Autumnforest is a Menace At the Pumpkin Farm!

(A picture of me wearing wax fangs at the autumn farm festival in nightvision)

Thanks Schnepf Farms for once again giving an awesome autumn fest that makes us desert folk feel like we're having autumn too (even if it doesn't feel like it weather-wise).


(I posed in this autumnal setting--with my hair sticking out of the hole.)


(posed as a zombie with a friend's daughter in the corn maze using nightvision)


(had to have the face painting dude give me a ghostie)


(Julie and I peeking out of the corn)


(creepy corn shadow)



(and, of course, I had to pose while cupping my pumpkins)

Isn't it crazy how much scarier a video is with the right music?


(Nox Arcana Transylvania album)

Abandoned House: Chandler, AZ

We found this place along the road on the way to the farm and had to stop and film it.



Well, y'all know by now I can't pass up an abandoned site.



It looked like it was waiting for a very creepy Halloween party. Set designers could learn a lot about horror movies sets by studying the weather-aged surfaces of this place.



The thing I love about these places is that they have been devoid of life and left for nature to take over. There's something quite atmospheric and creepy about a place that should housing the living now housing the critters and vines, bees and dust. Creaking cabinet doors, grating metal dangling from the siding, all make the place smell, feel, and sound creepy.



You can imagine when it was charming and new and people had many dreams, births and deaths in such homes. At one time, someone lovingly hung curtains and painted the clapboard, planted a garden, watched a sunset. Now, the house clings desperately to leftover blinds and furnishings with no one around to recall the once happy memories.



This one had civilization all around it. I suspect they plan to tear it down soon and make room for more condos.

Pumpkins, Corn Mazes and Chili Fest

My gal pals and me and went Schnepf Farms for a really fun autumnal celebration (it was hot and dry as a bone, but we pretended it was autumnal feeling).



As you probably already know, I don't see things normally. I take note of odd things in a scene, so my pictures have gathered how I saw the farm at sunset.



Like I do in ghost hunting, I wander, note all my senses, stop, turn and look at what's behind me and might notice something weird like a shadow.



I love pumpkin patches. Orange is my very favorite color!



As us gals were heading to the corn maze at sunset, I couldn't help noticing our awesome shadows!



A bee on a gorgeous sunflower! Sunflowers are my favorite flowers. In fact, I love all wildflowers. I'm not impressed by roses. A bouquet of Queen Anne's lace and black-eyed Susans picked by a man's own hands--that's the best gift a woman will EVER receive. I'm not the jewelry type in the least, but nature is the ideal gift; sitting under the stars, a moonlight picnic by a lake, that impresses the hell out of me.



Sometimes, the silhouettes at sunset say it all....

Sid and Marty Krofft--Childhood Mind Scramble

I grew up in the era of Sid and Marty Krofft. They pretty much made me programs that, when I watched them in the morning before going off to school, I was happy to be in the quiet sanity of my classroom. My teachers should have thanked these guys. These psychedelic brother TV producers spat out some wicked awesome trends from the 70s.

Jim Nabors and Ruth Buzzi--no freaking kidding--in space!




HR Pufinstuf (listen to the lyrics--is this pedophilia delight or what?)





Here's all their openings --



I don't know what Sid and Marty Kroft were smoking in the 70s, but what a freaking delightful retro mind fuck, huh? Next time someone tells me that Barney the dinosaur is freaky, I tell them to down a malt beer on an empty stomach and watch these delights (above).

Emergency Broadcast System: This Is Only a Test

Admittedly, I’ll date myself by saying this, but I recall as a small child the drills to practice for a nuclear attack and the sirens on the playground. It’s crazy how we grew up with these things and didn’t think about the meaning of them. It’s like fire drills in school…just an excuse to stop class and go outside in the sunshine with your buddies. The Pledge of Allegiance in school? Part of the morning routine done with as much enthusiasm as brushing one’s teeth.

Another fine example of those mindless events are the Emergency Broadcast System annoying horns that cut into our television and radio time and give us a few minutes to go use the restroom (heaven forbid we actually need them some day, they’ll be crying “wolf"). Still, admit it, don’t you sometimes stay to listen…just in case? You were doing just fine and dandy until someone reminded you that it could all go away in a minute’s notice.

The Emergency Broadcast System was put in place in 1963-1997. After that, it became known as the Emergency Alert System. Thankfully, the system has never been used for a national event. It has, however, been used 20,000 times for local emergencies mostly involving weather (amazingly, when I lived in LA in 1987 and we had a 6.0 earthquake, it was not used…however, I watched the newsman on TV dive under his desk during an aftershock and knowing I lived about 30 miles from him, it was coming my way, so technically the big baby was my emergency broadcast system).

Prior to this system, we had CONELRAD (Control Of Electromagnetic Radiation) Doesn’t that give you a warm fuzzy? This was what we had during the height of the Cold War. CONELRAD came to be in 1951-1963. It was felt necessary to have a method (radio and TV) to inform residents of their impending doom. What exactly we were supposed to do if we heard the warning, I’m not sure (hide under our desks at home?)

You know, when I think of it…we haven’t progressed all that much. Wasn’t it just several years ago the Bush "regime" (yeah, that’s the term I use) implemented a wonderful color-wheel of terror warnings and then proceeded to advise us to corner the market on duck tape and plastic sheeting?

I digress. This post is obviously off the usual ghost hunting theories, but by now ya’all know that I follow my whimsy wherever it takes me, but usually it’s on a path that’s paranormal and if growing up in an era of playground siren towers and children ducking under desks doesn’t sound supernatural, then I don’t know what does.

Oh, and by the way, I was the kid in class who refused to get under her desk (next to a row of windows nonetheless). I opted for pulling back the coat closet on wheels and hiding inside of it. Even then I showed debunking skills!

LAUGH: Ghost Hunters Hunt!

(Another in my series poking loving fun at TVs top ghost hunters)

WARNING: Do not drink while reading this or it’s likely to spew from your nose.

Tonight’s moderator is Josh Gates of “Destination Truth” for this special episode.

