BACK TO SCHOOL......IN A HAUNTED SCHOOL????

I love this time of year!!!! Halloween is just around the corner!!!!  Oh yeah, it's BACK TO SCHOOL for the kids!!!  A parents dream and the kids nightmare. lol  Wouldn't it be cool if you went to a haunted school???  Boy, you wouldn't have any problem getting me up and dressed.....I'm in the car honking the horn waiting on mom!

Every August, I like to write about a haunted school.  So have you heard about the video that was caught on surveillance camera at Asheville High School?  Well, let me tell you about it...

On August 1, 2008, at precisely 2:51:03 in the morning, the motion sensor was set off and the video surveillance system captured a dark shadow floating across the rotunda.  At first glance, the shadow was passed off by the executive of public relations as nothing but a bat flying across the rooms.  Now, I've watched this video several times trying to debunk it and not ONCE did I think the shadow looked like a bat.

But all that changed on playback, when the strange black image continued to change shape.  Wait!!! What???? lol  Instead of bat like, it looked more human.  A child perhaps?  I mean it is a school after all.  The shadow even seems to take steps....you know like someone walking across a room.  It was even caught in front of the elevator, eerily casting its own shadow.  hhuuummm

Now, if you ask the faculty what they think, especially a teacher named Martha Geitner, she has no doubt!  During Martha's interview with a local new channel she said, "It's a ghost!  Of course it's a ghost!  It's the ghost of some former student who is really angry with his teacher and has come to get back at the teacher, and he's just making himself known at this time."

Ok.  You watch the video and see what YOU think!  Here are my two cents.  I have to disagree with Mrs. Geitner….hope she doesn't give me a "D" but I think it is just the opposite.   Just from the size of the wall behind the shadow I would say it is more the size of an adult....MAYBE a TEACHER that has come back to his or her classroom.  Huumm   Whatever it is...I DID find this video interesting,

HAUNTED RAILROAD TRACKS IN SAN ANTONIO, TX-DO THE CHILDREN THAT DIED HERE PROTECT YOU FROM THE SAME TRAGIC FATE???

San Antonio, Tx is surrounded by many stories of ghosts!!!  The ghost of the Menger Hotel, the Alamo, the Riverwalk itself, but none more famous than that of a tragic accident that killed a bus full of children! Many say these children...to this day....still try and protect others from the same fate that they endured. 

The Legend of the Haunted Railroad Tracks

One telling of the legend takes place during the 1930s or 1940s (depending on the account), and according to this variation, a bus carrying students home from school was heading toward the intersection (Villamain and Shane). When it came to the railroad tracks, the bus stalled out. The bus driver then noticed a train barreling down on them, and the driver rushed to get the children off the bus. But there wasn't enough time, and the train crashed into the bus killing 10 of the students and the bus driver as well.
The more detailed version, which explains the legend more suitably (in my opinion), begins much in the same way. Decades ago (late 30s/early 40s), on an especially dark evening, a nun was driving a school bus filled with children home after a field trip. They were heading down Shane road, but when approaching the railroad crossing, the bus abruptly stalled out on the tracks. Most of the students were sleeping, so she was quietly attempting to start the engine back up. It was then that a train emerged, seemingly out of nowhere, as its headlamp was burnt out, it offered no warning of its impending arrival. It was too late to evacuate the children, as the train was moving too fast. The nun, desperately and frantically, turned the key, making one last attempt to restart the bus just as the train smashed through the bus cutting it in half. The nun was thrown through the windshield but miraculously survived. The young children were not as fortunate—they were all killed instantly.

