ParanorMel

We have MOVED!

2012-02-01T14:09:00.003-05:00

You can now find ParanorMel HERE...

California's Most Haunted Places

2012-01-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

Please take this video and all it states as claims, with a grain of salt. This video is almost an hour long and filled with various stories and claims of personal experiences and legends of hauntings throughout the state of California. Including the Whaley House in San Diego.

According to the date stamp, this is about 3 years old.

Part 1 of 6 of "Ghosts of California" with the date stamp being about a year and a half ago since it was posted.

To watch the other parts to this, please CLICK HERE.

Shadow Games

2012-01-20T12:15:00.000-05:00

Shadow. That's the name of one of my three cats. He isn't all black, but is mostly covered in black fur. He actually got his name thanks to chasing his shadow and one time as a small kitten, jumping AT the wall to catch it. Only he got his bell rung.

But this isn't about Shadow, the kitty. This is about shadows in the hallway near my children's bedrooms.

Last week, after the kids were all in bed, and were INDEED sleeping, I went down stairs to watch some television and hang out with my husband for a while before it was time to go to bed ourselves.

Before finally deciding it was time to get some z's, I had to make a trip upstairs to take my nightly medication and use the uh... little lady's room.

I'd just gotten to the landing and then the first couple of steps, when I peered up, where the door to the basement was only partially open. And I don't know why, seeing as usually, I am looking DOWN at the steps (bad eye, so cautious).

Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of what appeared to be "shadow feet" moving along the underneath of my door (it's set a bit too high up in to the frame, so you can see underneath the door fairly well).

With the door partway open, I noticed the feet, and even some "shadow legs" moving somewhat steadfast past on the wall. It's as if someone had been coming out of my son's room, in a quick-walking manner. The bathroom light was on. If it weren't for it being so, I can guarantee that I would never have been none the wiser.

The feet made NO noise whatsoever. No breeze was felt. Just the sight of shadows.

No, I wasn't scared. Surprised, yes. But not frightened. I still got up the stairs, went about my business and then back down to go to bed.

At some point, I am hoping to buy a digital recorder and at first just place it up in the attic, seeing as I always feel uneasy up there. Even in the daytime. I want to see what kinds of things I could maybe pick up.

Then, eventually, I'd life to do an EVP session up there, in my son's room, and in the family area of the basement.

Am I scared? No. Nervous? Yes. Because I am a tad bit worried in regards to what type of answers or responses I may end up getting. But my son deserves to be able to sleep in his room at night without worrying.

Shadows, including an arm and a hand, as well as a full-body shadow has been claimed to be seen at night, including by my oldest (who is very matter-of-fact and doesn't take to playing things up).

I have had a child-cousin witness the doorknob of the attic door (with it being locked up via padlocking) turn and shake. As did one of my son's friends.

Also, my son's room remains MUCH colder than any other area of the house. And that includes the basement. Even in the summertime, it is relatively noticeable.

My husband and I have both in the past came face-to-face with either a shadow person, or a shadow fog/mist. And on both occasions, in OUR bedroom, late at night.

Someone... or something is trying REALLY hard to get noticed. For what reason, I have not a clue. Plus, the cousin in question has seen a shadow figure in the attic, according to her (again, not one to lie or embellish). And she described what my son has seen in the past.

Been A While!... Update.

2012-01-10T10:58:00.000-05:00

First of all, I hope everyone had a great New Years, Christmas and Thanksgiving. It's been QUITE a while since I laid a post down in here.

Here's a quick and simple update...

Yes, I still see the boy. Not always at the base of my stair area leading to and from my basement. I still also sometimes see the ghost cat that is eerily similar to my living cat in appearance.

My son's room is still icy cold, no matter what we do to ensure that no cold drafts are coming from the base of the attic door. And speaking of the attic, I STILL hate the damn area.

I'm thinking that it is indeed time to buckle down and buy that digital recorder. First, only to record the attic area to see what sounds transpire overnight with no one up there. Then try an EVP session with asking questions at a later date.

Sometimes, when I am alone, I don't always "feel" alone. And every so often, I hear laughing, a single word from out of the blue, or even my name being called out.

The other day, my son was in my room, helping to fold some laundry. I left for a brief moment. And again, according to him, of its own volition, the touch lamp went up a notch to the highest level. And knowing my son, being he has had one too many scary run ins, he wasn't doing it himself or trying to pull my leg. The look in his eyes and on his face told me that he witnessed it and was NOT the one that caused the lamp to turn up another light level.

Hopefully, I can get back in here and blog again soon. Cemetery visiting season is coming soon. And no telling what can happen out there. Especially if I take my one girl that seems to be sensitive.

Update Post

2011-10-10T09:55:00.001-04:00

Yep, still got strange stuff going on. Walking, sights of either the boy or the black kitty. An occasional voice here and there.

I'm not really blogging much anymore. So, I'll post things short and sweet from time to time.

May do a Halloween-based blogging thing for the last two weeks, leading up to the holiday. But I tried that last year, and it really didn't get attention. Those are/were some hard, long typing hours to piece those together. I'm not really certain that I wish to do it again, if no one is really going to be interested in them.

PLEASE!!!.... Let me know in the comments area if you are GENUINELY interested in my doing DAILY posts for the last 2 weeks of the month, leading up to, and on the DAY OF Halloween on here. May do "Haunted History" posts again, and even re-post some old ones. Or give me IDEAS for a theme to do daily.

If you don't think you are going to read/interact on these posts, then don't say yes to me doing them. It takes a good amount of time to sit and do these.

Two Experiences & A Dream (Part I)

2011-09-17T10:36:00.001-04:00

It's bad enough when you have your own REAL LIFE problems with having odd things happening within the walls of your home. But what about when they start to invade your dreams? Especially after two of your family members, yourself included, has occurrences in the same week, on different days?

The other morning, my oldest was up before myself and her siblings. Dad was already at work for his early morning shift at the store. The oldest has to be up by ten til seven to get ready for school.

On Wednesday, after I stepped in to the kitchen, she told me she had seen "someone" just a few minutes before I came up the stairs from the basement area, where my bedroom is.

I'd asked her to describe the person. She said that it was a male. No skin color noted to me yet (she's away with her bio-dad), and that he wore an "army suit" of camouflage. Depending on the actual colors of the suit, it may be military. Or it may be a hunter.

She said it only lasted a couple of seconds, and that she had seen him head on and he just looked at her, then vanished in to the air before her eyes.

I'd not told her, but I had an experience a couple days prior. But it was late afternoon and in the kitchen.

As I was minding my own business, and after shutting the fridge door, I had turned towards the stove. The blinds that cover the two kitchen windows were opened. One partially, which looks to the main street. The other, fully, and it looks to the neighbor next door.

Out of the corner of my right eye, I had a glimpse of what appeared to be someone gawking at me through the window facing the street. It was a shadow type head. No face to recognize. And when I'd turned to get a full view, the head darted back as if to not get caught.

I'd sensed it was a man. And if someone was to do that, then the LIVE person would have to do a "Spiderman" crawl up the side of my house and hang on for dear life to do what I had seen transpire.

It's just too strange. The two of us having these experiences like this can be a bit overwhelming. Emotionally. And psychologically.

But last night's dream I think sent me over the edge.

I'd gone to bed about midnight. One of those rare times that I wasn't THAT sleepy until then. I got in and nestled into the covers as usual and drifted off.

But then, everything went dark. A dark that I normally do not associate with. When I was finally able to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness before me, I felt the bitter cold of the air surrounding me.

It was at this point that I felt like I was in my own home. But not. It's as if I was in another realm. Another reality. Like an out-of-body type of thing was happening to me. Everything was so real.

That's when I felt the hand....

Touches and Such..Active Home Again

2011-08-12T10:10:00.000-04:00

This past week has been a strange one. Between one of the kids, my husband and myself, it seems that the house seemingly is "coming alive" again, paranormally speaking.

And when it happens to my husband, it is HUGE. He isn't a complete skeptic. Not anymore. Heck, he isn't even at 50/50 now. More like 75/25. I had blogged about one certain incident that happened to him a while back that almost completely reversed his polarity on the subject. But it wasn't enough to completely change his mind. I even tried cookies! (=

Anyways, between the three of us, it's been exciting. And a bit creepy. Let's start with the oldest, shall we?

She went in to the kitchen earlier in the week. It was mid-evening, just getting dark outside. She opened the fridge to find something. I think she was thirsty and looked around for drink. She said she closed the door to the refrigerator, with her hand on the handle.

Next thing I know, as I happened to be sitting here at the computer, my daughter comes in to the living room with a puzzled, shocked look upon her face, with her eyes widened. She asked if I heard a "knock" coming from the kitchen. I told her no...

That's when she exclaims that she heard a knocking coming from INSIDE the fridge! She didn't dare open it and she said it was loud enough that I SHOULD HAVE been able to hear it myself. She didn't go in to the fridge for a couple of days after the incident, thanks to it freaking her out so bad.

As for my husband, he had a strange, but not scary experience. Let's just say that I think that the "extra cat" of the house finally made it's presence known to him.

He was sitting here playing his POGO games, minding his own business the other day. Doing the usual thing. It was midday and wasn't doing anything out of the norm, per say.

Out of the blue, my husband turns around with a look upon his face that reads utter shock and disbelief. Then out comes, "did something rub up against my leg?"..I sat there, with this odd look upon my face. Like "what the hell are you talking about?!". Then I asked what it felt like. And he said like a cat was rubbing against him.

One problem...All three cats were OUTSIDE. Our Bearded Dragon, Gobi is NOWHERE near able to brush up against anyone in the manner my husband described. And all three of my kids are long out of the "crawling" stage.

So, we chalked that one up to the "ghost cat" in residence that I have seen (from the corner of my eye)on countless occasions. The strangest part is that it is almost a spitting image of my cat, Shadow. And it happens so quickly, it's as if the cat is elusive on purpose.

Then, the same evening as when my husband had his experience, I too had a strange occurrence of my own.

As a mom, you have this innate ability to sense things. Even with your eyes closed and having music blaring in to your ears with headphones on (as to drown out the crowd while TRYING to take a small siesta). This includes people walking in to the room and those walking past you in said room.

Once or twice before, I have written a post regarding Shadow People. They are dark-looking figures with no real identifying features. And they can be seen even in pitch black darkness of a room, being that they seem DARKER than the room that they appear in.

Never once did I actually SEE anyone/thing go past me. But I felt it's presence and I also had "seen" the shadow whisk past me through CLOSED eyes. One reason I knew it was NOT a living, breathing soul was that it walked briskly past me TOWARDS the side coffee table on my side of my bed. As if it went through the lamp and through the wall right behind me. The wall leads out to the basement foyer and stairs to go up to the main area of the house.

And, not only did it happen ONCE. No. Of course not! It happened three or four times. Almost back-to-back. Each time, I opened my eyes to see an EMPTY room, with the bedroom most-of-the-way shut (as I had it).

Stupid ghost! Bad enough my kids don't always leave me be to take a little nap. Now the ghost(s) have to bug the crap out of me too!

Demonic Haunting, or extremely good fakery?

2011-08-05T11:04:00.002-04:00

Watch this video in it's entirety and then leave YOUR opinion/judgement in the comment area.

**Please remember!!**... In this subject field, there is NO right or wrong answer. To debate the topic and video is one thing, but please DO NOT ATTACK one another in the comments section. We all have a right to our own PERSONAL views and opinions. Thanks.

As for myself, the first portion of the video, where the man is seemingly hung in the owner's attic is HIGHLY believable. And I feel it is good video evidence of demonic activity and spiritual hauntings.

The next segment of the dining table is sketchy to me. It seems staged.

As for the chair (white area) and the sheet rock, THAT is amazing, and scary at the same time. And more believable than the dining room area.

As for the WARREN segment, it too is difficult for me to believe. Why? Because for most of the time, you do NOT see but ONE person out of all that are in the room on the tape, as they are "communicating" through knocking. And how in the hell is a 10-year-old able to be SO calm while a poltergeist moves her chair as she (calmly) does her homework. Hmmm...

Wordless Wednesday...Infamous ghostly photos.

2011-08-03T09:20:00.000-04:00

Real Life, (Local) "Ghost Hunters" wants to check Out My Place!

2011-07-13T09:07:00.002-04:00

Over on FaceBook, I am friends with a couple of guys that are Lead Investigators of local-area Paranormal Investigation groups. Both are really awesome guys, and are helpful. One of them does YouTube videos of investigation tutorials and the like all of the time. You can find him there under the page Scream Freak 79. His name is Mike. And he the Founder of Viper Paranormal.

My other Paranormal enthusiastic pal is Alan. He's the Founder of Bedford Paranormal. We talked at great length for a couple days in regards to the happenings, both past and present that have been going on in my home around my family. We will be here for four years soon.

After telling Alan about everything that has transpired, and after he took a good look at the picture I had shown him of my daughter and an unseen arm (that seems to dissipate as it moves towards the wrist and hand area), he would like to come out and investigate the place.

We started talking not too long ago, after the last known incident involving ALL THREE of the kids.

Once in a while, they all get along. And this one night, they all three wished to bunk together in my son's room. Being THAT is a rare occurrence, I okay'd it.

Within about ten or twenty minutes, all three came running out of the room. Two in tears, all three with bug eyes. They were most certainly afraid. And mind you, when the lights are out in my son's room, and with the curtains and shades drawn, it is D-A-R-K in there.

When they came out, they about fell over one another as they ran through the hall, part of the dining area, and in to the living room as I sat here at the computer.

After catching her breath, my oldest said that as she was laying on her brother's bed, foot-end, she felt "weird". She looked down towards the floor. What she said next shocked even myself!

Apparently, in the pitch black darkness, she'd seen a hand, with an arm, that was a "black, dark shadow hand with an arm,that I could still see, even though it's really dark in B's room". It was, by her description, REACHING AROUND the end of the bed, and moving diagonal toward HER as if to try and grab her or touch her. And also, it seems that the other two kids had SEEN IT themselves as it was coming for their big sister.

After hearing what had transpired just nights before, and in the past, including my more-than-usual sighting of the little boy by the stairs of my basement foyer, and now even seeing him run past my bedroom down there here and there, as if he is going to the Family Area, Alan was getting concerned.

It's to the point that he would like to bring his Paranormal Investigation Team in, Bedford Paranormal (link above in previous paragraph). I made it well known that I will NOT have my kids here if/when it takes place. They can tell the team what they have seen/heard/felt, then it's time to ship them off to a friend.

