Security Guard Fired For Seeing A Ghost!

You may not believe this one, but here we go...

"Des Moines, Iowa man fired for seeing ghosts"
A security firm fires an Iowa man who says he saw an apparition while on the job.

www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051109/NEWS08/511090344/1001/NEWS
By CLARK KAUFFMANREGISTER STAFF WRITER
November 9, 2005

Can a worker be fired from his job because he believes in ghosts?

Yes, according to one Iowa judge — although, the judge says, such beliefs don't constitute worker misconduct, which would disqualify him from receiving unemployment benefits.

Wade Gallegos of Des Moines was fired in September from Neighborhood Patrol of Urbandale, a security company where he had worked for about five weeks. According to state records, Gallegos was in a guard house outside a gated community on the night of Sept. 11 when he reported seeing a group of apparitions standing near a car.

Gallegos summoned a co-worker and supervisor. While the two men were there, Gallegos said he still could see the ghosts, although the other men assured him they could see nothing. The supervisor saw no evidence of drinking or drug use; five hours later he fired Gallegos.

Neighborhood Patrol later challenged Gallegos' application for unemployment benefits, arguing he was guilty of misconduct.

Administrative Law Judge G. Ken Renegar ruled that "such beliefs do render the claimant unfit to act as a security guard. The employer cannot have security guards who see ghosts and apparitions and inform the employer and then the employer sends out the patrol cars."

But Renegar added that the "the real issue" was whether the sighting of ghosts was the sort of misconduct that disqualified Gallegos from receiving benefits.

Gallegos was awarded unemployment benefits. He said Tuesday he's still at a loss to explain the incident. "It was kind of like one of those out-of-body experiences."

Orb Poll Results Are In!

The Orb Poll is now closed, and the results are in. Quite honestly, I didn't know how it was going to gurn out, since the topic of orbs is such a hotly-debated topic in the ghost-hunting world.

The question was, "What do you think orbs in photographs are?", and the four possible answers were:

1) A ghost or spirit.
2) Some type of other supernatural anomaly.
3) A reflection of moisture or dust in the air.
4) A light flare in the lens.

The results?
Well, a whopping 53% - more than half of the people taking the poll - said that orbs in photographs are a ghost or spirit.
13% said that orbs were some type of other supernatural anomaly.
33% - one third of the participants - said that an orb in a photo is a reflection of moisture or dust in the air.
No one, not a single person, said that an orb was a light flare in the lens.

Well, there you have it. Personally, I think that it depends on the photograph itself. Like I've said before, if you want to capture hundreds of orbs just step outside and take a flash photo in a rainstorm. But I've also seen them with my naked eye, which I can't explain any other way than supernaturally. I'm sure that people will continue to argue about the topic of orbs, but that only insures that it remain on the forefront with ghost-hunters.

Home sweet home or haunted house?

WRITTEN BY ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF
BELGRADE - Clifton Parker remembers the two-story green house on
Belgrade Extension as a place overflowing with warm memories and good
times.

It's where he spent Christmas Eve celebrations surrounded by family,
including his grandparents, Percy and Emma Parker, who bought the house
in the early 1950s.

It was a house with many rooms and secret passageways - perfect for
hide-and-seek, especially an enticing little nook with a door located
under the stairs.

For Parker, who now lives in Clayton, his grandparents' home was a
child's paradise. He can't imagine how anyone could think it's haunted.
While there are several people in the Maysville and Belgrade areas who
look at the green house - now overrun by overgrown shrubbery - and
immediately jump to that conclusion, it's difficult for Parker to
believe that there is anything lurking in the dark in the now-empty
house.

Rhonda Haswell, who lived in the house for about six months in 2002, has
a different story. She heard noises - footsteps, muffled talking,
children playing - the entire time she lived there. She felt like
someone was always looking over her shoulder. She hated going upstairs
and was scared to death to even open the door to the room under the
stairs.

After getting sick while in the house, Haswell left in a hurry one night
and never returned. She was so shaken by her experience that she
eventually shared her story with The Daily News, and it was published on
Halloween.

Since that time, the woman who lived in the house before Haswell
contacted The Daily News to confirm she had similar experiences. Several
readers called inquiring about whether the old house was for sale.
Others, like Parker, who had family ties to the house, told stories much
different than the one Haswell shared.

'Blows my mind'

Randolph Thomas of Jacksonville lived in the house as a teenager in the
1940s. His grandmother, Elizabeth Mae Ervin, lived there with his
step-grandfather, Edward Starkey Ervin, known as "Uncle Stark."
Thomas rented a room in the house for $5 a week while he attended White
Oak School, which later became Tabernacle Elementary School. Thomas
worked at Bill Walton's store and earned $10 a week.

Thomas was very mindful of his money. He kept it in a khaki money belt
that he buried under clothes in an old trunk. Thomas said he was always
paranoid about his money, and it's because of that he's convinced there
weren't ghosts hanging around the house at that time.

"When I would come home from school, I would run to my room and check in
the trunk for that money belt," Thomas said. "I would count that money
every day. The ghost never got any of my money. It was always right. I
never lost any of it."

Thomas kidded a lot about claims that the house might be haunted. For
him, it was a place that held fond memories, and he doesn't recall
anything out of the ordinary.

"All I know is that if there were ghosts there, they were very dormant
all the time that we lived there," Thomas said with a chuckle. "I was
never afraid. I don't think anything ever happened to cause me to be
afraid, and I was in that house alone at times."

Stories that the house might be haunted were a bit offensive to Sandra
Adams of Jacksonville. Elizabeth Mae Ervin was Adams' grandmother also
"My memories are it was a house of love - there was nothing but love in
that house," Adams said.

Adams' "Grandma Lizzie" moved to Belgrade in the 1920s to take a
housekeeping job in the White Oak River area. Adams' mother was a little
girl when Grandma Lizzie went to work for E.S. Ervin and his wife, Jane.
Jane Ervin died in 1928. Grandma Lizzie married E.S. Ervin, and the
couple eventually left Ervin's farm and moved to the Belgrade house,
which they bought from Ralph Provow, Adams said.

Adams spent Sundays visiting with her grandmother and loved celebrating
Christmas there.

"Grandma Lizzie always did things for me," Adams said. "It was a
wonderful place to go."

When E.S. Ervin died, Grandma Lizzie rented several of the rooms in the
house to make some extra money, Adams said.

She remembered a man who rented an upstairs room because he had a
monkey.

"A lot of military people would rent rooms," Adams said. "It just made
it a more interesting place to me. I could always see that monkey
jumping up and down on the bed."

Eventually, Grandma Lizzie sold the house to Percy B. Parker Sr. and his
wife Emma, but Grandma Lizzie remained at the house in a little
apartment on the right side of the house.

"I never had any bad experience in the house," Adams said. "I wasn't
afraid of the house. I didn't hear any noises. It was my safe harbor.
I'd love to get up on my grandmother's feather bed. She
made the best dinners: chicken and pastry, collards, homemade chocolate
pie. Everybody got along with her. She was a good woman."

Percy and Emma Parker had eight children - four daughters and four sons
- but most of the children were grown with homes of their own by the
time they bought the house, Clifton Parker said.

Their youngest children, Glennie and Hugh, lived in the house. Glennie
died young of cancer and Hugh, who inherited the house after Percy B.
Parker Sr.'s death in 1986, died shortly after, but he was living at
Christian Care Home at the time of his death, Clifton Parker said.

Clifton Parker was close to his Uncle Hugh, especially during the years
that Hugh lived with his father. Parker remembers watching many
basketball games with his uncle, who was a huge Carolina fan, in that
house.

"I never remember any strange noises," Parker said.

Parker has a hard time believing that there are any ghosts in the house.
"As far as that house being haunted that really blows my mind," he said.
'Love comes through'

It's not uncommon for people to have different experiences in a house,
said Jim Longo, an associate professor of education at Washington &
Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. Longo has written several books that
include a collection of ghost stories from people around the United
States.

Although Longo has never been in the green house and won't really say
whether he believes some houses are haunted, he is willing to defend the
stories people tell him.

"The storytellers sincerely believe the stories are true," Longo said.
"Why would they make up the story? They have nothing to gain. If
anything, people ridicule or question them."

