ANASTASIA ISLAND GHOSTS-THE CHILDREN NEVER SLEEP

St. Augustine, Florida, has backed up quite an inventory of spooky sights since it was founded in 1565(man that is a longggggg time ago); and those who dare to enter in the lighthouse on Anastasia Island rarely return.  Having been featured in several paranormal TV documentaries, it might even "outshine" all the other ghostly places in the ancient city.  Built in 1874 directly across Matanzas Bay from the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, this lighthouse is the last in a line of light towers dating back to the 1500's and it's also the domain of a portal to the afterlife.  No wonder St. Augustine is crawling with ghosts!

The 165-foot-tall lighthouse is believed to harbor numerous souls-mostly of lives that ended within the tower or somewhere on the grounds.  There are many contrived ghost stories concerning the lighthouse, among them a tale about thirteen pirates who were executed and buried on the grounds, as well as the story of a former lighthouse "owner" who remains earthbound to revenge himself on the government, which confiscated his property under eminent domain (that means they can take his land if they want to).  Albeit intriguing, none of these yarns have any historical basis, so lets stick with the haunting facts.

The most frequently seen phantom-usually observed on the tower's catwalk is of a little girl who wears a blue dress and a bow in her hair.  People have also been unnerved by the laughter of children late at night.  Investigating mediums attribute these phenomena to three young girls.  Records indicate that when the lighthouse was being built, construction supervisor Hezekiah Pittee resided on the site with his wife and five children.  On July 10th, 1873 while playing with a handcart on a track used for hauling building supplies, two of the Pittee children and a playmate were drowned when the cart ran off the rails and into the bay.

The lighthouse is also known for its cigar smoking ghost, which some believe is an earthbound soul named  Peter Pasmussen, a former keeper remembered for being very fussy when it came to managing the lighthouse.  Although Rasmussen has never been seen, visitors often report smelling cigar smoke in the old fuel house and basement.

Historical records indicate that several people died at or near the lighthouse, including lighthouse keeper William Harn in 1889, and the wife of another location of the present structure-one in 1853, when keeper John Carrera fell from the tower, and the other in 1859, when Joseph Andreu fell while painting the lighthouse.

Perhaps one of these departed souls is the shadowy figure seen roaming the grounds or on the tower's spiral staircase, where TAPS filmed an indisputable moving human figure that mysteriously vanished as they hastily pursued him to the top.  In lighthouses, the stairs are the only way up and down.  Did he jump to his death, or vanish through a portal into the ethereal world?  The St, Augustine Lighthouse and Museum offers you a chance to reflect on this conundrum on its Dark of the Moon after-hours paranormal tour.

Looks like I see a Lighthouse investigation in my future.... :)

GUARDING AGAINST SKEPTICISM BY STEVE GONSALVES OF TAPS

I wanted to share an article by Steve Gonsalves of the TAPS Team or Ghost Hunters as most of us know him as.  I thought this was a really good article about skepticism that I think we all who are in this field get a "good dose" of very often from maybe others that just don't understand what we do or maybe they do and just want to give us a hard time....either way I think Steve's article was really good. 

Guarding Against Skepticism – by Steve Gonsalves

You spend a lot of time doing the research, finding the evidence, and showing your evidence to the public.All this time spent just to hear someone say “That’s not real” or “That just looks like smoke”.
This person we all love is known as a skeptic.
The skeptic could be another research group, the media, or it could be your friend who you are showing your
latest research to.
Skeptic is such an evil word for some, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Not if you research, collect, and present your evidence properly. Be your own skeptic, Don’t believe it until you see it.
Collecting your evidence could be the most important part of your research.
Most common evidence collected are photographs and videos.
We will focus mostly on photographs.
When taking pictures, We all know to make sure it’s not raining, no dust in the air, no camera straps, no smoking on the premises and no breathing in cold weather. 

I would like to go over a few things that can be very beneficial to your investigations.
The first thing you should know about is coupling.
Coupling is using other tools in conjunction with your photographs.
For instance, you could use an EMF gauge in conjunction with your photography.
Most people do this anyway, but a lot of researchers don’t and most new investigators don’t know any better.
This way you could present your evidence as, “Everytime my EMF gauge spikes a reading that supports paranormal phenomena, I capture this smoke like mist on film”.
That is a much better way to present evidence then, “Look at the strange mist in these pictures”.
The EMF gauge offers a scientific backing for your evidence.
The same would work with thermal probes or any of the paranormal adapted technology we use. 

