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Thursday 11 July 2013
MM’s top five... most haunted places in Manchester!
SPOOKTACULAR! Which one took the top spot?
What happens when we die? This is a question that everybody ponders at least once in their life.
Will we go to heaven or hell? Will we linger as ghosts, or will we go to a hole in the ground, never to be seen or heard from again?
The latter explanation is the most scientific answer, but if this is true, why are we still talking about it?
MM turned ghost hunter to investigate five of Manchester’s spookiest locations.
5. Ordsall Hall
Ordsall Hall in Salford, first documented back in 1177, is a Grade I listed building that came into possession of the Radclyffe family in the 14th century.
Believers say that a ‘white lady’ regularly appears in the Great Hall or Star Chamber, and it is thought that this is the ghost of Margaret Radclyffe.
Legend has it that Radclyffe died of a broken heart in 1599, following the death at sea of her twin, Alexander.
The building is now owned by the council who have installed ‘ghost cams’ overseeing the areas believed to be the most badly affected.
Snapshots taken by the cameras can be viewed here.
4. Wardley Hall
Wardley Hall, also known as the ‘Skull House’, was built in the 15th century.
Now used as the official residence of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Salford, the Skull House is one of the only buildings in the North West to be named in the Domesday Book.
The Hall gained its spooky name due to the legend of a gruesome skull contained in a recess at the head of the main staircase, said to have been there since the reign of Charles II.
The skull is believed to belong to a Roman Catholic priest known as Father Ambrose who was hung, drawn and quartered because of his faith.
One such story has it that when the skull is moved ‘all hell breaks loose’ in the house.
A long-standing myth says that one day a servant decided to get rid of the skull, and threw it into the moat that surrounds the building.
This caused a terrible storm leading people to believe the skull was releasing its wrath.
The moat was drained and the skull was returned to the building, where it remains today.
3. Underground Manchester
Just 40ft below the thousands of commuters travelling through the city everyday lies Manchester’s forgotten world.
The underground tunnels, built as bomb shelters during World War Two, are a dark, damp and eerie place, that don’t see daylight.
Ghost walker extraordinaire Flecky Bennet has conjured up the presence of ‘Scary Mary’, ‘Maria’ and ‘Derek’, with various paranormal experiments undertaken on ghost walks in the dead of the night.
2. Manchester Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral is reportedly haunted by the tormented soul of a woman named Fanny.
In the 1840s a man apparently spotted his sister standing in the nave of the building, this was something of a shock as believed his sister was living miles away.
He called out but the woman walked away and suddenly vanished.
The next day the man received an even bigger shock when he found out that his sister had died in an accident which occurred at the same time as the sighting – spooky!
1. The Ring O’ Bells Pub
The Ring O'Bells is said to be one of the oldest buildings in Middleton and it is thought that a distressed cavalier called Edward haunts the building.
One of the pub’s previous landlords George Barnett reported that a stone was thrown at his shoulder when he was changing one of the barrels in the cellar.
He claimed that when he looked around to see where the stone had come from there was nobody else there.
Footsteps have also been heard throughout the pub along with other strange, unexplainable noises.
Edward is believed to be the son of a Royalist Lord during the Civil War who was killed on the site. It is said he was buried under the cellar but no human remains have been found.
Sceptics get in the spirit with offer to help Tasmanian ghost hunters!
A group of sceptics has offered to help a Tasmanian ghost hunting organisation as it investigates paranormal activity.
Evidence presented by the Tasmanian Ghost hunting Society has been criticised by the Launceston Skeptics group.
Last week, the ABC was invited to join the society as it investigated the historic Franklin House in Launceston.
The group says it recorded shapes and sounds in the 200-year-old house that defy explanation.
But the Launceston Skeptics group has criticised the evidence which has been posted online.
Spokesman David Tyler says the observations were not compelling.
"It has to be good, if it's an extraordinary claim, that is that there are ghosts there it needs very solid evidence," he said.
Despite their doubts, the sceptics have raised the possibility of helping the ghost hunters observe future investigations.
Another member, Jin-Oh Choi ,says his group could check their methods.
"We want to make sure the way they're recording the information is actually correct, because I don't know the exact scenario of how they've set up the room, whether they've got microphones in all corners, whether they've got cameras pointed not only pointing at the subject area, but also directed back at them."
The Ghost Hunting society says it is open to the idea, provided it is approached in the right spirit.
Video here.
Evidence presented by the Tasmanian Ghost hunting Society has been criticised by the Launceston Skeptics group.
Last week, the ABC was invited to join the society as it investigated the historic Franklin House in Launceston.
The group says it recorded shapes and sounds in the 200-year-old house that defy explanation.
But the Launceston Skeptics group has criticised the evidence which has been posted online.
Spokesman David Tyler says the observations were not compelling.
"It has to be good, if it's an extraordinary claim, that is that there are ghosts there it needs very solid evidence," he said.
Despite their doubts, the sceptics have raised the possibility of helping the ghost hunters observe future investigations.
Another member, Jin-Oh Choi ,says his group could check their methods.
"We want to make sure the way they're recording the information is actually correct, because I don't know the exact scenario of how they've set up the room, whether they've got microphones in all corners, whether they've got cameras pointed not only pointing at the subject area, but also directed back at them."