JOSH: (Standing in an airport) Tonight is very exciting! We’re taking the leaders in TV’s ghost hunting shows; Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Zak Bagans, Ryan Buell, and Barry Klinge to do an actual ghost hunt at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. I can hardly wait to see how these experts go about a real ghost hunt! (Rubs his hands together). We’ve taken a plane to Detroit. From here we’re catching a train to St. Louis where we’ll take kayaks down the Mississippi and get off in Memphis where we’ll hop on some horses and ride our way up to Nashville. From Nashville, we’ll grab a bus to Front Royal, Virginia. From there, we’ll trek over to Washington DC on mopeds. From DC, we’ll take the subway into Baltimore. At that point, our journey becomes more arduous. We’ll be riding Rikshaws from Baltimore to Newark. In Newark, we’ll sail hang gliders into Wilmink. From there, it’s going to get dicey. We’ll be on pogo sticks until we cross into New York. Lastly, we ride a helicopter over Philadelphia to mark the coordinates on our GPS and then drop in by parachute onto the complex. All in all, the trek should only take us (checks his watch), about eight days!

(Scene cuts to the outside of the Eastern State Penn).

JOSH: Well, it looks like the gate is locked. (Shakes the chain).

ZAK: (Slaps his forehead). Man, we took so long getting here, my dudes already locked us in!

JOSH: (Grins and pulls a rope from his back pocket). No problem! We’ll just climb this 30-foot wall and rappel down the backside.

BARRY: I’ve had enough of your bullshit trekking. I’m not hauling my ass up that wall! (Goes over and shoots off the lock).

(Once everyone sets up their equipment, Josh walks up to Jason and Grant who are duct taping their cords every 2 inches across the floor in an OCD pattern of meticulous neatness).

JOSH: (Steps up to the stack of empty spools and taps them over with his toe) Apparently, one of our sponsors must be 3M. So, what you are two planning for his evening?

JASON: Me and Grant were thinking we’d like to walk the halls alone for a few hours and then sit down and talk for a few hours and then walk the halls for another few hours and sit down and talk for a few hours. (The two casually amble away down a corridor)

JOSH: (Mouth hanging open). O-kay. (Turns). So, Barry, what’s your plan this evening?

BARRY: I have 10 different kinds of cameras in that cell over there (points) with six different recording devices, thermal imaging cameras in each corner of the room, four motion detector lights, a siren that goes off if you cross the infrared beam, a mat that if it’s stepped on will cause a flashing light to go off, a seismograph in case an earthquake occurs, carbon monoxide monitor in case there’s noxious gases, a metal detector in case these things are made out of some kind of metal, and a net that drops atop of the bad boys when they enter. (said in one breath)

JOSH: Well, looks like the only test equipment missing is a breathalyzer. (chuckles).

BARRY: (frowns). Actually, I got one of those too. If those bastards have been drinking, we’ll know it.

JOSH: (whispers to camera) Maybe Barry ought to blow on that thing. (Turns to Ryan) So, Ryan, what’s that in your hand?

RYAN: I wasn’t allowed to bring my priest, my pagan priestess, or my psychic helpers, but I have my tools. (Jiggles his case).

JOSH: Voice recorders? Cameras? KII meters? (excitedly).

RYAN: (Frowns and squints) No! The important tools. I’ve brought my holy water, tarot cards, spirit coins, a cross, and the Bible.

JOSH: (Leans into the bag) What’s that?

RYAN: (Blushes) Oh, that’s my PBJ my mommy made me.

JOSH: What? There’s no thermos with hot soup? (Mocking frown for the camera)

RYAN: No, that’s in there, next to the animal crackers. (shuffles through the bag and holds up the Scooby Doo thermos then sniffs at the air). Do you smell that awful sulfurous smell of the devil beast?

JOSH: (Covers his nose) Barry, I told you not to eat those six cheesesteaks! Apparently, the local cuisine has caught up with one of our group!

BARRY: (Shrugs and chuckles)

JOSH: Okay, lights are going out now and we’ll be in complete darkness. This is when the action begins. It looks like Zak is taking one cell and Barry is taking the next cell. (whispers) They’re going to do EVP sessions, trying to capture the voices of ghosts on their recorders.

(Ryan sprinkles salt across the opening of the cells and steps back cautiously)

ZAK: (Walking around his cell, recorder in his hand in the air) Are you there?

BARRY: (Holding up his recorder in his meaty fist) I’m here. I can hear you!

ZAK: Do you have a message?

BARRY: Is there an afterlife?

ZAK: Why are you asking me?

BARRY: Why won’t you leave this place?

ZAK: Because I have to stay the night with the film crew.

BARRY: (rushes over to Zak’s cell) You little numb nuts! Ruining my EVP! (Zak takes off down the corridor with a high-pitched squeal, Barry storming after him)

JOSH: (rushing after the men as Barry corners Zak in a cell at the end) Right now, Ryan is trying to exorcise Barry’s demons (as Barry holds Zak against the wall, Ryan is dousing him with holy water, holding up a cross and chanting a prayer. Josh turns to the camera and whispers against the back of his hand) Honestly, I think the only way to exorcise Barry’s demons is with a thick steak, a keg of beer and a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.

ZAK: Come on, I dare you! Slap me! Pinch me! Scratch me! Knee me in the nuts, dude!

JOSH: It would appear that Zak is trying provocation techniques (winces) at perhaps the wrong time, as Barry has just slapped him, pinched him, scratched him, and kneed him in the nuts!

(Zak takes off from the cell with Barry chasing him and Ryan in tow, waving his Bible at them. Jason and Grant stand nearby in the corridor, staring down at the floor)

JOSH: Jason and Grant, what are you doing?

GRANT: We just got the meter to light up. It was 18 minutes after asking our question, but I think that’s proof there’s something here. Isn’t that crazy?

JOSH: (blinks) Yes, well, didn’t you notice all the men rushing past you?

JASON: (Scratches his head). You mean, we missed the real phenomenon again? Damn! Once we start staring at the meter, we kind of blank out. Sorry. (shrugs)

JOSH: It would appear that our session here at Eastern State Penn is coming to a close and I know that because Zak has stripped down naked in the shower room to entice the ghostly inmates. Barry was stalking Ryan with his crossbow and has now set off his own net trap, allowing Ryan to exorcise him in full ceremony while he’s helpless on the floor. Jason and Grant here have found no evidence other than a fleeting light on the KII meter and I personally am ready to take an 18-hour flight, a 4-hour boat trip, a 6-hour donkey ride, get bitten by mosquitoes, eat live beetles, anything to get me out of here!

