While some believe ghosts lurk around abandoned highways or haunt buildings after closing hours, others claim that inanimate objects can be haunted as well. In car history
, stories of eerie car encounters have been passed down from generation to generation, but does the unexplained mean the vehicles are actually cursed? Jerry
, the trustworthy insurance comparison app
, checks out the most spine-chilling cursed cars that ever existed. Cursed cars from American tragedies
The John F. Kennedy Limousine SS-100-X resides in Michigan at the Henry Ford Museum. There have been eerie reports of shadowy figures hovering around the vehicle in which JFK was slain. In the 1960s, the presidential limousine cost less than $10,000 but ended up being worth over $200,000 after various upgrades and a bulletproof cover.
The day JFK was assassinated, he wanted the cover to be removed to be closer to the people in the crowd. Unfortunately, the decision played a key role in the President’s death.
American actor James Dean was also passionate about driving race cars. Everything seemed fine on Sept. 30, 1955 when the cultural icon got behind the wheel of his new Porsche 500 Spyder. Soon after he drove off, he was involved in a frightening crash. Famous actor Alec Guinness warned him the week before not to get into the vehicle aka the “Little Bastard.”
A 1934 Ford Model 40B Fordor Deluxe was the vehicle in which Bonnie and Clyde shared their last moments together before being ambushed by the police. Since the criminal duo typically had firearms in the car, the police didn’t take any chances. After 100 shots were fired, the couple met their fateful ends. The cursed car, complete with bloodstains and bullet holes, is currently on display at a Nevada hotel.
MORE: How an Oil Change Involving a Jeep Became a Tragic Accident
Cursed cars involved in unfortunate deaths
Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s Graf & Stift Double Phaeton was the vehicle he was riding in when he and his wife were shot and killed. You may recall that this is the incident that led to the outbreak of World War I.
After the Archduke’s assassination, the cursed car’s dark history continued. Fifteen different owners experienced one unfortunate incident or accident after another. The Double Phaeton was involved in six accidents and thirteen deaths.
The 1937 Cord 810 Worcester sat in storage for 75 years until it was retrieved in 2017. A Louisiana Senator originally commissioned the sufficiently armored car to protect him but was shot and killed before he ever got behind the wheel.
Ownership was then transferred to a naval officer who passed away in World War II before he ever got to use it. Maybe the cursed car needs to stay in storage…
The white 1968 Volkswagen Van belonged to medical professional Jack Kevorkian. Throughout the course of his life, he reportedly assisted terminally ill patients to commit suicide. Because he helped end hundreds of patients’ lives inside his van, the ghosts are believed to have taken up permanent residence within the cursed car.
In 2015, ghost hunter Zak Bagans purchased the death mobile for $32,500 to use for a “paranormal” project.
Cursed cars with a supernatural past
In 2004, Cape Town residents were frightened when a Renault Megane came to life and appeared to ‘“leap” backward. Apparently, the cursed car repeated the strange action multiple times before it plowed into a hibiscus tree.
The alarmed citizens claimed that the car was possessed by an evil spirit. In fact, an exorcist was even willing to drive down from America to force the “demon” out of the cursed car.
Fortunately, Renault set the record straight about the terrifying phenomenon.
The Megane’s starter was activated by recurring short circuits, due to a rusty starter cable. Since the rusty cable was connected to the battery supply relay box, it created periodic short circuits as a result. And because the car was parked in reverse, it appeared to “jump” backward each time the cable short-circuited and the starter was ignited.
The Surrey police department received calls on December 11, 2002, about a vehicle that had veered off the road into the bush. But when law enforcement arrived on the scene, they didn’t find any evidence of a crash. After a more in-depth search, officers found a wrecked Vauxhall Astra, only it had been there for more than five months.
The remains of a missing wanted person were also discovered nearby. Some believe that the dead man’s ghost was attempting to call attention to his story, to help the police solve the mystery of his missing person’s case.
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