From STL Today: America's top 10 haunted hotels
I'm not sure I would have the guts to stay overnight on a ghost hunt, but I'm pretty sure I could manage a hotel with a haunted reputation. TripAdvisor just announced a fun list of the top 10 haunted hotels in the United States, based on on travelers' reviews and experiences.
The spine-tingling list features the properties with the greatest number of traveler comments referencing "ghosts" or "haunted" on TripAdvisor.com.
From the press release by TripAdvisor:
1. 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa, Eureka Springs, Arkansas - Average Nightly Rate: $91 - $214
Constructed in 1886, this mountaintop spa resort boasts a number of spirits, including Michael, an Irish stonemason who fell to his death while building the hotel, and even a cat, named Morris. Daily ghost tours ($18 for adults; $7 for under-12s) offer a behind-the-scenes peek at the property, and access to otherwise off-limits sights including the basement and morgue. According to one TripAdvisor traveler, "I found it to be the spookiest of all the ‘haunted' hotels' I have stayed at... I was surprised to find many orbs in the photos we took."
2. Hotel Queen Mary, Long Beach, California - Average Nightly Rate: $89 - $179
Since making her maiden voyage in 1936, this historic steamship has served as a luxury ocean liner, troopship and in more recent years, a stationary hotel. Some 55 ghosts are rumored to linger on-board, including Jackie, a young girl who can be found taking a dip in the swimming pool. One TripAdvisor traveler noted, "I want to believe that everything that we experienced was real. We did record some orbs flying around our room while we slept. (We set up our video recorder on night vision)."
3. Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado - Average Nightly Rate: $142 - $291
This property, which first opened its doors in 1909, is known for its inspirational role in the Stephen King classic, "The Shining". Regular ghost hunts ($7 - $50 for adults) take travelers to some of the property's most haunted hotspots, including the concert hall, in search of paranormal experiences. One TripAdvisor traveler wrote, "Had a lot of activity from the playful spirits there. The closet door opened and closed several times, the TV turned itself off and on, the covers were pulled off of us in the night and there was audible whispering in the room."
4. Copper Queen Hotel, Bisbee, Arizona - Average Nightly Rate: $75 - $150
Completed in 1902, this property was the product of a booming mining town, and built to accommodate visiting investors and dignitaries. Today, guests can rub shoulders with three resident ghosts: Julia Lowell, a lady of the night; a dapper gentleman wearing a cape and a top hat, and a mischievous young boy. One TripAdvisor traveler noted, "If you want to try finding a ghost ask for an ‘active' room! We had an active room and let's just say I couldn't quite explain all that I saw and heard!"
5. Marshall House, Savannah, Georgia - Average Nightly Rate: $112 - $236
Designated as a National Historic Building by The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, this property has served many different uses since being built in 1851, including serving as a hospital for Civil War soldiers. Since reopening as a hotel in 1999, many guests have reported ghostly sightings. One TripAdvisor traveler stated, "...Heard someone running in the room above me. Upon telling the staff we were told the entire floor above us was empty. So if you're looking for a ghostly experience, definitely consider this hotel."
6. Admiral Fell Inn, Baltimore, Maryland - Average Nightly Rate: $154 - $333
This historic property, comprising seven different buildings dating back to the 1770s, boasts a rich history. Among other uses, the Inn has formerly served as a theater and a boarding house for sailors - and today, travelers can choose from 80 unique guestrooms and partake in free ghost tours on Friday and Saturday evenings. "If you are searching for character, charm, great service and ghost history this is the place to stay," suggested one TripAdvisor traveler.
7. The Menger Hotel, San Antonio, Texas - Average Nightly Rate: $90 - $175
This hotel, situated next to the Alamo, was built in 1859 on the site of Texas' first brewery. Photos of prominent former guests, from Babe Ruth to President Theodore Roosevelt, line the walls - and Roosevelt's spirit is rumored to have since been seen sipping on a drink at the hotel bar, in which he recruited cowboys for the Rough Riders. One TripAdvisor traveler noted, "...Felt cold spots in several places in and around the hotel and got plenty of goose bumps during our stay, but I never once felt afraid."
8. Bullock Hotel, Deadwood, South Dakota - Average Nightly Rate: $100
This historic hotel was founded in the 1890s by Deadwood's first Sheriff, Seth Bullock and today, visitors to the town can pay their respects to the former lawman and other notable Wild West figures, including Calamity Jane, at the nearby Mount Moriah Cemetery. Hotel guests may be in for a much closer encounter with Bullock, whose spirit has supposedly roamed the property since his passing in 1919. One TripAdvisor traveler commented, "Heard tell of the ghost tour, but didn't need to go on it as we could feel Seth Bullock's presence in the hotel already!"
