The Shadow Watchers

James Dean

2010-03-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-10T11:31:00.000-08:00

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

2010-03-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-01-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-01-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

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!

Ferla Mohr, The Big Gray Man

2009-11-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-11-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-10-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2009-09-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-09-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2009-09-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T11:11:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

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?

CW's new TV show: The Vampire Diaries

2009-08-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well, score up another good move for the CW network. Thursday, Septermber 10 at 8:00Eastern time the first episode of The "Vampire Diaries" begins. With all the rage among teens, and even some adults, being vampires these days with the success of the Twilight serries, this series should be a hit.
This story does feature a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire, and we do have good vampires vs bad vampires but in this case, the town's people are aware of the problem. It will be interesting to see what they do about the problem. Here's a link you might enjoy.

Ghost Stories - Fort Wayne Indiana

2009-08-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

Since my favorite season is coming, I thought I'd start telling some ghostly tales that come from different places around the country. I'll pick my cities and towns at random, unless you have a special request you'd like to propose. Today, I've chosen Fort Wayne, Indiana and there's a couple I've happened upon while doing research that sounded a little like urban legends but still sounded like fun. Maybe some of you that live in Fort Wayne can check them out and report back.
In Fort Wayne is a place the locals call "Devil's Hollow" and is located on Cedar Canyon Rd near Auburn Rd. Apparently as you drive, you find yourself going up a hill and you see a the remnants of a burnt chimney stack in distance. A little further, and you see the burnt remnants of what once was a lovely home.
There seems to be two different stories told here. The first goes that because of its secluded spot local satanic cults and witch covens used the area for their meetings and sacrificial rites where goats and pigs and other small animals were slaughtered. Word got around that the woman who owned the land and lived in the house was a witch and not only went along with this heinous activity, but joined in. Since the people of the Fort Wayne considered themselves a Christian community full of God-fearing people, they would have none of this, and decided this must be stopped. One day they made their way to the woman's house,set it on fire, either not realizing or perhaps knowing to well that she was inside, killing her in the scorching flames. All activity stopped at that point. All further cult activity stopped at that point with speculation being that the cults moved on to another location, possible out of the county.
Story two is much milder. It states that a sweet old woman was bothered by the bunch of teenagers who frequented her secluded property, using it as a party spot and lover's lane of sorts, blaring music from their car stereos and leaving the grounds littered with beer bottles and other less appealing items.
Word has it that there were police reports and arrests made regarding the teenagers but nothing was really done about it. Talking the matter into her own hands, together with some friends, the old woman thought if she spread the rumor around that she was a witch, it might frightened the teenagers enough to keep the teens away from her house and off of her property. Her strategy didn't work. In the still of one quite night, her house was burned to the ground with her inside, and no one was ever charged with the crime.
It is said that if you go to the spot around Halloween you're supposed to be able to have a sense that the old woman is still there and haunting her grounds. This feeling of her presence is stronger if you go there during a full moon, which may lend credence to the witch part of the story but maybe not.
Fort Wayne is actually has the potential for being a very haunted city. Pretty much the entire city was the home of Miami Indians with both French and English Forts in the areas. There are sites where wars took place, there are sites of Indian torture grounds, burial grounds, sites where soldiers and settlers died premature and grisly deaths and the whole city is built right on top of those spots.
There are many reports of hauntings in the old city jail (calaboose) housed under the historical center. It has the original cells where at least one prisoner hanged himself. Incidentally, Fort Wayne has one of the top 3 libraries for genealogy research in the entire country so it's a good place to visit if you are interested in ghost stories or genealogy.

New Season of Supernatural to Begin Soon!

2009-08-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Ok all of you Supernatural Fans! Season Five opener begins with "Sympathy For the Devil" and from the short peaks I've seen, it looks pretty good. I think this is a great show anyway, and unlike a lot of similar show it does stick pretty close to the book on urban legend and lore.

As season four left off, the boys are in the convent, Lilleth and Ruby are dead and things are a-shaken' in the convent with old"Lou" getting ready to rise. If you just LOVE spoilers or you need to be caught up on season four, check out this YouTube link and get ready!

Horror Movie Reviews

2009-08-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

For readers of The Shadow Watchers I have what I hope will be good news. As part of our normal coverage, we will now be offering horror movie reviews both in theater movies and straight-to-video. I you have any thoughts, feel free to give your opinions. I'm excited about this and can't wait to get started. Occasionally, we will also be reviewing older classics being re-released.

Honest Abe Haunting The Whitehouse

2009-08-16T20:11:00.001-07:00

Did you know that the White-house had 134 rooms, a move theater and a bowling alley? Did you also know that it was reported to be haunted?
I'm going to talk about the most frequently mentioned and most famous spirit to haunt the hallowed halls of Pennsylvania Avenue. None other than Honest Abe himself.
When honest Abe himself took office in 1860, his administration was full of strife, namely the civil war which led to his untimely assassination by the well known actor of the day, John Wilkes Booth.

Sometime after Lincoln's death, residents of the White-house began to hear his footsteps pacing around on the second floor where his bedroom suite was. In 1923 First Lady Coolidge stated that she saw Lincoln's ghost standing in the Oval Office looking out the window. Many others reported seeing him there in that same spot with the same pensive look on his face. In fact, President Nixon once said that when he entered the Oval Office and saw the apparition of Mr. Lincoln, he even asked him for advice!

It is noteworthy to mention that during the life of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln that they often held seances to seek the guidance of the spirit world, a practice Mary continued long after Mr. Lincoln's desk.

