GHOST HUNTERS

Happy Halloween/Samhain, y'all! I thought we'd have a little giggle on Halloween by appreciating all that is special about Zak Bagans of "Ghost Adventures." I laugh at the show and have a weekly drinking game based on it, but honestly it's purely entertainment, not ghost hunting, so let's enjoy Zak's wonderful lines from some episodes that prove what an entertainer he is! "I'm standing here with wax figures, some of whom are dead now." ( Madam Tussad's Wax Museum in Vegas ) Ah, Zak, lambie, ALL of the wax figures are dead, dear. "I'm gonna set it right here in between my legs because that's where I hear the incubus likes it best." ( Rams Inn, England ) Ah, Zak sugar foot, the incubus (male ghost looking for sex) appreciates your accommodating his needs, dear. "We hear you don't like people in here renovating this place...Why am I being like this to you? Because I don't like bullies! ( The Riddle House ) I...

Over 4000 people participated. It was freaking amazing! Police blocked the downtown roadways and the thousands of zombies stumbled through the streets and moaned, lunging at the witnesses. I'd like thank HalloweeNut for his very kind words. He is one of the best Halloween enthusiasts I have ever known and embodies the spirit of the season in his art and his craft.

In honor of tonight's wicked awesome 2-hour special of Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot" episode, I'm making a new installment of my LAUGH series. Other installments can be found above on the "LAUGH" tab. I have a tendency to make loving fun at the shows I most love. "F'ing Bigfoot" ( as I like to refer to it ) is my most beloved new show on TV. In this episode, we find the team searching for BF in the icy mountainous terrain of Colorado in search of the popularly termed "Snowbeast." Ranae: ( Lifts her pack over her shoulders and hikes through the snow ) Boys, if you are all done urinating your names into the fresh snow, could we please move on before nightfall? ( the men track in after her towards the treeline ) BoBo: So, I don't get it. Technically, if this is a Snowbeast, it should be white. That'd make it a Yeti, right? So, what's Yeti doing in Colorado? Does his coat change when he goes down in the off season to...

The "Finding Bigfoot" team on Animal Planet is going to do a special tonight that will curl every BF-lover's toes. They're going back to the setting of Patterson-Gimlin. Oh man! Those lucky bastards! I know, I know, I call it "F'ing Bigfoot" but it's my goofy way of making a shortcut and making a statement about how freaking hard the beast is to find! I have a feeling the team probably curses it under their breath upon occasion after a long uneventful search, "that f'ing Bigfoot!" To honor my favorite new show, I will have a new episode of LAUGH in just a while based on the show in a scenario where they go looking for Snowbeast in Colorado.

First, I want to say, I am not a traitor! I can't help it that at the zombie walk in Phoenix, I found some of the humans quite delicious (and I don't mean for supper). Isn't this one handsome even though he still has a healthy complexion? This group of the humans really caught my eye, especially the tall boy. Us tall gals appreciate their altitude. I wanted to ask these two cuties out, but Stella is happily married ( sigh ). Oh well, perhaps at the next zombie 5K! LIZ ( See the post earlier today to see some of the zombies )

I will do a post about more aspects of this most amazing Zombie Walk 2011, but for now, let's enjoy a few photos of costumes and then I will share videos and more. There were easily over 1000 people and some of the zombies got very unruly and went after the humans on the sidewalks and cafes. When the crowd resonated with groaning, it was awesome. The Ghostbusters hearse lit up their lights and started off the course. The downtown streets were blocked off and the huge horde stumbled along. It was the most amazing event I've ever been a part of. It was fantastic! A zombie wearing a onesie flannel pajama and monkey backpack. A zombie with a mohawk. A sock monkey and evil clown. Day of the Dead wedding couple. A zombie cow, why not? Zombie control SWAT team that wrangled us up and walked some zombies on long sticks with straps and rode in a jeep with mounted guns. These guys were super yummy! This zombie gal, Liz, wanted to take a bite out of one of their cute butts! A little tongu...

This original airs on Syfy tonight. Still want more zombies? Come join Julie and I's blog based on our upcoming book "Zombie Housewives of the Apocalypse." And, the new season of Face-Off on Syfy is coming too....

This is my new series exploring research in the field of parapsychology. Today, we're discussing global consciousness. IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences) IONS mission statement: Broadening our knowledge of the nature and potentials of mind and consciousness and applying that knowledge to enhancing human well-being and the quality of life on the planet. One time, years ago, I was coming out of the grocery store like any other day and walking through the parking lot when I stopped, pivoted and studied the mountains in the far off distance to the northeast. I felt a sense of immense peace. It was so unusual that I put my groceries in the trunk and wandered further into the lot and studied that direction. I had a sense of a gathering. A very large gathering. Lots of people. But, they were gathering for a large prayer or peace mission. I had no idea what I was getting such a sense, but it was as strong as a psychic sense when I touch an item that is super charged. I got into my car a...