9. Place D'Armes Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana - Average Nightly Rate: $119 - $480
Located in the heart of the French Quarter, this property is said to have been built on the site of a former school house that was destroyed in a fire, in which many perished. Resident ghosts are rumored to include former pupils, as well as an elderly bearded man dressed in 1800's attire. One TripAdvisor traveler noted, "...My husband and daughter said they heard children laughing and playing in the next room and the ceiling fan came on all by itself. There was no next room, it was a brick wall outside!"
10. Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado, California - Average Nightly Rate: $289 - $720
Sun, sand and spirits are the order of the day at this beachfront getaway, built in 1888. The property has seen a stream of famed visitors over the years, from Charlie Chaplin, to Humphrey Bogart - but it is a former guest by the name of Kate Morgan who has continued to make her presence felt, since taking her life at the resort in 1892. According to one TripAdvisor traveler, "I brought my K2 Meter (it's believed the meter can pick up the ‘magnetic fields' of spirits). I actually got some ‘hits' on it while we were having breakfast in our room."
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Dover, ME, Oct 28: Dinner in Dover and a ghost hunt in Portsmouth
From Fosters.com: Dinner in Dover and a ghost hunt in Portsmouth
DOVER /PORTSMOUTH — Join us for a night of ghost hunting and dinner on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7pm at UNOs in Dover. The Ghost Hunt will take place in Portsmouth Cemetery.
The cost is $35 per ticket, which includes $10 voucher towards dinner at UNO's and ghost walk in
Portsmouth Cemetery with North East Paranormal Associates.
Schedule:
7-8:30 pm: UNO's Dover; dinner and introduction to North East Paranormal Associates andindividual readings
8:30 pm: Caravan to Portsmouth Cemetery
9 pm: Ghost walk begins
How to purchase tickets:
-- Directly from a Del Tufo Schintzius Cancer Foundation board member.
-- By emailing dscf@comcast.net to reserve tickets and pick up at UNOs on Friday 10/28.
-- Purchase at UNO's the night of the event.
All profits benefit the Del Tufo Schintzius Cancer Foundation of Dover.
UK: Fun Ghost Hunt, Oct 28-31: Horley traders launch town 'ghost hunt'
This isn't a ghost hunt for real ghosts, but a Halloween themed event for kids and parents. Nevertheless, it sounded fun so I thought I'd share it.
RedHill and Reigate: Horley traders launch town 'ghost hunt'
RedHill and Reigate: Horley traders launch town 'ghost hunt'
A Halloween competition for children is being launched in Horley which traders hope will be a scream.
The Horley Ghost Hunt, drawing together 47 shops and businesses in the town in a spooky show of unity, is being held for the first time from this Friday (October 28) through to Monday (October 31).
The free-to-enter competition, in which children accompanied by an adult will be challenged to find the ghosts on show in the participating stores and log them on a ghost hunt form, is the brainchild of Andy Parr, owner of The Party Pad shop.
Andy, of Copthorne, who opened his party goods shop in January into the teeth of the economic downturn, said: “Being a family-run business, we are always looking at ways to engage with the local community and to partner other local companies.”
He said: “It's the first time the competition's been held and it's being run in conjunction with Horley and District Chamber of Commerce and Horley Retailers.
“The response has been really good and it's the sort of event you can expect to see, provided it's a success, at future times of the year, such as Christmas and Easter.
“It's pulled quite a few of the shops together.”
Ghost Hunt entry forms are available from The Party Pad in High Street, Horley, and they will announce and contact the competition winner.
Children will win a treat from The Party Pad on completion of the ghost hunt, and will be entered into a draw with a £50 costume among the prizes to be won.
Michigan: Hunt ghosts at the Historic Holly Hotel
From Daily Tribune: Hunt ghosts at the Historic Holly Hotel
By David Grocki
The Historic Holly Hotel has gained a reputation as one of the most haunted places in Michigan. During the month of October, the hotel has a tradition of convening seances and ghost hunts.
HOLLY — The Historic Holly Hotel has the reputation of being one of the most haunted buildings not only in Michigan, but the entire nation.
Strange things have been observed by staff and patrons alike, from aromas of no origin to eerie noises to full-blown apparitions.