Interestingly enough, Mr. Lincoln is said to have had premonitions of his own death several times, including one only two days before the event occurred. If he had prepared himself for the heinous event, why then does his spirit remain in the White-house? Does he feel his country still needs his guidance, or could it be the sadness of his life (losing a dear son to death at a young age and having a wife - Mary Todd - deemed mentally ill for the time) that keeps him pacing and not passing on?

Some of The Most Likely Places on Earth to Be Haunted

2009-08-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

There are many places that can be haunted, including our own houses, offices and properties. But those are more of a long shot. Lets take a look here at some places that have more of a chance of being haunted. I'm going to list the four I find to be the most likely to be haunted. See if you can add to the list.

Prisons: Often prisons were (and are) places of torture and barbaric treatment of the inmates, especially prisons of the past. Inmates were often killed by this kind of treatment or by short rations of food and water and even by the filthy conditions of their cells and lack of medical care. In fact, sometimes the smallest infractions led to food and water being withheld. Where ever there was unfair treatment, unfair death, and unhealed pain, there is likely to be unrest and a likely place for a haunting.

Hotels: Especially old ones. Those old rooms and even the furniture had seen some very sad times, sometimes even murders and oftentimes unexpected deaths. When you have such profound sadness lingering in a room it makes the room and sometimes the entire hotel the perfect spot for a haunting.

Cemeteries: Some people believe that cemeteries cannot be haunted because the dead are mostly laid to rest with a religious ceremony that negates any possibility of their souls remaining on earth so instead they "cross over" immediately. I disagree. Cemeteries are places of great sorrow, emotion and great unrest. Some of the buried corpses were people who were murdered, died to young, who weren't ready to die or who just didn't get a chance to say goodbye. There have been many ghost or apparition sightings in and around
cemeteries.

Battlefields: We can't forget these. I can tell you I have been to Gettysburg and the air just feels 'heavy' there, as if there are spirits in the air, trying to communicate with anyone who has the ability to listen to them. It is such a sad feeling. I think if we had the power to see them, there would be thousands just flying around, looking for someone, anyone to talk to. I'm sure all battle fields are like that. Such profound and useless loss. So tragic. So many soldiers not able to see their loved ones one more time. Not able to say goodbye. Many, Many ghost stories and tales of the supernatural center around battlefields and these I believe are true.

These are my top four. Please feel free to add your ideas to this post. I encourage all of you to let me know what places you find to be the most haunted.

EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomena

2009-08-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite topics because I find it so interesting. Electronic Voice Phenomena is a way of capturing spirit voices or the voices of the dead. The pursuit of this phenomena began with a man named Friedrich Jürgenson who lived between 1903 and 1987. It was completely by chance that he discovered EVP. One day while he was outside with his tape recorder recording the sounds of birds singing, he also recorded some voices when there were no humans anywhere in the area. After replaying his recording over and over, he recognized the voice as that of his dead mother.
Since then, more and more people have begun research into this field with varying amounts of success. Some claim to hear voices of family and friends while others claim to hear frightening demonic voices.
at any rate, if you decide to try to capture some EVP's of your own, you can try it anytime of the day or night with a regular cassette tape recorder. Be prepared when you listen to the tapes. The voices you capture will not be very clear. They will be quite low and muffled an very hard to understand, but the more you listen to them, the more you will be able to make out what they are saying. It's kind of like listening to someone with a strange accent and trying to make out what they are saying.
Listening in a very quite room or using earphones may help you understand what you are hearing a little better.
So that's it, give it a try and let us know your findings.

NEW CONTEST FOR MY READERS! READ FURTHER!

2009-08-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

That's right! I'm having a contest for all of the faithful readers of The Shadow Watchers! All you have to do is leave your email address and a comment on this post explaining why you enjoy the paranormal. That's all! The contest will last until September 11, 2009 with the winner being chosen at random on midnight that day. Winners will be notified by email so be sure to leave your address! Prize will be shipped to winner on September 14, 2009.

I hope you enjoy the contest and have a lot of fun. The prize will be a newly re-released copy of American Werewolf in London...one of the best werewolf transformations ever, especially for its time.

Keep your eyes open for a great contest in October, just in time for Halloween!

Orbs?

2009-07-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

Pretty much every ghost hunter out there has encountered the phenomenon of orbs, myself and my team included, and have wondered what they were and what they meant. The die hard hunters say they are evidence of ghostly presence or spirit activity and tie them in with high EMF readings. The skeptics say they are nothing more than dust on a lens.
Now at the risk have having a lot of upset readers, I'm going to say that I agree with the latter group. I have noticed that since more and more "orbs" are showing up with the use of digital cameras, I think they must have something to do with that, although the same orbs have been found in disposable cameras as well as 35mm, 110, and even Polaroids. I attribute these to the flashes.
To me, there are just too many photographs with orbs present for them to be "ghosts" that are captured. If they were, there would be millions and millions of ghosts around us and I believe that if there were that many, there wouldn't even be a need for the word "paranormal" as the activity would just be "normal" every day occurrences.
Keep in mind, I am only talking here about the orbs that are captured on film and not the moving balls of light seen with the human eye during investigations or while present in a home or cemetery or any unexpected place. These are another phenomenon altogether. These lights are often referred to as "spirit lights" and have been seen floating towards an energy source they are attracted to such as a human being during an investigation or a haunting. These can be residual energy. If you have a comment to make regarding this post, or photos you would like to share, please do. Any point of view is welcome.

