GRAVEYARD LORE-BURIED ALIVE?

It's located outside of town....at the end of a deserted gravel road......watch for the over hanging trees....because it makes it very dark and creepy at night....watch where you step because there are lots of unmarked graves and you could fall through one....... and if you do...... then the DEAD will grab you and NEVER let you go!!!! Many people have been murdered here, death by black rituals, scarifies,  a lady in white is seen quite often floating between the graves.  Loud screams can be heard late at night.  And there is even one grave that someone was "buried alive" in!!!

We all have one......a cemetery with the reputation of hauntings and spirits that have been passed down from generation to generation. What is the fascination with cemeteries? Is this really a place  spirits walk and have a real connection? Are they just passing through, so to speak, using the wooded graveyard as a way to go between the "now" world and the "next"?  For whatever the reason, cemeteries for me, make an awesome place to investigate.  They are a personal favorite of mine.

Now, with that said let me tell you that most enthusiast would agree that a place becomes haunted AFTER a traumatic event or unexpected death occurs at a location.  History is filled with stories of houses that become haunted after a murder or after a horrible event occurs that echoes over the decades as a haunting.  So, a cemetery is usually the final resting place of the physical body NOT were the person died. So, why would we be sitting in a place where no tragic event happened looking for ghosts?  Because it's CREEPY of course!!!  Well, the truth is, cemeteries are not the first choice for paranormal activity among ghost hunters.  They feel because it is only a "holding place" for the physical body.... it is not the place where the person died or the site of a tragic event.  Spirits should be sought in other locations of such events first.

Graveyard ghosts seem to have a few things in common.  The spirits seem to be connected to the burial grounds because of events that occurred AFTER their deaths, not before. It has also been said that these spirits that remain in the cemetery are seeking eternal rest that eludes them at the spot where their physical bodies are currently found.  I have investigated many cemeteries over the years, and without a doubt, I do feel that there are spirits here.  I love the peaceful feeling cemeteries have. To me, they seem to bring comfort in some weird way that I like.  I love looking at the old tombstones and even on some, seeing a picture of the person.  BUT, I will say, that I have been to a couple of cemeteries.....that I got a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT feeling.  One of uneasiness, darkness, creepy and yes...just plain scary where I just couldn't shake that feeling that someone or something was watching me at all times and even at times, felt VERY unwanted!!! But I'm weird anyway, so those experiences never detoured me from sitting in a cemetery all night looking for more ghosts. LOL

However you see or feel about graveyards, the one thing I think we can ALL agree on is....that it is a place to be respected!!!  Our family and friends are here and we should NEVER forget that.

I just returned from Decatur, Ill from the Annual American Ghost Hunters Conference and I will tell you I hope to have posted by this weekend some amazing EVP's along with some very compelling video in a cemetery in Decatur that we just came across but found to be very interesting!!!!

Below are some of my favorite pics I have taken in graveyards.  Lots of orbs and the headstone of the crying angel is BY FAR the most moving headstone I have ever seen!  I LOVE IT!!!  Stay tuned this weekend for some great stuff from the conference.  I don't think you will be disappointed!!

GHOST BOX/FRANKS BOX-IS THIS YOUR DIRECT LINE TO THE OTHER SIDE???

Oscar Washborn

Old Alton, Hickory Creek, TX

Ghost box? Spirit box? Franks box? What the heck are these?  Well....if you don't have one....... you need one!!!  This was one of my BIG purchases as a ghost hunter.  I went to a convention where April Slaughter shared a video of herself  communicating with her Grandfather and that was it!!!  Had to have one!!!  Her session talking to her Grandfather was soooo moving for me that tears were just running down my face.  I want to be able to communicate with my Grandfather that way, I thought.

A ghost box/spirit box/Franks box are devices that use white noise to allow spirits to communicate in "real time" with us.  White-noise generators are said to give  the spirits something to work with, perhaps the raw material out of which to build the sounds later discovered on the recordings.  It produces random voltage to create white noise from an AM tuner, which is then amplified, fed into an echo chamber, and recorded.  Fans of the Spirit box say it allows ghost to pull the words they want to use from the broadcast in order to string together a message that can be heard.  This is a TRUE way to directly connect and speak with the Other Side!  Truly an amazing device!  I will say it does take a little while to listen "through" the white noise before you actually start hearing the words the spirits want you to hear.   But it doesn't take long to adjust to the White noise an then the messages are loud and clear.  This offers a two-way communication with spirits of the departed.