That is IF I do this. Scott has yet to know of it. And I like that a private, localized group wants to take my case of haunted happenings. I have had a couple people tell me to contact Ghost Hunters. But nah! I love the show. But I really do not wish to have my family or my home on national TV. I'm no "fame attention seeker". Especially for THIS kind of subject.

Between Mike at Viper Paranormal and Alan at Bedford Paranormal, they have been a WONDERFUL help and guidance. They take my situation seriously. But they also look at it with a skeptic's view (think Ghost Hunters).

Now, how to tell the hubby that a local ghost hunting group wishes to check out our hauntingly active home...

Please READ ME! (To all of my readers/followers)

2011-06-05T13:22:00.002-04:00

I have decided to take a Blogging Hiatus for the Summer.

Due to different factors, including, but not limited to the fact that my readership is apparently down, and the time I take to piece some of these together (mainly on one of my other blogs), I think this is the best option for me at this time.

There's chance that I will post once in a while while on this hiatus. But I am looking for this to be once in a blue moon, of sorts. I have a lot on my plate. And I feel that I must remove some of my "activities", with Blogging being one of them. And quite possibly, using Twitter, as well.

I'm hopeful that you all will understand. But it's time to put my family, Summer activities (if any) and above all things, MYSELF first, above the Blogosphere.

Thanks for understanding. And I'll see ya around, my friends.

P.S. ~ I plan on posting this in all four of my pages.

Top 20 All-Time Horror Movies

2011-06-01T09:28:00.000-04:00

This is my Top 20 picks for all-time scary-awesome Horror Flicks!In video format, of course. And in no particular order.

*I own no rights whatsoever to ANY/ALL clips in this post. Copyright Infringement not intended.

*WARNING!*...Some of these trailers or other movie clips are NOT suitable for small children to view. Viewer Discretion is advised.

1) Poltergeist

2) Exorcist

3) Paranormal Activity

4) Psycho

5) Texas Chainsaw Massacre

6) Stephen King's "It"

7) Night Of The Living Dead

8) Dawn Of The Dead

9) Dracula (1992)

10) Frankenstein (1931)

11) SAW

12) Halloween

13) Friday The 13th

14) Nightmare On Elm Street

15) Child's Play

16) The Grudge

17) The Ring

18) Shutter

19) Flowers In The Attic

20) Ghost Ship

Bobby Mackey's Music World Dance Hall...Gate to Hell?

2011-05-31T09:14:00.000-04:00

I have seen documentaries on this place. And even an episode of Ghost Adventures, where Zak Bagans and crew not only went there and investigated once, but TWICE. And both times, people didn't come out of the dance hall/country nightclub unscathed in one way or another.

Bobby Mackey's Music World, which opened it's doors as such in 1978, sits in a little country town called Wilder, Kentucky. At one time in it's rich history it had served as the town's slaughter house. After the place was abandoned for many, many years, Bobby Mackey decided to purchase the old, run down building and it's land. He then turned it in to a place that was (supposed to be) fun and friendly, giving the community a place to hang out and have a good time.

But in it's heyday before Bobby took over, there was a suicide and murder on the property. And it's also been dubbed "the Gate to Hell".

In the following clip, you will hear from the FORMER employee of Bobby Mackey's and his shocking story of possession thanks to this place.

The laundry list of what has been known to those that enter the building is pretty extensive. In this clip, you get a taste of what has been known to go on, and some of the back story/history of the building....And something happens to Zak as he is talking with a building historian.

After their first taste with the demons, the GA Crew go back for another round. You get a little more of the past history, and see some eerie "coincidences". And will get a small peek at the original tape of the exorcism of the former employee, who was possessed by one of the resident demons.

As you can see here, the demonic paranormal is NOT a thing to "play around" with. It is real. It CAN hurt you. It can possibly even KILL you.

To this day, Bobby Mackey's Music World is open for business, serving up drinks, dance and paranormal activity.

Here is a video of Bobby singing "Johanna", which is the tale of the supposed ghost of the woman killed by her lover, with her head cut off and dropped down the well, which is the supposed "Gate to Hell".

Big Grandma's Story

2011-05-09T10:02:00.000-04:00

My husband's Grandmother is lovingly known as "Big Grandma". No, not because she's "fluffy". But because she is a Great-Grandma. So when we tell the kids that we are going to HIS grandma's, we tell them we are going to "Big Grandma's", or as my son now lovingly calls her, his "elderly" Grandma (lol).

Yesterday, we went over to her place to give her our Mother's Day gift of a re-blooming lilac plant and the school pictures I'd promised her. We met up with my husband's parents there and my MIL got her new yard flag and her pictures of the kids as well.

As myself, Big Grandma and my in-law's were sitting around, talking, Big Grandma told us something that honestly, made my jaw drop. My MIL took more stock in it though than my FIL did, as I watched the expression on his face as BG told her amazing story.

Per her count, BG has now had two times of this experience happen to her. But in two separate locations of her house. Remember too, BG is 86 years old, that she is now a widow and lives independently and is for the most part, sharp as a tack.

Big Grandma usually doesn't go to sleep until the wee early hours of the morning of the next day. She is an avid bookworm. So, she will read a good while, then turn the TV to something and finally drift off to dreamland.

But apparently one night, as she was not really tired and by her account NOT asleep or dreaming, she witnessed something out of the ordinary. Especially to her.

Standing just a few feet from her, near the dining table, which sits in the spacious living room by it's large windows, stood a faceless woman in period dress, with a bonnet and long "house dress" from what sounded like the Pioneer days of the 1800's.

This faceless woman said nothing. Did not move or come towards BG. BG said she just stood there. And apparently was there for a good length of time before fading in to the thin night air before the old woman's very eyes.

A while later, as in sometime after the first appearance, this woman in period dress, who again was faceless, was spotted in BG's bedroom, as she laid in her room, trying to fall asleep for the night. Again, she was awake by her account. And she remembers exactly what the woman was like from the time before.

By what I understand, before the house was there, in which they've (her and Big Papa, before his passing earlier this year) lived in their home for a good 25 years, was nothing but pasture. And quite possibly a log cabin home (think Little House On The Prairie home) was there way before their home was placed upon its foundation. And this lady that BG witnessed coming to visit her was fitting in with the possibility of such a thing happening before her home was there.

By what I heard, shockingly of course, seeing as I never have seen, heard or even thought of Big Grandma being the "type" to believe in such things as ghosts, it sounds an awful lot like a residual haunting. Like whomever lived in that area of the land before is just trying to retrace the steps of a place that is no longer standing.

The lady figure never, in either instance spoke according to BG. Just stood there, "looking" at the frail lady with her faceless body, only to fade in to nothingness before her very eyes.

I'd love to figure out how to find more information about the land that the house currently stands upon. This could get QUITE interesting.

Satan & 666

2011-05-04T09:36:00.001-04:00

Today, we will talk about Satan (known also as the devil) and the significance/meaning of the number 666. Some people worship him in a belief/cult aptly named Satanism.. They perform rituals in his name. They read a book called the Satanic Bible.

I personally, do *NOT* practice, nor do I affiliate with these philosophies, nor do I engage in practices of this religion/cult/belief system.

My reasoning as to writing in regards to this topic is to bring forth more understanding about Satan and of those who practice this belief system, and to enlighten those as to the significance to the number "666".

The devil (Satan) is considered to be a significant article of cryptology, religious belief, and one of the biggest pieces of Paranormal-related writings to be found. And honestly, I myself AM interested in the fallen angel's significance and history.

The following five-part documentary (via YouTube) is from 2006.

In part one (below), the people featured talk about the Jersey Devil.

Part two speaks of Demonology, Satanism and the "gateway to Hell".

Is the old saying, "the Devil made me do it" really more than JUST a 'saying', and can really be taken as a possibility that INDEED Satan can have THAT much power over a person?

A piece on Son of Sam and his psychology in regards to being a "Devil Worshiper" and in essence, went on a killing spree.

Satan's influence and can a human "find" the devil's presence?

Watch the following video about "666", also known as the mark of the Beast, and take from it what you will. It is for YOU, the viewer to decide. (Part 1 of 2. Please watch part 2 on YouTube, if you so choose.)

Zombies

2011-05-03T10:22:00.000-04:00

They are a cultural icon. We here in America have gone crazy over them. We love our brain/flesh eaters with a passion.

Zombies.

They are defined as (according to Wikipedia) "A zombie (Haitian Creole: zonbi; North Mbundu: nzumbe) can be either a fictional undead monster or a person in an entranced state believed to be controlled by a bokor or wizard. These latter are the original zombies, occurring in the West African Vodun religion and its American offshoots Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo."

Over in Africa, they are not your run-of-the-mill, ghastly, brain-eating zombies. As a matter of fact, they look pretty much like you and I would while still considered as part of the living population.

This documentary is 70 min. long, and was made in 2005. They are in Haiti. But it gives a good ideology in regards to Zombies within the real world.

As for Hollywood, we have so many Zombie-based movies, it really isn't funny. It all started with the infamous George A. Romero and his "Night Of The Living Dead".

One of the newest "rages" with this subject comes to us from the television channel, American Movie Classics (also known as AMC). Last year, they pulled off the seemingly impossible. The comic book, "The Walking Dead" was brought to life in a new, original, "pushing-the-envelope" series with the comic's main title.

Here is a (graphic and verbally expletive) trailer for season one of the hit thrill ride of a show.

We went from human-looking zombies, to sub-human, brain-eating, disgusting-looking zombies, thanks to our generation of horror fanatics being thirsty for more blood and guts. Whereas those that truly believe in the lore of Zombies and who practice Voodoo have a more realistic take on the subject.

But their take on zombies isn't as fun to watch. *grin*

You Be The Judge...

2011-04-25T09:31:00.000-04:00

The following video is of a real Paranormal Investigation in the UK.

Orbs are very much debated about and in many cases, held as being just bugs and/or dust particles.

As for EVP's (Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or electronic recordings of a spiritual being not heard in "real time", but only after playing back the recording), they are not always intelligible. Most are quite difficult to understand what is being said. Can you make out (at the end of this piece) what is being said?

Time Travel

2011-04-18T10:48:00.000-04:00

I remember as a small child, my mom watching the Time Traveler, Dr. Who. He was quite the eccentric, wasn't he? I loved how he would go to various places in time and space, using his machine, TARDIS (acronym for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space).

The original version of the Sci-Fi series ran from 1963 to 1989, and starred : William Hartnell initially.

Here's a video of the introduction to the original series.

As for time travel it's self, it is defined as (via Wikipedia) "is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects (or in some cases just information) backwards in time to some moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to experience the intervening period (at least not at the normal rate)".

We in a way, do use time travel. But in a different way. Such as using Time Capsules. And watching old footage from news reels. But to travel to the future, not the past, that takes some real doing and know-how, primarily scientifically. And we have yet to gain that knowledge and ability.

Will it ever happen? I can personally never say "never" or "impossible". Well, maybe so for MY lifetime. But in my children's lifetime, or their children's it may very well be possible. Technology advances in new ways all of the time. Practically on a daily basis, really.

What are your thoughts on Time Travel?

Spirit Guides

2011-04-13T09:15:00.000-04:00

Some people believe in Guardian Angels. Some people don't believe that we have some mystical being "watching" us or "protecting" us, that we are pretty much on our own. And then, some people believe that they have what is called a "Spirit Guide" that is with us in one way or another at all times, even after our physical death, as to help lead us to wherever it is that we are to go after this plane of life has ceased.

Spirit Guide is defined as according to Wikipedia,..

""Spirit guide" is a term used by the Western tradition of Spiritualist Churches, mediums, and psychics to describe an entity that remains a disincarnate spirit in order to act as a guide or protector to a living incarnated human being.

According to theosophical doctrine, spirit guides are not always of human descent. Some spirit guides live as energy, in the cosmic realm, or as light beings, which are very high level spirit guides. Some spirit guides are persons who have lived many former lifetimes, paid their karmic debts, and advanced beyond a need to reincarnate. Many devotees believe that spirit guides are chosen on "the other side" by human beings who are about to incarnate and wish assistance.

Some[quantify] lucid dreamers claim it is possible to meet one's spirit guide or "dream guide" in dreams or on the astral plane (see Astral Projection)[citation needed]. Their guidance is said not to require mediumship.

Many well-known psychics have publicly described their guides. Helena Blavatsky talked about being advised by "Mahatmas", discarnate personages from India and especially Tibet, who dressed and behaved according to the dictates of their respective cultures. Alice Bailey also described having contact with a spirit teacher whom she called "The Tibetan".

American Spiritualists of the 19th and 20th centuries often described their guides as resembling Native Americans. One popular spirit guide of this type, encountered by many Anglo-American Spiritualists, was named White Hawk. Among African-American Spiritualists, especially those in churches that were founded by or influenced by Mother Leafy Anderson, the Native American guide was named Black Hawk, and was presumed to be the spirit of the Fox tribe warrior of the same name."

Personally, I am up in the air in regards to this subject. I feel that we have someone/thing within us. Sometimes I can clearly hear my mother's voice in my head speaking my name or even singing along with me to a song that she liked in life. Or I hear a voice telling me words that are fleeting and almost whisper-like..I view that as my conscience guiding me.

As for Spirit Guides, I see them basically as Guardian Angels. They both have pretty much the same job description, just under different "employment" names.

But I also see it as WE control our own personal destiny. No one and nothing, including angels or guides can control our path for us. Maybe they can guide us in what THEY feel is the "right" thing to do, say, or place to be. But in the end, it is ourselves that have to guide and lead. Not anything spiritual.

Psychic Medium Talks About After Life And Spirit Guides - Watch more amazing videos here

This Blog's Been Haunting me..And A Blog Hop

2011-04-09T08:40:00.000-04:00

As of late, I haven't had any what I would call TRUE paranormal experiences. So I can't really write from MY perspective of close encounters or experiences. And if that is at times the case, I at times will post a video or an article about a Paranormal topic, and then give my thoughts, views and opinions.

When I do the latter, it can often times be time consuming. And after not really getting any feedback I felt it was time to stop writing on here for a while. And I stuck to my guns in that regard.

And in doing so, I hope that with the lengthy hiatus, I have managed to give my readers a good break, along with myself. So I'm looking to start back up writing on this page. Either of my own happenings or of paranormal things that I find of interest to talk about.

And feel free to join me over at the Weekend Wander over at For The Love Of Blogs as well.

It's a wonderful community of bloggers from all kinds of spectrums of writing.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll be writing again in here VERY soon!

