WHAT NIGHTMARES ARE MADE OF.....

You lay down and take a deep breath....aaawwww your day is done!  Time for a good nights sleep.  Once you FINALLY get your brain to shut down from your thoughts of. ..."got to pick the kids up tomorrow at 10, be at the meeting by noon, pay the bills, pick something up for dinner"...and so on and so on....you dose off to sleep into LALA Land...........................or maybe........... HELL!!!!!!!

CREEPY clowns, unknown echo's down the hall, ghosts, dolls, death, blood and guts, being alone, insane asylums, scary haunted houses....if you FEAR it more than likely Hollywood has made a movie about it, so it's no wonder that THESE visions are stored in our heads just the same way the things we LIKE are.  You can ALWAYS find something disturbing to read about, see a movie about or heck even watching the evening news  is pretty darn disturbing! LOL

So sometimes, during the day we may see something that is frightening to us and once we go to sleep it is a FREE FOR ALL in our mind....random thoughts are thrown all around and sometimes the BAD ONES WINS!!!

Lets talk CLOWNS!!!! Growing up as a young girl I can remember...... to be the "cool kid"....... you had to have a clown at your birthday party!  NOT THESE DAYS!!!!  John Wayne Gacy was a dedicated community volunteer whose persona of "Pogo the Clown" masked a dark secret.  In his career as a serial killer, he murdered at least 33 teenage boys.  Most were sexually assaulted.  Not long afterward, Stephen King's IT and its adaptation starring a chilling Tim Curry kept us even more scared of clowns.   Wait till you see what is coming......Will I be seeing this movie???? HELL NO.....DOUBLE HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

A clown phobia may be the most irrational of the bunch, but the real-life connections to the serial killer culture lend credibility to this fear. 

How about a cute little DOLL?????  Again, growing up as a young girl what did you ask for your birthday???  A doll of course.  The BIGGER THE BETTER!!!  Never for one moment thinking that this DOLL is going to come alive and kill me!!!  Again.....NOT THESE DAYS!!!!

Maybe it's their dead, dark, unblinking eyes that watch us, or their stiff hands that just seem to be wanting to GRAB something or someone.  Whatever it is, dolls just CREEP US OUT!!!!!  Their physical appearance often dwells in what psychologists call the "uncanny valley."  This is an anomaly of human perception where some figures look human enough to be relatable, but inhuman enough to freak us out!!!  This may be a reaction to dead bodies, which both are and aren't human.  And in many cases, there really isn't much of a physical difference between the corpse of a child and a doll.  And with that sensibility in mind, the idea of them getting up and toddling around toward us is horrifying!




And that's not enough for us to have NIGHTMARES about....how about the fear of "loneliness"  like...oh I don't know.....like being abandon in an ASYLUM or HOSPITAL?????

No one likes feeling helpless or feeling abandoned, and nowhere are we more helpless than in the hospital.  The Exorcist even features a scene where the possessed child is subjected to needles and giant machines and ends up bleeding in a hospital exam room.  In a movie where a child's head literally spins, this hospital scene resonates.  Why???  You tell me.  The asylum compounds all of these feelings because the label of mental illness means that no one will ever believe what the person says and they must be going insane.  It is an incomprehensible vulnerability!  And if the asylum is abandoned, then the ghosts of all those that have pasted between its walls are sure to seek revenge. 

Speaking of CHILDREN.....aren't children suppose to love everyone and be fun loving and carefree???  Obviously NOT ALL CHILDREN!!!!  The emotional stakes of a story increase when children are involved.  It's natural to worry about and want to protect children who are in danger.  But if the children themselves are the source of the DANGER, audiences are caught off guard in the movies and we as adults tend to have trouble believing such "innocence can turn DEADLY."

In the movie The Omen, an innocent-looking child looks on as his family goes down in flames around him.  Twins more than double this feeling.  Developmental psychologists have noted that twins share an exceptionally close relationship, sometimes to the point where their intuitive mutual understanding mimics telepathy.  Imagine...what they could DO if they put their MINDS to it!!!!!  And no more are a famous pair of twins than in THE SHINING!!!!