A Recent Personal Experience

2009-07-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my family and I recently returned home from a vacation in Michigan. This story happened during a stay in Mackinac City. We stayed in a very nice place called the Anchor Inn where we rented a two bedroom family suite (room 208). My husband and I occupied the outside room, which the entry door opens into and our two daughters occupied the second bedroom which can only be accessed through our room. Our room had no window. Our daughters room did.
So, the first night of our stay we went to bed at approximately 11:00pm after a very busy day of sight seeing and shopping. Like most men, my husband sleeps so soundly and snores so loudly, you couldn't wake him up with a jackhammer right next to his bed. Anyway, around 3:00am, I heard a very deep voice in my right ear, speaking in a very slow and clear manner saying "I'm cold" and then I felt the covers being pulled up over me up to about my waist. The voice was very unfamiliar. My husband was sound asleep and the door to my daughters room was still closed and no sound was coming from their room.
Needless to say, that was rather startling and I did not fall right back to sleep, but I was quite tired and did lightly dose on and off. About and hour or so later, I saw a black form walk by my husband's side of the bed, pass the foot of the bed and then leave my vision line. I thought it was my husband getting out of bed to go to the bathroom because I actually FELT the bed move and it felt just like someone getting out of bed. Some time went by, more than 30 minutes (I could tell because the digital clock was on the bedside table by my side of the bed)and I started to worry maybe my husband was ill or something. Mind you now, I was awake this entire time because I felt those bed covers move and something moving out of the bed.
I decided to check my husbands side of the bed to move his CPAP mask and tubing out of the way so it didn't wet his sheets and thinking he wasn't there, slapped my hand down fairly hard on the bed.....and it landed right on his chest! He was there, sound asleep with his CPAP machine in place! He had never gotten out of bed, never had woken up and had been sleeping in the same position that he was when he first went to bed.
I had quite a shiver and goosebumps covered my arms. Some presence with the power to move blankets, speak in my ear and appear in shadow form was in that room #208. Later, I heard the faint sound of old time Gospel music playing, very softly. There was no one in the room under us or next to us so it was not coming from there and by this time it was about 4:00am.
Although I told my husband about these occurrences, We decided not to tell the girls because we didn't want anything to ruin their vacation. After this next day of sightseeing I happened to mention that I hoped I would sleep well that night and wouldn't be awaken by gospel music. At that point, my 15 year old daughter piped up and said "You heard that too? I heard that music playing right in my ear." At that point, the curiosity in me took over and since we do investigations and the whole family helps me with my research, I decided to question my daughter more. I asked Erika if she noticed anything else out of the ordinary, and she replied she was sleepy, but she thought she heard a voice talking in right in her ear, but she couldn't make out what it was saying.
Verification. Another witness. My husband then questioned the owners to see if anyone else ever complained about odd occurrences in room #208. They denied it and actually looked frightened when he explained what we had encountered. We stayed in that room for 2 more nights and nothing else happened, so I have nothing else to report and no explanation yet for what took place, but we are still looking in to that.

The Ouija Board--Is it a Toy or a Portal to the Other Side?

2009-07-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

The Ouija board as we know it is a boa rd that is supposed to allow us to communicate with the spirit world, or our "dear departed" ones on the other side. The board has two curved rows of letters and underneath them, a "yes" and a "no". At the bottom of the board is the word "goodbye." The Ouija board has also been known as a talking board or a witch board because of it's reported ability to foretell the future. Along with the board is a pointer, also known as a planchette, which rests on three legs.

To use the Ouija board, you must have a minimum of two people. Each one must place their fingertips very lightly on the pointer and then one person asks a question. If the question requires a yes or no question, the pointer will obviously move to either the word "yes" or "no." If the question requires a more involved answer the pointer will move to the letters on the board to spell it out. Likewise, if a numeric answer is required, the pointer will go through the numbers on the board.
The first Ouija board came out in 1854 with others following on its tails. Although have been other men credited for creating the talking board, but most frequently sources claim it was William Fuld, who named the board "Ouija" by combining the German and French words for "yes"

Ok, so much for the history, now...doest it work? Well, there are many, many stories that you can find right here on the web of people contacting spirits, both good and evil, while using a Ouija board. Some say they have contacted demons and that ever since the first time they used the board they opened themselves and their families up to demonic possession, poltergeist activity and more. If asked, your church leaders will instruct you not to use a talking board for any reason. This being so, one must ask themselves....is this really a toy? Would a toy have Pastors and Priests on watch?

If you want to try one out, you do so at your own risk. Some Ouija Board/Talking Board warnings (or superstitions - depending on how you look at them) are hear for you to ponder. For me, I can't help remembering when I was young and watched the Exorcist when it first came out in theatres. The whole possession thing stated with a Ouija board and the sounds in the attic that little Regan attributed to "Captain Howdy". My own advice.....if the planchette EVER flies out of your hand across the room, run like HELL!!!

1. Never use a Ouija board by yourself.
2. Never ask when you are going to die.
3. If you throw away a Ouija board improperly, the spirits within will come back to haunt you.
4. Never be rude to the spirits.
5. Don't use the board if you feel sick or weak.

That about sums it up. Here are some picture for you to enjoy of some old boards and planchettes, and also a spirit that someone allegedly conjured up from a Ouija board (courtesy of Elvis Santana)

The Legend of Crying Mary - Debunking the myth!

