DEMONIC POSSESSION-WHAT HAS CHANGED THAT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE BECOMING POSSESSED???

Demonic Possession seems to be on the rise.  Why is that?????  What could be causing more and more people to believe they are possessed???  Could it be because of all the paranormal shows on TV and the movies making it look "easy" to go out and communicate with the "other side"????  So are people opening themselves up to the UNKNOWN????  Whatever the reason....this seems to be a REAL problem!

Check out what the Today Show reported on March 1, 2018!!!!!

So what is going on?  Are Exoticism's going to become as common as calling in a plumber?  Ok...Ok....maybe not THAT common but you get the point.  Demonic Possession in my opinion, and mines the only one that counts right.....LOL  anyway....Demonic Possession is STILL VERY RARE.
If you suddenly don't FEEL LIKE YOURSELF....examine what is going on in your life first.  Are you stressed about work, finances, family, relationships, bills, not sleeping well, do you seem upset all the time.....maybe you've been sick and just can't seem to get over it.  Don't automatically assume that it is something paranormal or even demonic.  It could just be life.

We all get a little depressed at times and sometimes we get VERY depressed. After all, this world can be very difficult can't it?  Isn't it funny, how when one thing starts to go wrong then ten others do to???  Because we start to focus on the NEGATIVE and not the POSITIVE.  Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.  But here is the good news...it is treatable.

Also, many people surfer from Oppression.  The definition of Oppression  is:  The act or instance of oppressing or subjecting to cruel or unjust impositions or restraints. 2. The state of being oppressed. 3. The feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse condition, anxiety.   Again, this can be treated.  All though SOME of the conditions can be mimicked in an actual demonic possession, please check with a professional or  medical doctor first before "self diagnosing" it is an actual Demonic Possession.

Listen, you are bombarded with shows about "bad things" happening....there are TONS of scary movies out there and there are TONS of paranormal shows on tv, heck just watching the daily news is frightening at times!  This is going to sound silly but just keep an open mind.  THE POWER OF SUGGESTION is a VERY POWERFUL THING!!!!!!!!!  What do I mean?  Well.....think about this......have you ever gotten up and gotten dressed and you feel fine and you head out for the day.  Midway through the day.....someone says to you "you don't look good, do feel ok?"  I bet by the end of the day you suddenly start to feel ill.  If I told you to drink apple juice at night, it would help you sleep that it really worked for me....I'm going to bet that if you drink apple juice before bed you are going to start to feel sleepy.  Does it really make you sleepy....no.....but the "seed has been planted" in your subconscious so to speak.

Now, don't get me wrong!!!!  I'm not saying that EVERYTHING you may be going through is all in your head.  If you are experiencing things like speaking in foreign tongue, suddenly have a strong dislike for religious emblems, you hear voices telling you to do bad things, you have moments of "blackouts" that your friends and family say that you became very enraged and wasn't yourself and you remember nothing...then certainly seek help from your local church.

A true Demonic Possession can be devastating to the person who's body has been taken over as well as to all those around him or her.  Even life threatening in very rare cases.  I certainly don't want to come off here sounding cynical, I just wonder.....what has changed?  What is different now than it was 30 or 40 years ago?  Why are more and more people feeling like they have become possessed??????  To the point that the Vatican is training more Exorcists!!!! 

Exorcism: Facts and Fiction About Demonic Possession

By Benjamin Radford, Live Science Contributor | March 7, 2013 02:48pm ET

The belief that demons exist and can possess people is of course the stuff of fiction and horror films — but it is also one of the most widely-held religious beliefs in the world. Most religions claim that humans can be possessed by demonic spirits (the Bible, for example, recounts six instances of Jesus casting out demons), and offer exorcisms to remedy this threat.

The idea that invading spirits are inherently evil is largely a Judeo-Christian concept; many religions and belief systems accept possession by both beneficent and malevolent entities for short periods of time as uncommon — and not especially alarming — aspects of spiritual life. Spiritualism, a religion that flourished across America in the 1800s and is still practiced in a few places today, teaches that death is an illusion and that spirits can possess humans. New Agers have also long embraced a form of possession called channeling, in which spirits of the dead are said to inhabit a medium's body and communicate through them. Hundreds of books, and even some symphonies, have been allegedly composed by spirits.

