Examiner.com (Phoenix): Arizona paranormal teams featured at Phoenix Comicon 2011
Phoenix Comicon at the Phoenix Convention Center was the place to find your favorite super hero the weekend of May 26-29, 2011. This event was so popular that there was often an hour wait just to get through the ticket line and into the exhibitor hall. There was a new record of over 25,000 people in attendance. Where else could you find the likes of Batman, Catwoman, the Joker, Jack Sparrow, Disney Princesses, Superman, Aqua Man, Poison Ivy, Phoenix and so much more? Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, was on hand to emcee the Zombie Beauty Pageant.
For those participants who are afraid of the dark, a panel titled “Arizona Paranormal Activities” was presented by the local ghost hunting teams of Miskatonic Paranormal and Phoenix Paranormal. Both teams have been investigating the Arizona area for about three years. These two teams are part of the valiant ghost hunting teams in the valley who make it their mission to investigate some of the most haunted locations. While Phoenix Paranormal tends to focus on private resident house calls, Miskatonic Paranormal enjoys working at some of the well-known haunted sites around Arizona and the rest of the country. Both teams demonstrated their techniques and showed audio and video recaps of some of their most successful hunts.
Heathyr Hoffman and ARMS (Arizona Research Mediumship Society) took the stage and discussed their methods of balancing their metaphysical skills with scientific reasoning in paranormal investigations. This 3 year old team believes combining ghost equipment, intuition, and medium skills are a well-rounded package when on a ghost hunt. They showed clips of some of their best investigations as well.
Bill Bailey came back later in the afternoon and did a humorous class called “Faked or Fact: Debunking Internet Videos”. Bailey showed various clips from YouTube videos of paranormal activity that was just too good to be true. The audience enjoyed participating in a vote whether each paranormal video was a hoax or an actual event.
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Ah, but some of the stars who gave a boost to ghost hunting in the 1980’s were also on hand. Guests of the Arizona Ghostbusters, the guests at ComiCon had a chance to meet and greet Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore) and William Atherton (Walter Peck) from the “Ghost Busters” movie fame. Even the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was in attendance.
Phoenix ComiCon seems to double in attendance size each year making it the Phoenix place to be on Memorial Day weekend!
www.phoenixcomicon.com
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Ghost hunting in a not-so-scary Sonata
Edmonton Journal: Ghost hunting in a not-so-scary Sonata
Are those swings moving on their own? I blink hard. Look again. Ever so slight movement. Up the flagpole; a faint flutter. Whew. Just the wind.
On my sunrise walk, I've stumbled upon a playground in Jerome, Ariz. Despite the early heat in the air, goosebumps rise on my arms.
The playground is the one from the book I've been reading, Haunted Arizona. At this hour, the playground is empty. Of humans, at least. According to the book, swings in this playground have been known to thrash wildly with neither wind nor children about.
I climb the steep stairs out of the playground, barely resisting the urge to run like the proverbial batout-of-hell. Memories of childhood taunts from my sister flash through my mind: "Last one up has to turn out the lights." That always seemed to be me, flying up the stairs of the pitch-black basement, the terrifying gloom nipping at my heels, convinced something would grab me and I would never be seen again. Ah, innocent childhood fears.
Ah, innocent childhood fears. Yet, here I am, an adult on a road trip, feeling that irrational terror. I wonder what my husband, Garry, safe back in our room at the Jerome Grand Hotel, would do if shadowy shapes of the not-quite dearly departed were to whisk me away.
But wait, how safe is he, high up on the mountain in a hotel that was the town's hospital and insane asylum, supposedly one of the most haunted hotels in America?
hotels in America? Whose idea was this ghost-hunting road trip, anyway?
We can make a quick getaway if necessary. Our ghostbuster vehicle is a 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0 Turbo that has been gliding us through the deserts of California and Arizona over the past few days.
over the past few days. Its four-cylinder power plant acts like a smooth six-cylinder. The sixspeed automatic transmission with shiftronic paddles makes getting to Jerome, through winding turns, dizzying descents and switchback climbs, half the fun.
climbs, half the fun. Under the word "cling" in the dictionary, there must be a picture of the town of Jerome, the most vertical city in the U.S. The revitalized ghost town had a population of 15,000 during the copper boom, and now draws thousands of tourists a year perhaps trying to beat the clock before the town slips off Mingus Mountain.
Jerome offers amazing mile-high views of the Verde Valley, world-class art galleries, cute shops galore and . ghosts. Tourists come in the hope of catching a glimpse of some soul lingering on Earth, too tormented or too bent on mortal revenge to finally leave or find peace.
I think of what we've seen so far on our mission to seek out ghosts and ghost towns of the American Southwest.
Our first stop was California City, where we drifted silently through town in our Hyundai Sonata.
The wide boulevards of the wellplotted town were eerily quiet. We kept the windows rolled up, inexplicably anxious, trying to pinpoint what was missing. Oh, that would be people, houses, souls.
We were in the third largest city in California by area and nary a human in sight. That's because California City is a perfect example of an abandoned suburb.
Cul-de-sacs, street signs, even sidewalks have been scraped out of the desert, but not a single foundation was ever laid and the people never came. A ghost town with no human history, therefore no ghosts, right?
We're surprised to see a brightly painted rock by the roadside. Innocently, I pick it up, flip it over and almost throw it to the ground when I see my name painted in flowery letters on the surface. Cue the Twilight Zone music and step on the gas.
The extreme heat and hardship of the desert out the windshield can't touch us in the climate-controlled comfort of the pretty two-toned interior of the Sonata. I bask in its rich cranberry leather seats for the next few days as we continue our ghost hunt.
The sleek, eye-catching Sonata carries us down wide-open gravel roads deep into the East Cactus Plain Wilderness as we search for the ghost town of Swansea. After a half-hour of uncertainty, and nervous checks of the fuel and temperature gauges, we decide that Swansea doesn't want to be found -the town doesn't want to give up its ghosts.
give up its ghosts. We motor our way across the scorching, cactus-spiked expanse of the Mojave Desert into Arizona. We wind north along the Colorado River to Lake Havasu, a lake created in the mid-1930s by the Parker Dam, and muse about what watery ghosts lie beneath in the flooded little villages at the bottom of the lake.
In Jerome, I look back down the staircase into the park. The wind has picked up, the flag's string strikes the pole rhythmically, the metallic sound echoes in the quiet morning air. Don't look at the swings, I tell myself.
myself. Don't be silly, of course, they'll be moving, because of the wind. How can I not look? I blink. The swings are still. Fire up the Sonata. Fast.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Maori slam Ghost Hunters International as 'gauche'
Haweke's BayToday: Maori slam Ghost Hunters International as 'gauche'
The international crew of ghost hunters secretly filming at Napier Prison have been condemned as "gauche" by local Maori activists.
The prison is the site of several hangings, including that of famed Maori warrior Kereopa Te Rau, who hanged the missionary Reverend Carl Volkner outside his Opotiki church, and ate his eyeballs.
Denis O'Reilly, a close observer of iwi affairs in Napier, said the television series ghost-hunting at the Napier Prison, a Government-owner property landbanked for possible use in treaty claim settlement, was inappropriate. "Maori history and Kereopa should be treated with respect and that's not what's being done with the ghost busters here, there's no need for cheap thrills. It's the lowest common denominator of a reality TV show, it's gauche in the extreme, and not where we should be positioning Hawke's Bay tourism."
However, Mr O'Reilly said Peter Wells' new book, Sparrow on a Rooftop, which was this week awarded the $100,000 Michael King Writers' Fellowship, had a strong following and was exactly how the situation should be treated. "It's great that someone is doing some research into the story of Kereopa Te Rau, it's an important story."
The group of about 20 Ghost Hunters Internationalstaff were reportedly attracted to the prison, which was open between 1862 and 1993, after reports of "strange sights and sounds", said co-manager of the prison, Marion Waaka.
She said the decision to let ghost hunters film was not taken lightly.
"We have to be respectful and we take our guardianship very seriously.
Even with the ghost-hunters there it wasn't taken lightly, and it wasn't for any tourism aspect, it was more for us living there and making us feel comfortable and the people visiting feel comfortable," she said.
Ghost Hunters International is produced for Sky on the Skyfy channel not yet available in New Zealand.
The international crew of ghost hunters secretly filming at Napier Prison have been condemned as "gauche" by local Maori activists.
The prison is the site of several hangings, including that of famed Maori warrior Kereopa Te Rau, who hanged the missionary Reverend Carl Volkner outside his Opotiki church, and ate his eyeballs.
Denis O'Reilly, a close observer of iwi affairs in Napier, said the television series ghost-hunting at the Napier Prison, a Government-owner property landbanked for possible use in treaty claim settlement, was inappropriate. "Maori history and Kereopa should be treated with respect and that's not what's being done with the ghost busters here, there's no need for cheap thrills. It's the lowest common denominator of a reality TV show, it's gauche in the extreme, and not where we should be positioning Hawke's Bay tourism."
However, Mr O'Reilly said Peter Wells' new book, Sparrow on a Rooftop, which was this week awarded the $100,000 Michael King Writers' Fellowship, had a strong following and was exactly how the situation should be treated. "It's great that someone is doing some research into the story of Kereopa Te Rau, it's an important story."
The group of about 20 Ghost Hunters Internationalstaff were reportedly attracted to the prison, which was open between 1862 and 1993, after reports of "strange sights and sounds", said co-manager of the prison, Marion Waaka.
She said the decision to let ghost hunters film was not taken lightly.
"We have to be respectful and we take our guardianship very seriously.
Even with the ghost-hunters there it wasn't taken lightly, and it wasn't for any tourism aspect, it was more for us living there and making us feel comfortable and the people visiting feel comfortable," she said.
Ghost Hunters International is produced for Sky on the Skyfy channel not yet available in New Zealand.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Spookmanor Live Cams Hosts Ghosts
Examiner(National).com: Spookmanor Live Cams Hosts Ghosts
It is Friday or Saturday night and you have nothing to do. Are you curious about ghosts and would like to explore ghost hunting, to try to find one?
Spookmanor website hosts a comprehensive list of online, live, spooky ghost cams, for those that are interested in investigating the paranormal. New ones are added as they become available.
For instance, everyone is aware of infamous, horrendous story behind the "Lizzie Borden House", which is now a bed and breakfast. Story was, that someone murdered Lizzie's father along with her step mother, using an axe as the weapon of demise. Suspicions were that Lizzie had committed the murders herself, however there wasn't a preponderant of evidence and the court therefore ruled her as being not guilty, then ultimately dismissed the case. Lizzie went on with her life, purchased another home and shared it with her sister until her death many years after the fact.
The real murderer, was never found.
The Borden house, now a quaint bed and breakfast, is preparing to offer live ghost cams fairly soon, for those interested in watching for ghosts or anything possibly paranormal. This webcam link can be accessible through the Spookmanor website once it becomes active.
Also available on the Spookmanor website, is a few castle ghost cams. Numerous other famous ghost cams can be found such as creepy library, haunted homes, and business cam links. Some of the ghost cams are located and setup outside in a location where a specific tragedy had taken place such as a war, accident or murder. They even got links to ghost cams that allow viewers/visitors to scan the skies for UFOs.