2009-07-16T19:30:00.001-07:00

The Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek Michigan was established in 1844 . Somewhere in the cemetery, adorning the grave site of one Johannas Decker is a beautiful statue of a Greek goddess. Through the years the legend has twisted this into a statue of the Virgin Mary, hence the title of the legend. As the legend goes, the statue of Crying Mary tells that at the stroke of midnight on Sundays, this statue cries. Some witnesses claim not only to have seen these tears, but to have felt them as well. The reports state that the statue never cries during the day and this has been occurring since approximately 1940 and continues on until this day. The residents of Battle Creek are quite familiar with Crying Mary, but no one has an explanation of why the statue cries.
Over the years, there have been a lot of stories concerning Johannas Decker, the woman buried under the statue. They range from saying she committed suicide to her killing her children.
After some research, I dug up the real story. Actually, Johannas Decker was a man. He was born in Ulster, New York in 1839. He later moved to Battle Creek and married Ruth A. Whitmore. Two children were born to the couple, but sadly they ied in infancy.
After Johannas death, out of her sorrow, Ruth had a beautiful statue erected on her husbands grave at his burial place. The bronze statue is said to be that of Ruth herself, done in the Grecian style and an actual working model of this same statue won first prize at the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Melonheads" in Michigan

2009-07-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, after a long sabatical, I am back now and ready to pick up the task at hand. Writing about the things that are odd, weird, wacky and straigt out paranormal and occult-like. I have recently returned from a trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan and boy do I have good info to share.
While there, I learned about the "Melonheads". Now, other states such as Ohio and Kentucky have their own Melonhead legends that have become quite popular, to the best of my knowledge, this is not a legend. From the research I have done, from talking to people in the area and from reading, these Melonheads are real. This, in realityl, is a sad story. It is not paranormal, but it is "dark" in its own way. Let me know what you think:

The Melon Heads story comes out of Holland, Michigan. It begins with a brood of children born with hydrocephaly (water on the brain). These children were living in the woods in the Saugatuck area. Their medical condition caused them to have huge, swollen heads. In the story, the hospital in the area that was treating the children long ago had to close, and the children having nowhere to go, were released into the w.oods with nowhere else to go and with noone to take care of them. For decades, people have talked about the Melonheads but they tended to stick to themselves, eating what they hunted and grew and because they rarely ventured into populated areas they weren't spotted often and because they weren't privy to medical care, with their condition they most likely died young. Sadly, the story of the Melonheads ended just as lonely as it began.

Privacy Policy for The Shadow Watchers

2009-04-10T12:23:00.001-07:00

Privacy Policy for http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/

If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at celtickitty60@aol.com.

At http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/ and how it is used.

Log Files
Like many other Web sites, http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/ makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.

Cookies and Web Beacons
http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/ does use cookies to store information about visitors preferences, record user-specific information on which pages the user access or visit, customize Web page content based on visitors browser type or other information that the visitor sends via their browser.

DoubleClick DART Cookie
.:: Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/.
.:: Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/ and other sites on the Internet.
.:: Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following URL - http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html

Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site. Our advertising partners include ....
Google Adsense

These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to the advertisements and links that appear on http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/ send directly to your browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies ( such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons ) may also be used by the third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and / or to personalize the advertising content that you see.

http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/ has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.

You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. http://theshadowwatchers.blogspot.com/'s privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.

If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites.

The Bell Witch Story - a poltergeist at work?

2009-03-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

It was in Adams, Tennessee in the year 1817 when one of the most well-known hauntings in history of the United States occurred. Was it the work of a poltergeist or was it witchcraft? Let's look into the case.

This case, known as The Bell Witch case, was very strange and very violent and put fear in the hearts of everyone who lived in the small community of Adams and in the surrounding towns. Not only as it was happening, but it continues to cause fear and remains unexplained nearly 200 years later!

What we know:

Some of the happenings in this case were taken down by Albert Virgil Goodpasture in 1886 in his book, History of Tennessee where he wrote

"A remarkable occurrence, which attracted wide-spread interest, was connected with the family of John Bell, who settled near what is now Adams Station about 1804. So great was the excitement that people came from hundreds of miles around to witness the manifestations of what was popularly known as the 'Bell Witch.' This witch was supposed to be some spiritual being having the voice and attributes of a woman. It was invisible to the eye, yet it would hold conversation and even shake hands with certain individuals. The freaks it performed were wonderful and seemingly designed to annoy the family. It would take the sugar from the bowls, spill the milk, take the quilts from the beds, slap and pinch the children, and then laugh at the discomfiture of its victims.
At first it was supposed to be a good spirit, but its subsequent acts, together with the curses with which it supplemented its remarks, proved the contrary. A volume might be written concerning the performance of this wonderful being, as they are now described by contemporaries and their descendants. That all this actually occurred will not be disputed, nor will a rational explanation be attempted."

As with most stories that inspire fear, they tend to be embellished upon with each telling....perhaps to instill more fear with each telling, or perhaps unconsciously to try to protect the next hearer from the fear. Whatever the reason, details in these stories do tend to vary but what we can tell from reading more than one account is that the "witch" was thought to be the spirit of Kate Batts, a kind of crusty old neighbor lady of John Bell who believed she was cheated by him in a land deal. No matter how the local courts saw the story, and no matter what Mr. Bell did to try to explain the matter to her, she cursed him still, even on her deathbed, swearing that she would haunt not only John Bell but also his descendants.
The story became so widespread it was even printed in a Guidebook for Tennessee, which was published in 1933. Primarily targeted were John Bell and his daughter Betsy. If household items weren't nailed down, they were hurled roughly across the room at their heads, with the intent to harm them. She also pulled their hair, stuck pins into them, ripped the covers off their beds and other nasty things. To Mrs. Bell and the other children, the witch seemed pleasant enough, or at least not too interested.
Visitors to the Bell home never reported seeing the witch but had made reports of hearing her voice which could change as she desired, between terrible tones akin to nails scratching down a chalk board to low and melodious.
News of the haunting spread quickly and when it spread from Adams to Nashville, it caught the ear of General Andrew Jackson who decided he wanted to learn more for himself. The Generals group came from Nashville with their wagon loaded with supplies, ready to investigate and share a good time. The men were following along behind the wagon, discussing what they would do with the witch when (notice - not 'if') they found her. All of a sudden, as they got closer to the Bell home, the wagon stopped dead in the road and the horses pulling it couldn't move it one inch more. The men driving the wagon team cracked their whip and tried the best they could but they couldn't budge that wagon. The even tried to move it by shear manpower, all trying to push it along, but it was stuck fast - to nothing - a smooth road. At this point, after having had the men remove all the wheels and inspecting them, it is said that the General threw up his hands exclaiming to his men that the only explanation is that it must be the work of the witch, at which point all the men vowed they heard a cackling laugh and a voice advising the wagon could now move forth, which it did as though it was as light as a feather.
The Witch left the John Bell household in 1821, saying that she would return in seven years. She did, "appearing" at the home of John Bell, Jr. where she left him with many prophecies of the future including the Civil War. The witch said it would return again in 107 years later – which would be in 1935 – but no one in Adams came forward to advise if that even occurred or not.
Some people in the area claim that the Bell witch still haunts the area. On the property once owned by the John Bell is a small cave, now known as The Bell Witch Cave. It's pretty much a place of local legends and a tourist spot now, but people dom report having seen strange apparitions at the cave and at surrounding spots on the Bell property.

