Book Review: Ghostly Encounters

Title: Ghostly Encounters: Confessions of a Paranormal Investigator
Author: By Jeff Scott Cole with Johnathon Robson
Published: 2015 by Skyhorse Publishing, New York
Purchase Info: Amazon

Whenever I get the chance to attend a paranormal conference or event, or even just visit another state, I always try to find a few new books for my paranormal library. This past weekend, I attended ScareFest in Lexington, Kentucky and happened across the booth of C-Bus Paranormal, an investigation team out of Columbus, Ohio. I was initially drawn in when some information on the team's volunteer and fundraising efforts for Prospect Place caught my eye. I had the opportunity to investigate Prospect Place way back in 2007 and have always had an affinity for the history, culture, and of course, the paranormal activity of the location!

Anyway, I was excited to see that two of the team members were selling a new book they had collaborated on, and I bought a copy.

I absolutely love books written by real investigators out in the field. It's entertaining and enlightening to see how other teams operate, the places they've been, the evidence they've collected, and why they got started doing this type of work in the first place. Unfortunately, most of the books that I've picked up on this topic, while interesting, aren't necessarily very impressive.  That wasn't the case with Ghostly Encounters. I was extremely impressed, first with the quality of the book itself. This wasn't a print-to-order self published, unedited piece of work---this was a REAL book. For only $20 (less on Amazon), this professionally published, attractive, well-written work was an excellent value and an excellent addition to my personal library.

Secondly, the concept of this book really impressed me. For the most part, it reads like a normal book you'd expect from a paranormal investigator. It begins with Cole's personal journey into delving into the fascinating field of paranormal research and how he joined the C-Bus team. It's followed by some techie information, another chapter furthering his personal journey, more techie stuff, and then a large section featuring some actual investigations at various pay-to-play locations throughout the country. In addition, the appendix offers a listing of paranormal teams by state, as well as a list of alleged haunted places that offer investigation opportunities.

Normally, these types of books that feature investigations will mention potential video evidence, and refer to possible EVP data, but given the print format, all they can do is give a link and hope the reader will go check it out if interested. The authors of Ghostly Encounters really take a technological jump forward. Instead of just a mere link or a mention of their evidence, they've included QR codes directly within the text so that as you read about the evidence, you can use your phone or tablet and go directly to that evidence and see/hear it for yourself. And, if you don't feel like reading with your phone attached to you, the link is available so you can go back and check it out at your leisure.

A well-written book with a cool, modern twist featuring my favorite subject is pretty awesome in any case, but I really enjoyed this book on a personal level. I seem to have a very similar philosophy and approach to investigation as the C-Bus team, with the main difference being that HPIR doesn't do a ton of pay-to-play locations. It's always nice to see others who share similar goals and ideas, and how they are applying those ideas to the furthering this field. Ghostly Encounters was a great, quick read and I think that anyone with an interest in paranormal investigation, no matter if they are just starting out, or are a seasoned investigator, can enjoy this book. It's a great compilation of investigation experience and evidence, technical advice, and personal experience. I gave it a 5/5 stars!

Links of Interest:
C-Bus Paranormal Website
C-Bus Paranormal Facebook Page

ScareFest 2015

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I made the two and a half hour trip to Lexington, Kentucky to visit the country's largest horror and paranormal convention---ScareFest! I hadn't been to ScareFest since before Luke was born, so I was really looking forward to it! ScareFest, which is owned and operated by Patti Star, the president of Ghost Chasers International, is in its 8th year. It seems like in the past, every time I wanted to go, we had something else planned that weekend or something else prevented us from going, but this year nothing was stopping us!

The trip up was pretty uneventful except for some rain. It cleared up for awhile, but as soon as we got out of the car at the Lexington Center parking lot, it started raining again. Getting soaked was NOT a great start to the day. Anyway, we got there around noon, with the first speaker we planned on seeing starting at 12:30pm. We planned on attending a talk by Ben Hansen, from SyFy's Fact or Faked, called "Profiling the Hoaxers: Eliminating the Hoaxers from the Truly Unexplained."

Unfortunately, Ben's presentation relied heavily on the PowerPoint presentation that he prepared and there was NO SCREEN in this particular room.  Apparently there HAD been a screen, but it was moved and misplaced the night before during a wedding rehearsal. Ben also had NO MIC, which wasn't a huge problem in this particular room, but a performance was going on in the lobby at the same time involving very loud music.  At this point, I was getting frustrated, so I can't imagine how Ben felt.  Still, he turned it around and pulled off a wonderful discussion. Even without the actual photograph/video examples his presentation was educational and entertaining as he spoke about his background, different investigations presented on the show, book recommendations, and how easily a hoaxer can be caught---just by talking to him/her IN PERSON. Ben really stressed the importance of interviewing people face to face, since so much of our communication is done non-verbally.

