James Dean

My family and I love to go on our family trips (investigations) whenever we can but when the weather doesn't cooperate we stay close to home. Thankfully, we live in Indiana (whoops! Cat's out of the bag on that one!) which is exactly in the middle of everywhere and not without some great haunted places of it's own to check out. On a recent outing, we decided we would see what was going on at the grave site of '50's icon, James Dean.

It was a pretty chilly night a couple of weeks ago but we geared up all ready to go. Our research was done, and boy was there a lot out there from supposedly smelling cigarette smoke and seeing the lit end of one as if someone were smoking, to hearing the revving of an engine and even seeing old James himself leaning on his own stone. It was a perfect night for investigating...chilly but not too cold to slow you down, and very, very clear.

Fairmount Indiana is a very small town (VERY). We drove through it a couple of times and there was a gas station or two, a dollar store but mostly farmhouses. NOW to be fair, we were only driving on the side of town that our GPS system referred us to. For all I know it could be a huge metropolis on the other side of nowhere, but anyway, it was a small town.

The cemetery was good size for small town, situated right next to a corn field full of dead and trampled corn stalks which gave everything a nice ambiance.

We didn't find the grave right away, although there were some small markers pointing to it. Surprisingly there was no monument, no large gravestone, nothing special at all. Just a regular old gravestone. One thing is for certain. Jimmy's still got plenty of fans. There were some dried flowers laid for him and quite a few items that must have been made by his fans. There were rings, key rings, crocheted roses, dog tags, curled ribbons pinned into the ground and so much more. It was nice to see that no one had looted them out.

At any rate, we stayed for sometime. We did not hear any car engine. We did not hear nor see anyone other than ourselves in the graveyard, but as we watched and waited in the cold, dark night, the faintest smell of cigarette smoke passed by us on the wind. Only once, and only faintly. We all looked at each other at the same time, knowing we were surrounded by corn field and the wind wasn't blowing toward us. We all had the same feelings. We'll mark this one down as a positive investigation.

If any of you have visited the site, we'd love to read about your experiences.

A Haunting in Oklahome

I guess that Oklahoma is famous for more than just the musical of the same name. Apparently there are some decent hauntings an adventurous ghost hunter might want to check out. This one involves the Labadie Mansion in Barlesville.

The Labadie Mansion is a1 9Th century Victorian mansion that has caused more than a few people to do an extra load of laundry if you get my meaning! The mansion is set back away from the road, so I hear it's for those hunters who are in pretty good shape because there's some hiking through quite a bit of woods which obscure the mansion from anyone travelling along the road.

According to legend there are four people who have died at Labadie Mansion and the house has had two damaging fires. The only parts remaining are a fireplace, some burnt out walls and some parts of the foundation but apparently that's enough to keep the paranormal activity at peak levels.

So, let's get to the good stuff. Most likely is that what ever light source you used to guide you through the woods to get you through the woods will stop working. You will hear disembodied voices shouting at year, smell noxious odors, and see animals that weren't there moments ago, now only a few yards in front of you.

When you've had enough of those and decide to take your leave, you may notice the one fireplace that is left suddenly blaze to life on its own.

So, these are the alleged happenings. Some sound possible, some sounds impossible. If any of you live in Oklahoma, we'd appreciate some light shed on this subject.

These photos show the ruins of the mansions. It must have been beautiful in its day.


The Labadie Mansion

Witchcraft Memorial

Witchcraft Victim's Memorial
176 Hobart Street
Danvers, Massachusetts

On May 9, 1992, the Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial of Danvers was dedicated before an audience of over 3,000 people. On the front of the memorial, it reads "In Memory of Those Innocents Who Died During the Salem Village Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692". This site is located right across the street from the original Salem Village Meeting House, where many of the witch examinations took place. Near the memorial is a plaque in honor of the former meeting house.

This information was taken from "hauntedillinois.com". Check out their site for more information. Here is the link.



Salem Witchcraft Memorial

The Dover Demon

In Dover Massachusetts there is said to be a creature with a large oblong head and orange eyes that glow in the dark. This creature is said to be hairless and have long twig-like arms with slender claw-like fingers that it uses to grip the pavement as it runs.

This creature is the Dover Demon and it has no nose nor mouth. Some theorize that the Demon is an alien left behind such as ET was or perhaps a human-alien hybrid, but no-one knows for sure since he is such an elusive creature. Although there has been a few sightings throughout the years, most people don't believe in the demon at all.

In his book Monster Hunt, The Guide To Cryptozoology, Rory Storm writes, "For centuries the Cree Indians have talked about a race of creatures called Mannegishi that live in or near the water. They are said to often climb on rocks and ledges and like to tip over boats, drowning the occupants. They describe the Mannegishi as semi-humanoid with very thin and lanky arms and legs and big heads minus a nose and mouth."

Could this be the Dover Demon?

Storm, Randy (2008, Monster Hunt, A Guide to Cryptozoology, Gusto Company AS

The Photo above came from the website below. Please visit it to find out more information on the Dover Demon.