And with Halloween coming up what do we see on TV.......... but tons and tons of scary shows!!!  And guess what???  Pay close attention and I'll bet you 80% of the Halloween movies soon to be released have something to do with MASKS.  What is it about MASKS????  Some masks have great, big smiling faces on them and some have unimaginable features....like creatures crawling out the cheeks, monsters, and some are as plain as can be...just a plain, white mask.  What is it about THE PLAIN WHITE MASK that sends fear running through our vanes?  Mask HIDE something......something that isn't always pleasant.......something dark....something that we fear......something that we NEVER REALLY want to be revealed. 



And don't forget WHO'S AFRAID OF THE DARK????  To me this is the one fear that tops ALL fears!!!  The dark can hold any of the above fears in it.  The dark is the "unknown".....and the "unknown" can sometimes kill you!!!  Many people are so fearful of the dark that they NEVER turn the lights off, they sleep with them on and they are NEVER EVER alone.....in the dark!!! 

The dark is where the monsters live that are in our closets, where the ghosts come out and lurk above us as we sleep.  The dark is where your DEEPEST FEARS become a REALITY!!!!  I get asked all the time "aren't you scared when you go to a haunted location?" Well, the answer is YES!  Of course!  No one ever said being a ghost hunter you had to be brave (but it helps.LOL) Not all the time but sometimes.  The difference is....I deal with fear in a completely different way than someone just going into a haunted house for the first time.  I TRULY BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF!!!  I have been doing this so long that I don't really FEAR the unknown anymore....I am more interested NOW in finding out what is hiding in the DARK.....but just to make you feel better I wasn't always like this.  Here's the perfect example of being in the DARK and not knowing what is in there with me or what the dark holds.  I was on an investigation in a private home where there were stories of the children being scratched, things moving, voices and all kinds of other activity.  So I was in a room that a child had been scratched several times...so I'm already a little leery about the space.  It was pitch black and we had already been having tons of activity.....when all of the SUDDEN.....something grabbed my hair and pulled it!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me tell you....I DID NOT TAKE IT WELL!!!!!!  I screamed "SOMETHING IS GRABBING ME....SOMETHING IS GRABBING MY HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  I was so FREAKED OUT!!!  It was SO REAL TO ME!!!!  Well it was a small room...and my team members were in another room when one came running in and without thinking turned on the light.  My heart was beating soooooo fast........and I could hardly talk.......(and just for the record....I don't act like this all the time. LOL) but I turned around and was pointing to where I was standing and  THERE............THERE THEY WERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  MY GLASSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YEP! My glasses that I had on the top of my head had slide down the back of my neck making me think SOMEONE or SOMETHING was pulling my hair!!!!!!   OK OK....go ahead and laugh.......I did myself once I realized I wasn't being ATTACKED by a HAIR PULLING GHOST!!!!

The whole point of that story was....... I was already on edge being in the dark so........my imagination was able to run wild and I let FEAR take over!!!  I literally tell myself during investigations now.....when I am starting to feel "THAT FEELING" coming on "there is nothing to fear but fear itself" and I REALLY LISTEN TO THOSE WORDS......it really DOES seem to calm my nerves or uneasiness.  

Here's the deal....whatever we fear....whatever makes up jumpy.....or uneasy can HAUNT us in our dreams.  And in today's world....we are not offered a lot of "conditioning shows, news, articles or just whatever as comfort" so what do we do?????  Well.....you should do what I do....if I've watched a SCARY show (which I rarely do) before bed or even during the day.....simple solution........I watch 2 hours of I LOVE LUCY and off to sleep I go.

Now.....Sleep tight everyone and PLEASANT DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OPRAH'S DONE IT ALL!!! EVEN HAVING HARPO STUDIOS IN A HAUNTED BUILDING WHERE HUNDREDS OF DIED BODIES ONCE LAID

She has it all!!!  Including ghosts!!!  That's right...Oprah's Winfrey doesn't talk about it much these days but when she had her show, she and her staff experienced MANY paranormal events.

Here's the story...

On July 24th, 1915, Chicago-based company, Western Electric Company, chartered four ships to take employees and their families to the annual company picnic in Michigan City, Indiana. The ships, including the rusting steamship The Eastland, were docked along the Chicago River as employees and their families boarded for a day of fun on the company's dime. At the time, Western Electric employed more than 10,000 people. 

The Eastland was docked by the Clark Street bridge and had a history of balance problems. On more than once occasion since its christening in 1903, it nearly capsized on Lake Michigan. And when new rules and regulations were implemented in the wake of the Titanic's sinking in 1912, rows of life boats and preservers on the upper deck made the Eastland even more top-heavy. Unbeknownst to the passengers, the crew had emptied the ballast compartments which are designed to keep the ship stable to help accommodate more than the 2,500 capacity--the reason why is still a mystery.

