THE AMITYVILLE HORROR HOUSE COMES TO LIFE!!!

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.

[Related: ‘My Amityville Horror’ Explores the House From Hell With a Former Resident]

"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-old Ronald 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 called High 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.

Pretty cool...huh???  

So the other day I saw on FB a collection by The Bradford Exchange that I got soooo excited over I could hardly stand it!!!!  They are doing a collection called America's Most Haunted Village Collection!!!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! I'M IN!!!!!!  I could not sign up for mine fast enough!!!  A real haunted village of the world's most haunted places........stick a fork in me....I'm DONE!!! LOL

So, I've been waiting.....and waiting for my first piece to come in the mail.  The first piece in the collection wouldn't you know is the Amityville Horror House!  Can you guess where I got the idea for tonight's blog?????????? LOL

So, if your interested the collection comes with a newspaper clip, a Cert. of Authenticity, a numbered house and even a light so that the lights glow.  Do I like it?  Yes.  I do and I am excited to get another piece to go in the collection.  I do have one little thing that I don't really like about it......and that is that they put pumpkins around the house.  I think it would have been better without them.  Yeah...I wish they wouldn't have done that but I still like it. 

Anyway, I just wanted to share that.  It's kinda fun.  I have not been to the Amityville house but I hope to get to go there someday.  If you have, I would love to hear what you thought.

http://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/917976_americas-most-haunted-village-collection.html

    

10 HAUNTED HOUSES THAT ARE ACTUALLY REAL!!!!

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COFFINS AND CASKETS? EACH HOLDS ITS OWN SPECIAL MEANING BUT DO SPIRITS REALLY CARE?

As I am writing this post I get the word about the bomb at the Ariana Grande concert so I would like to send all my love and support to all those that were affected by last night's devastating bombing in England.  Many angels coming your way.

It's long, sometimes made of wood, sometimes made of metal.  Only one person at a time can get in it (normally) and it is NEVER re-used.  Any guesses???  Well if you said casket you are RIGHT!!!  So, lets talk about caskets!!!  Creepy right!!!!!

So, if you have been ghost hunting very long, more than likely you have ended up at a scary old cemetery!  Well, at least I hope you have.  I love cemeteries.  Lots of ghost hunters will say that a cemetery is the least active place because the spirit does not rest with the physical body.  I say.....baloney!!!  IT'S A GREAT PLACE!!!!!!  Although, we all know spirits are around us all the time, sometimes they are attached to a person, place or thing, right???  Well, think about it......first at the cemetery what is there......well besides the body....it is a place of GREAT EMOTION!!!  Second.....people are usually buried with their favorite things.  And what happens....the spirit stays attached to their favorite belongings.  So why wouldn't the cemetery be the PERFECT PLACE for an investigation.

Now,  a couple of things to watch out for if you are investigating a cemetery and especially if it is OLD!  First, a long time ago people were buried in wooden caskets and over time.....wood rots.  Yeah...from that alone I am sure you can figure out what happens next.  So be careful if you feel a "soft spot" or "sinking spot" in the older cemeteries.  You could find your leg sharing a coffin made for one!

I recently ordered a book called Gone to the Grave by Abby Burnett-Burial Customs of the Arkansas Ozarks, 1850-1950.  If you don't have this book...get it!!! It is filled with soooooo much information about the whole process of a funeral a long time ago....from the people who made the caskets to the how society dealt with death from 1850-1950 as well as a more difficult topic of how African-Americans practiced death in the Ozarks.  Much of what I am going to be writing about on caskets came from her book.

If you guys will remember a while back I went up to see my brother Jr. and took pictures and posted them on my blog and FB asking if anyone knew anything about the "coffin like" caskets on top of the ground. This is a TOTALLY CREEPY site if you have not seen these before.  Know one knew anything about them!   There were all different sizes but I think the ones that bothered me the most were the little small ones that obviously were for the children buried beneath them.  These pictures were taken at McBroom Cemetery, Kingston, Arkansas that I posted previously asking if anyone knew anything about them.

Anyway, I finally found some information in Abby's book that explains them.

"A coffin, the sounds, the isolation, the loneliness along with the revisualizing of those last gasping moments of one struggling to ward away the grim reaper and losing the battle wrought in us fears almost too esoteric to be endured by mortals"  written by Columbus Vaughn.  I don't know why but I thought this was a pretty cool statement.