I was quite content with what was presented, but due to the snafu, Ben agreed to reschedule for later that evening, for anyone wanting to see the full presentation later on in a different room, which I thought was very gracious of him.  And, on a personal note---he's just as cute in person as he is on television!  He just seems like a funny, smart, and overall sweet kind of guy. I probably could have stuck around and fan-girled for awhile, but we had to move on to the next presentation.

We arrived at the American Horror Story panel a few minutes before it started, so we got stuck in the back. It made seeing a little hard and honestly I watched most of the discussion through the giant phone the chick in front of me was holding up, recording with.  Still, our location gave us a chance to get a first glimpse of the crew waiting outside the room to be introduced. Again, I felt a twinge of fangirl crop up when Amazon Eve (Erika Ervin), Naomi Grossman, Matt Fraser, Jamie Brewer, Rose Siggins, and of course, Jyoti Amge came in.

I've been a huge fan of American Horror Story since the first season, but Aaron only started watching it with me during Freakshow and fell in love with little Ma Petite (Jyoti Amge). In fact, I think Jyoti was the big draw for a LOT of people, as most of the people we were sitting near were discussing her before the show.  I thought it was hilarious how she keeps insisting that people don't treat her like a baby, yet whenever she spoke (she had someone interpreting for her) the whole audience let out a collective 'Awww!,' me included, lol. You just couldn't help it---she was absolutely adorable and Aaron and I agreed that she looks much tinier in person. But, the entire panel was extremely interesting to listen to...and kinda dirty, lol. The orgy scene kept coming up, and apparently a few members of the cast had had some previous experience!

Naomi sort of led the pack, but each member present had plenty to say, and said it very well. Before Freakshow even aired, I was fairly familiar with most of the people on the panel, having read about them, or watched documentaries or other shows they'd been in.  Still, it was definitely cool to hear them in person discuss their experiences on the show, but also what they had been doing AFTER the show. One touching moment came when a fan asked about people with different disabilities and different issues relating to and looking up to the cast members and Matt told a story about a little boy he had recently met who had the same physical disability as he did.  He was able to connect with this little boy, but he was also able to talk with his parents and give them advice and tips on things the little boy would be experiencing, how best to deal with those things, and how to make day to day activities a little easier.

After that, we took a quick break for lunch in the convention center's food court. I had chicken strips and fries and Aaron had a hamburger from Sunset Strips. It was a disappointing meal, but was enough to sustain us for the next few events. Following lunch, we headed back to see Josh Gates, formerly of Destination Truth.

The line to get in to see Josh's presentation, which was simply titled "Destination Truth with Josh Gates", literally wrapped down one side of the hallway and down the next. I honestly didn't think we'd get a seat, but miraculously, there was plenty of room for everyone. Again, being seated toward the door, we got the first glimpse of Josh waiting in the hall to be introduced. In the past, I had heard that Josh can kind of be a jerk to people when he's 'off the clock,' but I guess since he was being paid at the time, none of that shone through, lol. He was actually a really likable, really hilarious guy to listen to.

His talk was set up as a Q and A session, and the audience had plenty to ask, especially about his many, many travels. Much of what he talked about I had either seen on his shows or read in his book, but his skills as a story-teller made it just a really unique, fun experience. And yes, like Ben Hansen, he was definitely a cutie in person.

Immediately following Josh's discussion, we headed upstairs again to see the Fright Night panel. When Aaron and I were looking over the schedule of events, planning on what to see and do, he mentioned that he really enjoyed the movie. I had never seen Fright Night, so we decided to watch it together...and I was hooked. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the film and it was a real treat to hear William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys talk about their experiences. As an added bonus, director Tom Holland was there via Skype. The crowd was a little thinner than it was for AHS, so our seats were good and Aaron even got to ask a question about working with Roddy McDowell that elicited a wonderful response from everyone on the panel.

By the time that panel was over, it was 6pm and we were getting tired and hungry, but we weren't done yet! We spent about an hour going through all the vendor booths and took home some awesome goodies. We bought Luke a plush Bat Girl and two t-shirts. I picked up a book from C-Bus Paranormal and a RHPS Riff Raff Funko figure. Aaron picked up a few gift items, and we got mom an answer mat to use with her pendulum.  The vendor floor was over double what it had been during our first visit over 6 years ago, but I think we at least got to see everything once. There were some really cool props, stilt walkers, plenty of people wearing crazy awesome costumes, tattoo artists and body piercers, celebrities, paranormal teams, and more.