This Very Well MAY BE The Last Post For This Blog....

2011-03-15T10:57:00.000-04:00

It's with a heavy heart that I say that. Because I have put MUCH time and energy in to that blog. I have never made it a "secret" of my belief in the Paranormal or of the things I have personally witnessed and/or experienced.

I've done pieces on various *reportedly and infamously* haunted places. Done writings on various Paranormal topics, and have openly discussed my own experiences or those of my husband and children.

ParanorMel is primarily centered around the topics of ghosts and hauntings. But I have been known to speak of other things such as UFOs and aliens.

Personally, I feel that I have done pretty much everything that I can to "attract" readers and readership. But alas obviously, to no avail.

So, I'm at a point now that if my efforts of piecing together posts on that blog (which CAN and HAVE been tedious to do, depending on need of information or media availability such as videos) are in so-called "vain" then I'm wondering why I'm doing it? It's most certainly not to hear myself talk (so to speak). But to educate others, let others think for themselves and have the opportunity to voice THEIR views and opinions without ridicule or being called nuts or crazy for their beliefs and what they themselves may have experienced within the Paranormal realm.

Honestly, I don't care if you (generally speaking) have a difference of opinion or view. As long as you state your difference in a manner of civility and respectfulness, then I say POST IT and be HEARD. I'm a big girl and I know that I will NEVER always "be right" or will always have people agree with what I see, think and feel about the subject. That's not how life works.

ParanorMel was started as a way to let others see that they are NOT alone in their quest for answers in the world of the "unknown" and as a way for me to document personal experiences of (primarily) myself and of my kids, whom have had experiences of one kind or another since toddler-hood.

I enjoy sharing the stories of experiences with my readers. But when you don't hear from anyone about 99% of the time about what you have written, it's (I feel) time to let it go and move on. And it saddens me that I have come to this point with that blog, seeing as I LOVE journaling there about the Paranormal.

But at what "price" to myself and MY TIME? I take time out of MY day to write posts, some of which CAN and have taken as much as 45 minutes to write, depending on the subject and what media content I wish to place in the piece. And to have my work subsequently 'ignored' 99% out of 100% of the time, to me is obscene and a proverbial "slap in the face" to me and my work.

My time could be better well spent, in all honesty. But I write for various reasons. And in ParanorMel, I write as to give others hope, reassurance, and to see what my "paranormal life" is like.

With that said, I feel that it may be time to "close up shop" over on that blog and call it a day. Thoughts?

***SIDE NOTE... This post is a *duplicate* I initially posted in The (Not Always) Happy Homemaker Diary.***

The "I'm Okay" Sign That I Recieved Was "Unconventional" To Say The Least

2011-03-14T10:22:00.000-04:00

As readers on my other two blogs (The (Not Always) Happy Homeaker Diary and The "Mental"-ist Mom) know, my husband's grandfather had passed away almost a week and a half ago.It was expected, but hard on us all, none the less.

About an hour before he passed away, my husband and I had made it to the house (where he died, as he requested) to say our final goodbye's and let him know that it would all be alright and to "just rest now". Within ten minutes of getting in the door of our home, after getting the kids from a friend's house who watched them while we went to him, we got "the call" that he had expired after suffering health-wise the last couple weeks.

After telling the kids that their great-grandfather passed away, and answering their questions, it was time for them to bed down for the night, seeing as they had school the following morning. Then, not long after, I decided I too needed to head off a bit earlier than normal for bed, being it was such a long, "strange-feeling" (as if I KNEW that death was going to be imminent and VERY soon, as did some other family members as well).

I'd gotten down stairs and hit on my main bedroom light, rounded my bed and touched my touch-lamp to go on to the middle setting. From there, I proceeded to ready myself (and the bed that was calling my name) to slumber.

Suddenly, the touch-lamp had ON ITS OWN, before my very eyes, went up to the high level setting. Never before did this "glitch" happen. Never. I couldn't find any reason for the lamp to turn it's self up of it's own volition. And myself and nothing else was close enough (or strong enough of touch/force) to make the lamp set its self.

Suddenly, like a natural reaction, out blurted from my lips, "Okay Papa, I got you. We are okay and thanks for the sign".

Yes indeed, I even surprised myself after the fact that I just so calmly stated what I had and that I (instinctively) knew that it was him, telling me he was okay. It's as if Big Papa wanted me to get the message (so to speak) as to put Scott (his grandson who he shared a VERY close bond with) seeing as Scott would "take my word for it".

Since that time, I haven't gotten any "feelings" of Big Papa hanging around. Be it here in my home, or at the home he shared with his wife of 62 years. I think that Big Papa is at peace, and happy. He has reunited with his youngest brother who passed in December, his parents and other family I'm sure he'd missed over the years.

But to get the "sign" from him (which yes, I truly believe it was Big Papa and not a malfunction of the lamp) felt wonderful. Made me realize that indeed he DID think of me and love me as one of his own.

Murder or Suicide? Premonition or Uncanny Timing?

2011-03-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a friend of mine over on FaceBook, and a posting of an article she had done, I really got to thinking. About "Premonition". Did the woman who had died the year that I was born commit suicide, or was she killed and then dumped off of a cliff as to cover up the killer's crime?

Whether it was indeed a suicide or a homicide will more than likely NEVER come to light. We are talking over thirty years since the death had taken place. But there are some strange "facts" that come to light in the article. And it brings me to the thought of the topic of "Premonition".

The word "Premonition" is defined in dictionary.com as...
–noun
1.feeling of anticipation of or anxiety over a future event; presentiment: He had a vague premonition of danger.

2.a forewarning.

One thing that struck me about this possibly being a case of the girl having a premonition of her own demise (not so much of how or when, but of her life being cut drastically short) was the poem she'd left behind some time earlier before her death had occurred.

The poem reads as follows..

"Dismissed"

I know that I shall soon fade away,
as the day fades into the night.
I am not afraid for all things that begin
must surely draw to a close.

I wonder why all my possessions
seem so like treasures and jewels that just so recently I have uncovered.

I watch each day in silent solitude
Quietly as so not to disturb
even the smallest of molecules.

I (at first) would long for one more decade
to fulfill and satisfy the ambitions and
expectations of my forefathers.

In the beginning I would weep in awesome agony
with a desire to rid myself of
this evil illness.

I know, at least have expected my fate
as you would have to endure a broken heart.

Seven months and three days have passed
since I have learned of my new nature.

I feel myself slowly slipping from this reality
into the reality of the universe.

Each minute reveals the answer to a question
that hasn't been asked, before, even in the greatest books.

Today is the day I must leave and go
to the place where they have been calling
and waiting for me.

I walk slowly into a field of sunshine
Fields of tall waving grass,
delicate flowers and tumbling hills.

A field like the one where my brother and sister passed
there time running, jumping and playing.

Mine eyes have suddenly gone blind to this landscape
as the wind blows, I fall into the grass
softly and peacefully.

My spirit is gone from my bones and flesh
I see myself lying ever so gracefully in a bed
of green satin.

As I descended into the clouds
I feel no sorrow that I must leave
only regret that I couldn't give more love
to my home and my friends.

-Vickie Bertram

Many say that it's more of a suicide note, than a poem of foretelling her own fate. I guess that this poem should be left to the interpretation of each individual reader, for no one can say exactly what was going through Vickie's mind at the time of writing this piece.

Something from the article, which you can READ HERE reeks of "cover up". The woman's brother, who is now a police officer had fought long and vehemently to be able to get his sister's remains exhumed and have a second Autopsy performed, seeing as there was no "real" investigation, or closing conclusions in regards to Vickie's death. He (rightfully so) wanted answers, not stumbling blocks and open-ended thoughts.

Finally, when the day came to bring up his long dead sister from her encasement, no other officers, not a single peer of the law had come to be with their "brother" in support, or to help raise up Ryan Allred's sister's remains.

No one should have to be "forced" in to helping a Medical Examiner raise their loved one from a grave like this! It's appalling what his so-called Police buddies did to him (or shall I say did NOT do for him).

In the initial reports, it was stated that there were no broken bones, after she had a 100 foot drop from the cliff. But NOW, it is seen that indeed, she DID have broken bones in the (over) 30 year postmortem medical examination.

Between the inconsistency of the first and second Autopsies, the fact that no one can clearly say what her state of mind was near the end of her life, and the fact that her brother had to help pull her body from her casket, with no other Police officers there to watch the proceedings (which I thought was actually a REQUIREMENT of exhuming) or even be the ones instead of Ryan Allred (Vickie's brother) to pull her from her resting place, I say that indeed, there IS a cover up somewhere along the lines. I just can't place with whom or why.

And yes, I also think that Vickie Robin Bertram had been able to foresee her fate. Be it via suicide or being killed by another's hand. She had the gift of "Premonition" and was able to witness in great detail, her ultimate fate.

"My Ghost Story" on Biography Channel

2011-02-26T10:18:00.000-05:00

I honestly cannot say enough about this TV series! I'm in love with "My Ghost Story" on the Bio Channel.

The show has ordinary, everyday people come on and tell their story of their ghostly encounters. And they have evidence to show as well to back up their claims.

The following story (first one in the video) is situated in Virginia, where I reside. And it involves Civil War history, which I enjoy as well.

The woman's story of loss makes me feel "better" in regards to the loss of my baby in 2003, where it had died in about the tenth to twelfth week of gestation. And I am more sire now, thanks to this story that indeed, my child IS watching over his little sister (read about OBE's HERE and my firsthand experience of having an OBE of my own.

Yes I was born and bred in California. But I have never really traveled this far down south in California. I lived in the East San Fransisco Bay Area until my mid-teens.

Over the years, I'd heard many times the stories in regards to the Whaley House in San Diego, California. And to this day, I do wish I had been able to visit this beautiful, but creepy home.

"My Ghost Story" airs on Saturday's at 10:00 PM/9:00 PM on Biography Channel.

Alien and UFO Sightings. They ARE Real. The Vatican Says So.

2011-02-24T20:26:00.001-05:00

Like I had once stated before on a post here at ParanorMel, I do believe that there is intelligent life other than ourselves out in the universe. And that to think otherwise, personally is absurd and rather egotistical of us as a human species.

To read the post, and view the videos within it, please click on More Stars, ET, And Creationists, Oh My!.

Now the Vatican has stepped up and have made a major announcement. That there REALLY are aliens from other planets, and that they are not just conjured up stories of crazies and those with mental illness.

Monsignor Corrado Balducci has stated that indeed UFO's are NOT a figment of people's imaginations. And that contact with Extraterrestrials should NOT be considered "demonic" and that these encounters should be 'carefully' studied.

To read the article, CLICK HERE.

Not that I feel that I "need" the Vatican's "permission" to believe, or not to believe, but I am actually GLAD that a church group that I am no longer a member of or have "faith" in (more for it's "rules" and views on topics, not the people themselves who are in the congregation) has stood up and had the "balls" to actually ADMIT that they recognize that there IS life out in the universe among us, and that we are not "alone" in the galaxies.

Do I believe in alien abductions? Not really. But I do believe that they come to our world and study us from above. And one time on the way home to our old place out in the country, as my husband was driving down a dark, windy road that we have traveled countless times before that night, I had seen an "unusual looking" aircraft.

This "aircraft" had some strange lighting on it, unlike the lights of a basic commercial or private plane. And the way it maneuvered was extremely odd. It wasn't staying straight. It kind of jetted to a side and back in to it's original place. Then, like it had a jet pack on its back, took off.

To this day, I still cannot for certain say that it was an ordinary, everyday airplane. I saw "something" flying over the farm fields that night. And I firmly feel that it was alien in origin.

What are your thoughts on UFO's, aliens, abductions and life on other planets (both within and outside of our galaxy)?

Does This Video Show "End Times" that the Book of Revelations in the Bible Speaks Of?

2011-02-23T09:50:00.001-05:00

Watch this video CLOSELY.

Seemingly a "ghostly" rider comes charging through the rioting streets of Cairo, Egypt.

Is this a "reflection" of the camera? Is this a faked (be it a good one) play of the video?? Or is this the TRUE sign that the Second Coming of Christ is near and that soon End Times prophesy is unfolding before our very eyes?

Thanks to my brother-in-law, Casey for telling me about this phenomenal (and seemingly paranormal) video that was shot by MSNBC's camera crew while covering the Egypt riots.

In the end, YOU must decide for YOURSELF the validity of this video. Personally, I am skeptical of the Horseman being real. I'm not saying it is real. But I'm not saying it is fake, either. It is certainly an intriguing piece.

(Biblical Passage provided by Bible Gateway)

Revelation 6

The Seals

1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,[b] and six pounds[c] of barley for a day’s wages,[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The Sound In The Attic

2011-02-22T10:28:00.000-05:00

I finally got a good listen to it myself. Eerie, to say the least.

As it so happens, I was in my girls' bedroom, where all three kids have been sleeping (seeing as my son's room has been ice cold, thanks to the Attic, which has the stairs leading to it within his room's access area) as to tuck them in for the night.

I'd already kissed and hugged the youngest and middle kids. As I was about to hug my oldest (who is eleven and still likes HUGS ONLY at bedtime) I'd heard it. It was a dragging/rolling sound above our heads. The attic sprawls the length of the house. And this was CLEARLY right above us on the East side of the home.

My oldest exclaimed "THIS is what we hear EVERY night, Mom! About every ten minutes something drags or rolls. It keeps us up sometimes."..

My husband has also heard noises from the attic of what sounds like a pencil being rolled back and forth while sitting alone, quietly in the living room.

Whatever is up there, it is being playful more than malicious or malevolent. Still though, even in the daytime, I cannot stand to go up there. At least not alone. No sooner do I get half way up the steep, narrow steps, do I feel a sense of someone not wanting me there. As if I am invading THEIR space and THEIR territory.

At least now, I have heard the noises for myself. Not that I had ever not believed my children, mind you. The kids aren't really scared. But they do get a bit agitated. I've told them to openly tell whomever is occupying my attic to keep it down and to let them go to sleep.

Has it worked to do that? I am thinking so, seeing as they have been sleeping better at night lately. But the noises still do happen between late evening and very early morning hours (before daylight).

Readers be sure to READ THIS.

2011-02-14T17:39:00.002-05:00

I have decided to not blog for a while. Could be a few days, a week or longer. I have my reasons. If you wish to drop/no longer follow me on Blogger, on Twitter, or on FaceBook I'll understand.

Take My ADVICE When It Comes To Dealing With "Gifted" Children.