Coffin and casket are often used interchangeably.  There are distinct differences, however.  The coffin, which is the older of the two styles, is six-sided, widest where it accommodates the body's shoulders, and tapers toward the feet.  Sometimes called the "toe pincher", the coffin has a separate, one-piece lid, which must be lifted off when mourners view the body.  This style, with variations, is seen above ground in the Ozark's oldest graveyards. (BINGO!!! Now I know)

Known as false crypts, these stone "coffins" though made to the same scale as the one below ground, do not contain a body; instead, they serve as a memento mori, reminding viewers of their own mortality.

The word casket originally meant a jewel box or a container for something precious (isn't that cool!) and is the more recent of the two container styles, still in use today.  These are rectangular boxes, or rectangles with beveled corners, whose lids are attached with a hinge along the box's longest side.  Casket lids are usually viewed from the waist up when the upper half of the lid is raised.  Caskets usually had handles and other decorative hardware and cost more than coffins.

Most men living in rural areas stated their profession as "farmer" on the various censuses, many worked at variety of jobs.  That made it difficult to document such part-time jobs such as preaching, funerals, carving tombstones, or making coffins. One man, James Willis Phillips, listed as a farmer on four censuses, is credited with having made 135 caskets for neighbors in his Pleasant Grove community, work he did not charge for.  Blacksmiths were the ones who most often built coffins and wooden vaults or boxes that protected the coffin in the grave.  By the 1970's life had changed so radically that blacksmiths and their skills were no longer needed.

Because the body was waiting to be buried, a coffin was used as soon as it was finished, which meant there was no time for paint or varnish to dry.  Instead, the coffin's exterior would be covered with fabric, held in place with tacks or decorative brads.  Generally, adult coffins were covered in black and children coffins were covered in white lining.  Fayetteville's African American community typically chose white, grey or pink linings.

It is believed that grave robbers were not always after something buried with the body.....the wanted the BODY!!!  Medical students were allowed to work on "regular" burial bodies that were buried at the public expense. How crazy is that...hey let's go dig up a body and see if we can take out it's tonsils????

An oversized corpse presented a different problem, as happened when 350 pound T.D. Cain died on a visit to Pocahontas.  The town's undertaker had to have a casket made-to-order by a St. Louis firm so Cain's body could be shipped home to Missouri.  Oversized caskets were occasionally built to accommodate multiple family members killed in a tornado,

or a mother and child burial.

No matter what the dead was buried in, they were treated with love and compassion....mostly by the neighbors who would often prepare the deceased for the family.  They would dress them in their best, place a cloth over the face that had been soaked in a solution of soda and water to keep the dead from darkening.  They would also place coins over their eyes keep them closed.  Sometimes, the body would stiffen before they could get them in the casket or coffin and you could hear the bones breaking when they would move it.

In many communities, a bell would ring out.  Many times in the amount of years the person lived. The men would dig the grave and the women would cook for the family.  Many times, if a child died, family and friends would bring curtains or sheets over to wrap the child in.  There were no big fancy wreaths only simple wild flowers placed on the casket.

Many of us, are curious about life and death.  After reading this book, it made me think of a time, where friends helped each other in many different ways...and not one TEXT message was sent saying "I'm sorry for your loss"...but true feelings would be expressed in person and the dignity of the dead was the goal of every person there.

WHAT CAN SPIRITS DO AND NOT DO

let's talk about the most important information about what spirits can or cannot do. You might be surprised that some of the scariest things that can happen don't just wait for Halloween. 

1. Spirits have the ability to effect you mentally, physically, and emotionally

No one ghost is the same as another. Each spirit has the ability to do various task depending on the level of strength they have accumulated. Though not common, a spirit does have the ability to physically attack you. A ghost might also have the ability the effect you emotionally with things such as unexplained extreme mood swings. An extremely advanced spirit can even manipulate you mentally and challenge the reality that surrounds you.

2. A ghost does have the ability to manipulate objects

Over the course of my paranormal journey I cannot count the number of inanimate objects that I have seen moved or thrown without a natural force or explanation. I recall one time on an investigation, an item was thrown off of a stove by an unseen force directly at another investigator and myself. Spirits have the absolute ability to manipulate inanimate object. Depending on the strength of the spirit, it is possible for doors to be opened or closed, items to be thrown, items to be moved from one place to another, and even the manipulation of electrical lights. There really is not set limitation to what a spirit can physically manipulate. 