The people who are included in Longo's books are average folks - a cross
section of society, he said.

"Why do some people have these stories, and why do others not have
them?" Longo said. "The researchers tell us that one out of four people
in their life will have a major supernatural experience that will
literally change their life."

From his research, Longo has determined that ghosts or spirits don't
pick on everyone.

"You don't pick them," Long said. "They pick you."

If a spirit remains in a house, Longo said, it's rarely because
something horrible happened there.

"That's what people think, but it's a myth," he said.

Love is frequently what ties people to a person, place or thing, Longo
said.

"It is very clear to me that love is so powerful, and I do believe that
love outlives in physical death," Longo said. "Love comes through in the
stories I have heard over and over. Love has a life of its own. It's
very powerful."

'The way it was'

The house remained in the Parker family until 1988 when Raymond Eubanks
and his wife at the time, Paula J. Horne, purchased it. When the couple
divorced in 1997, the house was deeded to Horne. In 1999, Robert Dozier
and his wife, Joan Dozier, of Spring Hope purchased the house, according
to Onslow County deeds.

Dozier couldn't be reached for comment. It is unknown whether Eubanks,
Horne or Dozier ever lived in the house.

Pam Pekkala of Hubert rented the house in the summer of 2001.
"It is haunted," Pekkala said. "I've seen shadows. I've heard pounding
on doors and footsteps going up and down the stairs."

One night, Pekkala and a friend watched a shadow move all the way down
the stairs and then disappear. She heard people calling her name a few
times.

"I'd look, and there would be nobody there," Pekkala said.

Her youngest daughter, who was four at the time, passed out a couple of
times for no apparent reason, Pekkala said.

"She just fell to the ground," she said.

But the noises and "weird" occurrences didn't scare Pekkala who has
lived in other houses she believed to be haunted.

Even so, Pekkala still didn't stay in the house long. She moved out by
the fall of 2001, but it was lead paint that drove her away, she said.
She had all four of her children tested for lead poisoning, and all of
them had traces of lead in their blood. She had no choice but to move,
she said.

"I was always attracted to that house," Pekkala said.

Thomas understands the attraction of the old house. He's been tempted to
purchase it in the past but decided against it because he thought it
needed too much work. But lately, he's been thinking it would be fun to
buy it.

Thomas has called Dozier several times and has even sent him a letter to
see if he'd be interested in selling it.

"I'd be willing to go in on a joint venture with some of these people
who have a connection," Thomas said. "We can restore it and put it back
the way it was."

Sea-faring Ghosts in Port

Engineers in Yarmouth, England have witnesses some spooky occurrences aboard the ship "Tattershall Castle". The ship has been docked in the town for the last eight months to undergo a £4.75 million refurbishment.

However, it would seem that not everyone is happy about the renovations going ahead. Some playful ghosts are preventing the workers from getting the job done. Engineers claim to have seen an old sea captain and his seafaring dog onthe top deck of the ship. The ghostly duo has been spotted several times and work has had to stop on a number of occasions. Terry Prudames, the ship's engineer said: "We've had to stop work several times as we thought a man and his dog had managed to breach security and make their way on to the ship.

"However, as soon as anyone approaches them, they seem to disappear. At first I thought that someone was playing a practical joke on us but it keeps happening. It's really bizarre." Other staff members claim to have heard the sound of the captain playing his harmonica while others say they have seen the dog scampering along the top deck of the ship. Mr Prudames is now considering hiring a medium to communicate with the ghosts in order to prevent further delay to the refurbishment. The Tattershall Castle will officially re-open its doors on June 9.

Story originally published by:

The Advertiser / England

A Poltergeist in Colorado

From:

www.greenriverstar.com/articles/2005/11/07/people/people2.txt

Poltergeist investigated at SW library
11/07/05
By ANTHONY PETTERSON
People Editor

Much has been written about the supernatural and ghost stories abound in Green River. There are over 120 recorded experiences of unexplained events in the ghost log which can be reviewed in the Sweetwater County library. Gates opening, strange smells, noises such as whistling and whispering, electronic machines turning on by themselves, breezes from nowhere, someone watching, are among the occurrences that library employees and others have recorded over the years.

Some of these intriguing stories were narrated in a showing Thursday and Tuesday evenings by Christina Shepard. However, the Southwest Paranormal Investigation Society, a newly formed group of local aficionados, took it a step further. They actually tried to catch the ghosts in action. At the presentation, David Halter introduced a CD explaining the group'sscientific approach to the paranormal.

Halter is a technology coordinator for the library system. His interest in technology is both a profession and a hobby. "I was kind of our ticket into the building," he said. They used a sight/sound approach, setting up cameras and tape recordings in their attempt to document a paranormal presence. On the night of Sept. 23, the team went into action. They used a two prong strategy. Part of the group would wander the library with cameras and tape recorders and the rest would monitor the equipment that had been placed at strategic points in the library.

Any reading on their ghost detector above 1.5 miligauss would indicate asupernatural presence." Joe (Barbuto) said he saw a shadow pass by on one of the cameras but we weren't recording yet," Halter said. "The ghost was smart enough to do everything before we started recording. "Later, audio footage revealed screams on the tape but Halter said that when he replayed the tape to record them on the CD, the screams had mysteriously disappeared. During the evening Hannah Redden felt sick on her stakeout in the employee's lounge. She went home until she felt better and then came back to the library. She felt well for the rest of the evening." Apparently the staff lounge makes people sick," Halter said.

Subsequently, a team from the Colorado chapter of the American Association of Paranormal Investigators visited with the Green River team and conducted an investigation of their own."They got translucent orbs of light in their photos and a big spike inaudio recordings but we won't know the results of their investigation until next week," Halter said. Halter is convinced there is such a thing as paranormal activity. The Colorado group confirmed the legitimacy of his inquiry. "We're lucky we did the investigation correctly," he said.

The SPIS plans to do further research in the spring, according toHalter. "The time of year can affect the outcome," he said.

Carousel's military 'ghost horse' reborn

From the Lansing State Journal:
www.lsj.com/news/local/040503_horse_3b.html

Carousel's military 'ghost horse' reborn
Replica of ride from Lake Lansing on display in St. Johns
By Hugh Leach
Lansing State Journal

ST. JOHNS - The beautifully detailed, carved basswood carousel horse brought back pleasant memories from Elaine Twichell's childhood.

When she learned the horse was a replica of one that spent nearly 30 years at the old Lake Lansing Amusement Park, it became even more special.

"I never rode on the carousel at Lake Lansing myself, but a lot of people in the area did," she said.
Twichell, a member of the Clinton County Arts Council Board of Directors, arranged to have "the military horse" displayed at the Depot Center for the Arts through May, offering a nostalgic journey back in time for those who fondly remember the attraction.

The horse is the work of Frank and Darlene Wirtz of Greenville, who said they saw a similar horse at an art show in Saginaw.

"When we saw it, we thought this was something we'd like to try," Darlene Wirtz said. "It took us nearly two years working off and on to finish it."

Frank did most of the intricate carving, and Darlene did the painting.

"When she was painting some of the finely detailed parts of the horse, I couldn't watch," Frank said.
"But I think what she did makes it look great."

The Wirtzes have other wood carvings on display at the Depot, including southwestern kachina dolls and ostrich eggs, but the carousel horse is the largest piece they have completed.

The horse is complete with a carved six-shooter in a holster hanging in front of the saddle and a sheathed cavalry saber along the horse's right flank.

When the Lake Lansing carousel was moved to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1971, the military horse acquired a reputation of its own.

"It was called the 'ghost horse' because people say they saw the ghost of a woman riding it after the park closed," Frank Wirtz said.

According to legend, the ghostly woman climbed on the horse, and the extinguished lights of the carousel began to glow faintly as it slowly turned.

There are two separate versions of whom the ghost might have been.

According to one, the woman's lover proposed to her during a romantic carousel ride before heading off to war and dying in battle. The woman returns to recall a happy time in her life.

The daughter of the man who carved the original said the horse was her mother's favorite, and she thought the ghost might be her mother coming to once again enjoy a ride on it.

No such legends were attached to the horse when it was at Lake Lansing, and the alleged hauntings ceased when it was replaced by a copy when the carousel was moved to another amusement park in 1995.

