Samhain

 

Samhain (pronounced "sow-win" or "sah-win") is an ancient Gaelic festival that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, celebrated from sunset on October 31 to sunset on November 1.

Cloven Footprints: Cryptids in America

   

"Devil's Footprints"

"It appears on Thursday night last, there was a very heavy snowfall in the neighbourhood of Exeter and the South of Devon. On the following morning the inhabitants of the above towns were surprised at discovering the footmarks of some strange and mysterious animal endowed with the power of ubiquity, as the footprints were to be seen in all kinds of unaccountable places – on the tops of houses and narrow walls, in gardens and court-yards, enclosed by high walls and pailings, as well in open fields." (from newspaper clipping)

Top 10 Most Cursed Locations in America

 

Whether you believe in curses or not, there are some locations in America that seem to be rife with death, missing folks, ancient curses that coincide with tragedy. Here are 10 of the most cursed locations in America - in no particular order.

Cheap and Easy Halloween Decor Using Cardboard

   

Continuing my focus on recycling, repurposing, upcycling items that are readily available, found, or bought for very little, today I want to show the amazing potential of cardboard and paper!

Gothic Home Design: Ideal For Halloween

 

We are in luck that it seems Halloween decor manufacturers have finally taken on the gothic design instead of sparkles, clowns, and modern horror movie themes. There is something classy and Victorian Era about the gothic Halloween design. Let's talk about the elements. 

Scariest Finds in the Forest

   

With shorter days and longer nights, it's in the human DNA to begin to imagine such things as twisted trees bared of their falling leaves and forests that take on a dark underworld feel.

Vintage TV That Inspired Our Paranormal Minds

 

The Baby Boomers and Gen-X'ers were heavily influenced by paranormal-themed TV in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s. Let's revisit why we are so into the unknown. 

The Mysterious Monsters (1975 documentary)
Hosted by Peter Graves. This documentary seems outdated nowadays, but honestly the Bigfoot segments were the best and the witness reports are lost to today's research. The music is cool. The reenactments are fun. And Graves brought a bit of class to a subject that in 1975 made people nervously giggle.

The X-Files (series 1993-2002)
Starring David Dichovny and Gillian Anderson.
The government having a paranormal records keepers? I loved this series. My favorite was "Darkness Falls." It was amazing to see the two of them butt heads on belief versus skepticism, but the music, the settings, the things that they stalked were unsettling. As long as they stuck to paranormal and monsters, it was amazing, but the government episodes dragged it down.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (series 1974)
Starring Darren McGavin.
This was a must-see show! A bumbling reporter for a Chicago newspaper and a cranky boss. Kolchak had a knack for finding crimes that were odd and spooky. His natural curiosity brought him into dangerous encounter with zombies, werewolves, vampires, and more. 

In Search Of  (series 1976-1982)
Hosted by Leonard Nemoy.
This was really the one show that launched us paranormal geeks into ecstasy. Each epiosode handled a different subject of the unexplained like psychics, do plants think, Bigfoot, and more. 

Scariest Places in the World (series 2000--2006) Hosted by Linda Blair. 
Imagine creepy music scoring, Linda Blair hosting, and Zelda Rubinstein (the psychic with the scary voice on "Poltergeist) narrating. Families are sent to haunted locations and castles to spend a night in the dark exploring and ghost hunting.

Night Gallery (series 1970-1973)  
Hosted by Rod Serling 
A painting started each episode into the unexplained. They appeared to be harbingers or hints of what was to come. It was in typical Rod Serling creepiness.

Outer Limits (series 1963-1965)
This series had creepy scoring and terrifying episodes. I remember, as a wee tot, I watched reruns and the episode with the monster made of electricity had me behind the sofa crying and terrified. 

Twilight Zone (Series 1959-1964)  
Hosted by Rod Serling. 
Rod Serling's series is the be-all and end-all of scary anthologies with twist endings. The music alone sets our hearts pounding, even decades and decades later. 

