Little things.
We say that a lot in life boils down to little things. Little things break couples up. Little things mean the most. Little things can be SO irritating. A little can go a long way.
So, why, when we’re looking for some kind of sign from a loved one from “the other side,” whatever that may be, do we expect something grandiose, something huge and out of a Hollywood blockbuster special-effects movie?
I’ve read a lot of accounts of people who believe they’ve had a sign from someone after a death, everything from finding a feather, to hearing a song, smelling a perfume or particular scent and noting the behavior of a bird. One of the best stories is in the book “Haunted Baseball” and it’s a chapter titled “Jim Thome and the Bird” - no not THAT kind of bird, the kind with wings. It’s a very touching story, but I’m not going to recount it here. You can read it yourself.
The very best story I’ve heard was related to me by a mom who lost her daughter to cancer. I don’t remember all the details of the story, but it involved the mom seeing a rainbow and knowing it had been sent as a sign from her daughter. Rainbows were a special thing for them.
Think about it. If you saw some kind of Hollywood special effects type of display, wouldn’t you be sure it was a fake?
But what about a particular thing - in nature, in your home, somewhere - that has a special meaning only to you and someone else (or maybe a couple of someone elses)?
Whenever people sit down with a medium to “read” them, the really good ones don’t fish around. There’s no trial-and-error, no guessing, no picking up on signals. I had never seen anything so amazing as this medium - a woman - who read a woman in the audience - most definitely not a plant - and the conversation was VERY short, maybe a few sentences, and she answered the question very specifically. It knocked my socks off. If you think you’ve seen this kind of thing on TV and know what I’m talking about - you haven’t. This was absolutely mind-blowing. This woman in the audience wasn’t even asking for herself, but for a friend. Boom, question answered, done. That quick.
Again, we’re talking about a really good medium here. It always seems when a connection is made, the message is something small, something seemingly insignificant, almost something everyday. But if you listen closely, it’s almost always something that holds meaning only for those two people communicating or that particular family. Something pretty darn specific. “This spirit is laughing about the time you went to the store and were trying on hats and you wore this awful purple creation.” “She’s teasing you about the ribbon you won at the county fair.” Things like that.
I believe my father-in-law, who died about a year before my husband and I got married, has visited us a few times. Why? He smoked, and while that alone wouldn’t convince anyone, I would smell fresh cigarette smoke in our house in a specific spot when something was going on with my husband. Usually something good. If you’ve ever lived with a smoker, you know the difference between fresh cigarette smoke and stale, recycled cigarette smoke. This was fresh and very heavy. Then, poof! It was gone. All trace of the smell. Usually as soon as I mentioned his name. At one time, my husband asked me if I thought someone would communicate with something that, well, ethereal - although that’s not the word he used - maybe it was “intangible.”
Why not? It certainly got the point across with me. Message received. Although I think he’s abandoned us for his new great-grandson. Can’t blame him. The little guy is a cutie.
But why isn’t that kind of message good enough? Is it because we expect something really profound?
What if the message is something like “It’s so nice here.” “I’m fine.” “It’s peaceful.” It may be true, but aren’t you inclined to dismiss that stuff? That could be from anyone … it’s so … ordinary … predictable. But knowing about that purple hat … well, that might be some real connection.
Like seeing a rainbow.
P.S. Yes, still working on the cat audio. I haven’t forgotten, because I’ll have more audio to come, as well. And thanks for reading. Invite your friends.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
No audio link
Sorry, guys. I'm working on it and will have my crack team take a look. I will get it up, I promise.
Thanks for the patience!
Thanks for the patience!
Ghost cat, part 2
So there we all are, at the old Jacksonville Funeral Home, taking a tour of the location and listening to a description of the paranormal phenomena that the people connected with the theatre guild experience. They would have doors open and close, coffee pots turn off and on, strange electrical things (the wiring goes back to the early days of the building, so you expect it to be glitchy), voices, musical instruments, including an organ, violin and trombone, that are recorded, shadowy figures in hallways and a woman in white.