Also, on the website is a collection of very creepy "EVPS" or more commonly known, "Spirit Voices" to listen to, if one is so inclined. These "spirit voices" were captured with the use of sophisticated recording & audio equipment by a professional in the field of audio analyzing.
If one isn’t interested in watching for ghosts on live cams, yet still interested in the paranormal, perhaps a broadcasted paranormal show or live invest with a real paranormal team, would suit them better.
Whatever, your paranormal desire it can be found on this website.
Happy ghost hunting!
It is Friday or Saturday night and you have nothing to do. Are you curious about ghosts and would like to explore ghost hunting, to try to find one?
Spookmanor website hosts a comprehensive list of online, live, spooky ghost cams, for those that are interested in investigating the paranormal. New ones are added as they become available.
For instance, everyone is aware of infamous, horrendous story behind the "Lizzie Borden House", which is now a bed and breakfast. Story was, that someone murdered Lizzie's father along with her step mother, using an axe as the weapon of demise. Suspicions were that Lizzie had committed the murders herself, however there wasn't a preponderant of evidence and the court therefore ruled her as being not guilty, then ultimately dismissed the case. Lizzie went on with her life, purchased another home and shared it with her sister until her death many years after the fact.
The real murderer, was never found.
The Borden house, now a quaint bed and breakfast, is preparing to offer live ghost cams fairly soon, for those interested in watching for ghosts or anything possibly paranormal. This webcam link can be accessible through the Spookmanor website once it becomes active.
Also available on the Spookmanor website, is a few castle ghost cams. Numerous other famous ghost cams can be found such as creepy library, haunted homes, and business cam links. Some of the ghost cams are located and setup outside in a location where a specific tragedy had taken place such as a war, accident or murder. They even got links to ghost cams that allow viewers/visitors to scan the skies for UFOs.
Also, on the website is a collection of very creepy "EVPS" or more commonly known, "Spirit Voices" to listen to, if one is so inclined. These "spirit voices" were captured with the use of sophisticated recording & audio equipment by a professional in the field of audio analyzing.
If one isn’t interested in watching for ghosts on live cams, yet still interested in the paranormal, perhaps a broadcasted paranormal show or live invest with a real paranormal team, would suit them better.
Whatever, your paranormal desire it can be found on this website.
Happy ghost hunting!
4 ghost hunters charged with trespassing in Maine
BostonHerald.com: 4 ghost hunters charged with trespassing in Maine
ORONO, Maine — Police in Maine say four people arrested for trespassing in the late-night hours told them they were hunting for ghosts and had brought along a camera in hopes of documenting paranormal activity.
Orono police Officer Wilfred King says two men and two women between 19 and 25 were issued summons shortly after midnight Tuesday. The four allegedly ignored no-trespassing signs and scaled a barbed-wire-topped gate leading to Ayers Island in the Penobscot River, where textile and paper mills once operated.
The Bangor Daily News says local legend has it that the island is haunted by the ghost of a mill foreman who was killed in a mysterious accident, and the ghost of a young girl whose father accidentally killed her after being tricked by a 300-year-old American Indian curse.
ORONO, Maine — Police in Maine say four people arrested for trespassing in the late-night hours told them they were hunting for ghosts and had brought along a camera in hopes of documenting paranormal activity.
Orono police Officer Wilfred King says two men and two women between 19 and 25 were issued summons shortly after midnight Tuesday. The four allegedly ignored no-trespassing signs and scaled a barbed-wire-topped gate leading to Ayers Island in the Penobscot River, where textile and paper mills once operated.
The Bangor Daily News says local legend has it that the island is haunted by the ghost of a mill foreman who was killed in a mysterious accident, and the ghost of a young girl whose father accidentally killed her after being tricked by a 300-year-old American Indian curse.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Booklist: Unfinished Business, by James Van Praagh
Unfinished Business: What the Dead Can Teach Us About Life, by James Van Praagh
HarperOne, 2009
228 pages plus bibliography. No index. No photos
Library: 133.91 VAN
Description
Based on over 20 years of spirit communication and thousands of professional readings, world-famous medium James Van Praagh shares with readers the personal regrets, misgivings, remorse and, most important, the advice of the dead who have chosen him as a medium. These spirits have a great deal to say about what they have learned and discovered on the other side and how we, the living, can benefit from their experiences.
Unfinished Business is filled with shocking and emotional stories of Van Praagh's communication with loved ones who cross over the barrier between the living and the dead to send messages to those whom they have left behind. Through these profound true stories, Van Praagh guides us on an adventure into the spirit world. The lessons for the living that he has learned from these experiences range from the dangers of emotional baggage caused by guilt, fear, and regret to the importance of karma, forgiveness, and taking responsibility for our actions. Van Praagh shares with us now the wisdom that, without him, we would only gain after death.
Van Praagh writes:
"When people shed their physical bodies at death, their spiritual selves see life from a whole new perspective. It's as if they had Lasik surgery. They can finally take off their glasses and see everything more clearly.
Spirits understand why certain situations had to happen. They are able to recognize the value of others, even their enemies, and what they had to learn from them. They also realize how they could have skipped certain mistakes by not letting their egos get in the way. After crossing into the light, spirits are ever eager to share their newfound knowledge with the living, and I am fortunate to be a beneficiary of spirit's wisdom and guidance, and I am happy to share these insights with you."
Table of Contents
Prologue
Introduction
Emotional Baggage
1. Guilt
2. Regrets
3. Love versus fear
Do Unto Others
4. The Blame Game
5. Forgive and Forget
6. Karma
I Can See Clearly
7. Overcoming Obstacles
8. Taking the high road
9. Clarity of Consciousness
Your New Life
10. Transcendance
111. Living Your Life
12. Finished Business
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
BOSF 2011: S.F. Ghost Society Investigates the Paranormal
SFWeekly, Arts: BOSF 2011: S.F. Ghost Society Investigates the Paranormal
Many paranormal investigators will tell you there's no such thing as a professional ghost hunter. Universities don't award degrees in the subject, and nearly all the technology is borrowed from elsewhere — electricians, photographers, sound engineers, spiritualists.
Accordingly, paranormal investigators learn by doing and by reaching out to others. They ask around, they go to a small conference or two, they get some equipment, and next they're participating in investigations and are active ghost hunters.
No group we've experienced in San Francisco or the Bay Area makes this easier than the San Francisco Ghost Society. While some paranormal groups bar members of other organizations from their activities — and sometimes prohibit their own members from having such contact outside the group — the S.F. Ghost Society welcomes everyone to its public events.
"We've always been open to all," says Tommy Netzband, founder and president. "Some of the greatest things I've learned have been from other groups." This fits with the society's aim to educate and bring more people into the world of paranormal investigation. "We cater to the beginner," he says, "to the person who maybe wants to be a ghost hunter but hasn't found a group."
Nowhere is this clearer than at the Ghost Society's conferences, which happen once or twice a year at haunted locations in San Francisco. The most recent was at the San Remo Hotel in North Beach. For about $200, people got a room, a really good meal, several lectures on ghost-hunting methods, and several hours of investigation. "We make very little money on these," Netzband says. "But it's not been about the money for us; it's always been about the education."
During the investigation, Ghost Society members led small teams to various locations. Netzband says he likes working with smaller groups. "This gives you a more personal understanding of the paranormal," he says, "where you can experience it and see what it's like."
Netzband and the 10 or so other Ghost Society members do extensive historical research and conduct preliminary investigations on such sites, so they always have a good idea of what might turn up. (Among the spirits thought to inhabit the San Remo are a woman who is believed to have run a brothel there, as well as the victims of a double murder that occurred at a wedding.) It also gives them evidence they can present at lectures before the investigations start.
Methods of collecting evidence of paranormal activity include still and video cameras, which may pick up apparitions or so-called spirit "orbs"; digital recorders, which may pick up electronic voice phenomena (EVP); electromagnetic frequency meters, which are said to be easily activated by willing spirits; and digital thermometers, which can show dramatic fluctuations in temperature that are thought to occur when ghosts are present.
Netzband's relationship-building extends beyond other groups and ghost hunters. It takes him months and sometimes years to forge bonds with owners of places he wants to investigate on a large scale. He frequently visits locations, doing smaller investigations when allowed, showing the owners that he's not out to make a public spectacle and keep people away. He says this method worked at the San Remo: "Once they knew we were serious, it opened a lot of doors for us," he says.
In addition to the San Remo, the Ghost Society has had an overnight event at the Queen Anne Hotel and recently conducted a daytime investigation at Fort Point. It plans more single-day events as well as free educational lectures this year at San Francisco branch libraries.
Netzband says these treks often lay the groundwork for more famous investigation groups who have TV shows, and he says he's certain this will happen with the San Remo. "It's a great honor to know we were the first," he says.
The Ghost Society itself has been on television; about two years ago four members spent the night on Alcatraz conducting research for the History Channel show Mystery Quest. Netzband says they collected great EVP evidence, which a former CIA audio analyst said could not have been made by humans. Although the analyst wouldn't go so far as to say spirits had uttered the words, Netzband has heard from numerous people whose minds have been changed after being on investigations.
"Everyone's a skeptic until they experience it," he says. "I've met many people who've said, 'I never believed in ghosts until ... "
Many paranormal investigators will tell you there's no such thing as a professional ghost hunter. Universities don't award degrees in the subject, and nearly all the technology is borrowed from elsewhere — electricians, photographers, sound engineers, spiritualists.
Accordingly, paranormal investigators learn by doing and by reaching out to others. They ask around, they go to a small conference or two, they get some equipment, and next they're participating in investigations and are active ghost hunters.
No group we've experienced in San Francisco or the Bay Area makes this easier than the San Francisco Ghost Society. While some paranormal groups bar members of other organizations from their activities — and sometimes prohibit their own members from having such contact outside the group — the S.F. Ghost Society welcomes everyone to its public events.
"We've always been open to all," says Tommy Netzband, founder and president. "Some of the greatest things I've learned have been from other groups." This fits with the society's aim to educate and bring more people into the world of paranormal investigation. "We cater to the beginner," he says, "to the person who maybe wants to be a ghost hunter but hasn't found a group."
Nowhere is this clearer than at the Ghost Society's conferences, which happen once or twice a year at haunted locations in San Francisco. The most recent was at the San Remo Hotel in North Beach. For about $200, people got a room, a really good meal, several lectures on ghost-hunting methods, and several hours of investigation. "We make very little money on these," Netzband says. "But it's not been about the money for us; it's always been about the education."
During the investigation, Ghost Society members led small teams to various locations. Netzband says he likes working with smaller groups. "This gives you a more personal understanding of the paranormal," he says, "where you can experience it and see what it's like."
Netzband and the 10 or so other Ghost Society members do extensive historical research and conduct preliminary investigations on such sites, so they always have a good idea of what might turn up. (Among the spirits thought to inhabit the San Remo are a woman who is believed to have run a brothel there, as well as the victims of a double murder that occurred at a wedding.) It also gives them evidence they can present at lectures before the investigations start.
Methods of collecting evidence of paranormal activity include still and video cameras, which may pick up apparitions or so-called spirit "orbs"; digital recorders, which may pick up electronic voice phenomena (EVP); electromagnetic frequency meters, which are said to be easily activated by willing spirits; and digital thermometers, which can show dramatic fluctuations in temperature that are thought to occur when ghosts are present.