2011-02-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I had posted about what happened at the Wendy's restaurant the other night in regards to my six-year-old daughter. To read it, CLICK HERE.

After reading a couple of the comments that others had posted and after talking to my stepmother, I decided to talk about how I handle the kids and their "gifts". I know that at least two of them "see" things. where as one (my oldest daughter who is eleven) primarily only hears things.

In the space of about the last six years, between two very different homes, one being out in the country, living in a single wide trailer that is as old as ME, and where we are living now, which is a brick home with a full, finished basement and a full attic, and is NOT sitting on it's original property site, many things have transpired paranormally speaking.

As most people who regularly read my blog know, my first experience with any kind of ghostly activity was at the age of eight. From there, it just took off. And for years, I never said anything to anyone. That is until my father told me of some "weird things" he had happen, starting after my mother's passing in 1989. But she too had some creepy stuff in that home in Fremont happen as well when she was alive.

Thanks to my knowledge and better understanding of why ghosts "hang around" and spirits make their presences known, I can honestly tell my three children I understand their fears and DO believe them when they say that they have heard something "walking", "being dragged", "being played with", "see someone".

Although, the number one thing I am STILL trying to make them realize (especially my son) is that we cannot tell EVERYONE who enters our home. Not even family. That there is a time and a place. And not everyone is accepting of what we believe and know, or experience.

When my youngest came up to me the other night, on her way to bed, she said that she'd seen a "little boy staring at me from the bathroom", which had its door ajar. She claimed that the boy was "peeking around the corner" of the door at her.

Her eyes were wide as silver dollars. I immediately told her that it's okay and that he won't hurt her. And I let her know I too have seen him before and that "he just wanted to see what you (as in her) were doing". Which of course was getting in to bed.

One of the primary things to remember if your child suddenly states that they "see someone" that you cannot see yourself is to NEVER "blow them off" or discount what they are telling you. The more you are willing to open yourself up to the *possibility* that indeed your child can see things that maybe you cannot, the better you can support and even help them understand what THEY are going through.

But you must also teach them proper timing with "blurting out" about having an experience. Like telling them to not tell LITTLE children, to pick the friends you WANT TO have know about their gift wisely (I'd lost many a friend thanks to telling those that just didn't understand or believe me...and instead believed I was a nutcase), and to do their best to self-discern what very well is a Paranormal experience and what may be the house settling.

There is good to come for your child who may possess this ability. I believe it builds self-confidence, builds their self-esteem, helps them to be more in tune with their bodies and minds, and it hones their intuitive skills.

But it will NOT happen unless you as their parent/guardian help them along the way in a positive direction. And when parents who are "afraid" of what their kids can do start telling the child it's just their imagination and get on them for "telling tales" is doing the child a great disservice to them as an individual and to the Psychic/Sensitive/Medium Community.

Many of us "Sensitives" get a bad wrap as it is, thanks to the TRUE FRAUDS (who shall remain nameless of who I think are shams). To basically call a child "too imaginative" or tell them to "stop imagining up such things" who can HONESTLY see/hear/feel things that are beyond the realm of flesh, blood and bone, it makes them less likely to want to use their gift for GOOD and to even want to maintain it.

My Daughter Sees Dead People!

2011-01-31T10:24:00.000-05:00

Last night was just really strange. We took the kids out to Wendy's to eat. And it was seemingly a "normal" evening out, for times that we go out, that is.

As we stood in line to get our order taken, Skyler, who is my youngest of three kids, at the cute age of six years old, said something that just completely took me by surprise.

"Mama is that man dead?" is what came out her mouth as she viewed a picture of the Wendy's franchise's Founder, Dave Thomas from the back hall, near the restrooms.

Of course, I answered that yes he was deceased. The she proceeded to ask me WHY he "die-ded".

This is NOT the first time that my child has shown me evidence of possessing a gift of "sensitivity" and "seeing". It has happened at the Cemetery where some of my husband's family is also buried.

The more I witness her being "drawn" to certain things like graves and pictures of dead people, the more I believe she is intuitive to another realm of being.

And I don't know how she does it, but many times in the Cemetery, she "hones in" on to grave sites that are of CHILDREN. She can barely read! How can she just "pick up" where to go?

Yes, I believe she has a gift that has been passed down from the females on my side through the generations. But her "intuitions" are clearly more prominent than mine have ever proven to be.

It's Comment Love Day!..Come Link Up With Me.

2011-01-30T11:15:00.000-05:00

Good Sunday to everyone! I'm participating in For The Love Of Blog's "Comment Love Day", where you go and click on other blogs and leave GENUINE comments. Not just copy/pastes of "Nice blog." or "I'm following you, please follow me back.". It is a chance to REALLY know the writers and get a good chance to REALLY read what is on their mind or important to them.

But before you go over there, be sure to also leave your link here as well. And feel free to also check out the links to my other two blogs.

If you wish to be a *FEATURED* Blogger, CLICK HERE.

If you want to see my (former) *haunted* home, where I grew up, CLICK HERE.

If you wish to see about the new group and chat area for parents of Special Needs children, CLICK HERE.

My Old Hometown Haunts

2011-01-29T17:04:00.001-05:00

...And not just as in where I used to roam when I lived in the area. These are some of the most popular areas of Fremont, California that are supposedly haunted.

The following sites that I am doing to list are from the website Strange USA

One area being Niles Canyon. Whenever I would ride through the area with my parents as a child, I never felt "easy" as we went down the road. I never could explain my feelings of dread...

When you go down The Canyon road you will find an off ramp that will lead you down to a creek... That is if you can drive all the way down the road... As you go down the road you begin to hear knocking and at about half way down the road you will start to hear a small boy laughing... Story tells that a young boy was killed in the basement of a cottage at the end of the road...he was found by his parents hanging from the rafters, when his parents called the cops they told them that there was no body in the house but mass amounts of blood washing up at the creek banks... Legend tells that if you make it down the canyon you can still see blood washing up on the creek banks and hear a young boy laughing...No Trespassing

Where I used to live was a part of the Mission area. In fact, I attended Mission San Jose High School back in the day....

Built in the late 1700`s, Mission San Jose has had a lot of curious history. A fire destroyed the original Mission, and the 1906 earthquake leveled the old church. Both have been rebuilt, the church about 12 years ago and the mission in the 1800`s. There are cold spots and mists in the mission itself, uncanny feelings and mists in the courtyard by the fountain. An old cemetery adjacent to the church is the site of many disturbances, including unexplained whispers and crying (several Fremont pioneers are buried here, as well as countless Natives). Also in the church itself, where there are graves in the floor in the Sanctuary and in front of the altar. Severe cold spits are felt near the graves. Across the street from the mission sits an historic tavern, where witnesses say they have seen several Native looking people in old clothing cross the street and disappear as soon as they enter the courtyard of the mission.

Now, as for my old home, it had changed a bit apparently. But not too much over the years.

Yes, that IS my former home. The one I'd primarily grew up in. And the one that gave me some memorable "moments" that I would much rather forget. There were one too many creeks, bangs, footsteps that were not "living"-made, voices and "gas"-like apparitions for my taste. Especially after seeing my (then two weeks post death) deceased mother walk past me as I glanced up in the hallway's bathroom mirror as I was brushing my teeth. Oh, and did I mention that I was home alone at the time, being that my father was at work already?

Are They Building On HAUNTED Grounds?

2011-01-25T11:39:00.000-05:00

In my local news paper, there is talk of a court hearing that is to happen sometime today over the wold-wide known retail chain, WalMart and it's wanting to build "near" a National landmark from the Civil War.

Read the full article HERE...

As most of us know, the Civil War ended up being one of our nation's most bloodiest battles, with hundreds of thousands dead. And this site that the WalMart wishes to build on is certainly one of the bloodiest areas. And to many of us that wish to preserve history, one that should remain untouched and kept as a place of remembrance. Of our history, and of those that fought and died.

It is said that sometimes, when you build on grounds such as this, that you may unintentionally "awaken" the spirits of those that had lost their lives on the grounds some years before.

Take for instance, the infamous story of the haunting of Toys 'R' Us in Sunnyvale, California.

To read in detail about Johnny Johnson, who reportedly haunts the famous toy store and why, READ THIS ARTICLE. And be sure to read BOTH pages, being that the second page speaks of the types of things that happen at the store.

Personally, I do believe that building on ANY kind of "sacred" grounds can have ill effects. For both the living and for those that are still here after their worldly passing.

My family has strong ties to the Civil War, as well as to World War 2, when we went to war with Germany. In both cases, I say leave alone which is to not be touched. To infringe upon THEIR grounds where they fought, suffered and died to me is a disservice to them and to our country as a whole. And it is asking for those that are still restless to come and make their uneasiness well known to the living.

And I'm not one for having a can of peas thrown at me by unseen hands and forces.

*NOTE/DISCLAIMER*... I in no way endorse the Psychic featured here in the following video, Sylvia Browne. I myself even question her authenticity. But this is the best video I can find to at least explain the haunting's history and of what seemingly happens as reported by the (at least then) employees of the store in question. This video, remember is circa 1991.

Haunting Blogs...Add yours today!

2011-01-24T09:18:00.001-05:00

Come Haunt With Me! (blog hop,link up!)

2011-01-17T08:17:00.001-05:00

Just to let you know, I'm not blogging a whole lot at this time, due to not being in a "good" place right now, where family is concerned. We have an impending death looming upon us and I'm the so-called glue trying to hold my family (in my house) together. Though I *know* in my mind that this is not the end of the proverbial road, my heart is breaking at the thought of the impending loss and what it's doing to my husband and my two of three kids.

With that said...

Another week has started. What better way to kick it off on a Monday that to participate in the Magical Monday blog hop, courtesy of For The Love Of Blogs!

But before you run over there and see who all is participating, feel free to also ADD YOUR LINK HERE! But please limit the blog links to PARANORMAL blogs *only*. Thank you.

Now, be sure that BEFORE you head over to..

...to add your link (below) in my link-up tool area! Have a great Monday, everyone.

Haunt Around Monday! (blog hop)

2011-01-10T08:00:00.002-05:00

Another week has started. What better way to kick it off on a Monday that to participate in the Magical Monday blog hop, courtesy of For The Love Of Blogs!

But before you run over there and see who all is participating, feel free to also ADD YOUR LINK HERE! But please limit the blog links to PARANORMAL blogs *only*. Thank you.

But, before you do...

please LEAVE A *GENUINE* COMMENT here on my page to show that you have read it. Not a copy/paste thing or a "I followed you/follow me back" comment... I am okay with people stating if they came from another blog hop and found me. But I don't play the "followed you/follow me back" game.

**If you cannot abide by that one simple rule for linking on my page, I wish for you to NOT link it at all, nor even leave a COMMENT on my page.**

Now, be sure that BEFORE you head over to..

...to add your link (below) in my link-up tool area! Have a great Monday, everyone.

Turning the Tables... Your turn to talk.

2011-01-08T19:36:00.000-05:00

Let's do a little "getting to know you" post, shall we? I want to know more about the readers/followers that I have here. I'm always telling you all things about myself. Now, it's YOUR turn! (=

**Copy and paste the questions in to the COMMENTS area and answer them.**

1. Do you believe in ghosts, aliens, or mythical creatures?

2. Have you ever had an experience with of a spiritual nature?

3. Do you currently live in a haunted home, or have you done so in the past?

4. What are some of your more favorite ghostly legends/stories?

5. Have your kids claimed to hear or see something that they cannot easily explain away?

6. What do you think of Chip Coffey, Sylvia Browne, James van Praagh, or John Edwards?

7. What topics would you be interested to read about here at ParanorMel?

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A1) I believe in ghosts for certain. But will not discount the existence of aliens or paranormal creatures.

A2) I've had many run-ins with ghostly activity. I've blogged about it here and there on this page. And will continue to do so in the future as it happens or I recount past experiences.

A3)Yes, my home in my firm belief is haunted by at least three spirits. One being a cat that is a replica of my (living) cat, Shadow. And I have lived in at least one other (highly) haunted residence.

A4) For one, the legend of Resurrection Mary. And the Ammityville home case. The story of the Headless Horseman always gets me.

A5) Indeed at least two of my three children have claimed hearing sounds, seeing fleeting images and feeling cold spots that were all unexplainable to obvious logic. Even my six-year-old has claimed to play with someone that I cannot see.

A6) I believe in Chip Coffey. Otherwise, the others listed, I wouldn't give the time of day to. Chip is genuine. And he doesn't set out to "read minds" like the others do. He stays more with conveying messages of those who've departed this world. And he actually HELPS others with his gifts..Mainly kids that are struggling with their psychic abilities.

A7) I cannot answer from the topics point of the question. But I will say that I hope to see more activity within the posting's comment areas. I love interacting with my readers. I love knowing what they too think, feel and how they view the world around them.

About following THIS page...

2011-01-07T19:11:00.000-05:00

I love having followers, just like any other writer/blogger. But I want not just "followers", but READERS who are not only willing to read or even (with luck) glance at my pages, but are willing to say something constructive about the piece.

If you notice on the left of my page, you will see that my FOLLOWERS/Google Reader list's numbers have dropped DRAMATICALLY.

Why?

Because I went on and removed all those "followers" that were using me as a "look at how many I follow" tool, and those that spammed my pages with "I followed, now follow me back" BS.

If you are going to REALLY read my stuff and at least make an EFFORT to comment here and there, then by all means join my page! But if I'm just a tool or "numbers game" to you, then really, I do NOT want you to click the "Follow" button.

On ANY of my three blogs...

Here.

The (Not Always Happy Homemaker Diary.

Or on my newest creation, The "Mental"-ist Mom.

If you know me well, then you know me well enough to get it that I am not in to FAKE people, users or SPAMMERS.

So, if you are one of those three kinds, then please, don't bother my page, get my hopes up or waste my precious time.

OBEs

2011-01-07T08:40:00.000-05:00

In 2003, I suffered what is called a "missed" miscarriage. This means that the baby had died (at about 12 weeks gestation), but did not abort its self, which in most cases, happens after an embryo or very early-stage fetus passes from within the womb.

I did not find this out until my 16-week check up. So the baby's remains were just sitting there.

A few days later, I had to succumb to a D&C procedure to extract the baby, as I was getting sick from the toxins that started going in to my system.

Later on that night, after the procedure was done, I just laid there. Mourning for my baby, who I *knew* was to be a boy. I even named him, seeing as I didn't want his "life" (what tiny bit there was of it) to be "meaningless". And after all, he was still MY child. He was still a HUMAN BEING. And I lost not only him, but my future as his mother, and a piece of my heart along with him.