Downstairs is where the viewing rooms were and also the kitchen, which had been the embalming room - think about that when you’re having your Cheerios, eh? The top floor, which is the third floor, was where the Williamsons lived when the funeral home was there. There was a spiral staircase and a lot of rooms packed with clothing, props, etc.
I’ll admit it, I was drawn to all the clothes. Old, new, wedding dresses, everyday dresses. Shoes, jackets, hats. Wow! My idea was to see if I could mine the clothing for something attached to it. But other than having a good time looking, I was getting a whole lot of nothing. Maybe I expected someone to just yell, "hey, you, stop that!" I don't know.
I was in the hat room, which was just a little room tucked into the corner of the top floor. Next to the hat room was a hallway and the stairs led down off it. The hallway went quite far back to the other side of the floor, and there were costumes hanging everywhere in this space. When I first came up, I could see a couple of women messing around at the other end with a flashlight.
For those who haven‘t see it, what they were doing is playing a trick with the flashlight. You set it so it will just come on if it’s touched and then ask the ghosts/spirits to turn it on and off for you. I don’t make a habit of doing this, nor have I seen it done a lot, I’ll confess, but the only place I’ve ever seen it work is on “Ghost Hunters” and it seems to work all the time for them. Maybe that should tell us something - either we need to get easier flashlights to flip on or smarter ghosts, maybe? I’m guessing it has more to do with former than latter.
Across the hallway was another room packed with - guess what? - more clothing. This is where a guy I know took a photo of a shadowy figure down at the far end. This guy has a real knack for ghost photography. He saw and took a photo of it. So that made it a popular place to hang out to see if the shadow would make a return appearance.
So, there I am, across the hallway and taking photos in the hat room and darned if I don’t hear a cat. The first call was kind of faint, but the second sounded like it was right outside the door. I’m kind of internally rolling my eyes at the thought of all these costumes AND a cat wandering around up there. But I don’t see the cat while looking out through the door, and no one is saying anything about a cat.
(I’ll do my best to write an imitation of the noise: “Mrwargh.” Anyone who has a cat would recognize the kind of hide-and-seek noise it was making.)
Finally, I say out into the hallway, “Did anyone else hear a cat?”
I get several affirmatives to the my question.
Finally someone starts calling “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” which is, in my experience, the best way to make one hide in scorn. But I heard it cry faintly a couple more times, farther back into the walkway of the room.
There was an open window there, and some people making some noise outside the window. However, I was between the window and where the “cat” was, and the noises were coming from distinctly different directions. And, believe me, the cat was closer.
Then, one girl jumped slightly. She’d felt the cat rub against her. Anyone out there with cats, answer this: Which person out of a room full of people do cats invariably go to? The one who can’t stand them. And it held true here. This cat, although we couldn’t see it, was sticking like glue to this young girl, although one other person in the party also got a rub.
By the end of the night, I was half convinced it was a ghost cat and half convinced it was a real cat. At any rate, we joined the rest of the group at the end of the night and were talking about our ghost cat experience and one of the theater women told us that, yes, indeed, there WAS a ghost cat. Several of them had heard it and tried to find it on several occasions. And there definitely was NOT a real cat on the third floor.
Unfortunately, I only caught the sound of the cat briefly - I’d left my recorder in the hat room. While it picked up our voices nice and clearly, it didn’t catch the faint cat cries. Although once it figured out it could brush against someone, the cries pretty much quit.
Downstairs is where the viewing rooms were and also the kitchen, which had been the embalming room - think about that when you’re having your Cheerios, eh? The top floor, which is the third floor, was where the Williamsons lived when the funeral home was there. There was a spiral staircase and a lot of rooms packed with clothing, props, etc.
I’ll admit it, I was drawn to all the clothes. Old, new, wedding dresses, everyday dresses. Shoes, jackets, hats. Wow! My idea was to see if I could mine the clothing for something attached to it. But other than having a good time looking, I was getting a whole lot of nothing. Maybe I expected someone to just yell, "hey, you, stop that!" I don't know.
