GHOST HUNTERS

I'm considering the concept that the basic stock for a ghost stew is geomagnetic activity. Toss in some good geology, a tragic history, some extreme emotions, and some human receivers, and you get a hearty mix ideal for ghostly action. When I kept a log in ghost hunting and found that active and promising nights always coincided with activity in the geomagnetic fields of the Earth, I was excited. I wasn’t sure at the time where this finding might take me, but being a person who loves to put together theories, I had to explore. I came across this blurb on New Scientist and it interested me a lot: “The most plausible explanation for the association between geomagnetic activity and depression and suicide is that geomagnetic storms can desynchronise circadian rhythms and melatonin production," says Kelly Posner, a psychiatrist at Columbia University in the US. The pineal gland, which regulates circadian rhythm and melatonin production, is sensitive to magnetic fields. "The ci

Separating the “residual” ( repetitive ) from the “intelligent” ( responsive ) hauntings can be a difficult task for beginners. I like to break it down to the repetitive versus novel events. Repetitive events include things like footsteps down a hallway regularly, a woman seen at the same window by many witnesses, sounds of voices heard in the back bedroom at the same time of day, and other types of phenomenon which are heard fairly frequently by a wide variety of visitors and residents. These events are often categorized by hunters as “residual.” There’s a divide in the ghost-hunting world on just what residual is. Some people explain it as a ghost repeating his usual march through his favorite territory over and over again for an eternity. Unless he had some OCD in the prior life, I just don’t see this as feasible. I, however, believe it’s an event that was set down under the right conditions or the right amount of repetition to continue to replay without any spirit involvement what

Warning: Mind stimulating activity on the weekend might be against your ethics, therefore, do not read this post if you want to zone out. Reality: “ Something that constitutes a real or actual thing, as distinguished from something that is merely apparent ” A chair is reality; a hard device taking up space that might otherwise be occupied by air. That the chair is used as a seat is interpretation. The chair could be used as a doorstop, a table, or any other uses, but John Doe has decided to use it to sit upon. That is his interpretation. Some of our greatest artists, by the way, realized that interpretation was more important than reality and were able to give us new and unusual ways of looking at our world by not following the typical line of thinking, i.e. “ this is a chair, I must sit upon it .” One of my favorite bloggers, Devin at My Favorite Monsters got me thinking with his latest mind-stimulating post about “Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld.” We live in two w

(above: Hinton, West Virginia; Ellicott City, Maryland; Holbrook, Arizona; and Oregon City, Oregon) There’s some places you visit and you want to pass through the town quickly and hopefully not have to stop, or if you’re like me, you stay for a while and observe the locals, pick up the ambiance, and try to figure out why the heck it gives you the heebie jeebies. Being on road trips and vacations, we all end up eventually in some godawful town that “has no name” but has a Motel 6 at midnight. That’s a whole different story. This story I’m about to tell you is one about towns that unsettle, feel possessed, have dark secrets. You know, the kind of town that in old movies would have had the locals pulling their shutters closed when you come down the cobblestone street. Yeah, that kind of town. If you stay long enough, you pick up a weird affect amongst the people, sometimes like they’re pod people, other times like they hate outsiders, or perhaps they rarely see out-of-towners in their nec

It’s nearly impossible to find information on this amusement park abandoned in Japan ( above ), but as you can tell, the pictures are truly amazing and genuinely creepy! The whole concept of abandoned amusement parks is one that unsettles people as much as clowns and baby dolls. Structures that once housed beautiful sets and bright happy colors become something like the aging child actress in “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.” Still dressed in its once spirited attire, these structures are now molded, rusted, and distorted by nature’s unrelenting aging process. I have to admit, on my list of dream things ( besides living in Oregon and being a writer full-time ), is to own a cart from an amusement park ride. Some rusty old Tilt-a-Whirl seat, rusted and awful looking, sitting in my garden with vines and plants taking it over. I love the imagery of it so much that I started looking into abandoned amusement parks to see if any smart person is making money off of selling the equipment. I think

