The lure of the Grand Canyon called to me this summer, and as I journeyed towards it, I felt the unease of the tortured place settle over me. As I stood on the edge looking out upon the great abyss, I felt the canyon play tricks on my mind. I imagined travelers from centuries past gazing upon this magnificent sight and how, unbeknownst to them, the jagged cliff edges and raging river below would claim their lives. The rugged terrain has always been merciless for those who dare to answer its call. With the scorching sun and whispering winds around me, I wondered what it would feel like to be one with the canyon, but unlike my predecessors, I resisted the call of the canyon and stepped back. Under my feet, the ground echoed with the voices of the past: a past full of uncanny, spooky, creepy tales.
The Rim trail ghost is an unruly spirit waiting to ambush unsuspecting tourists on one of the busiest trails in the Grand Canyon. On crowded days, the feminine ghostly presence will appear to a select few hikers, urging them to take their lives by jumping off the cliff edge and plummeting to the canyon floor. More than one account of the Rim trail ghost has been documented at the visitor center lodge in the last several decades. Most consist of people hearing an echoing voice in their ears telling them to jump. Many travelers also remark about tingling sensations that they feel throughout their bodies and in their bones. The disembodied voices are otherworldly experiences that happen all the time. Most hikers think they are suffering from heat stroke, but true canyon dwellers know that this is the haunted voice of the Rim Trail ghost trying to find its next victim. Only the strongest people can resist the call of the void, and those who have escaped the Rim Trail Ghost's clutches are some of its luckier victims.
The vengeful spirit of Jennifer, a twenty-eight-year-old woman who had been an employee for almost a year, is said to haunt the Grand Canyon after her life was taken too soon. Jennifer was said to be one of the kindest workers at the park, always greeting everyone with a smile, but after some devastating news came her way, her life began to spiral out of control. One faithful night, after indulging many spirits, she wandered too close to the canyon cliffs and stumbled down one of the steep embankments. Her piercing screams were heard for miles. The authorities began searching immediately, hoping she had landed on a cliff edge not too far from where she had fallen. Unfortunately, Jenifer was never found, and her body was not recovered. She is said to haunt the area where her life was suddenly taken.
It's said that in the 1930s, a Civilian Conservation Corps member who was helping to build the safety rails around Maricopa Point plunged to his death. Since that fateful day, the Legend of the Fall has been whispered about in local pubs around the area. It is said that a dark presence lingers at the bottom of the canyon and far below the jagged cliffs of Mariposa Point, a shadowy figure lurks, waiting for others to join him far below the onlooking tourists.
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