Source: San Antonio Express

A few weeks later, the nun, guilt-ridden and heartbroken, returned to the site of the accident. She was unable to continue on and thus decided to end her life. She parked her car on the tracks and sat there waiting for the next train to come along. Later, when a train came into sight, speeding down toward her, in the same way as that tragic night, the nun began to hear small familiar voices. Then, her car began to move forward, as if it was being pushed from behind. The nun's car was rolled to safety, just as the train roared by. In disbelief the nun got out of her car, and began looking around expecting to find a good Samaritan. She saw not a single soul. She looked back at her car and noticed children-sized handprints on the back of her trunk. It was then she realized that the ghosts of her students had saved her life. The nun was then blessed with a newfound purpose in life, and she opened a school for orphans. She taught there till the day she died.
It is said that to this day, if anyone parks their car on or near the railroad tracks at Shane Road, ghostly children will push the vehicle to safety, as they are determined to make sure that no one meets the same gruesome fated that they suffered.
This legend has grown so much over the years that tourists travel from all over the country so that they may bare witness to this phenomenon at the rail road crossing on Shane Road. Some will sprinkle baby powder on the back end of their car, so that they can more easily spot the hand prints after their vehicle is pushed off the tracks, just as the nun's car was so many years earlier.

The Baby Powder Experiences at the Railroad Tracks

While there are many skeptics of this occurrence, one person who tested the legend was Brenda Pacheco: "I put my car in neutral, took my foot off the pedals and the car moved! It moved quickly toward the tracks, up over the bump and down the other side, well out of harm's way!"
Pacheco also did the baby powder test: "I was so excited, I got out to check the back of my car and there were the tiny hand prints! Plain and clear, and so, so tiny! The prints were so perfect, you could see the lines of the palms, and the swirls of the fingerprints!"
Another person's encounter at the railroad tracks: "I know many dispute the legend of the railroad track ghosts. However, I was witness to one very indisputable event there in my late teens, early 20s." She goes on to recall her experience at the railroad tracks, "I once went over in my convertible with a new parakeet in the car. The bird had been chirping happily, until we staged the vehicle for the tracks, when suddenly his chirping was completely silenced. It wasn't until we left the area that he began to chirp again." Curious by her bird's reaction, she decided to try the baby powder legend out for herself: "I used the baby powder on my car, I had multiple small hand prints. But, these hand prints did not belong to me, and I had no children anywhere around my car previously and was extremely meticulous about the appearance of my car." She then points out, "When one washes their car with dish soap, oils from hands are removed, so no prints will remain."

Other Ghost Stories at the Railroad Tracks

Photos of this "apparition" circulate everywhere on the internet ...

Many locals have made claims they say that you can hear the rumbling sounds of a train nearing, the steam whistle howling, and the screeching of wheels as if the train is grinding to a halt, but nothing ever appears, nothing is there at all, except for the haunting chill of the night.
A popular story locals will tell you occurred not long after the horrific crash. It involves a woman who was driving down Shane Road late one night. As she approached the railroad crossing, she saw a little girl standing all alone on the side of the road. She immediately stopped, pulled over and offered the girl a ride home. Once they arrived at the girl’s house, the child was hesitant to leave the vehicle and head inside. The woman assumed that the girl must have ran away from home after a fight with her parents. So she told the girl that she would speak to her mother. When the woman got out of the car, she looked back to give the girl a reassuring smiling, but she had vanished. The woman quickly reopened her car door, but no one was there—however the seatbelt was still fastened.
Another eerie account, which happened more recently, took place one weekend when a girl and a couple of friends made the trip to San Antonio to see the haunted railroad tracks. The girl took numerous pictures and emailed them to her mother. The mother was shock to discover that in one of the photos there appeared to be a ghost, a ghost of a little girl holding on to her teddy bear.