The Ghost Hunting society says it is open to the idea, provided it is approached in the right spirit.
Video here.
Inside a Japanese ghost hotel with a troubled past!
THEY ran the risk of arrest if they weren't out by 8.30am that day, but that's just part of the adventure, isn't it?
If the old hotel halfway up Mt. Maya, just north of Kobe, Japan, was easy to get to, if it wasn't off limits, if the cops weren't a worry, there wouldn't be much point in hiking up about 400 metres at 6am to explore the ruined corridors and rotting parlours that local hikers told tales of.
It wasn't exactly a secret - it's often used in movies and videos for obvious reasons - but it was still a very popular haikyo - literally, an abandoned place, the sort of spot that fascinates the kind of people that like exploring empty ruins that tell stories.
James Laudano is an American expat who lives and teaches English in Kobe, and after hearing from hiker friends about the empty Maya Hotel decided to pay a visit.
"Kobe has a lot of mountains and hiking trails, so among hikers the Maya Hotel - or at least Mt. Maya - are well known," he said.
The hotel is abandoned. Picture: James Laudano Source: Supplied
He planned the trip along with three friends - two other teachers and a Swiss journalist from Tokyo - all plotting together to play explorer while avoiding the police. It's a global pastime, the danger-tinged violation of ageing "No Trespassing" signs.
It has a troubled history. Picture: James Laudano Source: No Source
Urban exploration is about rediscovering abandoned, forgot places, climbing and crawling through buildings, tunnels, yards, and chronicling the journey. In a world that has been exhaustively mapped, urban explorers find the new in the old.
After what Laudano describes as an intense half-hour hike up, "steep and slippery in places," they had about two hours to explore the hotel.
It was mostly destroyed in 1929. Picture: James Laudano Source: Supplied
Built in 1929, it housed anti-aircraft guns on the roof during World War II, was firebombed and largely destroyed, rebuilt in 1961 by a new owner, and knocked out of commission again in 1967 by a typhoon and its resulting mudslides. Reborn as a student centre in 1974, it remained open but largely unused for two decades before closing for good in 1995.
There is an eerie beauty to it. Picture: James Laudano Source:Supplied
What Laudano and his friends found was a prime example of beautiful decay. Buildings in the process of being taken back by nature, ransacked halls, wall-sized graffiti murals that must have taken days to finish.
"It was like stepping into a Japanese time machine."
The hotel was rebuilt but abandoned in 1995. Picture: James Laudano Source: Supplied
They ran around, took their photos, and ducked out before the morning's first cable car was pulled up the slope of Mt. Maya at eight-thirty, right past the hotel to which they'd called the cops before. The group was back down off the mountain by ten.
It's definitely an adventure. Picture: James Laudano Source: Supplied
Laudano brought some great photos back. He also writes a blog about his expat life.
Inside the Maya Hotel. Picture: James Laudano Source: No Source
An old telephone still sits inside the Maya Hotel. Picture: James Laudano
Ghost Adventures Returning for Season 8 and More!
It's been what feels like forever since last we had any new episodes of the Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures" to dig into, but thankfully the wait is just about over. Read on for the details on what you can expect from Season 8 and more!
From the Press Release
For years, Travel Channel’s hit original series “Ghost Adventures” has been going where most fear to tread: the earth’s most haunted locations. Lead investigator Zak Bagans, along with co-investigators Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, explore unexplained paranormal activity all over the world in their never-ending quest to understand ghostly phenomena. The team members head out on their latest journey and an all-new season beginning Friday, August 16, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. With thirteen hour-long episodes, Season Eight travels to the most mysterious and disturbing places to date and features the show’s landmark 100th episode. Celebrating this milestone is the one-hour retrospective special “Ghost Adventures: Up Close & Personal,” premiering on Friday, September 27, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, which will showcase 100 of the show’s most unforgettable moments. The milestone 100th episode premieres on Friday, October 4, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (location TBA).
Each episode of “Ghost Adventures” follows Bagans, Groff and Goodwin as they work to uncover the paranormal mysteries that lie within a haunted location. After piecing together the haunted history of each site, the team then holds a dusk-to-dawn “lockdown” in an effort to obtain physical evidence of the paranormal and discover the truth.
“For Nick, Aaron and I, each investigation we do is personal,” said Zak Bagans, lead investigator. “We are on the front lines, often with malevolent spirits, working to uncover the truths behind the paranormal and understand the secrets those who have gone before us hold. Each lockdown is rife with challenges, both physically and mentally, but we accept them; we’ve dedicated our lives to understanding, educating and discovering a world that is perhaps one of the greatest mysteries of all time.”
In the Season Eight premiere, the group heads deep into the Nevada desert to investigate the 100-year-old Pioneer Saloon. The saloon is full of mysterious paranormal activity, ranging from full body apparitions to disembodied voices and plumes of cigarette smoke manifesting out of thin air. As the team digs deeper in the location’s history, they discover that not only is it situated near the site of a 1942 plane crash in which actress and wife of Clark Gable – Carole Lombard – was killed, it’s also where notorious card cheat Paul Coski was brutally murdered during his final card game. As the trio work to solve the mystery behind this den of doom, they capture startling evidence during their frightening lockdown.
