MAGIC - BLACK & WHITE/GOOD & EVIL

Magic refers to enchantment. One can think of magic as an art form that can be studied, practiced and performed. My husband is a magician and although he uses magic to entertain and earn income with his art there are people that are very uncomfortable around him because they don't understand how he does his illusions or how he makes the magic happen. Even today, some people are a little bit afraid of what they don't understand, or afraid of their own ignorance.

Magic has its roots in the middle east, or what was Persia, and back in earlier times magicians (or Magi) were highly educated and highly respected. They knew ancient languages, equations, secret teachings and the meanings of symbols that were handed down through generations. The general populous had no idea about these types of things and so looked up to the magicians leaders, equivalent to our MENSA society members of today.

Along with the local wise-women, who were also the midwives, the magicians usually knew a great deal about the stars, astronomy and the use of herbs and barks for healing. The world was much simpler then. To most people, it made sense that the world was inhabited by people, animals, angels, demons, witches and the devil. When the Christian church came on the scene with it's monotheistic teachings it made sense then that these inhabitants could be separated into two categories: Good and Evil or Black and White. The Good, such as Angels, certainly worked for God. The others were evil and so, were devoted to Satan.

So then, all of magic and even the practices of healing and astronomy with it, took on a "dark" connotation because the Church taught that people should look to God and his word for their needs, not to herbs and potions, or stars and magicians. Magicians, astronomers and wise-women began to be looked upon as evil and their high position in society became a thing of the past. They became outcasts, the black sheep that no one wanted to be caught being with and they were forced to move to the out-skirts of the villages and people had to sneak to see them. Often if they were caught there would be severe punishments.

With these new separations that people imposed of Good and Evil, human kind had now, unwittingly opened the playing field for one of the most pitiful times in our history, The burning times which occurred from 1550 to 1650 in Europe and is responsible for the execution of "witches" in Europe and then our own Salem witch trials in Massachusetts in the 1690's.

THE MOTHMAN

One of the oddest cryptozoological creatures reported in America would have to be the Mothman, but with the hollywood hype over the book and the movie, it might be a little bit hard to seperate fact from fiction, so I'll give it shot here.

Between November 12, 1966 and December 15, 1967 the Mothman was sighted in the Point Pleasant West Virginia area by more than 100 people. What they described was a 7 - 9 foot tall creature with wings that it could fold up. The beast also could walk with a slow shuffling gait Others advised the creature had red glowing eyes, and that they felt a malevolent feeling when it was near them.

The sightings began when the creature was spotted by a couple on a date, parked outside of an old munitions site left over from World War II. This couple claimed they were chased by the creature. They went straight to the police. This must have been terrifying enough, but being chased is one thing. Some people claim the creature spoke to them. One such witness was the author of the book The Mothman Prophecies, John A. Keel. Mr. Keel stated that in 1966 he had more than one encounter with the creature where it spoke to him about an upcoming disaster. Mr. Keel believes the Mothman was communicating to him about the bridge over the Ohio river that connected Point Pleasant to Ohio. That horrible disaster occurred on December 15, 1967 and resulted in the deaths of 46 people.

Most people believe that after the horrible bridge tragedy, that sigtings of the Mothman have stopped, but that is not entirely true. There have indeed been sightings that continue to be reported and speculation about the origin of the Mothman continue. One theory is that since the sightings in Point Pleasant began at a WWII dumping site that the creature might be some type of mutation from an experiment gone wrong. They speculate it had been living in the darkened, abandoned buildings in the area for a very long time and just had never been seen. If this is the case, then how would one explain about all of the old Indian (Iroquois and Tuscarora to name a few) legends that sepak of a large bird-like man that they called the "flying head"? Obviously the indian legends predate World War II.

So, there we have it, as best I could explain it. As always, any comments or thoughts are welcome. I look forward to hearing from you. This photo is of the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant West Virginia.

For additional information, please read John A. Keel's 1975 bood, The Mothman Prophecies, and/or the movie based on that book starring Richard Gere, released in 2002.

New book out, it's on my Christmas List!

There is a wonderful new book on the shelves out there for any avid Jack the Ripper case followers. This one has an extra treat with some of Brahm Stroker and Dracula thrown in for good measure. I haven't read it yet but here are some reviews from the Amazon site and a photo for you. I've put this one on my "want" list for Christmas so hopefully one of the kids will come thru for mom! smile.

