THE EXTREMELY HAUNTED MCPIKE MANSION-A FAMILY THAT LIVES TOGETHER...STAYS TOGETHER...EVEN AFTER DEATH!!!

 I can't wait!!!  Headed to Chicago in a couple days and off to the American Ghost Society Conference with our affiliate White Dog Paranormal and close friends Anthony and Michele!   We are doing an overnight investigation at the EXTREMELY haunted McPike Manson!!!!  You can Youtube and Google tons about this mansion.  I visited the house several years ago, so that I would do a re-post of my experience.  Not to mention this is one of the places that I believe to have captured two of the most awesome apparitions ever!!!...


RE-POST:  

So, this is McPike Mansion in Alton, Il.  I had a great time here.  For a small town, it is covered with haunted history.  So much to do here.  

Now, here's my story.  I went up to Alton, Il for one of the annual American Ghost Society's Conference.  I registered late, and therefore, missing out on an investigation of the famous "McPikes" mansion.  I was soooooo bummed!!!  So, on my way to the airport, returning from my trip, I was talking to the cab driver.  He asked me if I got to do everything I wanted and I said "no".  I missed out on an investigation on the old McPikes Mansion.  He said, no problem.  I know where it is, if you would like to go there before catching your flight.  ARE YOU KIDDING!!!!! YESSSS I would love to go there.

So, off we went. After a short drive, he pulled up in the driveway of the McPikes Mansion.  No one was there because it is abandoned and most people go at night.  I got out of the cab and walked just a little ways up in the front yard, because there are NO TRESPASSING signs posted everywhere. I just kinda walked around the front yard taking pictures.  I got back in the cab just feeling awesome that I got to at lease see the outside of the mansion.  Of course, that cab driver got a GREAT tip!!!!!

When I got home I downloaded my pics and my last pics were of the mansion.  My first thought was, wow what a beautiful old mansion and what it must have been like to live here.  THEN.... I looked at my pictures and little closer and couldn't believe my eyes!  I believe there are two people, well one man and a young girl in the window on the second floor.  I could see them clearly!!!  I was sooo excited!!!

If you look close, (may have to enlarge) you can see a little girl's face and to me, appears to be screaming... or with her mouth open.  And right behind her, standing up, looks like a man, maybe with a beard, one of those that goes around the sides of a mans face up to his sideburns.  I don't know.  What do you think?  Mr. McPike or another resident ghost?

I have included below some information about the McPikes Mansion.  And a video of one of the best EVP's I have ever heard!!! Get ready to feel that "chill run down your back" as you can plainly hear in the CREEPIEST voice ever say the word HENRY after the guy ask "what is your name?".  Don't miss it.

 The house was built in 1869 by architect Lucas Pfeiffenberger.  Original owner of the Mansion was Henry Guest McPike.  The McPike family owned 15 acres of land, then known as Mount Lookout Park.  Here McPike, a horticulturist, perfected his McPike Grape.  The family lived in this, their country home, until 1936.

The house has changed hands several times since its original owner Henry McPike.  The building has been home to Browns Business College and was later owned by Paul Laichinger, who rented rooms in the house to other occupants.  The house has not been occupied since the 1950's.  Before weather and vandals brought extensive damage to the structure, it was a regal addition to the Illinois town of Alton.  There is even two small tombstones that are located at the back of the house .  Who they belong to or who may call them "home" is unknown.

The mansion featured 11 marble fireplaces and beautifully carved stairway banisters, all of which have been stolen during its abandonment. Intricate carved trim still border the ceiling in one of the front rooms.  McPike Mansion today is owned by Sharyn and George Luedke who have been trying to nurture this great house back to its regal state.  It is readily known today for its hauntings in paranormal circles. The grounds are often visited by ghost hunters and haunted tour groups in the area.  It is not uncommon to find in photos of the mansion, orbs, balls of light, even figures appearing in the windows that were not seen by the human eye when the photo was taken.

This Grand Ole House is thought to still house many of the spirits that once lived here.  Many Psychics and Mediums have felt the presence of what they believe to be McPike family, servants, as well as some of those who resided in and owned the house since 1936.

Can't wait to get back and write about this next trip!!!!

BERACHAH HOME CEMETERY-UNWANTED INFANTS STILL SEARCHING....