In addition, this season will also feature a special two-hour Halloween episode that takes viewers to Transylvania, where the team will explore the truth behind the legend of Count Dracula, as they investigate the most terrifying haunted castles in this intriguing and historical Romanian province. Other lockdown locations include the 150-year-old Black Swan Inn in San Antonio, TX; the Tuolumne General Hospital in the old mining town of Sonora, CA; the notoriously violent Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, MO; the Yost Theater and Ritz Hotel in Santa Ana, CA; a haunted century-old Victorian Mansion just outside of Boston; and more.
Leading up to its 100th episode, the “Ghost Adventures” team looks back on 100 of their most unforgettable moments with the one-hour special, “Ghost Adventures: Up Close & Personal.” Divided across ten different categories – including funniest, scariest, riskiest, most disturbing locations and best star cameos, to name a few – each of the top picks are chosen by Bagans, Groff and Goodwin, along with fans who voted in five of the categories earlier this summer on Travel Channel.
“Ghost Adventures” is produced by My Tupelo Entertainment for Travel Channel. For My Tupelo, the executive producers are Michael Yudin, Joe Townley, Zak Bagans and Nick Groff. For Travel Channel, the executive producer is Daniel A. Schwartz.
ZAK BAGANS, NICK GROFF & AARON GOODWIN TO BE FEATURED ON TRAVELCHANNEL.COM’S “HOST’S HOMETOWN” WEB SERIES
Beginning today, Travel Channel will roll out an exclusive tour of the home cities of the “Ghost Adventures” paranormal investigation team, as hosted by the trio themselves. The first webisode will feature Nick Groff’s home city, while Aaron Goodwin’s and Zak Bagans’ hometowns will be featured over the next few months. Each webisode follows Travel Channel talent as they show their fans how to live like a local – showcasing their favorite places to eat and play in their city. Additional “Ghost Adventures” web content includes full length episodes, exclusive photos, never-before-seen video extras, vlogs from the guys, travel guides and more.
Ghost Hunter Lorraine Warren On the Haunted House She Won’t Revisit
High Hopes at 112 Ocean Ave. in Amityville, New York (photo by Corbis) and Lorraine Warren (photo by Warner Br …
Lorraine Warren doesn't have to go to the movies to see ghost stories—she lives them.
Alongside her late husband, demonologist Ed Warren, the clairvoyant investigated some of the most famous and infamous paranormal hauntings around. Her most notable cases have inspired plenty of frightening flicks, including 1979's "The Amityville Horror" (as well as the 2005 remake) and next week's scream-inducer, "The Conjuring."
At "The Conjuring" press junket in San Francisco, Yahoo! Movies recently had the chance to speak with Lorraine Warren, now 86. We asked Warren how the 1971 case of the Perron family in Harrisville, Rhode Island, which inspired "The Conjuring," compares with the horror that the Lutz family experienced in Amityville, New York back in the mid '70s.
Warren laughed, as if there is no comparison at all.
"Amityville was horrible, honey. It was absolutely horrible," she said. "It followed us right straight across the country. I don't even like to talk about it. I will never go in the Amityville house ever again. You don't know how long my career is; that's the only one."
Warren's career is indeed long, as she and her husband founded the New England Society for Psychic Research in 1952, and have over 4,000 cases in their files. So when Warren says that the Amityville house is the one haunted house she won't return to, it's apparent that something terrifying went down there.
That something horrific did occur at the house is not in dispute. On November 13, 1974, 23-year-oldRonald DeFeo Jr. murdered his parents, two brothers, and two sisters. But that's not what inspired the film and its subsequent sequels.
About a year later, George and Kathy Lutz moved into the house at 112 Ocean Avenue with Kathy's three children. Not surprisingly, the Lutzes got a great deal on the house, which was ironically calledHigh Hopes.
But according to the Lutzes, after they moved in evil forces started rearranging the furniture (much of which was left over from the DeFeos), strange welts showed up on Kathy's body after she was levitated two feet in the air, a demonic face peered out of the fireplace, flies swarmed in the middle of winter, unexplained smells of excrement festered, green slime oozed off the walls and more. A dirty laundry list of paranormal terrorizing went down, enough so that the Lutzes finally evacuated High Hopes after only 28 days.
The Warrens were among the few investigators to look into the case. And while many claim the whole story is a hoax, it's obvious in talking to Lorraine Warren that she remains a firm believer.
Of course, movies based on actual events don't necessarily stay true to those events, especially in the horror genre, but if the Lutzes' case is scarier than the haunting depicted in "The Conjuring," then it's no wonder that Warren remains affected.
In "The Conjuring," directed by James Wan ("Saw," "Insidious"), Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play Ed and Lorraine Warren, who set up an investigation in the Perrons' isolated farmhouse to find definitive proof of the inexplicable and frightening events that are endangering the Perron family. Unfortunately for everyone involved, they find that proof.
"You need proof. That's what you have to have. You can't tell ghost stories," Lorraine Warren told us.
While "The Conjuring" may be more ghost story than proof, it's still enough to make you crouch in your seat, scream at the screen, and hide behind your companion. But unlike the house in Amityville, Lorraine Warren and the filmmakers hope you'll make return trips to see the flick.