Next, I’d like to talk about control pictures.
These are pictures of a non-paranormal nature on the same roll of film with pictures of a paranormal nature.
What this does is stops people from assuming it is something wrong with the whole roll of film. For example, say you are investigating a case where a woman knows where the activity is, and can tell it’s in the same room as her.
You take a few pictures in the area she says it is, and also take a few pictures in the same area when she says it’s not there.
This way, when you present these pictures as evidence you can say, “When she said the ‘entity’ was present we took these pictures with the fog like mist.
When she said the ‘entity’ was gone, we took these control pictures we took came out clear of the fog like mist”.
So we have control pictures validating our paranormal pictures.
It can also be used as easily as taking pictures outside of the investigation location to use as control pictures.
So you can present them as, “In the location we have these pictures with the fog like mist, we took these control pictures outside of the investigation location and all of these pictures are free from the fog like mist”.

One other thing I want to address is the lingo we use when talking about our research, and more importantly presenting our evidence.
Try to stay away from words that may cast a negative shadow on our research.
Words such as “Ghostbuster”, “Ectoplasm” and “Psychic”.
Not that these things don’t exist, it’s just that these words and words like them reflect negatively on our research.
Ectoplasm was a substance that used to exude from the mouths of early century mediums.
Come to find out it was just cheesecloth they would swallow and regurgitate at the climax of their session.
Also the Ghostbusters movie made Ectoplasm seem like a made up word.
Try to use phrases like mysterious fog, strange mist, or even Ectoplasm-like mist instead of ectoplasm.
You’ll find that if you use words like Ectoplasm, Psychic and Ghostbuster, people will have a harder time taking you seriously.
Of course there is a lot more to making and keeping your reputation healthy, but using simple tips like these it will be a lot easier to present your evidence to skeptics.

Steve Gonsalves

THE EXTREMELY HAUNTED STANLEY HOTEL-EVEN STEPHEN KING COULDN'T MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!  I am still excited about it being October....creepy, spooky, strange things happening.....yep.....right down my alley!!!!!

I am headed to the MOST HAUNTED HOTEL IN THE US this weekend....The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado!  I can not wait!!!!  Wanted to go there for years!!!!  I will be sure and take lots of pics and hopefully have lots of exciting things to share with you all when I get back!!!

So, here is a little about the Stanley:  (And I would love to hear from you if you have had an experience at the Stanley)

The Stanley Hotel was built during the early part of 1900 by Freelan Oscar Stanley, the creator of the Stanley Steam Engine. Stanley and his wife, Flora, came to Colorado in 1903 under instructions from Stanley’s doctor to get some fresh mountain air. He suffered from tuberculosis and had been given six months to live. His doctor made arrangements for them to stay in Estes Park at a friend’s cabin for the summer. Stanley’s health improved dramatically and the couple loved the area.

Stanley Hotel Haunted

Image of The Shining Hotel

The Stanley Hotel was built on land bought from Earl Lord Dunraven, who visited the area during an 1872 hunting excursion. Dunraven built a cabin, hotel and hunting lodge for guests and then homesteaded illegally up to 6,000 acres to try to develop a private hunting preserve. When it was discovered that Dunraven was trying to swindle people out of their money and land, he was made run away.
Construction on the Stanley Hotel began in 1906. Rock and wood obtained from nearby mountains was used to build it in the Georgian style of architecture. It was completed in 1909 and held its grand opening. The hotel catered to the rich and famous and boasted electricity, running water, and telephones. It didn’t have heat, however, so it was turned into a summer resort.
Below you find everything about the Stanley Hotel haunted:

The Shining Hotel

Many people are aware of The Stanley Hotel because of Stephen King’s book The Shining. While he did not write the book while staying at the hotel, he did experience some things there that influenced his writing. King was working on a story centered around a haunted amusement park that had roller coasters flying off the tracks to eat people. His friends didn’t like the story and told him so. He decided to back away for a bit and think about the story some more so King and Tabitha, his wife, traveled through Estes Park and into the Rocky Mountain National Park. Highway 34, or Trailridge Road, was closed because of bad weather. They turned back and King decided to stay at the Stanley Hotel instead. He experienced some scary things while they were there and he worked a lot of these events into The Shining. This is why the hotel is sometimes referred to as the Shining Hotel.

