MASS MURDER OF 11 FAMILY MEMBERS ON EASTER SUNDAY IN 1975-CHILDREN WAITING ON THE EASTER BUNNY-WHY???

 HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!!!

On Easter Sunday, we (my family) do what millions of other people do on Easter.  We color the eggs the night before and make a BIG mess in the process....we get dye on our clothes, dye on the table and chairs and yes sometimes we stick the tip of our fingers in the dye to see if we can dye each finger a different color (ok, I know all families don't do that, but hey...what the heck...it's fun!  Not so fun to get off though. lol). Then Easter morning, we go to church, come home and put on our "comfy" clothes,  have a nice lunch and then it's EGG HUNTING TIME!!!!! The adults hide a THOUSAND eggs and the kids grab their baskets just waiting to hear that one little word.....GO!!!!!!!!!

On Easter Monday, March 31, 1975 the Ruppert family was doing just the same thing.  The family gathered together to enjoy a beautiful Easter day.  But this would be an Easter that the entire country would NEVER FORGET!

James Ruppert, then 41, shot 11 members of his family, including his mother, Charity; his brother, Leonard Jr.; his sister-in-law, Alma; and their eight children — Leonard III, 17; Michael, 16; Thomas, 15; Carol, 13; Ann, 12; David, 11; Teresa, 9; and John, 4 — in his mother’s home on 635 Minor Avenue in Lindenwald. Ruppert was convicted of two counts of murder and received a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity for the other nine killings. He was sentenced to 11 life sentences, and is currently in the Allen Correctional Institute in Lima.

James Ruppert's early life was troubled. His mother Charity said that she would have rather had a daughter, and his father Leonard had a violent temper and little affection for his two sons. Leonard died in 1947 when James and his brother Leonard Jr. were 12 and 14, respectively.

Leonard Jr. became the father figure of the family and constantly picked on James during their upbringing. At 16, James was so dissatisfied with his home life that he ran away and attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself with a sheet. He was unsuccessful and returned home.

At the age of 41 James had moved back in with his 65-year-old mother Charity Ruppert in Hamilton, Ohio. Charity was frustrated with her son's inability to hold a steady job and his constant drinking; she threatened to evict him. James also owed his mother and brother money, having lost what little he had in the stock market crash of 1973-4.

On Easter Sunday, the eight children of James' older brother Leonard, were enjoying an Easter egg hunt in the front yard, while the adults were making lunch in the kitchen. At 4:00PM James woke from his hangover, loaded a .357 magnum, two .22 caliber handguns and a rifle. He killed his brother, sister-in-law/ex-girlfriend, and mother. Then he killed his nephew David, and nieces Teresa and Carol in the kitchen. He then went to the living room and killed his niece Ann and four nephews, Leonard, Michael, Thomas and John.

He killed his victims by shooting them with a disabling shot and finishing them off with a shot to the head or through the heart. The whole massacre took 5 minutes. James sat in the house for three hours before calling the police. County prosecutor John Holcomb viewed the crime scene and stated that there was so much blood on the first floor, it was dripping through the floorboards into the basement, which to this day can still be seen on the wood. A total of 35 shots had been fired by Ruppert and all 4 weapons were recovered at the scene.

The night before the murders James went out as he did nearly every night. At the 19th Hole Cocktail Lounge he talked with employee Wanda Bishop, a 28-year-old mother of 5. She would later state that James told her he was frustrated with his mother's demands on him and his impending eviction and that he needed to solve the problem. He left the bar at 11:00 PM that night and later returned. When Bishop asked him if he had solved the problem, he replied "No, not yet." James stayed at the bar until it closed at 2:30 AM.

James reportedly told authorities who arrived on scene: "My mother drove me crazy by always combing my hair, talked to me like I was a baby, and tried to make me into a homosexual". As for motive, it was believed James was looking for an inheritance of $300,000. He would plead insanity, then become "cured" after getting a "Not Guilty" verdict, with all that cash just waiting for him. Unfortunately for James, it didn't turn out that way.