Man terrifies sleeping girlfriend with ghost prank!
James Williams orchestrates an elaborate but cruel practical joke to wake up his girlfriend with a scene reminiscent of horror film The Ring.
Mr Williams spent weeks carefully planning the trick. He constructed the puppet ghost out of papier-mâché, bubble wrap, coat hangers and tape and animated the arms with strings.
He even went as far as to tell his girlfriend the week before that he thought he saw a woman standing at the end of their bed in the middle of the night.
As the unsuspecting woman fell asleep one evening, he surreptitiously attached the puppet to the front of the TV and set up cameras to record her reaction.
Awoken by the sound of wailing and flickering light, the young woman was predictably terrified by the scene.
But Mr Williams seemed unrepentant over her ordeal, reporting gleefully on his YouTube page that his girlfriend had reacted with pure horror to the joke."She said 'my legs went like jelly, I couldn't really think what was happening but all I knew was that thing just kept coming at me'", he wrote.
"I had to stop her running out the house," he added.
It is not known whether the couple are still together.
Watch the video here!
Wednesday 10 July 2013
Chinese Harry Potter making thousands with online 'spell' emporium
A Chinese Harry Potter has conjured up a personal fortune after setting up an online "spell" emporium that is reportedly earning him more than £100,000 each month.
Luo Shun, a 31-year-old from Hunan province, launched his internet business last October and has since been swamped with customers seeking paranormal solutions to their distinctly terrestrial problems.
Mr Luo is now reportedly making one million yuan (£109,000) each month from clients who hoped to find love, atone for sins or improve relations with their mothers-in-law.
"Writing spells is a sacred thing," Mr Luo told The Daily Telegraph. "[You must] calm your heart, shower and change clothes [and] be guided by the Holy Spirit."
Mr Luo had initially seemed destined for a career in accounting. But after two years at the Changsha University of Science and Technology he quit his course, deciding that his future lay in the ancient Chinese art of feng shui.
"I witnessed many quite mysterious scenes and I wanted to find the answers," said Mr Luo who said he had subsequently studied feng shui with "experts".
In 2002, the university dropout began working as a freelance feng shui consultant, charging for advice on auspicious dates and names.
Then, last October, he opened an online store on Taobao, China's answer to Amazon, in the hope of reaching some of the country's 538 million-plus internet users.
"The internet spreads information fastest ... so I chose Taobao to sell my spells," said Mr Luo, whose site now offers more than 160 different spells or products.
Last month the online shop sold 2,825 spells, with the most popular item being a £33 love charm.
The impresario declined to discuss how much money he was now making but vowed to channel his wealth into philanthropy.
"If I really become rich in the future I will build a football field in my hometown where there is no football field yet [and] open it free of charge for the kids to play on. Or [I will] build a primary school where the kids can develop according to their own interests – or perhaps build a Taoist temple."
Examples of spells:
1. The [build] good relationship between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law spell, improves relations between the two
2. The abortion atonement spell: a spell for driving away the evil spirits [caused by abortion] and soothing the baby's spirit
3. The villain prevention spell: wards off crooks
4. The debt-chasing spell: make your debtor upset so he returns your money.
Exploring the world of the paranormal!
Tri-County Paranormal Investigator Beth Ingram of Drexel Hill with Director and Founding Member Laurie Hull in front of Elaine’s Bed and Breakfast in Cape May.
Laurie Hull’s interest in the paranormal has inspired a lifelong study. It’s an interest she says began at the age of 13 and was fueled by her experiences growing up in a haunted house and her desire to understand the phenomena she experienced on a daily basis.
Hull, a resident of Springfield, founded Delaware County Paranormal Research with Faith Tarring to formalize a study of spirits, ghosts, and the paranormal. Since then, the group has expanded and become Tri-County Paranormal, now directed by Laurie and Bill Horton. Her reputation has grown and she is now a highly regarded clairvoyant paranormal investigator.
Tri-County Paranormal serves Delaware, Philadelphia, Montgomery,Chester, and Bucks counties as well as areas of South New Jersey and Northern Delaware and Maryland. Members conduct psychic investigations by request. If you think your house is haunted, you may be right. Those sudden cold spots, objects that keep falling or disappearing, the inexplicable voices and general feelings of unease may well be a sign that another presence is living in your home.
While the movie Ghost Busters, made the whole ghost-hunting business into entertainment, Hull and her team conduct their investigations with absolute sincerity and seriousness.
One of her team members is Beth Ingram of Drexel Hill, who has been a member of Tri-County Paranormal for the past four years. She says her role in the investigations is “somewhat dependent upon the type of investigation we are doing. If we are investigating a private residence or business, each investigator is responsible for different tasks (i.e. digital recording, video, taking pictures, etc.) All investigators still work as a whole; but, with the division of tasks, one’s attention will not be divided in too many directions. When we are conducting a public investigation, I might work as a lead investigator -- being responsible for an assigned group of people, guiding them as they investigate the location. Each lead investigator is there to answer questions, help people with equipment and provide direction during the investigation.”