Overall, I had a great time, even though things started out a little rocky. There were so many other seminars I wanted to attend and speakers I wanted to hear, but there just wasn't enough time to fit everything in. I also would have liked to have focused more on the paranormal side of the conference, but since I was with Aaron, I tried to make sure we did things that would interest him as well---and I don't regret it. Both horror panels we went to were fabulous.  Hopefully, we'll be back again next year!

Paranormal Distribution

It's Friday...finally. I could use a good cheering up and I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who would agree. I hope today's Friday Night Funny will put a smile on your face like it did mine! Back in high school and college, statistics was my favorite math class, so I'm especially partial to this image.  If you are too, you can order a poster-sized print of it off Amazon!

The Ghost of Mary Lee at Waverly Hills

Honestly, I was pretty hesitant to post today's blog as there is so little information on this particular photo, and what information there is seems pretty contradictory and changes dramatically from website to website.  Still, I thought it was interesting enough to at least start the research process on, share what little IS known, and just keep this particular entry as a work in progress. Anyway...

This photo was taken on September 10, 2006 at the famous Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. It was taken by Tom Halstead during an overnight investigation of the facility by Missouri Paranormal Research. The photo was taken on the 4th floor of the main hospital building around 7am.

The camera used was a Pentax K1000 35mm film camera with a Pro-Master 5600 extendable flash. ILFORDHP5 black and white 400 ISO film was used. According to team data, the camera settings were at a 1/60 second speed and F-stop of 5.6.

With Mary Lee inset

As one can pretty plainly see, on the right of the frame there appears to be the apparition of a young woman with dark hair and a white nightgown or dress. But who is this woman? With the death toll well into the thousands, there seems like there could be a never-ending pool of potential suspects.  But, a few theories have prevailed.

She is commonly believed to be a young girl named Mary Lee, based on a photograph that was found of a similar looking girl signed, "Love, Mary Lee" on the back. But who was Mary Lee? One website claims that SHE is the legendary nurse who allegedly hung herself in room 502 after either learning that she was pregnant by a doctor or had TB or both. Others say that Mary Lee was the daughter of a doctor who often visited the patients and tried to cheer them up. Unfortunately, she herself contracted TB and passed away. And others just simply believe she was one of many of the patients who lived and died in the facility over the years. 

Sources:
Paranormal Task Force
Waverly Hills History and Legends
Paranormal Association
Michael Phillip Cash's Blog 

Murdered by Human Wolves

If you were to visit Oklahoma's Konawa Memorial Cemetery, you might come across the grave of Katherine Cross. The unassuming stone reads states that Katherine Cross, daughter of JT and MK Cross, was born on March 13, 1899 and died on October 10, 1917.  It's always sad to see the grave of someone who died so young, but death is a normal part of life, and it doesn't discriminate based on age---especially during that time period!

It isn't until you take a much closer look at the tombstone that you realize there is much more to the story...

Yup. That's right.  It says, "Murdered by human wolves." Who or what were these human wolves and how was Katherine murdered? Rumors sprang up that her body had been found mutilated---torn to shreds. Some say the culprits were Ku Klux Klan members, while others took a more supernatural approach and claimed that these 'human wolves' were actual WEREWOLVES. Further legends sprang up that Katherine's ghost was haunting the cemetery, being seen AND heard in the vicinity of her tombstone, a legend that persists to this day.

But what REALLY happened to Katherine?

According to data from Katherine's death certificate and an October 25th, 1917 edition of the Seminole County News, Katherine's death was every bit as horrific as the legends would lead one to believe---but with a much more human monster than any werewolf or even Klan member.  Katherine died of what was listed as a 'criminal operation' at the hands of Dr. A.H. Yates, and his assistant, a school teacher named Fred O'Neal. While not confirmed, this cause of death heavily implied that Katherine had undergone an illegal abortion and succumbed due to complications.

What is especially tragic is that she wasn't the first.  On August 15, 1917 another young lady named Elise Stone was admitted under Dr. Yates' care.  She stayed at his office for four days before being sent home, where she died soon after. The original cause of death listed for Elise was 'congestive chill,' but suspicion arose and her body was disinterred for an autopsy. Like Katherine, her cause of death was now listed as complications from a criminal operation. Although the newspaper article states that the two men were charged, it doesn't appear that any further legal action was ever taken. And even with the cause of death cleared up, there are still more questions than answers concerning this strange tale of how two young women suffered a nearly identical fate two months apart and what the heck a school teacher was doing assisting abortions.