The original "ghost horse" remains on display at Cedar Point.

Is The Gipper's Ghost A-Roaming?

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/06/04/a-vallance.php

DECEMBER 16 - 22, 2005
A Considerable Town

The Gipper's Ghost
by JEFFREY VALLANCE
(Illustration by Jeffrey Vallance)

Since the death of Ronald Reagan, various ghostly phenomena have been
reported up at the Reagan Ranch in the hills above Santa Barbara. Rancho
del Cielo (cielo means "heaven" in Spanish) was Reagan's favorite place
in the world. The hacienda-style estate, neighboring Michael Jackson's
blighted Neverland, is preserved in the exact condition it was in when
the Reagans lived there, as if they just stepped out and will return at
any moment. Even Reagan's favorite jellybean jar is still there,
complete with a few uneaten beans.

Reagan kept several horses at the ranch stable. He made sure that the
Secret Service horses ate from separate hay troughs, because he did not
want American taxpayers paying for his own horses' feed. On the rugged
trails at the ranch, Reagan rode a white Arabian stallion named El
Alamein (it means "two flags") given to him by José López Portillo,
then-President of Mexico. A white horse is symbolic of conquest on the
battlefield; likewise, Christ returns on a white horse.

Visitors to the ranch have reported seeing a peculiar figure in a cowboy
hat and jean jacket, riding a galloping horse near the perimeter of the
rugged 688-acre property.

When guests ask at the office about the historical reenactment, the
baffled staffers say, "There is no one at the ranch matching that
description." Some mornings, when the 1,500-square-foot ranch house is
unlocked, Reagan's leather Bible (given to the president by the cowboy
chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes) is said to be found
next to his bed, opened to Chapter 6 of Revelations: "And I looked, and
behold a pale horse: And his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell
followed with him." Could the Gipper be sending a message from beyond
the grave — warning us that the apocalypse is drawing nigh?

Reagan's preferred form of relaxation was hard physical outdoor labor
— building fences, clearing trails, removing overgrown bush, trimming
trees and chopping wood. Since the president's death, there have been
reports that a former ranch manager heard, in the early morning, the
sound of an ax chopping wood. At daybreak, he occasionally found a neat
pile of newly split logs (although the ranch's two fireplaces are no
longer in use). "I have not seen any of that," says current ranch
manager Will Bernhardt. "I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but I've not
seen it." Ranch spokespersons also deny any apparitions, noting that the
Bible is normally open to Chronicles. But they don't deny that Reagan's
presence remains. "The place still feels like he could come back any
minute," says one.

A Reagan Ranch Center public-relations pamphlet states, "Rancho del
Cielo conveys the true spirit of Reagan. The very essence of his
character is found here at the ranch." Reagan himself often called the
ranch "heaven itself."

Could it be that the ghost of Reagan has been drawn back to the place he
considered the nearest thing to paradise on Earth?

Orbs to the left, orbs to the right...

First of all, let me apologize for the polling software. I was checking the results of the latest poll, and to my horror discovered that they were running an x-rated ad on the results page. The polling company is in charge of that, so I didn't have any control of what they displayed. Needless to say, I tossed the service off ghost-blog immediately, and replaced it with another one. My apologies to anyone who saw the old one and their new advertising policy.

The bad news is that all the poll votes went away with it, so I had to re-start this one from scratch. If you voted before, please re-cast it on the new poll. Thanks!

The current poll is about orbs, and it seems to be a hot topic in the ghost-hunting community. Some folks feel that orbs are never more than a spec of dust or moisture. Others believe that most orbs are spirit-related. Personally, I'm not sure. Certainly some orbs are natural occurrences - just take a flash photo in a rainstorm and you'll have hundreds of them. By the same token, I've seen a series of photos showing a orb floating across a room in a manner that a speck of dust or drop of moisture simply couldn't do. I see compelling evidence on both sides of the argument, so for me, the jury is still out on the subject of orbs. What do you think?

One for the teenage ghosthunters...

"Teens track ghost on YTV"
By STACY SHAIKIN -- Calgary Sun

Joe Macleod ain’t afraid of no ghosts.

Macleod, host of the YTV show Ghost Trackers, says he may have been a bit of a skeptic at one time, but now he believes in the supernatural.

“None of the trackers know the sites we send them into,” he says.

“There have been many instances where the kids explain seeing something that has been seen before by a number of witnesses. It happens a lot.”

Ghost Trackers is a live-action reality show where kids compete to become the ultimate ghost master by investigating paranormal activity in a variety of haunted venues.

Contestants are judged by a group of their peers on their skill, teamwork and competence.
If they succeed, they graduate to subsequent competitions.

Macleod, who grew up in Calgary, says he takes a lot of heat from his buddies about being on a kid’s show about tracking ghosts.

“I get messages all the time asking if they can get a parabolic microphone,” he says. “They don’t pull any punches. I don’t mind because I’m getting paid.”

Although Macleod takes some ribbing, he says he doesn’t think this is your typical kids show.
“We don’t play it that way,” he says. “Kids are older a lot younger now.”

Ghost Trackers appears on YTV on Sundays at 10 p.m.

Can you communicate with dead loved ones?

Everyone was born with the capacity to respond to supernatural forces, says Jeffrey Wands, author of 'The Psychic in You.' Here's an excerpt from his book...

Is it really possible to communicate with the dead and intuit thoughts of the living? Do you have the pyschic power to right wrongs and relieve the grief of those whose loved ones have crossed over to the other side? Author Jeffrey Wands says yes in "The Psychic in You: Understand and Harness your Natural Psychic Power.” Wands was invited on the “Today” show to explain what it means to hone psychic power. Here’s an excerpt from the book.

Your Psychic Ability

We are all psychic, but that doesn't mean we all come into our psychic ability at the same time — or that we all accept that ability. Psychic ability can emerge, like other talents, at any point in your life. For me it was when I was young, for others it may be in response to stress, or it might have a physical trigger, like an accident. The most important thing to cultivating the psychic in you is first to recognize its presence. Only then can you begin to hone it.

For starters, ask yourself some questions. Sit down in a quiet spot and think back over your life and try to remember experiences that were psychic in nature.

• Were there times in your life when you unaccountably just knew something?
  
• Have there been instances when you modified your behavior for no logical reason — with important results?
  
• Was there a time when you believed that you had a psychic dream?
  
• Did you ever dismiss a color or light that perhaps might have been an aura?
  
• Have you seen the dead or signs of them? Did they speak to you?
  
• Have you ever dreamed about an event that had nothing to do with you — and then learned it came true?
  
• Have you ever thought that you had a sixth sense about people?
  
• Have you ever made a successful business decision based on a hunch?
  
• Have you ever known the phone or doorbell was going to ring — and then it did?

Recalling such things will not be easy and, indeed, you might find yourself looking for a psychic needle in a haystack. Our brains are filled with millions of experiences. Sorting through them to discern what's psychic and what's not is going to take effort. You'll have to think about it, so try not to get discouraged when you don't come up with something right away. Be willing to think about it again — and again.

Some people, of course, will not want to do it. Not because they dislike hard work (though some do), but because they'll have rejected the whole notion of being psychic. These are the same people — and I don't mean to criticize, just tell the truth who could never imagine that the world was round, or that men could fly, or that a living creature could be created by cloning.

Years ago I was subjected to a blistering attack by a skeptical radio talk show host named Candy Jones, who questioned whether everyone has psychic ability. My answer — still my answer to skeptics — is a question: How can you say it doesn't exist unless you try to experience it yourself? If you are not willing to try, then you have no factual basis for your conclusion. To put this another way, don't decide it before you try it.
One question I frequently get is if I'm so psychic why don't I guess the lottery numbers. My answer is that emotion gets in the way. I would love to win the lottery, but I could never approach it calmly and coolly, which is required for good psychic work.

Emotion colors and modifies our feelings and thoughts, and it interferes with psychic energy. If we could all just have psychic insight, which is cool and quick and very objective, we'd all be rich. Plus — and this is important — being psychic entails accountability. When you enhance your psychic powers you automatically take on some special responsibility because, for one thing, you will be seeing intensely private things about people, things that must stay private. Ethics demands it. When someone comes into my office, for example, everything they say — and I say — stays in that room unless they give me permission to reveal it.