The Truth about the Haunted Railroad Tracks

The truth has been debated in San Antonio, with both residents and law enforcement officials weary of the legend. There have been countless reports of cars appearing to move on their own, with mysterious childlike prints showing up on vehicles afterward. Some have also allegedly heard the voices and laughter of children while at the railroad tracks.
However, despite these stories, there are no records of any accidents ever occurring on the railroad tracks in San Antonio.
Some believe the legend was inspired by another fatal accident that happened on December 1st, of the year 1938, far away in Salt Lake City, Utah. The city was dealing with blizzard conditions, and a school bus carrying over twenty students (aging from 12-18), was attempting to bring the kids home safe when the bus stalled out on the railroad tracks just as a fifty-car freight train came hurling their way. The aftermath was grizzly, with every soul on the bus left dead.
Is it possible that the news coverage of the Salt Lake City's crash became blurred overtime with San Antonio folklore, with later generations adopting the story as their own? If that is the case, why aren't there other similar stories throughout America? And, why are there so many first hand accounts at the railroad tracks in San Antonio?
Maybe, you should make the trip out to San Antonio. Travel down Shane Road toward the Railroad crossing and experience the phenomenon for yourself. If you do, keep in mind that many visitors bring gifts for the ghostly children, such as, crucifixes, rosary beads, flowers and toys. Some even write messages on the railroad tracks, wishing the children peace. Hopefully, one day the ghost children of the track will find peace and cross over.

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.

CHANING PARK AND BLUFF CITY CEMETERY-YOU TRULY WALK AMONG THE DEAD!!! RE-POST

I wanted to re-post this because last night I had Tony Szabelski on my radio show Bridging the Paranormal and we talked about a lot of the things I posted about here.  Tony was a great guest and you guys go back and listen to the archives from last nights show.  It was good!

http://kcorradio.com/KCOR/Podcasts/Bridging-The-Paranormal/2017/February/Tony-Szabelski-Haunted-Hometowns-Bridging-The-Paranormal-Hosted-by-Becky-Vickers-KCOR-Digital-Radio-Network.mp3

This is an EXCITING post for me because I went to Chicago last month and hung out with my good friend Michele Pellegrino.  Her good friend, Tony Szabelski and our private tour guide for one of the nights of ghost hunting.  We went to the VERY creepy Channing Elementary School and Park and then to the OH SOOOOOO COOL Bluff City Cemetery to investigate.  Man was it a GOOD TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Did we get anything GOOD????  Check out the video below and you tell me???????

Channing Elementary School has the unfortunate distinction of having been built over what remained of Elgin's  first cemetery in the 1940's, most of the graves were moved to accommodate a new sports field, but in the 1960's, when construction crew broke ground on the new elementary school, their equipment began to uncover human remains.  Since then, faculty and staff at Channing Elementary has reported an elevator that seems to move on its own, footsteps on the roof, dark figures, and even scratching on the walls.  Today, a stone monument to the dead buried at the original cemetery sits at a nearby park.  The school is said to have used stones that were from the cemetery during construction.  The Park and the school are right beside one another.

As we walked back to the corner of the park along the tree line, we kept thinking we could hear children.  It was on a Monday night and late therefore, we didn't believe it to be "real" children talking and laughing because we could not see anyone around.  My equipment started malfunctioning when we were over by one of the last remaining tombstones of the cemetery.  Our Boo Bear, a piece of equipment designed to interact with spirits and particular child spirits was going CRAZY!!!!!!  We were having all kinds of flashlight communication along with a parascope going off.  They were all VERY active.  What a great little place.

As we were walking back from the park toward the Bluff City Cemetery, you can hear in the clip above a very CLEAR VOICE which we consider to be a Class A EVP of a little girl saying "I want to go".  Did she want to go with us???  To the cemetery.....or HOME with us????? Who knows.  Michele kept thinking she could hear footsteps as we walked back on the sidewalk which is suppose to be laid over some of the remaining bodies that could not be moved.  Michele could have had more than just me on her couch!!!

BLUFF CITY CEMETERY

First, have you ever seen Nightmare on Elm Street?  And especially Part 5???  Then you might recognize this place.  Yes.  It is where parts of Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5 were filmed.  That even adds to the whole "CREEP" factor of this place!!!!!

