Ferla Mohr, The Big Gray Man

Being Scottish I especially love a good Scotts tale of fairies and legend. I don't know how true it is for the people on the whole but from my own observations and from family members I would say that people from Celtic decent tend to be somewhat superstitious and also great storytellers. I seem to recall hearing something about "The big gray man" growing up, but I could be mistaken. Whether myth or actual cryptoid I don't know but I would say this bears investigation. Should anyone have any knowledge on this creature that they are willing to share, I hope you will.

Going back to the 1920's in a region of Scotland known as Ben MacDhui there have been reported sightings of a Sasquatch like creature known as "Ferla Mohr" or "The Big Gray Man". The Ferla Mohr is said to be a 25 foot tall hairy man-ape creature that is described as more of a supernatural presence than an actual creature, although actual sightings of the beasts are said to have occurred.

The Ferla Mohr seems to have supernatural powers. He is said to be able to control the weather, including the fog and the rain. He can also cause such extreme fear in both humans and animals that they will try to commit suicide by leaping off cliffs or reportedly have even died trying to get away from him.

Author Jamie Hall has done a lot of research on this subject and some of this information has been taken from his website http://www.newanimal.org/biggrayman.htm. Many thanks to him. You can read more about Jamie and his other work at jh-author.com

For other great books on the subject, check these out. These are also from Jamie's site.

Grey, Affleck. The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. Aberdeen, Scotland: Impulse Books, 1970.

McEwan, Graham J. Mystery Animals of Britain and Ireland. London: Robert Hale, 1986. Pages 171-172

Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005. Pages 59, 198

Redfern, Nick. Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape-Men. New York: Paraview Pocket Books, 2004. Pages 21, 217-226

Shuker, Karl P. N. Scotland's Greyman

A Call to help a friend, a fellow lover of the paranormal. Please read.

This was posted on the "My Para" network site, to which I belong. It's a wonderful network over 3000 strong. They were hit with some devastating news. News that no "famiy" wants to here. One of their members was diagnosed with a terrible illness and they are desperate to help her get well and of corse in our society, that takes more money than health insurance will provide. If you can find it in your hearts to contribute....even a dollar, you'll have done your good deed and can feel good about helping. Read on and meet Mary Beth.

"I'm always seeing posts declaring that the paranormal community is one big family. How we should support and help each other.

Recently, one of our "family" members posted the following:

'We at Tri-State Paranormal of Northern Kentucky are putting together a fundraiser for one of our own......Marybeth Stagman is our case manger and on a couple weeks ago she found out that she has a rare form of breast cancer and the following day she discovered her mother had passed away. So now we are putting together a fundrasier for her and the breast cancer foundation.'

So here's your chance people. As I said, put up or shut up. And I don't wanna see one post about how you "can't" afford it. Just $1 people, or $5 or $10, what ever. Go dig in the couch cushion! Don't buy that Quarter Pounder this week. Forgo that StarBucks. How about it? Can you practice what you preach???"

So far they have only raised $355 of the $5000 needed so I hope you will consider giving, even $1. Go to mypara,net for more information and to donate. You can go to the "We are family?" post under forums or go to the right side-bar where the donation box is and simply donate. All donations to mypara.net for the entire month of November will be going to Marybeth's medical fund. Thanks for considering Marybeth. I'll keep you updated on our progress.

The Barghest. Beware the Ghost Dog, He is a Hound from Hell!

In quite a few of today's better horror films and stories, there are a number of large black dogs snarling, growling and prowling about, ready to pounce on their victims with a crazed look in their eyes. They are usually referred to as hell hounds or something of the like and their purpose is pretty simple. They exist either to drag a person's soul (or body) back to hell, to tear a person to shreds to release their soul to hell or simply to terrify a person so much that it warns them in no uncertain terms to back off what ever they were doing that ticked off what ever evil forces the dogs were working for so they stop. They stop immediately, and usually leave town if they are smart, and take up a new liking for cats!

The scary thing is, these dogs are not just a figment of modern day writers and film-makers. The tales of these dogs are rooted in legend and folklore, and as with anything else that is handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation, there just might be some substance behind this legend.

The stories originated in Britain and the hounds were called the Barghest.In olden times the word for ghost was pronounced "guest" in Northern England and the word "Bar" put together with it could have made the origin of the word "town ghost" but perhaps that wasn't the original meaning at all. We will never know, but whatever the original meaning of the word, most stories of the Barghest tell of a very large black dog with red eyes and very large, sharp teeth.

Some tales have likened the Barghest to a werewolf in ferocity and strength, others say it comes as a harbinger of death, merely to warn of impending doom. Others say they are simply evil and will kill at will simply for the sport of it. Some say they will steal your babies and small children from their cradles at night to take them to their lair to eat as a midnight snack.

One must be very wary of the Barghest. They are difficult to hunt and almost impossible to capture because thy also have the capability of shapshifting. According to legend, they have been known to be able to transform into cats, trolls, elves, ravens, rabbits and even human form.

We Have a Winner!!

Congratulations to BARBARA! She's the winner of the EMF reader in our latest contest. Be sure to keep your eyes open for upcoming contests and remember, entries are also accepted through facebook.

Ghost Story from Virginia

Ashley - Sterling, Virginia - 2001-2003

In early 2001, my parents and I started renting a two-story house that wasn't more than 40 years old. We never knew about the previous owners or any history on the house. We were only told that the old owners moved out in a hurry. There were two sheds in the backyard that were full of old stuff that was left by the previous owners, so they really did leave in a hurry.

