Van's World Podcast-Goatman's Bridge

Check out Van's World Podcast! We had a spooky time talking about Goatman's Bridge.

Everyone has abilities. What side of Spirituality do you fall on? Are you a Receiver or an Inviter?

Painting by RenSarasvati.com

Have you ever felt like you could see dead people?  Maybe, had a feeling about someone you've just met and not know why?  Well, guess what?  You have abilities.  Yep.  It's not just your imagine.  We all have some kind of spiritual ability, and let's talk about yours.

Some people want NO PART OF IT!  Let's be real.  Seeing dead people is not everyone's cup of tea.  But let me say this to you, if you are starting to "notice" you are seeing things and that others aren't, you are here by no accident.  Something or someone brought you to this page.  You need a message yourself and maybe some clarity.

Let's talk about two different kinds of abilities. You are either a RECEIVER or an INVITER.  What the hell is a RECEIVER AND AN INVITER you ask? Well, I am about to tell you.  And hopefully, I can clear up some of your confusing thoughts when it comes to "messages" or "images" you may be receiving and experiencing and not know why.

What is a RECEIVER?  A Receiver is a someone that does NOT ASK for a "message" from the other side.  It just happens.  With or without your permission or intent.  A Receiver does not get a choice on WHEN or WHERE they receive a message or visit from the other side.  You may have no say in the matter whatsoever.  Sometimes, this can be a gift and sometimes a curse.  It's all about how you perceive it.  The spirits will come to you. Usually, not in the obvious ways of trying to communicate with the other side such as Ouija boards, séance's or other direct methods we think of when trying to communicate with the dead.  

What is an INVITER?  An Inviter are more than likely, a medium.  A medium is someone who ASK to speak to a particular spirit that is not living.  This type of channeling sometimes includes, using Ouija boards, séance tables and sometimes allowing the spirits to inhibit the mediums body and use their voice to relay a message.  You are inviting the spirits to communicate with you, and a Receiver is not.

Think of it this way.  You are a beacon of light in a dark room.  When you are a Receiver, everyone in that dark room will gravitate towards you and you will not be able to pick and  choose who you want to talk to.  But, when you are an Inviter, you are the beacon of light, with your very own spotlight that you can shine on one particular spirit to communicate with.

Sometimes, I think being an Inviter is a little better than being a Receiver because then you have a choice of when and where you communicate with spirits.  Not, just all the sudden a dead person shows up next to you at the movies!

Here is an example of a Receiver's abilities.  This is a true story about me.  I was at a conference this summer and we were on a ghost hunt in an old abandon hotel.  I was with a bunch of ladies I did not know.  We were trying to communicate with the spirit of a little girl that had supposedly drown down in the pool area.   All of the sudden I started seeing this man.  WTH?  Why was I seeing him?  It was obvious to me that know one else was noticing him.  Do I say something?  I am looking around and totally confused.  Wait!  We were asking to talk with the spirit of a little girl, not a grown man.  

All of the sudden, I see him walk over behind a lady I had never met before and stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.  He was tall, blonde hair, button-down shirt,  and jeans.  He was smiling and told me to tell her to "follow your heart".  So, that's what I did.  I looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, but did you lose someone in your family that would be tall and have blonde hair"?  She said, "yes".  And then I heard him say, almost in a regretful way, "I killed myself".  I DID NOT want to say that out loud, because the lady I was speaking to was almost "dismissive" of what I was saying to her anyway.  And the one thing I DID NOT WANT TO DO is continue with what I am perceiving is a message from one loved one to another, by overstepping my boundaries if the living person was not ready to receive the message.  Then she starts to say, "Yes.  My brother.  He overdosed".  And then continues to tell us that she had not spoken of him in a long, long time, until today when she, and I believe she said, her sister were talking about him in the car on the way up.