Netzband's relationship-building extends beyond other groups and ghost hunters. It takes him months and sometimes years to forge bonds with owners of places he wants to investigate on a large scale. He frequently visits locations, doing smaller investigations when allowed, showing the owners that he's not out to make a public spectacle and keep people away. He says this method worked at the San Remo: "Once they knew we were serious, it opened a lot of doors for us," he says.
In addition to the San Remo, the Ghost Society has had an overnight event at the Queen Anne Hotel and recently conducted a daytime investigation at Fort Point. It plans more single-day events as well as free educational lectures this year at San Francisco branch libraries.
Netzband says these treks often lay the groundwork for more famous investigation groups who have TV shows, and he says he's certain this will happen with the San Remo. "It's a great honor to know we were the first," he says.
The Ghost Society itself has been on television; about two years ago four members spent the night on Alcatraz conducting research for the History Channel show Mystery Quest. Netzband says they collected great EVP evidence, which a former CIA audio analyst said could not have been made by humans. Although the analyst wouldn't go so far as to say spirits had uttered the words, Netzband has heard from numerous people whose minds have been changed after being on investigations.
"Everyone's a skeptic until they experience it," he says. "I've met many people who've said, 'I never believed in ghosts until ... "
Monday, May 16, 2011
UK: Haunted Merseyside Takes Skiddle along to investigate Liverpool's Spooky Past
Skiddle.com: Haunted Merseyside Takes Skiddle along to investigate Liverpool's Spooky Past
joins Haunted Merseyside on a Ghost Hunt at Liverpool's spooky Heritage Market.
Haunted Merseyside are a charitable organisation who facilitate guided tours, skydives and parties throughout the region to raise money for charities and other worthwhile groups and individuals.
Tonight's sponsored ghost hunt took place in aid of Amber; a two year old from Liverpool who has sadly lost two of her limbs due to meningitis. Through events such as this, Haunted Merseyside hope to raise enough money to send Amber to Disneyland.
The event on Friday 13th (yes, I did agree to go on a ghost hunt on Friday 13th) saw Haunted Merseyside take a group of amateur paranormal investigators to one of Liverpool's most haunted locations; The Heriatge Market on Stanley Dock.
The towering body of the building, with its broken windows and rickety staircases, stirred uneasy feelings from the start. Once inside, we met the group and were told what to expect from the tour, being shown recordings and photographs of past sit-ins so we could see exactly what we were dealing with.
Just before we started we started our sit in, we were given a health and safety talk. As Heritage is such an old building there are hazards such as abandoned lift shafts, huge holes in the floor and sheer drops where, in the pitch black building, you could easily fall down three floors to the ground!
After this we were all told to stand in a circle outside in the court yard and join hands. We were then “protected” by Haunted Merseyside's Annette, with a golden ball of light which cascaded over all of us to keep away evil or unwanted goings on from happening to us.
Throughout the tour the group were taking photos on their digital cameras, with many of the photos showing up small white balls of light - or 'orbs' as they're known in ghost-hunting circles.
My friend Kirsty, who bravely accompanied me to the event, kept saying that she could feel her legs tingling, and was told this was because the children or small spirits were latching on to something about her that they liked and they stayed with her because they felt comfortable around her. And sure enough, a photo taken by another group member showed there to be lots of orbs surrounding her legs.
I have to say that a first I was very sceptical of the event - and more afraid of the dark itself than the things that supposedly go 'bump' in it. However, there was one thing that convinced me that there might indeed be something out there. In one experiment, the group stood in a circle around two fully charged batteries. Sprits were asked to respond to questions by turning the lights on and off and - to my surprise - the torches did indeed do this.
Whether you're already a believer or you're a cynic like me - get yourself along to a future event, where you might be surprised by what you experience.
And with all Haunted Merseyside's events raising money for charitable causes, there's all the more reason to get involved.
For further information and dates of events, take a look at www.hauntedmerseyside.org.uk.
joins Haunted Merseyside on a Ghost Hunt at Liverpool's spooky Heritage Market.
Haunted Merseyside are a charitable organisation who facilitate guided tours, skydives and parties throughout the region to raise money for charities and other worthwhile groups and individuals.
Tonight's sponsored ghost hunt took place in aid of Amber; a two year old from Liverpool who has sadly lost two of her limbs due to meningitis. Through events such as this, Haunted Merseyside hope to raise enough money to send Amber to Disneyland.
The event on Friday 13th (yes, I did agree to go on a ghost hunt on Friday 13th) saw Haunted Merseyside take a group of amateur paranormal investigators to one of Liverpool's most haunted locations; The Heriatge Market on Stanley Dock.
The towering body of the building, with its broken windows and rickety staircases, stirred uneasy feelings from the start. Once inside, we met the group and were told what to expect from the tour, being shown recordings and photographs of past sit-ins so we could see exactly what we were dealing with.
Just before we started we started our sit in, we were given a health and safety talk. As Heritage is such an old building there are hazards such as abandoned lift shafts, huge holes in the floor and sheer drops where, in the pitch black building, you could easily fall down three floors to the ground!
After this we were all told to stand in a circle outside in the court yard and join hands. We were then “protected” by Haunted Merseyside's Annette, with a golden ball of light which cascaded over all of us to keep away evil or unwanted goings on from happening to us.
Throughout the tour the group were taking photos on their digital cameras, with many of the photos showing up small white balls of light - or 'orbs' as they're known in ghost-hunting circles.
My friend Kirsty, who bravely accompanied me to the event, kept saying that she could feel her legs tingling, and was told this was because the children or small spirits were latching on to something about her that they liked and they stayed with her because they felt comfortable around her. And sure enough, a photo taken by another group member showed there to be lots of orbs surrounding her legs.
I have to say that a first I was very sceptical of the event - and more afraid of the dark itself than the things that supposedly go 'bump' in it. However, there was one thing that convinced me that there might indeed be something out there. In one experiment, the group stood in a circle around two fully charged batteries. Sprits were asked to respond to questions by turning the lights on and off and - to my surprise - the torches did indeed do this.
Whether you're already a believer or you're a cynic like me - get yourself along to a future event, where you might be surprised by what you experience.
And with all Haunted Merseyside's events raising money for charitable causes, there's all the more reason to get involved.
For further information and dates of events, take a look at www.hauntedmerseyside.org.uk.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Missouri: Go Bump in the Night at Haunted Morse Mill Hotel
TownandCountry-ManchesterPatch, Missouri: Go Bump in the Night at Haunted Morse Mill Hotel
http://morsemillhotel.com/category/visit/
Ghost hunting isn’t just for Halloween anymore. If you ever wanted to see real life “paranormal activity” you need to visit to one of the metro area’s lesser known haunted places, the Morse Mill Hotel. And you should do it quickly, before this 140-year-old Jefferson County mansion is transformed from a ramshackle derelict into a charming French-Colonial bed and breakfast.
The hotel is located about 30 minutes from South County in Morse Mill.
Some of the hotel’s history has been lost over time, but we know that John Morse built his home and the mill in the 1870s. He also built the nearby iron bridge over the Big River, which you can still cross on foot. A county park (also reported to be haunted) is on the other side.
After Morse died, the place became a hotel and saw many famous guests. Charles Lindbergh and Charlie Chaplin are said to have stayed here in the 1920s when Morse Mill was a popular tourist retreat. The town declined during the great depression and the hotel repeatedly changed hands and became rundown.
The hotel is now owned by Patrick Sheehan who bought the property for its rehab potential unaware that it was haunted. That changed after the Travel Channel contacted him for permission to film the hotel for “Most Terrifying Places in America.”
Sheehan decided to open the hotel for supernatural sightseeing while he works on returning the building to its former glory. The building is not ready for true hotel guests and the rooms have only been furnished with thrift store finds that match the peeling wallpaper and warped hardwood floors. No effort has gone into making the place look nice—yet—and that run down atmosphere is what makes visitors feel like they could really encounter the supernatural here. Sheehan said he will keep the paranormal tours going even after construction starts, though he may need to close off certain areas for guest safety.
The hotel is reportedly haunted by several ghosts. Annabelle is a friendly ghost child who plays in the attic. Tourists have left toys for her, which they said Annabelle has moved around the rooms. A pre-Civil War slave is said to lurk the “dungeon,” a dark room in the basement that still bears evidence of shackles. People have also heard cooking noises from the empty kitchen and witnesses said a door has been repeated slammed shut, perhaps by an angry guest from long ago days.
If you visit, bring bug spray and a flashlight—Sheehan likes to keep the interior dark for guests and the ghosts. Three types of tours are offered: guided and unguided overnight investigations and a two-hour guided tour.
The tour starts an hour before sundown and (if time allows) includes a visit to the nearby grave of Bertha Gifford, a local healer who was accused of poisoning her patients. She was arrested in 1928 and sentenced to life in a mental hospital. Bertha, her two husbands and a handful of her 17 victims are all laid to rest in the small country cemetery. Her connection to the hotel is sketchy, but how can you pass up a visit to the woman who could be the country’s first female serial killer?
The hotel tour starts in the creepy gloom of the cellar and works up to the attic, with a guide pointing out where others have reported supernatural activity.
After the tour, visitors are allowed to select a room in the hotel and wait in stillness for something to happen. Visitors have reported hearing footsteps on empty stairs, seen unexplainable shadows or even touched by unseen hands. Naturally, your experience will vary, but go in with an open mind and see what happens.
Overnight guests are invited to hang out with local “ghost hunters” who will seek out the paranormal with scientific equipment. Experienced paranormal groups can arrange for a private stay. Overnight guests can bring a sleeping bag into the hotel, but its recommended to bring a tent for back up.
The hotel plumbing is not functional as yet, but there is a port-a-potty on site. Sheehan also offers afternoon float trips on the Big River for visitors who want to make a day of their visit.
Morse Mill does not have any services. Cedar Hill is six miles away, and there you can find gas, groceries and a great little burger and ice cream shop.
Guided tours start at $30 a person, with discounts available for groups. Float trips are $50 per canoe, or free with an overnight stay. The tour is not recommended for children. Reservations are required, contact the Morse Mill Hotel for available times.
http://morsemillhotel.com/category/visit/
http://morsemillhotel.com/category/visit/
Ghost hunting isn’t just for Halloween anymore. If you ever wanted to see real life “paranormal activity” you need to visit to one of the metro area’s lesser known haunted places, the Morse Mill Hotel. And you should do it quickly, before this 140-year-old Jefferson County mansion is transformed from a ramshackle derelict into a charming French-Colonial bed and breakfast.
The hotel is located about 30 minutes from South County in Morse Mill.
Some of the hotel’s history has been lost over time, but we know that John Morse built his home and the mill in the 1870s. He also built the nearby iron bridge over the Big River, which you can still cross on foot. A county park (also reported to be haunted) is on the other side.
After Morse died, the place became a hotel and saw many famous guests. Charles Lindbergh and Charlie Chaplin are said to have stayed here in the 1920s when Morse Mill was a popular tourist retreat. The town declined during the great depression and the hotel repeatedly changed hands and became rundown.
The hotel is now owned by Patrick Sheehan who bought the property for its rehab potential unaware that it was haunted. That changed after the Travel Channel contacted him for permission to film the hotel for “Most Terrifying Places in America.”