Odd things didn't start happening until after we lived there for a few months. There were four bedrooms upstairs and I had one that was on the end of the upstairs. That room was always freezing and it had a heavy feeling to it -- like whenever you walked into the room it felt like you were walking into a freezer and you were weighted down by something. After being sick a few times in that room, I moved to the bedroom adjacent to it. That room never got cold or had any weird feelings to it.

I used to be a cheerleader and play soccer, I had many trophies of all the years I did sports -- I had them all lined up on a dresser right next to my closet. One day, when I got home from school all my trophies were laying on the ground in a row. The house was empty all day and my door was closed the entire time I was at school. A lot of stuff happened in the closet of my room also. I would have toys that made noises be turned off and on, the switches would actually be switched to off when I put them away and then they would turn on in the middle of the night. And we had an attic that my father went into once since we lived there. There were no animals in the attic, just cobwebs and our winter stuff. But at night we would hear bumping sounds, sort of like someone knocking on the attic floor, but with carpet on the floor of the attic.

One day I was telling my friend about it, so we started knocking on the ceiling of my room. It was a simple "knock knock" and not two minutes later we heard a "knock knock" back. It scared us to the point where I would sleep in the living room for a little while. And my parents said that they couldn't hear anything, not us knocking or the knock back. Soon we decided to move closer to my new high school. The last month we were there I was sitting upstairs in the family room when I kept getting the feeling of being poked in the leg, stomach, sides, and arms. It was my muscles twitching -- like someone was poking me. Ever since moving out of that house I've had minor encounters with different things, but nothing compared to what went on in that house. I could never get any information on that house from anywhere, but I am continuing to look to this day.

This great story comes to The Shadow Watchers from ghostvillage.com They're celebrating their tenth year of getting great paranormal information to a huge audience of readers and we than them for it. Make sure you check out their website.

Great Halloween Fun

Here's the latest news from Troy Taylor, the Editor of Bump in the Night Ghost Report which is published by Troy Taylor & American Hauntings.
Main Website at http://www.americanhauntings.org If you have the time, this sounds like a blast!

SPOOKAPALOOZA! THE BIGGEST EVENT OF THE HALLOWEEN SEASON!

Spookapalooza 2009 Our Last Houdini Séance!

October 31, 2009 -- Decatur, Illinois

Haunted Lincoln Theater



Doors Open at 7:30 PM

Event Begins at 9:00 PM

No One Admitted after 9:00 PM!

Tickets only $10 for General Admission!
Limited Spots Remaining for the Late Night Ghost Hunt and Stage Seating during the Séance!


Join Host Troy Taylor, Illusionist James L. Clark & Medium Ken Berg for the Biggest and Most Chilling Halloween Event of 2009! You'll be riveted to your seat at one of the most terrifying events of the season as we hold our final Houdini séance within the haunted confines of the legendary Lincoln Theater! Be chilled by a theatrical re-creation of a Victorian séance, which will have you wondering if it's real, or merely an illusion! Be unsettled by a Live Radio Show from a 1936 Houdini Séance and then pushed over the edge as a real-life spirit communication begins to try and reason the spirit of famed magician Harry Houdini! He always maintained that if it was possible to make contact from the other side, he would do so -- and will be finally make contact at the Lincoln Theater on the 83rd anniversary of his death?

The Banshee, Mourning Spirit of the Irish

The Banshee (or "bean-shide" if you know Gaelic) is a female fairy of sorts, of Irish decent, that comes to warn others of Irish decent of their impending death. According to Celtic lore, the Banshee could only be seen at night in one of the forms of the Goddess; a beautiful young woman, a proper matron or a shriveled old hag.

Tradition states that the Banshee could visit and cry only for members of the five major Irish clans, that being the O'Connors, the O'Gradys, the O'Briens, the O'Neils and the Kavenaughs. Since those days, centuries of interbreeding between those clans has made the Banshee and her wailing cry fair game for anyone with even a bit of Irish in their blood.

The Banshee usually appears as hooded figure outside a person's window and her cry is so shrill it can shatter glass. Occasionally, there have been reports of the Banshee appearing in human form to bring predictions of doom to members of a royal Irish family. Such was the case with King James I of Scotland. In 1437 , He was approached by an Irish Banshee in the form of a normal human woman who told him of his murder (and also told him that the Earl of Atholl was at the root of the deed).
Everything she said turned out to be true, but this was not a surprise to the King's court. In those days, the Irish respected the cry of the Banshee.

Keep in mind, a Banshee can warn of the death of a relative or a loved one to come as well, not just of the person who hears the cry. I have heard people in my own family say they have heard the Banshee cry. I am of Celtic descent being Scotts and Irish. I believe them. Have you ever had that feeling when you knew death was near? You could just feel that someone near you was going to die? That's a bit of "the site". That doesn't mean you are a Banshee, but it does mean that on a dark and quiet night you might hear one crying for you.

Great new book for all paranormal readers

I'm on the email list for a great newsletter you all might want to sign up for. It's from Prairieghosts.com and you should definately sign up for it. I am taking this book notice straight from their newsletter beacuse it sounds so great. Read on. I hope it sounds so great you order one!

NEW BOOK AVAILABLE TO ORDER FROM WHITECHAPEL PRESS!