3. A ghost is a ghost and DEMONS are rare

Due to the widely broadcast shows about the paranormal field, there has been a large amount of "demon" hysteria that has taken root within the minds of those who watch these shows. I want to go on record now as saying yes, things do exist that some would classify as a demon. BUT let's take a minute to evaluate the term "demon". No matter your respective beliefs, the word "demon" was coined as a religious term to describe those inhuman things that battle against good and are theorized to come after our humanly souls. Like many deviations in the English language the term "demon" doesn't simply cover everything evil and sinister in the world. I personally believe an individual who murders or hurts children is evil, but that doesn't make them a demon. When a person dies, whether they are a rapist, murderer, or saint; who they are in the moral guidance of life does not simply transpire to angelic nature because they have now died. To put it simply, someone nasty and sinister in life will be nasty and sinister in death. This doesn't make the ghost a demon, but essentially reflects the person is the same level of bad in death they were in life. With all of this being said, please be aware a true demonic haunting is extremely rare. Most of you reading this have a better chance at winning the lottery then being attacked by a "demon". Demonic haunts are not simply removed or cast away, these entities have no restraint of time and will wait in order to reek terror and disaster through a families entire lineage. There are many "demonologist" that certify themselves as ready to take on any demon, but truthfully if they came across an actual demonic haunt they would run in the opposite direction. What's a good rule of thumb? If what you are experiencing is not beyond and more extreme then what you have seen on TV and on the big screen, then you can bet you are just dealing with some type of ghost. 

4. Spirits tend to be more concentrated in places that have experienced a lot of death or birth 

There are many scientific theories within the paranormal field as to why places are haunted and why some places are more haunted then others. I could not write a simple small answer to give any of these brilliant minds the justice they deserve for their theories, so I will offer what I will classify as my own personal belief. I personally believe that locations which experience a large amount of death or birth disrupt the natural balance of energy in the world which we all live. Basic elementary science, energy of any kind is neither created or destroyed. Energy is transferred or moved. Locations such as hospitals, battle fields, and sites of horrific deaths emit a lot of energy into the world we live in to go "beyond". This energy being so concentrated in one spot easily explains why places with a high volume of deaths or births have an extremely larger amount of spirit activity. 

5. There is no proven reason why ghosts are here or reach out

If you believe everything you see on TV and the big screen, then you will also believe that spirits are here because they have unfinished business or are simply angry to the injustice done to them in the world. I am going to take a small moment to throw a huge monkey wrench in all those claims. Why are spirits still here and making contact with us? Well the answer isn't as black and white as you have been lead to believe. Sure, some ghost might be hanging around with unfinished business or because of some grave injustice. Let's be real though. No one spirit is hanging out at your house ALL the time. Spirits have the ability to come and go as they please. No one spirit is reaching out or still here because of one simplified reason. I personally believe that spirits have the ability to come and go from the various levels of reality as we know it. This would explain why when so many people are dying they tell others they see those loved one's that have passed before them. I fully believe loved one's come and go to help us guide. Be honest with yourself and your beliefs, and you will conclude God is a busy guy. There is no way one God could watch us all, hear us all, and protect us all. I would challenge the idea that spirits of our loved ones who have passed are there to hear us, watch over us, and guide us to the next step after death. My point? Ghosts are everywhere and for all different types of possible reasons, some spirits can come and go as they see fit. At the end of it all though, it is comforting to know we are watched over and reached out too by the one's we have loved that are no longer with us in their physical form.

The American Ghost Hunter Live with Becky Vickers from GoatMan trail TX

You guys join in tonight at 7:00pm CT!  I'll be there waiting on you...:)

WHY DO SPIRITS ATTACH? SOME OF THE REASONS MAY SURPRISE YOU-EVEN SCARE YOU!!!

 Have you ever really thought about WHY spirits attach themselves to you?  Well guess what?  It may not be what you are thinking...Spirits don't always attach themselves to you to scare or harm you like so many times you see on TV.  I read a book called Dark Angels by Rita Louise, PhD and I loved some of the reasons she listed.  Some I had not even thought of.  I know that comes as a surprise to you....because you thought I knew everything about ghost hunting...right......WRONG!!!! LOL  Anyway, let's talk about some of the reasons that a spirit may become attached.