Stanley Hotel Haunted

There have been a number of ghosts spotted at the Stanley Hotel. One of the most well-known is F.O. Stanley himself. He’s often seen hanging around in the Billiard Room and the lobby as these were his favorite areas of the hotel when he was living. He once appeared to a group of tourists that were in the Billiard Room by materializing behind one of the tourists. Bartenders at the Stanley claim to see F.O. strolling through the bar and vanishing as they attempt to stop him at the kitchen.
In addition, Flora Stanley has been spotted quite often. She used to entertain the guests by playing the piano in the ballroom. She’s said to still do just that. Many times, her music is heard, but only the piano keys are seen moving. However, if anyone walks into the room for further investigation, the music ceases, as does the movement of the piano keys.
Various rooms in the Stanley Hotel are especially active when it comes to paranormal activity. One of these is Room 407. Lord Dunraven is said to occupy this room at times. He supposedly likes to stand in the corner of the room close to the bathroom door. One witness said that a light constantly turned on and off. When the light was off, the witnesses informed the ghost that they knew of his presence.
They also told him that they were just staying two nights and then politely requested that he please turn back on the light. That’s when the light came back on. Later, the lights were off, but noises kept coming from an elevator close by. The problem was that this particular elevator was out of order at the time. There are other reports of a ghostly face peering out of the window of Room 407 even when the room is vacant.

Stanley Hotel Hauntings

Another room that gets a lot of attention is Room 418. The spirits here are mostly from children. Cleaning staff have heard many odd sounds coming from the room along with seeing impressions on the bed when no one has been in the room. When Room 418 is occupied, the guests talk about hearing children playing at night in the hallway. There was even a couple that checked out really early in the morning because of all the noise the children had made in the hallway all night. Oddly enough, no children were staying at the hotel then.
When Stephen and Tabitha King stayed at the hotel, it was at the end of the season and they were the only two guests. They stayed in Room 217. There was a tragic accident in this room during 1911. Housekeeper Elizabeth Wilson was almost killed during a gas leak explosion in that room. She survived the explosion but died in the 1950s. Since that time there has been odd and unexplained activity in Room 217. This activity includes lights turning on and off and doors opening and closing on their own. There are also reports of guests having their suitcases unpacked and items put away.
There’s a story that the tour guides tell about a small child that’s been spotted by a lot of the staff members all over the hotel. Even Stephen King saw this child calling for his nanny on the second floor. If you want the best chance to experience some ghostly activity, the best place to stay is on the fourth floor of the hotel. This is where children are heard at all hours of the night playing and chasing each other.

Stanley Hotel Ghost

I have been looking around for some stories about The Stanley Hotel and here is one that sticks out. A person was on a ghost tour of the hotel and happened to take this picture just outside the hotel. As you can see the window has a child at it, but the figure is very hazy when it shouldn’t be because that window is actually opened. The person that took the photo investigated into this photo and called the hotel.

The Stanley Hotel – A ghost at the window

 

 

See you when I get back......if I MAKE IT BACK!!!! :)

THE SORREL WEED HOUSE-TRULEY HAUNTED!!!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!  Halloween is on its way!!!!!!!!!!!  I LOVE IT!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I will be posting a Halloween Contest tomorrow on my blog, so get ready and WIN!!!!  Thank goodness October doesn't last any longer than 31 days because I have NO SELF CONTROL during this month!  Every time I go to the store I buy something or should I say.................LOTS of things with GHOST on it. LOL  My office is decorated in ghosts so this is the time of year I load up on ghosts!  I can get ghosts that don't have pumpkins and witches on them, that can be displayed all year round.  I have real problems.....don't I???????? LOL

Ok......back to this weeks blog. Check out the Sorrel Weed House.  I have not been here personally, but again....on my "to do" list.

This home has been deemed as the single largest home in all of Savannah. This particular house has been shown and profiled on a number of television programs and channels due to the fact that it is claimed that it is haunted. These include Ghost Hunters, the ever popular Today Show, and others. Here, you will learn about this haunted house in Savannah, Georgia.

The Hauntings

There are a number of hauntings that are said to occur at the Sorrel Weed House. The following represents some of the haunted tales of individuals who have been subjected to the spirits:

• There is a room that is in the basement of the structure. Originally, this served as an office for the individual who lives in the structure by the name of “Steve”. He spent approximately three months in the office. Unfortunately, he was not at ease when he was in the room. It was later discovered that the same area once housed slaves who worked in it. At that time, it was actually a kitchen for the slaves. Eventually, it was deemed appropriate to turn it into a type of “Voodoo Room” for the sake of the tourists who came to the home. Many of the visitors have claimed that they feel almost sick when they enter the room, and have had to leave. There are a number of people who claim that they feel a strong physical presence in the room as well.

Pretty cool photo.

• On many different nights, this same individual, Steve, who lives upstairs, has heard the sound of a party or some type of social gathering occurring downstairs. He has heard people talking, laughing, and music. When he eases down the stairs in an effort to see what is going on, everything suddenly stops. This is a very haunting and chilling experience

Do you see anything?

• Noises that sound like a war, with a marching band and all are heard. There was once a war in the Savannah area and it is believed that this is a residual haunting and replays itself over and over again.  (Please note that the photos are not mine)


 
http://www.graveaddiction.com/sorrweed.html

The above link is really cool if you want to know more.