TALKING WITH THE DEAD: CASEBOOKS OF AMERICAN GHOST HUNTERS
Collected by Troy Taylor and Rob & Anne Wlodarski

The latest title from Whitechapel Press and our “Haunted Field Guide” series is now available to order and since we are sending this out to our newsletter subscribers first, we wanted to give you a chance to order one of the collectible, signed, numbered, limited edition copies! Each of the special edition is numbered and is signed by Troy Taylor and Rob & Anne Wlodarski! These collectible copies will not last long, so be sure to order yours today!

Go to https://www.prairieghosts.com/ghh.html to order and check out the special offers that we have for other books in the “Haunted Field Guide Series”! Here’s more about the new book….

Talking with the DeadCasebooks of American Ghost Hunter's (2009)

Collected by Troy Taylor and Rob & Anne Wlodarski

A Collection of 13 Chilling Cases Written by Ghost Hunters from All Across America! In previous volumes of the “Haunted Field Guide Series” from Whitechapel Press, our authors have offered a wide array of how-to information about the world of paranormal research. In this book, researchers have put their words into action! Troy Taylor and Rob & Anne Wlodarski have collected 13 spooky cases from ghost hunters from all across America, detailing their experiences with ghosts as a real-life haunted location – and their eerie contact with the spirits of the dead. Traveling to locations that include the Villisca Ax Murder House, Nemacolin Castle, the Leonis Adobe, Goliad, Cassadega Spiritualist Camp, Jerome, Arizona – the “Wickedest Town in the West”, Alfred’s Victorian Restaurant, Glen Tavern Inn, That Steak Joynt and many others. The book includes the editors, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Richard Senate, Dale Kaczmarek, Rene Kruse, Dusty Smith, Bob Hunnicutt, Pete Haviland, Chad Patterson, John and Kelly Weaver, Maritza Skandunas, Karen Ridens, and Sharon Gaudette Hieserich. One of the widest arrays of ghost story and investigation books that we have every produced – it’s sure to have you turning the pages long into the night! $15.00

Chapters & Sections in the Book Include:

* Introduction by Troy Taylor

* The House of Spirits by Rob & Anne Wlodarski

* That Steak Joynt by Dale Kaczmarek

* A Message from the Trickster by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

* A Psychic Investigation at the Glen Tavern Inn by Richard Senate

* Haunted Nemacolin Castle by Rene' Kruse

* The Spirit of Ralph Mesa Speaks by Maritza Skandunas, Karen Ridens & Sharon Gaudette Hieserich

* The Haunting of Alfred's Victorian by Kelly & John Weaver

* Investigation at the Jerome Grand Hotel by Chad Patterson

* Camp Cassadega by Dusty Smith

* A Quiet Courage: Death in Goliad by Peter Haviland

* Nights at the Gaither Plantation by Bob Hunnicutt

* Searching for the Ghosts of the Villisca Ax Murder House by Troy Taylor

* Spirits of the Leonis Adobe by Rob & Anne Wlodarski

Go to https://www.prairieghosts.com/ghh.html to order your copy today!

New Movie - "Paranormal Activity" opening to very small audiences. WOW!

Well, another independent film (ala Blair Witch) is opening to VERY limited release. You can only catch it in about a dozen theaters about the country. They will be listed at the end of this clip.

The movie, Paranormal Activity, looks very interesting and I'm excited to see it. Take a look at this and see what you think. All comments welcome. Tell your friends about it. If more people request it in their own hometowns and it gets more of a backing, we may see it showing in more places.

Cold Spots, an indicator of paranormal activity?

Pretty much everyone would accept the fact that energy requires heat, and that one could be synonymous with the other. To offer a quick and easy explanation for cold spots, one could presume that in order for an entity of any sort to manifest itself quite a bit of energy would be required. This would in fact pull a tremendous amount of energy from that area, sucking out all the heat and leaving it cold.

Some people who have had paranormal experiences have reported running into definite areas of startling cold, or cold spots. The difference in temperature is so extreme it could be explained similarly to jumping into an icy cold river on a hot summer's day

Another school of thought says that cold spots can be warnings of malevolent spirits "up ahead". Others say they are the residual trails left by moving entities. I have experienced the feeling of cold spots and have been with people in the very same room who have not so I think a person needs a certain sensitivity in order to be able to detect them.

My personal experience with cold spots occurred in an old jail cell during an investigation. I was able to put my hand completely through one, being able to feel normal heat on the other side. There was no other supernatural occurrences that evening. No odors, nothing moved and no sound. As far as evidence, we had no EVP recordings, but we did catch some orbs on photos taken that night.

Anyone else who might have any thoughts or ideas on cold spots, please feel free to add them. Your contributions are welcome.

Ghosts, which type could be haunting you?

Whether you feel you are being haunted yourself or you are doing an investigation for someone else, it's important to know what type of spirit you are dealing with. Preparedness is paramount for any serious (or seriously good)hunter.
Although there may be more undiscovered and/or unstudied types of ghosts, for our purposes we'll look at five different types of spirits that we know about to date.
The first, and simplest is the Anniversary or annual haunting. This type of spirit is seen only one time per year, to commemorate some type of event or milestone such as a great battle, the anniversary of a birth, a death or the like. Actually, the annual haunting is in fact a residual spirit because they "reenact" the same scene or event over and over again year after year like an old movie projector that gets stuck on the same piece of film.