Sheehan decided to open the hotel for supernatural sightseeing while he works on returning the building to its former glory. The building is not ready for true hotel guests and the rooms have only been furnished with thrift store finds that match the peeling wallpaper and warped hardwood floors. No effort has gone into making the place look nice—yet—and that run down atmosphere is what makes visitors feel like they could really encounter the supernatural here. Sheehan said he will keep the paranormal tours going even after construction starts, though he may need to close off certain areas for guest safety.
The hotel is reportedly haunted by several ghosts. Annabelle is a friendly ghost child who plays in the attic. Tourists have left toys for her, which they said Annabelle has moved around the rooms. A pre-Civil War slave is said to lurk the “dungeon,” a dark room in the basement that still bears evidence of shackles. People have also heard cooking noises from the empty kitchen and witnesses said a door has been repeated slammed shut, perhaps by an angry guest from long ago days.
If you visit, bring bug spray and a flashlight—Sheehan likes to keep the interior dark for guests and the ghosts. Three types of tours are offered: guided and unguided overnight investigations and a two-hour guided tour.
The tour starts an hour before sundown and (if time allows) includes a visit to the nearby grave of Bertha Gifford, a local healer who was accused of poisoning her patients. She was arrested in 1928 and sentenced to life in a mental hospital. Bertha, her two husbands and a handful of her 17 victims are all laid to rest in the small country cemetery. Her connection to the hotel is sketchy, but how can you pass up a visit to the woman who could be the country’s first female serial killer?
The hotel tour starts in the creepy gloom of the cellar and works up to the attic, with a guide pointing out where others have reported supernatural activity.
After the tour, visitors are allowed to select a room in the hotel and wait in stillness for something to happen. Visitors have reported hearing footsteps on empty stairs, seen unexplainable shadows or even touched by unseen hands. Naturally, your experience will vary, but go in with an open mind and see what happens.
Overnight guests are invited to hang out with local “ghost hunters” who will seek out the paranormal with scientific equipment. Experienced paranormal groups can arrange for a private stay. Overnight guests can bring a sleeping bag into the hotel, but its recommended to bring a tent for back up.
The hotel plumbing is not functional as yet, but there is a port-a-potty on site. Sheehan also offers afternoon float trips on the Big River for visitors who want to make a day of their visit.
Morse Mill does not have any services. Cedar Hill is six miles away, and there you can find gas, groceries and a great little burger and ice cream shop.
Guided tours start at $30 a person, with discounts available for groups. Float trips are $50 per canoe, or free with an overnight stay. The tour is not recommended for children. Reservations are required, contact the Morse Mill Hotel for available times.
http://morsemillhotel.com/category/visit/
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Ghost hunting at The Sheffield Fire & Police Museum, with Simply Ghost Nights
Press Release: Ghost hunting at The Sheffield Fire & Police Museum, with Simply Ghost Nights
http://www.simplyghostnights.co.uk/
These are the paranormal occurrences that we encountered at The Old Fire & Police Museum in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, with Simply Ghost Nights.
How the spirits came out to entertain, at the spooky Sheffield Fire & Police Museum. As the staff at the museum showed us around the building, none of us could anticipate the ensemble of ghostly entities that would excite us all with the level of paranormal activity we experienced.
In one vigil a group of ghost hunters were using a Frank's box, when they asked for the scanner to stop on 999, as they felt it appropriate considering their surroundings. The spirits of this building that is said to be rich in spectral shenanigans duly obliged, (a photo of the Franks box displaying 999 is on the photo gallery of the Simply Ghost Nights web site), not only once but twice this occurred to our startled and stunned ghost hunters.
Another paranormal phenomena occurred with the Franks box, when one of our intrepid ghost hunters said that she was going to sit down, the song by the band James, 'Sit down next to me', was heard from this ever more startling piece of ghost hunting equipment.
A full bodied apparition was seen walking at the bottom of the stairs, and when our ghost hunters went to investigate if it was a fellow ghost hunter, in the passing seconds when they arrived at the stairs there was no one in the vicinity what so ever.
A number of our ghost hunters stated at the beginning of the evening that they were indeed sceptics, after some paranormal activity of table tipping, a number of them claiming to have been touched by unseen hands and in one instance one ghost hunter claimed to have had her hair tugged, and as well K2 meter spikes on request, they all then exclaimed that they were now convinced of an after life.
Disembodied voices were heard in the cellars, and the upper floor too, table tipping and glass divination was experienced in the majority of vigils also, K2 spikes were witnessed on request in the cells after Ian one of the ghost hunters called out for them.
Peter said that he was speechless when the table tipped towards him on request, when conducting a group experiment of table tipping. The movement of dark shadows was also noticeable in upper floor, in the bedroom area.
The spirit of George made contact with one group whilst holding a glass divination experiment, and the ghostly communication from a Polish gentleman was also made through glass divination. Strange lights were said to emanate from the cell area, but on closer investigation, no logical explanation could be found, as what caused this light phenomena in the atmospheric cells.
All in all it was an exciting night for everyone, my aim is to bring as much information regarding paranormal activity and the spirit world into the public domain, I hope you enjoy reading this article.
http://www.simplyghostnights.co.uk/
These are the paranormal occurrences that we encountered at The Old Fire & Police Museum in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, with Simply Ghost Nights.
How the spirits came out to entertain, at the spooky Sheffield Fire & Police Museum. As the staff at the museum showed us around the building, none of us could anticipate the ensemble of ghostly entities that would excite us all with the level of paranormal activity we experienced.
In one vigil a group of ghost hunters were using a Frank's box, when they asked for the scanner to stop on 999, as they felt it appropriate considering their surroundings. The spirits of this building that is said to be rich in spectral shenanigans duly obliged, (a photo of the Franks box displaying 999 is on the photo gallery of the Simply Ghost Nights web site), not only once but twice this occurred to our startled and stunned ghost hunters.
Another paranormal phenomena occurred with the Franks box, when one of our intrepid ghost hunters said that she was going to sit down, the song by the band James, 'Sit down next to me', was heard from this ever more startling piece of ghost hunting equipment.
A full bodied apparition was seen walking at the bottom of the stairs, and when our ghost hunters went to investigate if it was a fellow ghost hunter, in the passing seconds when they arrived at the stairs there was no one in the vicinity what so ever.
A number of our ghost hunters stated at the beginning of the evening that they were indeed sceptics, after some paranormal activity of table tipping, a number of them claiming to have been touched by unseen hands and in one instance one ghost hunter claimed to have had her hair tugged, and as well K2 meter spikes on request, they all then exclaimed that they were now convinced of an after life.
Disembodied voices were heard in the cellars, and the upper floor too, table tipping and glass divination was experienced in the majority of vigils also, K2 spikes were witnessed on request in the cells after Ian one of the ghost hunters called out for them.
Peter said that he was speechless when the table tipped towards him on request, when conducting a group experiment of table tipping. The movement of dark shadows was also noticeable in upper floor, in the bedroom area.
The spirit of George made contact with one group whilst holding a glass divination experiment, and the ghostly communication from a Polish gentleman was also made through glass divination. Strange lights were said to emanate from the cell area, but on closer investigation, no logical explanation could be found, as what caused this light phenomena in the atmospheric cells.
All in all it was an exciting night for everyone, my aim is to bring as much information regarding paranormal activity and the spirit world into the public domain, I hope you enjoy reading this article.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Spirit Faces, by Mark Macy
Spirit Faces: Truth About the Afterlife, by Mark Macy
WeiserBooks, 2006
161 pages, no index, 24 pages of color photos
Library: 133.9 MAC
Description
Spirit Faces is a visionary book based on Mark Macy's fifteen years of research into life after the life we know in this material world. Macy's work with ITC (instrumental transcommunication) has included receiving messages from those who have passed by means of TV, radio, telephone, computer, fax machine, and now through Pollaroid photography. In this book, he weaves his groundbreaking information, along with evidence from other researchers, into a fascinating account of life on the other side.
Spirit Faces may seem, as Mark Macy states, "a bit spooky at first," But this is not a scary book. It is a travel guide for the journey we all are making-in this body and beyond.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Gary Leon Hill
Introduction
Part One: A Glimpse at the Other Side
1. More to life than meets the eye
2. Where are the spirit worlds?
3. Pictures from the other side
4. A little spooky at first
5. About those pictures and the Luminator
6. the Miracle of ITC research
Part 2: A Deeper look into the worlds of the spirit
7. The Worlds of spirit
8. The journey home
9. A Tour of paradise
10. Journey to the dark spirit worlds
11. To the edge of the ethereal realm
12. Spiritual insights offer "real world" perspective
Part 3: Putting the knowledge to use
13. Tianna and William
14. Debbie and John
15. Recent results at the Monroe Institute
Part 4: Reshaping Our Lives through spiritual insight
16. Knowing our human heritage
17. A Network of global visionaries
18. Charting our personal destiny
19. Charting our global destiny
20. Knowing our personal mission for this life and beyond
Afterword
About the author
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Yesteryear lives on at 8 elegant hotels
The Arizona Republic: Yesteryear lives on at 8 elegant hotels
Here are eight historical Arizona hotels where you can explore the past, get a good meal and maybe even have a brush with a specter.
Bisbee
Copper Queen Hotel
No history comes without a dollop of tragedy. Ghosts are part of the allure of vintage hotels, and the Copper Queen, which dates to 1902, claims three: a cigar-smoking man, a mischievous little boy and a former lady of the evening, Julia Lowell.
Lowell plied her trade at the hotel until, after being rejected by the man she loved, she took her life. Her restless spirit is said to appear most often to men, smiling, whispering and even dancing seductively at the foot of the bed. On Thursday nights, hotel guests can take a guided ghost hunt with a paranormal investigator.
The Copper Queen Saloon and Angela's Restaurant reflect the Victorian charm of the hotel. The saloon has a great Old West feel, complete with a nearly life-size portrait of songstress Lillie Langtry adorning a wall. Angela's offers seating in the dining room and on a covered patio overlooking the town. The cuisine has taken on an Italian flair, but it still includes items that were offered on the original 1902 Copper Queen menu.
Details: 11 Howell Ave. 520-432-2216, copperqueen.com.
Grand Canyon, South Rim
El Tovar
El Tovar, which dates to 1905, is one of the few structures on the South Rim not designed by Mary Jane Colter. Although Charles Whittlesey lacks Colter's name recognition, he definitely had some architectural chops, and El Tovar was his crown jewel.
Combining the elegance of a European villa with the rough-hewn comfort of an American hunting lodge, El Tovar is acknowledged as the forerunner of an architectural style known as National Park Rustic. Constructed of native stone and Oregon pine, El Tovar was a Fred Harvey property, one of only three still operating.
Back in the day, well-trained waitresses known as Harvey Girls provided prompt and attentive service. Fresh fruit and vegetables were grown in a nearby greenhouse, and a chicken coop supplied eggs. Milk, butter and cream came from the resident dairy herd. Water proved harder to come by and was hauled by train 120 miles until a pipeline was constructed in 1932. The guest register at El Tovar is a historical Who's Who that includes Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Albert Einstein, Zane Grey, Dwight Eisenhower and Elizabeth Taylor, to name a few. The expansive dining room is notable for high-beamed ceilings and picture windows overlooking the Canyon.
Details: 888-297-2757, grandcanyonlodges.com.