Déjà Vu

• We're all born psychic, and our psychic abilities can show up at any time in our lives.
  
• Being psychic is all about receiving information without the use of regular thought processes. This information is contained in soul energy that comes to us through conscious and unconscious perceptions.
  
• Conscious psychic perceptions are thoughts that pop into our heads. We just know things. We may describe these perceptions in various ways, such as "a feeling," "a gut instinct," or "it's just something I sensed." But if you examine the perceptions you'll see that they're cool and quick and have little if anything to do with emotion, which is hot and often relates to desire perception.
  
• Unconscious perceptions are psychic thoughts we are not aware of. They enter our minds surreptitiously, and influence our decisions in significant ways. Besides not being aware of them, we have no choice between action and inaction. We are, in a way, forced to do whatever the unconscious perceptions require us to do.
  
• Auras are halos or clusters of light that reveal a person's essence, including health and character. They change according to emotional or physical states, and the changes can occur quickly or over a long period of time.
  
• The dead speak to us telepathically, which means that a thought or cluster of energy in their spirit can be transferred to us. Our sixth sense — the psychic mechanism in our brains — picks the signals up like a radio receiver and translates these messages so that we can understand them.
  
• Psychic information is often imparted to us in dreams, when our defenses are down. Psychic dreams normally occur soon after someone crosses over, but they can occur before as a premonition. Psychic dreams are vivid or contain unusual colors, and they may also have a special impact on the dreamer.
  
• To start to get a handle on your psychic side, review your own life for psychic experiences. Recognizing that you have a psychic side is key to developing it and using it.

Excerpted from "The Psychic in You: Understand and Harness your Natural Psychic Power,” by Jeffrey Wands and Tom Philbin.

Copyright © 2004 by Jeffrey Wands. Published by Atria book. All rights reserved. No part of this book can be used without permission of the publisher.

A Dog’s-Eye-View of the Spirit World

A Dog’s-Eye-View of the Spirit World
By Mitchel Whitington, author of “A Ghost in my Suitcase”

I often get the question, “do you believe that animals are more in tune to the supernatural than humans?”
Well, I hate making generalized statements, but as an overall rule, I actually do believe that animals and children are much more pre-disposed to brushes with the paranormal than adults. Their minds are pure and innocent, free from a lifetime of conditioning to suppress anything out of the realm of the “normal”.
Just think about it – if a child were to say, “Mommy, I see a man standing there,” most mothers would glance over at an empty hallway and reply, “There’s no one there, honey, it’s just your imagination.” No matter how the child insisted, the mother would continue to rein the child back into the “real” world. God forbid that the kid grows up seeing things that “aren’t there”.

In my experience, it’s the same with animals – especially dogs and cats, which become such close companions to their human caretakers. You learn to read their every bark or meow, and can immediately tell the difference between a request for a treat and an alarm that something is going on outside. When a warning bark is given that something abnormal is happening – someone is in the house, for example – the human investigates, and if all is well, goes on about his business. This could leave the little family pet staring at the ghostly figure of a man that everyone else seems to be ignoring… how confusing would that be to their canine or feline mind?

Something like that has happened in our house on several occasions. Our basset hound Murphy would let us know immediately if someone was at the door. At the first sound of a knock, he would jump up, even from a sound sleep, and go running to the front door where he would stand and bark until we answered the door. We often joked that we never needed a doorbell – Murphy did a much better job.

Since we live in a house that is haunted by several spirits, we’ve seen Murphy jump up and run barking on several occasions when there was no one there that we could see. Sometimes at the front door, other times up in the parlor, and at a few other places in the house. Each time, he was alerting us of a visitor with the same fervor that he did when there was physically someone at the door. We are sure that he saw someone in the house that he didn’t think was supposed to be there, but we just couldn’t detect our ghostly visitor.
It’s more than just seeing spirits, however. Animals seem to be much more in tune with their psychic abilities than humans are. Just look at the recent tsunami disaster – long before the wave hit, many animals moved further inland and to higher ground to escape the killer waves. Some scientists speculate that they felt the tremor of the earthquake, others suggest that they could feel the rumbling of the wave approaching, but still others aren’t sure how they did it, only that they “sensed” the impending danger and moved away from it.
Recently in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, a family dog woke his owners up with frantic barking at their home. They got out of bed and looked around, but saw no prowlers or other problems. Finally, one of the family members happened to glance across the street at the base of the water tower there, and saw that it appeared to be swelling as if it was about to burst. The family ran to the car, along with their dog, and sped away just as the tower gave way with enough tonnage of water to do severe damage to their home – had they been there sleeping, there is a very good chance that some would have been hurt or even killed. Did the dog hear the metal stressing with his superior canine ears, or did he detect the impending danger in some way that, as humans, we can’t fathom… who knows?

In my work, I’ve interviewed many people with stories about their pets being part of supernatural experiences, and even returning to visit after death. In fact, I edited a book entitled, “Haunted Encounters: Personal Stories of Departed Pets” that focuses on that very topic. There are simply too many credible accounts of pets interacting with the supernatural and the spirits of animals returning to discount such ideas. Animal spirits also play an important role in Native American religions. I simply have to believe that there is a connection between animals and the afterlife.

I’ll tell you my favorite story about my dogs, though – kind of a “dog’s eye view” of the supernatural, I guess. One night at our home, which as I said before is actively haunted, my wife got sleepy before I did and turned in for the evening. Our two basset hounds, Murphy and Samantha, stayed in the den with me, and then eventually got up and walked into the hallway toward the bedroom. I assumed that they were going to lie down at the foot of our bed where they slept. A little while later, I was going to bed, but I didn’t see the bassets anywhere. I began searching the house, and realized that they were nowhere to be found. Terrified that a door had been left open and they’d wandered outside, I ran to get my shoes. When I opened the door of our hall closet, the dogs were sitting quietly inside, starting up at me. The door had been shut tightly, and since they obviously couldn’t pull it closed, someone had to shut them in there. My wife had been sound asleep for some time, so I just shook my head and laughed. I wish that they could talk – I’d bet that my bassets would have some wonderful ghost stories to tell.

Ghost-Blog Poll Results

I was very anxious to see the results of this poll. The question was:

"If you stayed at a haunted hotel, would you stay in the most haunted room?"

I posed this question because I always go looking for the most haunted rooms in places that we stay... I just wondered if other people did the same thing.

The results?

A smooth one-half of you, 50%, answered, "That's why I'd go there in the first place!!!"

22% of you said that you would "Never" stay in the most haunted room.

14% clicked on, "If no other rooms were available"

and to tie up the last-place answer,

another 14% said, "I'd prefer it, if it was open"

Well, there you go, the results of a very interesting poll. Stay tuned, and watch the polls in the upcoming weeks. Meanwhile, I'm off to find a haunted hotel room to visit!

Mystery of art gallery's ghostly stair cleaner

Just a little something for your mid-week reading...

MYSTERY surrounds the soaking wet stairs at the Dock Art Gallery.
Artists and staff at the former Goole Steam Shipping Company's office in
St John's Street first noticed a wet mark on the stairs one day last
summer, a mark that rapidly expanded to cover almost all the staircase
in the three-storey building. "It was as though someone had started
cleaning down the stairs," said artist Mrs Pauline Scott, adding that an
hour later her husband, Peter, thought all of the staircase had been
cleaned from top to bottom by someone with more than a few buckets of
water, who then hadn't done a very enthusiastic mopping up job
afterwards.
Other artists and staff at the Dock Gallery who had also seen the
mysterious stair-cleaning had assumed that someone else was responsible,
until questions were asked. Mrs Scott said that no one was saying that
the building was actually haunted, although one worker had thought she
was being watched when alone in one of the first floor galleries - an
eerie feeling that Mrs Scott said she also experienced in the same part
of the building.
She added that the building was constructed around 1906 and was the
Goole Steam Shipping Company's and Associated Humber Lines' office for
many years, but there had been no reports, as far as she was aware, of
previous strange happenings.

http://www.gooletoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=766&ArticleID=1257308

A Scientific Measurement of Ghosts

I found this article fascinating, and thought that I'd share it with you. While there are a ton of "ghost meters" out there on the market, this one caught my eye. It comes from South Florida's Sun-Sentinel, who owns the copyright on this story. It is presented here strictly for you academic use:

South Florida man inadvertantly invents a 'ghost meter'
By Margo Harakas
Staff Writer

November 7, 2005
It was at least an hour before daylight would fade completely, but the shadows in historic Evergreen Cemetery were darkening rapidly.