The ongoing work using EVP's is one of the most exciting in the field of paranormal.  You don't need a lot of fancy equipment to do your investigations and analysis your results.  Frank Sumption created the original Ghost box. Thank you Frank.  You can visit his Yahoo Group at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/evp-itc/,  to familiarize yourself with the whole ghost-box concept.  Keyport Paranormal (www.keyportparanormal.com) has information on how to make your own ghost box, with schematics.  You can make one using a AM Radio Shack radio...well if  you are "techie" enough.  I'm not!!

So, I want to tell you a short story about one of my first experiences with the Frank Box.   Well, just like any ghost hunter.....when you order a new piece of equipment you CAN'T WAIT for the mail or UPS driver to pull up in front of your house and hand you a little brown package!  I wanted to just grab the driver and give him a big hug and kiss and say THANK YOU THANK YOU when he asked me to "sign here".  But being in HR, I thought oh BAD idea Beck....he could file charges on you for sexual harassment!  LOL  Anyway, you get the level of excitement I was feeling especially after seeing how it worked and watching April's experience.

I went out to a local bridge that without a doubt is very haunted.  I'm sure you have heard me talk about the Old Alton Bridge(Goatmans bridge).  It is the story the Bio Channel did a segment on.  Anyway, I took my new Frank's Box and set it in the middle of a group of people that had gone on the  hunt with me.  Anyway, I was walking around taking pics of the group not really paying any attention to the session going on.....when one of the members ask "is there anyway here you want to talk to?" and VERY CLEARLY a voice said "BECKY".  I stopped DEAD in my tracks and said "Did that just say BECKY????" and everyone in the group started shouting "Becky someone wants to talk to you".  I couldn't believe it!!!  Did this BOX really work?  Were we REALY able to communicate with the DEAD??? And if so.......WHO the heck knew MY NAME?????

I sat down in the center of the circle right next to the Franks Box and said "ok....I'm here and you know who I am but I don't know WHO you are???"  The same voice said "STEVE".  Long story short...for the rest of the night I talked with a spirit named STEVE(very bad spirit), who was reasonable for killing and  hanging of a black goat farmer named Oscar Washborn.  He was a Master Dragon in the KKK.  He had no remorse for what terrible crimes he had committed!  NONE!!!!  He is also the only spirit that has EVER physically touched me! He GRABBED my leg very firmly as I was telling him I knew what he had done and and how I also knew he had rapped and brutally murdered a school teacher in Denton County.    He was finally arrested for that crime and spent the rest of his years in prison.  Guess he didn't like that I was bringing that stuff up. We also communicated with Oscar(just a sweetheart, the blackman who was hung from the bridge) and a lady named Eleanor(a lady that used to live in the little town where the bridge is or was located).IT WAS AN AMAZING SESSION!!!  It was like sitting around a table talking to spirits.  Creepy.....YOU BET!!!!!!

I do want to give you a bit of warning.... I feel that a "protection player" should be considered when using the Frank's Box.  Be sure to say one BEFORE and AFTER your session.  You COULD call in spirits that you don't really want....as I found out.

BE SURE AND CHECK OUT THE TOPICS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR AND WATCH FOR YOUR UPCOMING FAVORITES EVERY TUESDAY. (POSTED ON LEFT SIDE OF BLOG.)

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY WISHES!!! I HAVE BEEN OVER WHELMED AT YOUR THOUGHTFULNESS TODAY!!! I COULDN'T ASK FOR BETTER FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS THAN YOU GUYS!!! YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT IN READING MY BLOG HAS BLOWN ME AWAY!!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!! THANK YOU!!!

ARE YOU A SENSITIVE? AND WHAT IS A SENSITIVE ANYWAY???

Huuummmm.....so, what does being a SENSITIVE mean?  Does it mean that you just feel things more INTENSE than others? Does it mean that things that are hot and cold affect you more-so than others?  Does it just mean the sun hurts yours eyes a little more than normal?  If it were only that simple.

A Sensitive is someone  that may be considered a "psychic," who has psychic powers, but doesn't communicate directly with the dead.  A sensitive is not a medium, nor is a medium necessarily a sensitive, rather an instrument for spirit communication.

Sensitive's may possess profound psychometric, telepathic, clairvoyant (ordinary and medical) powers; and may also tell fortunes, find objects and render accurate character definitions. However, they may claim no external source.