LAUGH: Ghost Hunting Dialogue

Warning: Do not drink while reading this or it will spew out of your nose!


Moderator: Calling this meeting. Roll call. Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Zak Bagans, Ryan Buell, Barry Klinge. Please proceed gentlemen and let us know what you’ve contributed to the field of paranormal research since your time ghost hunting for television.

Jason: I think I talk for all us guys when I say that me and Grant have probably contributed more than anyone else in the field. As plumbers we really know how to root out a problem (Grant snickers). If the ghost phenomenon is something related to pipes rattling and sinks turning themselves on, you’ll get the straight explanation from us professionals. And, you know, I don’t throw the “H” word around.

Grant: (leans in) Yeah, that’s true. Sometimes, I’m like “what the frick, dude!” when he won’t admit a place is haunted.

Jason: We single-handedly invented the segway to explain what EMF and EVPs are before commercial breaks.

Grant: Yeah, we totally came up with that on our own. Sometimes we change the words around a little.

Jason: (Smiles). That’s true. One time I think Steve said, “EVPs are the recording of voices that you don’t hear at the time you record them” and we usually like to say “EVPs are when you record answers to questions that weren’t heard when you’re recording them.”

Grant: (nodding briskly) Yeah, we show that we can grow and evolve in the field like that. I came up with the happy greeting, “we’re here to help.” (beaming with boyish grin)

Ryan: (Sulking) Now just a minute, gentlemen. Your contributions haven’t done anything for the good of the people who have to live with these demons and evil entities trying to possess them and drive them to kill each other. I, although with the barely discernible help of my lackies, have been the one to make the real changes. Do you realize how many less demons possess the homes of good surbanites because I planted magical coins on their properties? (snorts with pride and waves his hand dramatically). And you think you do them a service by sitting them down in an emotionally cold and clinical review of evidence? I don’t even need evidence! I can make people cry and whine and bring in a priest or a psychic and voila! (snaps his fingers), they are changed forever. No more evil in their basements!

Zak: (teeth clenched, T-shirt bursting). Now wait just a minute! I’m the one that’s faced down the portal of hell in every building I’ve ever entered! I’ve been bitch slapped, cat scratched, and grabbed by the ankles more than a few times. I’ve been nearly sexed up by an incubus and danced with snakes. I don’t baby coddle my ghosts like the TAPS team. “Sit down and pull up a chair and have a talk with us” (mocking Jason and Grant). And you—(points to Ryan who is squinting contemplatively) you try and chase away the evil. I want the evil (thumps his chest). I say, “bring it on big bastards!” Dude, me and my bro’s are the shit! I dare you to punch me, slap me, kick me, knee me in the nuts! (thumping his chest again)

Barry Klinge: (Shakes his head, taps his fingers on the table) I have a rolling van for my equipment and a touch screen. Any of you old boys have that? I got myself a barrel chest and a deep booming voice. I can make ghosts cry and run if I want. I even have a girl on my team I use for bait. You call that scrawny girl Kris bait? Humph! I have a blonde chick. Everyone knows ghosts like blonde chicks. I got the biggest team and the biggest van from the biggest state! Try and beat that!

Moderator: Men, it would appear that we’ve gotten distracted by the cameras filming this meeting and you are all off task. We will pick up this conversation later when you aren’t preening.

More Creepy Films To Come

Last year, Julie and I hit Schnepf Farms and had a blast in the corn maze at night, the hay ride, face painting, pumpkin patch.... Then, we stayed at a haunted hotel where we did our first ever Pajama Ghost Hunt videos.

Well, it's that time of year again.

Expect me to have new films in a couple days and no doubt some goofy stories. I seriously need the time off and to connect with autumn even though it doesn't feel like it here (90/60s). Us gals will no doubt cause some trouble and disruption, some screams and laughter, but when all is said and done, we will have gone to a fantastic autumn festival, gone swimming in a beautiful resort pool, had some drinks in a 1930s jazz bar and slept in a haunted hotel room.

Hey, what more could you ask?

I want y'all to tell me what you've done so far to bring Halloween alive, whether it was buying a bag of candy corn, carving a pumpkin, making a pot of chilly, driving around to look at the decorations, going to a party or haunted attraction. Remember, I'm the one that lights a fire for everyone to have an adventure and no adventure is too small or too over the top.

Creeped Me Out In Childhood-How About You?

Am I the only one that these places scared the shit out of me as a kid?


(Bear Country Jamboree)


(Open closet door at night)


(Mall Santas)



(Old lady houses filled with figurines and the smell of lavender and moth balls)


(Dentist's office)


(Cluttered attics)


(Unfinished basements)


(Hospital corridors)

So, feel free to add your own to the list....

Ghost Adventures-Drinking Game Time!

"I Used To Love Her, (But I Had To Kill Her)" by Guns N' Roses
This one was recommended by my dear friend at Things You Should Know blog--good choice buddy!

What could be better than Zak hoping to get laid by a female ghost? Zak getting lucky with a homicidal female ghost! Tonight Zak and the boyz are going to Lizzie Borden's House.

I like to contemplate what the "Zak Attack" is each episode. I predict that he will sit on the sofa (or lie on the sofa because he likes it prone) and get a splitting headache. No, perhaps he will lie down on the floor upstairs where Lizzie's stepmother died. He will say that Lizzie touched him near his crotch. Wait, no, he will get possessed by Lizzie and attempt to go after Nick with a toilet plunger....

Well, we'll have to wait and see.

The drinking game rules:
1. Stay home.
2. Take a drink for every "bro," "dude," "man," every time Zak thinks he was touched by a ghost and every time Aaron's mouth becomes unhinged in horror.

The drink tonight?

You feeling inventive? I found this cocktail that honors Lizzie Borden--the Axe Murderer Cocktail:

The Axe Murderer Cocktail #1

* 1 oz. Amaretto
* 1 oz. Gin
* 1 oz. Light Rum
* 1 oz. Southern Comfort
* 1 oz. Silver Tequila
* 1 oz. Triple Sec
* 1 oz. Vodka
* 1 splash lemon-lime soda
* 1/2 oz. Grenadine
* Fill with Pineapple Juice

Glass: Collins

Garnish: None

Shake with ice, strain and serve in a collins glass, top with lemon lime soda and Pineapple juice.