Moving quietly among the tombstones and the trees were George Lechter, a Miami businessman, and a trio from the Palm Beach Paranormal Society.

All carried digital cameras and ghost meters, which Lechter manufactures.

"Normally you want to wait till night," explains Desiré Kesselman, of Boca Raton, a schoolteacher and co-founder of the society. She and her husband, Howard, a software designer, have been on 20 to 30 ghost hunts around the country. "Truth is," she admits, "most times you don't detect anything."

But the other times, omigosh! Like at the Castillo De San Marcos fort in St. Augustine and the Moon River pub in Savannah, Ga., where the couple witnessed several orbs or balls of light.

"You want to see?" asks Desiré, who has saved the shots on her digital camera. There they are, glowing points of light piercing a shield of utter blackness.

The group spreads out across Fort Lauderdale's oldest intact cemetery, pausing at the tombstones, eyes glued on their meters.

Lechter isn't the kind of guy to easily embrace the notion of ghosts.

Unlike the stars of the popular cable reality show Ghost Hunters, he's not a plumber by day and a specter sleuth by night. He's a mechanical engineer with a degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and had you suggested a few short years ago that ghosts were in our midst, he would have smiled and shook his head in total disagreement.

But strange things have happened.

Fourteen years ago, Lechter launched a company (now called Technology Alternatives Corp.) to produce ultra-low-radiation computer monitors. When people asked how they could verify the claim that his monitor had nearly zero emissions, he responded by manufacturing a comparatively inexpensive gauss meter that they could use to take their own readings.

The big surprise came about a year and a half ago, when a ghost hunter called Lechter to say gauss meters, which are usually used to measure radiation and electromagnetic fields, had been used for decades to track down ghosts. And that, it turns out, is what a good number of folks were doing with Lechter's $40 meter. (He sells 30,000 a year, he says.) Lechter, the man who had never seen a ghost -- nor sought one out -- thought it all ridiculous, as any nonbeliever would. But his curiosity was piqued.

Only after hearing hundreds of compelling stories and seeing thousands of ghostly images posted online did he convert. "Finally, I came up with a theory of what ghosts are from an electromagnetic perspective," he says. Let's just say he compares human thought to radio signals and the light from stars, and maintains they all are manifestations of energy and that all persist into eternity. It's a comparison other scientific types might dispute.

Still, Lechter's here this evening, hoping to encounter a ghost, a spirit or some otherworldly apparition. Maybe by the grave of the Civil War vet. Or over there, where the child is buried. Or what about here, where Fort Lauderdale founder Frank Stranahan, who drowned himself, is laid to rest?

The best times for ghost hunting are 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., someone casually remarks, not 6:30 in the evening. Howard prefers stalking ghosts indoors so "you can rule out bugs, pollen and moisture" as the source of the blobs, light smears and strange markings that in photographs pass as ghostly images. Silently the group pushes on, searching one quadrant of the cemetery, then the next. A breeze flutters leaves in the trees nearby, but nothing moves the meters' needles into the ghost range.

A caretaker drives by to tell the visitors the cemetery is closing. "Ninety percent of the time," says Desiré, "you don't find anything." It's a pursuit that definitely tests one's patience. The Kesselmans plan another local outing soon. Target this time -- Stranahan House. Surely, they'll get lucky there. Margo Harakas can be reached at mharakas@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4728.

A Real-Life "Ghost Whisperer"

I've been watching the new CBS show "Ghost Whisperer" for some time now, and while there are some premises on the show that I fundamentally agree with, and others that I don't, I think that it's an entertaining entry for the Friday night line-up.

I ran across an article about a real-life "ghost whisterer", and thought that I'd share it:

http://www.wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44737

The Magnolia Hall Ghost in Natchez, MS

I was fortunate to vacation in Natchez two years ago, and one of the places that we visited was Magnolia Hall. As I was combing the web for ghost articles to share with you, I was happy to stumble across one that was in the Natchez Democrat newspaper. I've posted the link below, and if you get the chance to visit their fair city, be sure to also check out King's Tavern - a haunted restaurant where you'll get the best steak that you've tasted in a while.

Meanwhile, off to Magnolia Hall:

www.natchezdemocrat.com/articles/2005/11/22/news/news55.txt

Text of the article (copyright by the Natchez Democrat) follows:

Cable network films ghost segment at Magnolia Hall
By Julie Finley
The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — The ghost of Magnolia Hall had a little company Monday, and he was on his best behavior. Original owner Thomas Henderson's ghost — according to those who know the house — filmed his TV debut with a crew from Turner South network.

The Time Warner Company will highlight the house in an upcoming episode of "Blue Ribbon" featuring haunted houses. Though Henderson was never actually visible, those in the house did see an imprint on a bedroom pillow and hear the beeping of a ghost-tracking device.

Such instances are par for the course, former Magnolia tour guide Judy Grimsley told the Turner South tape. "Some people don't like to say the word 'haunted,'" Grimsley said in her interview. "Paranormal is more of what we are into at Magnolia Hall."

Grimsely told reporter Dave Porfiri stories of mysterious footsteps, shadows and flickering lights. But Magnolia Hall's ghosts aren't the evil type, she said.

"They like to see that everything is going well, and they are very pleased," she said. Porfiri also interviewed others — most Natchez Garden Club members —who've spent time in the house. Their comments will be melded with footage from the house and from a Living History tour for about a five-minute segment, Porfiri said.

The episode, which may air in February, will also include houses inTennessee, South Carolina and Georgia. "Blue Ribbon," in its third season, highlights a different topic each episode, such as island getaways and microbreweries. Porfiri, who works on a freelance basis with the network, submitted the idea of haunted houses and picked Natchez.

A Google search led him to Magnolia Hall. "(Natchez) is just honestly a place I wanted to come," he said. "I've heard about it my whole life." Porfiri and his soundman spent all day Monday filming at Magnolia Hall.

He said he hopes to pitch the idea of a haunted house series to Turner South, and said coming back to Natchez is a possibility. "In my research for this show I was absolutely convinced this would makea great series for the network," he said. "There are thousands of haunted places."

The show will be publicized on the Turner South Web site (http://www.turnersouth.com/) about a month before it airs. During its first month on TV it will air 10 times, after that it will go into a rotation and appear occasionally.

At the end of each "Blue Ribbon" episode, viewers are given the chance to vote on which segment should win the blue ribbon. Magnolia Hall will be eligible.

"Most Haunted" sez it's NO FAKE!

If you're like me, you occasionally catch the show "Most Haunted" (I get it on the Travel Channel). Well, apparently there were charges leveled against the show that it was actually faking some of the "supernatural" activity for the viewers. I recently saw the headline "Ghost Show Cleared of Deception", and was very interested to see that "Most Haunted" had been cleared of all wrongdoing.

But then I read the article. The way that the show was cleared was that the British watchdog group Ofcom ruled that "Most Haunted" was simply an entertainment show, and not a genuine paranormal investigation show. Which I guess means that they can go crazy faking everything that they want on camera. Hmmm...

Well, to be fair, here's the article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4500322.stm

BTW, I just caught the DVD "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". Not a ghost story by any stretch, so it may not belong on my blog, but I did find it very interesting. It's kind of what might turn out if John Grisham wrote "The Exorcist". It's based on a true story, and is worth watching.

The Bingley Arms Haunting

Spirits Among The Pub Spirits
www.wakefieldtoday.co.uk/
ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=708&ArticleID=1273982

GHOSTLY goings on at a pub in Horbury have left the landlord and landlady shaken but not stirred after a visit by paranormal investigators.

The ghost searchers spent the night at the Bingley Arms in Horbury Bridge after reading a report about the sighting of apparitions in the 19th century building in the Wakefield Express.

Landlord Richard Tripp said he was contacted by the clairvoyant and medium team following the publishing of the article and after they had read of ghosts wandering the rooms of the modern day pub.