Hollywood, of course, has been eager to capitalize on the public's continued fascination with exorcism and demonic possession with films often dubbed "based on a true story." There are countless exorcism-inspired films, including "The Last Exorcism," "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," "The Devil Inside" and "The Rite" — wildly varying in quality, originality, and scariness. The greatest cultural influence, of course, came from the classic "The Exorcist." In the weeks after the film came out in 1974, a Boston Catholic center received daily requests for exorcisms. The script was written by William Peter Blatty, adapted from his best-selling 1971 novel of the same name. Blatty described the inspiration for the film as a Washington Post article he’d read in 1949 about a Maryland boy who had been exorcised. Blatty believed (or claimed to believe) it was an accurate account, though later research revealed the story had been sensationalized was far from credible.

Fictional Exocrisms

Michael Cuneo, in his book "American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty," credits Blatty and "The Exorcist" with much of the modern-day interest in exorcism. As for historical accuracy, though, Cuneo characterizes Blatty's work as a massive structure of fantasy resting on a flimsy foundation of one priest's diary. There really was a boy who underwent an exorcism, but virtually all of the gory and sensational details appearing in the book and film were wildly exaggerated or completely made up.

Real exorcisms

While many Americans think of real exorcisms as relics of the Dark Ages, exorcisms continue to be performed, often on people who are emotionally and mentally disturbed. Whether those undergoing the exorcism are truly possessed by spirits or demons is another matter entirely. Exorcisms are done on people of strong religious faith. To the extent that exorcisms "work," it is due to the power of suggestion and psychology: If you believe you're possessed (and that an exorcism will cure you), then it just might.

The word exorcism derives from the Greek word for oath, "exousia." As religious studies scholar James R. Lewis explains in his book "Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore, and Popular Culture," "To exorcise thus means something along the lines of placing the possessing spirit under oath — invoking a higher authority to compel the spirit — rather than an actual 'casting out.'" This becomes clear when the demonic entity is commanded to leave the person, not by the authority of a priest but instead, for example, "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

The Vatican first issued official guidelines on exorcism in 1614, and revised them in 1999. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, signs of demonic possession include superhuman strength, aversion to holy water, and the ability to speak in unknown languages. Other potential signs of demonic possession include spitting, cursing, and "excessive masturbation."

Along with a handful of Vatican-sanctioned exorcists, there are hundreds of self-styled exorcists around the world. After attending 50 exorcisms during research for his book, Michael Cuneo states that he never saw anything supernatural or unexplainable: No levitation or spinning heads or demonic scratch marks suddenly appearing on anyone's faces, but many emotionally troubled people on both sides of the ritual.

While most people enjoy a scary movie, belief in the literal reality of demons and of the efficacy of exorcism can have deadly consequences. In 2003, an autistic 8-year-old boy in Milwaukee, Wis., was killed during an exorcism by church members who blamed an invading demon for his disability; in 2005 a young nun in Romania died at the hands of a priest during an exorcism after being bound to a cross, gagged, and left for days without food or water in an effort to expel demons. And on Christmas Day 2010 in London, England, a 14-year-old boy named Kristy Bamu was beaten and drowned to death by relatives trying to exorcise an evil spirit from the boy.

Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and author of six books including "Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries." His website is www.BenjaminRadford.com.

THE REAL HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT IS EVEN SCARIER THAN THE MOVIE!!!

The truth about the poplar movie, The Haunting in Connecticut, was revealed in an interview with People.com.  For two years, Carmen Reed, the mother of the boy who had been plagued by a malevolent force, stated the children in the home had been slapped, groped, and terrorized.  According to the interview, in order to be closer to the clinic where her son underwent cancer treatments, the family moved into a former funeral home.

The torment began the first night they arrived.  It started with her son seeing a man with black hair that hung down to his hips.  The apparition appeared to him daily.  Sometimes, the entity would just say his name.  Other times, he'd make threats.  The doctors, after being informed of the boy's visions, declared him a schizophrenic.