Many paranormal groups, independent ghost hunters and psychics have visited the hotel over the years, encountering occurrences that cannot be explained by conventional science.
Norman Gauthier, a famous parapsychologist professor, once declared the hotel to be “loaded with spirits.”
“I never believed in it until I decided to work here, and it’s one of those things that you have no choice of not believing. There’s just too much activity,” said Alex Cripps, a Holly Hotel employee, in an article published last October.
“It’s just too frequent to just pass it off as something else and act like it’s nothing,” he said.
Built in 1891, the building is no longer a hotel, but a converted restaurant, banquet hall and comedy club that offers a wide selection of dishes, tea times and Sunday brunches.
Originally called the Hirst Hotel after its original proprietor, John Hirst, the hotel has a colorfully sordid history. Situated near crossing railroad lines, nearby Martha Street was filled with bars and saloons, fast becoming a venue for drunken brawls so frequent that locals renamed Martha Street “Battle Alley,” and the nickname stuck.
In addition to this unsavory fact, the hotel experienced tragedy when a fire consumed the three-story, Queen Anne-style building in January 1913. The hotel burned again exactly 65 years later to the day and hour.
The Historic Holly Hotel now has a tradition of convening seances and ghost hunts in the month of October. Michigan Paranormal Research Association Director Samantha Harris hosted a ghost hunt at the Holly Hotel Saturday with laser thermometers, digital recorders, dowsing rods and EMF readers.
Common ghostly manifestations in the hotel include an aroma of cigars and antique perfume, disembodied voices, apparitions of John Hirst and Nora Kane, a former hostess and musician of the hotel, as well as other phenomena, including the ghosts of a little girl, a dog and a Native American.
A psychic medium will be present at the hotel on Wednesday and remain through Halloween night to conduct seances to attempt contact with the building’s resident ghosts. Each seance will vary due to the time it may or may not take to contact the spirits, but generally lasts an hour.
If you go
The Historic Holly Hotel is at 110 Battle Alley St. in downtown Holly. Call (248) 634-5208 or visit www.hollyhotel.com for more information about this month’s events.
By David Grocki
The Historic Holly Hotel has gained a reputation as one of the most haunted places in Michigan. During the month of October, the hotel has a tradition of convening seances and ghost hunts.
HOLLY — The Historic Holly Hotel has the reputation of being one of the most haunted buildings not only in Michigan, but the entire nation.
Strange things have been observed by staff and patrons alike, from aromas of no origin to eerie noises to full-blown apparitions.
Many paranormal groups, independent ghost hunters and psychics have visited the hotel over the years, encountering occurrences that cannot be explained by conventional science.
Norman Gauthier, a famous parapsychologist professor, once declared the hotel to be “loaded with spirits.”
“I never believed in it until I decided to work here, and it’s one of those things that you have no choice of not believing. There’s just too much activity,” said Alex Cripps, a Holly Hotel employee, in an article published last October.
“It’s just too frequent to just pass it off as something else and act like it’s nothing,” he said.
Built in 1891, the building is no longer a hotel, but a converted restaurant, banquet hall and comedy club that offers a wide selection of dishes, tea times and Sunday brunches.
Originally called the Hirst Hotel after its original proprietor, John Hirst, the hotel has a colorfully sordid history. Situated near crossing railroad lines, nearby Martha Street was filled with bars and saloons, fast becoming a venue for drunken brawls so frequent that locals renamed Martha Street “Battle Alley,” and the nickname stuck.
In addition to this unsavory fact, the hotel experienced tragedy when a fire consumed the three-story, Queen Anne-style building in January 1913. The hotel burned again exactly 65 years later to the day and hour.
The Historic Holly Hotel now has a tradition of convening seances and ghost hunts in the month of October. Michigan Paranormal Research Association Director Samantha Harris hosted a ghost hunt at the Holly Hotel Saturday with laser thermometers, digital recorders, dowsing rods and EMF readers.
Common ghostly manifestations in the hotel include an aroma of cigars and antique perfume, disembodied voices, apparitions of John Hirst and Nora Kane, a former hostess and musician of the hotel, as well as other phenomena, including the ghosts of a little girl, a dog and a Native American.
A psychic medium will be present at the hotel on Wednesday and remain through Halloween night to conduct seances to attempt contact with the building’s resident ghosts. Each seance will vary due to the time it may or may not take to contact the spirits, but generally lasts an hour.