***Please vote for my steampunk costume in this Halloween steampunk costume online contest -I'm the steampunk ghost. You can vote once a day on the contest, so multiple votes are much appreciated!** 1950s bowling shirts for Stella and Liz ( Julie and I's characters for our upcoming book "Zombie Housewives of the Apocalypse" Going to bowl with a skull.... Cute bowling bag, huh? Julie and I are off with some dear friends, 5 crazy women, dressing as zombies and doing a huge zombie walk downtown. We will be filming and photographing it. Julie and I are dressing as our characters from our upcoming book "Zombie Housewives of the Apocalypse," Stella and Liz. We're going to wear 1950s bowling attire and even have a fake head to bowl with. It should be a total riot. We're going to take the Light Rail in to the downtown area while in character. Should scare the other passengers! I will report back with photos and vids, you know it!

I had a horrible scare earlier. I went to my blog and got a message that it had been deleted and was no longer available for use. WTF? So, after I stopped hyperventilating, I found out a few things I didn't know. You can backup your blog and then if they hose it up by deleting it, you can put it back up again. Go to Settings and click on export blog. It will download a copy of your entire blog to your computer and then you can put it wherever you want that you will remember it. I also backup my template so I can keep the same look by going to design and "edit HTML" and copy the HTML code into a word document and save it. I found a great post about what to do if this happens. Thankfully, if you use the help button in the upper right, you can leave a question on a forum regarding your problem. They seem to keep it well managed because usually within an hour or two, the problem is fixed. Blogger has been messing things up lately, but at least we can protect ourselves, just ...

"Lonely Day" System of a Down (I love this band!) So, here's the awesome location of the newest episode of "Ghost Adventures" on Travel Channel tonight-- From Opacity site: In 1907, appropriations were made to construct the Eastern New York State Custodial Asylum in rural Theills N.Y. as a response to a growing need to house the "feeble-minded and epileptic." 2,000 acres of sprawling farm country were purchased for $188,575 in 1907; one year later, the hospital was renamed Letchworth Village Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptics after William Pryor Letchworth, a noted humanitarian and philanthopist who was familiar with institutional conditions. The hospital was touted as the model institution for the disabled since its opening. Since this is the last episode before Halloween, I feel like Zak and the Boyz need a real good drink for tonight's drinking game, so let's be inspired by the season! Pumpkin Pie-Tini 1 oz. milk 2 tablespoons pumpki...

I want to have a wall collection of vintage Halloween masks. Oh, you know the ones--uber creepy and wrong, wrong, wrong, like something out of the movie "The Strangers." There's a shop online that sells them calle Goblinhaus. Ebay has a lot too, but mostly I think it would be great to make them based on some awesome google search images of vintage Halloween masks. They are so handmade which makes them even more disturbing. In the movie "Trick R Treat" the kids on the bus were wearing the best ones I've ever seen. Totally horrifying. Most craft stores like Joann and Michaels have the simple plastic mask and you could go to town recreating some of these babies....

The convoluted path of my life goes something like this (and a lot like Lucy Ricardo) .... I think to myself, " hey, last year I did an online virtual zombie walk event, so I should do one this year to kick off October ." Then, I think, " we need a logo ." So, a fantastic artist whips one up and I make a button and tell people. Then, over 60 people join the event. So, I'm thinking, " I should probably have a cool picture of me as a zombie for the event, maybe in an apocalyptic place, like that Slaughterhouse we photographed at. " Julie and I plan a trip to the Slaughterhouse for her to photograph me as a zombie, but then I start thinking, " hey, maybe she should pose too. We could do poses like zombie housewives in a post apocalyptic house ." I stew on that thought for a few days and then think, " Dammit! That should be a book! Something mocking 1950s housewives and their zombie like existence where even a toxic bomb couldn't stop ...

I was getting a bit frustrated going through the usual modern-day horror movies to get into the Halloween mood. It dawned on me, some of the classic creepy ones are the ones I cut my teeth on and were allowed to watch as a kid. Some of them have more mood and atmosphere than 10 modern movies. Enjoy these classics and consider them part of your Halloween collection henceforth so you're satisfied with quality-- JACK THE RIPPER THEME: "Time After Time" (1979) PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: Phantom of the Opera" (1943) THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME: "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1956) KING KONG: "King Kong" (1933) GODZILLA: "Godzilla" (1954) THE WOLF MAN: "The Wolf Man" (1941) THE MUMMY: "The Mummy" (1932) DRACULA: "Dracula" (1931) THE FLY: "The Fly" (1958) Others to add: Psycho Rear Window The Birds Village of the Damned Frankenstein

I'd like to thank the talented artist and horror writer and paranormal investigator, Cullan , for taking one of my steampunk ghost pics and making it into a cool shot. I'm using it as my profile pic. I love it!