A residual haunting is similar to a spirit's energy is "trapped" in time. A large percent of the hauntings that are reported fall into this category. When you get repeated reports of the same occurrence such as "woman in a red dress on the second floor" or "I hear heavy footsteps in the attic" or when there are reports of spirits dressed in old fashioned clothes seated around a table eating a meal and then vanish. These are all residual hauntings. The energy of the spirits remains strong, usually because of some violent event that took the persons life very unexpectedly. This is the type of haunting common to battlefields, old taverns, inns and the like. These hauntings pose no threat to any spectator no to any homeowner you may be investigating for. A residual spirit is much like a radio announcer playing the same song again and again and again. It gets frustrating and tedious after a while. There's not much you can do about it but it's not harmful.

Poltergeists are very similar in nature to an intelligent haunting. In these cases, the spirits do interact with their hosts or homeowners being usually more active at night. They can be quite a nuisance, and very frustrating. Although you can't see them, you can see what they do. These are the spirits that can move things around the room, flip light switches and open and close cabinet doors. These spirits are generally too attached to something here to leave. They've made some kind of connection with something physical, or they may be trying to find someone or something. Or, quite simply, they just may not believe they've died. It can be very difficult to get rid of a a poltergeist. Oftentimes, families have to pack up and leave their homes and hope that does the trick.

Then, we have the nice, happy benevolent spirit that haunts simply to protect us. We've all heard the stories of ghost "nannies" who've ushered children out of the house just before the house burned down and so on. These are benevolent spirits.

Unfortunately, on the flip side, we also have the malevolent spirits and that's the one we want to stay away from. These ghosts have nothing else on their minds but harm and will try anything in their arsenal to hurt you. They exist to harm and they are good at it. Star clear of them and anything that has to do with them.

Now that you have that kind of a breakdown, you can start to decide what kind of a haunting you are dealing with so you can best decide how to take care of it. It is easy to mistake one for the other sometimes, so be sure to listen carefully to what someone is telling you before you make a quick judgement. You can't be too careful.

Is Tim Burton Really Bringing Dark Shadows Back?

If the news is true that Dark Shadows is being resurrected to the big screen, we fans have the one and only Tim Burton to thank for it. Rumors have been circulating that Mr. Burton has had this project on a back burner of that fascinating mind for a while

I can't believe there are people out there that don't know what "Dark Shadows" was, but then I forget that not everyone is a fossil like me. Dark Shadows was actually a soap opera that began back in 1966People called it "Gothic" because a lot of it was played out in gorgeous old Gothic mansion called "Collinwood Manor".



Back then we had things like "Creature Feature" and "Chiller Theater" on Friday and/or Saturday nights that played all the great old black and white scary movies made by the likes of Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, but until Dark Shadows there was nothing like this on TV before and and we LOVED it! All of a sudden we had vampires, werewolves, witches, ghoses and zombies and all kinds of good stuff that all of us kids hurried home from the bus stops to plop down in front of our TV sets to see. We even by passed the cookies and mild so we wouldn't missed a minute! Dark Shadows was so popular there were a couple of movies made and even a revival of the series in the 1980's starring Ben Cross and Michael T. Weiss.

And now, according the rumblings, it might be coming back, with Johnny Depp in the lead, playing Barnabus Collins, our favorite long-suffering vampire. Rumor has it that filming will begin next April or May with a release date of sometime in 2011. Needless to say, I, for one, will be waiting!

Do you remember this?

When I was about 10 or 12, I used to live with my mother and my sister in this apartment complex on Long Island, New York. Through a really short strip of woods was a shopping center with a "Grants" store, a really cool Card and Novelty shop, a Movie Theater and some other neat places. On Saturday afternoons you could go the movies and see a double feature for 50 cents. My friends and I walked over every single Saturday, bought a huge tub of popcorn to share and saw two (usually they were some kind of horror movie, or some kind of awful sci-fi movie)movies. One of them was Mark Of The Devil. Do you remember this one?

It was really awful, not just because of the awful script and dubbed in English, but because of the blood, guts and gore. Pretty unusual for its day. This movie was promoted by giving everyone who bought ticket a special little "barf" bag (which was really an air sickness bag) with a scene from the movie printed on it with the words, "This vomit bag and the price of one admission will enable you to see....."
Anyway, we weren't old enough so my sister bought our tickets for us and we got our little barf bags and in we went.

I was too stupid to close my eyes so like my friends, and none of us used our bags but I do remember that movie...vividly. It was all about the witch hunts and the persecution of innocent people because other people wanted things from them...things like land, sex, money and pretty much anything else.

To get these things, the traveling witch finder would apply various hideous tortures to innocent people in order to get them to confess, upon which time the people would be killed anyway, so the whole ordeal seemed pointless anyway.

The movie was actually shot in a museum in Germany, I think, or maybe in Austria...and the implements of torture used in the movie were real and were at some point used on real people. The bloodiest part of the movie was when an innocent girl gets her tongue ripped out of her head. I hear that the actress had to hold a newborn calves tongue in her mouth for that scene. Ugh!!! Anyway, this movie is not for the faint of heart. There are feet burnings, burnings at the stake, rape, sitting on long nails, stretching, and so much more that I can't even name them.

This movie is available on ebay, but I don't suggest anyone buy it. It's truly awful. By the way, the barf bags from the original movies are available too. Here's a picture from one on ebay.

NEW GIVE-AWAY FOR SHADOW WATCHER READERS!!!!