If you go
The Historic Holly Hotel is at 110 Battle Alley St. in downtown Holly. Call (248) 634-5208 or visit www.hollyhotel.com for more information about this month’s events.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
EPI conduct Ghost Hunt at Joanna Furnace
From Berksmont News: EPI conduct Ghost Hunt at Joanna Furnace
By Brett Swailes
for Journal Register News Service
(photo by Brett Swailes) The EPI team conducts 'Ghost Hunts' throughout the region.
View and purchase photos
On Saturday night, October 15, a group of professionals quietly conducted what some might call a ghost hunt - a paranormal investigation - at historic Joanna Furnace. They came armed with a diverse array of electronic sensors, motion and sound detectors, and cameras and computers. After a lengthy setup the team of volunteers positioned themselves hundreds of feet distant from the detection gear. Each of the individuals present that night settled in to observe the stream of raw data and a split screen monitor showing each of the observed areas.
Extreme Paranormal Investigations, or EPI, is the group that performed this study and furnished the required equipment. Nevertheless, the same question is always waiting – what is the basis that compels people with this urge to do what they do?
Brian Joad, the founder of EPI, furnished the answer: he wanted to see if this could be a manifestation of life after death. After the deaths of his aunt and uncle, Joad, a network consultant and professional videographer, developed an interest in paranormal activity. He said that he was influenced by the writings of David Rountree, the author of Paranormal Technology. The EPI approach is one that uses scientific methods together with the investigation of locations, and it seems to produce results.
EPI has already completed audits of sites that are usually historically significant (places where significant events and many people were involved). This volunteer group has recently performed investigations at the Seven Stars Inn, Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, the Rail Road Masters House, Waynebrook Inn, and the Downingtown Opera House. Joad is an immense history buff, of course, and a member of several historical societies.
From six in the evening until four the next morning, all while maintaining a silent vigil, they made their routine entries in the logs and waited. It is in those quiet places, when cloaked in darkness, and after hour upon hour of heightened awareness and painstaking waiting—that the reverie can be punctuated suddenly and without warning by moments of strong activity and yes, even terror. Even among the experts, or so they say…
Joanna Furnace was chosen for investigation because it served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Its role as part of the Underground Railroad was kept a close secret to avoid any interruptions in the ironmaking activities from the federal government or slave chasers. Keeping this secret was especially problematic in the aftermath of the 1857 Dred Scott Decision—the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that made slaves the legal property of their owners, as the proximity of the Mason-Dixon Line made Pennsylvania a frequent stop for the agents of the southern slave owners.
Joad said that African-Americans regularly congregated at the Mount Frisbey AME church, which was located between the Hopewell and Joanna Furnaces. He suggested that perhaps a narrow road that cut through the woods was used as part of the conduit leading to the Joanna stop.
The other EPI team members on that night at the furnace were: Sandra Dee - who works as a professional ballroom dance instructor and is originally of Harlingen, Texas; Joe - an EMT in both Elverson and Exeter and an Lieutenant at the West Bradford Fire Company in his spare time; and Phil – a retired auto mechanic who has been interested in the paranormal for quite some time.
What did they observe at Joanna Furnace on October 15? While Brian said that there was “nothing substantial” on that night, he added that all the data had not yet been verified. During an infrared search in the woods, however, they discovered an old, overgrown wagon road. Was it part of the Underground Railroad? Perhaps, but only long-dead stationmaster Henry Segner could have verified that fact. EPI’s final conclusions in the Joanna study will be published within two weeks.
Thanks for this article are owed to the folks at the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (In 1979 Bethlehem Steel transferred title to the lands to the Hay Creek group), and to Sue Fellman Jacobs - the author of History of Joanna Furnace 1791-1999: History of a Berks County, PA, Charcoal Iron Furnace. Continued...
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For information on EPI, their methods of investigation, and upcoming hunts, visit the group online at www.extremeparanormalinvestigators.com. For more information on Joanna Furnace visit www.haycreek.org/joanna_furnace.htm
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On Saturday night, October 15, a group of professionals quietly conducted what some might call a ghost hunt - a paranormal investigation - at historic Joanna Furnace. They came armed with a diverse array of electronic sensors, motion and sound detectors, and cameras and computers. After a lengthy setup the team of volunteers positioned themselves hundreds of feet distant from the detection gear. Each of the individuals present that night settled in to observe the stream of raw data and a split screen monitor showing each of the observed areas.
Extreme Paranormal Investigations, or EPI, is the group that performed this study and furnished the required equipment. Nevertheless, the same question is always waiting – what is the basis that compels people with this urge to do what they do?