From Amazon.com:

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly: In Reese's scrupulously imagined thriller, told largely through entries from a lost journal kept by the author of Dracula in 1888, Bram Stoker attends an indoctrination ceremony of the Order of the Golden Dawn, at the behest of Oscar Wilde's mum and a young William Butler Yeats. The ceremony goes horribly awry, resulting in one participant—Francis Tumblety, a patent medicine salesman newly arrived from America—becoming a vessel for the evil Egyptian god Set and applying his surgical skills to the slaughter of Whitechapel prostitutes in order to draw Stoker out for a supernatural showdown. Bestseller Reese (The Witchery) so perfectly pastiches the journal format that initially his story reads as dry and boringly as most private diaries. With Tumblety's malignant conversion, though, the novel turns into a rip-roaring penny dreadful that compels reading to the end. Dracula fans will appreciate the nods to well-known works that Stoker wrote supposedly following this confrontation.

(Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "Not only does THE DRACULA DOSSIER grip us with its fast paced hunt for history’s most notorious killer, it also enchants us with sophisticated and lyrical recreations of its unique period and strong characters. A daring achievement."

-- Matthew Pearl, author of THE DANTE CLUB"THE DRACULA DOSSIER is as powerful in its imagination as it is in its dedication to historical detail and social reflection. But what’s more is that it’s a damn good thriller...With Bram Stoker and Jack the Ripper along for the ride, you can’t go wrong with this book." -- Michael Connelly

Patty's Ghost, Part III

With continued communications with Patty and her family, it seems that the ghost has expanded its repertoire. The family is now seeing shadows on a more frequent bases outside their bedrooms at night. Even more frightening, the entity has started calling their names and has even made a painting that has been hung on the living room wall for many years drop to the floor while the family was gathered to watch a television show.

On another occasion, while someone was visiting, Patty told him about her ghost but the visitor was unimpressed. He told Patty he was unimpressed and said "I don't believe in any of that paranormal stuff" and while looking around the room added, "if there is a ghost in here, show yourself and prove it!" With that, a stuffed rabbit (Patty collects rabbits of all kinds and has about 400 of them) floated off of the entertainment center shelf and landed at the visitor's feet. There were no strings attached and no other apparatus attached or anything that could have made this small stuffed animal float in mid-air. The visitor was dumbfounded and even Patty and her family that usually laughed at everything weren't laughing at this. They were suddenly quiet as their visitor made lame excuses for an early exit.

Apparently Patty's ghost didn't like being taunted. It was trying to communicate with the family by showing up more frequently and calling them by name. It had no ill will in mind and obviously had no evil nature since they are still living in peace together at the house. Since this occurrence with the visitor I have done some basic research on the land and the building of the house. I've looked into when it changed hands and to whom it was sold. Nothing sticks out as out of the ordinary and Patty doesn't want any psychic or paranormal investigations done inside of the home so we may never know any more information unless this ghost chooses to give us some.

I cannot really understand why Patty doesn't want to know more. This would drive me crazy. Not the ghost part, but the not knowing. I would need to know everything about it, why it was there, what it wanted, what I could do for it, how to get rid of it, anything, everything. I could never have such a nonchalant attitude but maybe that is why I don't have a ghost. Maybe I don't have the right temperment. I'm probably too nosy.

Anyway, I will keep you all updated on this situation. Please leave any thoughts and comments and as always, thanks for reading.

Patty's ghost Part II

As days turned to weeks and time went by, Patty and her family reported more odd occuranced. Dark shadows in the form shape of what they thought was a man standing by their beds at night, or walking thru the upstairs hallway, pictures tilted here and there in the house, objects turning up missing. It was all odd, but nothing that really scared the family.

One evening Patty had a few other families over for a dinner and game night and the subject came up. Knowing how curious I was about these things, she kindly indulged my questions. I asked her if anything had changed in the house right before all of this started happening, or if they had done any remodeling. She said they hadn't done anything different except for one small thing. Her husband's brother had recently died and he had been a military veteran. They had to decided to make a family "memorial" wall and hung some pictures up of their deceased relatives with this brother's funeral flag over top of them all in a frame. It was really a lovely display and I didn't see why this should cause any disturbance.

I asked if my family and I could check the area out and she said sure so she went upstairs and sure enough, in front of the memorial wall, definate cold spots. I had no feelings of anything "evil" and did not feel malcontent, but their was obviously something going on. I walked through the rooms and they did feel heavy. Their cat was resting comfortably on one of the girl's bed's so nothing too crazy could be going on. Animals, especially felines, are very sensitive to paranormal activity.

Anyway, back downstairs we all sat around the table to get ready for another round of one game or another and were all enjoying ourselves. I had pushed the thoughts of the ghost out of my mind, not wanting to appear pre-occupied or to be an annoying guest when out of no-where, the straw from my soda glass "flew" out of my glass ON ITS OWN, hit me in the forehead and landed perfectly back in the glass without spilling a drop. Everyone at the table, approximately 16 to 18 other people saw all of it and no-one uttered a word for about 2 minutes, they just sat there staring at me in disbelief. Apparently, there was one visitor in the house that was trying to get my attention.