I had no idea so many islands have been abandoned. This one is truly amazing. An entire abandoned island sitting out in the water, lonely and unattended. I heard recently that they’re going to begin to allow visitors there which is probably wrought with issues regarding crumbling edifices and tourists. Part of me thinks it’s a great idea to share it, another part thinks it will lose its charm with people tromping all around it. I will be glad, however, to find more photos of it. This place is exciting. It reminds me of Chernobyl when things were just left behind as they were and every ran. Hashima Island (“Border” Island, aka “Battleship” Island): Wikipedia describes it best; “ Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890 and began the project, the aim of which was retrieving coal from the bottom of the sea. They built Japan's first large concrete building, a block of apartments in 1916 to accommodate their burgeoning ranks of workers (many of whom were forcibly recruited labourers from o

NOTE: The film above is a group that snuck into the island (illegal) and filmed it. Please note that I don't in any way think these ass wipes are awesome, but I do appreciate being able to see some moving film of the site, so just ignore the trained monkeys in the suits and sunglasses and enjoy the sights. I thought I’d do a series of posts about unusual abandoned sites around the world. It’s one of my favorite things. There’s something about sites that have just been up and left that intrigue me to no end. They’re little flashes of life when it was moving forward in that space and then suddenly became a freeze frame of its prior self, declining in a rapid aging process of a place no longer cleaned and protected from the elements. It’s like mortal decay on display. North Brother Island: This little island found in the East River situated between the Bronx and Riker's Island, is an interesting abandoned site that caught my attention. Wikipedia describes it: “ The island was un

I came across “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” the other day on Instant Watch on Netflix and stopped and thought to myself, “ when was the last time you saw that movie?” This 1947 movie is really unbelievably romantic. I fell in love with the old sea captain ghost immediately, played by Rex Harrison with unbelievable flair. The lead character played by Gene Tierney was everything you want a heroine to be. Set in a picturesque and barren part of the English coastline, this movie takes place at the turn-of-the-century. A lonely widow and her daughter move into a captain’s cottage left empty after his death. Every prior occupant has rushed from the premises immediately, but this woman ( who used to cower from her in-laws ) is not about to let a grumpy possessive ghost scare her from her new nest. It has all the romantic elements of a great love story with a couple brought together, completely mismatched, and find that they bring out the best in each other. Although they can never be together (he

This is one of the lighter entries today. In one of those serendipitous movements I often have, I was watching a horror movie with the sound off while I did part of my workout dancing instead of the usual routine. It gave me something to look at while I danced, but I found out that combined, songs and horror movies kind of go together… It had me wondering, just how many good horror movies could I match up with song lyrics? Task: I’m leaving one movie open for ya’all to come up with lyrics that seem to suit it: “Halloween” Please submit the lyrics that match “Halloween” in the comments. I can’t wait to see what ya’all come up with. Here's some match-ups below: MOVIE: “The Changeling” SONG: ”When The Children Cry” by White Lion little child dry your crying eyes how can I explain the fear you feel inside cause you were born into this evil world where man is killing man but no one knows just why what have we become just look what we have done all that we destroyed you must build

I haven’t done a Think Tank post in a while, so I thought I’d put a new subject out there and get your thoughts on it. Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave somewhere, you’re probably heard of the Loch Ness Monster. A serpent-like/dinosaur-like creature apparently sighted in the Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands since as early as 1933. Fleeting glimpses have been seen since that time and several pictures ( such as the one above ) that became quite famous. This photo above, however, was later found to be a fraud by one of the men responsible for fashioning it out of a toy submarine. From these sightings, an entire industry along the loch has been born; boats have been launched with expeditions and sonar. Although no definitive evidence has been uncovered of the creature’s existence, most people dispute the possibility of Loch Ness, given the lack of food supply and the amount of the creatures necessary for breeding, as well as having not been found on sonar sweeps. I admit to being hal

You have a vivid dream of being in an airplane. People are screaming around you. The attendant is rushing down the aisle. The plane pitches. The ground comes up quickly. Startled awake, you shake you head and try to quiet your pounding heart. Managing to go back to sleep, you wake up later to put the nightmare in perspective. That is, until two days later the news reports a plane going down. A person nears death, loses pulse and breathing activity and lifts from his body towards a light at the end of a tunnel and a sense of being free and loved and content. Edgar Cayce lays down on a cot and goes into what appears to be a sleep in which he calls out the answers to life’s big questions, such as what will happen in the future, why is this patient sick, how do we heal someone. A ghost hunter feels their hairs stand on end, head feels pressurized, and then deep chills begin with goosebumps in the same spot reportedly where a person had died. I’m psychic testing online and decide that I’m f