The Sixth Sense (series 1972) 
Hosted by Gary Collins 
A slightly more updated version of the Twilight Zone vibe. It had some unique and spooky episodes.

Unsolved Mysteries (series 1987-1988)
Hosted by Robert Stack 
Stack made this series classy for having some scary and unexplained episodes. This included reenactments about crimes and unsolved unexplained subjects.

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction  (series 1997-2002)
Hosted by James Brolin and later hosted by Jonathan Frakes. This anthology series reenacted episodes based on supposed real events.

That's Incredible! (series 1980-1984)
Hosted by John Davidson, Fran Tarkenton, and Cathy Lee Crosby. This star-studded series had short anthology episodes involving all kinds of things that are mystifying and incredible.

Circle of Fear aka Ghost Story
Hosted by Sebastian Cabot designed by Richard Matheson. 
Another horror anthology. With the delightful British actor, Sebastian Cabot hosting, it was engaging. 

Lost in Space (series 1965-1968)
June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright, Bill Mummy, Guy Williams, Jonathan Harris. A space adventure with a family and robot shot out into space and crash land on a planet, finding they have a pesky stowaway. 

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Other fun vintage shows with paranormal themes - 

My Favorite Martian

The Addams Family

The Munsters

Bewitched

Jennifer Slept Here 

Out of This World 

Rentaghost 

Casper the Friendly Ghost 

Goober and the Ghost Chasers 

Milton the Monster 

Beetlejuice

The Invaders

Scooby Doo: Where Are You? 

Topper 

The Ghost & Mrs. Muir 

My Mother the Car 

It's About Time 

My Brother the Angel 

I Dream of Jeannie 

Mr. Ed 

Six Million Dollar Man (Bigfoot episodes)

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If you check out YouTube, you are likely to find many of these episodes available. They are worth chasing down. Nothing will bring back that creeping excitement like the music scoring and hosts from childhood.

Totally Epic Free (or Extremely Cheap) Halloween Decor DIY

 50-cent Goodwill pumpkin cut in back and put over porch light. Can also use a mask for the same effect.

I remember as a kid in the 70s, making my own costumes. It was such a thrill to go on the Halloween parade of costumes at school, where we went up and down the hallway showing off our creations. Being a thrifty and crafty person by nature, I learned to make Halloween decor for either absolutely free or extremely cheap. I'm going to share some of that with you here - 

Ancient Walls Built by Unknown People in America

 

Serpent Mound, Wisconsin geoglyphs, Arizona pyramids and mounds (not talked about), Cahokia Mounds, Arizona canal system, ancient mining, and so many other aspects of the United States don't add up with the Amerindian people settled here. Now, if you go south into Mexico, Central America, and South America, the ancient mysteries get more and more impossible. Here in the US, there are ancient rock walls that were constructed for unknown reasons by unknown persons, but you know that the Smithsonian will say, the only ancients here were the tribes that existed when Europeans hit the shores.

Cruising For Horror: Traveler-Themed Horror Movies

   

Travelers headed for horror disasters. No matter what vehicle they take, it seems as if they are headed for dead ends! 

There are links to YouTube titles that are free to watch. 

Helltown Ohio: Abandoned Town

   
A perfectly once-pleasant town called Boston, Ohio had no idea what its future held. Today, the abandoned area is referred to as "Helltown" and with good reason!

Cemeteries After Dark: Creepy Happenings at Cemeteries

 

Cemeteries close at sunset and there's a reason. Anyone at a cemetery at night is not up to any good. In fact, it's illegal to enter after dark. Anything that happens then, is bound to be criminal. Here's some cases -

Haunted Concord Covered Bridge: Cobb County, GA

 

As I am getting to know Georgia, I am absolutely loving the cryptids, local lore, and history. Here's an interesting one I must test out soon - Concord covered bridge.

How I Became a Horror Writer

 

It's funny to run a top paranormal blog and write horror when people know me as a kind, lighthearted, person full of gratitude and childlike wonder. 