Then I said, "he said to make SURE I tell you, to follow your heart".  Then I asked, "does this have any meaning to you at all"? and she said, "No".  I asked again, "Are you sure?" And again, she responses, "No".   So, I am saying back to him, (telepathically) "she doesn't know what you are talking about"!  Then he says, "No.  Ask her about her job"!  And this time he said it with conviction!  Like I am not leaving here until she gets my message.    "She will know what I mean if you ask her about her job".  So, as badly as I hated to, I turned around again, and said, "I'm sorry, are you considering a job change"?  This time she looked at me a little confused and said, "Yes".  And I said, "That is the message.  Follow your heart and not the money".  I asked again, "Do you understand this message"? And this time she said, "Yes".  I just said "Good" and tried to just leave it at that.  I didn't want to pressure her anymore.  And "he" was so cute, and just waved and said, "Bye ladies, I'm out"!  And just like that he was gone.

Now, did I ask for him to come give his sister a message? No.  Did I ask her if I could try and communicate with her brother? No.  It just happened.  This is what it is like being a Receiver.  You never know when or where a spirit will reach out to you.

So, either way.  Whether you invest and grow your gift or you choose to disconnect from it, just know that you are either going to be the person in that dark room that is the beacon of light for others, or the person in that dark room holding the spotlight.  It may not be easy to decide what to do next, but I hope this helped you understand just a little more about how the spirits see you as on the other side.  

And, by the way, the lady that had received a message from her brother, texted me a few days later and thanked me for the message.  She said she had never really believed in "that sort of thing" but she knew exactly what the message was about, as she was not only making a career choice, but considering making some life choices as well.  This lady will make the right decision.  Don't ask me how I know, but I do.  And good for her.  Nothing makes me feel better than to give a message to someone, that sometimes, doesn't even know they need it.   

 

CAN YOU SEE GHOSTS AND SPIRITS IN THE DAYLIGHT?

Can you see ghosts and spirits in the daylight?

One of the most famous apparitions' photos taken was at Bachelor's Grove in Chicago, Ill. during the day. (Photo by GRS)

Many times, people just think about seeing ghosts at night.  They only come out when it is dark, quiet and spooky.  Right?  Wrong.  Ghosts don't hide until you go to bed at night and then say "Ok.  They turned out the lights, that's our queue to go haunt them".  lol

Nighttime does provide more contrast to see an apparition or spirit.  The IR camera uses an entirely different light wavelength that makes it easier to capture things in the dark that we just can't see in the daytime.  There is no doubt that during the daytime, outlines of apparitions, spirits or orbs are faint and harder to see, but that doesn't mean they can't be seen at all.

Think about it.  At night, when you are ghost hunting, you are very aware of your surroundings.  You notice every little sound.  You notice every shadow that crosses a light.  You are "expecting" to see and hear things.  During the daytime, you just aren't.  Your busy with the hustle and bustle of your everyday life.   Here's an example of what I mean by being aware of "your surroundings."  In a room full people, talking and moving around, you may not notice a ball on the floor.  But if the room was empty, quiet and calm, you may see the ball on the floor right away.  That's kinda what it's like between the difference of seeing an apparition in the daytime or at night.

I want to share a quick story with you to prove when you are least expecting it and in broad daylight, that's when it can happen the most. 

I work very close to a cemetery.  Which I may add, my office is VERY HAUNTED to!  Wonder why???  Ok.  Back to my story.  One day, I decided to grab some lunch and take it down to the cemetery.  It was a beautiful, bright sunny day and had just enough of a breeze to make it perfect.  The Swisher Cemetery in Lake Dallas, Tx. is a small cemetery that has some beautiful big trees that make wonderful shade.   The cemetery is very well maintained with beautiful tombstones and lots of green grass.  The perfect place to have a nice quiet lunch.

I pulled up to the very back of the cemetery, parked my car under a huge shade tree, rolled down my window and turned off the radio.  Ok.  Full discloser...I turned my phone on that had a ghost app on it, so I was just letting it run while I ate my lunch.  What can I say?  It's in my blood.  Nevertheless, I was alone and enjoying myself very much.

Even though my car was at the back of the cemetery, it was facing the street where I could see the cars going by.  

