I've never really sat down to explain the dichotomy inside of me. Oh, no, I'm not talking about the lover of all things horror who is also bubbly and friendly, but the two warring sides of the ghost hunter within.
I use the term "ghost" like people use "UFO." When a person says "UFO" they could mean alien spacecraft or simply unidentified flying object. When I say "ghost" I don't necessarily mean "the soul of the deceased," I simply mean paranormal activity. What causes it, like the UFO, is still just conjecture.
I always said when I started out in the field officially in the early 2000s that, given what day of the week you ask me, I either believe in ghosts as souls or not. That much hasn't changed so much after almost 8 years of hunting.
Let me begin with some impressive paranormal activity I have experienced that I refer to as "ghosts:"
*Being touched; having my clothing pulled at, hair stroked and pulled, hand held, rubbed up against, pinched, toe tugged.
*Seeing shadow forms and entire full-body apparitions.
*Hearing hushed conversations in an entirely empty house.
*Carrying on an impressive 15-minute KII session in which I was unable to trick it into showing it was purely electrical interference, i.e. putting long pauses in the questioning, rewording questions, rapid fire questioning and waiting for a half hour after contact ended--when others entered the room--and getting nothing at all, not even a blip.
*The repeated sounds of footfalls with heavy boots in the house I grew up in.
*A man whispering in Latin in a Catholic Cemetery that was completely empty.
*Two incidents of levitation I witnessed; one the launching of a cigarette from an ash tray 6 feet in the air as if flicked and a broom standing upright and moving a few feet on its bristles before it fell over.
*Physical tingles, hair raising and the sense of something cold and electrical running through one side of my body and out the other with the hairs on my head standing out as if rubbed by a balloon.
*Poltergeist activity that defied any laws of physics I know of.
*Doors opening and closing on their own from a securely closed position.
*Odorless and heat-less smoke arising and dissipating.
*Dancing blue balls of light in a cemetery.
*The visitation of my father at the time of his death.
*The movement of objects from one location to another that are fully accounted for.
THE CASE FOR GHOSTS BEING THE SOULS OF THE DECEASED:
*Haunted sites appear to be locations associated with death.
*Apparitions are often dressed in garb from their era and match the description of people who passed on there.
*Many people witness loved ones after their death. I have had this happen to me when I was 16 and my father died. I didn't know he died in the hospital. I thought he was doing well and stronger when I left visiting him and came home to go to bed. I went to bed knowing he'd be okay. I woke up to see his dark outline at the foot of my bed, pulling at my big toe. He used to do that before he left on a business trip or came home from one since my mother wouldn't let me stay up. The phone rang soon after and the hospital announced he had passed on.
*People experience near-death experiences. My father described when he died for 4 minutes in our kitchen that he was at a fiord (he was from Norway) and his family was there and there were flowers that don't exist and colors that don't exist. Others describe seeing the scene from outside their bodies.
*I personally witnessed things where I grew up that I cannot explain and my friends in the suburbs did not experience such things, but I grew up in a Civil War Hospital building. It seems a rather natural conclusion that the deaths there created something.
*When my father died, the people who had bought our home called us in Arizona to tell us that they were having a party and saw my father outside. He was dressed in a pale gray suit and a gray and pink striped tie. They went to ask him in to the party but he was gone. My mother had to tell her that he passed on a few days prior.
**Although I am psychic, I will not take reads I make or Ouija, Seance, automatic writing, Mediums to be reliable sources of speaking to the dead as there is no way to differentiate if they are simply picking up universal knowledge of history that has passed or active souls. I also will not include EVP findings as I'm not impressed with their validity or content as being interactions with the dead, as these are receiving devices that can pick up other signals. I myself have had my answering machine pick up a cell phone call someone was making as she drove down the street.**
THE CASE AGAINST GHOSTS BEING SOULS OF THE DECEASED...
*There is consciousness and a mind, but when put under anesthesia for surgery, no soul is alert and hovering about and if it is not self-aware during surgery then it is mortally vulnerable to anesthesia and not spiritual in content.
*Given these supposedly anguished spirits malinger, why aren't they working harder to get their point across and why aren't dead parents haunting their children with worry and concern for the rest of their days? Why isn't our mortal world filled with the spirits of the dead unable to let go of life?
*Nearly all ghostly activity can be explained by residual or the replaying of past events or scenes in the environment under, as of yet, unknown conditions.
*Why aren't we haunted by cavemen and medieval knights and the billions who have passed on? Why do some get to linger? Why do some get to show themslves?