All contents of the home were auctioned off a year later. The first family to live in the house after the murders were unaware of the crime that had taken place. They sold the house after hearing voices and other unexplained noises. Over the years other families have moved in and out.

Even though this weeks post was sad, I hope you can now put it behind you and go and have a wonderful EASTER!!!  

  

LET THE "GOOD TIMES ROLL"..........WELL.....IF YOU'RE BRAVE ENOUGH!!!!!

Kings Island Amusement Park

I ran across this picture on Google and it caught my attention!  Two of my favorite things.....amusement parks and cemeteries!  So here's the story behind this super cool photo!!!!

Tons and tons of visitors every year come to the best amusement park in Ohio, Kings Island.  The trills and excitement of the rides.....the dips, the lift from your seat as you ride The Beast, the smell of cotton candy, the tilt-a-whirls slinging you from side to side and all you can think is....."I want to do it again"!!!!  Well, guess what?????  You are NOT the only one that finds the amusement park.....amusing!!!  If you look closely, you may just catch a glimpse of a ghostly young girl skipping through the Kings Island parking lot.

Often described as having blond hair and wearing a blue dress, she is apparently quite playful.  Some witnesses report that the little girl likes to play hide-and-seek among the cars, and park tram drivers claim she frequently darts out in front of the tram in a bizarre game of "chicken".  The girl's identity and her reasons for haunting Kings Island have long been debated, but most agree that her ghost originates from a local attraction you won't find  listed on any park map!

Next to the parking lot exit gates sits a cemetery in full view of all the visitors to the park.  Although, the visitors may never even notice that "they" are being watched, the residents of the cemetery seem to be happy watching the excitement from afar.  Well, that is......except for one little girl!!!  

Over the years, the cemetery  has been known by many different names, including the United Methodist Cemetery and the Dog Street Cemetery.  For a long time, it was simply referred to as the Dill Cemetery or the Hoff Farm Cemetery to reflect the names of the various landowners.  In the late 1800's, the King Powder Company opened for business, and although it ceased operation in the 1940's, the King family continued to own the land until large portions of it were purchased to create Kings Island Amusement Park in 1972.  Almost all of the existing buildings on the property were demolished to make way for the park's rides.  The cemetery, however, was allowed to stay.  Well, that's a good thing right?

Today the cemetery sits quietly behind a wooden fence at the far end of the Kings Island parking lot.  Since it is only about twelve feet from the pavement, a popular urban legend state that the girl in the blue dress ghost arrived on the scene when her grave was inadvertently paved over.  Another theory arises from the baffling disappearance of numerous gravestones over the years.  In the 1980's an unofficial count of the cemetery stones revealed that there were approximately sixty-nice stones within it confines, but in 2005, only fifty-two remained.  In the paranormal field it is believed by many that disturbing a final resting place of individuals often results in a haunting as the spirit searches to make its grave "whole" again.  Maybe this is why the little girl is seen....or maybe...just maybe.....she likes roller coasters!!! to!! 

HAUNTED PRISONS!!! WOULD YOU SPEND THE NIGHT IN ONE???

OMG!!! I have missed you guys!!!  We have been on vacation for about 10 days and have not had internet connection.  Can you believe I survived???  So, if you emailed me or IM'ed me I am just now responding to all your emails and notices.

I hope you all had a GREAT Labor Day.  I wanted to talk about haunted prisons.  Who doesn't love a  good ol' haunted prison right???  Anyway, check out these for the CREEP FACTOR!!!!