Soon after, her son's disposition seemed to change.  He began playing cruel tricks on his family.  Not sure what to do, the Reed's sent their son to live with nearby relatives.  Interestingly the voices and the visions stopped!

But now with the boy gone, the entity set his sights on one of the Carmen's nieces.  One night, her eighteen-year-old niece said, "Aunt Carmen, it's coming, can you feel it?"  Terrified, she clung to Carmen.  Pulling her away, Reed glanced down and saw the imprint of an invisible hand crawl up her niece's shirt.  That's when she realized that the vision and voice that had plagued her son were supernatural.

Immediately she reached out for help.  Famed demonologist John Zaffis, along with three priests, performed a three-hour exorcism.  Zaffis was later quoted as saying, "Compared to that house, the other cases I had been involved with were like dealing with Casper the Friendly ghost."  He continued, "All I wanted to do was get my car keys and get the hell out of that house."  Although the exorcism was a success, the Reed family no longer lives there.  The torment they's endured at the hands of the evil that once lurked within their former Southington home will never be forgotten!

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

    

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!!! :)

ST.VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE IN CHICAGO 1929-ARE THE BRICKS FROM THE GARAGE OF THE MASSACRE HAUNTED BY SOMETHING EVIL???

Keeping in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I thought I would write about the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago.  

LOCATION:

Street Address of the site of the 1929 Massacre:

2212 North Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois

On February 14th, 1929 the S-M-C Cartage Company, a red brick building and garage stood at this North Clark Street address, on the North side of Chicago. The garage was also used as a warehouse for illegal, black market liquor for the North side Bugs Moran gang, a mob of thugs who were in direct competition with Al Capone's gang in selling illicit bootleg booze to a very thirsty Chicago population during the Prohibition years.

HISTORY OF THIS LOCATION:

After the bloody killing of 7 of the Moran gang, the garage became an unofficial memorial, and the brick wall where the 7 were executed was riddled with machine gun bullets. It became a popular tourist attraction for a time.

Twenty years later, In 1949, the front half of the garage was converted into an antique furniture storage business by people new to Chicago and didn't know what had happened there. Unfortunately more tourists than customers came and they eventually gave up and moved on. In 1967, the old building was torn down, but the infamous wall of bricks was saved and used in another night club, built into a wall of the men's rest room. Other bricks were smuggled out by workmen tearing down the building.

A fenced off lawn, which belongs to a nearby nursing home, was put in where the garage once stood, with 5 trees planted on site. The tree in the middle of the lawn marks the place where the infamous brick wall once stood.

Chicago policemen re-enact the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1929)	St. Valentine's Day Massacre

HISTORY OF AL CAPONE

Al Capone, Chicago's most powerful, ruthless gangster in the 1920s era, was really a Brooklyn transplant who migrated to Chicago with his best buddy and future cohort in Chicago crime, Johnny Torrio who was originally hired by his Chicago mobster uncle, Big Jim Collisimo. Johnny Torrio and Al Capone made ambitious plans to take over the black market booze market, but not by fair market competition. (They missed taking economics in school because they dropped out at the 6th grade).

After knocking off Uncle Big Jim Collisimo, Al and Johnny waged a bloody war against other mobs in Chicago, resulting in 500 deaths by the time Capone was through in 1930. When Johnny was nearly killed in 1925, he retired, leaving a 30 million dollar empire in the capable hands of Al Capone at the age of 26! Al Capone had 1000 gunmen, half the police department on his payroll, as well as local politicians, state attorneys, and law makers. So whenever he had to conduct business, many just looked the other way; that is until he crossed the line on February, 14th, 1929 with the St. Valentines Day Massacre.

While Capone was far away enjoying life in Florida, he put this job in the capable, murderous hands of "Machine Gun" McGurn, who was given complete control of the hit. He planned it but stayed away from the event himself, with an air-tight alibi. "Talented out of towners" were recruited for this hit; Fred "Killer" Burke, James Ray, John Scalise and Albert Anselmi, Joseph Lolordo and Harry and Phil Keywell from Detroit's Purple Gang.

DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT

On the morning of February 14, 1929, a group of Bugs Moran's gangsters were waiting in this garage, for a truck full of stolen liquor from Detroit to arrive. Johnny May, Frank and Pete Gusenburg, Bugs Moran's brother-in-law, James Clark, Adam Heyer, Al Weinshank and a gangster wanna-be, optometrist Reinhardt Schwimmer, who learned too late that it was dangerous hanging with men on the wrong side of the law.

As they waited, a police car pulled up outside. (Uh oh, this wasn't good!) Five men, three dressed as policemen exited and walked into the garage with machine guns ready. All seven men were lined up against the brick wall and shot many times from the machine guns. While Capon's gunmen wiped out the Northern Chicago gang, they missed Bugs Moran, who was late to the party. Bugs Moran later accused Al Capone of this vicious hit. Though there wasn't any evidence to directly link Al Capone to this event, people believed Bugs.

MANIFESTATIONS:

The location of this brutal mass killing has been haunted for years, the bricks are said to bring bad luck, and Al Capone himself saw his reign come to an end and was haunted by an entity until he died in Florida.

1) The location of this brutal mass killing has been haunted for years

a) Unusual light and mists have been reported.

b) Male voices are heard when no one else is around.

c) Sounds of screaming men and machine-gun fire are still heard by the living passing by this place

d) Sensitive people who stand in front of the fenced lawn, or walk by it, develop a sense of real fear and so do animals.

2) The bricks are said to bring bad luck.

a) The theory is that the bricks soaked in all this powerful negative energy from the killings. Legend has it that after the nightclub outlived its purpose, the bricks were taken out and sold individually for 1000 dollars each. But many of the bricks that were sold were given back because the new owners suffered a rash of bad luck, so the story goes.

b) Others say that the bricks were never sold individually but were kept together in a packed box, numbered, with a diagram as to how to put the wall back together, with the hopes that a single buyer would buy the whole wall of bricks. It never sold; not yet anyway.

3) Capone himself got his just desserts. Unfortunately for Al Capone, consequences resulted as a result of this planned massacre, carried out by hired gunmen.

a) People were repulsed with this bloody mass killing, and a lot of political pressure resulted in nailing Capone for tax evasion, landing him in prison, sentenced to 11 years of hard time, winding up on the rock, Alcatraz. Though he only stayed in until 1939, he didn't always have both oars in the water, which forced him into retirement.

b) The entity of Moran's brother-in-law, James Clark immediately started to haunt Capone who was living in his Florida house at the time of the massacres. He tried to send the entity to the other side via a medium in 1931, but it didn't work. After Capone, broken in spirit and mind, returned to Florida after being released from prison, the entity reappeared and haunted Al until he died.

c) Al Capone was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery. It is said that he sometimes appears to the disrespectful visitors who come to visit his family's plot.

The video below is one we took in the creepest stairway of the Congress Hotel in Chicago where Al Capone is said to have lived part time and stayed.  You really have to look hard to this stairway we were in below!   The bricks inside were burned and it was obviously a place where not many people go!  Very old and very dark!  

RE-POST MCPIKE MANSION-THIS HAUNTED MANSION WILL LEAVE YOU SPEECHLESS!!!

This is a re-post on the McPike Mansion in Alton, Il.  I love this place and wait to go back this coming June at the American Ghost Conference.  Check out the picture of the lady and what I believe is a child possibly a little girl.  What do you think?

So, this is McPike Mansion in Alton, Il.  I had a great time here.  For a small town, it is covered with haunted history.  So much to do here.  Ok.  I know the above pictures are hard to make out and I am hoping you can enlarge them on your computer to see the faces better. 

The set of pictures are the same photo I just enlarged the one that has the "faces" in it.

Now, here's my story.  I went up to Alton, Il for one of the annual American Ghost Society's Conference.  I registered late, and therefore, missing out on an investigation of the famous "McPikes" mansion.  I was soooooo bummed!!!  So, on my way to the airport, returning from my trip, I was talking to the cab driver.  He asked me if I got to do everything I wanted and I said "no".  I missed out on an investigation on the old McPikes Mansion.  He said, no problem.  I know where it is, if you would like to go there before catching your flight.  ARE YOU KIDDING!!!!! YESSSS I would love to go there.