Now, this is where I would say, "all of the sudden" but every ghost story starts that way, so I want to be different and say, "Suddenly" (lol) I looked up and could see a very tall, old man walking along the side of the road.  He was extremely skinny and was looking down kicking the dirt up as he walked with his old, worn leather cowboy boots.  Here's something else.  HE WAS NOT TRANSPARENT!  I could see him in full color.  I could see dried, caked on dirt on the side of his boots.  I could see his jeans were dirty and worn and he had a dirty off-white long sleeve shirt on. The top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. His face was very dark brown as if he had been in the sun a long time.  It was wrinkly, and leather looking.  He looked like he had been working in a field or something.  I noticed him in detail because there was nothing else going on as I was just sitting there eating my lunch in my car.  NOT FOR A SINGLE SECOND did I think he was anything but a living, breathing old man walking down the road.  As I watched him walk along the side of the road, I thought to myself, "He must be someone that watches out for the cemetery and is wondering what I am doing down here.  I better go tell him I am just eating my lunch here."  

Now, I want you to know that I watched this man for probably, about 30 secs before I decided I better go tell him what I was doing in the cemetery.  I put down my hamburger (yes, it was a burger, don't judge. lol) and sat my drink in the holder in the center of my car.  I started to drive up the gravel road to the main street.  As I looked up, I couldn't see him anymore.  I thought, "well, he must have just walked over the hill and I just can't see him anymore".  I didn't think anything about it and continued to drive up the road.  But when I got to the top of the hill, he was GONE!!!  Like vanished!  He wasn't anywhere to be found. Where did he go???  It didn't take me but a minute to get to the street and for sure he would have not had time to walk anywhere without me seeing him.  I literally, stopped and looked around for probably five minutes before I started to realize what I had seen, might have been an apparition!  This guy did not seem like someone "of today's times" for sure.  Had I seen an apparition in the middle of the day?  And why?

On the other side of the cemetery and street, is an open field.  Huummmm.  Maybe what I saw was an apparition of an old farmer walking back across his field.  He was walking very slow, and the ground was so dry, that the dust was kicking up around his old boots as he walked.  Maybe he had been plowing or something like that.  Whatever he was doing, I saw him!    

The moral to my story?  Is that you CAN see ghosts and spirits in the daytime.  But why?  How is that possible?  Again, at night, it is much quieter, and things are settled down.  There are also, not so many distractions.  You are more relaxed and focused and that makes it much easier for you to have an experience or to realize that something may not be a normal occurrence and could be paranormal.

The same rules apply for ghost hunting during the daytime as they do at night.  Always take more than one picture.  Taking two or three pictures back-to-back can help prove your evidence.  Protect yourself.  Whether that is praying to a higher power or something else that you believe can protect you by surrounding you with love and light, then please don't forget to do that.

Below are just a few of my favorite daytime photos of mist and two apparitions in a window. Enjoy. 

So, pay attention to your day.  If you think you saw a ghost in the corner, you just may have. 

The Battleship Texas

The Eason Cemetery

Eason Cemetery

McPike Mansion

 

THE LUXOR IN LAS VEGAS IS HAUNTED!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME TO MAKE ME A BELIEVER!!!

The Luxor in Las Vegas

Sin City...Las Vegas is full of night life and of course "sins" lol but did you know Las Vegas has a dark side?  No...darker than losing all your money and ending up in a strange room not remembering what you did!!! LOL

I recently took my Mom and daughter to Vegas for a much needed "girls trip".  My Mom had not been there in years and I wanted to take her somewhere fun.  So I booked us a room at the Luxor.  Now, you know me....I'm going to check it out to see if there is anything haunted associated with the hotel and guess what...... there was!!!  But here's the deal.  I couldn't tell my Mom and daughter because I didn't want them to freak out! LOL

First, let me tell you about some of the reported deaths and hauntings connected to the Luxor.  And let me tell you.....there is quite the list!!!!

At 30 stories high there is no other hotel in Las Vegas that stands out quite like the Luxor.  Shaped like a pyramid with the strongest beam of light in the world peering out of the top.  This Egyptian style themed hotel is stunning from the inside as you can see straight up to the top of the pyramid just about from every location due to the shape.