This year alone the team has conducted Psychic Investigations at a private home in Phoenixville; at the Paoli Battlefield in March; at the Plank House in Marcus Hook and at Elaine’s Victorian Inn in Cape May.
When asked what her team found at the Paoli Battlefield site, Hull said they “found a number of spirits who were confused, angry, and/or afraid. Many of them seemed to be seeking some kind of medical help. One thought we were spies!! There are cold spots there and overwhelming feelings of dread and unease as well as shadowy figures darting around. At the Plank House we found the ghosts of a man, a woman and a child. We have established communication with them and have some very compelling photos. We have had lots of communication that indicates they are watching over the place and are interested in efforts to preserve the property.”
Ingram adds that while she does not always see the spirits, she can “feel when they are present. Occasionally, I am able to tell whether they are male or female, young or old, and will sometimes get a picture of physical attributes in my head.”
Ingram’s interest in the paranormal developed after the death of her grandmother. “She and I were always very close so her death hit me extremely hard. The night before her funeral I had a dream in which my grandmother was introducing me to all of these different relatives and friends of hers. It was almost like a party where the host would introduce you to everyone. When I woke up the following morning I started asking my father who such and such a person was. He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and asked me how I had come to know the names of people who have long since passed. He told me that I shouldn't even know these people’s names since some of them had died before he was even born, or died before I was born.”
At Elaine’s Bed and Breakfast, 513 Lafayette Street, Cape May, guests can join the professional Tri-County team on select weekends. (Upcoming dates are July 19-21, Aug. 2-4 and Aug. 23-25, Sept. 13-15, Oct. 18-20 and Nov. 1-3).
When asked how the Tri-County team involves those guests and handles people who come along on the tour with big skepticism, Hull said, “We welcome skeptical people, we are very skeptical ourselves! We just ask that participants be open to the possibility that there are ghosts there. We provide some ghost hunting equipment for the guests to work with in our efforts to communicate with the ghosts at Elaine's.”
In the large three-story Cape May Victorian now know as Elaine’s Bed and Breakfast, Hull said “There are several ghosts there: a man we call James, Emily - a teenaged girl, a nurse, a maid and a cat named Streak.”
Those interested in participating in an upcoming Ghost Hunter Weekend at Elaine’s can call 609-884-4358 and speak with Joan, a former Springfield resident, who manages the front desk.
Hull says, “Ghosts and spirits are able to communicate with me by me seeing them and sometimes hearing them.” She says the aim of the psychic investigations is to “help the ghosts and spirits be satisfied with their situation. If a ghost is unhappy we try to determine why and if there is anything we can do to help remedy the situation. If a ghost is happy, then we try to understand their reasons for remaining where they are (on the Earth plane) and help make sure they are happy with their situation.”
She says the most powerful personal encounter she’s had with a ghost was “with deceased relatives who have appeared to me. If I was to pick a public one, I would have to say the most powerful experience I have had was when I was physically pushed by a ghost in Casemate 5 at Fort Mifflin.”
Being a Psychic Investigator for Tri-County Paranormal and her work as Medium/Clairvoyant keeps her very busy. She also leads the Grim Philly Ghost Tours through Olde City Philadelphia on the last Friday evening of each month and gives psychic readings on the first Monday night of the month at Parastudy in Chester Heights.
Hull is also an author and her books include Brandywine Valley Ghosts,Philly's Main Line Haunts, Supernatural Pennsylvania, Supernatural Mid-Atlantic. She is currently working on Haunted Honeymoons, which will she says “will hopefully be out by next year.”
She adds, “I have learned that we are never alone. There are spirits and ghosts all around us, all the time. They are like a shadow world that exists right within ours. They have their own thoughts, feelings, and agendas.”
Hull, a resident of Springfield, founded Delaware County Paranormal Research with Faith Tarring to formalize a study of spirits, ghosts, and the paranormal. Since then, the group has expanded and become Tri-County Paranormal, now directed by Laurie and Bill Horton. Her reputation has grown and she is now a highly regarded clairvoyant paranormal investigator.
Tri-County Paranormal serves Delaware, Philadelphia, Montgomery,Chester, and Bucks counties as well as areas of South New Jersey and Northern Delaware and Maryland. Members conduct psychic investigations by request. If you think your house is haunted, you may be right. Those sudden cold spots, objects that keep falling or disappearing, the inexplicable voices and general feelings of unease may well be a sign that another presence is living in your home.
While the movie Ghost Busters, made the whole ghost-hunting business into entertainment, Hull and her team conduct their investigations with absolute sincerity and seriousness.
One of her team members is Beth Ingram of Drexel Hill, who has been a member of Tri-County Paranormal for the past four years. She says her role in the investigations is “somewhat dependent upon the type of investigation we are doing. If we are investigating a private residence or business, each investigator is responsible for different tasks (i.e. digital recording, video, taking pictures, etc.) All investigators still work as a whole; but, with the division of tasks, one’s attention will not be divided in too many directions. When we are conducting a public investigation, I might work as a lead investigator -- being responsible for an assigned group of people, guiding them as they investigate the location. Each lead investigator is there to answer questions, help people with equipment and provide direction during the investigation.”
This year alone the team has conducted Psychic Investigations at a private home in Phoenixville; at the Paoli Battlefield in March; at the Plank House in Marcus Hook and at Elaine’s Victorian Inn in Cape May.