I was in the hat room, which was just a little room tucked into the corner of the top floor. Next to the hat room was a hallway and the stairs led down off it. The hallway went quite far back to the other side of the floor, and there were costumes hanging everywhere in this space. When I first came up, I could see a couple of women messing around at the other end with a flashlight.
For those who haven‘t see it, what they were doing is playing a trick with the flashlight. You set it so it will just come on if it’s touched and then ask the ghosts/spirits to turn it on and off for you. I don’t make a habit of doing this, nor have I seen it done a lot, I’ll confess, but the only place I’ve ever seen it work is on “Ghost Hunters” and it seems to work all the time for them. Maybe that should tell us something - either we need to get easier flashlights to flip on or smarter ghosts, maybe? I’m guessing it has more to do with former than latter.
Across the hallway was another room packed with - guess what? - more clothing. This is where a guy I know took a photo of a shadowy figure down at the far end. This guy has a real knack for ghost photography. He saw and took a photo of it. So that made it a popular place to hang out to see if the shadow would make a return appearance.
So, there I am, across the hallway and taking photos in the hat room and darned if I don’t hear a cat. The first call was kind of faint, but the second sounded like it was right outside the door. I’m kind of internally rolling my eyes at the thought of all these costumes AND a cat wandering around up there. But I don’t see the cat while looking out through the door, and no one is saying anything about a cat.
(I’ll do my best to write an imitation of the noise: “Mrwargh.” Anyone who has a cat would recognize the kind of hide-and-seek noise it was making.)
Finally, I say out into the hallway, “Did anyone else hear a cat?”
I get several affirmatives to the my question.
Finally someone starts calling “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” which is, in my experience, the best way to make one hide in scorn. But I heard it cry faintly a couple more times, farther back into the walkway of the room.
There was an open window there, and some people making some noise outside the window. However, I was between the window and where the “cat” was, and the noises were coming from distinctly different directions. And, believe me, the cat was closer.
Then, one girl jumped slightly. She’d felt the cat rub against her. Anyone out there with cats, answer this: Which person out of a room full of people do cats invariably go to? The one who can’t stand them. And it held true here. This cat, although we couldn’t see it, was sticking like glue to this young girl, although one other person in the party also got a rub.
By the end of the night, I was half convinced it was a ghost cat and half convinced it was a real cat. At any rate, we joined the rest of the group at the end of the night and were talking about our ghost cat experience and one of the theater women told us that, yes, indeed, there WAS a ghost cat. Several of them had heard it and tried to find it on several occasions. And there definitely was NOT a real cat on the third floor.
Unfortunately, I only caught the sound of the cat briefly - I’d left my recorder in the hat room. While it picked up our voices nice and clearly, it didn’t catch the faint cat cries. Although once it figured out it could brush against someone, the cries pretty much quit.
Play the sound:
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Ghost cat, part one
I wanted to put more up tonight, however, the same old, same old technical difficulties.
I wanted to post the audio of my ghost cat at the Old Funeral Home in Jacksonville, but Audacity is being a pain. More like, in the two years it’s been since I’ve used it to isolate and copy a piece, I’ve forgotten how to use it. So … I will have to delay the playing. But not for too terribly long. Sorry about the ineptitude - and I remember it being SO easy!
First I’ll start with a small bit. I work nights and many weekends, so it’s impossible for me to join a regular group. And, believe me, I’ve met some awesome people and groups. So much of what I do consists of trips and groups that are open to the public.
Have I had success with that? Yes. Has it been as good, as secure, as uncontaminated, etc., as in a controlled group? No. But I’ve met some great people with interesting ideas, I’ve visited some amazing places and I’ve had an awful lot of fun. So you give a little and you get a little.
I’ve been all around Decatur, I’ve been in Chicago, I’ve been to Tombstone and Bisbee, Arizona. I’ve been to St. Louis and that area. I’ve been to Gettysburg (twice!) and hopefully again. Anyone who is interested in traveling along, just speak up. You pay your own way and don’t cry if you get scared.
Anyway, I’m going to cover a rather recent experience, since I still haven’t dug my discs of photos out of my pit of an office. (I’ll never pass a white glove test, believe me, and not just because of the four black cats.)