So, was this a real haunting, the activity of a poltergeist....or a hoax?

Some people who have studied up on the case believe the haunting was a hoax perpetrated by Richard Powell, the schoolteacher of Betsy Bell and Joshua Gardner the young boy she was in love with. It seems Powell too was in love with Betsy and would do anything to destroy her relationship with Gardner. Through a variety of pranks, tricks, and with the help of several accomplices, some say that Powell created all of the "effects" of the ghost to scare Joshua Gardner away.

It is true that Mr. Gardner was the target of some of the witch's violent behavior, and that he did leave both Betsy and the area, no one could really explain how Mr. Powell could have done all the extraordinary effects that would have been necessary to fake this whole haunting.....including the the events which involved Andrew Jackson’s wagon. Interestingly though, he did marry Betsy Bell.

The jury is really still out on this one. I don't personally think that Mr. Powell thought this one up and orchestrated it along with a few friends just to break up Betsy and her young beau. I also don't believe the stories of Sexual abuse (although admittedly, I could be wrong) committed by John Belle against young Betsy which was the "in" for the poltergeist to start harrassing everyone involved. This theory has been popularized by hollywood because it sells movie tickets and books but their is nothing in the historical record that leads us to that conclusion. Mr. Bell was well into his 70's at the time and young Betsy was approx age 12. That's my oppionion, but again I could be wrong. If anyone has any info on this, please share.

So, where does that lead us....was this a curse? Did a future President of the United States and all of his men lie about hearing the Witch and coming into contact with her on their excursion to the Bell farm? What are your thoughts on this topic?

Is your house haunted? Some important questions to ask.

2009-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

No matter how much we love our homes and backyards and gardens, when you sit down and think about it most people have wondered from time to time if their house is haunted. Sometimes you're sitting at home at night, alone in your living room watching television and for no reason you get this creepy feeling and you don't want to stay alone anymore. Or, it's time to take the laundry out of the washer and put it in the dryer but for someone reason, you don't want to go into the basement again. There's no reason for these feelings, but they're real and you are really scared. Are you alone? Is your house haunted? Let's talk about some other symptoms of a haunted house.
Do you have animals? Cats and dogs are especially sensitive to intruders, human or otherwise. If your animals are hesitant to enter a room and you know you are the only person in the house, that is one piece of evidence for you, but let me caution you. You need much more than one piece. You will need to answer "Yes" to at least 7 or 8 of these questions before you can start thinking you might have a haunting going on. At that time, you might want to seek the help of a professional Psychic investigator, clergyman, historian or all three.
Do electrical items, like appliances or lights turn themselves off an on by themselves? Remember this could just be an electrical problem and not something paranormal.
Have you ever heard footsteps in the house when you were sure you were alone, or may someone calling your name?
How about the "feel" of your house. Does the atmosphere change suddenly or do your family members go from being happy and carefree to grumpy and mean spirited for no apparent reason? Now, that could mean nothing but you have a hard-working partner or spouse and some hormonal teenagers in your house, but it's worth noting.
OK, how about the history of your home? Has anyone ever died there? Has any violent situations taken place there? Was or is there a cemetery nearby? Any other tragedies in the area worth noting such as a factory fire? Someone might have worked there but lived in your home. The history of your property and home is always worth looking into.
Now,you'll also want to pay special attention to your family and their habits. Is anyone using a Ouija board or tarot cards or any other means to communicate with the other side? Sometimes thy leave a doorway open that should never be open.
How about your doors? Do they open and close by themselves? Do children in your home have imaginary friends? Do you lose things when you are absolutely sure you knew where you left them, only to have them turn up the next day or a few hours later.
Do you ever hear noises coming from within the walls of your home or up in the attic like scratching? Could be mice. Could mean something else. Take note.
Next time you get that creepy feeling, honestly assess your situation and ask yourself these questions. You might even be able to help a friend if they feel they are having problems. As stated before, If you are getting a lot of positive answers to these questions, don't panic, seek out someone with the proper knowledge to assess your situation and help you find out what you need to know. It prove to be something simple and easy to take care of. Keep in touch and if you've run into anything like this, please let the readers know how you've handled it.