When asked what her team found at the Paoli Battlefield site, Hull said they “found a number of spirits who were confused, angry, and/or afraid. Many of them seemed to be seeking some kind of medical help. One thought we were spies!! There are cold spots there and overwhelming feelings of dread and unease as well as shadowy figures darting around. At the Plank House we found the ghosts of a man, a woman and a child. We have established communication with them and have some very compelling photos. We have had lots of communication that indicates they are watching over the place and are interested in efforts to preserve the property.”
Ingram adds that while she does not always see the spirits, she can “feel when they are present. Occasionally, I am able to tell whether they are male or female, young or old, and will sometimes get a picture of physical attributes in my head.”
Ingram’s interest in the paranormal developed after the death of her grandmother. “She and I were always very close so her death hit me extremely hard. The night before her funeral I had a dream in which my grandmother was introducing me to all of these different relatives and friends of hers. It was almost like a party where the host would introduce you to everyone. When I woke up the following morning I started asking my father who such and such a person was. He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and asked me how I had come to know the names of people who have long since passed. He told me that I shouldn't even know these people’s names since some of them had died before he was even born, or died before I was born.”
At Elaine’s Bed and Breakfast, 513 Lafayette Street, Cape May, guests can join the professional Tri-County team on select weekends. (Upcoming dates are July 19-21, Aug. 2-4 and Aug. 23-25, Sept. 13-15, Oct. 18-20 and Nov. 1-3).
When asked how the Tri-County team involves those guests and handles people who come along on the tour with big skepticism, Hull said, “We welcome skeptical people, we are very skeptical ourselves! We just ask that participants be open to the possibility that there are ghosts there. We provide some ghost hunting equipment for the guests to work with in our efforts to communicate with the ghosts at Elaine's.”
In the large three-story Cape May Victorian now know as Elaine’s Bed and Breakfast, Hull said “There are several ghosts there: a man we call James, Emily - a teenaged girl, a nurse, a maid and a cat named Streak.”
Those interested in participating in an upcoming Ghost Hunter Weekend at Elaine’s can call 609-884-4358 and speak with Joan, a former Springfield resident, who manages the front desk.
Hull says, “Ghosts and spirits are able to communicate with me by me seeing them and sometimes hearing them.” She says the aim of the psychic investigations is to “help the ghosts and spirits be satisfied with their situation. If a ghost is unhappy we try to determine why and if there is anything we can do to help remedy the situation. If a ghost is happy, then we try to understand their reasons for remaining where they are (on the Earth plane) and help make sure they are happy with their situation.”
She says the most powerful personal encounter she’s had with a ghost was “with deceased relatives who have appeared to me. If I was to pick a public one, I would have to say the most powerful experience I have had was when I was physically pushed by a ghost in Casemate 5 at Fort Mifflin.”
Being a Psychic Investigator for Tri-County Paranormal and her work as Medium/Clairvoyant keeps her very busy. She also leads the Grim Philly Ghost Tours through Olde City Philadelphia on the last Friday evening of each month and gives psychic readings on the first Monday night of the month at Parastudy in Chester Heights.
Hull is also an author and her books include Brandywine Valley Ghosts,Philly's Main Line Haunts, Supernatural Pennsylvania, Supernatural Mid-Atlantic. She is currently working on Haunted Honeymoons, which will she says “will hopefully be out by next year.”
She adds, “I have learned that we are never alone. There are spirits and ghosts all around us, all the time. They are like a shadow world that exists right within ours. They have their own thoughts, feelings, and agendas.”
Parascience Journal' seeks stories on spooky North Country locations
Parascience Journal is looking for places with stories of paranormal activity in the North Country to investigate.
The weekly web radio program is also looking for places to hold workshops and guided paranormal investigations. We can hold one-time events or schedule regular outings at your location, the choice is yours.
Parascience Journal is a weekly live internet radio show that is focused on the scientific method used in paranormal investigation of haunted locations, according to a news release. Their focus is how the scientific method works and how they can incorporate it better in their searches for ghosts. The slogan of the program is “Putting the science back into pseudoscience.”
One of the producers is George Stadalski of Evans Mills.
Parascience Journal can be heard Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. at www.kgraradio.com.
Mystery Monday: Forkland Community Center
Paranormal investigators have confirmed what many people in Boyle County suspected. That the old Forkland Community Center is haunted.
It has been standing since 1927, but the community center isn't rumored to have become haunted until decades later.
Investigators believe the former school is home to at least three ghosts.
"We're in the basement area where they've had a lot of claims," Jeff Sanford said.
Kentucky Paranormal's Jeff Sanford has been collecting evidence for the past year. Each time he and his partners return, it's a different experience.
"When they were renovating the place, tools would just disappear within a matter of minutes," Sanford said.
On one occasion, he says his colleague was in the basement talking to the spirits.
"'Can you touch me, talk to me,' she even said 'scratch me.' Sometimes in the paranormal world you get what you ask for," Sanford said.
Sanford says she was not only scratched, but enough to bleed.
Upstairs, in the old gym, many claim to hear balls bouncing when no one's around. Others say they've heard children running, laughing and standing in the library.