Patty's Ghost

A personal Ghost Experience...this might prove to be a long story so it will be in parts. People's names will be changed to protect their identity. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. Your imput is appreciated, and I look forward to your comments.

We have friends that live fairly nearby us. They are a family of four, Mom, Dad, and two older teenage daughters. Since everyone has fairly busy lives these days we don't get to see each other as often as we like but we talk on the phone and get together two to three times per year for a pot-luck dinner and board games afterward. Usually, other families come by so have more people to play and the talking and fun goes on till after midnight or so. One night, and I can't remember exactly how the talk got around to this, Patty started to tell us of a "funny" experience she and her daughter Jill had while Jill was doing her hair in the bathroom.

Apparently, Jill was brushing her hair and patty was putting some towels away when a stick of of deoderant flew out from the bottom shelf of their storage closet, from within a plastic crate (that did not have a top on it. Patty is a coupon shopper and had about six sticks lined up in the crate with extra toothpaste, shampoo, saving cream and the like. Patty, being Patty, laughed and said outloud, "Wow, I'd be impressed if that would happen again!" When, sure enough, a second stick of deoderant flew out across the bathroom floor and landed at Jill's feet. They looked at each other, laughed and thought nothing more of it.

Now, I realize that most people would be horrified at a supernatural display like this, but you'd have to know Patty and her family to understand why she wasn't. Part II coming tomorrow

History of Halloween

Halloween as we know it today had its beginnings over 2000 years ago in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhein in the area that is now Ireland, The United Kingdom and Northern France. These ancient Celts, or Druids celebrated their New Year on November 1st because to them, it marked the harvest or the end of the summer and the coming of the winter and time that was marked with starvation and death.
The usual Samhein festivals were celebrated with large bonfires where animal sacrifices were made and crops were burned to honor the old gods. Costumes were often worn during these rites, most often the masks made of animal heads with animal skins being worn.
The people believed that this was the time of year when the veil between the worlds of life and death was at its thinnest point and the dead could cross back and forth between these worlds and communication with the other side was indeed possible

VLAD TEPES, The Impaler - Prince Dracula

Known as "Vlad the Impaler", we have the historical figure behind Brahm Stoker's famous fictional count Dracula.

Vlad was born in 1431 in Romania. His father had been inducted into the Order of the Dragon - a religios order of the knights created in 1387 by the Holy Roman Emperor- to protect Catholicism and to fight the Turkish military and prevent them from invading.

The word "Dracul" in the Romanian language means "dragon", since he held a high position in the Order of the Dragon, in makes since that young Vlad would be called "Dracula", or "Son of the Dragon". That is how the name "Dracula" came down thru history for Brahm Stoker to find in Romanian records, and they name he took for his now infamous vampire.

Our Vlad eventually became the Ruler of Wallachia and believed in a harsh rule to force his subjects to live in honesty to promote a crime-free state. Under his rule, any crime, from the most minute as a housewife not having her husbands clothing clean enough to the most heinous such as murder, were punished severly. Vlad's favorite punishment was impalement.

Word of Vlad's blood thirsty punishment's got around quickly, as did the soaring number of people he killed. Those numbers including thousands and thousands of his own people. This reputation of visious blood thirst is most like what led to "Vlad the Impaler" and Brahm Stoker's Vampire permenently melding into one in our minds to the point were there is some talk wondering if Vlad himself were not a vampire, the blood-sucking kind Brahm wrote of. During an investigation into the place that was assumed his burial place, it was found that no body rested there. This not only fueld this story, but led many on a hunt to find out more. Perhaps the future will hold some interesting information along these lines for us.

Patty Cannon - An early Serial Killer/A Haunting?

The story of Patty Cannon is an interesting one. She was a very bad woman with a deceptively sweet name. Patty committed her crimes beginning in the early 1820's, but they were so ferocious they are still remembered throughout Delaware and Maryland today.

Because her house sat right on the line between the two states, Patty could literally kidnap and kill someone and then just walk a few feet to dispose of their body in another state. This practice eluded authorities for years!

Patty Cannon was a large, unkempt, unruly woman who headed up a gang that kidnapped free black people from Delaware and recently freed black slaves from Maryland to sell them into, or back into slavery. However, if her kidnapped subjects were unhealthy, injured or weak or for some other reason Patty didn't think she could garner a good price for them she would kill them in a hideous way and steal their meager belongings to sell on the second hand market, right down to the teeth in their head and the clothes on their backs.

The subjects she decided to keep alive to sell were kept chained by the neck and ankle to the wall in her basement until she collected enough of them to arrange a makeshift slave-auction. Those not "lucky" enough to be sold were butchered and then their bodies were loaded up and taken by night to an abandoned field and buried in the night.