It is documented that more than 3,200 people boarded that July morning--breaking capacity--and when the Eastland pushed off from the dock, it immediately started to list due to the uneven weight of the passengers on board. Many were on the already top-heavy upper deck so they could view the city as they pulled out of port. When the vessel listed, water quickly rushed in through windows and doors creating mass chaos on board. In seconds, The Eastland was on its side with hundreds trapped with no way out. 

Individuals were pulled to safety through portholes as mothers screamed for their children. By-passers jumped into the river to help pull passengers to the shore. At the time, women wore long dresses, so many were pulled underwater from the sheer weight of their clothes. Others were trapped inside the cabin with no means of escape. Those who had been able to break away from the confines of the ship were met with the challenges of fighting for air as they were forced below the waterline and continually pushed down by the people above them. The horrific site was described as a "moving sea of bodies." 

In less than fifteen minutes, The Eastland came to rest on its port side in no more than 20 feet of water, entombing hundreds of people inside. 

Keep reading after the jump to learn about the rescue efforts and how this tragedy on the river haunts Harpo Studios...

Rescuers immediately began looking for survivors in the water and worked well into the night recovering the deceased. The sheer volume of bodies was more than the city could handle and thieves began rummaging through the pockets of the dead. Local stores loaned their wagons to help cart bodies away from the scene; so rescuers transported the corpses to one of the only places in the city equipped to handle the aftermath of that magnitude--the 2nd Regiment Armory on West Washington Avenue.

There, a makeshift morgue was set up with countless blocks of ice where they laid the fallen until they could be identified by family members. 

In the 1980's, the 2nd Regiment Armory facilities were renovated and reopened as Harpo Studios. Since the production studio opened, Oprah and team have been haunted by the restless spirits of those who perished on that fateful day. Workers claim to have seen an affable shadowy figure, aka "The Grey Lady" presumed to be one of the mothers who lost her life on the Chicago River--and it has been reported that she has even been caught on the security cameras. There have also been confirmations of doors slamming without reason, phantom old-time music, unexplained footsteps and disembodies voices like children laughing, people sobbing and screaming for help.

But that's not all...

Today, a memorial plaque marks the spot of The Eastland tragedy on Chicago River between Clark and LaSalle Streets. And to this day, claims have been made of hearing moans and blood curling screams from the Clark Street bridge. Is it the helpless cries of the spirits still trying to escape the Eastland? That's for you to decide. 

In the end, The Eastland disaster took 844 lives, including more than 20 entire families. What you may not realize, is that the tragedy claimed three times the lives than the historic Chicago Fire, making it one of our country's worst maritime accidents on record...and one of the least talked about.

Here Oprah's encounter with a GHOST of her own.

Heart breaking photos of this tragic event:

   

   

   

   

   

Below is some of the first known video of this heartbreaking day.  I had never heard about this before I saw somewhere that Oprah's building was haunted.  But now, I understand why.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2947748/Footage-1915-Chicago-ship-disaster-killed-844-found.html

FUN HALLOWEEN NOTE:  Be sure to check out the October schedule for Goatman's Bridge Ghost Tour and a SPECIAL EVENT CALLED FRIDADY BOO BASH at the very haunted Hill House Manor.  More information on BOO BASH under EVENTS!!!

THE HAUNTED CONGRESS HOTEL IN CHICAGO-SEE WHAT I FOUND-REPOST

The beautiful Ball Room


If you have not stayed at the Congress Hotel in Chicago....you should!!!  It is reportedly the most haunted hotel in the city.  I was lucky enough to get a room at this hotel to do an investigation as a Christmas Present from my boyfriend and I loved every minute of it!!!  I was also lucky enough to have one of my FAVORITE paranormal groups White Dog Paranormal to meet me there.  We had a great time!