Grand Canyon, North Rim
Grand Canyon Lodge
The original lodge, built in 1928 on the edge of the abyss, was beautiful but short lived: It burned down just four years after completion. A second lodge, slightly less ornate, was built on top of the old foundation, using salvaged stonework, chimneys and walls.
It opened in 1937 with a similar floor plan to the original. Giant picture windows frame stunning views of the Canyon from the restaurant and sunroom. The sunroom holds a bronze statue of Brighty, the famous burro that is the main character in Marguerite Henry's beloved children's book "Brighty of the Grand Canyon."
The remoteness of the lodge limited the food selections in the early years. Reminders of that era can be found in the meatloaf and beef stew on the menu. Yet most of the menu focuses on contemporary and regional offerings, such as Navajo tacos and Utah trout. Sack lunches are available for hikers seeking to explore the Big Ditch.
Details: 877-386-4383, grandcanyonlodge north.com.
Douglas
Gadsden Hotel
In the paranormal world, a headless ghost trumps a regular ghost, and that's one of the spirits said to inhabit the elegant Gadsden. Built in 1907 and rebuilt in 1929 after a devastating fire, the Gadsden is one of Arizona's grande dames.
The lobby features floor-to-ceiling marble pillars decorated in 14-karat gold leaf supporting a vaulted ceiling. A curving white-marble staircase that survived the fire climbs to the mezzanine, where a Tiffany stained-glass mural stretches 42 feet across one wall. Pancho Villa is said to have ridden his horse up the staircase, resulting in a chip in the seventh step. The restless ghost searching for his noggin is said to be Villa, whose head was stolen by grave robbers.
El Conquistador is a stately dining room with an Old World menu with Mexican influences. The Cattleman's Coffee Shop offers a casual yet stylish setting for breakfast and lunch. More than 200 cattle brands cover the walls of the Saddle and Spur Tavern, a great place to cut the trail dust. All three venues look very much as they did in 1929.
Details: 1046 G Ave. 520-364-4481, hotelgadsden.com.
Greer
Molly Butler Lodge & Cabins
Molly Butler led the kind of life sweeping romance novels are written about. She arrived in the Arizona Territory by covered wagon. Her first husband was killed by an unidentified gunman in 1904. A mother of three, Molly married John Butler of Greer, and by 1908 they laid the groundwork for the first Butler Lodge.
It opened in 1910 as a modest place for hunters and fishermen. Later, U.S. presidents and movie stars would sit at Molly's bountiful table. Local produce and game, along with handmade butter and cheeses, were part of the early fare. Many of the recipes that made Molly famous are still in use today.
After Molly died at 87 in 1964, her daughter Hannah built a new lodge to accommodate the growing horde of visitors. Yet several of the original structures remain from the days when Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and John Wayne were guests.
Details: 109 Main St. 928-735-7617, mollybutlerlodge.com.
Prescott
Hassayampa Inn
The Hassayampa opened in 1927 and quickly acquired a ghost. Just months after the lavish hotel opened, a honeymooning couple checked into the balcony suite. The husband went out for cigarettes and never returned. Three days later, Faith, the despondent wife, climbed into the bell tower above the suite and hanged herself.
It's said that her spirit still appears, floating through the room she once occupied and down the hallways. The scent of lilac follows her. The kitchen staff reports feeling her presence as if poor Faith is searching the building for her wayward husband.
For several decades, the restaurant in the Hassayampa was a simple coffee shop. That changed dramatically in 1985 with the opening of the lovely Peacock Room. Half-moon-shaped booths swaddled in floral-print fabric line the walls. Light streams through high windows, and white linens drape the tables, creating a feel of timeless luxury.
The Peacock Room and adjoining Hassayampa Bar are spread across three tiers that flow down the stairway just off the lobby. Even if you enter the restaurant from the Gurley Street door, be sure to check out the opulent lobby with hand-stenciled wood ceiling beams, talavera-tiled fireplace and vintage 1927 elevator.
Details: 122 E. Gurley St. 928-778-9434, hassayampainn.com.
Tucson
Arizona Inn
Few hotels are built from the furniture out, but that's the unusual legacy of Arizona Inn.
In 1927, Isabella Greenway, a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, founded the Arizona Hut, a custom-furniture shop employing disabled World War I veterans. After the stock-market crash in 1929, Greenway, who would soon be elected Arizona's first U.S. congresswoman, built the Arizona Inn to keep the furniture business viable. The hotel, spread across 14 acres, opened in 1930 and has been run by the Greenway family ever since.
Much of the original hand-crafted furniture still can be seen throughout the hotel. The inn also maintains an on-site cabinet-making shop.
Tucked away in a residential corner of Tucson, Arizona Inn occupies a gracious world infused with a sense of timelessness. Guests will feel as if they're visiting a serene country estate, unchanged from the days when Gary Cooper and Cary Grant strode the grounds.
The dining room is formal but not stuffy and features a cathedral ceiling, fireplace and courtyard. The cuisine was based entirely on French technique in the 1930s but today is a blend of classic and contemporary fine dining.
Details: 2200 E. Elm St. 520-325-1541, arizonainn.com.
Oak Creek Canyon
Garland's Oak Creek Lodge
The rugged beauty of Oak Creek Canyon makes it a beloved getaway, but it's also a dandy hideout.
Jesse "Bear" Howard, imprisoned in California for murder in the 1880s, busted out and settled in the canyon, where he built a log cabin in 1908.
The Todd family bought the property in the 1920s and built a cottage and dining room in 1936. Howard's cabin became the kitchen. Catherine Todd was known for her fried-chicken dinners with pies made from fruit plucked from her orchards. Cabins were built to accommodate overnight guests, and the current dining room was added in 1943. Bill and Georgiana Garland, old acquaintances of the Todds, bought the lodge in 1972.
A stay at the lodge includes breakfast, afternoon tea and an elegant dinner. The menu still relies on fruits and vegetables grown on the property. Dinner reservations are available most evenings for a fortunate few who aren't guests.
And what became of Bear Howard? Apparently, he got a little too chatty in a bar one night and was arrested and returned to the California pokey. Family lore claims that guards took pity on the old gent and allowed him to escape again. He returned to Oak Creek Canyon to live out his years.
Details: 8067 N. Arizona 89A. 928-282-3343, garlandslodge.com.
Here are eight historical Arizona hotels where you can explore the past, get a good meal and maybe even have a brush with a specter.
Bisbee
Copper Queen Hotel
No history comes without a dollop of tragedy. Ghosts are part of the allure of vintage hotels, and the Copper Queen, which dates to 1902, claims three: a cigar-smoking man, a mischievous little boy and a former lady of the evening, Julia Lowell.
Lowell plied her trade at the hotel until, after being rejected by the man she loved, she took her life. Her restless spirit is said to appear most often to men, smiling, whispering and even dancing seductively at the foot of the bed. On Thursday nights, hotel guests can take a guided ghost hunt with a paranormal investigator.
The Copper Queen Saloon and Angela's Restaurant reflect the Victorian charm of the hotel. The saloon has a great Old West feel, complete with a nearly life-size portrait of songstress Lillie Langtry adorning a wall. Angela's offers seating in the dining room and on a covered patio overlooking the town. The cuisine has taken on an Italian flair, but it still includes items that were offered on the original 1902 Copper Queen menu.
Details: 11 Howell Ave. 520-432-2216, copperqueen.com.
Grand Canyon, South Rim
El Tovar
El Tovar, which dates to 1905, is one of the few structures on the South Rim not designed by Mary Jane Colter. Although Charles Whittlesey lacks Colter's name recognition, he definitely had some architectural chops, and El Tovar was his crown jewel.
Combining the elegance of a European villa with the rough-hewn comfort of an American hunting lodge, El Tovar is acknowledged as the forerunner of an architectural style known as National Park Rustic. Constructed of native stone and Oregon pine, El Tovar was a Fred Harvey property, one of only three still operating.
Back in the day, well-trained waitresses known as Harvey Girls provided prompt and attentive service. Fresh fruit and vegetables were grown in a nearby greenhouse, and a chicken coop supplied eggs. Milk, butter and cream came from the resident dairy herd. Water proved harder to come by and was hauled by train 120 miles until a pipeline was constructed in 1932. The guest register at El Tovar is a historical Who's Who that includes Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Albert Einstein, Zane Grey, Dwight Eisenhower and Elizabeth Taylor, to name a few. The expansive dining room is notable for high-beamed ceilings and picture windows overlooking the Canyon.
Details: 888-297-2757, grandcanyonlodges.com.
Grand Canyon, North Rim
Grand Canyon Lodge
The original lodge, built in 1928 on the edge of the abyss, was beautiful but short lived: It burned down just four years after completion. A second lodge, slightly less ornate, was built on top of the old foundation, using salvaged stonework, chimneys and walls.
It opened in 1937 with a similar floor plan to the original. Giant picture windows frame stunning views of the Canyon from the restaurant and sunroom. The sunroom holds a bronze statue of Brighty, the famous burro that is the main character in Marguerite Henry's beloved children's book "Brighty of the Grand Canyon."
The remoteness of the lodge limited the food selections in the early years. Reminders of that era can be found in the meatloaf and beef stew on the menu. Yet most of the menu focuses on contemporary and regional offerings, such as Navajo tacos and Utah trout. Sack lunches are available for hikers seeking to explore the Big Ditch.
Details: 877-386-4383, grandcanyonlodge north.com.
Douglas
Gadsden Hotel
In the paranormal world, a headless ghost trumps a regular ghost, and that's one of the spirits said to inhabit the elegant Gadsden. Built in 1907 and rebuilt in 1929 after a devastating fire, the Gadsden is one of Arizona's grande dames.
The lobby features floor-to-ceiling marble pillars decorated in 14-karat gold leaf supporting a vaulted ceiling. A curving white-marble staircase that survived the fire climbs to the mezzanine, where a Tiffany stained-glass mural stretches 42 feet across one wall. Pancho Villa is said to have ridden his horse up the staircase, resulting in a chip in the seventh step. The restless ghost searching for his noggin is said to be Villa, whose head was stolen by grave robbers.
El Conquistador is a stately dining room with an Old World menu with Mexican influences. The Cattleman's Coffee Shop offers a casual yet stylish setting for breakfast and lunch. More than 200 cattle brands cover the walls of the Saddle and Spur Tavern, a great place to cut the trail dust. All three venues look very much as they did in 1929.
Details: 1046 G Ave. 520-364-4481, hotelgadsden.com.
Greer
Molly Butler Lodge & Cabins
Molly Butler led the kind of life sweeping romance novels are written about. She arrived in the Arizona Territory by covered wagon. Her first husband was killed by an unidentified gunman in 1904. A mother of three, Molly married John Butler of Greer, and by 1908 they laid the groundwork for the first Butler Lodge.
It opened in 1910 as a modest place for hunters and fishermen. Later, U.S. presidents and movie stars would sit at Molly's bountiful table. Local produce and game, along with handmade butter and cheeses, were part of the early fare. Many of the recipes that made Molly famous are still in use today.
After Molly died at 87 in 1964, her daughter Hannah built a new lodge to accommodate the growing horde of visitors. Yet several of the original structures remain from the days when Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and John Wayne were guests.
Details: 109 Main St. 928-735-7617, mollybutlerlodge.com.