Personally, I'm lazy and I don't want to rummage for things. I have a bottle of dark rum in the fridge and my very rich homemade dark chocolate cocoa mix with chai spices that I grind myself. I think the combo of the two together and a warm blanket and a Jack O' Lantern candle, and I'm set for some fun!

The Psychic's Biggest Roadblocks!

I'm trying to finish writing and editing 4 books at a time right now, but I have not forgotten my "From Fledgling to Full-Fledged Psychic." If there is only one thing I can tell people who want to develop their psychic abilities it is to:

BEWARE THE EGO, INTELLECT AND INTERPRETATION!

If there is an unholy three that ruin a good psychic's reads it is these three issues.

Ego: When you're psychic, people immediately shove a palm at you and tell you to read them. I can brag I'm good in bed, but no one asks me to lay down and show them (at least not anyone who wants to remain on the mortal plane a bit longer). We are asked to perform at will and for anyone who wants it. The ego wants to provide information, even when we are struggling to find that tenuous thread that puts us on the right path for that person. You've seen psychics like John Edward spew out things that the person cannot identify, like someone with a name that starts with "N." They get a baffled look on their face. The psychic is pushing too hard to make a connection. They don't always come and how we get those connections is different for each psychic. For me, it's eye positioning. Sometimes, a psychic should know when to shut his mouth.

Intellect: I ran into this with Ben Hansen from the awesome paranormal investigative show "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files." I handed him a heavy chunk of stone and asked him to read it. He looked it over like any left-brained male and said that he saw some cliffs like in Utah. I had to stop him. "Do not intellectualize. You must look at the rock as if it dropped from the sky and you don't know its origins." He was thinking in his head (I'm guessing) "This rock reminds me of the ones in Utah on the bluffs..." Sometimes, I get something on a read that I know can't be true about someone because they are a friend. "I don't think this friend ever had a 3-way relationship before, she's too conservative." Your intellect can talk you out of much which is why I prefer not to read friends if I can help it. I prefer strangers. I have no preconceived notions and I try not to let appearances affect me. One time, I read a man who was a very successful businessman but I read poverty in him and that's what his origins were. Had I not said it out loud and dismissed it, I would have missed an avenue of exploration about him that would have yielded much more information.

Here's an example: I have read lots of jewelry that I could have assumed a lot from it. One time it was a man's wedding band he was wearing at a single's event. What I got shocked my intellect and my ego both. I did not want to report what I read because it was ridiculous and I would sound like an idiot and be wrong (ego), but I know to go with first impressions, so I blurted out, "A man gave you this ring. He thought it meant more to you than to him. It's been in a junk drawer a long while." In this case, I was totally right. His gay brother gave him his wedding ring and told him that it symbolized more to him. He put it in a junk drawer for 6 or 8 months and finally put it on as a symbol he was okay with his brother's confession.

Giving psychic reads isn't about being right, it's about going down the right path.

The best ways for you to avoid the interruption of intellect and ego is to read someone you don't know (no preconceived notions) When you think you know someone, you can come up with a lot of observations that are accurate, but then you know their personality, worries, situation and more. So far as tamping down your ego, you need to not look at the person and tell them not to make a sound, just let you rattle off your findings. A dream read for me is someone who has a piece of jewelry (metal and stones are easy reads) and whom I don't know and who is willing to sit behind me and stay quiet the whole time. Why not look at them or get responses? The ego pops up and you take yourself down the wrong path. You see, we're human even if we are psychics, and if someone gasps, we realize we just hit on an area that affected them, so we want to follow it more, but it might have completely hit a dead end. What we get at this point could be the intellect and ego working together to make assumptions based on what we just read. If we read that they lost their fiance in a car wreck, we might then upon hearing their reaction say "it has not been an easy thing for you to get over" (no kidding, they just started crying).

Interpretation: It is so critical to reads that many people who claim to be psychics are shot down because they interpreted wrongly. They got the info, they just didn't know how to translate it. They see someone having a relationship problem and assume it's their lover when it might be their brother. It takes a psychic a long while to learn to organize types in her head and relationships.

In my mind, I have a "grouping" system for comparison. I did a read recently on a piece of an object given to me by someone in my paranormal meetup group. I brought it back in with a list of things that came to mind while reading it. Apparently, my read was dead on, except I wrote "Jewish." To me, indigenous people and ceremonial and pagan practices are all very similar with ritual, customary foods and drinks, ethnic touches.

When I wrote "Jewish" it had a sense of ritual, old knowledge, and the woman I associated it with was elderly and arthritic and seemed rather quiet and proud which is how I reflect on Jewish elderly women. It ended up being a piece of HoHoKam indian pottery found in a location I described. To me indigenous and Jewish are locked in a similar vault in my mind.

Another time, I read a young man and told him his brother and he were 10 months apart and he was the more responsible elder one and he was the goof off younger one. I was right in the 10 months apart and that he was responsible and the other brother was the goof off, only he was the younger brother. I interpreted he was the elder by his personality traits.

The only way to overcome interpretation issues is to read often and lots to learn how your mind stores a "sister," "aunt," "boss," and such. They will come to you as a type in which you relate to your own experiences. When I think of a sister, I think of someone who while growing up drove me nuts more than made me happy, who was closely tied physically but not necessarily a chosen friend. To another psychic with a different life experience, a sister may be the confessor and adviser.

So, this is going to be the premise of a chapter, but at this point I'm wondering if I should just do a chapter for each of those three topics since they are so critical to being an accurate psychic and having advanced "full-fledged" skills. Let me know, I could definitely use your intelligent feedback. You are my think-tank on all such matters.

Naked Ghost Hunting

Leave your tools at home. Dare to hunt naked!

Here's how it goes; you have a conversation with a friend on a cell phone while walking through a store. Your eyes are distracted by items on the shelf and your directive--to go to the store in search of yums. But, as you're talking, your friend is explaining a complicated love story between her and her guy. You are neither doing a good job of shopping or being a friend. Upon occasion, you stop and study labels, but don't hear your friend. At other times, you get caught up in the conversation and block traffic on the aisle. In the end, you weren't present here or there.

When you ghost hunt, like using the cell phone, you get distracted by the meter in your hand. You end up looking to the meter to learn if the place is haunted, but like on the cell phone, you are doing an ineffective job.

Had you spoken to your friend in person, sitting down in your living room, you would have noticed the fidgeting, the changes in tone in her voice, her expressions. All of these are clues as to what is happening with her. The phone tells you none of that.