So, what does all that mean?  It means that some people have the ability to "feel" the presence of a ghost,(but not directly communicate with them although sometimes they can) or sometimes they can tell when and where something may have taken place when your "normal average" person can not. 

Am I a Sensitive?  Only in my dreams!!! But in MY dreams.....I am a World Renown Ghost Hunter who has written hundreds of books on the paranormal and Jason and Grant (from The Ghost Hunters) turn to for all the answers and of course..... I know them all!!!LOL  And in MY dreams.... Zak(from Ghost Adventures) stops TAUNTING our poor friends on the other side!!! LOL  Oh well, enough about my dreams....

I do feel that I have after many years of investigating the paranormal developed MY SIX SENSE  to be more "in turned" with my surroundings and who may be haunting a location.  It takes practice like going into a room and being completely quite, and looking around the room very intensely and noticing every shadow, every detail of the things in the room and most of all having an open mind to the possibility that the mind is a very POWERFUL thing and combine that with what the Universe has to offer....all I can say is ......WE GOT THIS!!!!!

Some people are born with a unique sensitivity to the supernatural and some develop it through hard work and rigorous training.  We ALL experience this Sixth Sense at one point or another.  Like when we know who is calling when the phone rings or a commercial appears on TV that we have been thinking about.  These sort of things happen all the time in our daily lives, and we chalk them up to coincidence.  And sometimes that is just what it is.

I am convinced that everyone, to some degree, can hear and/or see spirits.  The ability just may not be as developed in most as it is in someone who is naturally psychic or a sensitive.  Think of it this way.......anyone can run.......but NOT everyone can RUN a marathon.  It takes training and hard work.  The same with being a Sensitive.  In a Sensitive's case...they have psychic ability to some degree.  It's a matter of putting oneself I a particular state of consciousness and turning in to the same frequency as the spirits.  Not everyone can do it at will.

Having a Sensitive in your ghost group can be awesome!!!  They are able to tell you things that your equipment can't.  I wish I were a Sensitive, I think that would be sooooo cool!!!!!  When a Sensitive walks into a haunted location almost instantly  they can tell you things like....there is a spirit here that is angry......that was murdered here.......you know, things like that.  I DO feel like my "six sense" (because again, I DO NOT feel I am a Sensitive or have ANY special powers or abilities....just your Everyday Ghost Hunter) has become more developed over the years , enough to kinda' FEEL when a spirit is around, FEEL when the energy in the room is changing..... good or bad.... and on a couple of my investigations I have felt like I have had a "special" connection with particular spirits that know me...but I don't know them.....YET!!!   And I might add, that in one of those times, it was NOT a pleasant experience at all!!!

The bottom line is....we ALL have the ability to improve our so called "Six Sense".  You already know this....this is nothing new to you guys......but being a TRUE Sensitive is what I believe to be a true gift from GOD.  Now, I don't know how THEY really feel, I can see where sometimes this might be a PAIN. LOL  But TUNE IN to those "goose bumps"......to the hair "standing up" on the back of your neck......that "uneasy feeling" that SOMETHING is just not right....Remember that in order for your MIND to listen to your intuitive feelings, it must value those feelings.  Your mind needs logical reasons to value the information.  So, let it......

Is my Six Sense kicking in......nnnaaaa...I'm just
being nosy in a room I'm NOT suppose to be in
at a haunted location in Galveston, Tx

Sensitive??? Nope...wrong again....just sitting in an
old cemetery communicating with the dead
through the K-2.

 

APPARITIONS-FRIEND OR ENEMY?



Without a doubt, this is the most problematic type of paranormal photographs that exist.  Hoax? Photo shopped? Double exposure?  Soooo many things can affect a photo.  So, how do we know what is real and what isn't? Guess we really don't... now do we?  Ok...so you find out it is double exposure.......or lets say.....it's NOT!    

Ever been asleep....and you think you hear something that wakes you?  You rub your eyes, and as you lay there....you get tiny little goose bumps.....and the sound gets louder and louder.  Do you get up and go see what it is or do you lay there very still and hope it stops???  Your heart beats faster as you strain your ears to hear.  But you decide you are going to be BRAVE and go check it out.  As you put your feet on the floor and walk toward the door...you ask yourself...."Why do I REALLY need to know what is making that noise???" LOL YES, we've all done it!!! As you touch the door knob your heart is about to jump right out of your chest!!!!  But slowly you pull open the door not knowing what you will find on the other side......as you peak around to see......the noise stops.  And you see that there is nothing there!!!  oooowwwhhh.... That was close!!!!!!!  Now you even feel a little silly for letting your imagination get the best of you...... OR DID IT??????????????