"He said like hi to her and she just vanished right before his eyes," Sanford said.
"He said like hi to her and she just vanished right before his eyes," Sanford said.
"That's what we're here for to get that evidence, but when you see something like that, it just even now, it gives ya chills," said another Kentucky Paranormal investigator.
Investigators with Kentucky Paranormal believe there's much more to collect at the historical building and say they'll continue as long as they're welcome.
The Forkland Community Center plans to team up with Kentucky Paranormal to offer overnight tours in the near future.
‘Ghosts and paranormal activity’ found in village!
THERE may be more to a Comet country village than meets the eye, with ghosts and paranormal activity attracting the attention of TV crews.
Greatest Haunts will launch this September and its creators are keen to showcase Pirton, following a stint of filming there in 2011.
They also say they want to film at other locations in Herts and Beds, although cannot disclose where at this time.
Crews, who filmed at The Fox nearly two years ago but never screened the footage, claim to have uncovered paranormal activity in the village.
They hope to return there for more filming, this time across more locations including the High Street and the church.
Medium Marion Goodfellow, who hails from the village, said: “For a little village, the activity is amazing.
“I saw a soldier walking down the High Street and there’s lots of activity going on in the pub itself.
“There’s also a lady who had two children in The Fox, who seems to be stuck there for some reason.”
Marion did admit that some people were sceptical about spirits and ghosts.
“I’m not trying to convince anybody,” she said.
“This is my life, I’m a medium, this is what I believe in.
“I believe in survival of the human spirit and will try and prove it to anyone I can. I will put the information on the table and people can do what they like with it.”
Andy Matthews, who presents the show, also said there is a history of paranormal activity in the village.
“The church is lively,” he said.
“Apparently, when it was being built, stones would mysteriously disappear. The locals put it down to the devil’s work.
“When we filmed there and shot a few scenes, the cameras, which had nine hours battery, all drained and the electromagnetic was all over the place.”
The show’s first series, which will be screened on TV channel Really, will showcase locations in Northern Ireland. But the Prton pilot can be viewed online at www.stansfilm.com
Is Paranormal Research Really Science?
Like many of my human peers, I have an insatiable desire to understand my environment. Knowing this, I’ve come to appreciate some of the lesser known, and often ridiculed, sciences of metaphysics and parapsychology. This same quest of charting the unknown is seen in ghost hunters and paranormal researchers. Very often these folks have experienced something beyond understanding, and want to recreate it in a scientific manner. Studying energies, ghosts and, yes, even faeries is not considered classical science, and metaphysical researchers are often branded as kooks and charlatans. Is there validity to their work, and can it be considered true science?
The short answer to both questions is yes, paranormal occurrences can be tested with science and technology.
At the Rhine Research Center in Durham, North Carolina, researchers and scientists work to bridge the gap between science and the paranormal. The Center has ties to Duke University, which established a parapsychology laboratory in the 1930s to research paranormal phenomenon such as precognition, apparitional experiences (ghosts), dreams, clairvoyance, near-death experiences, and reincarnation. Using state of the art equipment, experiments are conducted to collect data for further research.
Duke is not alone in the study of parapsychology. In the early 1900s, Stanford University was the first academic institution to open a research facility for the study of paranormal events in a laboratory setting. Today there are two Universities that have active parapsychology labs. The Division of Perceptual Studies, a unit at the University of Virginia’s Department of Psychiatric Medicine, and The University of Arizona’s Veritas Laboratory.
To study experiences that lie outside the normal range, or that have no scientific explanation, one steps into the world of metaphysics. This branch of philosophical science works to clarify the fundamental notions by which people understand the world. In essence, metaphysics gives us the tools to study ourselves, in our own environment, experiencing ourselves in that environment.
When we look at these words, and see how they work from the inside out, it is clear that the academic world believes in the supernatural. So why must we make fun of individuals who devote their life to the study of ghosts, psychics and that which lives between the realms? Aristotle believed that metaphysics was just as important as the other subjects, and deemed it the “Queen of all Sciences.”
Know that I’m not an academically certified scientist, nor do I even play one on television, but I am a very hard-core researcher of all things science, technology and that which bridges the two. In my life I’ve encountered things that go beyond my understanding. And, while trying to explain the situation to others, have found myself working to recreate the parameters in which the event happened.
Science! Technology! Answers!
Now this is where I really start geeking out. For years there were no tools for studying the unseen sciences. To prove the existence of air, you could hold up a piece of cloth and see it float away. Showing that ghosts exist, however, was not so easy. Despite what your relatives may have said about the the old Johnson house down the road, the ability to see any type of energy moving around was difficult.
Enter technology. The same tools that NASA uses to see far into space, or listen for stars to sing songs, are quite similar to what professional paranormal researchers use. Along with the high-tech gear they also use things like voice recorders, digital cameras and thermometers. Using the scientific method and technology, those who study the unseen are coming back with quantifiable data that begs for further study of the metaphysical sciences.
I do have to put a bit of my spin to this, because of my deeply held beliefs and opinions. As stated above, my life has been enriched with experiences that defy understanding. After going to ministers, pastors and priests, and being rebuked (for lack of a better word), I went to the researchers. Then my studies took me to the mystics and shamans of the world’s faith systems, so that I could get a deep understanding of what “unseen” meant.