The meter in your hand on a ghost hunt tells you nothing about the condition of the haunting.

Set down the meters. Sit down on a hunt and simply be. Listen. Smell. Feel. Read the building as you would read your friends body language and intonations.

When it comes down to it, all the meters in the world won't tell us if a place is haunted. It's that moment we lower the device that we see and hear things. Things we would have missed with our eyes glued on a little red or green light.

Ultimately, when we've left a haunted location, no matter what evidence we hope to gather, much of our audio and visual equipment is not recording those moments of a shadow figure moving in a hall, an apparition or even a disembodied voice.

We have six senses. Sometimes, we forget that when we depend on technology.

Hunt some time. But hunt naked.

Remember, it's not the size of the tool, it's how you use it.

Might You Be a Psychic?

This post is a combination of the four main types of fledgling psychics and how to know which one you might be. With practice and focus, one can go from fledgling to full-fledged. That is one of the books I’m working on right now and I hope to shed more light onto this for everyone. For now, look over these types, see if you identify.

“Soul Seer"

They tend to be serendipitous. They end up in the right place and the right time—even if it’s something dramatic like walking past a burning building or standing next to a person about to faint.

They get gut instincts about people but can’t tell you why they feel that way. They just either trust them implicitly or don’t. They sense a person is important in their life but they don’t know why, so they pursue a friendship even if the other person is reticent.

They listen closely for words that ring true and focus on that. If someone tells them a story, certain words, phrases and ways they tell the story makes that soul seer’s senses sharpen and they feel an immediate connection. They are fantastic listeners.

They may have had one or several incidents in which they were with someone upon passing and may have had a visitation afterwards.

They tend to see dark shapes and figures when others aren’t looking in the right direction at the right time, but something inside of them has them looking up at just the right moment, or sensing something and turning to see it.

So, what does one do if he/she is a soul seer? A soul seer has the potential to be more like a ghost whisperer type of psychic, someone who can communicate with those who have crossed over. They not only have the potential so see a soul when others miss it, but also to have the soul want to present itself to them because they can discern their presence. A practicing psychic with this ability would be called a “medium.”

Knowing that one is susceptible to being a soul seer can make his life much better. It’s not some weird dark secret or some crazy madness or perhaps just horrible luck. They are meant to witness things and help people ease with transition. It’s a good thing, although it often comes with bad moments, like happening upon accidents or knowing ahead of time that someone is going to pass on.

On a daily practical basis that “gut” instinct they have about people is a fantastic talent. It can even goad them on to spend more time with someone before they pass on early, or know who to connect their soul with who is worthy of the treasure. If they fight those instincts, they are likely to have constant anxiety and fearfulness and startle reactions.

So, I suggest those with this tendency just go with the flow and let their gut make decisions when dealing with other humans. Let their minds make decisions when dealing with details like finances and choosing a car.

"Tomorrow Tumblers"

They get an invite to an event and feel a sudden dread. They will go to any lengths not to go, even though it is something they would normally love to go to. They are driving home from work and suddenly decide to take surface streets for no “apparent” reason.

The phone rings and they know who it is, they think about someone and they get an email out of the blue from her, they finish people’s sentences and shock them that they knew what was about to be said.

They tend to dream about bad events; earthquakes, plane crashes, tidal waves, hurricanes and then they happen in the near future. They tend to experience déjà vu fairly often and while in déjà vu, know what they are supposed to do next to fulfill a pre-destiny.

They know who is next to die in their family. If someone asks them “guess what happened today?” they answer it right.

What do these folks have? Precognition—the ability to have foreknowledge of future events. The fledgling form they have would be called “women’s intuition” or “déjà vu,” but the fact is that they often avoid calamities by leaving the party earlier than the others before the cops came or deciding against the vacation in Chile and then Chile has an earthquake. They seem like a lot of near-misses, but actually they are signs of listening to that intuitive voice within.

It’s not for the person with this fledgling psychic ability to explain why they “get a bad feeling” about something. Just know that they are damned good friends to have when you’re planning to take a flight. Consult them first.

"Tactile Tuners"

They often times need to touch a person on the arm or shoulder when speaking to them or they feel they have not connected. If a child acts up, they feel that yelling back isn’t going to work as well as putting a steady hand on the child to soothe him.

Without realizing it, in stores with used items like antiques and thrift finds, they touch the objects to decide if they like them rather than just looking at them. Sometimes in the grocery store or other shop, they pick up an item, set it back down and pick up another similar one without realizing why they put the first one back.

Personal space is important to them and when people encroach and get too close, they feel themselves tightening up inside. Being in crowds where they bump up against others they might feel hysteria rising.

Often times, when just sitting around, they will hold an object and switch it from hand to hand, squeeze it, toss it in the air, mess with it without realizing they are doing this.

What I can tell you about tactile tuners is that they are budding psychometrists and healers. They come in two types; senders and receivers. Senders can heal people and also are good at passing information on, such as holding an object and leaving an imprint that affects others who touch it. Receivers are good at getting the information from the object through psychometry.

If you know yourself to be tactile and to get much information from touching objects and people and maybe called it “weird vibes” or “good vibes,” then you are a fledgling. Some things to consider if you have this is to be careful what you bring home that is used from antiques to Goodwill finds to things your friends pawned off on you. Let them pass the touch test first. If you ever find yourself unexplainably uncomfortable in a chair in a large lecture hall, switch chairs. The last person who sat there might have left an imprint. When you know this about yourself, you can understand why you sometimes out-of-the-blue feel weirded out when making contact with an object, a person or a place.

"Creature Comforters"

They love the outdoors and feel more at home there than indoors. The seasons don’t discourage them and as children, they likely would have laid on the floor with the sunlight pouring down on them on a cold winter day and dream of being outside.

There is a natural love of animals but to the point of seeing them as family members and talking to them. As a child, the family dog was likely to be the very best friend of all.

When meeting people in their home, they are more distracted by the pets, wanting to greet each one and get a feel for them by touching. No matter where they go, animals seem to follow them silently as if they are a pied piper. Even the most timid pets come to seek them out.

Sometimes, it seems as if the animal knows what they are saying to them. They are often mesmerized by the talented human. Just a hand to the creature and it seems to calm its restlessness or pain. Subtle changes in the animal do not go unnoticed by this type of psychic. They are acutely attuned to the normal patterns, behaviors and expressions.