Prescott
Hassayampa Inn
The Hassayampa opened in 1927 and quickly acquired a ghost. Just months after the lavish hotel opened, a honeymooning couple checked into the balcony suite. The husband went out for cigarettes and never returned. Three days later, Faith, the despondent wife, climbed into the bell tower above the suite and hanged herself.
It's said that her spirit still appears, floating through the room she once occupied and down the hallways. The scent of lilac follows her. The kitchen staff reports feeling her presence as if poor Faith is searching the building for her wayward husband.
For several decades, the restaurant in the Hassayampa was a simple coffee shop. That changed dramatically in 1985 with the opening of the lovely Peacock Room. Half-moon-shaped booths swaddled in floral-print fabric line the walls. Light streams through high windows, and white linens drape the tables, creating a feel of timeless luxury.
The Peacock Room and adjoining Hassayampa Bar are spread across three tiers that flow down the stairway just off the lobby. Even if you enter the restaurant from the Gurley Street door, be sure to check out the opulent lobby with hand-stenciled wood ceiling beams, talavera-tiled fireplace and vintage 1927 elevator.
Details: 122 E. Gurley St. 928-778-9434, hassayampainn.com.
Tucson
Arizona Inn
Few hotels are built from the furniture out, but that's the unusual legacy of Arizona Inn.
In 1927, Isabella Greenway, a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, founded the Arizona Hut, a custom-furniture shop employing disabled World War I veterans. After the stock-market crash in 1929, Greenway, who would soon be elected Arizona's first U.S. congresswoman, built the Arizona Inn to keep the furniture business viable. The hotel, spread across 14 acres, opened in 1930 and has been run by the Greenway family ever since.
Much of the original hand-crafted furniture still can be seen throughout the hotel. The inn also maintains an on-site cabinet-making shop.
Tucked away in a residential corner of Tucson, Arizona Inn occupies a gracious world infused with a sense of timelessness. Guests will feel as if they're visiting a serene country estate, unchanged from the days when Gary Cooper and Cary Grant strode the grounds.
The dining room is formal but not stuffy and features a cathedral ceiling, fireplace and courtyard. The cuisine was based entirely on French technique in the 1930s but today is a blend of classic and contemporary fine dining.
Details: 2200 E. Elm St. 520-325-1541, arizonainn.com.
Oak Creek Canyon
Garland's Oak Creek Lodge
The rugged beauty of Oak Creek Canyon makes it a beloved getaway, but it's also a dandy hideout.
Jesse "Bear" Howard, imprisoned in California for murder in the 1880s, busted out and settled in the canyon, where he built a log cabin in 1908.
The Todd family bought the property in the 1920s and built a cottage and dining room in 1936. Howard's cabin became the kitchen. Catherine Todd was known for her fried-chicken dinners with pies made from fruit plucked from her orchards. Cabins were built to accommodate overnight guests, and the current dining room was added in 1943. Bill and Georgiana Garland, old acquaintances of the Todds, bought the lodge in 1972.
A stay at the lodge includes breakfast, afternoon tea and an elegant dinner. The menu still relies on fruits and vegetables grown on the property. Dinner reservations are available most evenings for a fortunate few who aren't guests.
And what became of Bear Howard? Apparently, he got a little too chatty in a bar one night and was arrested and returned to the California pokey. Family lore claims that guards took pity on the old gent and allowed him to escape again. He returned to Oak Creek Canyon to live out his years.
Details: 8067 N. Arizona 89A. 928-282-3343, garlandslodge.com.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
CBS47 Special Report: Uncovering Paranormal Activity
CBS47 Special Report, Sanger California: Uncovering Paranormal Activity
Do you believe in ghosts? It's a question that everyone's been asked at some point in their lives. Now a local group is working to answer that question using a little bit of science and a whole lot of passion.
The goal of this group of ghost hunters is to discover whether or not ghosts are real.
CBS47's Brittney Hopper followed the Sanger Paranormal Society on one of their recent hunting expeditions.
Whether you believe in them or not, there are groups of people who seek them out. Ghost hunters; people who look for paranormal activity. And on this night, they’re at the old Sanger hospital, which they say is one of the most haunted places.
Some people say they don’t believe in ghosts while others do, and some have made it their mission to prove their existence.
Jeffery Gonzalez and his team are the Sanger Paranormal Society. They spend hours each week tracking down leads on UFO's, Big Foot and ghosts. "Ghost... dime of a dozen out here, I mean there are just so many ghost stories it's unbelievable," said Gonzalez.
Ghost hunting has gone high tech too. The team, usually about four to eight people, is trained in the latest infrared cameras, electronic gadgets, EMF meters and sound equipment. They use them all to help investigate the paranormal.
The team loads into their van and heads out to the old Sanger hospital, where many were born, but also a play where many have died.
The owner of the old Sanger hospital, Roy Sanders, believes there's something out of this world going on inside the vacant building. He wants the Sanger paranormal society to check it out. "The nursing staff have said they've heard things at night when it's dark and when they're alone in here they hear things that they probably shouldn't," said the Sanders.
It’s a tedious process to set up for the ghost hunt. It takes hours to get the equipment in place. Cameras are installed in every room every room and inside hallways, all in hopes of catching a glimpse of a ghost.
Part of the team will stay with the van, monitoring video feeds for hours.
The hunt will take all night, sleep will be lost and no one is paid for their time. So why do they do it? "There's just a lot of people who love this stuff and they want to know if it’s real. Is this stuff real?" said Gonzalez.
The team is joined by a psychic, who claims to feel spirits during the ghost hunts.
Inside the hospital, she leads the team to the area where she says has the most paranormal activity. "If I see them or if they say something to me, I will repeat it back to them," said psychic Robin Sandobal.
And so the hunt begins. The lights are off, it's dark and spooky. We start out near the former birthing center. The psychic says she feels something. She's overcome by emotion. "I can feel sadness," said Sandobal.
We go the other direction, where the operating room once was. This time the psychic stops. "Yeah I don't want to be back here," said Sandobal.
As the team quickly walks away, Sandobal says an evil spirit was felt, so she decided to not go any further.
As other team members watch in the van, one of the monitors starts flickering. Jeffery says it's the camera in the room where the psychic felt an evil spirit. He says it could be a faulty cable or a ghost not wanting us there.
Dexter Morgan is a skeptic. He was brought on by the Sanger Paranormal Society as a de-bunker. His team will try and prove the activity going on is not a ghost. "We can't disprove that it's not haunted but we can say that that piece of evidence is not valid,” said Morgan.
The two teams work together closely. "If they cannot de-bunk it then we're going to let the audience figure out what's really going on," said Gonzalez.
A week later we all meet back with Gonzalez in his studio as he reviews hour after hour of video captured from the hunt. He carefully studies the video, watching every frame, every shadow, and every move on the monitors.
So did he discover a ghost?
While the hospital is no doubt spooky and many have had odd experiences inside, this time it seems the ghosts are camera shy. "I mean sometimes we get stuff and sometimes we don't," said Gonzalez.
But Gonzalez is not discouraged because the fun and the challenge for the Sanger Paranormal Society is in the hunt.
Do you believe in ghosts? It's a question that everyone's been asked at some point in their lives. Now a local group is working to answer that question using a little bit of science and a whole lot of passion.
The goal of this group of ghost hunters is to discover whether or not ghosts are real.
CBS47's Brittney Hopper followed the Sanger Paranormal Society on one of their recent hunting expeditions.
Whether you believe in them or not, there are groups of people who seek them out. Ghost hunters; people who look for paranormal activity. And on this night, they’re at the old Sanger hospital, which they say is one of the most haunted places.
Some people say they don’t believe in ghosts while others do, and some have made it their mission to prove their existence.
Jeffery Gonzalez and his team are the Sanger Paranormal Society. They spend hours each week tracking down leads on UFO's, Big Foot and ghosts. "Ghost... dime of a dozen out here, I mean there are just so many ghost stories it's unbelievable," said Gonzalez.
Ghost hunting has gone high tech too. The team, usually about four to eight people, is trained in the latest infrared cameras, electronic gadgets, EMF meters and sound equipment. They use them all to help investigate the paranormal.
The team loads into their van and heads out to the old Sanger hospital, where many were born, but also a play where many have died.
The owner of the old Sanger hospital, Roy Sanders, believes there's something out of this world going on inside the vacant building. He wants the Sanger paranormal society to check it out. "The nursing staff have said they've heard things at night when it's dark and when they're alone in here they hear things that they probably shouldn't," said the Sanders.
It’s a tedious process to set up for the ghost hunt. It takes hours to get the equipment in place. Cameras are installed in every room every room and inside hallways, all in hopes of catching a glimpse of a ghost.
Part of the team will stay with the van, monitoring video feeds for hours.
The hunt will take all night, sleep will be lost and no one is paid for their time. So why do they do it? "There's just a lot of people who love this stuff and they want to know if it’s real. Is this stuff real?" said Gonzalez.
The team is joined by a psychic, who claims to feel spirits during the ghost hunts.
Inside the hospital, she leads the team to the area where she says has the most paranormal activity. "If I see them or if they say something to me, I will repeat it back to them," said psychic Robin Sandobal.
And so the hunt begins. The lights are off, it's dark and spooky. We start out near the former birthing center. The psychic says she feels something. She's overcome by emotion. "I can feel sadness," said Sandobal.
We go the other direction, where the operating room once was. This time the psychic stops. "Yeah I don't want to be back here," said Sandobal.
As the team quickly walks away, Sandobal says an evil spirit was felt, so she decided to not go any further.
As other team members watch in the van, one of the monitors starts flickering. Jeffery says it's the camera in the room where the psychic felt an evil spirit. He says it could be a faulty cable or a ghost not wanting us there.
Dexter Morgan is a skeptic. He was brought on by the Sanger Paranormal Society as a de-bunker. His team will try and prove the activity going on is not a ghost. "We can't disprove that it's not haunted but we can say that that piece of evidence is not valid,” said Morgan.
The two teams work together closely. "If they cannot de-bunk it then we're going to let the audience figure out what's really going on," said Gonzalez.
A week later we all meet back with Gonzalez in his studio as he reviews hour after hour of video captured from the hunt. He carefully studies the video, watching every frame, every shadow, and every move on the monitors.
So did he discover a ghost?
While the hospital is no doubt spooky and many have had odd experiences inside, this time it seems the ghosts are camera shy. "I mean sometimes we get stuff and sometimes we don't," said Gonzalez.
But Gonzalez is not discouraged because the fun and the challenge for the Sanger Paranormal Society is in the hunt.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Landmarks Haunted by Debt Consult the Spirit World for Help
Wall Street Journal: Landmarks Haunted by Debt Consult the Spirit World for Help
LENOX, Mass.—Twelve-year-old Hannah Emerson Clapp came to the Mount, a mansion surrounded by nearly 50 acres of woods and manicured gardens, to see where novelist Edith Wharton wrote "Ethan Frome" and "The House of Mirth" and entertained Henry James.
The experience left her looking as if she'd seen a ghost—which was exactly what tour guide Anne Schuyler intended. Ms. Schuyler, attired in a long, dark hooded cloak, leads ghost tours, complete with spooky stories of hauntings, apparitions and shrieks in the night. There's even a nocturnal stop at the pet cemetery where Ms. Wharton's dogs Jules and Mimi are buried.