Apparition originally derived from the Latin term apparere, meaning "to appear".  The appearance of a dead person, object or even a living person who is not physically present is what we commonly refer to as an Apparition. 

Can you interact with an apparition?  Sometimes.  If it is a residual haunting, it will not know you are there.  It will keep doing the same thing over and over( like walking up the same stairs over and over).  If it is an intelligent haunting, it may try to interact with you.  Some people believe that apparitions appear to deliver a message.  Have you ever heard stories were someone saw a loved one that spoke or directed them to do something? Like, maybe someone was warned by their loved one in the form of an apparition that they should not get on an airplane.  So they heed the warning and come to find out.... the plane crashes!!!!  Lucky?  Or was it a message from the Other Side?

I have had a personal experience with a full body apparition I would like to share with you guys.  Several years ago, I was filming for a local TV show that was going to be aired on Halloween.  I was a member of a local paranormal group that had been contacted by a restaurant owner in McKinney, Tx that had reported paranormal activity. 

 

 

We decided we would allow the camera crew to follow us around and film us doing the investigation for the TV show. Long story short....we had been filming all night at the Londoner Pub in McKinney,Tx which is located on the town square.  I had to run back and forth to the van for more batteries like every hour on the hour.  The activity at this place was AMAZING!!!!!  I'll have to tell ya'll that story another time but it was VERY HAUNTED!!!!! 



Anyway, I had been running in and out of the Pub all night.  It was probably around 2:00am and we had just started to wrap up our investigation so I was taking some of our equipment out to the van.  I was alone.  When I turned around and started walking back to the Pub I noticed a lady sitting on a bench under a street lamp in a baby blue dress with ruffles down the back.  I was sooooo SURPRISED !!!  I had been in and out of this bar all night.....how had I NOT noticed her???????

I thought she was one of those lifelike figures that you see in parks sometimes.  I starred straight at her noticing every detail of her dress.  She never moved.  She just looked straight ahead.  She had black lace-up shoes that came up above her ankles....you know the ones like they used to wear a long time ago.  She had her hand crossed in front of her laying ever so gently on her lap.  I could see the little lace trim around the white gloves she was wearing.  She had dark hair and it was all fixed up like a bun on the back of her head.  She was very pretty.  She also had a little blue and white beaded purse that had a white drawstring that was hung around her wrist that was laying on her lap.  

Now remember, even though I can see her as clear as if she were a real person standing right in front of me, in MY mind, I thought she was a statue.  So walked on into the bar and asked my lead investigator if he had noticed the lady on the bench?  He said "what lady on a bench"?  So, I told him what I saw and the owner of the Londoner was standing right beside me and said "oh so you saw HER"?  I said who?  He said the Farmer Lady.  When you do an investigation you don't tell ALL your members everything you know about what has been reported, so it won't cause any preconceived expectations of what could happen.  But in this case......the owner NEVER said a word to ANY of our members about the lady that sat outside on the bench.  He said that she had been seen several times just sitting there just the way I described.  She was supposedly the wife of a cotton farmer that every Sunday they would bring a crop of cotton to the square to be auctioned off.  When the farmer died, she continued to come on Sunday, in her best dress and a wagon full of cotton.  CRAZY RIGHT!!!!!!!  Listen I can't tell you how it made me feel to know what I had just experienced was an APPARITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was SOOOO REAL!!! I will NEVER forget it as long as I live!!!  This is one of my favorite experiences in this crazy world of the paranormal. :)



Outline of a man's face with a top hat.



Original photo taken at the Menger Hotel
in San Antonio, Tx





Gutzon Borglum, the engineer
of Mount Rushmore. I believe this is the man
in the court yard at the Menger Hotel.

 



Original Photo in Jefferson, TX 





Jefferson, Tx





A solider at the Alamo, San Antonio, Tx.
The girl was really there leaning against
a pillar, but the solider was not. 

Apparition or Angel???  I know what I think it is.
In front of the dedication plaque on the ground in front
of the Alamo, San Antonio, TX 

The McPike Mansion, Alton, Illinois
Do you see the two faces in the window?



The Driskell Hotel, Austin, Tx
Reportedly a little girl fell down the
stairs at the Driskell and died.  Notice the discoloration on the right as you can see her dress.  Her face is above just below the man's hand.