Lots of people love animals, but only some can communicate with them. They don’t just love animals, animals love them back in a noticeably unusual way. As these people walk by, dogs on leashes may even pull to get to them and act very excited, the owner telling them that they have never seen their pet get so excited by a stranger.

Pet psychics are actually a legitimate type of psychic. There is as much difference between a true pet psychic and a dog whisperer (trainer) as there is between a psychic and a mentalist. One has true PSI capabilities and the other is trained to appear so.

If you have these features, you can sometimes have the problem with putting animals before people. You also can become consumed with rescue and overwhelmed by the death of a pet. You can’t avoid involvement with animals, as it is your calling, but you can also know that the time you were in the pet’s life, you made the interaction with humans seamless. You can’t ask for more than to be a wonderful interpreter.

Ghost Case: The Shadow Person At the Register

It was an all-nighter at a haunted restaurant. The land and history provided good incentive to attend. The concept of activity after having a crowded bar running had me doubting. Plus, there was traffic noise outside. So, gathering evidence might not be too productive and yet I was compelled to go. I had long heard of how haunted this location was.

We set up our cameras around the facility and then hunkered down for some serious EVP sessions. But, before that, I walked through as I always do and noted the active spots. I pointed out to my son the center of the bar and then the men's bathroom. I didn't know any stories yet of what this place held in the way of activity, but I like to go into a site with no knowledge, if possible.

Strange things began. There were some stacked chairs atop of tables rattling, a woman sobbing softly, footsteps on the dance floor. Then, the towel dispenser in the men's bathroom started cranking. You know the kind, with a metal crank. Some members got up to investigate it. It doesn't turn on its own. Several times in reply to questions, it cranked. Still, being of a skeptical bend, I chalked it up to good timing and some kind of issue with the dispenser (even though the other hours we were there, it never did it, only did it during the EVP session).



Then, as my son and I were sitting facing the bar during the EVP session, the investigator asked if the spirits knew the owner of the restaurant (who lives in England where he has a sister restaurant). I saw a dark human-like (but smaller than a human) head pop up in the center of the bar behind the counter, (the hot spot I had determined) and stood a little over 4 feet tall. It moved over from the register at the center of the bar to the one at the end of the bar and then seemed to go down below the counter as the computer screen there turned on. Then, the receipt machine started spitting out a long spindle of receipts.

I looked at my son and he looked at me. "Did you see that?" I nodded.

The manager was shaking visibly. "These computers were powered down for the night. You saw me turn them off. We can't turn them on without a password. You have to turn on the center one to make the others turn on." We looked at the receipts and they were blank except for the name of the owner and the restaurant in England. There were dozens of them spindly to the floor below.



What I can tell you is that at first I was confused by the shadow head popping up. I turned to see if anyone was able to cast a shadow. Everyone was firmly seated. I looked back and it began its movement to the other computer. My rational mind told me, "perhaps there was an employee we didn't account for?" I knew that wasn't possible but when you're seeing something exceptional, you tend to grasp for reality rather than fantasy, at least I do. I had the sense of it having command of this whole thing and I had to just go along for the ride, as if he had commandeered the cockpit of a 747 and I was just a passenger. My sense that the power in the place emanated from the center of the bar was an accurate description and the activity in the men's bathroom. I later found out that people reported issues in the women's bathroom and so had I done research, I might have dismissed my pull to the men's bathroom. This is one of the reasons I like to know nothing going in. Sometimes, the intellect and ego get in the way. More on that later in another post tomorrow.

You never really know what or how these things will present themselves. Most hunts are incredibly boring and lame and you begin to wonder why you hunt. Then, when you don't expect it--boom! boom! boom! I have a few driving forces in why I hunt such as wanting to know where this phenomena comes from, why it's only brief and fleeting, what seems to stimulate it, and how we could possibly have more predictable and longer interactions. This case was one of those kinds that left me shaking my head and wondering.

Fact or Faked Reviewed...Well, Kinda

I'm not entirely sure that this show shouldn't be called "Fact or Faked" or "Could Be Faked But Might Be Fact" or "Could Be Fact But Might Be Faked."

I admit that I missed the beginning where they review videos and explain the new gal (they did explain her, didn't they?) I was rushing home from my writer's critique group and arrived as Jael, Devin and Ben were starting their investigation.

I readily admit, I got highly distracted by my toenails. I know, I know, that makes no sense. I actually got a bit bored and looked down and noticed my nail polish was chipping on my toenails. That's a huge problem, you see, because it's still in the 90s here and sandal weather. So, I got my kit for removing my polish and repainting my nails. I looked up a couple of times to see them doing something explosive (yada, yada, yada) and looking at the original film of the skipping disk and I just, well, went back to my toenails.

Next story, my toenail polish was dry at this point. The second investigation was a ghost story. Cool, huh? A western cemetery, something I spend a lot of time exploring. An interesting full-spectrum camera find. Fun, right? The new gal seems rather animated. I'm not sure if she has an expertise. She kind of reminds me of the new kid in class who eagerly wants everyone to like her. Okay, so they explain the phenomena that caused that photographic anomaly. Completely explainable. But, then they stay and do a ghost hunt because??? I'm not sure I get the logic in this show. "Action music" and Bill running through a cemetery isn't really making it "exciting."

So, now I'm giving y'all the chance to say what you think.

Book Cover Input Request

The fantastically amazing artist, author and blogger, Cullan Hudson who did the banner at the top of my blog, also designed this cover for our zombie book. My question is--what should the tag line be?
"dead women walking"
"dead on our feet"
"women can have it all when they're dead"
???
Please give me your concepts. I'm stumped.

Fact Or Faked: Paranormal Files - New Season!

It's a new season which means tomorrow there will be a review of the show and infamous tank top shot. This episode involves a UFO crash and a graveyard ghost and there is a new cast member--not apparently picked for expertise? (hmmmmm) I know there's a new GH on tonight too involving a dead actress in a theater in Niagara Falls (yawn).

LAUGH: Ghost Hunters Adventures

(another in my series poking loving fun at our TV leaders in ghost hunting)

Tonight’s moderator is Josh Gates of “Destination Truth”

WARNING: Do not drink while reading this as it is likely it will spew out of your nose!