Finally, after some "quiet" crying, I had fallen asleep. Sick to the fact that I had done what no mother would think possible to have to do.

Next thing that I remember, I was in this beautiful wheat field. The sun shone extremely bright. But I was not wearing sunglasses and the light NEVER once bothered my eyes. There was a smell of jasmine in the breeze as it ran through my hair. Then I heard a little boy's voice calling "Mommy! Moooomy!! Over here". As I'd turned around, I knew instinctively it was him. It was my Michael.

We ran to one another. He was about six to nine years of age. We hugged. Then talked a while. Suddenly, he said it was time for him to go. That Grandma (my mom) was waiting for him. Then he told me it's okay and not to feel bad because he was happy and he knows he was loved. He also told me to go ahead and have another baby because he will look out for his little brother or sister.

Then, it was time for him to go. If only you knew just how badly I too wanted to go with him. So many people from my life were where he was returning to. I could feel their love beating down on me. I wasn't one time scared. I was at peace. REAL peace. For perhaps the first time in my life.

But, suddenly, the sun's light got blindingly bright. My breathing got labored and my chest felt extremely heavy as I bolted upright in bed. It was almost like I was having a panic attack.

It was then that I realized that I had separated from my own body, spiritually and had traveled to not Heaven, but somewhere in between there and here. Like a half-way meeting place. Not "Purgatory" per say. I felt the wheat under my finger tips. I could smell the air and the flowers that were carried in from a distance. I felt my son's touch. I could feel the warmth of the sun beating on me...So how could this NOT have been real?

The definition of Out Of Body Experience (OBEs) is defined by Wikipedia as this...

"An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE), is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of one's body and, in some cases, perceiving one's physical body from a place outside one's body (autoscopy).

The term out-of-body experience was introduced in 1943 by G.N.M Tyrrell in his book Apparitions, and adopted by, for example, Celia Green and Robert Monroe as a bias-free alternative to belief-centric labels such as "astral projection" or "spirit walking". Though the term usefully distances researchers from scientifically problematic concepts such as the soul, scientists still know little about the phenomenon.

Some researchers have managed to recreate OBE in a laboratory setup by stimulating a part in the human brain. One in ten people has an out-of-body experience once or more commonly several times in their life. OBEs are often part of the near-death experience. Those who have experienced OBEs sometimes claim to have observed details which were unknown to them beforehand.

In some cases the phenomenon appears to occur spontaneously; in others it is associated with a physical or mental trauma, use of psychedelic drugs, dissociative drugs, or a dream-like state. Many techniques aiming to induce the experience deliberately have been developed, for example visualization while in a relaxed, meditative state.

Recent (2007) studies have shown that experiences somewhat similar to OBEs can be induced by direct brain stimulation. Some of those who experience OBEs claimed to have willed themselves out of their bodies, while others report having found themselves being pulled from their bodies (usually preceded by a feeling of paralysis). In other accounts, the feeling of being outside the body was suddenly realized after the fact, and the experiencers saw their own bodies almost by accident.

OBEs often occur during the borderline stage between REM sleep and arousal when sleep paralysis may persist and dream imagery may mingle with sensory input.

Some neurologists have suspected that the event is triggered by a mismatch between visual and tactile signals. They used a virtual reality setup to recreate an OBE. The subject looked through goggles and saw his own body as it would appear to an outside observer standing behind him. The experimenter then touched the subject at the same time as a rod appeared to touch the virtual image. The experiment created an illusion of being behind and outside one's body. However, both critics and the experimenter himself note that the study fell short of replicating "full-blown" OBEs."

In a nutshell, I say interpretation and belief in this phenomenon and it's validity. In my mind, you can't really get the true nature of this paranormal experience in it's raw definition unless you yourself experience it. I know that I indeed believe in Out of Body Experiences (OBEs). Mainly because I know after really thinking back, I have had this happen to me at least three times in the past. With the loss of my baby. With the loss of the grandmother who raised me after my mother's passing. And my mother herself.

Miracles

2011-01-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

Miracles... They happen everyday according to those that believe in them. Primarily by those of the Christian faith.

I myself am a Christian. But I don't go to church or fall to my knees in prayer at the drop of a hat for every little thing. I also question the Bible and it's texts. But that is all for another post, on another day, in a different blogging area. Not for here.

Let's get back to the original topic of this post. Miracles.

Miracles are from the hand of God. They can occure in subtle ways, or "larger than life" ways.

For all technological and medical purposes (of the late 70's era) I should NOT have lived past my first twenty four hours after my birth. I'd had so many problems at birth, that they even told my father that I would *most likely not* live long enough to even make it by air to another hospital that was waiting on my for life-saving surgery, let alone make it through the surgery its self. Or the first few days after that.

But here I am standing today. Thirty four years later. Walking, talking, I have had kids (biologically), I can eat and drink independently. I am doing EVERYTHING that the doctors and "Specialists" all claimed I would *NEVER* do in my "short" life.

Most would say that it is all a miracle. I pulled off the impossible (for their time of technological and medical knowledge) and was deemed a "miracle child" that was placed in medical magazines, medical journals and dictionaries, and featured in news papers.

"Miracle" is defined by Wikipedia as this..

"A miracle is an unexpected event attributed to divine intervention. Sometimes an event is also attributed (in part) to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that God may work with the laws of nature to perform what people perceive as miracles. Theologians say that, with divine providence, God regularly works through created nature yet is free to work without, above, or against it as well.

A miracle is often considered a fortuitous event: compare with an Act of God.

In casual usage, "miracle" may also refer to any statistically unlikely but beneficial event, (such as surviving a natural disaster), or simply a "wonderful" occurrence, regardless of likelihood, such as a birth. Other miracles might be: survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or 'beating the odds.' Some coincidences may be perceived to be miracles."

Now would I consider having my children as miracles? Yes, indeed. Seeing as honestly, my overall health was in jeopardy with each pregnancy (five of them that resulted in three babies). Also add in the fact that my chances were even more greatly slimmed by the fact I have a severe case of Ovarian Cystitis, mainly on one side, but both have them. So really, I should not have even gotten pregnant in the first place, let alone five times (where I lost two of them).

Would I attribute my survival to God performing a miracle? Yes... And no. God, I feel decided my overall fate (seeing as my heart stopped about four times during my 18-hour surgery as a newborn). But it was the doctors and nurses who treated me during the surgery and at birth that used all of their medical skills and knowledge to repair the damage within my body.

Do I feel that those in a career of religion (clergy, priests) have the "right" to deem/state that something that happened to a parishioner of their church outright a "miracle"? No. I feel that this kind of decision is a PERSONAL-based decision between you and God/Jesus Christ.

Do YOU believe in miracles? Why or why not?

Has something you feel is "miraculous" in your life happened? Feel free to share it.

Vampirism

2011-01-03T08:59:00.001-05:00

The following is provided by... Wikipedia.

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures and in spite of speculation by literary historian Brian Frost that the "belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself", and may go back to "prehistoric times", the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism.

While even folkloric vampires of the Balkans and Eastern Europe had a wide range of appearance ranging from nearly human to bloated rotting corpses, it was the success of John Polidori's 1819 novella The Vampyre that established the archetype of charismatic and sophisticated vampire; it is arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century, inspiring such works as Varney the Vampire and eventually Dracula.

However, it is Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula that is remembered as the quintessential vampire novel and which provided the basis of modern vampire fiction. Dracula drew on earlier mythologies of werewolves and similar legendary demons and "was to voice the anxieties of an age", and the "fears of late Victorian patriarchy". The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre, still popular in the 21st century, with books, films, video games, and television shows. The vampire is such a dominant figure in the horror genre that literary historian Susan Sellers places the current vampire myth in the "comparative safety of nightmare fantasy".

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Personally, I have always been fascinated by the subject of Vampirism. There is something truly magical and tantalizing about the possibility of ever-lasting immortality, such as is portrayed by Bram Stoker's novel.

But also, let's not forget where Mr. Stoker had originated his idea of a "walking dead guy" that had the need to feed off of the blood of the living...

And that would be in regards to Vlad The Impaler (Vlad's Story). He was a ruthless, dark, murderous ruler who had those he had captured staked *ALIVE* and then captured their blood in a cup and drank of it. Hence the true origin of Stoker's 'Dracula' character.

Although Vlad The Impaler dies, his alter ego, Dracula lives on in novels, movies, cartoons and even in CEREAL (Count Chocula).

Mr. Bram Stoker, author of "Dracula" (1897)

One of the most modern Television shows of my generation, "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" (based off of movie of the same name, featuring Kristy Swanson)

The most infamous "Dracula" portrayal of all time.. Bella Lugosi.

Vlad The Impaler, original ideal for Stoker's novel.

Depiction of impaling prisoners of Vlad's. As you can see, Vlad would DINE at the impalings of his victims and drink of their blood that is collected.

Personally, I have never tried this cereal. Surprising, I know (lol)! But maybe one day I will. After all, I would kill for chocolate. (=

New Year BLOG HOP/LINK UP Weekend! Come & add YOUR Paranormal blog.

2011-01-01T12:55:00.001-05:00

Happy New Years to all my readers. And also, welcome to our NEWEST followers here at ParanorMel. Thanks for joining the page.

To kick off the New Year, I thought I would supply a Blog Linking Tool. Please feel free to add YOUR *paranormal* blog to my listing. I will also add it to my page of fellow Paranormal Bloggers list.

But also check out For The Love Of Blogs as well after you leave my place! They are a GREAT community for Blog readers and writers alike.

If you don't write a blog regarding the Paranormal, but know those that do, please by all means, bring them over here and let them add their link to the Blog Hop.

Below I will be placing a LINKY TOOL for others that write about the Paranormal *ONLY*, as to gain exposure, readers/followers and to add to our reading lists.

As long as it is Paranormal in nature, you can add your link to the link up tool (below).

If I see a NON-Paranormal blog linked up, it will be DELETED from the blog roll. Only PARANORMAL blogs are permitted for this blog linking.

Crop Circles

2010-12-31T10:41:00.000-05:00

Like I've made well known in a previous post, I believe that there are other lifeforms out in the vast universe besides us. There is NO way that we can be the "only" 'intelligent' life forms around.

With that said, I think I feel like touching on the subject of Crop Circles, which coincide with the topic of aliens.

Crop circles are detailed "pictures" that are made in fields on farms. Let's take more of a gander in to this Paranormal phenomenon, shall we?

The following is provided by Wikipedia.

"A crop circle is a sizable pattern created by the flattening of a crop such as wheat, barley, rye, maize, or rapeseed. Crop circles are also referred to as crop formations, because they are not always circular in shape.

While the exact date crop circles began to appear is unknown, the documented cases have substantially increased from the 1970s to current times. Twenty-six countries ended up reporting approximately ten-thousand crop circles, in the last third of the 20th century, and 90% of those were located in southern England. Many of the formations appearing in that area are positioned near ancient monuments, such as Stonehenge.

Formations usually are made overnight, but have also been made during the day. The most widely known method for a person or group to construct a crop formation is to tie one end of a rope to an anchor point, and the other end to a board which is used to crush the plants. More recent methods include the use of a lawn roller.

Some crop formations are paid for by companies who use them as advertising. Other formations are sometimes claimed by individuals or groups without any evidence to support their assertion, usually after undesirable legal repercussions become unlikely." (Read more at the link provided)

One of the most famous "crop circle" movies has to be SIGNS (2002, Touchstone Pictures).

Spontaneous Human Combustion

2010-12-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

Information provided by Wikipedia..

*NOTE: Not to be confused with spontaneous combustion.*

**WARNING!! Pictures at the bottom of this post may be too graphic for some readers. Viewer discretion is advised.**

Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is a name used to describe alleged cases of the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition. While there have been about 200 cited cases worldwide over a period of around 300 years, most of the alleged cases are characterized by the lack of a thorough investigation, or rely heavily on hearsay and oral testimony. In many of the more recent cases, where photographic evidence is available, it is alleged that there was an external source of heat present (often cigarettes), and nothing occurred "spontaneously."

There are many hypothesized explanations which account for the various cases of human spontaneous combustion. These generally fall into one of three groups: paranormal explanations (e.g. a ghost or alien caused it), natural explanations that credit some unknown and otherwise unobserved phenomenon (e.g. the production of abnormally concentrated gas or raised levels of blood alcohol cause spontaneous ignition), and natural explanations that involve an external source of ignition (e.g. the victim dropped a cigarette).

Objections to natural explanations usually revolve around the degree of burning of the body with respect to its surroundings. Indeed, one of the common markers of a case of SHC is that the body — or part of it — has suffered an extraordinarily large degree of burning, with surroundings or lower limbs comparatively undamaged.

*Unverified natural phenomena*

* Since every human body contains varying strengths of electrical field and the human body also contains flammable gases (mainly methane in the intestines), an electrical discharge could ignite these gases.

* SHC victims are sometimes described as lonely people who fall into a trance immediately before their incineration. Heymer[3] suggests that a psychosomatic process in such emotionally-distressed people can trigger off a chain reaction by reacting nitrogen within the body and setting off a chain reaction of mitochondrial explosions. This hypothesis has been criticized on the basis that Heymer "seems to be under the illusion that nitrogen exist as gases in the blood and are thus vulnerable to ignition, which is, in fact, not the case."[4] (Mitochondria are organelles found within cells.) The hypothesis also fails to take into account the fact that nitrogen is an inert, non-flammable gas.

* Another hypothesis suggests high-energy particles or gamma rays[1] coupled with susceptibilities in the potential victim (e.g. increased alcohol in the blood) triggers the initial reaction. This process may use no external oxygen to spread throughout the body, since it may not be an oxidation-reduction reaction. However, no reaction mechanism has been proposed, nor has a source for the high-energy particles.

* The victim is an alcoholic and has been smoking while drinking or shortly after drinking a strong spirit. There are claims that this raises the blood alcohol level to a point where it ignites; however, this theory is implausible, since ethanol typically burns only if the concentration is greater than about 23%, whereas a fatally toxic level is about 1%.[5] However, this does introduce the probability that the victim will fall asleep while holding a lit cigarette.

*LIST CONTINUES*

**Natural explanations**

* Cigarettes are often seen as the source of fire in valleys. Usually, it is thought that natural causes such as heart attacks may lead to the victim dying, subsequently dropping the cigarette. Embers from cigarettes and pipes may also ignite clothes.[3] Additionally, cigarette steam at a temperature too low to trigger a flare up of most otherwise combustible materials. Typically if a person drops a lit cigarette on an article of clothing, it will create a burn-hole, but not ignite into an open flame and spread.