Mokele-Mbembe - "One who stops the flow of rivers"

2009-03-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

Deep in the thick jungles of the Congo in Africa have come reports from the native peoples of a very large animal they have named "Mokele-Mbembe" which means "One who stops the flow of rivers". The animal is described as being between 15 to 30 feet in length, having a long flexible neck and smooth greyish-brown skin similar to an elephant. The local people report that the animal lives in swamps and the clay caves located along the bends of the rivers.
Interestingly, there have been other sightings than those of the native people. The first European sighting was reported way back in 1776 by French missionarries who recorded it in their writings as a "monstrous animal".
In 1980, 2 cryptozoologists (Roy Mackal and James Powell) led an expedition into the swamps of the Congo looking for what they thought was a sauropod dinosaur that had somehow escaped extinction. They met with many native peoples who did identify the creature from picture books they showed them as a dinosaur.
In 2001, another expedition was launched although it did not result in any sightings, the team did notice that their was a distinct shortage of hippopotami and crocodiles in the area, indicative of a large animal in the area that would have chosen them as a food source or one that just didn't like that kind of animal in the area.
Here are some interesting books you might want to check out:

A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-mbembe by Dr. Roy P. Mackal
Drums Along the Congo: On the Trial of Mokele-mbembe, the Last Living Dinosaur by Rory Nugent.
Results of the First Congolese Mokele-Mbembe Expedition by Agnagna, Marcellin
On the Track of Unknown Animals by Dr.Bernard Heuvelmans
Les Derniers Dragons d'Afrique (The Last Dragons of Africa) by Dr.Bernard Heuvelmans
In Search of Prehistoric Survivors: Do Giant 'Extinct' Creatures Still Exist by Dr. Karl Shuker

Supernatural, the television show

2009-03-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

As we know, most TV shows about things paranormal tend to be a little bit "hokey", but this one, I have found to be based on some actual folklore and really is worth watching. The show,Supernatural, is about two brothers (played by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padelecki) who are "hunters", travelling about the country in their really cool black 1967 chevy impala righting what is wrong in the normal world due to interference of demonic and other supernatural beings. The relationship between the brothers is extremely strong, even more so since the self-sacrificial death of their father.
So, check out the link HERE shows official site and do a little checking on your own. Check out this weeks episode and find out when it airs in your area. It is worth your time. The shows are well acted, well researched, poignant and funny and the brothers aren't hard on the eyes either!

A short Cryptozoology lesson

2009-03-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

The term Cryptozoology literally means "the study of hidden animals". The word is made up from the Greek words "kryptos" and "logos" which mean "living beings" and "study" respectively.

The sole mission of the cryptozoologist is to establish the existence of new species of animals. I often think how great it would be to actually try and find one of the amazing creatures people claim to see, like Bigfoot, Chupacabra, Nessie, and the Thunderbirds.

Who knows. Maybe one day during a hike, I'll come across something exciting. Along that line, if you ever get an urge to hunt for a cryptid, there are a few basic things you'd want to take along with you. First, a partner would be a good idea. It's never a good idea to go stalking around in the woods alone. Plus, you might want someone to take notes, film for you or just carry your equipment for you.

Next, a digital camera, or even your phone if it has a camera. A video camera would be a great tool if you have one and also a tape recorder would be helpful. Just in case you come across any footprints, you might want to bring some quick-set plaster to take a cast of the print. Additionally, some zip-lock bags are a good idea in case you find odd droppings, feathers or other specimens to collect.

So, if you decide to go hunting this Spring, let us know what you find and I'll do the same. Good luck!

Werewolves! Real or not?

2009-03-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Our belief in werewolves has been around for a long time! Many historians have thought about where the origins of our beliefs in werewolves came from, and that was probably our early European ancestors. Another name for werewolves was Lycanthropes which is not an animal as such but the human ability to change into not only wolves but big cats and other animals of prey.

Of all of these transformations though, man turning into a wolf is the best known. This is largely due to the Old World traditions of wolves being feared by humans. There are many historical accounts of wolves having to prey on humans during hard winters, and although they cannot be verified, there are enough of them to have incited fear. Modern naturalists and wildlife experts would all agree that the wolf has gained an unfair reputation over the years.

Perhaps this fear became part of our genetic make-up, who knows? What we do know is that Lycanthropy is recognized as a serious mental illness and people diagnosed with it take (or took it) very seriously! Their delusions were frighteningly real. Many people who had believed they were werewolves made testimony under torture of murdering people and animals while in their transformed state.

There are plenty of centuries old cases you can look up if you want to dig up some old case files on werewolf sightings. They are interesting, but people were a lot more superstitious then and we really can't be sure what they were seeing. The more recent stories are far more interesting to me. Today's mores famous werewolf stories come from Wisconsin at a place known as Bray Rd.

The first public sighting of the werewolf happened on October 31, 1999 when an 18 year old girl by the name of Doristine Gipson was driving along Bray Road. As she came near the intersection of Hospital Road she felt something under her right front tire for a moment, like she hit something. She stopped the car momentarily and looked out the window to see a big dark hairy thing racing towards her. Horrified, she tried to drive away, but the beast jumped onto her trunk but it was too wet for the it to hang on and it fell off onto the road. Doristine returned to the site later that night with a little girl that she was taking out trick-or-treating and again saw a large form on the side of the road.
She talked about what had happened to her the next day and as word spread, more local people began to step forward with their own stories with the beast, dating back to 1989.

One night in the fall of 1989, Lorianne Endrizzi was coming around a curve on Bray Road and saw what she thought was a person hunched over on the side of the road. When she slowed down, she took a closer look at the figure on the passenger side of the car. She was no more than six feet away from it at the time. Although she only saw the beast for a short time, she stated that she clearly saw a beast with grayish, brown hair, fangs and pointed ears. “His face was … long and snouty, like a wolf with glowing yellow eyes".

