Ghostly Competition

Aside from watching marathon spans of Ghost Adventures, the Travel Channel (and Zak Bagans) have found another way to scare the absolute bejesus out of me...(July has suddenly become "scary month.")

Enter Paranormal Challenge (Friday nights at 8pm cst) where two teams go head-to-head investigating the same haunted location in hopes of gathering the "best" or most convincing evidence of spirits.

They are then judged by a panel of respected members of the paranormal community on their team work, use of equipment, and the evidence (photographic and sound) they are able to gather.

Through social media (Twitter) I've been able to get to know a few of these teams of paranormal investigators, especially Northeastern Spirit Society (based in Fairmont, WV).

(Check out their awesome logo)

Although they have a lot of experience between them, the group has only been investigating together for about a year now.


Tonight you can watch them in action on the Travel Channel as they explore the famously active West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville...

It's an interesting place with a lot of violent history. Do I sound like an expert? I'm not. I only watched the original episode of Ghost Adventures and did some reading on the location. Simple.

In anticipation of their episode (they just keep getting better each week) I caught up with the lead investigator of NSS, Daniel Bellay, for a fun interview.

He explained that his first paranormal experience happened when he was a child, when he went to explore a "haunted" location with friends.

It was a "distinct feeling" and experience he says he'll never forget.

WHY do you enjoy investigating paranormal activity?

"I have loved the paranormal since I was a child playing with Ghostbusters gear and wanting to see spirits. I do it now because I feel as though I have a skill at contacting spirits and capturing evidence. It is a passion and a hobby that exhilarates me."

As an adult, Daniel began making friends with others who were also interested in the paranormal. With "TONS"of solo investigations between team members, they began investigating together on a very frequent basis.

He says their "weekly hangout" is at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, WV, where a couple of the team members lead Ghost Tours.

Something very important to Daniel is accepting everyone for who they are and listening to others when it comes to their paranormal beliefs and techniques. You could say that Acceptance is a team motto.

Through paranormal investigations, Daniel said he "hopes to discover answers about how we can better communicate with spirits." He is fascinated by the intelligent responses captured during his investigations.

For those unfamiliar with the term, an "intelligent" response is when spirits seem to communicate with a person--such as answering questions or saying names of present individuals. The spirit seems to be aware of its surroundings as opposed to "residual" responses where energy is trapped and the same sounds are heard (for example, tapping associated with a specific event) over and over again. Residual activity is the most commonly captured.

This, along with other terms are often used on these types of shows, but they are almost always explained. You don't need to be a para-expert to watch, and you might find yourself inspired to scout out a local "haunted" location yourself.

What advice would you give to "new" investigators or people who are interested in conducting investigations?

"Keep trying to find the best piece of evidence you can week after week. If you catch something amazing, go back and try to improve your skills to get something even better next time. There are no guarantees in the paranormal, you just need to learn how to communicate and get a response."

Tune into the Travel Channel tonight and see what happens, I know I can't wait!

~~J

The Ghost Belonged to Me

It was suggested that instead of rewatching (and maybe ruining) the Child of Glass, maybe I should get my hands on the book it was based on instead.

So I did.

Released in 1975, The Ghost Belonged to Me by Richard Peck was the first in the "Blossom Culp" series. News to me, because I've never heard of it.

Of course, I didn't know the book even existed until recently.

Even though it's written for the preteen set, I found a used copy on Amazon and ordered it alongside my books for the Fall semester.

It took me no time to finish it.

Instead of taking place in Louisiana in the 1970s (like the movie) the story occurs near the turn of the century (1913) in Missouri, close to the Mississippi river. Little spooky details that invoke thoughts about my current life.

I'm not sure how I feel about the prose in general though, it was a bit awkward and I think it just isn't because I'm probably three times older than the target audience. All of the books I read as a child were usually written by women. This one, is not.

Now that I've seen "where" the movie came from, it seems as if I should just go ahead and watch it.

Maybe.

~~J

#657

I dwell in Possibility--
A fairer House than Prose--
More numerous of Windows--
Superior--for Doors -

(Emily Dickinson)

~~J

*Photo taken at the 160+ year-old Georgia "State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum" in Milledgeville, May 2011*

The Surgeon at 2 A.M.