* The "wick effect" hypothesis suggests that a small external flame source, such as a burning cigarette, chars the clothing of the victim at a location, splitting the skin and releasing subcutaneous fat, which is in turn absorbed into the burned clothing, acting as a wick. This combustion can continue for as long as the fuel is available. This hypothesis has been successfully tested with animal tissue (pig) and is consistent with evidence recovered from cases of human combustion.[6][7]

* Scalding can cause burn-like injuries, including death, without setting fire to clothing. Although not applicable in cases where the body is charred and burnt, this has been suggested as a cause in at least one claimed SHC-like event.

Deaths...

* Robert Francis Bailey : United Kingdom, 1967
* Polonus Vorstius : Italy, 1470
* Cornelia di Bandi : Italy, 1731
* John Irving Bentley : United States, 1966
* George I. Mott : United States, 1986
* Mary Reeser : United States, 1951
* Helen Conway : United States, 1964
* Nicole Millet : France, 1725
* Phyllis Newcombe : United Kingdom, 1938
* Anna Martin : United States, 1957
* Jeannie Saffin : England, 1982
* Henry Thomas : Wales, 1980
* Janice McCall : United States, 2009 < not a SHC - surgical flash fire.
* Ginette Kazmierczak : France, 1977

Read more on the subject at the link provided for this subject that is posted at the *top* of this blog piece.

Who has a HAUNTING read?? (Blog Hop/link up)

2010-12-27T08:30:00.000-05:00

With the holidays now past us, I can once more concentrate on BOTH blogs. It was looking like a ghost town around here...Get it? "Ghost" town?? Yeah...That went well.

Apparently, we are still having odd things happening. Mainly where the attic is concerned. My oldest was kept up a good portion of the night by what she said was "something" being dragged, steps and the "rolling" noises I have mentioned before in a previous post.

But enough with that {for now}...

Below I will be placing a LINKY TOOL for others that write about the Paranormal *ONLY*, as to gain exposure, readers/followers and to add to our reading lists.

As long as it is Paranormal in nature, you can add your link to the link up tool (below).

If I see a NON-Paranormal blog linked up, it will be DELETED from the blog roll. Only PARANORMAL blogs are permitted for this blog linking.

Have a great Monday and a wonderful week.

More Stars, ET & Creationists. Oh My!!

2010-12-08T10:02:00.001-05:00

This morning, after checking my emails over on Yahoo I'd decided to click over to MY YAHOO and check out the latest stories of the morning.

This is what I had found... Evidence for ET is mounting daily, but not proven.

Pretty interesting read, if you ask me. Oh.. You didn't. But I'm saying it anyways.

So the run down is that Astronomers have found evidence of more stars in the universe than they had previously thought. Three times as many as a matter of fact. And that is A LOT... Many more galaxies and suns as well, if you sit and think about it, seeing as suns are just huge stars themselves.

Also, the scientists have found that a microbe can actually LIVE and thrive in ARSENIC. Which has had lead them to think that they can live in some pretty harsh conditions that us humans very well cannot.

From the article... "The evidence is just getting stronger and stronger," said Carl Pilcher, director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, which studies the origins, evolution and possibilities of life in the universe. "I think anybody looking at this evidence is going to say, 'There's got to be life out there.'"

In *my* humble opinion, I agree. We as THE leading and MOST intelligent species of our planet would be completely naive and all-out stupid to believe that within this vast and (seemingly) unending universe that we are the ONLY life forms out there.

We will NEVER (in my mind) know truly how many life forms that there are out there beyond the reaches and outer fringes of our galaxy.

Now, in the Christian texts of the Bible, within Genesis, it states... (via BIBLE GATEWAY)

"1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."

What many Creationists (those that solely believe in what the Bible states word for word, and that God made the earth and it is NOT *millions/billions* of years old, but only *thousands* of years in age) believe is that Evolution and Astronomy Sciences were just made up nonsense to have some other "explanation" than a god/deity forming everything out of nothing. They do not believe in the "Big Bang" theory or take stock in anything regarding the "Evolutionary Scale". And being that the Bible does NOT state that there are other forms of life BEYOND us, then it can't be true.

Most (but not all) Astronomy Scientists are Atheists. They do not feel that there was a deity design to the universe, let alone believe that ANY gods exist.

Now some are said to be Agnostic, where they cannot prove, nor can they prove the existence of a deity. Nor can they prove or disprove that an intelligent being such as the Christian God made the planets and the universe.

Then, you do have a small handful of people that work within the various fields of Science that do believe in the Christian God.

One thing that they all do have in common is that they ALL rely on the evidence presented to them, theoretical measures, probability measures and anthropology to have gotten as far as they have in the fields of Astronomy, Biology and Evolution.

It just amazes me that people can sit there and FLAT OUT deny the REAL possibility of life on other planets within our very own solar system, let alone outside of the galaxy that we call "home".

To the Creationists, how can you be SO sure that those "six days" were not actually 6 million/billion YEARS? So someone said days in the Bible. Man had written and *REWRITTEN* that Book so many times, who HONESTLY knows for sure what God ACTUALLY said at this point? Do you not think that one second to God is a THOUSAND YEARS to us? Remember that saying? I was told that many times over.

So, take that second in "our" time and expand it out to those six days, put those six days in to God's version of "days"/time and see what you come up with... I suck at math, but I can safely say that it's WAAAAY more than "thousands" of years, my friends. You are looking at more along the lines of the millions or even the *billions* mark.

I myself am a Christian. I believe in God and Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, only to ascend to Heaven and that one day, He will return as it is written within the Book of Revelations.

BUT!!...Yeah, I have one.

I cannot sit here in good conscience and claim that science is wrong and that indeed there is NO OTHER life out in our vast galaxy and in the outer reaches of space. For me to do so would be just plain ignorant. Nor can I state that the earth is only *thousands* of years old. If that was the case, then we should be walking with dinosaurs, having volcanoes going off and earthquakes shaking all around us.

It took MILLIONS, if not BILLIONS of years for our planet to cool down, fill with water, and for the continents shape and shift. Plus species had to start somewhere, right? And no I do *not* believe that it started with Adam and Eve of the Bible. We started out as microbes, bacteria and from there evolved over those millions/billions of years in to what we are today. Homo Sapiens.

So as far as Extra Terrestrials, Astronomy, Cosmology and other sciences go for this Christian woman, I love it, love learning about it all, and truly believe that YES there *IS* other life out in the universe and that we are *NOT* alone by any means.

It's not shameful, ridiculous, or even hearsay to go beyond your belief system (be it Christianity or otherwise) to look at things on a larger, broader scale. Science (in any form) is NOT perfect or exact. But neither is religion.

Please watch the rest of this 5-part series via YouTube.

Two Times In Two Weeks..

2010-11-23T09:01:00.000-05:00

Strange. For being (for the most part) a skeptic, he certainly is having a time of explaining away the last couple weeks of instances.

My husband is kind of like an Agnostic. He can't prove that God exists, nor can he prove that God doesn't exist. And he won't completely deny His existence. But is on the fence about the existence of God.

Same thing concerning my husband in regards to ghosts/spirits and paranormal activity. Yes, he DOES believe that there are other life forms (aliens) outside our universe and that it's a real possibility that they have visited our orbit. But the notion that there are some people that still "hang around" after this life is over is a bit of a hard pill to swallow for him.

Whereas for me, the subject of ghostly paranormal things is a no brainer. Ghosts/spirits DO exist, and yes, I believe that there is something beyond THIS life in our shells.

For many years, the subject of ghosts was a bit of a battle ground between the two of us. But after experiencing a few times what had happened for those first three weeks that I ever left him and the kids on their own to tend to family matters across the country, that battle ground seemingly got a bit smaller. And over the years, smaller than that.

So, in the last couple of weeks, including last night, it got even tinier. Though, with him, there will always be doubt I think, until something drastic happens (apparitions). Last week, I had told of his hearing what sounded like a pencil being rolled playfully by someone in the attic. To read about it, CLICK HERE.

That time, even though myself, the kids, and my husband were all either in the living room or the dining room (seeing as it was dinner time), it was only my husband that had heard the sounds coming from the attic, which spans the entire length of our home.

Last night, the kids were all asleep. And one cat was sleeping with the girls, while the other was not even in our room at the time of the occurrence. We heard no one (kid or cat) come down the stairs.

Out of the blue, my husband gets really still and he is obviously startled. Then, he asked me if I hear any wind outside our bedroom window. Nope. Still as can be. He claimed he saw the light that comes from the security light in the backyard brighten and dim as if someone or something was walking back and forth. But no apparent shape (human or animal).

Then, he bolted his upper body (waist and up) from the bed a bit, but not in a fully sitting position to look towards the foot of the bed. This is when he asked me if I felt "that". I asked him what THAT was. He claimed he felt someone was sitting on the bed, and even poking at his foot area. Seemingly by his description, in a playful manner.

Oddly, nothing that HE experienced did I notice, feel or see. It was as if whomever or whatever it was, only wanted my husband to notice them for whatever reason. And normally (then again who said that myself, this family or this house was normal??) it is me that gets all the crazy, weird things happening, without any others in the house seeing/hearing/feeling it at the time.

With what is happening upstairs, the experience from last night, and by other things that I have seen myself as of late, it is looking to be very much a child-like haunting behavior. He or she isn't trying to scare us. But they ARE trying to be playful, get noticed and are very observant of the happenings within the house. Especially with my basement stairs...

Two Experiences/Encounters and an Award.

2010-11-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

First of all, I shall thank the Academy for this prestigious...Oh wait, wrong award. My bad! Seriously though, I have been bestowed my FIRST EVER award for my ParanorMel blog. It's nice to have it recognized, even though my follower base is under twenty. But who's counting?

I have been given the Paranormal Community Leadership Award by Jessica Penot over at GHOST STORIES & HAUNTED PLACES where Jessica blogs about different places, buildings and homes that are (supposedly) haunted. I highly suggest you give her blog a look-see for yourself. You will NOT be disappointed. I guarantee it.

Thank you SO much, Jessica! But other than you, I have no other bloggers to pass this along to that have not already received it, seeing as I cannot find many good blogs of Paranormal interest. If you know of any, shoot them my way, would ya?

Now, on to the next...As Jason and Grant from Ghost Hunters (which I missed last night, due to crashing from exhaustion last night) like to say at the end of every episode.

On November ninth (I wrote about this the next day on ParanorMel's "Like page over on FaceBook) my husband made all of us go eerily quiet. He heard something coming from the attic. After seeing that all three cats were downstairs or outside, and all of us humans were accounted for, he KNEW it was not a sound that was man or animal made. Especially seeing as the windows were worked on last year to no longer be opened or to let drafts in.

After he mentally figured out what was going on, then my husband finally admitted to me that it was NOT the first time that he had happened upon the sound. Mainly made during the three to five o'clock hours of the very early morning, before he leaves for his differing shifts at work.

Strangely though, this apparent reoccurrence was never even heard by myself or the kids when it happened as we sat at the dinner table. Only my husband had heard the sound. Then he went in to explaining about it and he grabbed a pencil. He started to move it back and forth in a playful manner. The wood could be heard rolling as it went between his fingers.

This is when I admitted about sometimes hearing the footsteps outside the bathroom, in the main upper hallway as I shower, with no other people in the house. And I also admitted to seeing once again, the little boy of about my son's age, and my oldest daughter's height standing the basement foyer's landing.

Now, for the most recent thing to happen to me.. And it was just this past Tuesday.

For the first time ever, since being in the area of Central Virginia, I had gone to Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest. You can take pictures of the outside grounds and in the discovery rooms. But there are no pictures allowed to be taken within the retreat home. If you wish to take a gander at the inside of the mansion and learn more about Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest retreat, CLICK HERE.

All was well and good with me. That is, until our first stop for within the home was the basement. The wine cellar was also located down there. You can no longer go down in to it, seeing as the stairs had long rotted away and had to be removed. But the original brick is still on its floor, though it is pulling up and the bricks also have now started to rot.

Looking at the old Wine Cellar, I got struck with a "feeling". A feeling of being watched. I knew then, that on this Fifth Grade trip, we were not alone with the Tour Guide that was appointed to us. Even looking across the way, to the other side of the basement, it felt uneasy. I didn't SEE anyone or anything. But I could certainly tell that the energy was static-like. We were being watched. By whom, I cannot say.

Was it by Thomas Jefferson himself? Or could it have been Or could it have been Hannah? She was one of Jefferson's most devout slaves of their time. It could have possibly been even James, who was the "overseer" to the fellow slaves, who was entrusted as the headmaster above the other slaves of the Plantation.

While I cannot say for sure, all I know is that I felt that "someone" was keeping a close eye upon me, the children that were in our class and watching that the homestead was not being abused in any way that would tarnish the look and feel of Poplar Forest.

Haunted History Tour... Lizzie Borden Home

2010-11-08T09:45:00.001-05:00

"Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks.
When she realized what she done, she gave her father forty-one."

Remember that little saying? I certainly do! I used to repeat that diddy all of the time as a child. I never knew the truth and history behind the poem. But now that I am an adult and have watched documentaries, as well as have read the history behind the condemnation, I have "seen the light" as to why and how the rhyme came about.

Lizzie Andrew Borden was born in New England on July 19, 1860. A "spinster" of sorts, who later on in her adult years would be pegged as the prime suspect in the double homicide of her mother and her father. They were killed on August 4, 1892. This would have placed Lizzie to be age forty-two at the time. Plenty old enough to "know better", if you get my drift.

When all was said and done, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the heinous murders. And no other people were ever brought forth for the crimes. To this day, the murders are unsolved.

What led to the murders of Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby? Could have been very well over the fact that arguments often ensued over property and possessions that were to be divided amongst her and Lizzie's sister, Emma, BEFORE their father's demise? Or could it be that they were mad that Mr. Borden planned on having the the homestead sold to their stepmother's (Abby) relatives, and were afraid that they would literally be left out in the cold?

Whatever the true intention was for the killings, the stage had apparently long been set. Between anger, jealousy and the "not knowing" of what will happen after their Daddy keeled over, it made a perfect recipe for murder.

On August 4, 1892, Andrew left the house and went in to town, in to Fall River, Massachusetts to the bank. And then the old boy went to the post office. Which all were of his normal activities. Mr. Borden returned home at approximately 10:45 that morning, only to have Lizzie "find" her father dead upon the couch.