During this journey I learned that there are those who really want to know about what is outside of us, and what is all around our world. This was not done to sensationalize or debunk, but rather to share with others that we, all of humanity, the cosmos and all of the Universes, are really more than the sum of our parts. Sadly, I’ve also learned that there are those who would use this to debunk, shame and sensationalize those who had paranormal experiences. No matter what we believe, or what our faith system may be, there is no place for shaming others for how they walk in this world. We are called to give help, not to judge.
- Kim Upton, Rogue Geek Tech Editor
When the paranormal is normal!
There are several often-used terms in the paranormal and occult fields which I wish were never invented, because they tend to confuse rather than clarify.
One of them is the word “paranormal” itself. This word does not tell us what it is. On the contrary, it tells us what something is not—namely, it is not “normal.”
But what do people regard as normal? Well, they consist of things that are commonly agreed upon by the majority of people, and that science considers to be normal and natural
. Everything else outside this broad definition is considered to be paranormal or beyond the normal.
. Everything else outside this broad definition is considered to be paranormal or beyond the normal.
But as far as I am concerned, ironically enough, there is no such thing as the “paranormal,” meaning beyond the normal or natural state of things.
What people consider to be paranormal are those events
or practices that are apparently outside the scope of science. So everything that science cannot explain is considered paranormal. But science was never intended to explain things beyond physical reality.
or practices that are apparently outside the scope of science. So everything that science cannot explain is considered paranormal. But science was never intended to explain things beyond physical reality.
Its concepts, assumptions, tools and paradigms are limited to what can be seen, touched, smelled, heard or tasted, and to things that can be detected or measured by scientific instruments, like the microscope, the telescope, the electrocardiograph, x-rays and so on.
Ludicrous
Any attempt to explain nonphysical phenomena in terms of physical standards of measurement is bound to fail and appear ludicrous. For example, one accepted theory why the native people of, say, Hawaii, India and Fiji Island can walk on fire is because “the natives have developed thick soles and very strong sweat glands so that when they step on the fire, the sweat glands on their feet are activated, thereby cooling them. That’s why they are not burned or hurt.”
so that when they step on the fire, the sweat glands on their feet are activated, thereby cooling them. That’s why they are not burned or hurt.”
It never occurred to these distinguished scientists that the natives of Fiji walk on six-foot- long, three-foot-wide and three-foot-deep paths of molten lava, which are a thousand times hotter than ordinary charcoal fire. No amount of sweat glands can cool such a high temperature, and yet this theory is accepted by scientists.
glands can cool such a high temperature, and yet this theory is accepted by scientists.
I believe that so-called paranormal phenomena are still normal, but not from the point of view of materialist physical science. If they had included the role of the mind and spirits in the explanation, everything becomes clear and normal.
Another word which is a pet peeve of mine is “psychic.” In the Philippines, this word has become associated with fortune-telling, or the ability to tell what’s going to happen before it does. But this is not what the word “psychic” means. Literally or etymologically, this word means “mind” or “soul.”
So anybody who has a mind or a soul is a psychic. And that covers practically all human beings, including congressmen and politicians, believe it or not.
Degrees
Although I am convinced that everybody is indeed psychic, there are degrees of its manifestation. Some people are more psychic than others and are able to manifest such abilities at will or deliberately. Others may do so only rarely.
But this is the same case with almost any other human skill, talent or ability. For example, anybody can sing, but not everybody can sing like Gary Valenciano or Nora Aunor. Everybody can draw, but not everybody can draw or paint like Fernando Amorsolo or my greatgreat grandfather, Damian Domingo. The same is true with psychic ability. It is natural.
, Damian Domingo. The same is true with psychic ability. It is natural.
Related to the word psychic is extrasensory perception (ESP), sometimes referred to as the “sixth sense.” This was, in fact, the title of a popular Hollywood movie starring Bruce Willis. It was about a 12-year-old boy who could see ghosts all the time.
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an extra or sixth sense. We all have only five senses. But some rare and extraordinary individuals have such strength and sensitivity in the sense of sight, sound, touch or smell that it is regarded as a sixth sense.
that it is regarded as a sixth sense.
Actually, what people consider a sixth sense is the use of the five senses in the astral or nonphysical body of man. For example, we see ghosts not with our physical sense of sight, but with our spiritual sight. That’s why even if you close or cover your eyes, you can still see ghosts. I have experienced this several times. And people have reported to me a similar experience. So it is not rare or uncommon.
, you can still see ghosts. I have experienced this several times. And people have reported to me a similar experience. So it is not rare or uncommon.
Because of the vagueness of such terms as psychic or extrasensory perception, a famous Dutch psychic researcher from the University of Utrecht, the late professor Tenhaeff, has proposed the use of the word “paragnost” (a term which he invented) to refer to persons who have strong or well-developed psychic faculties or abilities. But this word never caught on. And therefore, we have no choice but to use words which are commonly accepted despite their vagueness and confusing nature.
There are other vague terms which I would rather not use but am forced to because people have become familiar to them—for example, supernatural, or the third eye, or occult or even ghost. But that’s another story.
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