1. Bodies under the Bed

In 2003, one of the guests from the Capri Motel in Kansas City noticed a foul smell. After 3 days, it became unbearable, and the cleaning staff was summoned to move the furniture around and try to clean up whatever its source was. They discovered a rotting body under the bed wearing only fishnet stockings and a nun's wimple.

2. Calls from beyond the Grave

When Charles E. Peck took the train to LA for a job interview, everyone was very hopeful. His fiancée and his loved ones received many calls from him from his cellphone that night, but when they replied, there was nothing but static. They were later informed that Mr. Peck died on impact in a train crash that happened well before the 35 calls were made. His cellphone was never found.

3. The Dyatlov Pass Incident

In 1959, a group of Russian hikers were found dead after going on a skiing trip. Their tents were ripped open from the inside, and they had multiple fractures and broken skulls, with one woman even missing her tongue. Despite many theories, no one ever found out what really happened.

4. The Case of Elisa Lam

A case that seems like it sprang straight from our worst nightmares is that of Elisa Lam, the Canadian student who went missing in early 2013. Her liquefying body was discovered in one of the rooftop water tanks of the hotel she was last seen in. Footage from the elevator showed Elisa behaving strangely as if being followed, but the Police never found any evidence of what exactly happened or how she ended up on the roof.

5. The “Funhouse”

One of the most macabre and disturbing true horror tales was that of an amusement park in Long Beach “inhabited” by a real dead man. He was discovered in 1976, when a worker noticed the “hanging man's” arm fell off, revealing a real human bone. The body was that of Elmer McCurdy, an outlaw who robbed a train in 1911.

6. The Doodler

No, “The Doodler” is not a Stephen King novel as one might hope. It was actually the nickname of a serial killer who's never been found (and might still be out there). What's really strange about this murderer was that all of his victims were gay men and he'd draw sketches of them right before killing them.

7. Buried Alive

There are lots of cases of people being buried alive, some of them more disturbing than most things you'd see in Thirteen Ghosts. One of them was that of a Greek woman suffering from cancer believed to be dead and buried alive. Cemetery visitors heard banging and muffled noises, and when she was finally dug out, doctors said she had been dead for hours.

If that didn't make you want to double-check if you've shut the front door, I don't know what will. Are there any other true horror stories you've heard of that I haven't mentioned here?

Sources:
whatculture.com
blogs.indiewire.com
slate.com