During the court trial for Lizzie, it was told, by the family's maid, Bridget Sullivan that she was laying in bed, within the confines of her room at around eleven, she heard Lizzie call up to her and stated that someone had killed her father.

Not long after the doctor and some neighbors had come to the home to help Lizzie, the gruesome discovery of her stepmother, Abby was made by the unsuspecting maid. Abby had died in the geust bedroom upstairs.

Abby and Andrew both had suffered a very brutal end to their lives. Both of them had skull-crushing blows to the head with a hatchet. Mr. Borden's left eyeball was literally split in two.

It came to light later, that not too long before the murders, all in the home became ill. Knowing her husband was a tight-fisted, not too well liked man, she feared that someone was out to seek revenge upon her husband, and take his entire family with him. They suspected poisoned milk. After the murders, right there in the home, the autopsies were performed. With it, the stomachs of the couple were removed and set on the table to seek out their contents. The contents were then sent for "tox screenings" over at Harvard Medical School.

Lizzie Borden was arrested for the double killing. She was placed in a cell on August twelfth. With her stories determined to be inconsistent through various interviews, she became the town's prime suspect.

On November 7, 1892, a Grand Jury trial was under way. A Bill of Indictment came down on her on December second, almost a month after her arrest. The trial its self didn't start in New Bedford, Massachusetts until June of 1893!

Lizzie's Defending Attorneys were Governor George D. Robinson and Andrew V. Jennings. One "rising star" Prosecutor at the trial happened to be William H. Moody, who would later become a United States Attorney General and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

During the investigation, a hatchet was found within the basement, and assumed to have been the murder weapon. It was clean, but the handle had gone missing. Later in the trial, by word of the Forensics Specialist, there was no time to have cleaned the hatchet after the murders had taken place.

Also on Lizzie's side was the fact that no blood-stained clothing was ever found. Although, there was a blue dress that was torn apart and thrown in to the stove. Lizzie claimed that the dress had fresh paint that was smeared on it, after she accidentally brushed up against a baseboard.

Lizzie was finally acquitted for the crimes on June 20, 1893, after deliberations by the jury that took them a mere hour and a half of their time.

After the dust had settled, Lizzie and her sister Emma had moved and named their new home "Maplecroft". It is located on French Street , which at that time, was within a posh neighborhood of Fall River. The home included all of the (then) latest amenities a home of it's stature could have. Including indoor plumbing.

Later on though, Emma and Lizzie began to develop a strained relationship. Their lifestyles did not mesh and were apparently like night and day. Complete opposites. So, twelve years after hell had reined upon them, the sisters had parted ways. Emma moved from the home in June of 1905.

On June 1, 1927, Lizzie Andrew Borden had passed away. She required gallbladder removal surgery and she was pretty sick for the last year of her life. She had died basically alone, with only her staff as her 'comfort' in those final hours. Her cause of death was Pneumonia.

The details of her funeral were never brought to light to the public, and only a handful of people attended the services for her. Lizzie is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River.

Nine days later, Emma too passed. She contracted Nephritis.

Today, the home in which the murders had occurred is now a Bed And Breakfast. As far as the hauntings go, there have been reports of a woman's voice softly crying, seeing ghostly shoes appear, and even an older woman in period dress for Lizzie's time show.

Also, it seems that video equipment messes up, lights have been known to flicker on and off, and Andrew and Abby supposedly wander the home.

Links...

Haunted Hamilton

History of Lizzie Borden

Haunted History Tour...New Mexico State Penitentiary

2010-10-31T10:05:00.000-04:00

For our next stop (and possibly our final, depending on how this post does for viewership), we once again will travel to a prison. And this prison was the gruesome scene of one of the worst riots ever recorded, where prisons are concerned.

New Mexico State Penitentiary sits about 15 miles from Santa Fe, New Mexico. The prison opened in 1956, and closed it's doors for good in 1998. But not before a severely violent riot had occurred in 1980.

The riot had taken place between February 2 and February 3 of that year. Now mind you, this is a maximum security prison. So extreme force and security measures are used daily. During the two-day riot, thirty-three prisoners had died. And more than two-hundred inmates had to be treated for injuries. None of the security staff were killed during the ordeal, but seven of them had to be treated for their injuries and for rapes.

NMSP was overcrowded, to say the least. The treatment from guards were not always "kind". The night that the riots started, there were 1,136 inmates placed on a cell block made to house only 900. Also they were not separated properly, as to help with any possible violent possibilities.

Another cause, they say for what transpired to be the worst riot in prison history, was the fact that programs such as educational, recreational and other rehabilitative programs were cut off, that had been started in 1970, but ended in 1975. In those five years, violence and mayhem was at a minimum.

There was also a severe shortage of Security Staff. So, those that were "fortunate" to work there, made a game with some of the prisoners called "The Snitch Game". This is where the inmates that were chosen would go and tell the guards of fellow inmates that were "uncooperative".

Those named would receive abusive treatment. And the abusive treatment came in the form of being from their fellow inmates. In the end though, this "game" was an epic fail, seeing as most of the information passed along was pretty inaccurate and minimal at best.

On the morning of February 2nd, it started. Hostages began to be taken by those that felt that enough was enough. Two prisoners in the South-side Dormitory E-2 had grabbed an officer who had been caught by them drinking a homemade liquor. Minutes later, four more officers were taken hostage.

Not too long after E-2 Block was under the control and leadership of the prisoners. And things were soon to become much, MUCH worse.

Before noon, the violence started to escalate to extreme proportions. And the "snitches" were beginning to be gathered up, along with the prison security staff members.

Within twenty-four hours after the riot began, Negotiators were starting to try and get demands of the prisoners and talk them down from their so-called power trip. At one point, eleven demands were made clear. Including, but not limited to inmate discipline, educational services and improving food. They also demanded to be able to speak with the media.

After the inmates were able to speak with the reporters, the officers that were taken as hostages were let go. Not all of them got out unscathed unfortunately. Some were severely beaten. Others had been raped. Seven of the guards had suffered severe injuries, but did live to tell of their ordeal.

There were also eighty prison inmates that had fled, seeing as they wanted no part in the riot, or wanted no further part in it. They had ran to the baseball fields to get away. Sunday morning, even more came out and fled the prison.

During the ordeal, thirty-three prisoners perished. Some were raped and beaten. And in all honesty, that was the EASIEST of the deaths that had occurred during the stand off. Some had their genitals burned off wit blowtorches. Some had their eyes gouged out, or even scooped out. While they were still very well alive, mind you. Also, some of the prisoners that had died were found to have overdosed on drugs as well.

Within thirty-six hours, on Sunday, February 3rd, things were finally calming down and coming to a stand-still. State Police officers and National Guard servicemen entered the charred remains of the prison.

Even after order was restored within the prison walls, gang fights, racial tensions, and fights had continued. But of a much smaller scale.

As I had earlier stated, the prison was formally closed in 1998. But since then, it has been opened as a Tourist Attraction, as well as used in the making of the 2005 remake of "Longest Yard" (featuring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and the original film's Burt Reynolds).

Former employees of the prison and cast/crews from film have themselves reported to have heard disembodied voices, cell doors opening and/or closing of their own volition, sightings of apparitions.

If there was ever a haunted prison in the United States, New Mexico State Penitentiary has wonderful potential to be a hotbed of supernatural activity for obvious reasons. Violence, violent deaths, anger, resentment, unfinished stories of the inmates killed, seeking of justice and of justification.

Links...

Ghost Tour of Old Albuquerque

New Mexico State Penitentiary

History of the Riot that took place

The next video that I had wanted to show you was disabled to embed, so please CLICK HERE to view PART 1, and then click on the following parts to view the entire episode.

Haunted History Tour... Borely Rectory

2010-10-25T09:44:00.001-04:00

Borely Rectory was built over near Borley Church in 1862. It's creator was Reverend Henry Dawson Ellis Bull. The building's architecture was inspired by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. And at one point in time, the Rectory had housed fourteen kids.

The church, which sets close to Borley Rectory dates back to the Twelfth Century.

In 1863, the first reported haunting of the Borely Rectory had supposedly taken place. In 1900, on July 28th, a ghostly nun was reported to be seen about forty yards away, by four of the rector's daughters. As the girls enclosed upon this apparition to speak to the lady, the nun simply disappeared in to thin air.

Also reported from time to time is a phantom coach that has two headless horsemen driving. Bells ringing, footsteps that were heard and lights appearing in windows ended up being common place as well, mainly after the Rector's son, Harry Bull (whom had taken over as caretaker after his father's death). The rectory had at that point, sat in silence with no one to care for the place.

A year after Bull's death, the home was moved in to by another couple. Reverend Guy Eric Smith and his wife. Not long after, as Mrs. Smith was cleaning, she happened upon the skull of a female. Not much time after the discovery, odd things started up once more.

On June 12, 1927, a Paranormal Researcher by the name of Harry Price, along with the news paper reporter that hired him from The Daily Mirror had made their way to the home to see what all the hub-bub was about.

No sooner did Mr. Price enter it's doors, did Borely Rectory and it's spirits come to life. New occurrences had started to happen. Such as stones and vases being thrown by unseen forces, messages being tapped out within mirrors. But then no sooner that Harry Price had left the home after investigating, these strange things suddenly ceased. At that point, Mrs. Smith felt that Price himself was the one haunting the home and was trying to pull the wool over the couple's eyes.

In July of 1929, the Smith's decided to move on, and moved out of Borley. In 1930, a new person moved in to it's walls with his adopted daughter, Adelaide. The father's name was Reverend Lionel Foyster.

At one point, the phenomena started up once more. And it was to a point that Reverand Foyster tried to perform an Exorcism. But to no avail. Once more, Harry Price was contacted. And he suspected that the house came back to life again. Only this time, the happenings were more sinister and malevolent.

In 1948, Harry Price had passed away. Two of his colleagues had pieced together, the best that they could of Price's findings of Paranormal Phenomena within Borely Rectory. But mix in the fact that much of what was "experienced" within the Rectory's walls was mostly due to Price's own making, along with some other man-made "haunting" that is noted within the piece I am using as a research tool (link below), the two men could NOT definitively indicate that Borely Rectory was indeed haunted. "The Haunting of Borley Rectory" was published in 1956.

So all in all, it is a case of believe what you wish. And disbelieve what you will. This one is a case of "it's up to the reader to decide". Is Borley Rectory truly haunted, or have human hands tainted the home so badly, that we will never truly know fact from fiction?

To read more, please CLICK HERE.

Haunted History Tour... Waverly Hills Sanatorium

2010-10-19T11:05:00.000-04:00

Let's venture to one of the most prolific, well-known, and most actively haunted places in the United States. Waverly Hills.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium sits in Louisville, Kentucky. The current owners are Charlie and Tina Mattingly. At the end of the post, I will list the link to the site where I am getting the information and history about the Waverly, along with Tourist Hours.

In 1883, the land was initially purchased by a Major Thomas H. Hays. He wanted a school for his daughters to attend. Upon that land, he had built up and had a one-room school for his girls. He had hired Lizzie Lee Harris as the school's teacher. She adored the school so much that she named it "Waverly School", after falling in love with Scott Waverley novels.

Construction on the Sanatorium had started in 1908 and then had opened its doors on July 26, 1910. At the time, it could house up to fifty Tuberculosis (which was also called the "White Plague") patients at a time. Before antibiotics were produced, TB was a top killer. Those that contracted the disease were placed in to isolation.

Over in Pleasure Ridge Park, Kentucky, Tuberculosis was hitting Pandemic proportions. The clinic was seeing as many as one hundred and forty patients, and they knew that there was a great need for a much larger building to house the sick.

Construction began in March of 1924, and was completed on October 17, 1926. There were enough rooms to house four hundred TB patients. Waverly operated as a Tuberculosis Hospice until 1961. Then, was reopened in 1962, after mass cleaning and disinfecting. It's new name was then, WoodHaven Medical Services. It was now a Geriatrics Facility at this point, and remained as such until 1980. The state had shut it's doors.

To learn more about the treatment of Waverly's patients, CLICK HERE!

Meet the Waverly Staff HERE.

Now, one of the most popular areas of Waverly Hills Sanatorium is... The Body Chute! Pretty creepy looking, if you were to ask me. This was the hall where those that had died from their illness were transported through to awaiting hearses. It is also called the Death Tunnel. A wench-type of apparatus was used to cart the bodies to the end of the tunnel, where they met the hearse at the bottom of the hill.

If you travel about thirty feet down the Chute, it becomes completely dark. Not a speck of light is coming in. There is much echoing also if you talk while in there. The Body Chute is about five hundred feet long, has vent shafts about every one hundred feet.

Many inhumane experiments had also taken place at the Waverly.

There have been reports of a man in a white coat, who seemingly wanders through the kitchen, and at times, you can smell food cooking. Also, the fifth floor, which housed two nurses’ stations, a pantry, a linen room, medicine room and two medium-sized rooms on both sides of the two nurses’ stations, is said to also have activity of seeing shapes moving within the windows and/or have heard disembodied voices that order trespassers to “get out”. In Room 502, it is rumored that two people had jumped to their deaths.

To read more about the Fifth Floor, GO HERE (scroll down about half way).

If you wish to tour Waverly Hills Sanatorium, please note...

(TOUR INFORMATION)

Tour information – (502) 933-2142

All of our 1/2 night and full night paranormal investigations / ghost hunts are Sold Out for the remainder of the 2010 season. Thank you to everyone who has scheduled, we appreciate your support.

Our 2 hour paranormal and historical tours are now sold out.

We will begin scheduling for 2011 on January 3rd, 2011.

The office is open M, T, W, F 9am – 5pm and (closed 1pm – 2pm for lunch) and Thursdays 9am – 1pm.

Links to sites used for this post...

OFFICIAL site for Waverly Hills

Prairie Ghosts

Haunted History... The Towers of London

2010-10-17T09:32:00.000-04:00

The Towers were erected in 1078. It stands out from all of the surrounding landscape. It's creator was William the Conqueror. And it is more than likely the most haunted place in England to date.

The Wakefield Tower houses Henry VI. He was murdered, after people became enraged over his weakness to rule in the manner that they felt that a king should "take charge". It happened on May 21, 1471, as he knelt in prayer. On the king's anniversary of death, Henry VI is said to appear as the clock strikes midnight, which is said to be the hour of his killing. He paces back and forth up until the last stroke of midnight, then just fades.