Law enforcement finally able to catch up with Patty when members of her gang were caught and jailed and decided to turn state's evidence against her for lesser sentences. She was taken into custody amidst cheering crowds, hoards of spectators and overwhelming evidence against her. So much so that the judge found her guilty and ordered her execution by hanging for the very next day. The lines for the execution were stretched for blocks as everyone wanted to be able to tell their grandchildren they saw the notorious Patty Cannon pay for her crimes, but Patty had the last laugh. She committed suicide by drinking a vial of arsenic she had hidden in a secret pocket of her skirts and thereby cheated her audience out of their grand finale. Patty was buried in a paupers grave and was laid to rest for decades, her notorious deeds able to slip into memory....for awhile.

Many years later, Reliance officials decided to enlarge the Sussex County Courthouse and Jail so the paupers grave's had to be relocated....one of those was Patty's. Somehow, someone got hold of her skull and passed it from hand to hand and it eventually got donated to the Dover Delaware Pubic Library with enough documentation to authenticate that it was indeed Patty's skull, but library officials insist the library where Patty's skull is sometimes put on display for Halloween and ghost-stories....is NOT haunted. Her homestead....is another story.

Patty's house still stands. Some owners have reported hearing strange sounds, footsteps in rooms that are empty, doors opening and closing on their own and other ghostly goings-on. So, the question is, is this Patty making her presence known or is it one of her more than 40 victims? Any thoughts on this....or does anyone have any more information on this infamous Patty Cannon? Any information or comments, as always, would be welcomed and appreciated!!!

Factoids to start us thinking about Halloween....

**The Witches Ball A shiny glass ball, most often made of silver or mercury glass, which was much cheaper and known as "poor man's silver", were hung high up in the home to deflect evil forces. These pretty, reflective balls were very much like the silver balls we hang from our Christmas trees today.

**One of the 19 people accused and hanged as a witch in Salem Massachusetts during the famous witch trials in 1692, was actually one of Salem's own former preachers. He professed his innocence until the very end of his life and recited the Lord's prayer perfectly until his body was pushed from the scaffold on Gallows Hill.

**Did you know those famous windows at 112 Ocean avenue, the home of the famous Amityville (Horror) hauntings made famous by Jay Anson's book and the subsequent films were removed by the new owners in an effort to keep the number of amateur ghost hunters and curious tourists to a minimum?

Body & Chakras

Crown Chakra Violet Just above top of head coherence, spiritual life

Brow Chakra Indigo Center of Forehead Sight,comprehension, intuition

Throat Chakra Lt Blue Base of throat Communication, expression, peace

Heart Chakra Green Center of Chest Relationships, balance, growth, love

Solar Plexus Chakra Yellow Between naval & diaphragm Personal power, control, integrity

Sacral Chakra Orange Below the Naval Creativity, exploration, pleasure

Root Chakra Red At the base of the spine Energy, motivation, survival needs

practicality and connection to the earth.

Chakras are the main flow systems of energy in the human body. The first step in "crystal cleansing" or "Crystal healing" is balancing the chakras. The simplest way to do this for a beginner is first to collect a stone in each of the colors above that feels right to you, whether rough or polished. It will be important to have one of each of the colors and a soft pouch to keep them in. Then, have a friend or partner help you. Get your body relaxed, put on some nice music, burn some relaxing incense and then take one stone of the appropriate color and place on the related chakra. Leave in place for at least one minute or until you feel the time is right.

Most people lie on their backs for this, but since the root chakra is at the base of the spine, you can balance this by placing a crystal between your knees or your thighs.

I'd love to hear from you if you give this a try! Any comments would be welcome!

For the Love of Stones

I have always loved rocks, even in their most generic form. Even as a child, my favorite part of a family vacation was when we would stop at those old "Souvenir trading posts" that used to dot the highways, and sometimes still do but a lot less frequently. We recently found a couple in the upper regions of Michigan around St. Ignace just over the Macquinaw bridge. It was great just thrusting my hands in the pile of pretty polished stones and letting them fall through my fingers. They felt wonderful, they looked beautiful and they made me happy. I took my time picking out the ones I wanted to fill my little purple velveteen pouch. I still like thinking about that day.

Since I know I am not alone in my love of stones and crystals and all the lovely things that come from the Earth, I thought I'd devote a little blog time to some things stone related.