"Some people hear the sound of barking dogs," Ms. Schuyler says.
During the tour, a cleaning woman materialized to talk about seeing mysterious shadows, hearing screams and, one night, fleeing in terror. Hannah seemed shaken. She smelled mysterious cigar smoke, she says, glimpsed the figure of "a man or a woman" crouching at a window. She thinks she may have seen Edith Wharton herself. The girl's mother, Susan Emerson Clapp, says "Hannah is very sensitive and artistic."
The Mount's dabbling in the supernatural is one way to cope with an all-too-real financial crisis looming over the estate. At $20 a ticket, ghost tours are a money-maker and have drawn more visitors to the grounds.
The past few years have been tough on cultural and historical institutions such as the Mount. In the recession, big donors grew scarce, and visitor counts declined. The market for ghosts and the supernatural, on the other hand, has boomed, thanks in part to a crop of reality television shows, including "Ghost Hunters" and "Paranormal State," on supernatural phenomena. So the conservators of several august literary homesteads and venerable historical sites have jumped on the bandwagon.
The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Conn., where Samuel Clemens lived when he wrote "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn," was mired in debt and on the verge of closing three years ago. These days, the house plays host to "Graveyard Shift" tours that combine ghostly stories with historical and literary lore. Price: $18.
"The ghost tours have been a cash cow," says Jeffrey Nichols, the executive director, who says his Twain museum currently breaks even, though it still owes $5 million.
"I don't think we are being abusive to [Mark Twain's] legacy at all—so many people come and they get interested in Twain," says Mr. Nichols. "We can't keep operating the way we used to. It won't work."
Nearby, the residence of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," offers an "Otherworldly Tour." Ghost-hunting gear is used—including a K-2 meter to measure electromagnetic fields that some believe signal paranormal activity.
Historic Fort Mifflin, in Philadelphia, which dates back to the Revolution, was really hurting a few years ago. Now, the fort offers "Sleep With the Ghosts" where, for $90, visitors spend the night and enjoy a paranormal experience. The ghost tours provide 20%-25% of the Fort's operating income, says executive director Elizabeth Beatty.
"At first blush, you would say, do you want to go there? But we have found that paranormal enthusiasts are also history enthusiasts," she says.
Ms. Wharton, one of America's great authors, captured old New York society foibles in prizewinning novels such as "The Age of Innocence."
The Mount, built by Ms. Wharton in 1902, was her home during her unhappy marriage to Ted Wharton. He became mentally ill. She took a lover, and later left and filed for divorce. The house went through different owners, and was at one time a girls' boarding school. It was restored in the 1990s. Between the late 1990s and 2007, the Mount raised millions for renovations, but also spent millions on operations and acquisitions, including a $2.6 million deal to acquire Ms. Wharton's personal library from a British dealer. "The whole world changed," says Stephanie Copeland, the former executive director.
Those days are gone, but about $5 million in debt from that period is not. Ms. Copeland says she wasn't in favor of turning the Mount into a venue for weddings and ghost hunters.
"The idea the place was haunted was like a fire that was being fanned…those paranormals came in and I really wanted to stop that," recalls Ms. Copeland. "I said, no, the house is not haunted."
Under the house's new executive director, Susan Wissler, the velvet ropes have come down. Ms. Wissler has cut staff, and undertaken a variety of efforts to make the Wharton legacy more approachable, and more lucrative. Weddings are now welcome. Last year, weddings generated about $75,000, she says.
Scholars and schoolchildren are invited to peruse and hold the precious leather-bound books Ms. Wharton treasured, some of which contain the author's markings, enjoy picnics on the grounds and jazz on the terrace in the evenings. Visitors can sit on the furniture—mostly elegant reproductions.
"We've unbuttoned a couple of buttons," says Ms. Wissler.
The ghost tours reflect the more populist approach, which Ms. Wissler says is appropriate, given that Edith Wharton herself had a taste for the macabre, and loved a good ghost story.
The TV show "Ghost Hunters" filmed a segment at the Mount, and snippets are aired at the start of each tour. Along with spooky stories, Ms. Schuyler weaves in colorful Edith Wharton lore. She walks a fine line, not exactly endorsing the notion of apparitions but not throwing cold water on them, either.
The ghost tours brought in $12,500 last year. That's not enough to dispel the financial specter haunting the estate. The Mount faces a May 20 deadline to make two payments totaling $1 million.
LENOX, Mass.—Twelve-year-old Hannah Emerson Clapp came to the Mount, a mansion surrounded by nearly 50 acres of woods and manicured gardens, to see where novelist Edith Wharton wrote "Ethan Frome" and "The House of Mirth" and entertained Henry James.
The experience left her looking as if she'd seen a ghost—which was exactly what tour guide Anne Schuyler intended. Ms. Schuyler, attired in a long, dark hooded cloak, leads ghost tours, complete with spooky stories of hauntings, apparitions and shrieks in the night. There's even a nocturnal stop at the pet cemetery where Ms. Wharton's dogs Jules and Mimi are buried.
"Some people hear the sound of barking dogs," Ms. Schuyler says.
During the tour, a cleaning woman materialized to talk about seeing mysterious shadows, hearing screams and, one night, fleeing in terror. Hannah seemed shaken. She smelled mysterious cigar smoke, she says, glimpsed the figure of "a man or a woman" crouching at a window. She thinks she may have seen Edith Wharton herself. The girl's mother, Susan Emerson Clapp, says "Hannah is very sensitive and artistic."
The Mount's dabbling in the supernatural is one way to cope with an all-too-real financial crisis looming over the estate. At $20 a ticket, ghost tours are a money-maker and have drawn more visitors to the grounds.
The past few years have been tough on cultural and historical institutions such as the Mount. In the recession, big donors grew scarce, and visitor counts declined. The market for ghosts and the supernatural, on the other hand, has boomed, thanks in part to a crop of reality television shows, including "Ghost Hunters" and "Paranormal State," on supernatural phenomena. So the conservators of several august literary homesteads and venerable historical sites have jumped on the bandwagon.
The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Conn., where Samuel Clemens lived when he wrote "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn," was mired in debt and on the verge of closing three years ago. These days, the house plays host to "Graveyard Shift" tours that combine ghostly stories with historical and literary lore. Price: $18.
"The ghost tours have been a cash cow," says Jeffrey Nichols, the executive director, who says his Twain museum currently breaks even, though it still owes $5 million.
"I don't think we are being abusive to [Mark Twain's] legacy at all—so many people come and they get interested in Twain," says Mr. Nichols. "We can't keep operating the way we used to. It won't work."
Nearby, the residence of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," offers an "Otherworldly Tour." Ghost-hunting gear is used—including a K-2 meter to measure electromagnetic fields that some believe signal paranormal activity.
Historic Fort Mifflin, in Philadelphia, which dates back to the Revolution, was really hurting a few years ago. Now, the fort offers "Sleep With the Ghosts" where, for $90, visitors spend the night and enjoy a paranormal experience. The ghost tours provide 20%-25% of the Fort's operating income, says executive director Elizabeth Beatty.
"At first blush, you would say, do you want to go there? But we have found that paranormal enthusiasts are also history enthusiasts," she says.
Ms. Wharton, one of America's great authors, captured old New York society foibles in prizewinning novels such as "The Age of Innocence."
The Mount, built by Ms. Wharton in 1902, was her home during her unhappy marriage to Ted Wharton. He became mentally ill. She took a lover, and later left and filed for divorce. The house went through different owners, and was at one time a girls' boarding school. It was restored in the 1990s. Between the late 1990s and 2007, the Mount raised millions for renovations, but also spent millions on operations and acquisitions, including a $2.6 million deal to acquire Ms. Wharton's personal library from a British dealer. "The whole world changed," says Stephanie Copeland, the former executive director.
Those days are gone, but about $5 million in debt from that period is not. Ms. Copeland says she wasn't in favor of turning the Mount into a venue for weddings and ghost hunters.
"The idea the place was haunted was like a fire that was being fanned…those paranormals came in and I really wanted to stop that," recalls Ms. Copeland. "I said, no, the house is not haunted."
Under the house's new executive director, Susan Wissler, the velvet ropes have come down. Ms. Wissler has cut staff, and undertaken a variety of efforts to make the Wharton legacy more approachable, and more lucrative. Weddings are now welcome. Last year, weddings generated about $75,000, she says.
Scholars and schoolchildren are invited to peruse and hold the precious leather-bound books Ms. Wharton treasured, some of which contain the author's markings, enjoy picnics on the grounds and jazz on the terrace in the evenings. Visitors can sit on the furniture—mostly elegant reproductions.
"We've unbuttoned a couple of buttons," says Ms. Wissler.
The ghost tours reflect the more populist approach, which Ms. Wissler says is appropriate, given that Edith Wharton herself had a taste for the macabre, and loved a good ghost story.
The TV show "Ghost Hunters" filmed a segment at the Mount, and snippets are aired at the start of each tour. Along with spooky stories, Ms. Schuyler weaves in colorful Edith Wharton lore. She walks a fine line, not exactly endorsing the notion of apparitions but not throwing cold water on them, either.
The ghost tours brought in $12,500 last year. That's not enough to dispel the financial specter haunting the estate. The Mount faces a May 20 deadline to make two payments totaling $1 million.
UK: Hunt is on for Ghosts
Keighley News: Hunt is on for Ghosts
new team of Haworth ghostbusters is offering to investigate hauntings at local homes, pubs and shops.
Pennine Paranormal Society is accepting commissions from individuals and businesses.
Members are also inviting people to join their ghost hunts in areas such as Haworth, Bradford and Huddersfield.
They will also visit pubs and hotels to present ghost hunting events where guests can use their equipment.
Founder Simon Booth said paranormal sightings and happenings were investigated from a purely scientific perspective.
He said: “We always try and find everyday non-paranormal explanations or debunking.
“If we do find any evidence of the paranormal we will share this with our clients.
“Any money raised from our ghost hunts pays for equipment and travel costs to allow us to investigate people’s hauntings free of charge.”
Father-of-three Simon, 43, and his team use specialist equipment such as video cameras, electromagnetic field detectors and electric voice phenomena recorders.
He said: “We do not use mediums, ouija boards or any other un-measurable methods.” The society plans a ghost hunt at the Royal and Ancient pub in Huddersfield tomorrow, at a cost of £20.
Simon and fellow investigator Mike McCleod recently conducted an informal ghost hunt at Haworth Old Hall, the Black Bull pub and Haworth cemetery.
Simon said: “At one point we were discussing seeing a possible shadow at the rear of the cemetery when we both heard a distinct creak or groaning noise.
“The noise seemed to come from between us, this was just a personal experience but one that both individuals experienced.
“A properly planned return trip with more equipment in the very near future is being organised.”
Anyone interested in the Pennine Paranormal Society should contact si.booth@live.co.uk or visit the website pennineparanormal .co.uk.
new team of Haworth ghostbusters is offering to investigate hauntings at local homes, pubs and shops.
Pennine Paranormal Society is accepting commissions from individuals and businesses.
Members are also inviting people to join their ghost hunts in areas such as Haworth, Bradford and Huddersfield.
They will also visit pubs and hotels to present ghost hunting events where guests can use their equipment.
