a local police officer, observed these events.
Eventually, Ed and Lorraine Warren were called to investigate, and they enlisted Bishop Robert McKenna to perform an exorcism on Frenchy. The exorcism nearly cost Ed Warren his life but was ultimately successful. Despite this, Frenchy’s troubles continued, and he was later arrested for the sexual abuse of a minor.
2. The Indiana Demon House
In 2014, a police captain supported claims of a haunted house in Gary, Indiana, asserting his belief that the property harbored something malevolent. Latoya Ammons, the mother, and Rosa Campbell, the grandmother, alleged that Ammons’ three children were possessed by evil entities, causing them to levitate and walk backward up walls. Reports also included mysterious footprints appearing throughout the house, and a photograph (above) surfaced showing a “figure” on the house’s porch. The local police department released the photo, stating the house was empty when it was taken. Although the image was later debunked as a fake from a photo app, many, including the police captain, priests, and social workers, remained convinced the house was infested with demons.
Psychics who visited the house claimed it was inhabited by over 200 demons, all allegedly possessing the three children. The possession reportedly caused the children’s eyes to bulge, their voices to deepen, and sinister smiles to appear on their faces.
The family doctor, however, dismissed these claims, attributing the children’s behavior to delusions encouraged by their mother. The children were temporarily removed from the home but were later reunited with their family and moved to a new house. Since then, no further paranormal activity has been reported.
The so-called “demon house” was demolished in January 2016 after being purchased by Zak Bagans, executive producer of Ghost Adventures.
1. The Rendlesham Forest Incident
During the week between Christmas and New Year’s in 1980, James Penniston, stationed at RAF Bentwaters, encountered something unusual in Rendlesham Forest. As the senior security officer at RAF Woodbridge, Penniston led a police team to investigate reports of unexplained lights and a potential aircraft crash in the forest.
What Penniston and two other officers discovered was far from a conventional aircraft. They encountered an unfamiliar, triangular-shaped craft resting on three legs, fully intact. What followed, as described by the men, was undeniably paranormal.
Penniston documented an official report detailing how their radios malfunctioned near the craft, blue and yellow lights reflected off its surface, and the surrounding air crackled with electricity. After recording symbols on the craft and measuring its dimensions, the lights on its surface grew brighter. The craft then ascended silently, maneuvered through the forest, and vanished at an astonishing speed.
By this stage, over 80 police officers were present at the location, each witnessing the craft and its departure. Following the incident, all personnel involved were instructed to remain silent about their observations, and the investigation was classified as highly confidential.