Birthstones

Aquarius Jan 20 - Feb 18 Amethyst, sapphire, garnet

Pisces Feb 19 - Mar 20 Turquois, pearl, rose quartz, aquarmarine

Aries Mar 21 - April 19 Carnelian, Bloodstone, Jasper, Diamond

Taures April 20 May 20 Tourmaline, tiger's eye, topaz, emerald

Gemini May 21 - June 20 Aquamarine, citrine, tiger's eye, pearl

Cancer June 21 July 22 Moonstone, pearl, ruby, emerald

Leo July 23 - Aug 22 Ruby, sunstone, clear quartz

Virgo Aug 23 - Sept 22 Sapphire, peridot, carnelian, citrine

Libra Sept 23 - Oct 22 Lapis lazuli, opal, aventurine, peridot

Scorpio Oct 23 - Nov 21 Obsidian, Herkimer diamond, topaz

Capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 19 Jet, Black onyx, Clear quartz

This is just a general guideline, but shouldn't be followed as if it is written in stone....pardon the pun! When choosing a stone, or a crystal for a piece of jewelry or as a token to carry with you or to give as a gift, choose the one that feels right to you. You needn't follow a chart, rather, follow your heart......or your inner energy fields (or chakra's). We'll talk more abou that tomorrow!

The Myrtles Part III

Ruffin Gray Stirling and his wife Mary Cobb were very well thought of in the community and very well-to-do. They bought the entire Myrtles property and all the slaves from Clarke Woodruff and his mother-in-law and moved into Laurel Grove. They began renovating the place immediately and began travels to europe to pick out furnishings that suited their social status.

Ruffin Stirling died of consumption only four years after the renovations were completed His wife stayed on and managed the property with the help of her children (4 out of 9 that had survived to adulthood). One son-in-law became another among the murdered...while sitting on his porch one Sunday afternoon after the Civil war, a stranger on horseback pulled up claiming he had business discuss with him just pulled out his gun and shot him dead. He was taken into custody, a trial was held but there was no outcome of it.

From this point on, the property was handed dow to numerous heirs of the Stirling family and their descendants and by a few others. In 1980 it was purchased by Frances Kermeen and her husband who planned to operate the Myrtles as a bed and breakfast. She wrote a wonderful book about her experiences there. If you are looking for a great read, check it out!

The Myrtles Plantation - Part II

Legend, or the rumer mill tells us that ten murders and at least one suicide occurred at the Myrtles. General Bradford's daughter and two grand-daughter's were three among the ten.

As the story goes, as many southern "gentlemen" of the time, Clark Woodruff (the General's son-in-law and former law student) was in the way of forcing himself on one of the house slaves, Cleo.

Cleo, like many other female slaves of the day, now found herself in quite a predicament. Being in the home, forced to work with "Miss Sara: (Clark's wife - obviously knowledgable of her husband's indescretions), she must hide her awkwardness and be even more attentive and do nothing that mght anger her mistress or she might be sent to the fields to work where the manual labor was so hard that it actually lowered the life expectency of a slave to about 32-34 years of life.

Then, there was Master Woodruff. Cleo tried to avoid him at all costs, lest he get it in his head to come to her at night in her quaters. He could sell her away if she refused his advances, or have her whipped, or even worse. Then, there were her own people to consider. The other slaves.

The house slaves of the plantations had a secret job-unknown to their owners. As they worked earnestly through the rooms dusting, polishing, they also watched and listened. And they learned. They learned a lot about the Master's business. They leared who might be being bought from a nearby plantation. Who was about to be sold away or traded, when the next slave auction was being held and when the Master might be going out of town and the like.

Cleo's people counted on her for this information. What she could tell them was often the only small bit of security they had that they were staying together, at least for a little while. Now, the listening became even more important, because it was SHE who might be being sold off! So, she listened even more earnestly, but unfortuneately, not with more skill. Cloe was caught by the Master himself and as punishment, he cut off her ear!

From that day forward, Cleo always wrapped her head in a head scarf to hide her disfugurement. Her precarious place in the household had now escalated from bad to worse! Caught in a dishonest act, could the Mistress ever trust her? No longer beautiful, would the Master want her? Probably, the answer to both of those questions, was a resounding "NO!"

One idea came to her. Cleo loved the children and they reciprocated. She knew she still had use where they were concerned. The next time Master Clark went out of town, Cleo baked a cake for the Mistress and the two little girls. Into it, she put the juice of Oleander leaves. She wanted to put in just enough to make them feel a little under the weather so she could love them and tenderly nurse them all back to health and prove how useful she was and that no other house slave could do a better job than she. But, Cleo miscalculated. She used to much oleander juice. Her mistress and the girls grew deathly ill. She tried her best to help them, she nursed them all day and though the night but they just grew worse and writhed in agony on the bed. The little ones went first, then a few hours later in misery, her Mistress died in her arms.