Alcatraz — San Francisco, California

Arguably the most infamous state penitentiary in US history (its inmates included notorious mobsters Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly), this historic structure was once the site of many real-life horrors — over decades in operation, its name eventually became synonymous with violence and cruel, brutal prison conditions… but both before and after its shutdown in 1963, it has also developed an ominous paranormal reputation. Indigenous peoples of the area once believed it to be occupied by dangerous sprits; early explorers reported feeling uneasy upon reaching the island; and it’s now reputed to house the vengeful ghosts of abused and wrongly-convicted inmates, of those murdered at the hands of their fellow convicts and/or sadistic guards, and even soldiers who died during the Civil War, when Alcatraz was the site of a massive military fortress (the foundation of which is still beneath the prison itself).

The paranormal accounts are too many to list here, but some of the earliest rumors began among inmates and guards, who claimed to hear strange cries, screams and whispers from empty cells, experienced cold spots, observed ghostly lights and saw faint human forms walking the corridors. One infamous story involved an inmate who was terrified by red eyes in the darkness, and was found dead in his cell the next morning, apparently strangled. Since the prison’s closing and conversion to a historic monument, tourists have reported many of the same frightening phenomena once encountered by the inmates and guards, as well as some disturbing new ones — including the sound of harmonica and banjo music (Capone was known to have played the banjo while imprisoned there). The most intense and frightening of the unexplained occurences seem to take place around “The Hole,” a notorious solitary confinement cell.

The National Park Service has disavowed all claims of paranormal phenomena in and around Alcatraz, so there are no officially sanctioned ghost tours of the grounds… but paranormal tourism is a major draw, so they do allow groups to conduct their own ghost tours and investigations, many of which have been featured on episodes of Ghost Hunters and Most Haunted, and the Travel Channel documentary HAUNTED ALCATRAZ, to name just a few.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Eastern State Penitentiary — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Just one look at this immense gothic structure (which includes gargoyles guarding the entry gate) will put you in a haunted frame of mind. Considered by many to be the world’s most haunted prison, Eastern State has been the subject and location of numerous ghost hunts and investigations, as documented in several books (Philadelphia Haunts, Ghostly Tales from America’s Jailsand many more) and TV shows (Ghost Adventures, Most Haunted, Ghost Hunters, American Paranormal, etc.). In the 142 years before the prison’s closure in 1971, over 1,200 inmates died within its walls; most succumbed to the diseases of the time (particularly tuberculosis), but several died at the hands of other inmates. Horrific punishments handed out to prisoners included frostbite and constriction of limbs (which often led to amputation), and just like Alcatraz, the most feared penalty was “The Hole.”

Accounts of strange and unexplained phenomena began long before the prison closed, and hundreds of paranormal claims continue today: guards, inmates and tourists over the past century have reported seeing terrifying disembodied faces, and hearing mad laughter and screams. One of the most repeated and unsettling accounts originated around 20 years ago, from a maintenance employee who claimed an unseen force in one of the ancient cells grabbed him so tightly that he was unable to move.

Like Alcatraz, there is no official stance on any hauntings of Eastern State, but their tourist materials (which include an audio walk-through narrated by actor Steve Buscemi) do mention many stories of mysterious phenomenon reported by guards and inmates, as those rumors and legends are considered an integral part of the prison’s dark and ominous history. The prison also hosts an annual Halloween haunt entitled “Terror Behind the Walls,” which obviously makes good use of these terrifying legends to spook patrons.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Missouri State Penitentiary — Jefferson City, Missouri

First established in 1836, Missouri State was once the largest prison in the US, and the brutality and deaths that took place within its walls earned it the title of “Bloodiest 47 Acres in America” according to TIME magazine. 40 gas-chamber executions, inmate violence, suicides, and a massive, bloody riot/fire in 1954 definitely carved this prison’s name in infamy, and it’s no surprise that claims of horrific paranormal activity have come in the wake of the prison’s closing in 2004.

