The 1880s · paranormal events
The Spooky Valley archive holds 50 documented paranormal cases during the 1880s. The earliest dates to 1880 and the most recent to 1889, a span of 9 years.
Reporting during the 1880s is led by the haunting, with 22 hauntings, 8 unexplained events and 6 cryptid encounters on file. Of these, 28 are verified against primary-source documentation. Every entry below records what was reported and the sources behind it, rather than asserting a conclusion.
Featured · 1880s
Maori Taniwha Modern Sightings
Aotearoa, New Zealand
From Waikato river-bends to remote Fiordland inlets, Maori communities have continued to record sightings of taniwha, the long-bodied water guardians of Indigenous tradition that contemporary cryptozoology has not been able to dismiss.
La Recta Provincia and the Mapuche Brujería Trial
Chiloé Archipelago, Chile
An 1880 Chilean court case in Chiloé exposed an organised hierarchy of indigenous and mestizo sorcerers known as La Recta Provincia, whose practices, caves, and reputed shapeshifters became the foundation of southern Chilean witchcraft tradition.
HMS Bacchante and the Flying Dutchman Sighting
Off the Cape of Good Hope, South Atlantic
The future King George V and thirteen members of the crew of HMS Bacchante recorded in the ship's log a phosphorescent sailing vessel passing across their bow before vanishing into clear weather, in what remains the most prominent eyewitness account of the legendary Flying Dutchman.
José Bonilla UFO Observation
Zacatecas, Mexico
Mexican astronomer José Bonilla photographed approximately 450 objects crossing the sun at Zacatecas Observatory. His photographs may be the first images of unidentified flying objects.
Zacatecas Observatory UFO
Zacatecas, Mexico
Astronomer José Bonilla photographed approximately 300 objects crossing the face of the sun from the Zacatecas Observatory in 1883. The objects appeared dark and varied in shape. Later attributed to geese, but the explanation is disputed. The first photographs of possible UFOs.
Pope Leo XIII's Vision and the Prayer to Saint Michael
Vatican City, Rome
After offering Mass in the Vatican, Pope Leo XIII reportedly stood transfixed for ten minutes, then composed the Prayer to Saint Michael in response to a vision of demonic forces being granted dominion over the Earth.
Archive · 1880s
- 1880 Apparition The Railway Ghost of Haywards Heath Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England
- 1880 Apparition The Phantom Horseman of the Black Hills Black Hills, South Dakota, USA
- 1880 Haunting Bodie Ghost Town Bodie, California, USA
- 1880 Cryptid Maori Taniwha Modern Sightings Aotearoa, New Zealand
- 1880 Other La Recta Provincia and the Mapuche Brujería Trial Chiloé Archipelago, Chile
- 1881 Apparition HMS Bacchante and the Flying Dutchman Sighting Off the Cape of Good Hope, South Atlantic
- 1881 Haunting The Bird Cage Theatre Tombstone, Arizona, USA
- 1881 Haunting Natural History Museum London, England, United Kingdom
- 1881 Haunting The Vaile Mansion Haunting Independence, Missouri, USA
- 1882 Apparition The Cheltenham Ghost Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
- 1882 Haunting Cane Hill Hospital: London's Abandoned Asylum Coulsdon, South London, England
- 1882 Other Ghost Hunting: The Complete Beginner's Guide to Paranormal Investigation Global
- 1882 Poltergeist The Great Amherst Mystery of England Whitehall, London, England
- 1883 UFO José Bonilla UFO Observation Zacatecas, Mexico
- 1883 Haunting Cane Hill Hospital Coulsdon, Surrey, England
- 1883 Haunting Forth Bridge Worker Ghosts Firth of Forth, Scotland
- 1883 Other Marfa Lights Marfa, Texas, USA
- 1883 Cryptid The Red Ghost of Arizona Arizona Territory, USA
- 1883 Poltergeist The Worksop Poltergeist Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England
- 1883 UFO Zacatecas Observatory UFO Zacatecas, Mexico
- 1884 Haunting Monte Cristo Homestead Junee, New South Wales, Australia
- 1884 Haunting Sarah Winchester's Strange House San Jose, California, USA
- 1884 Possession Pope Leo XIII's Vision and the Prayer to Saint Michael Vatican City, Rome
- 1884 Other Servant Girl Annihilator Austin, Texas, USA
- 1884 Cryptid Tepuis Lost World Cryptid Expeditions Gran Sabana, Venezuela
- 1884 Haunting Winchester Mystery House San Jose, California, USA
- 1885 Poltergeist The Devils of Martin (Ylöjärvi) Ylöjärvi, Finland
- 1885 Haunting Monte Cristo Homestead Haunting Junee, New South Wales, Australia
- 1885 Apparition Mami Wata Encounters Niger Delta, Nigeria and West African coast
- 1885 Haunting Oldham Coliseum: Harold's Eternal Audience Oldham, Greater Manchester, England
- 1886 Haunting Crescent Hotel Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA
- 1886 Haunting The Crescent Hotel Hauntings Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA
- 1886 Cryptid The Kalanoro of Madagascar Central Highlands, Madagascar
- 1886 Haunting The Driskill Hotel Austin, Texas, USA
- 1886 Haunting Crescent Hotel Arkansas Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA
- 1886 Haunting Driskill Hotel Austin, Texas, USA
- 1886 Haunting Ohio State Reformatory (Mansfield) Mansfield, Ohio, USA
- 1886 Other The Ouija Board: History, Science, and Supernatural Claims Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- 1886 Haunting The Winchester Mystery House: 38 Years of Non-Stop Construction San Jose, California, USA
- 1887 Cryptid Morag of Loch Morar Loch Morar, Scotland, UK
- 1887 Haunting Hashima Island (Battleship Island) Nagasaki, Japan
- 1887 Cryptid Michigan Dogman Northern Michigan, USA
- 1887 Poltergeist The Wild Plum Poltergeist Wild Plum, Nebraska, USA
- 1888 Other The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn London, England
- 1888 Haunting High Royds Hospital Menston, West Yorkshire, England
- 1888 Other Jack the Ripper Whitechapel, London, England
- 1889 Poltergeist The Dagg Poltergeist of Shawville Clarendon Township, Pontiac County, Quebec, Canada
- 1889 Poltergeist The Penzance Poltergeist Penzance, Cornwall, England
- 1889 Haunting The Savoy Hotel Strand, London, England
- 1889 Other The Vanishing Hotel Room Paris, France