JOSH NARRATION: Tonight, we’re doing something a little different on “Destination Truth.” We’re including some of the leaders in TV ghost hunting. Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Zak Bagans, Ryan Buell, and Barry Klinge. After jumping onto Orbitz.com, we jaunted across the globe to the Himalayas in search of Yeti.

JOSH: (Standing at a Cliffside) After downing an impressive amount of Yak testicles, Zak says he’s jazzed and ready to take on anything. (He waves his arm at Zak who is clinging to a rock ledge 50 feet up) Zak! There’s stair steps, you didn’t have to climb that rock face.

ZAK: I’m not scared of this mountain! In fact, I dare it to shake me off! Yeah, let’s see who’s badass now! (slaps the rock wall) Slap me! Punch me! Poke me in the eye! Knee me in the nuts– oomph! (slides down and straddles a pointed rock with a high-pitched squeal)

JOSH: Score one for the mountain! (Rolls his eyes and shrugs). Hey, Jason and Grant—what are you two doing?

JASON: (Pivots as he’s climbing the stairs with Grant riding him piggyback). I’m our designated driver. You know, Grant always rides shotgun. (Shifts him up a bit higher as he holds onto Grant’s spindly legs).

JOSH: Okay, well, it looks like Jason is carrying a Grant-sized backpack and the fun has just begun!

RYAN: Director’s log. We arrived at this evil site in the God-less mountains of the East. I can feel the red eyes of the demon watching me now—

JOSH: Barry, quit staring at Ryan! (chuckles impishly)

RYAN: (Rolls his eyes). You’re interrupting me. I’m recording my director’s log. I put together this awesome program that alters the sound of my voice and makes it sound really hollow and eerie and really important like Jean Luc Picard. Goes along with the sulking dark stares, doesn’t it (closes his eyes halfway and tilts his head back in a contemplative pose).

JOSH: (Mugs for the camera). So, tell me, when do you finally graduate from college? What are you, 30 now? Did Penn State take you hostage until your parents could pay your tuition? (Turns to the camera and winks). Okay, group, let’s press on!

(Group climbs the stairs and makes their base camp as it grows dark)

JOSH: I’m anxious to see the techniques these hunters bring to hunting a Yeti. Jason and Grant are masters of ghost hunting with all the resources necessary to capture phenomenon. I wonder what bag of tricks they have for us tonight? So, guys, what’s the plan?

JASON: Me and Grant are gonna sit by this campfire over here and talk.

(Josh makes a puzzled face for the camera and shrugs)

GRANT: Jason and I work alone so if you could just…. (waves him away).

JOSH: (Turns to the camera and raises an eyebrow) O-kay. So, Barry, what is your plan?

BARRY: (Waving and pointing to the forest around them). I’m going to drop a net over the whole parameter. I’ll have DVRs running in quadrants 1, 2, 3, and 4. I’ve got 20 wireless recorders along the paths that run north-south, east-west. I’ve got a touchscreen 50-inch TV to monitor it all. I’ve set up speakers in quadrants 1 through 4 and they’ll be blaring out the sounds of my drinking buddies when they tip a cow. They have this great holler—should definitely attract a Yeti cause it’s real close to infrasound which everyone knows is the frequency that Bigfoot and ghosts talk at. Then, I got motion detector lights around the entire periphery. I sprayed some pheromones of monkeys on the bushes. Helicopters will descend above with Flirs. Hell, nothing is getting past us! Oh, I’m also gonna hang steaks from each tree limb within a 50-foot parameter while I holler at him to come out with my big angry voice (said in one breath).

JOSH: A 50-inch TV monitor? (Leans back and studies Barry’s backpack and shrugs). Helicopters? Speakers? Motion detector lights? (Nods briskly) Your noninvasive technique is very subtle and no doubt effective. (Winks at the camera).

RYAN: They’re all wrong you know? This monster is reported to have red glowing eyes. That means its evil. It’s something of the Devil. We’re going to need my holy water! (holds up a container)

JOSH: Actually, Ryan, I think the eyes reflect red because it has nightvision. And, if I’m not mistaken, that’s your water bottle you’ve been chugging on all day.

RYAN: It sucks the blood from goats and rapes the village women! (Finger pointed to the sky in righteous indignation).

JOSH: Whoa, who’s writing the storybooks you kids read in school these days? Dick Cheney? (slaps him on the back as Ryan holds up a cross and enters the woods saying a prayer loudly).

BARRY: He’s a pussy! If those big crying babies at the airport woulda let me, I’d have brought my guns. Now, then we could get some serious pelts for the floor in front of my fireplace. Might even mount a head and shoulders on a plaque in the den. Yeah, shooting yeti—that’d be hardcore! (Rubs his beefy hands together as Josh tiptoes safely out of sight).

JASON: Could you keep it down, for crying out loud? Me and Grant are trying to have an EVP session over here.

JOSH: Jason, I don’t think EVP is going to be helpful when looking for Yeti.

GRANT: It works, man! Just the other night, it was totally crazy. I was like, what the frick? We sat for 12 hours and produced one faint odor of cigar smoke and a voice on the recorder that said “you’re young.”

JASON: No, that was “you’re mine.”

GRANT: It was “you’re young.” I thought we agreed on that?

JASON: No, until I say it’s so, it’s not so. I said it was “you’re mine” and that’s our position.

GRANT: Aw, come on, J. Please? Pretty please? I never get to make up what the sounds say!

ZAK: You smell that? He’s out there! (sniffing at the air).

JOSH: (whispering to camera) It appears that Zak’s noticed something circling our camp. The odor is like wet dog and skunk. It’s been said that’s how Yeti smells. It could be that right now…he’s out there.

ZAK: (Pumped up and waving his massive arms at the trees). Hey, Yeti, dude! I’m not scared of you!

JOSH: (waves Zak back away from the large white hairy monster as it steps out from behind a tree) Zak, you don’t want to make it angry…

ZAK: (Thumps his chest). Come and get me, dude! I dare you! You can bite me, slap me, (Yeti moves forward, shadowing Zak at this point, his red eyes narrowed), knock me down, call my mama a whore, give me a flat tire, spit in my drink, give me a swirly, kick me in the scrot! (With one sharp well placed kick, Yeti sends Zak into a curled up ball, grabbing his nuts and screaming like a girl).

JOSH: (snickers). I haven’t heard a high note like that since Tiger Woods got cornered by his wife with a golf club! (turns to Jason). Jason, shouldn’t you be filming the yeti?