With shrieks of grief, Cleo ran from the home and down the paths to the slave quaters, screaming for help with tears streaming down her cheeks. When she relayed to the other slaves what she had done they became horrifed. Not just for Cleo, but for their own lives! They knew their Master was a cruel slave-owner and would want revenge. All because of this silly girl!

Overpowered by all the slaves, thinking it was better to take their own justice upon Cleo and maybe earn the Master's thanks instead of his wrath, the slaves hung Cleo from a tree on the front grounds. When the Master returned home, it was over. Over for his family, and over for Cleo....but the begginning of the hauntings for this home. Perhaps Cleo's wounded soul on this sorrowful ground was the perfect recipe for misery.

People who stay at the Myrtles today (now a Bed & Breakfast) have witnessed seeing a figure that fits Cleo's description, as well as two figures that sound like the two little girls who died by her hand.

Clark Woodruff sold the property to Ruffin Gray Stirling in 1834 who restored the plantation. The Stirling family held it through 1894 when it starting changing hands many times. We'll learn more about this fascinating place in part three.........

The Most Haunted Place in America - The Myrtles Plantation - Part I

The Myrtles plantation in St Francisville, Louisiana was built in 1796 by General David Bradford. It was originally named "Laurel Grove" and has been scaring the living daylights out of people ever since.

Perhaps our General was a little short-sighted (a nice way of saying "dim-witted!), or maybe he was just selfish. One couldn't really blame him for choosing the lush, green property dotted with weeping willows and magnolia trees. Who wouldn't want this particular spot to build their 2-story wood-frame home?

Well, if the General had been smart, or even a little compassionate, he might have listened to the local people who had been using the spot as a cemetary and burying their dead there for years and years. They tried their best to persuade him not to disturb the peace of the spot and to explain to him why the place was special to the locals. If he would have listened, he might have chosen a spot just as nice a few miles down the road, but the General had a lot of money, and not a lot of sense.

Instead of relizing anthing about the sanctity of death or what any of this meant to loved ones, that children, parents, sweethearts and friends were resting there, were visited weekly, prayed over and more, he just callously ordered the graves dug up and all the skeletal remains removed. Building went on as continued on what was now a place of sorrow and great unrest. This laid the foundation for what was to come over the next 225 some odd years. Knowing this, it all seems a little more clear.

Bradford died not long after in 1808. His widow sold the land and "Laurel Grove" to her son-in-law, Clark Woodruff, a lawyer and friend of Andrew Jackson........

to be continued....

Stone Circles

I love this topic! I think these are just so beautiful and yet kind of creepy at the same time...in a good way! :) These circles...well they aren't always circles. Sometimes 3 or 4 stones form an arc or only part of a circle. These massive forms are lovely megalithic monuments from ancient times that have been puzzling modern men and women for ages.
I have never been to a site to see one personally, but Ijust love to look at photos of them. I love the quiet stillness they project and the majesty of the rocks. They are projections of the very power of Creation and the Earth itself. I would love to tap into the rock somehow and hook into just a little bit of the knowledge of all the things that time has shown them over all these years. They have seen power and strength, beauty, peace, war, life and death and humanity at its best and its worst. One day I hope to have the chance to visit a site and have the opportunity to "feel" the power of one of these sites. We'll see.
Anyway, there are thousands of these sites all over the world, in Britain, Ireland, Africa, India, the Americas, Israel and even have been found in some polar regions. Although these places are shrouded in mystery and bring to mind pictures of Stonehenge and old druid priests, thanks to archaeologists and their hard work we know that the spots were often used as burial places, often were used for rituals and were probably related to the calendar and in some way were used to mark the solstaces, or at least the summer solstace.
Can any of you readers that have been to a circle of standing stones give a first hand account of your experience?

Woman accused of Witchcraft Exonerated more than 200 years after her "judicial murder"

Approximatley 200 years ago in Glarus Switzerland, a woman lived in the house of a local magistrate, Jakob Tschudi. Her name was Anna Goeldi. She was a maidservant for the household and had the misfortune of falling in love with her employer, who fired her when she threatened to go public with their affair. As adultary was a crime, and he was a public figure who couldn't take the humiliation, he decided to silence Anna for good by accusing her of witchcraft.

Tortured for days until she confessed not once, but twice, Goeldi was publically beheaded in the town square two weeks later.

Just days ago this month, a verdict in this case was handed down from a non-legal trial and held that Anna Goeldi was the victim of judicial murder. An interesting note that the last woman accused of witchcraft in Europe and her exoneration comes some 200 years after her death...and even this was initially blocked by local authorities and the Protestant Church!

Shall we say too little too late? Your thoughts?