Brian Joad, the founder of EPI, furnished the answer: he wanted to see if this could be a manifestation of life after death. After the deaths of his aunt and uncle, Joad, a network consultant and professional videographer, developed an interest in paranormal activity. He said that he was influenced by the writings of David Rountree, the author of Paranormal Technology. The EPI approach is one that uses scientific methods together with the investigation of locations, and it seems to produce results.
EPI has already completed audits of sites that are usually historically significant (places where significant events and many people were involved). This volunteer group has recently performed investigations at the Seven Stars Inn, Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, the Rail Road Masters House, Waynebrook Inn, and the Downingtown Opera House. Joad is an immense history buff, of course, and a member of several historical societies.
From six in the evening until four the next morning, all while maintaining a silent vigil, they made their routine entries in the logs and waited. It is in those quiet places, when cloaked in darkness, and after hour upon hour of heightened awareness and painstaking waiting—that the reverie can be punctuated suddenly and without warning by moments of strong activity and yes, even terror. Even among the experts, or so they say…
Joanna Furnace was chosen for investigation because it served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Its role as part of the Underground Railroad was kept a close secret to avoid any interruptions in the ironmaking activities from the federal government or slave chasers. Keeping this secret was especially problematic in the aftermath of the 1857 Dred Scott Decision—the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that made slaves the legal property of their owners, as the proximity of the Mason-Dixon Line made Pennsylvania a frequent stop for the agents of the southern slave owners.
Joad said that African-Americans regularly congregated at the Mount Frisbey AME church, which was located between the Hopewell and Joanna Furnaces. He suggested that perhaps a narrow road that cut through the woods was used as part of the conduit leading to the Joanna stop.
The other EPI team members on that night at the furnace were: Sandra Dee - who works as a professional ballroom dance instructor and is originally of Harlingen, Texas; Joe - an EMT in both Elverson and Exeter and an Lieutenant at the West Bradford Fire Company in his spare time; and Phil – a retired auto mechanic who has been interested in the paranormal for quite some time.
What did they observe at Joanna Furnace on October 15? While Brian said that there was “nothing substantial” on that night, he added that all the data had not yet been verified. During an infrared search in the woods, however, they discovered an old, overgrown wagon road. Was it part of the Underground Railroad? Perhaps, but only long-dead stationmaster Henry Segner could have verified that fact. EPI’s final conclusions in the Joanna study will be published within two weeks.
Thanks for this article are owed to the folks at the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (In 1979 Bethlehem Steel transferred title to the lands to the Hay Creek group), and to Sue Fellman Jacobs - the author of History of Joanna Furnace 1791-1999: History of a Berks County, PA, Charcoal Iron Furnace.
For information on EPI, their methods of investigation, and upcoming hunts, visit the group online at www.extremeparanormalinvestigators.com. For more information on Joanna Furnace visit www.haycreek.org/joanna_furnace.htm
By Brett Swailes
for Journal Register News Service
(photo by Brett Swailes) The EPI team conducts 'Ghost Hunts' throughout the region.
View and purchase photos
On Saturday night, October 15, a group of professionals quietly conducted what some might call a ghost hunt - a paranormal investigation - at historic Joanna Furnace. They came armed with a diverse array of electronic sensors, motion and sound detectors, and cameras and computers. After a lengthy setup the team of volunteers positioned themselves hundreds of feet distant from the detection gear. Each of the individuals present that night settled in to observe the stream of raw data and a split screen monitor showing each of the observed areas.
Extreme Paranormal Investigations, or EPI, is the group that performed this study and furnished the required equipment. Nevertheless, the same question is always waiting – what is the basis that compels people with this urge to do what they do?
Brian Joad, the founder of EPI, furnished the answer: he wanted to see if this could be a manifestation of life after death. After the deaths of his aunt and uncle, Joad, a network consultant and professional videographer, developed an interest in paranormal activity. He said that he was influenced by the writings of David Rountree, the author of Paranormal Technology. The EPI approach is one that uses scientific methods together with the investigation of locations, and it seems to produce results.
EPI has already completed audits of sites that are usually historically significant (places where significant events and many people were involved). This volunteer group has recently performed investigations at the Seven Stars Inn, Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, the Rail Road Masters House, Waynebrook Inn, and the Downingtown Opera House. Joad is an immense history buff, of course, and a member of several historical societies.