There is no freaking book of ghosties that can confirm that ghostly activity is the presence of the souls of the deceased. It's also likely we're dealing with only residual events replaying, a life form we cannot see, an energy that can affect things, another dimension, a crossover of time periods, a psychological projection and any other fantastic possibilities. It doesn't make me popular in the ghost hunting world to say I'm open-minded. Unfortunately, ghost hunting has become another form of religion for most and you must believe in the doctrines to be part of the club. No questioning allowed.
You either believe or you don't believe.
The only problem is, yes, I believe in ghosts, but I do not believe necessarily in the definition of what a ghost is, i.e. a trapped soul. I am open to that concept but I will not take it on "faith" from other hunters that they know what the hell a ghost is and how it operates.
I, for one, would love to put the "ghosts are souls" concept in the "yes" column for good and know without a doubt that's what we're dealing with, but so far my interactions, numerous as they are, have left me still baffled about what we're dealing with. As a psychic, I cannot tell the difference between reading a past event and past people in a location from something that could be considered a spirit. And how could I? Any psychic in a location can read the history of the place. If you don't know how to interpret your readings, you may think you're talking to a real ghost. Hell, that was the very moment I started in the biz. I was at a party and read a house perfectly dead on, only problem was that all the people I read were alive on the other side of town. The house was being haunted, but by memories of events that occurred there, not the dead.
I keep an open mind and that is what this blog is about; constantly questioning things so we can go a little bit further and a little bit further. So long as everyone is imitating Grant and Jason, we won't get anywhere. We need some oddballs and some rebels.
I never did what the crowd does and I won't do it in this field that means so much to me. I don't only have over 2 dozen loved ones on "the other side," but I have childhood experiences I need to find answers for that fit. I'm hardly gullible and I'm sure if my mother was alive today, she'd say that "Sherry could never be spoonfed."
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The Ragged School in Scotland is believed to be haunted by restless spirits from its past. Located next to Edinburgh Castle this school, which once housed Scotland's most destitute children, has been investigated by Ghost Hunters International and other groups dedicated to the paranormal.
It was Thomas Guthrie who envisioned the Ragged School. His idea was to bring in youths from the street who were impoverished and thus resorted to begging as a means of life. The school, established in 1847, provided children with free shelter, food, clothing and an education. Its concept quickly spread and other Ragged schools opened throughout the UK.
The owner of the building claims that something eerie is definitely going on and has himself heard the sound of children giggling on unoccupied floors. Ghost Finders Scotland did an investigation at this location had a number of paranormal incidents occur.
I am looking forward to seeing what Ghost Hunters International has found, if anything.
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The most haunted house in Savannah, Georgia is the Hampton Lillibridge residence. It is the scene of several tragic deaths and the source of true scary stories about real ghosts. Exorcism has failed to cleanse the house.
THE HAMPTON LILLIBRIDGE HOUSE TOO CREEPY FOR OCCUPANCY
The most haunted house in Savannah, according to old-timers, is the Hampton Lillibridge House at 507 East Saint Julian Street on Washington Square. The home was originally built by Rhode Islander, Hampton Lillibridge in 1796.
When Hampton Lillibridge died, his widow remarried and disposed of the property. The home passed from owner to owner, and eventually became a boarding house. A sailor hung himself in one of the third story guest rooms during that period.
A FATEFUL MOVE
No one would live in the house for a number of years after that until it was finally purchased by intrepid antique dealer Jim Williams in 1963. The house was rapidly deteriorating. Williams also purchased the house next door, with the intent to restore both. However, a laborer was crushed to death during the move of the second house, another victim of the curse attached to the structure.
Workers involved in the 1963 relocation, conceivably stumbled on the source of the paranormal activity associated with Savannah's most haunted house. To their horror, workmen uncovered an ancient crypt as they were preparing the foundation to move.
Judging from the crypt's tabby construction, it dated back to early colonial times. Workers reported that the crypt was empty and so they had simply sealed it up and reburied it. Williams now suspects this to be the source of the haunting and regrets not having investigated more thoroughly at the time.
THE OTHERS
There is an abundance of macabre events associated with the Hampton Lillibridge house. Tools and equipment of men working on the restoration mysteriously disappeared or were relocated. Mocking laughter and footsteps were reported on several occasions.
Jim Williams himself reported numerous abnormalities during his tenure in the house. For example, he once followed a shadowy figure to the end of an upper story hall where it mysteriously disappeared through a door. Williams tried to open the door himself, but it was locked tight.
On December 7, 1963 the distraught Williams at last conducted an exorcism of the haunted house under the auspices of an Episcopal bishop. Unfortunately, the cleansing was ineffective as the paranormal activity resumed within a week.
There are no willing buyers because of the many true scary stories associated with the most haunted house in Savannah. Neighbors report shadowy figures in the windows and eerie music and laughter as if some paranormal party is underway at one of Savannah's most haunted places.
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Paranormal investigators say they have successfully exorcised a haunted Wigan flat after a terrifying all-night vigil.