Part II

The Fat Man was standing in the doorway between my kitchen and the dining room. He was blocking my exit and I had no way out and yet I didn't feel threatened. Despite feeling relatively calm despite of my visitor, I hoped my children didn't come downstairs looking for their dinner.
Thoughts of my family brought me even a little more around to reality and I started to notice things about "he fat man". I noticed he wore brown dress slacks and a white collared button-up shirt. His brown hair was parted on the side. His face was good-natured and kind. I felt no menace or evil and I felt myself begin to relax.
His smile widened so that it spread to his eyes, as if to let me know everything was fine. He then slowly turned away and I noticed his form start to waver and dissipate. Then he was gone.
To this day, I do not know who the fat man was, but I remember a momentary sadness when he left me. I have never come across a photograph of him. I don't think he was a relative (at least not one that any family member has ever spoken of) and I have never seen him again.
Truth be told, I miss him. For those moments he was with me, I felt comfort. I find myself hoping to see him again and maybe have a chance to chat.

A Personal Experience - Part I

I've heard that ghosts (entities or spirits) can gain energy from the electrical appliances we use so when I hear stories about that sort of thing, it doesn't surprise me. I am a believer now, but I wasn't always.
My story started about ten years ago when I was cooking dinner for my family in the small galley kitchen of the town-home we lived in at the time. I turned around to put a casserole dish in the microwave and closed the door. Before I could get my fingers anywhere near the cook buttons, large sparks (actually they were more like small lightning bolts!) flew from the buttons and hit the two gold bracelets that were securely clasped on my right wrist. The bracelets fell to the floor with an audible "Crack".
Those bracelets meant a lot to me. My husband had bought them for me as a wedding present and I didn't want to think of losing them. I bent down to pick them up and was so happy to see that they weren't broken, and yet I knew they should be after what had happened. Although they were good 14k bracelets with expensive clasps, I didn't think any metal would have been able to have held up under the explosive "cracks" of lights from the microwave.
An odd burning smell lingered in the air and thin lines of black smoke curled from the microwave. As I picked the bracelets up, and tried to re-fasten them on my wrists out of the corner of my eye I noticed a large, black shadow. When I turned around to get a better look, my heart starting beating faster and a chill corsed through me. Those thin swirls of smoke took the shape of a man! A fat man who smiled at me in the doorway.

SOME GREAT CRYPTOZOOLOGY BOOKS ON AMAZON.COM

If you're looking to pick up some good books to add to your collection, to stock up before the long cold winter hits or to get some early Christmas shopping one, give a couple of these a try for your favorite "animal" lover!

Cryptozoology A To Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature by Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark (Paperback - Aug 5, 1999)
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Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers by Michael Newton (Hardcover - Jan 6, 2005)
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Tales of the Cryptids: Mysterious Creatures That May or May Not Exist (Darby Creek Publishing) by Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears, and Roxyanne Young (Hardcover - Sep 1, 2006)
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CHUPACABRA - MYTH OR MONSTER?

Well, this elusive little guy gets around! The Chupacabra has a history with first sightings beginning in Puerto-Rico with other sightings in Mexico, the United States and as far away as Australia. The reports of these little vampyric "goat-suckers" are all similar in nater an M.O. (motive operandi).

All victims have 3 small puncture wounds in the neck or chest from which the blood is drained away from the body. Sometimes, organs are found missing as well, presumably from these small holes. The victims are generall herd animal. Goat, sheep, horses, cattle and even dogs. As far as is known, there has never been a human victim.

Interestingly, the appearance of the creature is a little harder to get straight as reports vary from place to place. Most witnesses say the animal is gray to green, or brown. Some say it has wings and piercing red eyes that glow in the night sky. Some say it has wings and can only fly. Some says it is bi-pedal and chases it's pray on 2 legs. All agree it is a creature of the night.

So, an alien? A demon? Some kind of new hybrid species? Anyone have any thoughts?

Shall We Chat A Bit Of Nessie?

Even though described as a monster, I find the thought of "Nessie" so charming, I actually feel a odd pull towards her, it's odd to say, but if it were possible, I would love to have her as a pet! It the same way I feel about dolphins or adorable baluga whales. I've loved hearing about Nessie, or the Loch Ness Monster, if you will, since I was a child. Here's a little background information.

I would say that maybe Nessie is the most famous monster of our time. Loch Ness itself is the largest lake in Great Britain, and of the sights I hope to see one day. It is 23 miles long, one mile wide, and almost 1000 feet deep in places. Some people say that the entire population of the earth could fit in the loch.

The very first sighting of the Loch Ness monster was in about 565 AD by the missionary Saint Columba, who was visiting Scotland to spread the Gospel. He needed to cross the loch, so one of his followers swam out in the water to reach their boat. Then a great form rose from the water and looked like it was going to eat the missionary. Saint Columba ordered the rest of his followers to be quiet, and rebuked the monster in the name of the Lord. The monster drew back and everyone was unharmed.