First things first is the location. The old funeral home in Jacksonville, Illinois, refers to the former Williamson Funeral Home, which actually started its life as the Proffit Boarding House in the early 1900s. Many early touring actors and actresses stayed at the boarding house while traveling through to perform at the Strawn Opera House.
Later, the building became the Williamson Funeral Home for 55 years under the helm of Harlan Williamson. He began his career as a furniture maker. He also, obviously, made coffins at that time and worked his way into becoming an undertaker. He and his family lived in the upstairs of the home.
It has now entered its third life, in a case of something coming almost full circle, as home to the Jacksonville Theatre Guild.
So, we all know theaters are known to be highly haunted. We figure funeral homes are haunted. Paranormal investigators DO believe that objects can be haunted and that spirits can attach themselves to objects. If you poke your head to into any of the rooms at the guild, you will find an absolutely delightful array of clothing, furniture, props, hats, wedding dresses … anything that would fire up an actors’ imagination. So why is the building considered haunted?
This particular outing was part of an after-hours investigation during the 2011 Midwest Ghost Conference in Jacksonville. And while it wasn’t a dark and stormy night, exactly, it was a rainy one. So here’s where I’m going to leave you, with our intrepid band of adventurers at the old funeral parlor, armed with all our various cameras, recorders, flashlights … and waiting for something to happen.
I wanted to post the audio of my ghost cat at the Old Funeral Home in Jacksonville, but Audacity is being a pain. More like, in the two years it’s been since I’ve used it to isolate and copy a piece, I’ve forgotten how to use it. So … I will have to delay the playing. But not for too terribly long. Sorry about the ineptitude - and I remember it being SO easy!
First I’ll start with a small bit. I work nights and many weekends, so it’s impossible for me to join a regular group. And, believe me, I’ve met some awesome people and groups. So much of what I do consists of trips and groups that are open to the public.
Have I had success with that? Yes. Has it been as good, as secure, as uncontaminated, etc., as in a controlled group? No. But I’ve met some great people with interesting ideas, I’ve visited some amazing places and I’ve had an awful lot of fun. So you give a little and you get a little.
I’ve been all around Decatur, I’ve been in Chicago, I’ve been to Tombstone and Bisbee, Arizona. I’ve been to St. Louis and that area. I’ve been to Gettysburg (twice!) and hopefully again. Anyone who is interested in traveling along, just speak up. You pay your own way and don’t cry if you get scared.
Anyway, I’m going to cover a rather recent experience, since I still haven’t dug my discs of photos out of my pit of an office. (I’ll never pass a white glove test, believe me, and not just because of the four black cats.)
First things first is the location. The old funeral home in Jacksonville, Illinois, refers to the former Williamson Funeral Home, which actually started its life as the Proffit Boarding House in the early 1900s. Many early touring actors and actresses stayed at the boarding house while traveling through to perform at the Strawn Opera House.
Later, the building became the Williamson Funeral Home for 55 years under the helm of Harlan Williamson. He began his career as a furniture maker. He also, obviously, made coffins at that time and worked his way into becoming an undertaker. He and his family lived in the upstairs of the home.
It has now entered its third life, in a case of something coming almost full circle, as home to the Jacksonville Theatre Guild.
So, we all know theaters are known to be highly haunted. We figure funeral homes are haunted. Paranormal investigators DO believe that objects can be haunted and that spirits can attach themselves to objects. If you poke your head to into any of the rooms at the guild, you will find an absolutely delightful array of clothing, furniture, props, hats, wedding dresses … anything that would fire up an actors’ imagination. So why is the building considered haunted?
This particular outing was part of an after-hours investigation during the 2011 Midwest Ghost Conference in Jacksonville. And while it wasn’t a dark and stormy night, exactly, it was a rainy one. So here’s where I’m going to leave you, with our intrepid band of adventurers at the old funeral parlor, armed with all our various cameras, recorders, flashlights … and waiting for something to happen.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Believing in ghosts
Do YOU believe in ghosts?
The answer for me is yes. But, really, there’s a follow-up question. You believe in ghosts, but what are they exactly? And, if you don’t believe in ghosts, how do you explain things that have happened to other people that seem to have no explanation?