They produced a DVD of their night in the presence of spirits which will be viewed by customers at a date yet to be set.

He said: "We have always known of the ghostly past of the pub and have heard about taps going on and off and things going bump in the night but it’s never really bothered us and we have learned to live with it.

"Both of the ghostly investigators have been in the pub and said they had picked up all kinds of vibes from the spirits that were here.

"These have included an elderly gentleman who used to look after barges and they also picked up the presence of a lady who committed suicide on the site.

"It turns out that coroners inquests used to be heard in this building going back to the 1800s through to the early 1900s and both me and my wife, the landlady Gayle, suspect the noises that are sometimes heard are something to do with that.

"It’s all very intriguing and certainly adds to the mystery of the place. Since a woman committed suicide here there have been quite a few sightings of her by staff and customers.

"She is said to be all in white with a shroud around her head and wearing a white funeral dress. There are also lots of funny goings on in the cellar. It adds up to real spooky atmosphere."

While the paranormal team were in the pub Mr Tripp said they set up video cameras and motion detectors and he was really looking forward to viewing the DVD recording of the night."

"This building dates back to 1822 so it’s not beyond belief that there are spirits lingering here still. The team said it had captured something on the DVD recording and I can’t wait to see what it is."

Movie Review - even if it's an "old" one

Okay, I should probably be reviewing something recent, but instead I have to talk about a flick that I first saw a decade or so ago. I finally found an old favorite, "The Changling" starring the late, great George C. Scott on DVD. It's a classic "Haunted House" story, but unlike many of the things that you see that have too many Hollywood elements, this could be considered a very real haunting. If it were presented as a documentary, it would be very believable. I love the show, and if you get the chance, check it out.

Portals to the Supernatural Side

Do portals exist into the supernatural world? Is this the way that some people can tap into the other side when others can't? Well, one man has a few comments on the subject. Check out the link below to read James Donahue's "Far Shores" column, and get his opinions on the matter:

http://farshores.org/jd113005.htm

A Haunted Courthouse in Cass County, Missouri

I saw this article in the Democrat Missourian - read it online at:
www.democratmissourian.com/news2-122305.html

Haunted Courthouse?
By Shandi Duggins,
Staff Reporter

For anyone who has ever heard footsteps when there was no one there, a door open with no one to push it, or just having felt a little something creepy in the Cass County Courthouse, you may have not been imagining things, according to local paranormal researchers.

On Sunday, a team from Miller's Paranormal Research, a company based out of Harrisonville, conducted an investigation at the Cass County Courthouse.

"We're here to find out who is here and why they're still here," said Brenda Marble, one of the founders of the company.

Seer Misty Maeder believes there are several spirits still lingering in the Cass County Courthouse, including a maintenance man who seemed to follow the group around during their tour.

Marble and her sister, Dee Ann Tripses, have been researching the paranormal for about five years, traveling all over the midwest to conduct investigations.

When conducting an investigation the team takes pictures, records video, records sounds and utilizes the help of a psychic. Miller's Paranormal Research uses different techniques when determining if a location is actually haunted including electric and magnetic field meters.

They also use audio recording to look for EVP, or electronic voice phenomena. Marble said although no sound may be heard when recording audio tape during an investigation, there may be sound and voices on playback.

Another clue the team looks for is orbs.

According to the Miller's Paranormal Research Web site, orbs are the soul of a once living person or animal that appear in photographs as a spherical shaped light.

During the investigation of the court house, team members found what they believed to be orbs in several pictures.

Marble said in the past she has heard stories about people who have had strange experiences at the courthouse. When her daughter began working there, she too had strange encounters.

"She would come home and tell me about things that happened to her," Marble said. "That pretty much validated to me that there is something going on here."

The team was especially interested in one particular case of a man, whom they though might be the courthouse ghost (see sidebar.) Marble said prior to the investigation, Maeder is given no information about the history of the building, including any abnormal incidents people have encountered there.

At the courthouse, Maeder was immediately drawn to the basement, which now houses restrooms and a maintenance closet.

This is where she had her first encounter with a maintenance man, who she said seems to be sticking around to keep an eye on the courthouse. She said he is a practical joker and is probably the one responsible for incidents people like Marble's daughter have encountered such as doors opening on their own. She said the maintenance worker had spent many years taking care of the courthouse and had died of a heart attack, but not in the building.

It was also in the basement when Maeder first received a message from a man who kept saying "it's not fair." This message was received by Maeder several times during the tour.

Another active room was the old courtroom on the second floor.

Also, several members of the team smelled pipe tobacco during the investigation, especially on the third floor of the courthouse. "Smells are commonly associated with hauntings," Marble said.

Maeder said at times she was almost overwhelmed with information and images in the courthouse due to the long history of the building.

Now that the initial investigation is complete, the team will go back and look at the video and photographs and listen to the sounds recorded at the sight. They will also take information from Maeder and see if it can be collaborated with known history of the courthouse. This will include researching names of possible ghosts given by Maeder during the investigation.

Marble said the team may have the opportunity to film a pilot for a new television show about paranormal research. She said she hopes to bring a film crew back to the courthouse and include it in the pilot. Miller's Paranormal Research has already been involved with a documentary, "Villisca Axe Murder House: The Untold Story" about a home where eight axe murders took place in 1912 in Villisca, Iowa.

For more information about the company, visit millersparanormalresearch.com.

Article sidebar: Is Soper the Cass County Courthouse Ghost?

One case the team from Miller's Paranormal Research was interested in was that of a man who was executed by hanging on March 30, 1899 in the Cass County Courthouse basement.

According to the book "Archie. . . A History of a Railroad Town," on April 24, 1891, the bodies of Delia Hunt Soper and her two children, Maud, 5, and Gillis, 2, were discovered murdered in their Archie home. Two days earlier, E. Bates Soper, Delia's husband and an Archie butcher, had withdrawn money from the bank and boarded a northbound train.

The murder weapon, an axe, and two letters from E. Bates were discovered in the home. One letter was to the local justice of the peace, instructing him to sell the Soper's property to pay for the funerals; the other, a letter to the Kansas City Times, explaining his actions. Several men were arrested in the following years, but were not Soper.

Soper had traveled around the country, beginning a new life under a new name. He married again and had a son. When the boy was 2, E. Bates strangled the boy and buried him in a shallow grave.

In 1897, E. Bates Soper was arrested in Oregon. He was tried and sentenced to death at the Cass County Courthouse.

This article (c) copyright by the Democrat Missourian, and all rights belong to them.

Pacific Northwest Spirits

I've always wanted to spend some time in Oregon... and now I have some places to go! Check out the issue of "Beach Connection" below to read the haunting tales of:

- a notorious flying coffee pot in the restaurant of an old seaside hotel...

- a beach where stones seem to be spontaneously stacked in piles by some unseen force...

- a ghost ship - a schooner - that is seen mysteriously sailing across Siletz Bay...

- and a striking ghost named "Handsome Paul" who hangs out in an old theater.

I really enjoyed this article from the Pacific Northwest! Read it at:

www.beachconnection.net/news/gh1005_01061.htm

Now there's an "Idiot's Guide" for ghosts and ghost-hunters

I don't know if we should be offended or thankful! Read all about it at:

www.madison.com/wsj/home/features/
index.php?ntid=59138&ntpid=55

'Idiot's Guide' takes a walk on the paranormal side
PETER CAMERON
pcameron@madison.com
October 25, 2005

Thomas Edison was working on a device to communicate with the dead before he died. No joke. At least not according to the "Idiot's Guide to Ghosts." Just in time for Halloween, the Complete Idiot's Guide has released several books to inform you about ghosts, witches, elves and fairies. And for you lazy idiots out there, I have sifted through the many references to "Ghostbusters," "Lord of the Rings," "Harry Potter" and "The Wizard of Oz," in order to reveal the most helpful parts.

Ghosts and Hauntings

This one contains nuggets such as the astral body is a vehicle to carry the soul on its journeys. It also explains that a "person whose spirit travels is unconscious or heavily medicated at the time," and gives "mental illness" as a cause for spectral phenomena. Also, many ghosts will leave when asked to leave, find out they're dead, or "have the situation properly explained to them." Should any of these methods fail, the book recommends you "keep a working flashlight in your pocket at all times."