The Dead Connections team offered their services to Pemberton young mum Holly Taylor after reading in the Wigan Evening Post about how she has been plagued by ghostly goings-on at her new home in Woodford Street, Pemberton.
She and toddler daughter Willow were refusing to spend the night there, having endured inexplicable happenings such as:
Plates flying off the kitchen work surface;
Ornaments and other objects being moved or knocked over while they were out;
Footsteps and knockings;
The smoke detector sounding without reason;
Lights coming on.
Neighbours had suffered from unexplained noises too and the flats' predecessor - Pemberton Police Station - also had a reputation for being haunted.
An officer who used to serve there told the Evening Post that the footsteps and bangings that staff used to here were put down to the ghost of a former inspector, who had hanged himself in a cell many years ago.
But the investigators say that they believe the ghost was that of a woman, who had died in a fire.
Dead Connections team members Emma and Adam Butler, Robyn Davies and John Strickland spent the night in the flat with a variety of technological instruments including an electromagnetic field meter (which at times almost went off the scale despite being nowhere near electrical appliances), and a voice recorder.
Emma said they had spent many nights in allegedly haunted buildings, but this one had proved one of the most frightening and eventful.
The team, who were joined by Holly, Willow and Holly's boyfriend Jordan O'Neill, heard breathing and clicking noises and also a series of tappings by which they attempted to communicate.
The taps appeared to be coming from Willow's bedroom which was empty (the youngster was sleeping in another room).
And as the questions they asked about who was there were answered, the meter would leap from green to red.
They also used what is known as a Frank's Box, which picks up radio station white noise and occasional words.
And through these two forms of communications, Emma and her team concluded that they were talking to a woman who had died in a fire and needed help to "cross over" - although, perplexingly, the name Simon kept coming through too.
Photographs taken during the night also showed grey orbs, about the size of tennis balls, floating in the air which no one had seen at the time.
Emma said: "We always go into situations like this trying to explain things normally first, but really there was a heck of a lot happening that we could not account for.
"There were all kinds of noises. A cupboard in Willow's bedroom, which doesn't have a weak catch on it, popped open at one point and the smoke detector kept bleeping even though there was no fire and there were new batteries in it.
"At one point, there was a very loud bang which took us all by surprise and it was tempting to run away.
"There has also been something weird happening with memory lapses.
"Robyn and I went to look round the flat a few days before we spent the night there, and then went back home and apparently had a long conversation with Adam and John about a cat.
"But when the lads reminded us of it the next day, neither of us had any recollection of the conversation.
"We mentioned this to Holly and she said that it was always happening to her too.
"Twenty-minute passages would just vanish from her memory."
At the end of the night, the team carried out an hour-long blessing ceremony, which involved the use of sage - a herb associated with exorcism - and calling on the spirit to leave the family and the flat and move to the other side.
And it seems to have done the trick.
Emma said: "Holly says nothing has happened since.
"Her daughter has just spent her first uninterrupted sleep in the flat, the smoke alarm doesn't bleep any more and even the clock which stopped after it fell off the wall has started working again."
Holly said: "All the noises have stopped. It's amazing and I'm very grateful to them."
Source: Wigan Today
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Title: Chinese Ghost Stories Curious Tales of the SupernaturalAuthor: Lafcadio HearnPublisher: Tuttle PublishingRRP: 12.99ISBN: 9780804841375Release Date: July 2011Pages:
Description:"Chinese Ghost Stories "is a personal selection of the most entertaining traditional Chinese tales of the strange and fantastic. Set in richly atmospheric locales, these tales speak of heroic sacrifice, chilling horror, eerie beauty and otherworldly intervention.
Review:
If you like J-Horror movies, like The Grudge and The Ring, then this short collection of Chinese Ghost stories will probably appeal to you as well. I know J-Horror is mainly horror films set in Japan, but the oriental feel of Chinese Ghost Stories resonates closely with the style of these flicks. The story title, The Tradition of the Tea Plant is also about a Japanese legend of a Buddhist priest who went to China in 519 A.D. and the tragedy that surrounded this event.
There are six chilling tales in this collection; The Soul of the Great Bell, The Story of Ming Yi, The Legend of Zhi Nu, The Return of Yan Zhenjing, The Tradition of the Tea Plant and The Tale of the Porcelain God.
As with remakes of foreign films, there may be some loss of the original feeling in the author's interpretation of these tales into English, but unless you can read the original language and text, then you won't know what you are missing and will enjoy the retelling of these horrific fables.
Included in this book is a Glossary to help with the understanding of Chinese terms and beliefs. I found all of the six stories and information in the Glossary to be quite interesting, especially when you get an insight into the beliefs and fables of other cultures, such as China.
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