Spirits attach to us for a number of different reasons.  But importantly, spirits attach to us because we open the door and invite them in.  In most cases it is accidental and unintentional on our part.  Most of the time a spirit will attach itself to a child, because the child was sexually molested or experience long-term physical or emotional abuse.

Children are suppose to be protected by the people that take care of them.  In their hurt, pain and solitude, they call out for someone to help.  And who answers?  Well, sometimes a spirit will.

They may totally disassociate from their bodies, leaving the spirit fully in charge.  This may cause the child to act out or this can cause the child to move forward in life without any memories of the offending behaviors they experienced.  Of course, we don't know if the spirit is good or bad do we???

Addictions, especially drug and alcohol abuse are another common reason why spirits attach.  The altered states these substances create within the body can be a calling card inviting entities into the auric field.  When you are intoxicated, we naturally put down our boundaries and drop our guard.  Have you heard ever heard the expression when someone has been drinking a lot "now he or she has liquid courage"?????  Well, guess what....that may be true in more than one way.  This makes it easy for a spirit to attach itself to us.  The spirit want to live vicariously through us.  That's right...one more drink, one more high or another encounter.

Accidental attachments are probably the most common.  Ouija boards, automatic writing, or just calling out "is the ANYONE here" can leave us vulnerable to the unknown. 

Understand that calling out for spirits or even guides when our energy is low....like when your scared, depressed, frightened or sad you can accidentally attract a negative spirit who can ultimately cause more harm than good.  I have always made sure that any member on my team is in good health both physically and mentally before going on an investigation.  If they have had a bad day or feeling sick I don't allow them to go.

Also, many times we forget that spirits may attach themselves for the simple fact that they like you.  That's right.  Think about it.  You are a young child that was killed in a car wreck and don't even realize what has happened to you.  You feel alone and scared and all the sudden someone shows up and ask to talk with you.   They bring you toys and talk softly and tell you they are not here to hurt you but to help.  Now, at the end of the night...do think that you are going to want to let that person go???  Of course not!  You are going to want to go wherever they go.

I can tell you....personally, I believe I have had an actual attachment for the last reason I listed.  When I first started going out to the Goatman's Bridge in Denton, Tx by myself....long before anyone else besides me had done the research on the spirits that are out at the bridge, I believe that one of the spirits followed me home because I would go out and talk with them on a regular basis  and be very kind and respectful to them.  I would bring them gifts and tell them stories.  I am not sure which spirit it was but I do think it could have been one of the children spirits named Rebecca, age 14,  that I communicated with often and was very fond of and still am to this day.

It wasn't long after that CRAZY THINGS started to happen at my home!  My TV would come on the same time around 3am EVERY NIGHT and I do mean EVERY NIGHT with the volume full blast and nothing but static on the screen.....are you ready for this......EVEN WHEN IT WAS UNPLUGGED!!!!!  Water coming on full blast by itself, alarm system going off without any batteries, my glasses being moved off my bed and placed in the floor in my kitchen and list goes on and on.  I finally had to take a stand and just say out loud that I was staying in the house and not moving and we could live together peacefully or they could leave.  I told them "every night when you turn on the TV I will just get up and turn it right back off but I am tired of that game and don't want to play anymore".  NOT another thing has happened in my home from that point on!  Nothing.

The thing is everyone.....please be careful and unless you know EXACTLY who it is you are wanting to communicate with be prepared for attachments.  Not every time...but you never know when.

I want to be sure and wish all the Mothers, Dads that have to fill both shoes and Mothers that are gone but not forgotten...A Happy Mother's Day...and thank you for all that you do!!! :)

THE MILLS CEMETERY, GARLAND, TX-WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS FAMILY IS UNTHINKABLE!-RE-POST

I wanted to do a re-post on the Mills Cemetery just because I really like this place and I really liked the spirits I encountered here.  Also, it reminded me of the devastation that Canton, Tx experienced this last week-end.  The small community of Canton which is about an hour East of Dallas was destroyed by an F4 Tornado which stayed on the ground for 51 miles!!!  In its path it crossed the small town as well as a major highway where cars were completely caught off guard.