Finally, when creating your own phony ghost pictures, shoot your "ghost" image slightly out of focus. "That way, it'll be less obvious that it's fake in the final photograph." A list of haunted restaurants, hotels, and paranormal investigators is also included.

Elves and Fairies

The book doesn't give its readers any benefit of the doubt by stating "London is a huge city with lots of buildings and people." About "Lord of the Rings," it says "many people already consider it a classic." But according to this book, adults are "less aware of elves and fairies," and separation between humans and fairies has become much more pronounced "as humans forlornly and foolishly encase themselves in plastic concrete and steel." It suggests the best time to meet an elf or fairy is at sunrise or sunset, "when the division of day an light, dark and light come together."

Should you come in contact with an elf, "remember to defer to him or her and mirror their own behavior patterns - soft voice flowing actions." Attracting good elves and fairies can help in growing plants, protecting yourself from bad fairies and elves, and "expanding your psychic abilities and intuition." And remember, folks, these guys only likefresh food and drink. Should you ever feel yourself being followed on a dark night by an energy that wants to do you harm, "go to a body of water such as a creak or a stream and cross over it." Evil can't swim!

Wicca and Witchcraft

The current definition of Wicca is an "Earth-based religion that honors both the God and Goddess." Witches don't believe in Satan, and the Rule of Three states that those who use witchcraft against others will come back to the aggressor threefold. The book recommends Wiccan bookshops as good places to meet other witches and get involved in witchcraft (and, conveniently, you could pick up this book while you're there).

According to this Idiot's Guide, a federal appeals court ruled Wicca to be a legally recognized religion, and is thus protected by the Constitution. It estimates the number of Wiccan in the United States to be somewhere in between 250,000 and 1 million. And though some covens of witches prefer to practice their craft in the nude, feeling that clothing restricts their magical energy, "that does not mean that the coven members are engaged in an orgy."

Spells and Spellcraft

These can be used for a plethora of things, such as improving self-confidence or courage. When casting a spell, the flame of a candle can be an effective focal point for you, but if you think you'll go into a trance, "it would be best to have someone with you, especially if you choose to work near a body of water or a live flame."

It is unethical to use a spell to make someone fall in love with you, but you can use one to strengthen a relationship. The book recommends baking snicker doodles with cinnamon and cardamom, and "while you add these spices to the cookie dough, concentrate on your magical intent and infuse the dough with it." Then feed them to your loved one.

There are spells for well-being and success, including a recipe for money drawing oil, made up of frankincense, heliotrope oil, orange oil and cinnamon oil. But don't try to make it, because I haven't given you the required portions.

Communicating With Loved Ones Who've Passed On

The following is excerpted from "The Psychic in You: Understand and Harness your NaturalPsychic Power" by Jeffrey A. Wands, available at your local bookstore or from online resources such as Amazon.com or bn.com

It was featured on the Today Show, and at MS-NBC at:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10618386/

Everyone was born with the capacity to respond to supernatural forcesaccording to Jeffrey Wands author of 'The Psychic in You.'

Is it really possible to communicate with the dead, intuit thoughts of the living, even right wrongs and relieve the grief of those left by loved ones who have crossed over to the other side? Author Jeffrey Wands says yes in "The Psychic in You: Understand and Harness your Natural Psychic Power." Wands was invited on the "Today" show to explain what it means to hone psychic power. Here's an excerpt from the book:

Your Psychic Ability
We are all psychic, but that doesn't mean we all come into our psychic ability at the same time - or that we all accept that ability. Psychic ability can emerge, like other talents, at any point in your life. For me it was when I was young, for others it may be in response to stress, or it might have a physical trigger, like an accident. The most important thing to cultivating the psychic in you is first to recognize its presence. Only then can you begin to hone it. For starters, ask yourself some questions. Sit down in a quiet spot and think back over your life and try to remember experiences that were psychic in nature.

Were there times in your life when you unaccountably just knew something?

Have there been instances when you modified your behavior for no logical reason - with important results?

Was there a time when you believed that you had a psychic dream?

Did you ever dismiss a color or light that perhaps might have been an aura?

Have you seen the dead or signs of them? Did they speak to you?

Have you ever dreamed about an event that had nothing to do with you - and then learned it came true?

Have you ever thought that you had a sixth sense about people?

Have you ever made a successful business decision based on a hunch?

Have you ever known the phone or doorbell was going to ring - and then it did?

Recalling such things will not be easy and, indeed, you might find yourself looking for a psychic needle in a haystack. Our brains are filled with millions of experiences. Sorting through them to discern what's psychic and what's not is going to take effort. You'll have to think about it, so try not to get discouraged when you don't come up with something right away. Be willing to think about it again - and again.

Some people, of course, will not want to do it. Not because they dislike hard work (though some do), but because they'll have rejected the whole notion of being psychic. These are the same people - and I don't mean to criticize, just tell the truth who could never imagine that the world was round, or that men could fly, or that a living creature could be created by cloning.

Years ago I was subjected to a blistering attack by a skeptical radio talk show host named Candy Jones, who questioned whether everyone has psychic ability. My answer - still my answer to skeptics - is a question: How can you say it doesn't exist unless you try to experience it yourself? If you are not willing to try, then you have no factual basis for your conclusion. To put this another way, don't decide it before you try it.

One question I frequently get is if I'm so psychic why don't I guess the lottery numbers. My answer is that emotion gets in the way. I would love to win the lottery, but I could never approach it calmly and coolly, which is required for good psychic work.

Emotion colors and modifies our feelings and thoughts, and it interferes with psychic energy. If we could all just have psychic insight, which is cool and quick and very objective, we'd all be rich. Plus - and this is important - being psychic entails accountability. When you enhance your psychic powers you automatically take on some special esponsibility because, for one thing, you will be seeing intensely private things about people, things that must stay private. Ethics demands it. When someone comes into my office, for example, everything they say - and I say - stays in that room unless they give me permission to reveal it.

Déjà Vu
We're all born psychic, and our psychic abilities can show up at any time in our lives.

Being psychic is all about receiving information without the use of regular thought processes. This information is contained in soul energy that comes to us through conscious and unconscious perceptions.

Conscious psychic perceptions are thoughts that pop into our heads. We just know things. We may describe these perceptions in various ways, such as "a feeling," "a gut instinct," or "it's just something I sensed." But if you examine the perceptions you'll see that they're cool and quick and have little if anything to do with emotion, which is hot and often relates to desire perception.

Unconscious perceptions are psychic thoughts we are not aware of. They enter our minds surreptitiously, and influence our decisions in significant ways. Besides not being aware of them, we have no choice between action and inaction. We are, in a way, forced to do whatever the unconscious perceptions require us to do.

Auras are halos or clusters of light that reveal a person's essence, including health and character. They change according to emotional or physical states, and the changes can occur quickly or over a long period of time.

The dead speak to us telepathically, which means that a thought or cluster of energy in their spirit can be transferred to us. Our sixth sense - the psychic mechanism in our brains - picks the signals up like a radio receiver and translates these messages so that we can understand them.

Psychic information is often imparted to us in dreams, when our defenses are down. Psychic dreams normally occur soon after someone crosses over, but they can occur before as a premonition. Psychic dreams are vivid or contain unusual colors, and they may also have a special impact on the dreamer.

To start to get a handle on your psychic side, review your own life for psychic experiences. Recognizing that you have a psychic side is key to developing it and using it.

The preceding was excerpted from "The Psychic in You: Understand and Harness your Natural Psychic Power" by Jeffrey A. Wands, available at your local bookstore or from online resources such as Amazon.com or bn.com

Cigars, Stripes, and a spirit or two...

I love visiting haunted restaurants and pubs, so I'll definitely have to set my sites for Cigars and Stripes, the hip lounge and comedy club on historic Route 66 in Berwyn, IL.

Apparently they've been having quite a few "spirited" guests there, as you'll see in this article:

www.wintersteel.com/Cigars_Stripes.html

And you'll find out more about the place on their website:

www.cigarsandstripes.com

See you at Cigars & Stripes!

Happy New Year!