Announcing a new give-away for "shadow watcher" readers! Since I know some of you are checking out ghost hunting for yourselves, I thought it would be fun to give-away an EMF reader! This is an ELF reader that is suitable for beginners because it's easy to use and very easy to read. All you do is look for a reading between 2 and 7 mG. That's it! The "elf" runs on 9v batteries, not included. Just so you know, these meters no longer come in the package shown because they are bought in bulk by the supplier but they are brand new and otherwise are the exact same meter shown.


This contest will run through October 15th with the winner being drawn at random. All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog telling us what your favorite horror movie is. That's it. Good luck!

For anyone living close to Cedar Point Amusement Park

This sounds so great, I had to mention it. My husband works in radio and has gotten word from the Public Relations Department of the Cedar Point Amusement Park/Resort in Sandusky, Ohio that their HalloWeekends 13 is opening this weekend. There will be two new haunted houses and three new live shows and more thrills than ever before!
This sounds amazing so I know it will be worth the trip if you live near by, be sure to check it out!

Cedar Point is worth the trip any time of year but they put so much effort into their Halloween season, it's positively amazing!It's easy to get to Cedar Point!

Cedar Point Amusement Park
1 Cedar Point Drive
Sandusky, Ohio 44870-5259


http://www.cedarpoint.com/_upload/trip_planning/2006map.gif

The Re-release of a Classic deserves a mention

28 years ago actor David Naughton dropped to the floor of his girlfriend's flat in London and underwent what I would call the best transformation from man to werewolf in movie history. Now before you go thinking I'm crazy because of the great (and I do mean great) transformation of Eddie Quist in The Howling.
The reason I think the transformation of "Werewolf" was superior was because it was in the daytime and we got to see every last painful moment of the change. So I guess what I mean was, In that sense the what we actually saw was amazing. The Howling's transformation might have been scarier because when Eddie Quist turned, with that horrible pulsating, appendage elongating, painful transformation, it was by far creepier in that half light. I remember them both like yesterday.





















Anyway, Werewolf was a great film. It was sad, it was funny. It had that great scene. In my opinion, it deserved to be re-released yesterday. I hope if you don't already have it, you'll buy it on Blue Ray or DVD and have fun with all the special features.

The CW hits it out of the ballpark! Warning--Spoiler Alerts for those who may have missed out!

Well, I think we need to talk about the season premiers of both the Vampire Diaries and Supernatural that both aired last night on the CW network.

The Vampire Diaries was off to a good start. All of the good characters turned out to be quite likable while the ones that were supposed to be bad ha an air of sinister "Hey, I want to get to know you better cause you seem kind of cool in a bad-boy way" about them.

The first episode set the scene for "two brothers similar to the good cop vs bad cop scenario but only with vampires. Stephan, the "Good" brother who tries not to drink human blood, apparently had a girlfriend way back when that looked incredibly like one of the girls in his new high school. Although that same story line was used in the old faithful Dark Shadows series with Josette and Barnabas, it seems to work more often than not.

Anyway, bad brother Damon is busy killing students, quenching his thirst and making fun of Stephen. It will be fun to see how this plays out.

As far as Supernatural, wow what a beginning! We had to watch Bobby be possessed and then stab himself with the demon killing knife, we were told that Dean himself actually was was the sword of Michael the Archangel and was to be the vessel for Michael to possess in order to vanquish Lucifer.

We had to witness poor Sam being sad. Alot! We saw Satan talking some poor shlub that had his wife and baby murdered into being his vessel, and we saw Castielle making the greatest entrance in CW history to save our boys from that devil of an angel Zachariah who was trying to persuade Dean into let Michael possess him.

That was one hour that passed so quickly it seemed like 10 minutes. I can't wait till next Thursday.

By the way, Misha Collins has a twiiter that is HILLARIOUS!! If you haven't already checked it out, you need to do so. If you're not a fan already, you will be when you read this and become one of his "minions".

Dreamy Cats

My last post was about cats and as I promised, here are some of the superstitions involving cats and dreams.

When you are attacked by a cat in a dream, you will soon be betrayed.

Dream of a white cat and you will suffer a great loss.

Dream of a sleeping cat and you will experience tranquility.

Dream of a flying can and you will soon take a journey.

Dreaming of a hideous creature in cat form means that you are not facing up to the unlikable or even the evil or criminal side of someone important in your life.

If your dream of a cat near the Christmas, Kwanzaa or Hanukkah seasons, a tragedy or illness will befall you or your family within the coming year.

If you have heard of any other superstitions involving cats and dreams, post your comment and let us know.

SUPERNATURAL and VAMPIRE DIARIES

Get ready fans, the long awaited Thursday premier night is here. What has become the favorite network for MILLIONS of fans is going to shine tonight with the long awaited premier of the 5Th season of Supernatural which looks amazing (thanks to Youtube spoilers) and the first season of The Vampire Diaries. I'm sure you will all be riveted in your seats at 8:00 (eastern time).

Let us know what you think tomorrow and happy viewing. Three cheers for the CW!

Cat Magic, Should they cross YOUR path?

OK, I'll admit it. I am Crazy about cats. In fact, I have four of them. Id have about 20 if I could but my family already thinks I'm one of those crazy cat women like the ones you hear about the news. But even though I love them, I know that can't be said of everyone. But, love them or hate them, cats have been leaving their mark on society from ancient times.

I have owned cats since I was a little girl. My favorite cat is my black Persian named Duncan (I know, that's weird, a Scottish name for a Persian name but all of my pets have Scottish names) with big, round, yellow eyes. However, Duncan wouldn't be too popular too most people through the ages. Black cats have always been associated with black or negative magic and have been known as the epitome of evil.