From six in the evening until four the next morning, all while maintaining a silent vigil, they made their routine entries in the logs and waited. It is in those quiet places, when cloaked in darkness, and after hour upon hour of heightened awareness and painstaking waiting—that the reverie can be punctuated suddenly and without warning by moments of strong activity and yes, even terror. Even among the experts, or so they say…
Joanna Furnace was chosen for investigation because it served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Its role as part of the Underground Railroad was kept a close secret to avoid any interruptions in the ironmaking activities from the federal government or slave chasers. Keeping this secret was especially problematic in the aftermath of the 1857 Dred Scott Decision—the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that made slaves the legal property of their owners, as the proximity of the Mason-Dixon Line made Pennsylvania a frequent stop for the agents of the southern slave owners.
Joad said that African-Americans regularly congregated at the Mount Frisbey AME church, which was located between the Hopewell and Joanna Furnaces. He suggested that perhaps a narrow road that cut through the woods was used as part of the conduit leading to the Joanna stop.
The other EPI team members on that night at the furnace were: Sandra Dee - who works as a professional ballroom dance instructor and is originally of Harlingen, Texas; Joe - an EMT in both Elverson and Exeter and an Lieutenant at the West Bradford Fire Company in his spare time; and Phil – a retired auto mechanic who has been interested in the paranormal for quite some time.
What did they observe at Joanna Furnace on October 15? While Brian said that there was “nothing substantial” on that night, he added that all the data had not yet been verified. During an infrared search in the woods, however, they discovered an old, overgrown wagon road. Was it part of the Underground Railroad? Perhaps, but only long-dead stationmaster Henry Segner could have verified that fact. EPI’s final conclusions in the Joanna study will be published within two weeks.
Thanks for this article are owed to the folks at the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (In 1979 Bethlehem Steel transferred title to the lands to the Hay Creek group), and to Sue Fellman Jacobs - the author of History of Joanna Furnace 1791-1999: History of a Berks County, PA, Charcoal Iron Furnace. Continued...
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For information on EPI, their methods of investigation, and upcoming hunts, visit the group online at www.extremeparanormalinvestigators.com. For more information on Joanna Furnace visit www.haycreek.org/joanna_furnace.htm
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On Saturday night, October 15, a group of professionals quietly conducted what some might call a ghost hunt - a paranormal investigation - at historic Joanna Furnace. They came armed with a diverse array of electronic sensors, motion and sound detectors, and cameras and computers. After a lengthy setup the team of volunteers positioned themselves hundreds of feet distant from the detection gear. Each of the individuals present that night settled in to observe the stream of raw data and a split screen monitor showing each of the observed areas.
Extreme Paranormal Investigations, or EPI, is the group that performed this study and furnished the required equipment. Nevertheless, the same question is always waiting – what is the basis that compels people with this urge to do what they do?
Brian Joad, the founder of EPI, furnished the answer: he wanted to see if this could be a manifestation of life after death. After the deaths of his aunt and uncle, Joad, a network consultant and professional videographer, developed an interest in paranormal activity. He said that he was influenced by the writings of David Rountree, the author of Paranormal Technology. The EPI approach is one that uses scientific methods together with the investigation of locations, and it seems to produce results.
EPI has already completed audits of sites that are usually historically significant (places where significant events and many people were involved). This volunteer group has recently performed investigations at the Seven Stars Inn, Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, the Rail Road Masters House, Waynebrook Inn, and the Downingtown Opera House. Joad is an immense history buff, of course, and a member of several historical societies.
From six in the evening until four the next morning, all while maintaining a silent vigil, they made their routine entries in the logs and waited. It is in those quiet places, when cloaked in darkness, and after hour upon hour of heightened awareness and painstaking waiting—that the reverie can be punctuated suddenly and without warning by moments of strong activity and yes, even terror. Even among the experts, or so they say…
Joanna Furnace was chosen for investigation because it served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Its role as part of the Underground Railroad was kept a close secret to avoid any interruptions in the ironmaking activities from the federal government or slave chasers. Keeping this secret was especially problematic in the aftermath of the 1857 Dred Scott Decision—the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that made slaves the legal property of their owners, as the proximity of the Mason-Dixon Line made Pennsylvania a frequent stop for the agents of the southern slave owners.
Joad said that African-Americans regularly congregated at the Mount Frisbey AME church, which was located between the Hopewell and Joanna Furnaces. He suggested that perhaps a narrow road that cut through the woods was used as part of the conduit leading to the Joanna stop.