I'd like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2006. I hope that it's also an interesting year of ghosthunting; I know that I have several new places that I'm dying to check out.

Before we leave the holidays completely, I ran across a holiday article that I wanted to post. Enjoy, and again, Happy 2006!

Posted at:

www.troymessenger.com/articles/2005/12/18/features/life09.txt

The Spirit of Christmas Takes Ghostly Form
By Jaine Treadwell,
The Messenger12/18/05

For Alma Bodiford, there is no doubt that a friendly - but hungry - ghost inhabits the Reunion Cabin at the Pioneer Museum of Alabama. And, there is no doubt that Christmas is "its' favorite time of year. Bodiford has had several encounters with the Christmas ghost and she has others who will back up her "story." Bodiford was in the kitchen making treats for visitors to the cabin. She heard rather loud footsteps on the dogtrot.

"It sounded like 'clonk, clonk, clonk' - like an older woman walking heavily," Bodiford said. "I called out, 'I'm here, in the kitchen.' I heard a few more steps and then they stopped." Curiously, Bodiford left the kitchen to greet the visitor. To her surprise, no one was there. "I looked in all of the rooms and all around the cabin," she said. "I was so sure that somebody was there, that I even looked under the cabin, but I couldn't see anyone or anything." Bodiford was confident that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her, but she hesitated to tell anyone about her encounter. However, a museum staff worker gave validity to her sighting by a sighting of his own - a tall, dark, transparent figure standing in the corner near the Christmas tree.

Bodiford had someone to support her "theory' of the Christmas ghost but most of those who heard the story were a bit more than skeptical. But, now the ghost has made two more appearances and Bodiford, laughingly, shares the experiences. "My husband, Calvin, had laid the fires in both rooms in the cabin and they were ready to be lit that night," she said. "We went outside to do some cleaning up," The Bodifords were busy with their outside chores when smoke began to bellow from the chimney on the far side of the cabin. They stood there stocked and stunned. "I said, 'Calvin, did you start a fire?'" Bodiford said. "He looked at me and said, 'No Š and the doors are locked.'" They went inside to find a fire roaring in the fireplace but no one anywhere around. A night or two later, Bodiford took supper for her and her husband - salads and tomato sandwiches.

"I put Calvin's on top of the kitchen counter and went in the other room to eat my salad and sandwich," Bodiford said. "Calvin came in with his salad and I asked him where his sandwich was. He said that he didn't have one." The couple turned the cabin upside down looking for the sandwich but never found even a crumb. Bodiford said the ghost is most certainly a friendly one and evidently enjoys Christmas time, a warm fire and tomato sandwiches. The story of the Pioneer Christmas ghost didn't just added to the fun and excitement of the Old Time Christmas event at the museum Dec. 12-16.

Each night people of all ages strolled the museum grounds enjoying something different and fun in each of the historic structures. In the Reunion Cabin there were roaring fires and fiddlers and other strummers and cider and sweet and salt treats. A visit to the Adams Store was a step back to the time when country stores were the hub of all rural communities. There were memories to sift through and the storekeepers were always up for a challenge in checkers. The fireplace in the demonstration cabin held a fire perfect for roasting marshmallows and hot chocolate was simmering on the wood stove. Over in the Little Red Schoolhouse, children laughed and chatted as they made Christmas ornaments.

The pioneer train chugged by from time to time, taking its passengers across the covered bridge to the log church where the pump organ was playing and the "congregation" and choir were signing the old carols of Christmas. In the Village Center, crafters set up shop and Old Father Christmas listened to Christmas wishes of young and old.

With all of the laughter and fun, Bodiford was certain that, just like her, all the other visitors to the museum were comfortable with the thought of a Christmas ghost enjoying the fun along with the many others who were "in the Christmas spirit."

Ghost-Hunting at the Grim

A week ago I had an opportunity to accompany the Texarkana Paranormal Investigation group on a ghost hunt at the historic old Hotel Grim in the old downtown area. Although I didn't have any supernatural experiences there, I did have a feeling of awe at being in the place where my Dad attended his high school prom up in the 8th floor ballroom. A reporter from the Texarkana Gazette was there as well, and this is the story that she filed:

texarkanagazette.com/articles/2005/12/23/local_news/
features/features06.txt

"Spirited career - Ghost hunters say their focus is solving mysteries"
12/23/05
By BECKY BELL
Texarkana Gazette

People in Texarkana may not yet know who they're gonna call if they have a problem of the supernatural kind.

The Texarkana Paranormal Investigators are hoping to change that.

For this group, ghost busting is more than the basis of a popular movie of the 1980s. It is a lifestyle that led to the formation of a group seeking answers to questionable appearances that neither logic nor science alone can explain.
It took founder Sharon Howe four years of effort to finally put together a group of 16 members, half of whom are hard core enough to rearrange their schedules if the right ghost hunting opportunity presents itself. The result is an eclectic bunch that shares the most important fact in common—ghosts are a matter of excitement and enchantment, not fear. And unlike the movie, the purpose of finding the ghosts is not to capture them and get rid of them. The point is to embrace them wherever they are and hope to stumble upon clues from history to explain why they continue to inhabit an area.
A common thread between the members is an interest in ghosts early in life. But at 50, people may not think much about her tromping through cemeteries, old houses and businesses with sometimes strange pasts, Howe said.
"If I was in my 20s they might say I'm crazy, but now that I'm in my 50s, I'm charmingly eccentric. Age can work for you. If I can wear red and purple, I can ghost hunt," she said.
She and her friend Melba Long are members of a Red Hat Society in Redwater. But they feel just as comfortable talking about EVPs--electronic voice phenomenons—as they do sipping ice tea and socializing with other women their age who have pledged to have fun and be silly after 50.
They don't care what people think of them wearing red and purple any more than wearing an infrared light strapped around their head to help illuminate their paths where they tread with the hope of their next big find.
Although Hollywood has presented a variety of tactics in ghost hunting over the years, the paranormal investigators do not chant or hold a seance in an attempt to will the ghosts to appear. Instead, Howe often makes a soft-spoken plea for the ghosts to allow their picture to be made as she snaps away on her digital camera. If the spirit is agreeable, the most common evidence will be orbs—spheres of electromagnetic energy produced by a ghost. In more rare cases, the hunters will actually capture an apparition—a disembodied spirit that may appear either fully or partially visible to the human eye may appear. The ghost may even appear likely in clothing reflecting the time period when they lived.
But not every photograph taken will reveal unusual images. Long, 57, who is psychic said a person's frequency determines whether or not people can see them or not. A person's emotional makeup holds a great bearing on the frequency vibration, she said. This is how she explains people who are grieving making contact with a person who has passed on. In those cases the energy between the living and dead somehow resonates,
she said. She is currently working on a book about ghost hunting from a psychic's experience that she will call "The Ghost Seer," which she hopes can provide more insight into what it is like to see things from
her perspective.
Hearing ghosts speak and feeling their presence is nothing new to Long who had her first experience at 5 years old. She was sitting on the porch with her grandmother as they shelled peas and suddenly noticed a man who looked like Jesus standing in the watermelon patch watching her.
She next noticed multiple shaped orbs floating in the woods when she was on a deer hunt with her father. When she asked him what the images were, he calmly replied, "ghosts." Long said her entire family experiences varying levels of clairvoyance.
As a woman, she has had multiple experiences.
One of them seemed to put things into perspective during the busy shopping and errand time of the Christmas season. At the end of a day of constant errand running and bad luck with sales clerks, Long suddenly found herself lost on a path she hadn't intended to go down. She noticed a cemetery nearby and was drawn to a large statue of a male angel. When she went to get a closer look she was astounded to see that the tombstone echoed the thought she'd been having all day.
"It said there was never enough time," she said. "That changed my perspective on things."
But despite the stories she and other members have experienced—including even more invasive situations such as batteries fully charged suddenly drained, steep drops in temperature in only certain spots and car doors locking and unlocking—there will still be many people who will not believe what they did not or cannot see with their own eyes.
Long said true skeptics are not moved by hard evidence captured in photographs or sound recordings and find reasons to explain anything they are shown. But the average person is at the very least intrigued when they are shown a picture, say, of a figure with a handlebar mustache and visor behind the bar at Union Station. Lo