I went to an interesting paranormal lecture recently entitled "As the Spirits Move Us: Science and Speculation of the Paranormal" and the beautiful Herberger Theater in Phoenix. Following the lecture by two top paranormal investigators/parapsychologists, we attended a dessert social where we could speak more intimately with them about the subjects they discussed. The speakers were Loyd Auerbach and Barry Taff. Chances are, you've seen Loyd on paranormal specials and interviews. Look familiar? Well, he was a most engaging public speaker, reminding me a lot of Josh Gates with a quick wit, quick mind, and quite comfortable in his own skin. He studied magic and does a very impressive mentalist routine with audience members. But, it's his interesting cases that really caught my attention including a funny one involving a yuppie couple who left a lovemaking residual tract down in their old bedroom for the new owners to deal with. Barry Taff, you might recall as one of the...

Here's my costume! Vote for it here in a contest.

My favorites are in bold . "Death of a Ghost Hunter" "Knocking on Death's Door" "Poltergeist" "Ghostbusters" Others: "The Haunting" "Legend of Hell House" "The Changeling" "White Noise" "1408"

( Julie and I did these at the farm event last weekend. I think the answer to this pic--for the first time ever is--faked! ) Let's play a little game--you tell me how you would change FoF to make it better. My concept: Ben as producer and acting as a Skully type figure with a sassy charming woman--a female Josh Gates--as the Mulder aspect of the team. He asks hard questions and uses his skills on witnesses and she charmingly defuses things and sheds a different point of view on cases. The two of them go and grill witnesses and learn how hoaxers hoaxed things from their own POV, such as leaving the hoaxer in shadows to describe how he did his little online faked video. I'd rather see an X-Files format than the adolescent, awkward, playground assembly they have going with hokey experts on the team and no personality to a one of them. They are all kind of dead inside which to me means that they: a. Have no personalities. b. Are limited by the constraints put on the show to not be...

Area 51 on FoF tonight--review tomorrow. I will be at a paranormal lecture this evening with two "top" parapsychologists; Barry Taff (not sure what I think of him) and Loyd Auerbach (once again, not sure what I think of him). I hope to hear some intelligent conversation from them about the new world of parapsychology and not the old world of possession and poltergeists, seances and spiritualists. I'd like to hear some serious discussion on EVPs which show the best promise so far of a way to capture evidence. I don't know if either of them are associated with such research, I seriously doubt Taff is. I haven't heard him and EVPs in the same discussion, so I'm guessing he's one of those types who can't hear an EVP if it screams at him. With many 70s era researchers reaching retirement, I wonder about the future of the industry. Like Bigfoot research, many of the innovators in the field are going bye-bye. I'm hoping to hear them talk about the directi...

So, y'all are probably wondering what Dale is up to. It's October--he's possessed, right? I've been keeping him in the front window to scare the kiddies, with Hellspawn and Skittles flanking him. They do a fair job of keeping him out of trouble, but the other night he snuck out and managed to rattle the blinds and scare the crap out of me. I'm putting him in his "my first Halloween" baby onesie that he despises and I found the perfect punishment: Dale despises vapid valley girls, so I chatter valley girl speak to him and he, well, becomes rather catatonic. Works like a charm! Enjoy!

( I know the picture has nothing to do with this subject - but it's so damn awesome! ) "Ghost Lab" was brilliant! Lots of equipment, willing to ask experts and best of all-taking theories and testing them. Problem: A bunch of yahoos way over their heads, abrasive personalities, Zak Bagans type of takeovers of historic sites. It was like brain surgery with a buzz saw. "Ghost Adventures" The concept of being locked in without a crew is a good one--if it's true that they don't have a crew (I find that preposterous). Problem: Obnoxious and idiotic. It's not to be taken seriously. It truly is like frat boys tearing into an abandoned site. The concept of taunting is ridiculous. There is nothing here but pure entertainment--not one drop of contribution to the field. They are taking away from true research and smart minds for ratings and products. "Paranormal State" Had the mood and atmosphere, music and editing that made it truly creepy like a ...