Since the debunking of the "famous" Nessie phots on the Loch, the sightings seemed to have slowed down some. We'll keep watching and listening

Mondays Cryptozoology Corner....tracking Bigfoot

Hi everyone! Thought we'd catch up on some factoids and some interesting sighting information on some of our most elusive friends.
As far as Bigfoot hotspots, according to the Indiana Gazatte (a newspaper from Indiana Pennsylvania) the 4 main spots for sightings are #1 California, #2 Washington, #3 Oregon and #4 Pennsylvania. Our guy likes nicely dense wooded areas it seems. Makes sense.
Also per the Gazette, they tell us "Bigfoot is believed to roam all over the United States - sightings have been reported in every state except Rhode Island and Hawaii. In Pennsylvania alone, there have been more than 800 alleged sightings since 1830. " Writer Erica Fontana in the Monday, 26 March 2007 edition of The Indiana Gazette raises an important issue "Because the sightings are so rare and they're so sporadic, it makes it even harder to find this creater. We'd like to try to get this animal proven so it can be protected," Some HYPOTHESES about what the creature, if it exists, are varied. Some believe it is the "Missing Link" between humans and other primates; others think it may be a descendant of another primate species that has gone extinct, such as Gigantopithecus blacki, Paranthropus robustus or Meganthropus. Still others think it could be an undiscovered primate species or something else entirely, such as a pervasive hoax.
My stance? Where there is smoke there is fire... I want to believe and think there is truth to what these people are seeing.

Any BIGFOOT Believers Out There?

For Most people, the creature known as "bigfoot" is passed off as myth, largely because the nay-saying scientiests argue that if they were really out there, we certainly would have found bones, or a carcass or two or some sort of remains. Since we haven't, they dismiss the thought of any kind of bi-pedal, 10 foot tall creature roaming the woods. I disagree. I LOVE animals, and I love cryptozoology and Bigfoot (and the lake monsters) is one of my favorites.
The most convincing Bigfoot stories I ever heard in our country are the sightings from Whitehall New York. I come from a small town in upstate New York, Stamford. Stamford is nestled nicely between the Catskills and the Adirondaks, a very similar kind of town to Whitehall.
Whitehall is a small town near the Adirondack Mountain Preserve and has been a pretty busy place concerning the Hairy One's sightings. The Bigfoot sightings in the area date back to the Iroquois Indians. There are also documented sightings during the exploration of the St. Lawrence seaway and Great Lakes areas of the U.S. and Canada by French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, in the early 1600's (Also the home of "Champy, the Lake Champlain monster).
There is a frequenty mentioned road in Whitehall, on the outskirts of town called Abair Road. Whitehall police officer, Brian Gosselin had a very interesting encounter with our guy there. I believe that it garnered so much attention, the television show Monster Quest visited the town and did their own investigation. I'm interested to see what they turn up. Anyone have any information or thoughts about Bigfoot?

A lot of people ask me what got me interested in the paranormal. First, I tell them it's a lot more than an interest...more of a life-long learning experience. What sparked it is kind of silly. I remember being a really little kid and coming come from kindergarden with my older cousin. He couldn't wait to get home, plop down in front of the television set and tune into DARK SHADOWS, a soap opera done in black and white. You can still buy copies of the old show at Best Buy or on Ebay, and they have great nostalgic value for old fans like me but they were a little hokey.
What was significant about this show was, for me, 3 of the main charachters. Barnabas (a vampire), Quentin (a werewolf) and Angelique (a witch). From this silly show I actually gleaned the fledgling knowledge of a novice regarding these creatures, but more importantly it left me wanting to learn more. So basically, that's where it started for me, at age 5 but it didn't end there. It's many years later and I am still learning. I hope to never stop. My learning has led me to meeting interesting people and to many personal experiences with the paranormal.
So that's my begninng. It's pretty simple. Now, I'd like to hear to yours. Don't be shy. Tell me about you and what go you started. Tell me what you'd like to talk about here, or what you'd like to learn about. Let's learn together.
Let's talk more tomorrow...

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I'm so excited to begin. There's so many things to talk about and so much I have to say, but this won't be just me. This will be a place where you can talk too, I want to hear about your experiences. All the things that have happened to you, the things you're afraid to talk about to other people. The things that you know if you did tell anybody, they'd think you were crazy. They'd look at you funny. They'd nod with compassion but in your heart you'll know they don't believe you.

I'll believe you. I've had those experiences my whole life. This will be our place. We'll talk, we'll learn about all those things that go bump in the night. We'll get to know each other. So send me your questions, so I get to learn more about you and you can learn more about me, as the days go by.

From your fellow shadow watcher...