Many of these claims involve “A Hall,” the oldest still-standing structure on the grounds, which once housed Civil War prisoners; Housing Unit 1, which once held female inmates; and Housing Unit 3, the site where the 1954 riots began. Among the most repeated tales is the story of “Fast Jack,” the nickname given to an alleged resident spirit with a tendency to pop through walls and open locker doors in the blink of an eye. Jack has been sighted many times by prison staffers working in Housing Unit 1, who describe him as wearing a lab coat and carrying a clipboard; some say he is the ghost of a former infirmary employee. Other accounts include visitors suddenly feeling anger and anxiety in Housing Unit 3, and a few tourists reported physical contact with an unseen entity, including shoving and hair-pulling.

The penitentiary has now totally embraced its haunted legacy: not only do they conduct both historic and ghost-themed tours, but since 2011 they’ve offered ghost-hunting seminars and classes for aspiring paranormal investigators.

Image Credit: Browsing the Atlas

Ohio State Reformatory — Mansfield, Ohio

While it’s most famous for being featured in the award-winning film THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, based on Stephen King’s acclaimed non-horror novella, Ohio State Reformatory also has a spooky reputation befitting some of King’s more horrific tales.

The Reformatory is allegedly swarming with malicious presences, with the highest concentrations of haunting phenomena centering on the solitary confinement cells (every historic prison has some terrifying version of “The Hole”), where several suicides occurred. The main cell blocks, the former site of multiple murders, are also reportedly haunted by very noisy ghosts, and the chapel — believed to have originally been a place of execution — has been the site of some particularly intense visual and auditory anomalies. Even the attic and administrative offices are said to house some particularly nasty entities: in particular, the wife of former warden Glattke, whose gunshot death was reported as an accident but believed by some to be foul play, is said to haunt the administrative suites, and visitors have smelled her perfume wafting through the empty rooms. Throughout the grounds, stories and legends include detailed accounts of sudden temperature drops, intense feelings of nausea, and luminous floating shapes.

The Reformatory doesn’t officially conduct ghost tours, but their historic guided tours provide all the chills you need. Nevertheless, Halloween scare-seekers can also attend their annual “Haunted Prison Experience,” which adopts a different theme each year.

Image Credit: Samantha Sunne

West Virginia State Penitentiary — Moundsville, West Virginia

Built during the peak of the Civil War, this prison began with a fairly respectable reputation, but over the years conditions declined to such an extent that it would eventually make the U.S. Justice Department’s list of most violent correctional facilities. Corruption, overcrowding and rampant violence grew out of control, three dozen murders took place within its walls, and allegedly hundreds more deaths occurred over the prison’s 120-year tenure. 94 executions were conducted within the prison, and in 1986 it became the site of one of the most violent prison riots in U.S. history, when a group of 20 inmates took several guards hostage over a period of two days. Charles Manson once requested to be transferred to Moundsville, because members of his notorious “family” lived nearby (the request was denied).

As with any location with a blood-soaked past, tales of hauntings and unexplained phenomena run rampant at Moundsville, some dating back as early as the 1930s, when guards reported alarms being tripped for no apparent reason. The most infamous and consistently reported paranormal phenomenon is that of the “Shadow Man,” a featureless shape which visitors have seen lurking in various cells and corridors, camouflaged in areas of unnaturally deep darkness. Those who claim to have sighted the Shadow Man report feeling a sense of extreme, intense terror.

The penitentiary hosts their own popular Halloween haunt tour, “Dungeon of Horrors,” which draws over 10,000 visitors a year. The site is also the setting for the popular Left 4 Dead video game campaign “Moundsville Slammer.”

THE EASTER SUNDAY MASSACRE-NO PLACE TO HIDE FOR ONE FAMILY

HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!!!

On Easter Sunday, we (my family) do what millions of other people do on Easter.  We color the eggs the night before and make a BIG mess in the process....we get dye on our clothes, dye on the table and chairs and yes sometimes we stick the tip of our fingers in the dye to see if we can dye each finger a different color (ok, I know all families don't do that, but hey...what the heck...it's fun!  Not so fun to get off though. lol). Then Easter morning, we go to church, come home and put on our "comfy" clothes,  have a nice lunch and then it's EGG HUNTING TIME!!!!! The adults hide a THOUSAND eggs and the kids grab their baskets just waiting to hear that one little word.....GO!!!!!!!!!

