THE HAUNTED CATFISH PLANTATION-YOU WILL NEVER EAT ALONE!!!-PART 1

So, for years I have heard about the Catfish Plantation in Waxahachie, Tx. and how haunted it was!  Finally I was able to check it out.  Deak and I were on our way to an investigation down in Yorktown (you know....that insanely haunted abandon hospital) and had to go right through Waxahachie.  Well....no way could we pass through here one more time and NOT stop at the Catfish Plantation!!!

I am writing about this place in two parts.  Part 1 is just a little background and Part 2 will be my pictures and interview with Shawn Sparks who is the owner and runs all the day to day operations.  And let me tell you...she has stories to tell about the paranormal activity that goes on at this restaurant!!!  I also just want to say........talking with her is one of the "funner" interviews I have done.  What I thought was going to be a 15-30 min interview turned into a 1 1/2 hour interview!!!  

Shawn was very honest as well as making me laugh so hard and yes.......it was about the ghost there!  So, you have to be sure and read next weeks post about my interview with Shawn.

So, first here is a little about the history and what has been reported.  The term “Haunted” as any respectable Ghost Hunter will tell you, is a relative term and often misunderstand by the public; but one thing all paranormal investigators agree with is that the 1895 Victorian at 814 Water Street in Waxahachie is most definitely haunted and home to several spirits.

In 1984, Tom and Melissa Baker found the property, which had been empty for several years and while it was not the perfect location to start a restaurant, they both agreed that the house had a charm that could not be denied. 

Shortly after purchasing the home, Melissa started to realize that something was very different about this house.  One day, she came in to find a large tea urn, with neatly stacked coffee cups inside, which had somehow been transported to the middle of the floor, far away from where they belonged. 

On another morning, she came in to find fresh brewed coffee waiting for her!  Once opened, employees began to tell strange stories; a fry basket levitating in the kitchen, a glowing blue light illuminating a room that was otherwise empty and the ghostly figure of a bride standing by a front window. 

Some of the spirits that have been identified  is a man who likes to "flirt" with female guest by touching their knew or shoulder or playing with their long hair.  Caroline a previous owner who sometimes becomes short tempered because she see herself as still being the head of household.

In 2007 the Bakers sold the restaurant and its ghostly inhabitants to the Landis Family who invited the nationally acclaimed Association for the Study of Unexplained Phenomenon to investigate the location.  They confirmed that there are spirits at the Catfish Plantation but said they were "friendly and positive".

Now, when I was at the Catfish Plantation it was fairly early and we didn't unfortunately encounter any paranormal activity.  But here is what we DID encounter!  Some of the BEST Catfish and green beans with homemade rolls I think I have ever had!!!!  And the staff....from the lady that greeted us at the door, to the sweet waitress that waited on us, to the very nice bartender....and the Victorian décor......I could not have been more impressed with a restaurant!  You MUST check it out!  It is such a "step back in time" kinda of place and even though I didn't encounter any ghosts I could definitely pick up on the "vibe" that they were there!!! 

THE LEMP MANSION-NO LACK OF GHOSTS HERE!

The Lamp Mansion is a beautiful mansion that is also a restaurant up in Saint Louis.  The outside is breathtaking BUT the inside although beautiful it is believed to be the home to several of the Lemp Mansion family members that have no problem making their selves known!

The demise of the Lemp empire is one of the great mercantile mysteries of St. Louis.  The first major fissure in the Lemp dynasty occurred when Frederick Lemp, William's favorite son and the heir-apparent to the brewery presidency, died under mysterious circumstances in 1901.  Three years later, William J. Lemp shot himself in the head in a bedroom at the family mansion, apparently still grieving the loss of his beloved Frederick.  William J. Lemp, Jr. succeeded his father as president.

Tragedy continued to stalk the Lemps with startling ardor.  The brewery's fortunes continued to decline until Prohibition (1919) closed the plant permanently.  See the Lemp's were the owner's of a VERY SUCCESSFUL brewing company in Saint Louis.  William Jr.'s sister Elsa, who was also considered the wealthiest heiress in Saint Louis, committed suicide in 1920.  On June 28, 1922, the magnificent Lemp Brewery, which had once valued at $7 million and covered ten city blocks, was sold at an auction to International Shoe Co. for $588,500.  Although most of the company's assets were liquidated, the Lemps continued to have an almost morbid attachment to the family mansion.  After presiding over the sale of the brewery, William J. Lemp Jr. shot himself in the same building where his father died eighteen years earlier.  His son, William Lemp III, was fourty-two when he died of a heart attach in 1943.  William Jr.'s brother, Charles, continued to reside in the house after his brother's suicide.  An extremely bitter man, Charles led a reclusive existence until he to died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  The body was discovered by his brother, Edwin.