So, off we went. After a short drive, he pulled up in the driveway of the McPikes Mansion.  No one was there because it is abandoned and most people go at night.  I got out of the cab and walked just a little ways up in the front yard, because there are NO TRESPASSING signs posted everywhere. I just kinda walked around the front yard taking pictures.  I got back in the cab just feeling awesome that I got to at lease see the outside of the mansion.  Of course, that cab driver got a GREAT tip!!!!!

When I got home I downloaded my pics and my last pics were of the mansion.  My first thought was, wow what a beautiful old mansion and what it must have been like to live here.  THEN.... I looked at my pictures and little closer and couldn't believe my eyes!  I believe there are two people, well one man and a young girl in the window on the second floor.  I could see them clearly!!!  I was sooo excited!!!

If you look close, (may have to enlarge) you can see a little girl's face and to me, appears to be screaming... or with her mouth open.  And right behind her, standing up, looks like a man, maybe with a beard, one of those that goes around the sides of a mans face up to his sideburns.  I don't know.  What do you think?  Mr. McPike or another resident ghost?

I have included below some information about the McPikes Mansion.  Please, Please go to their site and listen to the EVP they have.  You will just click on the Photo's, Orbs and EVP tab on the left.  It is one of the best EVP's I have ever heard.  Nick(Ghost Adventures) has got nothing compared to this. Plus I think that Ghost Adventures show is entertaining, but it's crap! lol  Just my option.  Anyway, you can plainly hear the word HENRY after the guy ask "what is your name?".  Don't miss it.

Ok.  Everybody, this is a long post and I am sorry.  There is just lots to talk about on the subject of the McPike Mansion.  Until next time.........

The house was built in 1869 by architect Lucas Pfeiffenberger.  Original owner of the Mansion was Henry Guest McPike.  The McPike family owned 15 acres of land, then known as Mount Lookout Park.  Here McPike, a horticulturist, perfected his McPike Grape.  The family lived in this, their country home, until 1936.

The house has changed hands several times since its original owner Henry McPike.  The building has been home to Browns Business College and was later owned by Paul Laichinger, who rented rooms in the house to other occupants.

The house has not been occupied since the 1950's.  Before weather and vandals brought extensive damage to the structure, it was a regal addition to the Illinois town of Alton.

The mansion featured 11 marble fireplaces and beautifully carved stairway banisters, all of which have been stolen during its abandonment. Intricate carved trim still border the ceiling in one of the front rooms.

McPike Mansion today is owned by Sharyn and George Luedke who have been trying to nurture this great house back to its regal state.  It is readily known today for its hauntings in paranormal circles. The grounds are often visited by ghost hunters and haunted tour groups in the area.

It is not uncommon to find in photos of the mansion, orbs, balls of light, even figures appearing in the windows that were not seen by the human eye when the photo was taken.

This Grand Ole House is thought to still house many of the  spirits that once lived here.  Many Psychics and Mediums have felt the presence of what they believe to be McPike family, servants, as well as some of those who resided in and owned the house since 1936.

http://www.mcpikemansion.com/

 

GHOST ADVENTURES WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AFTER VISITING THIS PLACE!!!

Zak is talking about Goatman's Bridge where I give tours!!!  I witnessed first had the "situation" that halted production. I tried to warn them this Bridge is VERY HAUNTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait to see the Halloween Special!!!!

ALCATRAZ IS PURE EVIL! ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE PARANORMAL PLACES IN SAN FRANCISCO!

One of the most evil places in America!!!  Yes.....Alcatraz!  And I can't wait!  I will be visiting this place NEXT WEEK!!!!!  So, you guys hang around and when I get back in a couple of weeks, hopefully I will have some "good stuff" for you. :) 

Below is just some information about Alcatraz but at the bottom is a great link about the GHOSTS particularly.....


In the late 1850s, the first inmates to occupy Alcatraz were military prisoners who were put to work building a new prison that later became known as "The Rock." The U.S. Army used the island until 1933, at which time the Federal Government decided to open a maximum-security, minimum-privilege penitentiary to deal with the most incorrigible inmates.