Have you ever had a nightmare that just stuck with you for a long time? I was up the other night, watching "The Walking Dead" when I was getting ready to go to sleep. I switched the channel and saw a bit of "The Mist." It had me confused before going to sleep and I had a nightmare that was amazingly real.... In the dream, I was in the back seat of a car. The car was full of other people, probably 4 others. Two in the front seat were dead and the ones in the back seat with me were crying out and upset and pounding on the windows and I was telling them to stop doing that. It was over. We were done. I scrambled through my purse as I began to feel really weird in my head. I grabbed my lipstick, tears streaming down my face, and I tried to will my mind to still work as I wrote backwards on the window, "we used to be normal." I knew it would be my last message. I grabbed a gun from the floor of the car and shot the two people next to me and then turned it on mys...

What I believe to be the best horror movie of all time, has a lot of intriguing facts you might not have known. It was filmed in the Pittsburgh area. Evans City Cemetery, Evans City, Pennsylvania Head northwest on on Franklin Rd for half a mile. Continue onto Pioneer Rd. for 1/5 mile. Turn left on PA-68/W. Main St for almost 3 miles. Turn left on Magill Rd. for 3/4 of a mile to cemetery. Originally, Barbara survived the night. The main character was originally written as a big burly truck driver. "Night of the Anubis" was the original title. The bodies in the truck were actually ham and chocolate syrup the zombies ate. The house was slated for demolition, so the owners allowed use of it. The entrails were supplied by a local butcher. The man who played the father actually worked in a lot of roles in production of the movie. On top 10 most profitable films of all times, here's how the movie did on that list: #9: Budget: $114,000 Box Office Revenue: $30,000,000

My family moved into Aspen Grove when I was a little toddler. The sights and sounds of the house to me were perfectly normal. Children adapt to realities, like tossing your ball in the air results in it coming back down every time and the sound of a sister screaming at the other sister in another room can be heard through even the thickest walls. When we first moved in, our family dog, King (a Collie/German Shepherd mix) had some issues with-- nothing . My mom would watch the dog growling at the wall, backing off from the center of the room, snapping at something not there, then jumping as if he had been kicked, tail between his legs, howling and rushing off, nearly going through the closed side door. My mother eventually got spooked by his reactions to what seemed to be something he was aware of that she was not. Eventually, King would not come in the house anymore and remained the rest of his 15 years outdoors. We set him up a sweet doggy place in the shed, but he would not go near t...

This location (above) is the Oxbow Inn in Payson, AZ and it's for sale for a good price, actually. It was popular in the mountainous region for being a busy saloon and dance hall. I have heard that the activity there (spirit wise) is quite impressive. It's the kind of place I would very much like to hunt in before it's taken over and renovated and changed. It's in the quiet time right now when it should be quite interesting to capture paranormal goings on. I have such a love of historic places and their meanings through the decades. Just as a psychometrist and ghost hunter, history lover and romantic, I would very much like some time in there to soak it in and see it come to life again in the nighttime. Whoever buys it is a very lucky person and I hope they realize how unique these kinds of places are and the responsibility of owning a piece of history. I also hope they like serious-minded paranormal investigators. Then, there's the Vulture Mine.... Sadly, the Vultu...

If you want to cut to the 5-minute mark on this video, it begins her description on the "other side." She had a brain aneurysm and surgeons had to stop her heart, ice her body, and drain her brain of blood. It is an extraordinary case of near-death experience. Many of us have had anesthesia during surgery. They put us out. We wake up. There is no in between land of dreams and memories. How does a person with no brain activity manage to have an experience that is cognizant and one they remember? I've talked before on here about the concept of heaven being the fourth dimension. Here's an example of how this might all work: I exist in third dimension, but also in the second dimension in a photograph. It is entirely possible that in third dimension I am a prototype of what I am in the fourth dimension. It is in that dimension that everything becomes "real." Many who experience NDEs claim that coming back to this world was not real--that the other world is the re...

This is one of my ongoing series about being single after decades of marriage . When I was a kid, Mary Tyler Moore's character, a single working woman, was my example of what I wanted to be when I grew up. Eventually, I jumped over to Rhoda's side because the idea of being a window dresser and dressing more bohemian attracted my odd side. Speaking of odd sides, now that I am my own Mary Tyler Moore character, I don't find it as neat and pretty as her world was because, well, I'm kind of quirky. You want to see my independence photo? I didn't toss my cap in the air in front of witnesses, no, I tossed my face out there in front of witnesses. I was scared to show my face on the blog for the longest time because I thought I was hideous. That's what a very unhealthy relationship can do to one . The moment I showed my face to the readers, I was liberated and, in fact, strong enough to ask for the divorce- finally . Some men even called me beautiful. In all my years of...