Around the same time period, a dairy farmer named Scott Bray reported seeing a “strange looking dog” in his pasture near Bray Road. He said that the beast was larger and taller than a German Shepherd and had pointed ears, a hair tail and long gray and black hair. He added that it was built very heavy in the front, as if it had a strong chest. He followed the “dog” to a large pile of rocks but the creature had vanished. He did find that it had left behind huge footprints though, which disappeared into the grass of the pasture.

This whole story intrigues me and I would love to take a trip to Wisconsin to check this out for myself. Anyone ever been? Would love to hear if anyone has any info.

The information on the sightings for this post was taken from the book "The Beast of Bray Road, Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf" by Linda S. Godfrey. It's a very interesting read, and you can pick it up on Amazon.

The New Jersey Devil

2009-02-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Jersey Devil first started interesting me way back when the X-Files did an episode about it. Of course in that episode, it was a mostly human creature and the Devil most people talk about in the sightings of today is a totally different creature with huge wings, the head of a horse, glowing red eyes, cloven hooves of a deer and the body of a serpent. Most people claim it to be more than seven feet tall as well and it had been noted in police reports that the its weight is estimated to be 200 to 400 pounds from the footprint impressions left in the snow at one particular sighting.

It's interesting to note that although New Jersey is a very densely populated state, it has some very unpopulated and thickly forested areas. One of these is called the Pine Barrens, located in the southern part of the state.

So what is the Jersey Devil, really? Lets go back to the original myth which goes back to colonial days. Legend has it that this all started with a kind of self-imposed curse. An English woman, Mowas Leeds, had married a Pine Barren businessman and became pregnant with her thirteenth child in as many years. Finding herself sick of children and the whole child bearing process, she prayed to God "Lord, I don't want anymore children. Let this one be a devil". Perhaps it was out of an awful depression from hormones that never had a chance to return to normal with all those births so close together. Perhaps it never happened at all, but usually a folklorist or an historian will tell you no to discount oral histories as they were a closely guarded way to hand down a peoples family history.

Anyway, as the story goes, the newborn was horribly deformed. It looked at its mother with horrible eyes, spread its wings and flew up and our of the chimney to roam the Pine Barrens where it is reported to remain to this day.

People who have seen the Jersey Devil do report a feeling of fear for their lives and a sense of dread. Their adrenalin kicks in and they run from it, feeling their life is in danger. An age old response to threat. We can then assume this devil does mean harm. There have been expeditions to find it, but no one has come up with any evidence of its existence. I've been told that the TV show MONSTER QUEST did a show on it where some of the people who have seen it took polygraph tests administered by a retired NYPD polygraph expert. They passed with flying colors so it is safe to say that there is probably something out there. It bears further study. We'll keep watch on this one.

Ellizabeth Bathory - The Blood Countess

2009-02-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614), was a Hungarian noblewoman, born into one of Hungary's most influential families. As with most European aristocratic families the Bathory family had its share of mental illness due to years of inbreeding. Elizabeth herself began having epileptic fits at approximately age of four.

Elizabeth was a very spoiled child who was raised by nannies who's only job was to to cater to her every need. Despite her odd personality, no one could deny that Elizabeth was a very intelligent young woman.

At the age of eleven , Elizabeth became engaged to Count Fernencz Nadasdy, a famous war hero whose sadistic nature would ultimately earn him the nickname of "The Black Hero of Hungary."

Since Her husband was frequently away, Elizabeth became quite bored and looked for ways to busy herself. Now in her early twenties, Elizabeth, discovered that torturing servants filled this void for her. There really is no clear reason to support why the Countess enjoyed tormenting others and taking pleasure in their pain the way she did. But once she got a taste of it, she was unstoppable. It seemed that her preferred prey was the female teenage population of her village.

She devised hideous tortures for them such as ripping their bodies apart and setting them on fire. On days when she felt kinder, she would delight in humiliating girls by forcing them to strip naked and perform their duties in front of men.
When her husband returned home from war, he often "played" with his wife and joined in with the torture, but even he with his dark reputation could not equal her brutality. As Elizabeth got older, it seems she only got worse and developed even more cruel tortures. One such was what she called her "honey torture" where she would strip a young girl and cover her complete with honey then tie her outside to leave her to be eaten by bugs and other prey. A slow and horrible death. Another such death was saved for winter months when a young girl again would be stripped naked and then buckets of water would be poured over her, over and over again until the girl eventually froze to death within her ice prison.

One day, some of her associates - witches really, known as Dracula, Helena Jo and Dorka, told her that bathing in the blood of virgins was virtually the fountain of youth, Elizabeth really flipped and a horrifying ritual began. Girls by the hundreds were kidnapped, brought to the castle, and drained of their blood. Oftentimes, Elizabeth would bite their necks and breasts herself, drinking the blood and eating the flesh from their open wounds. This is why, years later, the story of Elizabeth Bathory inspired Bram Stoker to write his famous Dracula novel.

The countess' story doesn't end there, she didn't stop until she killed somewhere around 650 young women and annihilated the peasantry and had to move to the aristocracy. At this point

she was brought to trial along with her accomplices. They were executed for their crimes but due to her noble birth, Elizabeth's life was spared execution in that form. She was ordered to live out her live in her castle, with no visitors, totally alone. She was escorted to her room and was then sealed in, with only a small hole left for the passage of food and air. She died there three years after the beginning of her sentence. The tower room where she was imprisoned is still standing as part of the ruins of Csjethe castle.

Some Vampire Talk - The Sampiro

2009-02-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

With the success of the Twilight books and movies of late, there seems to be a renewed interest in all things vampire. For my next few posts, I thought I put a few interesting things I've found while doing research, and would love it if you would comment and share what you know on the subjects so we can all learn more.