White cats, on the other hand, (and ironically, I have never owned one. I wonder that says about me?) are associated with good or white magic or positive things. They are the equivalent of good omens and people never worried when they found themselves in the presence of white cat, in fact, they tried to find one to keep in their homes (except in Egypt. They hated all cats!) Gray cats swung both ways and were pretty much avoided in case they got up on the wrong side of the bed that day.

People in the middle ages believed that cats could cast spells because they believed that they assisted witches. Some people even believe that dreaming about cats can Divine your future....but more about that in my next post.

Usually, it is agreed that the eyes of a cat are considered to be the windows are some great chasm of the great beyond and have a hypnotic effect that can draw people in. Sometimes too far in....hence the word "CAT-atonic" as in catatonic state. All I know is that a black cat makes the perfect living Halloween decoration and I love it when they cross my path! This is Duncan

Another story about Time Travel....

This story is more well known and I have heard it talked about more often. I do lend more credence to this one as it is more well documented.

One day in France in 1901, two spinster ladies, Eleanor Jourdin and Charlotte Moberly went for a walk in the gardens of Versailles looking for a building called the "Petit Trianon" which was Marie Antoinette's private chateau and was originally built at Versailles in 1761–64 for Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour.

As they walked, both women suddenly noticed the air thickening and they felt like they were taken over by a sort of fugue or dreamlike state where they knew they were still awake but the atmosphere around them somehow seemed different. Neither woman mentioned it to other but just kept on walking.

Suddenly, they noticed that the people around them were dressed in the clothing of the 1700's, the gardens that were just crowded with people were the same, but they were no longer crowded. They saw men in long coats and tri-corner hats and a woman in a beautiful gown playing the harp. They saw a man working a large, odd looking plough. They saw a woman sitting in the grass sketching and the women became a little more disoriented. They decided to ask directions from a man who stood nearby and they soon found themselves near the Petit Trianon. Once they walked through the gate, the odd feeling left them and they found themselves once again surrounded by crowds of people dressed in the clothing of their own time as if apparently nothing had ever gone amiss.

After returning to the home of Eleanor Jourdain and discussing the days events, the ladies realized they had indeed recognized the lady sketching on the grass as Marie Antoinette herself and they decided to return to the Petit Trianon again. When they returned the next day, they found the gate they had entered through the day before sealed shut, but looking through they saw the ancient plough that the man had been working during their "experience". They had no answers for their "event" but when they spoke of it to friends, they tried to ease the ladies minds by telling them that they must have run into a troupe of actors rehearsing a scene and such as that. The ladies never believed any other explanation but that they somehow walked through a hole in time and actually wound up in the past and were witness to the court of Marie Antoinette.

American Werewolf in London, New DVD on re-release CONTEST REMINDER!!!

Just a reminder...only 3 days left to enter our contest. Just let us know what your favorite horror movie is and you are in the drawing for a brand new copy of the re-released version of the classic An American Werewolf in London on DVD. Contest ends 09/11/2009. Good Luck!

Chupacabra Autopsy....wierd

If you have access to "On Demand" through your TV cable provider you might want to check out the "Chupacabra Autopsy" they are showing there. For those who don't, I am posting the Youtube link here. I don't know what this animal is, but it is weird. It looks like a cross between a kangaroo and a giant rat. You decide and let me know what you think.

Do you believe in time warps, or hole in time?

I've heard this story only once, so I don't know if it is an urban legend or if the telling of it holds some truth but I like to think it does. I love stories of going back in time, quantum physics if you will. I'd love some feedback on this, so let me know what you think.

The story goes like this: A family bought an old home and the husband and wife were up in the attic cleaning and going through some old stuff that the previous owners no longer wanted. The wife came across an old "McCalls" magazine dated from the early 1800's and started flipping through it. She saw an ad for a beautiful old silver tea service and showed it to her husband and said how much she would love to have one but couldn't imagine how much a set of that quality must cost today. Her husband looked over and saw the $1.29 price of the tea service and said, hey go ahead and fill out the order form and mail it in with a check. You've got nothing to loose.

Thinking it would be fun to do anyway, and to show her husband how much she relly wanted a silver tea service that she would even stoop to such a silly level to get one, she went downstairs with the magazine, cut out the order form, filled it out, enclosed $1.29 in cash and coin, placed in in an envelope addressed it to the address in the magazine, which was in New York. The woman put the letter in her bill holder and really didn't give it another thought untill it was time to pay the monthly bills. When she walked to the mailbox to mail them, she smiled and dropped her other envelope in the mailbox too.

Time went by, summer turned to fall and the old house was really shaping up. The dining room was her favorite room and its restoraton was almost complete. The deep burgundy wallpaper with the gold flocking was an exact match to the original that was put up in the house in the 1800's. The chandelier was perfect and the crystals that hung over the mahogany table shone like diamonds hit by the afternoon sun. As she looked around the room, she couldn't believe it was really hers. She had dreamed about it for so long. When the doorbell rang, it brought her back to reality and she reluctantly left the dining room to answer the door.

Seeing the mailman through the sheer organza curtain that covered the leaded glass. it was obvious that he was holding a heavy package. She smiled at him and greeted him warmly when she opned the door.