It's hard to believe that a community or that our society could turn our backs on "unwed" mothers and girls with know place to go....but that is EXACTLY what happened back in 1894.  These were VERY hard times if you were an "unwed" mother or a young girl that had "fallen out of grace" with your family or community.  But for one man and his wife, we ALL have a place in this world, even for those "others" may have discarded.
The Berachah Home was established on Rescue Hill on South Cooper Street in Arlington, Texas, May 14, 1903.   Reverend James Tony (J.T.) Upchurch, the Home's founder, initially established the Berachah Rescue Society in Waco, Texas, in 1894 for the purpose of redeeming and aiding prostitutes and other "fallen" women. After some success, he and his wife Maggie Mae moved to the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, in 1903 to continue the "mission" in Oak Cliff's slum areas. One newspaper account contends he was "driven away [from Waco] by angry fellow Methodist church members who opposed his missionary work with prostitutes."    A trip to Arlington resulted in the purchase of the original twenty-seven acres of land for the establishment of the Berachah Home for homeless, usually pregnant, girls. These girls came from Texas and the surrounding states to have their babies and learn to care for themselves. Adoption was not allowed as Reverend Upchurch believed mothers and children should not be separated.  He had three rules that must be followed....each girl must work and attend church on Sunday.  And for those "expecting" must care for their baby for at least one year before giving it up for adoption.  Sounds like a GREAT deal to me!!! During the next thirty-two years, the Home expanded to include forty more acres, purchased in 1928, a hospital/clinic, nursery, dormitory, dormitory and dining room named Hammil Hall, printing shop, handkerchief factory, chapel, office building, schoolhouse, auditorium, barn, and a cemetery. The girls were kept busy working in the printing shop, gardening, operating the handkerchief factory, teaching at the school, and working at the hospital/clinic. The Home was funded by Dallas-Fort Worth area businessmen. It was primarily for the contributors that Reverend Upchurch published The Purity Journal, to keep them informed about the Home's affairs. The Home closed in 1935 for reasons not clearly known, but perhaps due to competition from the Edna Gladney Home in Fort Worth, or because of Reverend Upchurch's poor health. It was reopened later that year as an orphanage, the Berachah Child Institute, by Reverend Upchurch's daughter Allie Mae and her husband, Reverend Frank Wiese. In 1942 the property was purchased by the Christian Missionary Alliance. Reverend Wiese attempted to get the Dallas Church of the Nazarene to take over the Berachah Child Institute in 1941, but the offer was rejected. The University of Texas at Arlington purchased the property in 1963 and is the current owner.  On March 7, 1981, an historical marker was erected at the cemetery site, the only surviving structure on Rescue Hill. I can only IMAGINE the pain and suffering these girls must have felt being all alone with know place to go and knowing they were about to be Mothers!  And the children.....what about the children???  Did they, the ones that were lucky enough to survive child birth(something very difficult to do back then), and their Mothers chose to keep them....did they get "shunned" by the community...........get "picked on" of because of where they lived and who their mother was?????  There is nothing left of this place now except a small cemetery where "unsettled" spirits seem to still cry out for families they never knew.  Children still searching for their mothers.....  By locals, it is known as "the cemetery of infants".  A PAINFUL PAST of memories. Reports of ghostly shadows, children crying, and toys suddenly appearing can be found in this small cemetery. Some of its' head stone markers only have numbers on them because the child died to young to even be given a name.  And several ONLY have a first name on them.  This was to protect the mother's identity.  I LOVE communicating with children spirits so I will be visiting this place VERY SOON!!! They won't be lonely for long....:) I want to give a SHOUT OUT to Tui Snider for writing about this place in her book Paranormal Texas, Your Travel Guide to Haunted Places near Dallas & Fort Worth.  I would have not known about it otherwise.

THE MEANING OF DREAMS-THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY



I have lots of people ask me about dreams.  What do they mean??? Can our loved ones REALLY communicate with us through dreams?  The simple answer is "yes" the more difficult question is "what does it all mean"?

We dream in five stages of sleep:

Stage 1-This is the lightest stage of sleep, the transition phase, where you feel yourself drifting off.
Stage 2-Your brain activity starts to slow down, as well as your heart rate and breathing. Your body temperature falls a little and you're beginning to reach a state of total relaxation in preparation for the deeper sleep to come.
Stage 3-is the start of deep sleep, also known as slow wave sleep. During stage 3, your brain waves are slow "delta waves," although there may still be short bursts of faster of brain activity (also known as beta-waves).
Stage 4-this is the one when you experience your deepest sleep of the night. Your brain only shows delta-wave (slow wave) activity, and it's difficult to wake someone up when they're in Stage 4 of sleep.
Stage 5-This is the stage of sleep when you dream. It is also referred to as "active sleep" or REM sleep, which stands for the rapid eye movements that characterize Stage 5. During REM sleep, your blood flow, breathing, and brain activity increases. An EEG would show that your brain is about as active as it is when you're awake.

When you are in Stage 5 of sleep, this is when you are most relaxed and all your "defenses" are down.  You know...the ones where you "analyze" everything you see and do.  If you see a door open by itself, well then it MUST have been the wind, the "transparent" lady in the corner MUST be a reflection in the mirror of something.  When ALL your "defenses"(that's what I call it anyway) are down, it makes it easy for spirits to show themselves to you or give you a message in your dreams because you aren't trying to "block" them (again, my words) with trying to come up with a rational explanation as to what you are seeing or hearing.

Dreams can be very comforting and also very scary!  Below is a site that I found very interesting about "what your dreams means".  I can't say that I agree with ALL the logic or explanations of the site but I found some of the analysis to be very insightful.

Maybe this site will offer you some explanation as to what your dream means to you.   And hey....if you still don't get the answer your looking for...write me...and I will give you BECKS TWO CENTS on it. LOL

http://www.dreamsleep.net/dreamthemes/feelings-dream-meanings.html