Over one bed in the ward, a small blue light
Announces a new soul. The bed is blue.
Tonight, for this person, blue is a beautiful color.
The angels of morphia have borne him up.
He floats an inch from the ceiling,
Smelling the dawn drafts.

(Sylvia Plath)

~~J

*Photo taken at the 160+ year-old Georgia "State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum" in Milledgeville, May 2011*

The Ivy Green

Oh, a dainty plant is the Ivy green,
That creepeth o'er ruins old!


Of right choice food are his meals, I ween,
In his cell so lone and cold.


The wall must be crumbled, the stone decayed,
To pleasure his dainty whim:


And the mouldering dust that years have made
Is a merry meal for him.


Creeping where no life is seen,
A rare old plant is the Ivy green.

(Charles Dickens)

*All photos taken at the 160+ year-old Georgia "State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum" in Milledgeville, May 2011*

Summertime Obsession

(other than the Casey Anthony trial)

A couple days before leaving Milledgeville for the Summer, I was clicking around late one night and happened upon a show on the Travel channel: Ghost Adventures.

Because it was so late and I was alone in my apartment, I should've known better--but I watched episode after episode of Zak Bagans and crew investigating haunted places throughout the world. It was a marathon, after all, and no matter how hard I tried I could NOT turn it off!

Several episodes later, I'd be lying if I told you it was easy to go to sleep.

Fast forward to NOW I've been lucky enough to catch these episodes:

Bonnie Springs Ranch (Old West ranch)
Fort Chaffee (haunted fort)
Jerome Grand Hotel (most haunted structure in "Ghost City")
Linda Vista Hospital (East LA hospital haunted by gang violence)
Moundsville Penitentiary
Old Fort Erie (War of 1812)
Prospect Place (stop on the underground railroad)
Sacramento Tunnels
Villisca Axe Murder House (house where 8 people were murdered)
Yorktown Memorial Hospital (abandoned hospital in Texas)
Waverly Hills (sanatorium)
Old Idaho Penitentiary
Hales Bar Marina

At least that's all I *think* I've seen...the show seems very similar to one that aired on MTV ten years ago: FEAR where (according to Wikipedia):

"The program follows a group of 5 or more contestants being left at an allegedly haunted location and led them on a series of dares over two nights to explore and confirm whether or not the place is haunted."

It was extremely creepy to watch and although it only ran for sixteen episodes, I learned it was cancelled because it was extremely expensive to produce.

The major "creepy" factor for FEAR was all the "dares" contestants had to perform like staying in a prison cell (alone) for more than 12 hours without lights under complete radio silence. Um, no. Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.

In GHOST ADVENTURES the crew uses known history and often tries to provoke similar situations into happening. Without an outside camera crew, they are responsible for all of the the electronic equipment, etc.

Am I skeptical? No. Could I do something similar? Yes BUT nothing "Fear" style.

~~J

Child of Glass

(or creepy memories in the form of a blue ghost)

Years of asking, "Have you seen the Glass Child?" have essentially paid off...thanks in part to my lax Internet skills.

After research, the facts probably are as follows:

In Germany circa 1989, AFN aired this Walt Disney made-for-TV movie Filled With Murder, Mystery...And Ghosts!

The movie centers on a boy who moves into an old, majestic Southern plantation in Louisiana with his family and becomes involved in the legends that haunt the home and surrounding land.

I, alongside my next-door neighbor friends watched it, recorded it (VHS tapes, yo yo yo), and promptly became obsessed:

Halloween became All Saint's Eve
We saw "restless spirits" everywhere (or was that just me?)
Midnight was a special, creepy hour
Any unexplained sound was a ghost (our age, nice)

My crush on the main character Alexander Armsworth was serious...and I was convinced that the role of Blossom (his mystery-solving best gal pal) was created for me. Why else would I get so emotional when Blossom sees Alexander waltzing with another?

Finding a copy of the movie today is apparently difficult. I've seen bids on Amazon starting at fifty bucks! It's been downloaded to YouTube as well, but I refuse to watch the entire thing unless it's on the VHS tape I recorded it on (more than twenty years ago).

By thinking about this movie (and finally finding information on it), I can see where the foundation for my current interest in otherworldly beings, astronomical planes, and apparitions originated.

Question: Do I "believe" in ghosts?
Answer: Yes.

More entries to follow!

~~J