Most fans of things supernatural realize there are more than one type of vampire, but one of the more lesser known types is the Sampiro. Although it sounds frightening and I wouldn't want to run into one on a dark and foggy night, they do have a bit of a comical air to them (OK, maybe only if you have a macabre sense of humor like me!).

According to Albanian folklore, the Sampiro rises from its grave shortly after it's internment, about 3-4 hours. It rises dressed in its grave shroud, and is described in all of the folklore wearing high heels (no, I don't know where the high heels come from....and yes, the Sampiro can be female or male!) with large, bright glowing eyes (sometimes as large as headlights).

The Sampiro cannot walk too well on the high heels so "toddles" after it's victim (which in the beginning of it's "career" tends to be close family members or other loved ones) in an unbalanced kind of way. If they are lucky enough to catch their victim, then it means certain death. If their victim gets away, they have been known to stop at cottages and homes along the way and peer into windows. It is said that if the gaze of their strange glowing eyes falls on any people in that home, those people will come down with an illness, sometimes a fatal one, within days. In this way, the Sampiro is in fact more virulent than other vampires since they can make entire households fatally ill just by walking after one victim and then walking back to return to their grave site.

The Albanian people at one time believed at one time that any person with any Turkish blood in them would become a Sampiro. Another interesting note, it was said that a Sampiro was able to flush out a "real" vampire so sometimes people that were half Albanian/half Turkish made a living by being "vampire hunters", believing that after death, they would become a Sampiro. Usually they had arrangements made for decapitation special burial rites with their village priest for the time of their death to save them from this fate and ensure their way to heaven.

Robert The Doll!

2009-01-06T20:14:00.000-08:00

Wow, this is an interesting story that I had not heard about before I saw it on a TV show the other night. I would really like to hear some feedback from you on this, especially from any of you that might have actually visited Robert at his home in the museum, so let me know what you think.

Robert's story begins with Mr. And Mrs. Thomas Otto in the year 1896. One particular servant who was assigned to take care of their son, Robert Eugene Gene, ( called Gene by the family)had a reputation for dabbling in voodoo. She decided she had enough of the Otto's cruelty and decided she would do something about it. She constructed a doll for Gene that was about 3'tall and stuffed with straw. People were amazed at it's very life-like features and the fact that the doll became the immediate constant companion of Gene. He named the doll "Robert".
Servants and family members as well as visitor to the house said that they often heard Gene upstairs talking to the doll. What scared them was when they would hear the boy answering himself back in an entirely different voice than his own.

Strange things began to happen in the Otto household. Neighbors claimed to see Robert move about from window to window, when the family were out. Gene began to blame Robert for things that would occur. People claimed to hear the doll giggle, and swear they caught glimpses of him running about the house.
Gene began to have nightmares and would scream out in the night. When his parents would enter the room, they would find furniture over turned, their child in a horribly terrorized state with Robert at the foot of the bed "Robert Did It".... was all the boy could say. The doll was retired to the attic when they couldn't take any more nighttime upheavals and he remained there for many years.
When Gene's inherited the house after his parents death, Robert was rediscovered in the attic and it appeared that the doll's hold on Gene was just as strong as it was years before. Gene's wife thought the doll was unsettling and put him back in the attic but Gene would have none of it. Gene decided Robert needed a whole room of his own and he put Robert in the turret room, by a window. It wasn't long after that Gene's sanity was questioned.

It wasn't long before the people of Key West heard about Robert, and his reported evil ways. Many people walking by the home reported that the doll watched from the turret room, and made faces at them as they passed... School children were afraid to walk past the house alone. Gene reported that he found Robert in the rocking chair by the turret room window, displeased with his accommodations...home. Finally Gene himself had enough of
But Robert had other plans. Visitors that entered the house could hear something walking back and forth in the attic, and strange giggling sounds. Guests no longer wanted to visit the Otto home.
Gene Otto died in 1972 and the house was sold to a new family. Robert was found again, this time by the 10 year old daughter of the new owners. . It was not long before Robert unleashed his displeasure on the child... The little girl claiming that the doll tortured her, and made her life a hell.. Even after more than thirty years later, she steadfastly claims that " the doll was alive and wanted to kill her."
Robert is still dressed in his white sailor's suit and is clutching his stuffed lion. He lives at the Key West Martello Museum. Employees at the museum continue to give accounts of Robert being up to his old tricks still today, and some visitors claim the expression on his face changes from time to time, and that you can see visible signs of aging in Robert's features.

Some people account for Robert by saying the old voodoo mistress cursed the doll while making it by placing an evil human soul inside which she possessed from some previous voodoo spell. No one that I have read about really knows, so I'd love some feedback on this from you.

MAGIC - BLACK & WHITE/GOOD & EVIL

2008-11-24T16:40:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-09-12T23:46:00.001-07:00

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....

2008-09-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

**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

2008-09-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-05T00:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-31T02:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-31T00:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

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"

2008-08-29T01:40:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-29T00:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

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)
Buy new: $15.00 $10.20
41 Used & new from $7.49
Get it by Thursday, Aug 28 if you order in the next 20 hours and choose one-day shipping.
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.

Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers by Michael Newton (Hardcover - Jan 6, 2005)
Buy new: $95.00 $76.00
18 Used & new from $76.00
Get it by Thursday, Aug 28 if you order in the next 20 hours and choose one-day shipping.
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.

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)
Buy new: $18.95 $12.89
26 Used & new from $12.02
Get it by Thursday, Aug 28 if you order in the next 19 hours and choose one-day shipping.
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.

CHUPACABRA - MYTH OR MONSTER?

2008-08-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-08-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-08-22T17:44:00.001-07:00

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?

2008-08-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

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...