This is a small community with limited resources so please if you can find a way to help the people of Canton, please do and keep them in your prayers.
To donate

Thank you in advance and enjoy this weeks post. :)

______________________________________________________________________________

The Mills Cemetery, Garland, Tx

The Smiley's

Mills Cemetery, Garland, Tx

I am going just a little off course today, I was going to write about "How spirits help us" and I plan on posting that later this week, but today I want to write about a cemetery and in particular the gravesite of the Smiley family.  One of my viewers wrote and told me about this place last year and it has become one of my most poplar stories with the most comments. Until this past weekend I had not been there myself.

When I first drove up, I thought it was a very pretty, little area, but I had never been to a place that the road runs between TWO different cemeteries side by side before.  But this one does!  On one side, is the supposedly the haunted Mills Cemetery and just to the other side is the Garland Cemetery.  I thought this was a bit odd but....you know....whatever. :)

I went there all alone and now I am really glad I did.(As you will see).  I pulled down into the cemetery and parked the car.  I can tell you from the moment I opened the door and stepped out of the car, I felt a peaceful feeling come over me, which I DIDN'T expect...... because THIS is suppose to be a really ACTIVE HAUNTED cemetery.  I can remember thinking to myself....well this isn't SCARY......it's really nice.



  

As I got out my equipment, I began walking across the cemetery and found the Smiley site fairly easy.  Now, let me tell you what I have heard about the Smiley family.  One story is...... that Mr. Smiley went crazy and killed his entire family then himself and now he wonders the cemetery at night looking for his next victim.  Another story is that if you lay down on the ground in front of the headstone on Halloween you won't be able to get up or you will feel Mr. Smiley grabbing you trying to pull you down.  And then there is the story.....that back on May 9, 1927 the Smiley family came to their untimely death when a tornado tore through Garland which was devastating and is now referred to as the great "Garland Cyclone".  Seventeen people were dead and five of them from the same family......The Smiley's.

                                                                    

So I sat my recorder and flashlight on top of the tombstone and sat down in front of the Smiley's with my Dr. Pepper in hand and began just talking to the family.  I had EXCELLENT flashlight communication and not anything I think  is really to impressive on EVP's but I am going to go over my data again and will let you know if I find something else.  Here is a brief clip of my flashlight session with THE GIRLS(daughters).  Now, I don't want to hear ONE comment on the singing..... It was just me and the girls at this point....I wanted to do something with JUST them because I feel maybe lots of questions are directed to Mr. and Mrs. Smiley.  I did ask Mr. Smiley if it "upset him" about the things written about him and I even read him three articles written on his family.  The response was very clearly a "YES" it upset him about the bad things he had supposedly done.  I also found out Mrs. Smiley is VERY close to her daughters and loves to cook. :) 

v=1YAzurvKouohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YAzurvKouo

Now, I have ALWAYS been honest with my readers and I try to tell it "like it is" or at least the way I see it........so I am going to do that again.  Guys....and gals.....lol.....we ALL want to have a great paranormal experience BUT in the process we have to get the FACTS right!!!  I feel compelled to say this (especially after my session with MR. SMILEY).....people by no fault of their own....easily repeat what they hear......such as......that ol' house on the hill is sooooo haunted because you can see lights in it at night....when the REAL story is YES you do see lights in the house at night because a family bought the house and are doing repairs at night and don't have the electricity turned on yet.....or........don't go there because the BIG EVIL GHOST will get you!!!!  Anyway....you get my point.  Here are the FACTS on the Smiley family as I know them.  The Father, Mother and three daughters did die in a tornado on May 9, 1927 while they slept in the early morning hours around 3am.  One daughter did survive.  That's it folks.  That's the story.  So, I am putting myself in the families shoes.  I wouldn't like people going around saying that a relative of mine MURDERED his family and then KILLED himself when the painful true is soooo different.  So, lets be respectful of that. A good Ghost Hunter reports his/her finding based on facts NOT Legends.   IF Mr. Smiley wonders the cemetery at night......it is my guess it's NOT because he is looking for his next victim.......it is because it's a WONDERFUL place to take a night stroll and enjoy the fresh air. :) That's MY TWO CENTS :)



Rest in Peace and thanks for the visit.