Founder Simon Booth said paranormal sightings and happenings were investigated from a purely scientific perspective.
He said: “We always try and find everyday non-paranormal explanations or debunking.
“If we do find any evidence of the paranormal we will share this with our clients.
“Any money raised from our ghost hunts pays for equipment and travel costs to allow us to investigate people’s hauntings free of charge.”
Father-of-three Simon, 43, and his team use specialist equipment such as video cameras, electromagnetic field detectors and electric voice phenomena recorders.
He said: “We do not use mediums, ouija boards or any other un-measurable methods.” The society plans a ghost hunt at the Royal and Ancient pub in Huddersfield tomorrow, at a cost of £20.
Simon and fellow investigator Mike McCleod recently conducted an informal ghost hunt at Haworth Old Hall, the Black Bull pub and Haworth cemetery.
Simon said: “At one point we were discussing seeing a possible shadow at the rear of the cemetery when we both heard a distinct creak or groaning noise.
“The noise seemed to come from between us, this was just a personal experience but one that both individuals experienced.
“A properly planned return trip with more equipment in the very near future is being organised.”
Anyone interested in the Pennine Paranormal Society should contact si.booth@live.co.uk or visit the website pennineparanormal .co.uk.
Katie Price seance in Oxfordshire church criticised
BBC News Oxford: Katie Price seance in Oxfordshire church criticised
The model Katie Price has been accused of taking part in a "blasphemous and sacrilegious" event in a church.
In the ITV programme Ghosthunting With.... she visited a church in Great Tew in Oxfordshire and tried to use a Ouija board to contact spirits.
The Rev Bernard Rumbold claimed the production company did not have permission. The matter has been referred to church lawyers.
Antix Productions said: "We had all permission slips signed."
The Archdeacon of Oxford, the Venerable Julian Hubbard, said the recording took place without permission from the diocese.
Speaking on BBC Radio Oxford he said: "There is a very clear process which people need to go through if they want to film in a church."
"It involves getting special church legal permission called a faculty.
"Certainly no application was made for that and if it had been it wouldn't have been given. It's completely inappropriate."
In a later statement he said: "This is clearly a situation we take very seriously. The issue is being taken forward by the diocese's lawyers."
'Quite a shock'
Mr Rumbold said he was seeking an apology from the programme makers following the broadcast last August.
He said the ceremony was "a rather blasphemous and sacrilegious thing to do".
"It was quite a shock to me and to many people in the village," he said.
In a statement Antix Productions said: "We spoke to the clergyman on the night outside the church in question.
"He was given the full rundown as to what would be happening.
"No apology was offered as we have not, until now, been made aware of any unhappiness.
"Obviously if anyone was upset we do offer our sincere apologies."
The model Katie Price has been accused of taking part in a "blasphemous and sacrilegious" event in a church.
In the ITV programme Ghosthunting With.... she visited a church in Great Tew in Oxfordshire and tried to use a Ouija board to contact spirits.
The Rev Bernard Rumbold claimed the production company did not have permission. The matter has been referred to church lawyers.
Antix Productions said: "We had all permission slips signed."
The Archdeacon of Oxford, the Venerable Julian Hubbard, said the recording took place without permission from the diocese.
Speaking on BBC Radio Oxford he said: "There is a very clear process which people need to go through if they want to film in a church."
"It involves getting special church legal permission called a faculty.
"Certainly no application was made for that and if it had been it wouldn't have been given. It's completely inappropriate."
In a later statement he said: "This is clearly a situation we take very seriously. The issue is being taken forward by the diocese's lawyers."
'Quite a shock'
Mr Rumbold said he was seeking an apology from the programme makers following the broadcast last August.
He said the ceremony was "a rather blasphemous and sacrilegious thing to do".
"It was quite a shock to me and to many people in the village," he said.
In a statement Antix Productions said: "We spoke to the clergyman on the night outside the church in question.
"He was given the full rundown as to what would be happening.
"No apology was offered as we have not, until now, been made aware of any unhappiness.
"Obviously if anyone was upset we do offer our sincere apologies."
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A Cry From The Womb, by Gwendolyn Awen Jones
A Cry From The Womb: Healing the Heart of the World, by Gwendolyn Awen Jones
Angels of Light and Healing, 2004
225 pages plus References. No index. No photos
Library: 133.9 JON
Description
Stunning case histories in this book show why a child's Soul may not be able to reach the Light after a traumatic death dur to emotional entanglement with the grieving family. This may often be the case if the child was lost before full term and no transitional rites were done. Even years after the loss, the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of the parents may be undermined unless healing and release work are completed. Prayers are essential to assist the Soul's transition into the Light and to ease the pain of loss for all involved.
Gwendolyn Awen Jones carefully and compassionately teaches how to do this work. She explains why it is essential to lovingly communicate with the Soul of the child druring pregnancy and most importantly if the child is lost. She providesdeep insights into the spiritual nature of the child in the womb and shows how a child's growth may be impacted by thoughts and emotions of the parents. In the event of an unwanted pregnancy she gives healing words and gentle counsel to those facing this difficult situation providing a new and profound solution.
It is her deepest desire that the Souls of children who died too young and all Souls who need help may be healed. As their hearts heal, so does the Heart of the World.
Table of Contents
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Important Note
Introduction
With an Open Heart, an Inquiring Mind and with Wholeness of Spirit
Part 1
Understanding Spiritual Vision
-Healing the heart of the world
-From darkness into light; the journey of the soul
--The voice of the unborn
--Seeing beyond the physical realm
--The higher self
--The soul
--The mental body
--The astral body
--The emotional body
--The Etheric body
--The Physical body
--The inner child
--The Chakras
--Bringing in Higher Self
Part II. Case Histories
--The rage of mankind
--The tragic miscarriage of an abused woman
--The sadness of stillbirth
--A new child brings healing after a stillbirth
--Deep-seated fears of sudden death triggered by son's stillbirth
--Why could my child not reach the light?
--Her lost brother's spirit wanted to be her son
--Woman's heart problems came from her grandmother's desire to have her aborted
--Did a pregnant young woman's suicide attempt replay her mother's thoughts of abortion?
--Abortion affects a husband's heart
--A century's old curse behind eight abortions
--Aversion to pregnancy comes from past life death in childbirth
--When a child dies
--Abortion after X-ray exposure, a child return quickly
--Talking eith a breech baby's spirit before birth
--Was she the child of another man?
-An adopted child's upset at her birth mother causes cancer in later life
--How the death of an unknown birth parent affects the adopted child
--The Grief of a mother living in fear of being found by the son she gave up for adoption
--When the DNA does not match, a child needs truth
Part III. Healing the Wounds
--The many wounds of childhood
--The lost legions on the inner plane
--Walk with the angels in the light
--A question of choice
--A Special note to doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and counselors
A special note to all women who have had an abortion
A Special note to all women who have lost a child
Part IV. Prayers of Forgiveness and Transition
The Sacred Rites
--The Prayer Work begins
--Opening the Sacred Space
--The prayer of light
--The Forgiveness prayer
--The transitional prayer
--Closing the Time doorways and the sacred space
Part V. Summary
Afterword
Journey ro the moment of conception
Reference section
Glossary
Other books by the author
Monday, May 2, 2011
Ghost hunters in demand in New Mexico
KRQE.com: Ghost hunters in demand in New Mexico
Hunters say TV shows pushing interest
Updated: Sunday, 01 May 2011, 10:48 PM MDT
Published : Sunday, 01 May 2011, 10:00 PM MDT
Reporter: Katie Kim
CORRALES, N.M. (KRQE) - For Virginia Lamkin, a ghost hunter with Central New Mexico Ghost Investigations , her mission is to explain the unexplainable.
Lamkin has been tracking down spirits in homes and business in New Mexico for years. She said some of the evidence is uncanny.
"We caught on two different cameras in the back a chair moving away from the conference table and there was no one in the room," said Lamkin, describing an investigation at Prized Possessions, an antique shop, in Corrales.
Lamkin said there is "paranormal activity" in the Prized Possession building. Even owner Janet Pugh said numerous spirits have been seen lurking amongst her vintage jewelry and knick-knacks, including a sheriff who has been spotted sitting in a chair overlooking the store.
"If anyone comes to the front of store with bad intentions, he'll divert them and he'll check for shoplifting," said Pugh.
According to Lamkin, electronic voice monitoring systems caught a live-in child spirit named Jimmy clearly asking, "can you see me?"
But Lamkin said it's not just Prized Possessions that appears to be haunted. Her team has investigated dozens of sites throughout New Mexico, including the Shaffer Hotel in Mountainair and the St. James Hotel in Cimarron. Lamkin said lately demand has been especially high as a result of several ghost hunter shows on T.V. In the last two years, Lamkin said she's seen more activity and interest in the paranormal, and more people taking part in the investigations.
"People are a lot more receptive than they used to be," said Lamkin. "That can be really good, but it could also be bad. But I find groups that form for the wrong reasons don't last very long."
Lamkin said she expects ghost-hunting to be long-lasting because New Mexico's historic spots are prime targets for the supernatural.
Hunters say TV shows pushing interest
Updated: Sunday, 01 May 2011, 10:48 PM MDT
Published : Sunday, 01 May 2011, 10:00 PM MDT
Reporter: Katie Kim
CORRALES, N.M. (KRQE) - For Virginia Lamkin, a ghost hunter with Central New Mexico Ghost Investigations , her mission is to explain the unexplainable.
Lamkin has been tracking down spirits in homes and business in New Mexico for years. She said some of the evidence is uncanny.
"We caught on two different cameras in the back a chair moving away from the conference table and there was no one in the room," said Lamkin, describing an investigation at Prized Possessions, an antique shop, in Corrales.
Lamkin said there is "paranormal activity" in the Prized Possession building. Even owner Janet Pugh said numerous spirits have been seen lurking amongst her vintage jewelry and knick-knacks, including a sheriff who has been spotted sitting in a chair overlooking the store.
"If anyone comes to the front of store with bad intentions, he'll divert them and he'll check for shoplifting," said Pugh.
According to Lamkin, electronic voice monitoring systems caught a live-in child spirit named Jimmy clearly asking, "can you see me?"
But Lamkin said it's not just Prized Possessions that appears to be haunted. Her team has investigated dozens of sites throughout New Mexico, including the Shaffer Hotel in Mountainair and the St. James Hotel in Cimarron. Lamkin said lately demand has been especially high as a result of several ghost hunter shows on T.V. In the last two years, Lamkin said she's seen more activity and interest in the paranormal, and more people taking part in the investigations.
"People are a lot more receptive than they used to be," said Lamkin. "That can be really good, but it could also be bad. But I find groups that form for the wrong reasons don't last very long."
Lamkin said she expects ghost-hunting to be long-lasting because New Mexico's historic spots are prime targets for the supernatural.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
On Life After Death, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
On Life After Death, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Celestial Arts, 1991
82 pages, no photo, no index
Library: 133.9 KUB
Description
Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross is the world's foremost expert on the subjects of death, dying, and the afterlife. This book collects for the first time four essays drawn from her years of "working with the dying and learning from them what life is all about," in-depth research on life after death, and her own feelings and opinions about this fascinating and controversial subject.
Table of Contents
Living and Dying (first published 1982)
Death does not exist (first published 1977)
Life, death and life after death (first published 1980)
Death of a parent
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