In 1970, Edwin Lemp died of natural causes at the age of ninety.

THAT'S A LOT OF SUICIDE!!!!!  

So, I was lucky enough to get to tour the Lemp mansion on a cold and rainy night last weekend.  It was only me and one of the SWEETEST family of 6.  They are going to kill me because I took their picture and said I would send it to them but I can't find the card that the Dad gave me and I forgot their names....so sorry.  

 Let me tell you, these were the nicest people and they made my tour of the mansion so much fun.  I also have to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to Betsy our tour guide.  She was great and made the tour great with such a small group.

Now, to the good stuff.  Did we see any paranormal activity???? Well........I can tell you this.....that when you first go in the mansion and to the left if a beautiful room with a fireplace that had some lighted Christmas decorations on it.

Betsy started saying that she felt like someone was in the room with us.  She wasn't sure who but she didn't think it was a spirit that belonged their.  She was asking for protection for the group and the lights started to FLICKER!!!!!  Now, I saw this and didn't really say anything thinking....well...that could have just been a power surge or something but then...they DID IT AGAIN!!!! So now the rest of the group is noticing it.  I ask Betsy is this something that normally happens and she said no.

The one thing I notice it the house over all felt very "pleasant".  But when we went to the second floor that Betsy said their was a spirit of a young boy that had been bulled by groups coming in the house on the tour and taunted because he was a special needs child that supposedly lived in the house, THIS floor for some reason didn't feel the same as the rest.  Not really bad....just different.  Made me a little uncomfortable. 

Upstairs it seemed a couple of times like I saw shadows.  But not human shadows, this is going to sound weird but like a cat.  I kept seeing this shadow under Betsy leg that had movement like a cat.

Past those experiences, I didn't really see or feel anything but what a GREAT PLACE this is.  And maybe....it was just to COLD for the spirits that night. LOL

Would I go here again??? You bet!!  I loved this old house and the spirits I feel enjoy the company. :)

Here are some of the pictures I took.  Not anything to exciting but a couple of orbs.

I found this to be a little interesting the shadow in the center.  Seems
awfully tall.  But it could be just double exposure.  I'll let you decide.

RE-POST PHANTOM PLANES....HAUNTED SHIPS....AND GHOSTLY LAND

PHANTOM PLANES....HAUNTED SHIPS..... AND GHOSTLY LAND

Posted by Becky at 4/30/2013 

When I think about ghost hunting...the first thing that comes to my mind is an old, creepy abandon house or a place where someone lived and died.  Well, there are soooo many things that have hauntings that sometimes I forget about the "not so common" places and things.

What about planes?  You have heard the stories about disappearing planes.  It is commonly theorized that some ghosts of people and animals are nothing more than residual energy, a non-reactive, pre-recorded event from the past that occasionally replays to witnesses much like a short movie scene.  We can therefore speculate that ghost planes, which are definitely not living, might also be a form of residual energy that is observed from time to time when the conditions are just right.

There aren't a lot of photos of ghostly planes.  This makes sense to me because this is just not something you can just look up and see.  Seeing something up in the air over 30,000ft might be a little difficult.  But there ARE plenty of people who have heard aircraft above, like propellers, pilots reporting radio signals of distress when there where no planes in sight or on radar, old planes being restored hearing voices and footsteps around the plane, planes that seem to appear then disappear and another common report is that parts that have been used from an aircraft from a crashed plane where there had been fatalities, all of the sudden on the new plane hear voices or feel like someone is watching them.

So, are there ghostly planes?  I certainly think there could be. Why not?  It seems that we are talking about something that is a little more difficult to investigate though.  Without a specific location you can drive or walk to, it's just a little harder to get evidence of it's existence.




From the air controllers tower

As seen on radar

 Taken out of the window of an airplane

Haunted ships.....what can I say.... but one of my favorite things to investigate.  There is just something about being on a ship that soldiers, passengers and crew lived for long periods at sea or even battled at sea...I love the feeling that they never really left the ship.