"Afternoon ma'am", he said, shifting the weight of the parcel that was wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. "I gotta tell you I'm surprised they let this one through. Must be some kind of joke or something. Can't use no string no more when mailing packages and look here....these stamps stay 1844 on them. Postage is only 33cents to mail this heavy box coming all the way from New York. Anyway, here you go."

Astounded, she took the box and closed the door, without saying thankyou or taking her other mail. He was right. The package did look old. Bringing it into the kitchen, she cut the string, tore the brown paper, and as she opened the box was assailed by a musty smell that wasn't really bad, but was kinda like the smell of an antique store. She like it.

Reaching ito the box and unwrapping the paper, she pulled out a silver sugar bowl, and then its lid, then a creamer, a coffee pot, a teapot and lid, and a beautiful tray!

Somehow, her order had gotten thru a portal of time, and found its way back. She told her husband, but he didn't believe it. No one did. He just yelled at her for spending what must have been a small fortune on a silver tea set when they were already spending so much money on the house. Only she knew the secret. The tea set was placed on the mahogany table and was used many times. It was passed on from generation to generation and lasted for many more lifetimes.

Pentagrams and Werewolves, not a part of tradition

So we all saw "The Wolfman" with Lon Chaney Jr. and sort of felt sorry for the guy. He seemed nice enough and didn't really want to hurt anyone while he was a wolf. It made for a good story line. Before he became a werewolf though, when he came back "home" to make a visit to Talbot Castle, he went into a little antique shop to do a little shopping (where a pretty girl was working) and bought a silver wolf headed cane with a pentagram. It really was a beautiful piece, the kind I wish I could happen upon on one of my flea market expeditions.
Anyway, that's probably where the notion of pentagrams and werewolves being tied together began. In the movie, The "werewolf" could identify his next victim because he would see a pentagram on their head, face or hand, that no human eye could see.
The truth is that all of this has been concocted by the scriptwriter and has no part in traditional folklore.
Just so you know, pentagrams are pretty, but have no part in the werewolf legend.

Werewolf jewelry anyone?

Ok, still going on with our werewolf series, Here's a small selection of jewelry available out there with a werewolf theme. Some of it is antique, 14k yellow gold, some is done in rose gold, some is modern, cheap costume jewelry, some is designer jewelry. Something for everyone! Take a look and let me know what you think.

Werewolves, gotta love'em

I'm probably gonna be giving away more than just my age here, like my state of mental stability, but the longer I write this blog the more you get to know me so, whatever. Anyway about ten years ago while we were driving into town to pick up some groceries near Halloween time, the kids and I were chatting about costumes and ghost stories and whatever, when my four year-old (yes, I did say FOUR year-old!) lets out with this:
"Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers at night, can become a wolf when the moon is full and the wolfbane blooms bright." That is right out of the wolf man movie from Universal. Only 4 and she had it memorized. That beat out all my other kids. I thought they were great when they had the Freddy Krueger song committed to memory by 6!
I was so proud! You guys know how much I LOVE Halloween, but I have never mentioned how much I adore werewolves. It's weird but even as a little kid watching dark shadows I thought Barnabas was great ('cause who couldn't love a vampire?) but when that pentagram started showing up and when Quentin started roaming around I got all tingly inside! I was only 7 or 8 but I would try to get off the bus so fast sometimes I would trip but I didn't care, there was a werewolf waiting for me inside. I would run as fast as my fat little legs would carry me, throw my "Bookcase" (that's what it was called in the olden days, not a book bag)on the sofa and run like the devil over to the TV. Nothing could have moved me from that spot.
Where a lot of kids my age would have had horrible dreams of wolves tearing up children and eating people after watching something about a werewolf, I would have great dreams that I could have written into a screenplay. Man, it was good then, and I still feel that way today. So, Just for kicks, Here's a mention of the wolf movies I can't go without, in no particular order. I still love to replay the old Universal Studio's "Wolfman" and about had a seizure of delight when I heard they were re-making it.
The Howling was great, but not as good as Silver Bullet, An American Werewolf in London was cool, and then the pack went to Paris. A great one that hardly ever gets any mention is Dog Soldiers that took place in Australia (and I hear a sequel is in the works now). Another great one is Bad Moon, that has great Werewolf scenes but an awesome German Shepherd as well. That's just to name a few. This post has taken too much time. I need to go watch a movie now.