One researcher has delved into a few different theories suggesting that Mr. O'Neal was actually the father of these unborn children or perhaps even worked as a 'scout,' choosing among his young pupils boys and girls to engage in illicit sex acts with prominent town citizens. Whether or not any of that is true, we will probably never know.

*All Photos from Find-a-Grave*

Sources:
Merlyn's Cave
Wikipedia
Find-a-Grave
USGenWeb

Tennessee's Never-Ending Feud and the Ghosts of the State Capitol

The construction of the state capitol building in Nashville, Tennessee may have taken 14 years to complete...but its taken over 150 years to settle one of the biggest feuds in the entire state!

When construction on the capitol began on July 4, 1845, architect William Strickland was called in from Pennsylvania to work on the project. The limestone building was modeled after a Greek Ionic temple, with its lantern designed after the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens. Slave and convict labor made up the majority of the workforce.

It took two years to lay the foundation of the building, and other issues, including a lack of funds, turned what William Strickland assumed would be a quick job into a never ending nightmare that would prevent him from ever returning home to Pennsylvania again. The main problem was that a man named Samuel Morgan. Morgan had been hired by the Capitol Commission to oversee Strickland's work and keep him on schedule and under budget. Not surprisingly, Strickland and Morgan were constantly at odds over the design of the building and especially the money involved. Disagreements over even the minutest of issues would erupt into a fit of screaming and cursing between the two men. 

That volatile relationship finally came to an end in 1854 when William Strickland passed away. With the construction of the capitol still not complete, his son took over in his place.  As a great honor, William Strickland was entombed within the capitol walls---northeast corner to be exact.  But...did that REALLY end this passionate feud?  Many say no.

Construction finally did wrap up in 1859 and Samuel Morgan eventually would join Strickland in the grave...quite literally, actually. When Morgan died in 1880, he was also entombed within the capitol walls---southeast corner. That must have not sat too well with Strickland because capitol staff, allegedly including police personnel, have heard on many occasions the heated arguments of two men coming from the northeastern corner of the building. When they go to investigate, they find no one there. And, while the two men who are doomed to spend eternity arguing over design details and budgets are the capitol's most famous ghosts, some stay they are definitely not the only ones!  Among the odd noises and footsteps heard when no one is around, prominent politicians and many others have stated that they've seen or experienced a number of different things including the apparition of a woman wearing antebellum dress, another apparition of a man kneeling at the James K. Polk mausoleum, and the apparition of a Confederate soldier.

As for architect and his overseer?  Well, after all these years, they may have finally found some common ground. It is said that whenever remodeling or construction goes on at the capitol, the ghostly duo team up to protect the capitol they worked so hard to build.

Times Free Press Article

Wikipedia

Book Review for American Monsters

Title: American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America
Author: Linda Godfrey
Published: Tarcher (2014)
Amazon Purchase Information

A lot of my paranormal reading this year has focused on cryptozoology and monster lore, and one of the BEST authors on this subject is Linda Godfrey. After thoroughly enjoying hearing Linda on the radio many times and reading her book, Real Wolfmen, I knew I would not be disappointed with this selection.

I was right!  Coming in at over 300 pages, this book is a little on the chunky side compared to most of the other paranormal-related books I've read recently, but at no point was it ever boring, or felt tedious to get through. Instead, I found myself pretty engrossed at the many different stories, often told from the perspective and in the words of the person(s) reporting the experience.

The book is comprised of three major areas: beasts by air, by sea, and by land, or if you will, monsters that fly, monsters that live in the water, and monsters that walk on land. Linda covers just about every geographical area in the country, combining anecdotes, historical precedence and scientific (and sometimes, not so scientific) theory as to the nature of America's strange creatures. As with Real Wolfmen, there's a huge focus on Wisconsin, which I haven't yet determined means that Wisconsin is the most cryptid-rich state in the nation, or its just because that's where Linda lives!  Either way, I'm not sure I'd want to be hanging out in the woods alone out there.

Obviously, I recommend this title and think it would be a great addition to any paranormal library. It's a wonderful overview of America's monster lore told in an interesting way with appropriate commentary where needed. It's a great collection of little known stories sprinkled with more documented cases and is a great place to begin research into this fascinating genre of paranormal study.