The other EPI team members on that night at the furnace were: Sandra Dee - who works as a professional ballroom dance instructor and is originally of Harlingen, Texas; Joe - an EMT in both Elverson and Exeter and an Lieutenant at the West Bradford Fire Company in his spare time; and Phil – a retired auto mechanic who has been interested in the paranormal for quite some time.
What did they observe at Joanna Furnace on October 15? While Brian said that there was “nothing substantial” on that night, he added that all the data had not yet been verified. During an infrared search in the woods, however, they discovered an old, overgrown wagon road. Was it part of the Underground Railroad? Perhaps, but only long-dead stationmaster Henry Segner could have verified that fact. EPI’s final conclusions in the Joanna study will be published within two weeks.
Thanks for this article are owed to the folks at the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (In 1979 Bethlehem Steel transferred title to the lands to the Hay Creek group), and to Sue Fellman Jacobs - the author of History of Joanna Furnace 1791-1999: History of a Berks County, PA, Charcoal Iron Furnace.
For information on EPI, their methods of investigation, and upcoming hunts, visit the group online at www.extremeparanormalinvestigators.com. For more information on Joanna Furnace visit www.haycreek.org/joanna_furnace.htm
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Leesburg, VA: Leesburg Ghost Tours Explain the Seemingly Unexplainable
From Leesburg Patch: Leesburg Ghost Tours Explain the Seemingly Unexplainable
Unique for their scientific approach to the paranormal, Leesburg ghost tours run Friday and Saturday nights now through Oct. 31.
Around October when the witches decorate our doorsteps and ghosts and goblins haunt our windowpanes, our minds turn to the super-natural. Then it is only natural that we wonder- are ghosts real?
Ghost tours have long capitalized on our mortal curiosity; however the Leesburg Ghost tours has the distinction of being started by a scientist and a skeptic.
In 1992, Joe Holbert wanted local fork-lore stories for the Loudoun Museum, when instead he received personal accounts of encounters with ghosts and spiritual entities.
Cynical, he investigated and disproved several cases, but he could not disprove 100 or so in which multiple individuals experienced unexplained sights, sounds, smells or objects moving on their own.
This led Holbert to find the Virginia Scientific Research Association (VSRA) to investigate paranormal phenomenon. What he came to find there, went on to inspire other paranormal investigators and even the television show, Ghost Hunters.
Holbert passed away a few years ago, but the VSRA continues to host ghost tours in Leesburg. Autumn tours run on Friday and Saturday nights at 9 pm, leaving from the Georgetown Café and Bakery on 19 South King Street, and extending until October 21, Halloween Night.
However, this is not the usual tour. It is not meant to scare you, as much as educate you on the latest theory on supernatural sightings.
That does not mean that sightings are debunked. On the contrary, they are explained; and participants are even tested to see if they are likely to trigger a supernatural occurrence.
The tour culminates at the county courthouse on Market Street, where tourist can touch a potent energy field. Hauntings at the courthouse are attributed to a slave named Mercer, who was quartered there.
According to the ghost tour guides, JoAnn Manriquez and Elaine Maxon, traumatic experiences can cause ghostly behavior. Less frequently, ghosts are really visiting spirits appearing in the flesh.
“While at first I hadn’t had any paranormal experience at all, on the tours I’ve smelt and heard things, I have no explanation for,” said Maxon.
However, she assured Saturday's group that the tour would not be frightening. “Once you understand what is going on [with paranormal activity]," Maxon said. "You won’t be afraid.”
Like other ghost tours, the Leesburg tour provides historical information as well as stories of ghost sightings, supported by references to historical events where applicable.
Besides the regular ghost tours, Keeler Hunt, who works for the VSRA, gives her own more scientific based tours; and while tours run on the weekend, people can request a special small group tours as well.
More information on Leesburg Ghost Tours and the Virginia Scientific Research Association can be found on their website: http://vsra.yolasite.com/
Unique for their scientific approach to the paranormal, Leesburg ghost tours run Friday and Saturday nights now through Oct. 31.
Around October when the witches decorate our doorsteps and ghosts and goblins haunt our windowpanes, our minds turn to the super-natural. Then it is only natural that we wonder- are ghosts real?
Ghost tours have long capitalized on our mortal curiosity; however the Leesburg Ghost tours has the distinction of being started by a scientist and a skeptic.
In 1992, Joe Holbert wanted local fork-lore stories for the Loudoun Museum, when instead he received personal accounts of encounters with ghosts and spiritual entities.