Depending upon which poll you look at online, you find that anywhere from about 35 percent to 90 percent of people believe in ghosts. Some claim to have had their own experiences to account for their belief and others will credit events occurring to others. In most cases, a belief in ghosts is linked to a belief in the afterlife. Many times, outright denial of their existence comes with the belief that when we die, that’s it; we’re gone. Sayonara, sucker!
That brings up a whole slew of religious questions. Most major religions carry with them a belief in an afterlife. Whether it be heaven, hell, nirvana, a “happy hunting ground” or however it’s envisioned, there’s a clear place for you to go once your soul leaves your body. Then the question becomes, why do some people “come back” as ghost and others don’t?
Because of a whole slew of experiences I’ve had, especially since I decided to investigate the paranormal, I can’t understand why some people DON’T believe. I, frankly, find it hard to believe we are just a mess of flesh and bone that just happens to work together to create life, personality, soul, feelings, etc. There has to be something that sparks that mass of flesh, bones and brain into life. (Shades of “It’s ALIVE!!”) Common belief has it that ghosts - and maybe souls - are somehow made up of energy. It’s also true, in my experience, that I can’t understand how someone can gaze into the eyes of an animal, the bloom of a flower, raindrops falling from the sky, and not believe there’s some kind of higher power in charge. Yes, there’s science there, but what created science? What created the unique chain of events that sparked life? OK, getting a bit deep here.
In our society today, we are haunted. Quite literally haunted. While it’s true that ghosts have existed in fiction, literature, movies, religion, you name it, since the beginning of time, right now it’s a fascination with “true” ghosts. Movies based on true ghost stories. TV shows following ghost hunters around (yes, there’s a difference between a “ghost hunter” and a “paranormal investigator,” but that’s a theme for another day). I’ve never really had time for the fictional, except in its place of something fun to read. Most of my delving has been in the “true” ghost stories as long as I can remember.
But why are we so haunted today? Why were we so haunted back in the 1970s, when I was in junior high and high school and anything psychic was all the rage. How about at the turn of the century, when the whole Spiritualism craze began? Was it because the human race was on a rocky path, either culturally, economically or politically?
We believe in ghosts, quite simply, because we want to. We want to believe that life goes on after our shell of a body breaks down and can no longer function. We want to believe that our good deeds (or bad ones, too) aren’t for naught and our time here on earth isn’t just some freakish occurrence.
But some of us believe in ghosts because our unique experiences have convinced us.
The answer for me is yes. But, really, there’s a follow-up question. You believe in ghosts, but what are they exactly? And, if you don’t believe in ghosts, how do you explain things that have happened to other people that seem to have no explanation?
Depending upon which poll you look at online, you find that anywhere from about 35 percent to 90 percent of people believe in ghosts. Some claim to have had their own experiences to account for their belief and others will credit events occurring to others. In most cases, a belief in ghosts is linked to a belief in the afterlife. Many times, outright denial of their existence comes with the belief that when we die, that’s it; we’re gone. Sayonara, sucker!
That brings up a whole slew of religious questions. Most major religions carry with them a belief in an afterlife. Whether it be heaven, hell, nirvana, a “happy hunting ground” or however it’s envisioned, there’s a clear place for you to go once your soul leaves your body. Then the question becomes, why do some people “come back” as ghost and others don’t?
Because of a whole slew of experiences I’ve had, especially since I decided to investigate the paranormal, I can’t understand why some people DON’T believe. I, frankly, find it hard to believe we are just a mess of flesh and bone that just happens to work together to create life, personality, soul, feelings, etc. There has to be something that sparks that mass of flesh, bones and brain into life. (Shades of “It’s ALIVE!!”) Common belief has it that ghosts - and maybe souls - are somehow made up of energy. It’s also true, in my experience, that I can’t understand how someone can gaze into the eyes of an animal, the bloom of a flower, raindrops falling from the sky, and not believe there’s some kind of higher power in charge. Yes, there’s science there, but what created science? What created the unique chain of events that sparked life? OK, getting a bit deep here.