For More Information on the Dover Demon

Did You Ever Wonder What You Would Look Like As A Zombie?

If you love zombies and ever pondered over the above question, I've happened upon this great site that will answer this question for you. It's sponsored by the hit movie "Zombieland" and all you need is a picture of yourself that you can upload and a good sense of humor! When you're done, you even get to download the finished product to your own computer, Facebook or Twitter. You will love this.

When you first sign on you have the choice of watching a trailer for the movie. I did and I laughed all over again. It's worth the couple of minutes. So, here's the website. Have fun. It's really a blast. Let me know how you like it!

www.zombify-yourself.net

Talismen, Totems, Amulets and Lucky Charmsf and the Evil Eye.

Are you superstitious? Do you have a lucky penny? How about a lucky suit like Robert Barone on the popular television series Everybody Loves Raymond. Do you carry a rabbit's foot? Some of these superstitions take us back to our childhood when our lucky cat's eye marble won us the most games. Some go back even farther, perhaps hundred's of years to when our ancestors actually believed that these charms warded off evil spirits and kept illnesses and all things that go "bump in the night" at bay.

It's different, and interesting to note that different cultures have different symbols altogether. The Irish have their four-leaf clover (or the shamrock), the Scottish have faith in the common horseshoe. Germans have a lucky cabbage and Italians wear a gold Italian horn around their neck. This is in modern time. In days of old, medieval times, things were a bit different. Warding off evil and assuring positive forces in your life were important for your very survival. Without the protection from evil, your crops could fail. Sickness could take hold of your family. Death could visit or even steal a loved one.

One of the most important evil forces to protect your family from was "the evil eye". The evil eye can be traced back to ancient Egyptian cultures and in some parts of the world is just as strong today. The effect of any curse is only as strong as the strength of the belief that the victim has in it and the evil eye has a strong hold and it grows stronger with each year it is in existence.

The curse of the evil eye is is inflicted upon it's victim by an evil person with some sort of supernatural powers who has malice in his heart and an intent to harm. The curse will malign, cause harm, injury, sickness and even death. The victim will experience pain in most body parts, malaise, fear, dread of every circumstance and an almost constant feeling of nausea.

Luckily, people who believe in the curse of the evil eye, believe in the charms that protect them from it just as strongly. Those charms that hold that magic are as follows:

A Horseshoe, pointing up - on the outside of the door to your home

A piece of onyx, at least the size of a quarter, carried with you at all times

A sapphire, worn on a chain of sterling silver around your neck.

Wearing a rattlesnake rattle on a chain around your neck

An amulet of a Celtic knot around your neck

An Italian horn which is associated with good luck can ward off the evil eye


There are many more amulets that are considered good luck charms that many people truly believe can ward off evil. Many people believe that crystals can do the same thing and have believed so for many centuries. A little research and some interesting reading will prove enlightening and enjoyable for you and open up a whole knew world of insight into what your ancestors probably believed.

Have you ever heard of the tiny little Thai Water Elephant? A Cryptozoological dream!

If you read my blog every now and again, you know I am always interested in a good crypto mystery. A while back I was chatting with my children during a visit and the subject of the Thai Water Elephant came up. I had never heard of such a thing, which prompted a research trip to our wonderfully large library where I sifted through and poured over stacks of zoological and scientific journals. I also searched the web and even going through ever nick and cranny of it, my searches proved none to fruitful. Apparently, these little fellows, and I do mean "little", no more than 2 inches tall, are very rare and not much is known about them.
So, here is the product of my searching. Everything that I can tell you about the elusive Thai Water Elephant! Unfortunately, I am unable to post a photograph for you since there are none available. Some mummified skeletons have been found and sold by Thai traders for huge sums to those people that collect rare and obscure finds. Some have sold in the millions but they are a dangerous find. One of the things that make the tiny beasts so rare to find in the first place is that it is said their tiny tusks hold enough poisonous venom to kill an adult, even after they have been dead for some time. A trader or a collector could easily wind up dead if they mishandle their "find".
First, I must state that since there is no living proof of these little guys, just as we have no living proof of Bigfoot or the Jersey Devil or the like, we must say the Thai Water Elephant is, at this time, a legend and that legend is said to have begun in the waterways of the mountain regions of Thailand. It is said that the tiny little elephants live in a pack and spend their time in living in the muddy streams that run through the thickly forested regions where the mud is so dense only their little pointy tusks show above the muddy surface. This is why they are never seen by human eyes and why they are so deadly. It is also why their mummified remains can sometimes be found. The mud serves as a protective shield that hides them and as one to protect and preserve their skin after death so their condition is such that collectors would pay top dollar for them. A person walking through the forest, passing through a muddy stream might well step on one of those pointy tusks and die from the injected venom, thinking they were bitten by a snake or some other venomous creature indigenous to the area.
So, whether or not you take any stock in the theory of the tiny elephants, it seems logical to me. I would love to see one.....they must be awfully cute, poisonous or not!