I was thrilled to see “Ghost Hunters International” using a dog on one of their expeditions, albeit short-lived. I’ve always felt that there’s a very reasonable and practical place for dogs on ghost hunts. Humans can miss the signs of activity, dogs don’t. When I lived in California, the neighborhood dogs were our first warning before an earthquake. When I was pregnant, my head in the toilet in the morning in October 1987 when we were about to get a 6.0, it was the neighborhood dogs howling and barking incessantly that made the hairs rise on my neck. I crawled to my “safe spot” in the crappy old second-story apartment just in time. They didn’t steer me wrong. Each time an aftershock came, they let me know with their cacophony of yipping. When I was done with checking the apartment building's gas main and the neighbors' safety, I went and gave the dogs over the fence some hot dog bits. When I was growing up at Aspen Grove, our family dogs were the first warning sign when someth

PHOTOS: (top left) Me at a kegger party. (top right) me in my kitchen. (below left) headshot of me in my work clothes. (below middle) me ready for work. (below right) me in a neon green "inch worm" dress. (bottom) I got off work at Manhattan Village Mall and rushed to Manhattan Beach to see the sunset, still in my work clothes. I’m going off the usual topic of ghosts/weird stuff to talk about the ghosts of our own past/our own weird stuff… the 1980s . How did you use your 1980s? ( probably the most singularly both embarrassing and fun-tastic decade ) I’m putting it out there. I modeled and did beauty pageants in the 80s, finished high school and college, moved to Redondo Beach, California, moved back to Arizona, had a child, found a new career in medical transcription. My idol in the 80s: Kelly LeBrock ( see the green dress and big hair photo above ?) My favorite “look”: Teased hair, lacy anklets with antique stiletto boots, antique jewelry, pastel colors, fingerless gloves

With all the variables involved in ghost hunting, the one that drives hunters the craziest is the “I went on a bad night” syndrome. We’ve seen it on “Ghost Hunters” show lots of times, the group sitting around talking to the four walls and knowing that when they review the evidence there will be nothing. If there’s a Holy Trinity for ghost hunting it’s this: Place/Timing/Team. Place: Optimal conditions are geology that consists of limestone, quartz, granite, shale, or sandstone ( in that order ). It’s not hard to find. Just Google for the state’s geological map. Honestly, if you’re hunting in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, don’t even bother to look at a map—those entire states are excellent conditions! The exception to this is active mining towns, which are also very active. Next, is the building constructed of stone or earth-based materials such as brick/block? If it’s frame, it better be in an active mining town. What’s the history of the buildi

You forget to put your sunshade up in your car and when you return and put your hands on the steering wheel, you only get second-degree burns and don't need to seek medical help. The shower can finally give out cool-ish water instead of very warm when turned all the way to "cold." When the shadows off the cactus grow longer and create crazy hobgoblin shapes across your gravel landscape. The craft stores shyly fill some shelves with scarecrows and pumpkins and if you stand near an air-conditioning vent and don’t look out the window at heat dancing off the pavement, you can almost imagine it is autumn, especially if you start sniffing the candles. ( Caution: this can cause hallucinations of colorful leaves, burning wood, and chilly noses ) Kids go back to school in their brand new fall clothes, tank tops and cargo shorts. The swimming pool goes from being 96 degrees ( the same temperature water hot dog venders use to keep their weiners ready for eating ) and becomes a brisk

I came across this article and it got my interest. It said, “ An enormous system of caves, chambers and tunnels lies hidden beneath the Pyramids of Giza, according to a British explorer who claims to have found the lost underworld of the pharaohs. Populated by bats and venomous spiders, the underground complex was found in the limestone bedrock beneath the pyramid field at Giza. ” I remember hearing Edgar Cayce “the sleeping prophet” mentioning that records of the ancients would be found in three places; Bimini, Yucatan, and under the Sphinx. This other article helps to shed some light on what Cayce had predicted, that the records of Atlantis would be found in a chamber beneath the Sphinx’s paws. Does this finding perhaps correlate? And just how long will it take Egypt to let this cave system be explored? I suppose that will be the factor in finding out of Cayce was onto something. I, for one, will be studying it closely.