Ok....I know, you guys don't care about all that....you just want to know if we saw any GHOSTS!!!
First here is a little bit about this wonderful place.  It was built to help house visitors of the World Fair in 1893.  It was also owned at one point by the one and only Al Capone.  Supposedly the most haunted floors are the 4th and the 12th(I stayed on the 12th).  Some of the spirits roaming this place is none other than Al himself along with a mother and two sons, whom supposedly was waiting for the arrival of her husband and when she found out he wasn't coming, she through her two boys over the 12th floor balcony and then jumped herself.  Then there's Peg Leg Johnny, a hobo that was murdered in the hotel.  And the MOST HAUNTED ROOM OF ALL #441.  YES, I did request to stay in that room but was told the whole 4th floor was closed!  Of course, we had to go check it out ourselves and found that the 4th floor was completely dark!  Did we leave......of course not!!!  We just sat down in the floor, in the dark and started conducting an EVP Session.

The very top of the creepy stairwell

Creepy stairway

Stairwell

When you start asking questions about the spirits that haunt the hotel you will find out quickly that some of the people DON'T want to talk about it, but a couple of the bell hops were willing to share their stories.  We were lucky enough to meet Johnny the late night security guard who has worked at the Congress for about 18 years.  At first, he wasn't willing to talk, but he couldn't resist my Texas accent!!! LOL  He eventually warmed up to us and took us on a tour all around the hotel and to places we normally wouldn't have access to.  THANK YOU JOHNNY!!!!  He told us story after story of paranormal activity.  Even as recent as the week before we were there, of people leaving their rooms claiming things were moving, they were touched, etc.

After we left Johnny, we investigated on our own.  Yep...you guessed it, we went places not many people could or WOULD not go.  We had a lot of activity in a little stairwell we found behind an unmarked door.  Be sure and watch the video I am posting of that session.   You DON'T want to miss it!!!

In front of room #441

Room #441

Creepy stairs leading from the 12th floor.



Where's Al??? The little room where Al Capone
played cards.

Room all boarded up. hhuuummm??? Wonder why?



Everybody

Room #666 Completely covered over!



Room #666 you can run your hand over where
the door was and can see the outline of the room!

Dan, Michele, Me, Anthony, Tony and taking
the picture Deak.

THE OLDE PARK HOTEL-OVER 30 SPIRITS??? I WANT TO MEET THEM ALL!!!!!

The Olde Park Hotel is one of those places that EVEN before you take one step inside you can just tell that there is a lot going on behind its walls......things like spirits roaming the halls like they did over a 140 years ago!!!

So along with our SPEACIAL GUEST Tui Snider and her husband Larry and my fantastic team, we are packing up and headed to Ballinger, Tx to check out this very haunted hotel.

Dan LaFave, the owner will be meeting us at the hotel tell all about the some 30 spirits that are said to haunt this historic property.  I am SUPER EXCITED about this weekend and can't wait to see what we find so stay tuned!!!

Here's what we know about this amazing place:

The original owners of the hotel were the Findlay's in 1922. As generations have passed it along, the guests and family members tell new stories that keep the rich history alive.  Jeanette's grandmother passed along the building at the turn of the century, including many relatives' hands, and was passed down to each generation of family members.

The old hotel has been standing in the same place since before Ballinger became a town, during a time when there were no electric poles, sidewalks, or roads. The building used to be a bunkhouse for the railroad workers and was later sold in an auction in July of 1886. The building was used for various purposes of the town, including school house, meeting house, and even at one time a parlor house.

Some of the ghost stories include talking with women who used to live in the building when it was a parlor house, and not realizing that they weren't employees of the antique store. Other spirits such as "Glenn" and "Cowboy" have been noticed by employees, as well as women, with voices and doors opening and closing by themselves. Jeanette has reported she feels there are close to 30 identified ghosts in the building. Footsteps, and cold spots have also been known to accompany the phenomenon along with an occasional pat on the shoulder. People have mentioned that they have had their clothes tugged on and report feelings of uneasiness in the building along with friendly spirits.

Dan and Connie LaFave purchased the building in 2016 with hopes of restoring the hotel to a bed and breakfast and preserve its cultural history and unique atmosphere.  Dan and Connie LaFave are founders of the Graveyard Shift Paranormal Investigations team which is currently located in San Angelo Texas. The team was first formed in Harlingen, Texas in 2009 with projects including documentaries such as Raising the Ghosts of Yorktown Memorial Hospital and Ghosts of Laborde House.  Dan is an author of two books entitled Shadow of the Ghost Hunter and The Supernatural, Texas, and The Old West, which can be found on amazon.com. This husband and wife team will give you a ghostly tour that you wont forget, along with some paranormal know how along the way.