During the construction of the Luxor it was reported that two construction workers died.  And many local suggest as many as seven workers perished during the building of the Luxor.  The treacherous construction process is the most dangerous of all the hotels in Vegas.  Many visitors have reported seeing the fallen workers roaming the Luxor.

In September 1996, just a few years after the Luxor’s opening, a woman jumped from the 26th story of the hotel, falling to her death. Immediately, the woman died from severe head injuries. Per Clark County’s Sgt. Bill Keeton: “it was over very quickly.” Her injuries were so severe that she could not be readily identified, and she carried no identification on her. The woman landed by the old buffet’s entrance, which shortly after her death was completely, thoroughly cleared out and converted into a food court.

There was also another incident where a man fell to his death from the 10th floor.

In May 2007, in the Luxor parking garage, a coffee cup was left atop the car of a 24-year-old Luxor food court employee. When the employee went to remove the cup, the cup exploded. A homemade explosive device was inside the cup. The employee died from shrapnel inside the bomb.

In 2012, an airman from Nellis Air Force Base got into a fight with a colleague in the first-floor lobby of the Luxor’s west tower. The colleague pushed the airman against an elevator door, which then inexplicably opened—despite no elevator compartment being present. The airman fell 25 feet down the empty shaft to the basement level. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Later it was reported that he died of his injuries.

Many feel the Luxor is cursed.  Where the Luxor now sits was once the site of a popular burial ground for mobsters’ victims, as it was, at the time, off the beaten path. As is common knowledge, a property built atop a graveyard never has good fortunes.

Ok...…… now here is our experience at the Luxor.  First we were on the 28th floor(Room 28017 I think?) which there is only the penthouses above us.  It's a little creepy in the elevators because it takes so long and they are very wobbly because of the angle they are going up.  I'm not going to lie, the elevators were scary!!! You just thought the cable would snap at any minute!!!  By the way, we were NOT the only guests that felt this way.

Anyway, on our last day, we were walking around the Luxor and I casually said, "Well I guess I can tell ya'll now....we are staying at a haunted hotel".  My daughter Lindsey just STOPS DEAD IN HER TRACKS and yells "I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!"  I just started laughing and said, "See you would have never known if I hadn't told you.  Nothing happened".  She said, OH NO something DID happen!!!!!!!!  The other night when we were asleep I heard someone walking around and going through our suitcases!!!!!  I said "Oh Lins….you DID not".  She got very serious and said, YES I DID and it was LOUD!!!!!!!!   So loud and plan I was so terrified I couldn't  move or open my eyes!!!  Because I knew we were sleeping together and Nana (my Mom) was in the other bed. MOM IT WAS BAD!!!!!!!! So, here's were it gets good.  My Mom can't hear anything!!!  You have to yell at her for her to be able to hear you and she jumped in and said "I HEARD IT TO"!!!!! 

So, let me lay out the room for you.  We had double beds and my daughter and I were sharing a bed so my Mom could have her own.  We all three had one big suitcase apiece.  So we just laid them on the floor side by side against the wall.  To give us more room.  Lindsey said she could hear someone moving the cloths around and walking to the next suitcase.  My Mom then says, "Yeah, I didn't even open my eyes because I thought one of you must have gotten up and was looking for something in the suitcases.  It was very loud."

OK.....Ya'll.  I thought it might be Lindsey's imagination but when MY MOM said she heard the same thing and SHE can't hear......well I found it pretty cool!!!! :)  My daughters swears SOMEONE was in our ROOM!!!!  She said she thought we were going to die because she was to scared to open her eyes and couldn't scream for help. LOL.  I am still recovering from a ruptured Achilles so I had taken something for pain that helped me sleep.  So maybe that is why I did not hear anything.

Was this someone who had committed suicide here?  Or was it one of the workers that was killed during construction?  I do know that one of the suicides took place on the 26th floor just below us.  Whatever IT was...…..it scared my daughter to death!!!!!!!

So, if you are headed to Vegas, and want a little ghostly action or a break from the slots, ask for room 28017 and go to bed early. Oh...and leave your suitcase open. :)

My Mom
 

 

GHOST HUNTING IN CEMETERIES - GREAT PLACE OR NOT???