JASON: (aiming camera at Grant as he waves). Oh, we don’t actually film phenomenon, we prefer to capture each other’s expressions as we see phenomenon. Leaves more suspense for the viewer so they keep tuning in.

JOSH: (As helicopter descend above with spotlights and sirens sound off, he yells above the chaos) Well, you’ll just have to take our word—we saw a yeti and Barry is now chasing him down with a hand whittled knife made of wood. It appears we’ve reached the end of our journey and I know that because Ryan is right now burying magical coins in the ground and sprinkling Zak's nuts with holy water. Just another fun trip with the top TV ghost hunters!

History Restored: Tovrea Castle: City of Phoenix

If you live in Phoenix, chances are at some time or other, you've passed by a hillside where a strange wedding-cake looking building sits high atop cacti and hard baked desert. You might have wondered "what is that?" I lived here since 1977 and have to admit, I always assumed it was a Buddhist Temple. I was thrilled to learn more about it when someone told me the name of the property. It had been vacant for decades and the City is now renovating it to open it in 2012 for tours. I'm thrilled at the chance to see it.

Here's a little of the mystery solved as told by a City Rep who was kind enough to share its unique and rather tragic and haunting history:

Alessio Carraro, an Italian immigrant, purchased 277 acres of land several miles east of the city limits of Phoenix on Van Buren Street (a highway route through Phoenix) in 1928 and set out to build a castle resort hotel there. Alessio immigrated to the United States in 1905 and settled in San Francisco. According to Alessio's descendants, Alessio took a trip back to Italy in 1923 where he became enamored with the castles of his home country of Italy and started dreaming of building his own castle. In 1928, he found out about the resort hotel craze hitting Phoenix and he decided this was a good place to invest the money he had made in his sheet metal business in San Francisco (he had helped to rebuild that city after the great earthquake of 1906). Carraro's hotel castle is a four-story wood-frame structure with stucco exteriors, containing a little more than 5,000 square feet in size and featuring nine hotel rooms on the upper floors. It is shaped like an elongated octagon and includes a full basement with tunnels carved out of the granite hilltop using dynamite; the basement walls are constructed of bricks he manufactured on the site. There is some additional historical information and photos on the city's website.

Hard hit financially by the Great Depression, Carraro was unable to open his resort hotel and sold the property in 1931 to Edward A. and Della Tovrea for use as a personal residence. E.A. as he was known as a local cattle baron whose nearby Stockyards reportedly accommodated more than 300,000 cattle annually and was one of the largest feedlots in the country. Edward A. died within a year of purchasing the castle property, and Della marries William Stuart, a Prescott, Arizona, newspaper owner in 1936. Della and William Stuart reside in the castle only part-time (most of the time they lived in Prescott) until his death in 1960 when she reportedly moved back to the castle on a full-time basis. Della dies in 1969, and the castle then falls to the Tovrea heirs who occupy the house only on an occasional basis until the city begins purchasing property from the family in the early 1990s. The house's last full-time occupant was Della Tovrea who actually was severely injured in a break-in of the castle in November 1968 and never returned to the castle due to her injuries. So, the castle has largely been unoccupied for more than 40 years.

The city spent nearly two decades purchasing the core 44 acre castle estate from the Tovrea heirs, and restoring the castle and castle grounds. Due to the city's budgetary issues, the city is working on a partnership with a non-profit called the Tovrea Carraro Society to operate and maintain the site. The Society is planning to offer its first tours of the castle and grounds beginning in early 2012. While a tour schedule is not yet posted, tour information should be posted at their Facebook page in the next couple of months. Information will also be available via a link within the next few months here.

The Phoenix City Council adopted a Master Plan for the park - called Tovrea Castle at Carraro Heights Park - in 2003. The master plan calls for guided tours of the castle and grounds, with several event spaces planned on the site. The castle will have museum quality exhibits conveying the rich history of the castle when it opens in 2012.

If you're interesting in making donations to the project, please contact them at the Facebook page (above link).

Ghost Case: Taken By Surprise

It was 2007. I went to a haunted inn up north where a woman supposedly died of TB, left alone with her cat to die in the room when her husband left and did not come back. It was a tragic story, but I had my doubts that such a thing happened. It was just too much like a typical urban legend ghost story, but a trip to the cool country sounded very nice.

The room came with a big album filled with stories of people who had stayed in the woman's room and had strange things happen. I shoved it aside and decided it was time to go out for a yummy supper and some gal pal talk time. We got back to the room and did an investigation until our bedtime. I was more relaxed and open. The closet provided some very odd EMF spikes, but nothing that the turning on and off of the room's air-conditioner couldn't answer.

I turned on my voice recorder and put it on voice activation and said, "This is Sharon putting the recorder down and closing the closet door." Then, I got ready for bed.

I walked over and began to tear the sheets free from the bed because I hate being pinned to the bed by tight sheets. My friend laughed at my quirks. Once everything was released, I laid down, camera at my side, as we always kept our cameras nearby if something happened during the night. I took pictures of the room to have a frame of reference if anything changed in the morning. I laid the camera on the bedside table and went to bed.

Then, during the night, I heard scratching. I realized immediately that my feet were pinned down and toes were pointed because the bed sheets were very tightly tucked in. I started kicking frantically, waking my friend. Realizing where I was and that people reported the dead woman's cat scratched at the closet, I held up my camera in that direction and told my friend not to startle, I was just getting a picture. I clicked off the camera guessing where I was aiming and then turned it off and put it on the table and curled up again. I was exhausted from the long drive and the late evening and I fell back into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I got up and started to pack and then went to the closet and called out to the recorder when I opened the door "This is Sharon opening the door and retrieving the recorder in the morning." I picked it up, put it away and we went home.

I started reviewing the pictures and was shocked by the middle of the night shot when the door had scratching sounds and my feet were tucked in--



Yeah. My jaw kind of hit the floor. That closet door opened and closed during the night. I listened to the recorder and you could not hear it open and close. It was not loud enough to make voice activation record and the scratching that was loud enough to wake me, did not get picked up either.

Oh, and in case you are thinking what I thought, the door had 2-3 extra locks to it that were from the inside and could not be opened outside including a chain and a sliding lock which we closed all of because we assumed if a door had that many locks, there must be a security issue. Staff was definitely not in the room unless they could slide under the door to enter!