In our society today, we are haunted. Quite literally haunted. While it’s true that ghosts have existed in fiction, literature, movies, religion, you name it, since the beginning of time, right now it’s a fascination with “true” ghosts. Movies based on true ghost stories. TV shows following ghost hunters around (yes, there’s a difference between a “ghost hunter” and a “paranormal investigator,” but that’s a theme for another day). I’ve never really had time for the fictional, except in its place of something fun to read. Most of my delving has been in the “true” ghost stories as long as I can remember.
But why are we so haunted today? Why were we so haunted back in the 1970s, when I was in junior high and high school and anything psychic was all the rage. How about at the turn of the century, when the whole Spiritualism craze began? Was it because the human race was on a rocky path, either culturally, economically or politically?
We believe in ghosts, quite simply, because we want to. We want to believe that life goes on after our shell of a body breaks down and can no longer function. We want to believe that our good deeds (or bad ones, too) aren’t for naught and our time here on earth isn’t just some freakish occurrence.
But some of us believe in ghosts because our unique experiences have convinced us.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The Mystery of the Brown Lady
I’m going to begin this blog with the photo of the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall.
This purported ghost photo was taken in September 1936 by Captain Provand and his assistant Indre Shira, two very well respected photographers. This photo was taken as part of a photo shoot for a British magazine called Country Life and was first published in the pages of that magazine in December 1936. It’s been hotly debated for many years. However, there has been no documentation to either confirm or debunk the photo, although it was allegedly examined by “experts” in 1936.
Is it genuine? Is it a hoax? I have no idea.
And that comes to crux of paranormal investigation and the debate about any validity of evidence collected. Just because something can be faked, does that mean it can’t be genuine? No. Lighting, tornadoes and many other natural events can be reproduced in a lab, but it also occurs naturally in nature.
I do know that I first saw this photo when was young, probably younger than age 10. It was definitely part of what fueled my interest in the paranormal and ghosts. In my journey to find answers, I have had a lot of experiences I can’t explain. Does that mean they’re paranormal? No. It just means that they remain without any explanation I can find.
This photo was taken long before we had point and shoot camera, long before we had computers, photoshop and other manipulation software. As I see it, we just may have to accept that ways to falsify evidence will always keep pace with any and all evidence of the paranormal we capture. Just as there are ways today to fake a ghost photo, so it was in the days of the Brown Lady.
As with anyone else, I can only verify what I’ve experienced and my beliefs and theories on the paranormal are based on them. I’ve also had the pleasure to meet some very intelligent and analytical people in this field, people who take a critical eye and common sense to the paranormal.
This purported ghost photo was taken in September 1936 by Captain Provand and his assistant Indre Shira, two very well respected photographers. This photo was taken as part of a photo shoot for a British magazine called Country Life and was first published in the pages of that magazine in December 1936. It’s been hotly debated for many years. However, there has been no documentation to either confirm or debunk the photo, although it was allegedly examined by “experts” in 1936.
Is it genuine? Is it a hoax? I have no idea.
And that comes to crux of paranormal investigation and the debate about any validity of evidence collected. Just because something can be faked, does that mean it can’t be genuine? No. Lighting, tornadoes and many other natural events can be reproduced in a lab, but it also occurs naturally in nature.
I do know that I first saw this photo when was young, probably younger than age 10. It was definitely part of what fueled my interest in the paranormal and ghosts. In my journey to find answers, I have had a lot of experiences I can’t explain. Does that mean they’re paranormal? No. It just means that they remain without any explanation I can find.
This photo was taken long before we had point and shoot camera, long before we had computers, photoshop and other manipulation software. As I see it, we just may have to accept that ways to falsify evidence will always keep pace with any and all evidence of the paranormal we capture. Just as there are ways today to fake a ghost photo, so it was in the days of the Brown Lady.
As with anyone else, I can only verify what I’ve experienced and my beliefs and theories on the paranormal are based on them. I’ve also had the pleasure to meet some very intelligent and analytical people in this field, people who take a critical eye and common sense to the paranormal.
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