Going to a cemetery?  Count me IN!!!!  A bunch of dead people and caskets!  YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
Man, I do love me some haunted cemeteries!!!  Many people will argue that a cemetery IS NOT a great place to go ghost hunting.  That the spirit of the body buried in the ground is more than likely at a location if there is to be a haunting.  I beg to differ.

Some of the best EVP's and photos I have ever gotten have been in a cemetery.  You've heard of attachments?  Spirits that attach themselves to an object like a favorite chair or toy, right?  Then why would they not want to attach to the one thing that truly represents them?  There outer shell....the physical body.

Many times when you investigate a location you one of the things you look for is places with "Great emotion". Well...….hello......what a better place than a cemetery to have a ton of true emotions!  Think about it.  Some people are sad, because their loved one is gone, some maybe happy because  their loved ones are in a "better place", some maybe confused because they don't fully understand the loss of their loved ones and some maybe angry, angry that they are left alone.  All that emotion in one place...You betcha ya I'm in!!!!

It's like a party for the dead!  I have actually gotten EVP's in a cemetery that sounded like two spirits interacting with each other.  And if you have captured that then you know it is soooo exciting an amazing to witness.  Another time, up in Alton, Illinois some friends of mine and I went to check out one of the local cemeteries.  We started seeing dark shadows dart from tombstone to another.  We were all seeing them!  We started walking through the cemetery and one of guys stepped on a grave (which we always try and walk around instead over just walking over the graves) and just a natural response said, "Oh, I'm so sorry about that" and we all heard at the same time a soft woman's voice say, "That's ok".  Even better, we caught it on our recorder as plain as day!  A class A EVP!!!

Many times if you just sit still and look around you will be able to see the dark shadows.  The shadows are darker than the dark.  And if you are lucky enough, you may even be able to capture one in one of your pictures.  If you do go to a cemetery, this is a great place for trigger objects.  Bring a toy to a child's grave or choose a coin with and older date that matches someones death year.

Here is one of my favorite videos that we captured a ball rolling of the edge of a wall that surrounded an old grave.  

                             

                                                        The Skinner Cemetery

Also, here are a couple of my video's of EVP's and paranormal evidence we have received at cemeteries.

                             

                                                  The Channing Park Cemetery

                             
                                                            Lane Cemetery

I definitely think a cemetery is an awesome place for ghost hunting.   But please be respectful when you do investigate.

GOATMAN'S BRIDGE-DO YOU DARE? AND GET READY, THERE'S A BOOK ABOUT IT!!!!

THE SECRETS OF GOATMAN'S BRIDGE!!!
🎄🎅🎅🤶

Get ready!  JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!  The Secrets of Goatman's Bridge is out NOW!  Available on Amazon, you can read all about the Goatman's Bridge and learn why this bridge has earned the title as One of the Most Haunted Bridges in America!  Be sure to get yours on Amazon for the perfect stocking stuffer. Available in Kindle and paperback. The book is full of true accounts of Paranormal Activity and photos of actual evidence we have collected over the years at this insanely haunted bridge! This is my first time writing a book so I hope you enjoy it.  AND PLEASE if you do purchase a copy leave a REVIEW on Amazon.  This helps me as an author. :)  Thanks in advance for the support!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                                              ORDER YOURS NOW!!! CLICK HERE

                                                             

 huuummm Just thinking back to the filming of Ghost Adventures...….

WOW!!! What a surprise to get a call from the Ghost Adventures producer to feature me on a 2-hour Halloween Special!!!  What????  How did that happen??? Did they call the right number? However it did....YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, where do I start!  I'm going to make this short and sweet.  They wanted to do a special on the Old Alton Bridge in Denton, Tx where I give ghost tours.  The bridge is better known as "Goatman's Bridge" by the locals.  They wanted to know if I would appear in a 2-Hour Halloween Special.  Now,  if I'm being honest......HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was jumping around all over my house and at the same time trying to play it "Cool" on the phone with the producer...."well, sure....I guess I could do that". LOL   They ask me to gather a couple of people that I knew had had an experience at the bridge so I asked Belynda DiCiaccio and Phoebe Birt.