Kolchak: The Night Stalker Episodes I Wanted

 

It was hard to live in the 1970s without being influenced by mysterious and scary tv shows like "In Search Of," "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?," and "Kolchak: The Night Stalker." Sadly, in the case of Kolchak, there simply weren't enough episodes before Darren McGavin gave up and walked away from the repetitive themes. I will share some episodes I would love to have seen creators explore.

1960s Halloweens

  

If you were a kid in the 1960s, your Halloween was getting some serious momentum. The 50s started the craze, the 60s fortified it, ensuring that the 70s would be the last great decade of panhandling door to door for candy.

Michael Myers: Masks, Memes, and More!

   

Michael Myers (aka "the shape"). His mask is just too much fun and the memes are endless. Let's have playful fun with this Halloween icon -

Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) - A New Twist!

 

For quite some time now, I've been restless about the field of paranormal investigation. Why, you may ask? Because I really want to do more to question assumptions about how we hunt for ghosts.

Can Dolls be Haunted? How to Create a Doll Island in Your Backyard

  

The doll island in my yard began long ago when I was exploring abandoned sites and collected broken dolls left on the desert floor. 

Alone in the Dark: DARK THERAPY

 

This is the darkening season of shorter days, longer shadows, longer nights. It's also a time of contemplation of death and the end of a harvest, the baring of trees, the need for firelight to feel grounded and safe. So, what are the advantages of spending some time alone in the dark? Let's explore - 

Takeout Food and Horror Movie Marathon Combos

  

Days are cooler. Halloween is over. Thanksgiving looms down the line. How about a blanket, a candle, some take-out food, and a horror movie marathon?

Origin of the Olmecs - Solved?

 

The Olmecs were a civilization in the south gulf area of Mexico around Veracruz and Tabasco. They existed between 1200 BCE and 400 BCE. Of American civilizations, the moundbuilders of the US, the Olmecs and Toltecs of Mexico, are all mysterious. Looking at the Olmec culture, I couldn't help noticing something that I will share here - 

Outdoor Hauntings

 

It's easy to consider haunted houses, prisons, hospitals, and such as locations for study, but the truth is the land is very haunted!

The Top 5 Worst Horror Movie Remakes

  

Thankfully, with more and more indie moviemakers out there, Hollywood's regurgitated remakes will be a faint memory. 

1970s Halloween

   

Were you born in the late 1950s to mid 1960s? Then, 1970s Halloweens might be some of your best memories. It was the peak of Halloween antics, popularity and back when kids could still trick or treat without the adults, rushing through neighborhoods with pillowcases until midnight!

Planes That Went Missing

 

Some urban legends don't die, they just change clothes. There's a long-held story about a time traveling plane flight. The flight and details change, but the concept remains. Did this (these) flight(s) time travel? 

Forests: The Birthplace of Creepy

   

Forests hide so much. In Central and South America, jungles cover ancient cultures. In America, our forests are the location of missing persons, cryptids, stairways to nowhere, abandoned railroad tracks, spectral lights, abandoned homes, cemeteries, and so much more. 

Aliens! Aliens! Aliens! Caught on Camera!

 

In the early 2000s, everything was about ghosts, then we moved into Bigfoot, Dogman, ancient giants, ancient aliens, and finally into alien obsession. Over the years, folks have caught on video and photographs what they believe to be non-human creatures. Let's look at some of the evidence - 

Creepiest, Haunted Hiking Trails in US

 

If you're going hiking and the weather is still warm where you are, be sure to protect from the real fright in the forest - ticks! Otherwise, if you want a scare by immersing yourself in the Halloween vibe while getting your 10,000 steps in, here's some hikes that either have a dark history, lead to a creepy place, or visually are terrifying - 

Where Do Documentaries Go Wrong?

 

The search for knowledge is the basis of my life. Whether it's research, field study, theoretical - I am all about seeking new information and new takes on the subjects.