The Bluff City Cemetery is located at 945 Bluff City Blvd., in Elgin.  It was established in 1899 on 107.8 acres of hilly, cliff-like land.  The land could not be used for planting or building so a cemetery was the natural choice.  There are approximately 43,000 "residents", but the cemetery's capacity is 70,000.  To give you an idea of its large size, it takes 1200 man hours to rake all the autumn leaves.

This place is sooooooo large........that it seems for miles and miles of rolling hills, shadowy trees, and small roadways all you can see are tombstones.  SCARY??? YEP!!!!! IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, we were REALLY lucky that Tony Szabelski gives tours here so he knows everything about this place!  As we walked up on the sidewalk in the dark only using our flashlights to see.....as we entered the cemetery you automatically felt that you were NOT ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Well.....besides.......being surrounded by huge monuments and tombstones.....you definitely felt that SOME of the spirits were glad you were there.....and some NOT SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, the FIRST thing Tony does is.......take us down this long, dark road with a canopy of trees over us!  Was it DARK????YES PEOPLE IT WAS DARK!!!!!  Now Tony starts in with saying how much activity he gets here during his tours.  He takes us to this mausoleum type grave and sits up a Raggedy Andy doll.  Below is a little of that session.  It isn't the best I am still trying to figure out the FB Live but you can see how CREEPY this place was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We almost instantly started getting communication.  Below is what appears to me a woman in a long black furry coat with a hood and something red (kinda hard to see) clutched in her hands in front of her.  For some reason, it seems to strike me as............well............a woman that might be at a funeral in the wintertime.  What do you think?  Do you see what I am talking about????

Next we walked down to a place called the Butterfly Garden.  Now, I can tell you that is was VERY DARK at this point (by the mausoleum) to the point you could not see your hand in front of you....but as we made our way down the curvy.....winding road it suddenly became MUCH brighter!  Even the air felt different.....it even seemed as it were easier to breath.  Could have just been me walking up and down all those hills...LOL

So we put down the Boo Bear and started asking questions when in a distance we could clearly hear what I can only describe as two pieces of hollow wooden sticks being banged together.  Like what you would see in the movies of Indians dancing around a fire with wooden sticks above their heads hitting them together again and again.  I am not sure of the entire story (you will have to ask Tony) but he said something about Indians used to be there on the land before it was a cemetery.  Tony and Michele started hearing this explainable noise as well.  Tony said he had been doing the tours for years and had NEVER heard anything like that!!!!!  It was picked up on our audio but I am STILL going through the EVP's from both locations.  You know....when you have TWO recorders at TWO different locations....because....I don't want to miss a thing LOL........suddenly you forget how much time it takes to review those audio tapes.  Man.......it's never ending!!!!!!!!!!

Now we are off back into the woods but this time we go down a hill and around a very long.....curvy road to children's grave.  Again, in this area we got lots of communication.  A little part of that is also recorded down at the bottom of this post.  Talking with children spirits is one of my FAVORITE things to do btw..... :)


Our last stop to me was the BEST!!!! We stopped on top of a hill where there were some cannons and a beautiful angel statue that was a Dr. and his wife's grave.  We immediately started getting words on our Spirit Box like....."nurse, help, sick. medicine".  Now, Michele ask "Is there someone here tonight you want to talk to"?????  And YEP.......you guessed it...........it said BECKY!!!!!!!!  Well I was being noisy and had my back turned to the Spirit Box taking pictures of what was behind us because we kept hearing footsteps.  Now, when I hear my name....I just STOP........slowly turn around and say....."OH NO..........you don't know me........I'm from Texas!" LOL  It still seemed to answer questions that in some way were directed toward me.

It was getting late my now so we packed up and headed out.  But the Spirit Box session was TOTALLY amazing!!!!!  I will be sure and post more EVP's when I finish going through them.

Ok.......rather long tonight but hopefully you enjoyed it and if you haven't already......Don't forget to go VOTE!!!!!!!!!!

See you next WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!!

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