The USS Lexington-Since being commissioned in the year of 1943, this massive vessel has been called a number of things. The two most common names for the ship are “The Blue Ghost”,as well as “Lady Lex”. In today’s world, this haunted ship is docked and it serves as a museum for those that enjoy learning about history. In the world of yesterday, though, this mysterious water vessel served in twenty one battles out of twenty four in the Second World War. The Blue Ghost is said to be more than just a name issued based on the color, though. This particular ship is said to be an area that houses a number of spirits. Here, you will learn about one of the most haunted ships in the United States today, the USS Lexington in Corpus, Christi, Texas. 

Several residual hauntings are said to occur on the ship. Residual hauntings are like an energy, or a emotionally heightened time in a certain area. Many individuals claim that they hear voices, screams, and even cries. In some instances, people have indicated that they have heard noises that sound similar to distant weapons being fired while on board the USS Lexington.

I have been on this ship and loved it.  I posted a picture below, sorry it is not very good.  It was taken by my Mom a while ago and was not taken with a digital camera.  It had film that had to be developed in it.

Battleship Texas-  This ship finds its home in Houston, Tx.  I investigated this ship and got tons of orbs and what I believe is an Ecto mist.  For those who believe in the paranormal, the Battleship Texas has been one of their most sought-after sites for investigation. It is one of the state's leading historic attractions, a floating monument to those who fought and died in two World Wars.

The USS Lexington (photo taken by Lynnette Tolbert-my Mom)



Ecto Mist over a small cemetery in
front of the Battleship Texas

You may need to blow this picture up to see the orb in it.
I love this picture because it just is cool to catch an orb in the daytime.

The Battleship Texas


 

Cool Orb on Battleship Texas

And the last ship I investigated The Queen Mary.  It has been said that The Queen Mary is one of the most haunted ships in the world!!!  In particular, Cabin B340.  Alleged it is haunted by the spirit of a

person who was murdered there,(we found that room 340B was locked and the number was actually removed from the wall....hhhuummm so unless you know about the story of this room there was know way to identify that it was room 340B) and people have reported hearing sounds of children playing in the nursery. Other reported ghosts include a young sailor who was accidentally killed in the ship's engine room, crew members of the Curacoa who were killed when Queen Mary collided with her, and an unidentified "lady in white". And the most famous story is that of a little girl named "Jackie" that drowned in the pool on The Queen Mary.

 

If you get the chance to go stay on The Queen May, don't pass it up!! It is beautiful!!!!!

 

The Queen Mary

Inside this beautiful ship

We weren't the only Passengers...

The Swimming Pool where Jackie drown



The Pool area

 



LYCEUM RESTAURANT-SALEM MASSACHUSETTS-IS WITHCRAFT INVOLVED IN THIS HAUNTING???

First, let me say I am sorry for posting a day late.  I have been at a conference for my "day job" as an HR Manager and just flat couldn't get the time to post.

Being out on the road and having to eat out a lot, I thought I would write about a VERY haunted restaurant. So here is a short post about the Lyceum Restaurant in Salem Massachusetts.  PLEASE if you have visited this restaurant I would love to hear from you!!!

This haunted Salem restaurant was built upon the former site of Bridget Bishop's apple orchard.  It's believed that Bridget's restless spirit haunts the building to this day!  In 1692, that's right.....1692.....she was accused of witchcraft.  Found guilty, Bridget spent the next year in prison, until the fateful day that she was led to the gallows and hanged.

Sadly for Bridget, she would come to be memorialized for being the first witch to have been executed in the Salem witch trials.

Years later, a historic lecture hall was built on the site of the apple orchard; it would host such notables as Hawthorne, Thoreau, Emerson, and the prominent inventor, Alexander Bell.  In fact, in 1877, history was made from this location, as Bell demonstrated his invention here and made the first public phone call.

In 1989 George Harrington purchased the building, and the Lyceum Bar & Grill soon opened.  Ever since, employees and patrons alike have witnessed scores of unexplained phenomena.  Above the hectic activities of a bustling restaurant, many people have heard a female voice whisper in their ears.  Shocked patrons have given George countless photos depicting unexplainable light anomalies.  Some employees have seen the ghostly image of a woman starting out a second-floor window, only to have her vanish upon their approach.  And there are those that have caught the sweet, succulent scent of apple blossoms in the air.  When the staff are questioned about the origin of the floral aroma, they state that it's a gift from Bridget.



No comments please!!  This was
a long...long...time ago!!! LOL

 

Now, I have been to Salem and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!  But I went before the Lyceum Restaurant was opened.  If you get the chance to go to Salem DON"T PASS IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!  For ANYONE interested in the paranormal....this is a gold mine!!!!  And hey....stop in and say "hi" to Bridget for me. :)