Alcatraz was designed to break rebellious prisoners by putting them in a structured, monotonous routine until their release. Prisoners were given four basic things - food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Receiving anything beyond that had to be earned. Famous criminals, such as Al Capone, George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis and Arthur "Doc" Barker, spent time in Alcatraz. Mobsters in other prisons often managed to manipulate special privileges from guards, but not at Alcatraz.

Tough Punishment

• The Strip Cell
  Prisoners refusing to follow prison rules risked being confined to the Strip Cell, located on the lower tier of D Block. It was a dark steel cell, where inmates would be stripped naked and given water and bread once daily, an occasional meal and a mattress at night. The only 'toilet' was a hole in the cell floor and there was no sink. While there, convicts had no contact with others, spending their time in pitch-dark solitude.
•  

The Hole on D Block
Similar to the strip cell, there were five 'hole' cells also on the lower tier, where prisoners were kept in isolation for up to 19 days. The cells had a toilet, sink, lightbulb and a mattress provided during the night only.

Prison Closure

Because of the huge cost to refurbish the prison it was closed in 1963. Later the island and parts of the prison were reopened by the Parks Services for daily public tours.

 

Tales of Torture

The fact that Alcatraz was built on an island and kept so isolated from public view, tales of inmates being tortured and of their bitter spirits coming back to haunt the halls of Alcatraz began to circulate.

 

The Ghost Stories of Alcatraz

• The Utility Corridor
  One of the areas which some claim is the most active with paranormal activity is a utility corridor where inmates Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard were plummeted with bullets after a failed prison escape. It is there that in 1976 a night security guard reported hearing unexplained eerie clanging sounds coming from inside.
   
• Cell 14D
  Cell 14D, one of the 'hole' cells is believed by some to be very active with spirits. Visitors and employees have reported feeling a raw coldness and at times a sudden 'intensity' encompasses the cell.
  Tales have been told of an event in the 1940s, when a prisoner locked-in 14D screamed throughout the night that a creature with glowing eyes was killing him. The next day guards found the man strangled to death in the cell. No one ever claimed responsibility for the convict's death, however the next day when doing head counts, the guards counted one too many prisoners. Some of the guards claimed seeing the dead convict in line with the other inmates, but only for a second before he vanished.
   
• Warden Johnston
  Other stories have circulated that Warden Johnston, nicknamed "The Golden Rule Warden," also faced a bizarre event while showing some of his guests around the prison. According to the story, Johnston and his group heard someone sobbing from inside the prison walls, and then a cold wind whisked past the group. Johnston could never explain any reason for the occurances.
   
• Cell blocks A, B, and C
  Visitors to cellblocks A and B. claim they have heard crying and moaning. A psychic visiting wrote that while in Block C he came upon a disruptive spirit name Butcher. Prison records show that another inmate in block C murdered Abie Maldowitz, a mob hitman known as Butcher.
   
• The Ghost of Al CaponeAl Capone, who spent his last years at Alcatraz with his health in decline from untreated syphilis, took up playing the banjo with a prison band. Fearing he would be killed if he spent his recreational time in the "yard," Capone received permission to spend recreation time practicing his banjo in the shower room.
  In recent years, a park ranger claimed he heard banjo music coming from the shower room. Not familiar with the history of Alcatraz, the ranger could not find a reason for the sound and documented the strange event. Other visitors and employees have reported hearing the sound of a banjo coming from the prison walls.
   
• More Paranormal Reports
  Other odd events experienced over the years include guards smelling smoke, but finding no fire; sounds of unexplained crying and moaning; unexplained cold spots in areas of the prison and claims of seeing ghosts of prisoners or military personnel.

Below is a GREAT link about the ghosts of Alcatraz!  Check it out.  And btw...if you have ever been to Alcatraz I would LOVE to hear about your experience!!!  Email me or leave a comment and let's see what others have experienced! :)

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-alcatrazghosts2.html

Check out this picture taken at Alcatraz!!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2660086/Ghostly-figure-appears-Alcatraz-Tourists-spooked-photograph-young-woman-waiting-notorious-prison-visitation-block.html