Cynical, he investigated and disproved several cases, but he could not disprove 100 or so in which multiple individuals experienced unexplained sights, sounds, smells or objects moving on their own.
This led Holbert to find the Virginia Scientific Research Association (VSRA) to investigate paranormal phenomenon. What he came to find there, went on to inspire other paranormal investigators and even the television show, Ghost Hunters.
Holbert passed away a few years ago, but the VSRA continues to host ghost tours in Leesburg. Autumn tours run on Friday and Saturday nights at 9 pm, leaving from the Georgetown Café and Bakery on 19 South King Street, and extending until October 21, Halloween Night.
However, this is not the usual tour. It is not meant to scare you, as much as educate you on the latest theory on supernatural sightings.
That does not mean that sightings are debunked. On the contrary, they are explained; and participants are even tested to see if they are likely to trigger a supernatural occurrence.
The tour culminates at the county courthouse on Market Street, where tourist can touch a potent energy field. Hauntings at the courthouse are attributed to a slave named Mercer, who was quartered there.
According to the ghost tour guides, JoAnn Manriquez and Elaine Maxon, traumatic experiences can cause ghostly behavior. Less frequently, ghosts are really visiting spirits appearing in the flesh.
“While at first I hadn’t had any paranormal experience at all, on the tours I’ve smelt and heard things, I have no explanation for,” said Maxon.
However, she assured Saturday's group that the tour would not be frightening. “Once you understand what is going on [with paranormal activity]," Maxon said. "You won’t be afraid.”
Like other ghost tours, the Leesburg tour provides historical information as well as stories of ghost sightings, supported by references to historical events where applicable.
Besides the regular ghost tours, Keeler Hunt, who works for the VSRA, gives her own more scientific based tours; and while tours run on the weekend, people can request a special small group tours as well.
More information on Leesburg Ghost Tours and the Virginia Scientific Research Association can be found on their website: http://vsra.yolasite.com/
Monday, October 17, 2011
26 October, Wheatfield, NY: Niagara-Wheatfield Town Hall: Haunted?
From Metro WNY: Niagara-Wheatfield Town Hall: Haunted?
Have you ever wondered what goes bump in the night? Locally-renowned ghost hunter Steven Richards did, after a close encounter of some kind at town hall in Niagara, where he works as supervisor.
He had some friends stay overnight to see if anything would happen. At 5 a.m., all the candles blew out simultaneously and they ran away. Since then, Richards joined forces with two other ghost enthusiasts, James Kramp and Diane Tallarico, to form Dark Starr Paranormal Research Society.
“We spend a lot of time exploring odd and creepy places,” Richards said. “The most fascinating thing I have ever experienced was being pulled on while on a ghost hunt and nearly knocked over. Also, there have been a lot of EVPs [electronic voice phenomenon] that we have picked up.”
Richards will be speaking about his experiences at a lecture from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Niagara Wheatfield High School. People who attend the workshop will have a chance to sign up for a guided field trip with Richards.
“Our field trips will consist of taking a larger group of people and breaking them into smaller groups, where one of our instructors will take each smaller group on a real ghost hunt to a place where we have already been and know is haunted,” Richards said.
This lecture fills up quickly, so anyone interested should visit www.nwcsd.k12.ny.us and click under Adult Education or call the Adult Education Office at 215-3109.
Have you ever wondered what goes bump in the night? Locally-renowned ghost hunter Steven Richards did, after a close encounter of some kind at town hall in Niagara, where he works as supervisor.
He had some friends stay overnight to see if anything would happen. At 5 a.m., all the candles blew out simultaneously and they ran away. Since then, Richards joined forces with two other ghost enthusiasts, James Kramp and Diane Tallarico, to form Dark Starr Paranormal Research Society.
“We spend a lot of time exploring odd and creepy places,” Richards said. “The most fascinating thing I have ever experienced was being pulled on while on a ghost hunt and nearly knocked over. Also, there have been a lot of EVPs [electronic voice phenomenon] that we have picked up.”
Richards will be speaking about his experiences at a lecture from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Niagara Wheatfield High School. People who attend the workshop will have a chance to sign up for a guided field trip with Richards.
“Our field trips will consist of taking a larger group of people and breaking them into smaller groups, where one of our instructors will take each smaller group on a real ghost hunt to a place where we have already been and know is haunted,” Richards said.
This lecture fills up quickly, so anyone interested should visit www.nwcsd.k12.ny.us and click under Adult Education or call the Adult Education Office at 215-3109.
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