On Easter Monday, March 31, 1975 the Ruppert family was doing just the same thing.  (Ok...maybe not the dying the finger tip part) The family gathered together to enjoy a beautiful Easter day.  But this would be an Easter that the entire country would NEVER FORGET!

James Ruppert, then 41, shot 11 members of his family, including his mother, Charity; his brother, Leonard Jr.; his sister-in-law, Alma; and their eight children — Leonard III, 17; Michael, 16; Thomas, 15; Carol, 13; Ann, 12; David, 11; Teresa, 9; and John, 4 — in his mother’s home on 635 Minor Avenue in Lindenwald. Ruppert was convicted of two counts of murder and received a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity for the other nine killings. He was sentenced to 11 life sentences, and is currently in the Allen Correctional Institute in Lima.


James Ruppert's early life was troubled. His mother Charity said that she would have rather had a daughter, and his father Leonard had a violent temper and little affection for his two sons. Leonard died in 1947 when James and his brother Leonard Jr. were 12 and 14, respectively.
Leonard Jr. became the father figure of the family and constantly picked on James during their upbringing. At 16, James was so dissatisfied with his home life that he ran away and attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself with a sheet. He was unsuccessful and returned home.

At the age of 41 James had moved back in with his 65-year-old mother Charity Ruppert in Hamilton, Ohio. Charity was frustrated with her son's inability to hold a steady job and his constant drinking; she threatened to evict him. James also owed his mother and brother money, having lost what little he had in the stock market crash of 1973-4.



On Easter Sunday, the eight children of James' older brother Leonard, were enjoying an Easter egg hunt in the front yard, while the adults were making lunch in the kitchen. At 4:00PM James woke from his hangover, loaded a .357 magnum, two .22 caliber handguns and a rifle. He killed his brother, sister-in-law/ex-girlfriend, and mother. Then he killed his nephew David, and nieces Teresa and Carol in the kitchen. He then went to the living room and killed his niece Ann and four nephews, Leonard, Michael, Thomas and John.

He killed his victims by shooting them with a disabling shot and finishing them off with a shot to the head or through the heart. The whole massacre took 5 minutes. James sat in the house for three hours before calling the police. County prosecutor John Holcomb viewed the crime scene and stated that there was so much blood on the first floor, it was dripping through the floorboards into the basement, which to this day can still be seen on the wood. A total of 35 shots had been fired by Ruppert and all 4 weapons were recovered at the scene.




The night before the murders James went out as he did nearly every night. At the 19th Hole Cocktail Lounge he talked with employee Wanda Bishop, a 28-year-old mother of 5. She would later state that James told her he was frustrated with his mother's demands on him and his impending eviction and that he needed to solve the problem. He left the bar at 11:00 PM that night and later returned. When Bishop asked him if he had solved the problem, he replied "No, not yet." James stayed at the bar until it closed at 2:30 AM.

James reportedly told authorities who arrived on scene: "My mother drove me crazy by always combing my hair, talked to me like I was a baby, and tried to make me into a homosexual". As for motive, it was believed James was looking for an inheritance of $300,000. He would plead insanity, then become "cured" after getting a "Not Guilty" verdict, with all that cash just waiting for him. Unfortunately for James, it didn't turn out that way.

All contents of the home were auctioned off a year later. The first family to live in the house after the murders were unaware of the crime that had taken place. They sold the house after hearing voices and other unexplained noises. Over the years other families have moved in and out.

Even though this weeks post was sad, I hope you can now put it behind you and go and have a wonderful EASTER!!!  But don't forget to come back next Tuesday! :)