The legend of the Mothman has taken on a life greater than intended once it went commercial, but the concept is an interesting one: (Wikipedia) “ The Mothman is a creature reportedly seen in the Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia from November 12, 1966, to December 1967. Most observers describe the Mothman as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth-like wings. The creature was sometimes reported as having no head, with its eyes set into its ches t.” “ On November 15, 1966, two young, married couples from Point Pleasant, David and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, were traveling late at night in the Scarberrys' car. They were passing the West Virginia Ordnance Works, an abandoned World War II TNT factory, about seven miles north of Point Pleasant, in the 2,500 acre (10 km²) McClintic Wildlife Management Area, when they noticed two red lights in the shadows by an old generator plant near the factory gate. They stopped the

Since today's my day off and each time I have a Wednesday off from now until Halloween, I'm making props for the party each Wednesday. Today, I figured I'd work on two things. One: Spiders. Two: Gigantic scarecrow The scarecrow will be on about an 8' tall cross with about a 6' long cross section. It'll be wearing a black dirty tattered monk's robe with long sleeves and a hood and the face will be a gunnysack design with rope around the neck and stitched closed mouth and eyes. He'll be up tall on the cross and oversized to intimidate when people first arrive into the backyard. I hope to attach a few fake crows to him. The silhouette should be intimidating and I understand Halloween is just 2 days from a full moon, so this should be very impressive. Today, I'm making his robes--tearing and beating the fabric and dirtying it up to make it look ancient ( fun ). I hope to put him up early so weather can force him to age even more, the sun bleaching the fa

Admittedly, over the past 6+ years of actively hunting, I’ve learned a lot of things that I’ve been able to confirm over time. Hopefully, some of the things I’ve learned can help make other ghost hunter’s jobs easier. Here are just some of the truths I’ve come to find: You can’t beat geology. Ultimately, if the ground isn’t geologically promising ( limestone, shale, granite, quartz, sandstone ), you’re much less likely to find a haunting that can be detected and documented. The exception, however, is in mining areas, as most mining towns report very high levels of haunting which I am assuming are in conjunction with high minerals/ore/constant disruption of the earth, and possible tectonic issues. There's something very important to be said for Mother Earth and her contributions to phenomenon, most especially geomagnetic forces. The construction of a house and sometimes the contents are significant. A block/stone construction home is more likely to retain a haunting. The exception

Because I assumed a quiet geomagnetic night wouldn't make for great hunting, I didn't take my camcorder with nightvision. The group we went with had a good deal of equipment, so we figured we'd let them use theirs to cover all the major places. During our long and successful KII session, I did realize my cheap-o digital camera had video capability, so I turned it on. The room was completely dark and the lights on the KII about 6' away, so it's rather hard to watch the lights lighting up as the device was at an angle from where I sat, but you can see the hint of it and hear our reactions. At this point, we'd been shooting the breeze with "them" for about three or four minutes. I was just getting into determining how many there were present. We seemed to get a good reaction speaking gently and laughing and talking at a regular conversational cadence. Our prior conversation leading up to asking them to talk was just friendly and funny banter and humor. Th

I admit to having used the KII meter extensively trying to get a response from it like you see on “Ghost Hunters” with absolutely zero success. The device is basically used by electricians to see if a wire is live before working, so it needs to be held up to an electrical device to get a reading. If you move it away just a little bit, the lights go out and it no longer registers electrical fields. In normal turned on mode, it shows one green light. If EMF gets higher, other lights light up, each color correlating with a level of electromagnetic fields. After using it for hours on end in different locations without even a blip, I was skeptical about bringing it with me on my latest study. Although the location and even the geology were fairly promising and the level of human suffering immense, I had my doubts it would finally show anything. Although I usually wait years to divulge any details of any study for reasons of professionalism ( some residents and owners don’t want even a hint