Ghost Stories - The famous Pink House of Wellsville New York

On the corner of West State Street and South Brooklyn Avenue in Allegany County, NY stands the beautiful but odd Victorian mansion known as the "pink house" Although the house is a tourist attraction in its own right, it is reportedly haunted and the stories that surround it are quite interesting and have even inspired a 123!
No modern day accounts of any supernatural activity exist but the history of the house prevails, keeping it one of those places that children will take care to cross the street when they get near it. The hauntings have not been verified but the two deaths that did occurred there are factual and do have all the hallmarks of a great ghost story.
The story starts in 1957 and involves a pretty young blond girl named Frances Farnum who was engaged to E.B. Hall, the man who built the pink house. Sadly, Frances was not in love with Mr. Hall, but was in love with "Paul" whom her rich father thought was not good enough (meaning not rich enough) for his daughter. He forbid his daughter to see him again. Furious and vowing to make himself worthy of Frances, Paul set off to law school and the couple wrote to each other and kept their love strong.
Unfortunately, Frances father found out about this and forged a letter to both of them stating neither one of them wanted anything to do with the other, so when Paul came home on holiday from school and passed Frances on the street without looking at her or speaking to her, her heart broke. Within a few weeks she married E.B. Hall and settled into a loveless marriage for the financial purposes of her father. The two men were very happy but Frances was so devastated, she committed suicide. The story diverges here. Some say she drowned herself in the fountain on the property, others say she died in the nearby gristmill. Wither way, the grief-stricken girl died an unhappy soul that was unfulfilled and cheated in life.
A twist to the story was that Frances was immortalized in the poem "Pauline" that was written by Hanford Lennox Gordon who was in reality "Paul". This poem is 123 pages long and was quite famous in its day. It is about a dying soldier talking to his captain at Appomattox about a heartless father, beautiful daughter and her one true love.
Anyway, it would seem that Mr. E.B. Hall wasn't too upset by his wife's demise because he married her sister Antoinette shortly after. When they returned to the Pink House after their honeymoon, they brought a small daughter with them. When the child was about two years old, she drown in the fountain, much like her dead aunt had. Legend has it that the spirit of Frances was angry that her husband had remarried so fast, she took her vengeance out on the child.
After a few more years, Antoinette had another child and fearing the spirit of her sister would harm this child as well, she decided to make a bedroom in the tower room of the house. In the window, was placed a candle that was never to burn out. All servants were instructed to keep the candle burning at all times to keep the candle lit. To this day, although replaced with electric lights now, the light remains in the tower window.
And so the stories go. Two deaths, unrequited love, vengeful spirits and a beautiful poem. I think it's a good story.

If You Like Zombie Movies, You Should Rent This One

Because I love zombie moves, I was searching around Blockbuster the other day and happened across a title that struck me, even though I knew it never got to theaters but went straight to video. DAY OF THE DEAD;THE NEED TO FEED is based on George Romero's "Day of the Dead" and stars Ving Rhames and Nick Cannon.
I gotta tell you for a "B" horror film, it was really fun. If you like zombie movies you know you have your "slow" zombies like the ones in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and then you have your fast, scarier zombies infected with rage as in the newer movies like 28 days later. The zombies in this movie are even worse. You can still kill them by a good shot to the head, but man are they fast. About the best (in the most frightening sense) zombies I've ever seen. Definitely worth the rental price. I don't want to say too much to give it away, but most are the characters are likable, with one jerk - as usual- and the acting and directing was really pretty decent. If you do rent it, let me know what you think!

There's still time to enter the contest!

To all readers:

There is still time to enter out first ever contest. All you have to do is find the contest post (check the side bar for the post or go through the older posts to find it) and tell us what your favorite horror movie is. That's it. The prize, chosen at random is a re-released copy of An American Werewolf in London on DVD

Tell your friends and stay tuned for more contests coming! Easy to enter, Easy to win! Don't delay. Contest runs through September 13Th!

For All of the Horror Fans Out There, This One is For You...The Scariest Horror Villians Of All TIme...According To Me, Of Course!

I know I've said this already, but I LOVE horror movies. From Elm Street to Zombies, even if the acting is horrible and you can tell it was made in someone's basement...call me crazy, but they are still fun!
There are some movies though, that you find yourself thinking about long after they are over, with some villians that stick in your head for years. Sometimes you can remember seeing a "scary" movie in your childhood that you remember as if it were yesterday because it left such an impression on you. Those are the good movies. Not necessarily because they were really good films, but because they left that impression on you. That is what the horror genre is supposed to do.
With that said, I'm goning to share with you some of my most horrified momments and the villians that I think should win the "scarriest villian award"
When I was 12 years old, My mother, my 22 year old sister and her friend were going to the drive-in to see The Exorcist. I begged to go with them. After hours of this torture, my mother finally caved and I went, snuggled in the back seat of the old 1969 malibu we owned, and saw on the screen a hideous story about the most horrifying things happening to a girl that was just my age...but the worst part of all was those few little words that came on the screen before the movie even began. "Taken from true events". What? This was true? That was what terrified my 12 year old brain. Watching that possessed girl. I was her age. I had played with a Ouija board. My mom was a single mom. It happened to her, why couldn't this happen to me? And that set off about a 3 year period of cold-blooded, mind-blearing terror that still pinches the back of my eyes every now and then (all be it rarely now) when I glimpse scenes from that movie, until I realize again that I am a grownup. Anyway, that was the first movie that scared the hell out of me and left a lasting impression. Nothing has ever scared me that much again. However, I have found some movies, and some villians that I love!

First and foremost, I am a true Norman Bates fan. I love the guy, and love Tony Perkins. No one else could play the part. I know that Vince Vaughn tried. Vince did a good enough job, and I like him. I think he's a good actor, and I like him, especially in comedy roles, but he's just not Norman to me. The whole back story of Norman is fascinating and is actually brought out at the end of the first PSYCHO movie. The sequals are awful. The original is the best, as is usual so rent it if you can. There can be only one.....Norman Bates that is. I would love to stay at the Bates motel.

Then, you gotta love Freddy. He's one of the very few horror movie villians to actually have a sense of humor. That puts him high on my list. He's king of the one liners....Scarey as hell, a disgusting child molester/killer in life and an evil fiend that haunts and kills you in your sleep. What could be scarier than that?

Pinhead anyone? Pinhead and his friends are a pretty awful looking bunch and boy, do they no how to inflict pain? I wouldn't want to run into them....especially that fat one with the turkey waddle thing going on! Pretty scary!

So, that's it for part 1. Who are your favorite villians?