It ended up being a "family affair" because Belynda's son Kaleb, my daughter Lindsey and Belynda's husband Mark all got to do some reenacting for the show!!!  This bridge has a VERY DARK PAST full of murder, suicide, death, torture and very evil souls that remain tied to this bridge.  Now, before I can go any further I also want to thank my boyfriend Deak who was AMAZING through this whole process!!!  It took about threes day to complete and he just let me "do my thing" and never complained and was soooo supportive!   Thank you honey...I love you tons and tons!!!! 

Now, the burning question on everyone's mind???  What is Zak really like???   Lol.  Well he definitely is as cute in person as he is on TV!  The other guys are soooo nice as well.  I can definitely tell you that Zak runs "the show".  Telling everyone where to stand and what to do.  Business....very business like!!!  No room for small talk at all. lol

Also, I don't know how many of you are from Texas but it's HOT HERE!!!!  Sweat ran down our faces the whole time we were there.  I don't think the Ghost Adventures Crew was ready for the heat!

This bridge has a dark history that includes....murder, suicide, torture, missing children and lots and lots of violence!  Every time we are at the bridge we always get great EVP's and pictures.  If you look at the top of my blog you will see information about the bridge and check out all the pictures we have gotten there.  And also, there will be 2 other stories on the special besides ours.  It's not just two hours of the bridge but I can tell you ours is airing last because it is THE BEST!!!!

Just one little bit of information to pass along with you guys....something happened during filming to one of the crew members that was very serious and now I understand she has quit because of what happened to her out at the bridge.  Stay tuned for that because they DO SHOW this on the Special.

Now, this will air on the Travel Channel on October 29th, 2016 at 8PMCT.  And I don't want to hear any comments about how bad I looked because it was like 110 degrees and I had on black standing in the sun!!! LOL  I can tell you that SOMETHING did happen to one of the Ghost Adventures Film Crew while filming.  It was not planned and it did STOP production for quite a while!  It was VERY SCARY so don't miss it!!!

One last thing, this is a TV SHOW so they REALLY play it up big!!!  They only wanted to know about the EVIL things that took place at the bridge and not really interested in the history.  So keep that in mind when watching. :)

           An EVP Session on one of the Ghost Tours.

One last thing....I LOVED GETTING to do this!!!  I have ALWAYS wanted to have some of my paranormal photos and experience recognized on TV......not so I can say "I'm a star" or "famous" or anything like that.....just wanted someone to validate that the things I do or research are "good enough" to be on TV.  My whole life has been devoted to the paranormal in honor of my grandfather (I know that's weird to some of you) and for some CRAZY reason I just always felt if I get my stuff on TV that my grandfather and I could say...."we'll we DID IT and WE DID IT TOGETHER"!!!!  

Well, that dream came true a few years back when I got to go to LA and film for my Ghost Stories but to be able to do it a SECOND TIME....there are no words............NONE.....none that I can think of that could express my gratitude and how LUCKY I have been!  Some people's dreams DO come true....and some people.....well.........some people like me...........do something crazy in life like Ghost Hunting that others don't always understand......and get to be on TOP OF THE WORLD and yell.........Thank you......I DID IT........ TWICE!!!!!(That got a little mushy didn't it? LOL)  

The pictures below are just some that we took while filming.  Be sure to notice the ones I have circled.   They are not great but I wanted to show them to you anyway.  One, has a light mist.  It's kinda' hard to see and the other SEEMS to have well....horns on the top of it!!!  See what you think and DON'T FORGET TO WATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, don't forget to check on the main page about the TOURS I give out at the bridge.  Check for dates and come hang out with me for an hour or two. :)  The snakes HOPEFULLY will be going into hibernation by then. :)

It is hard to tell but there seems
to be a "light mist" in this pic.

Belynda and Aaron

Belynda and 

Can you guess which one is me?

Little girl saying "We want to play".