Within the White Tower is the oldest of all of the Towers of London. It also houses the "White Lady", who at some point of time stood at a corridor and waved to children that were in an opposing tower adjacent to the one that the spectral was spotted. In the gallery, Henry VIII's armor is on exhibition. Many guards have stated that they get a feeling of crushing in their chest as they enter the armor's area, but leaves them almost as sudden after leaving the room.

Over on the Tower Green, there is a memorial, that remembers those that were executed on the grounds. It is said that an Anne Boleyn and a Lady Jane Grey both come back from their ethereal realm. Where as Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury returns to the spot where her life ended in a very uh... attention-grabbing way.

Speaking of Margaret, her mother/son relationship was strained, to say the least. See, her boy, Cardinal Pole was on a major power trip. He sealed the king's claim to rule. And in the end, got the King Henry VIII to place Pole's mother's head upon the chopping block. She was executed on May 27, 1541. When told to kneel, dear old Mom refused. “So should traitors do and I am none” were Margaret's last words...The executioner raised up his axe, hacked her head off as she ran around the scaffold like a chicken trying to save it's head. Since her death, the residual haunting, replaying the scene over and over like a broken record has been witnessed many times since on the anniversary of her demise.

Now, let's go a CUT above the rest, where names are concerned. How about we travel to the Bloody Tower? Edward IV had died suddenly in April of 1483. Due to his death, his son, who was twelve years old at the time was to succeed him as Edward V. But before Edward V could take the reigns his younger brother had been declared to be an illegitimate child by the Parliament. So instead, their uncle, Duke of Gloucester had succeeded and taken to the throne as Richard III. In the end, the two boys were placed in the Tower of London. They could more often than not be spotted playing on the grounds.

Around June of 1483, the boys just suddenly vanished. Nowhere to be found. It is believed that Richard III had them killed and buried in an unspecified place. Two skeletons were found many, many years later. They were located beneath the White Tower's staircase in 1674. They were believed to be the remains of the two young princes that never got to see a day of ruling upon their father's throne. After the discovery, their bodies were interned in at Westminster Abbey with a Royal Burial.

Once in a while, there will be sounds of crying and whimpering of two children, dressed in period clothing from the days of the Fifteenth Century. They are shown to be extremely frightened and cling on to one another in terror. Most people that get to see this scene are mostly with pity and sorrow for the children that never got to grow up and rule in succession of their father. Some even go as far as to literally reach out to them, as to take them in to their bosom and console the frightened boys, only to have them slowly back away from their mournful witnesses and fade in to the wall.

To read more, please visit Towers of London.

Haunted History.. Eastern State Penitentairy

2010-10-16T13:55:00.000-04:00

Prison. No one likes the thought of being in prison, caged like an animal. Just the thought alone is unbearable. Think of how it is for those that really are incarcerated. Some, for the rest of their natural lives.

Prisons, for the most part want to reform their prisoners. Not just punish them for their misdeeds. Some prisoners do turn from their life of crime, and even find new found faith in the deity of their choosing. Sad though, that it takes being locked away from the rest of society for them to rethink things. Often, when it is too late.

But for today, we shall concentrate on one specific of the Penal System's prisons that sadly went wrong and lost sight of the true reasoning behind their "mission".

Eastern State Penitentiary.

It was not too long after the Revolutionary War. Finally, the United States of America was no longer under British Rule's thumb and being lead by King George III.

Most prisons back in those times were geared to reforming the prison populous in many of the ways that we wish to do so today. They reformed the prisons educationally, medically and also in governmental standards. Democracy in the newly recovering country was at the time, of most importance, as well. But their "democracy" was a far cry of how it is in the treatment of today's prisoners.

For the most part though, most of the prisons of that time were just "holding" cells. They incarcerated men, women, and yes, even children. Petty thieves were not uncommon types to be found behind their bars. Sadly, abuse and even mutilations were not uncommon to take place.

During the year 1787, in Philadelphia, powerful men had met within Ben Franklin's home. This group was named "The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons". Long name, if I don't say so myself. These men felt that the way prisoners of their time were being treated had to change. And for the better.

Dr. Benjamin Rush, who was apparently the Society's 'spokes person', stated that the goal of the group was to build a "true penitentiary, a prison designed to create genuine regret and penitence in the criminal's heart".

After thirty years of pushing this radical idea of reform among the prison population, a brand new prison building was being constructed with the reform ideals in mind.

Eastern State Penitentiary opened it's doors to let in it's first prisoners in 1829. It was one of the most expensive construction projects of its time. There would be no corporal punishment brought to it's charges. But instead, spiritual reflection, as well as change.

The Quaker-type methods were used (as many Americans of the century were of that Religious faith). Isolation and heavy labor was the norm for prisoners at Eastern State.

They felt that giving these two proponents would instill the wanting and the need to change. Also, when the prisoners were being moved from their cell, the guards would place hoods over the person's head, as to keep them from socializing and to continue in their solitude and reflection.

The only light that came in to the prison cell was from skylights that were built in. They were deemed "Heaven's Light", to let the prisoner look up to God, and let God see them. Their only literature was the Bible.

Other than these things, prisoners at Eastern State in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had no other outside contact. They were not allowed to have socialization with fellow inmates. Nor were they allowed visitors from the outside world. To do so, would interfere in the prisoner's time to reflect, repent, and turn from their ways.

In 1971, Eastern State Penitentiary had its doors closed for good. One hundred and forty-two years after the doors opened, and they had encased Prisoner Number One, Charles Williams. The closing was mostly due to the fact that the elderly prison was in desperate need of major repairs. But, the additions that were done over the previous years left the prison with not enough dough to work with.

Now, remember earlier, I had stated that horrendous abuse had occurred while the prison was open for the first many years? No human contact was allowed. Beatings, floggings and other atrocious acts were brought upon the prison's unfortunate souls that had been forced to reside there. Some were chained to the walls, half naked. Some placed in complete darkness, with no food. Even the "iron treatment" was allowed. Many became completely nuts and driven to permanent insanity, due to their "living" conditions.

Willie Sutton, Al Capone and even Pep, the dog (that killed the Governor’s cat) were just a few of the more "famous" inmates that reportedly had spent some of their time in prison at ESP.

Now, on to the reported haunting activities that have supposedly happened..

Over in Cell Block Twelve, there is a disembodied laugh. There is no specific location of exactly what cell it is emanating from.

Cell Block Six has people abuzz in regards to having the most shadowy figures and forms. But these shapes form pretty much everywhere within the prison.

Many reports from tourists of Eastern State Penitentiary state that they feel like they are being closely watched and some, even followed around.

Tour Information...

Hours

Every Day, Twelve Months A Year:

10am to 5pm
(last entry: 4pm)

Summer Twilight Hours:

June through August

Wednesday evenings until 8 pm

Last Entry: 7 pm

No reservations necessary.

**Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.**

***Children under the age of 7 cannot be admitted.***

Ticket Office (215) 236-3300

Links!...

ESP History

America's Most Haunted Prison

Haunted History...The Winchester Mystery House

2010-10-13T10:50:00.001-04:00

I personally have been fortunate to take a tour at the following home. It does indeed live up to the name of "Mystery House". There have been reports from staff and visitors alike, especially after the sun has gone down to hearing strange noises, seeing things from the corner of your eye to only take a full look and the apparition is gone.

Personally, I had seen (during the daytime tour) what I had thought was an indentation in one of the beds. In fact, it was supposedly in the same room that Sarah Winchester was said to have passed away in. I also had feelings of being watched and followed. Also, there were cold spots. Especially in the Blue Room.

Come and take a virtual tour with me through the history of one of the most famous, and reportedly haunted places in the United States... The Winchester Mystery House, in Santa Clara, California (the area that I originally hail from).

The Winchester Rifle. One of the first rifles to be mass produced in the United States. And one of the deadliest of its kind as well. The gun had made it's way in to America's hands in 1866. It's creator, Oliver Winchester.

After Mr. Winchester's death in 1881, as well as the death of their only daughter, Annie, in 1866, Sarah Winchester had set out to see a Psychic Medium in Boston. This Medium, preying on Sarah's grief, claimed that the deaths of her only child and one and only husband were brought upon by a curse from the spirits of the dead American Indians that were shot to death during the Civil War.

What was the only way to appease these poor souls? Why, to build a home, of course! And to NEVER stop building. For if Sarah Winchester stopped construction, then her death was surely to happen. But, if she kept on building for all time, twenty-four hours a day, every single day, with not a single break, then death would not touch her. But, this home of the spirits was to be built out West.

After moving West, as told, Sarah Winchester had found a beautiful spot of land in Santa Clara, California. She knew then, that this would be where her great mansion was to sit.

By the time that the 1900's came around, already, the eight-room home became a sprawling seven-story mansion. Her monetary status was unscathed, seeing as she had unlimited amounts of money from the on-going sales of the Winchester Rifles at her late husband's company to spend to make the spirits happy. What began as an unfinished farmhouse, that came along with the land, was completed to be one of the grandest Mansions of our time.

For thirty-eight years straight, twenty-four hours a day, with not a single break in the construction, Mrs. Winchester made the spirits happy. She would go nightly to the "Blue Room", which was her Seance Room to converse with the ghosts and to ensure that what was being done was up to par with them.

There were also stair cases and doors that were built in the oddest of places. Stairs that lead to the ceiling. Doors that opened to a wall behind it, or to a hole where if you step through, you either end up on the pavement, after falling from two stories up, or you land in the kitchen sink.

Also, Sarah had an odd fascination with the number 13. Everything from the window panes, to the holes in the sink drains had no more than thirteen pieces to it. Even the chandelier glass.

Sadly, Mrs. Winchester's promise of eternal life never came to pass. After suffering with ailing arthritis for several years, on September 22, 1922, having had heart failure. She passed away peacefully in her sleep. At the time of her death, the home had engulfed six acres of land.

Construction ended with... 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens. The carpenters had even left nails half driven when they learned of Mrs. Winchester’s death.

All of the original furnishings were sold off, via auction, through a niece. Today, with turn-of-the-century-like furnishings in place to show the beauty of what it once was, the Winchester Mystery House is now a museum dedicated to the life and legacy of Sarah Winchester. As well as to her devoted servants and employed construction workers.

(The door that leads to a two-story drop, outside)

(Front view of the mansion)

Links...

The Sarah Winchester Mystery House

The Winchester Rifle

The Bell Witch Legend

2010-10-12T10:07:00.000-04:00

Again, we are touching upon the subject of witches. This one seems to be the true basis behind the movie, "The Blair Witch Project" (1999), which is a fake documentary about three teens that go in search of the Blair Witch and her "haunted cave" in Blair, Maryland. Needless to say, in the movie, the kids got more than they had bargained for.

This time, we are traveling to the Red River, which is located over by Adams, Tennessee. And this story is also the ground-base story for the movies "An American Haunting" (2006) and "The Bell Witch Haunting" (2004).

In the year 1817, John William Bell, Sr. had reported that he had come in to contact with an animal that was not of "normal nature", so to speak. This had happened in a cornfield on his farm in Robertson County. The animal that the older Bell had described was as follows..

It had the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit. Mr. Bell had claimed to have shot at it.

Later on after this strange creature happened upon the Bell's land, the family had started to hear strange rapping and gnawing outside of their home. At one point, these noises moved to within the home.

Eventually, the youngest daughter of the Bell family, Betsy, had started to claim that she was assaulted by something unseen.

As time went on, other things supposedly took place within the confines of the Bell Family's abode. Including poltergeist activity. Things like spirits moving various objects, their (the ghosts) speaking with and having conversations with the family and guest alike.

John Bell, Sr. had died on December 20, 1820, after suffering for a while after being inflicted by facial seizures, which rendered him unable to speak. Laying beside him, was a vial filled with a liquid that no one knew its contents. This liquid was fed to the family's cat by force, killing it.

In the latter 1800's, the Bell Family's home was torn down. The cave is said to be haunted by the witch that supposedly haunted, taunted and tormented Betsy Bell for years. Those walking through it's hollow passages have reported different sounds coming from within the cave's depths, such as laughter and footsteps. Also, there were reports of eyes watching it's visitors and just plain "creeped out" feelings.

Who is this Bell Witch, though?? She is reported to be (thanks to folklore) the spirit of a woman named Kate Batts. She was supposedly a tyrannical, mean-spirited old lady, and the Bell Family's neighbor. Miss Batts came to believe that John Bell, Sr. had cheated the old lady out of some land when he made his purchase.

As she had laid on her deathbed, she cursed Bell and swore that she would haunt him, his family, and the future generations of the Bell's descendants.

Is any of the legend true? Maybe so. Does Kate Batts still haunt the cave where the Bell Family's home once stood? It's possible indeed. I guess the only way to find out is to take a trip to Adams, Tennessee and find out for yourself.

Reference links to read more about The Bell Witch are as followed...

The Bell Witch Cave

Bell Witch History

Skeptic?

The Bell Witch Haunting

Bell Witch the Movie

Reader Request... The Blair Witch

2010-10-11T13:50:00.000-04:00

The following delves in to two different categories of the paranormal. One of course being of a haunting/ghostly type nature. The other being of Black Magic and Witchery.

Most of my generation has at least heard of, if not have actually watched a movie from 1999 called "The Blair Witch Project", where three students make a fake documentary about the Blair Witch of Blair, Maryland.

According to legend, this ghostly 'witch', who's real name was Elly Kedward, was pegged to be a witch who had cast evil spells amongst the townspeople of the 1780's.

Elly was found guilty and was banned to the deep forest in the middle of winter. About a year later, many children just simply went missing. Of course, the witch, Elly Kedward was the first suspect.

The following are some excerpts from "The Blair Witch - The Facts"...

"In the 1820s, the abandoned property of Blair, MD was brought to the attention of a man by the name of Burkitt. He purchased the property from the government, renovated the abandoned buildings, and rechristened the town after himself. Burkittsville was founded in 1824, and still stands in Maryland today.

Just four years after the founding of Burkittsville, there was an incident involving a young child named Eileen Traecle. This small child was wading in a very shallow stream. Allegedly, before the eyes of at least a dozen eyewitnesses, a ghostly white hand reached up from underneath the water and pulled Eileen Traecle into it. The water was reportedly less than a foot deep, yet the body of the little girl was never found. For weeks afterward, several wooden stick figures mysteriously appeared in the creek bed, and the water itself became oily and contaminated for several months...."

"...However, after the little girl returned alone, the search party that had gone out after her had not returned. So a second search party was organized to find them. Their search ended at Coffin Rock, near the creek where Eileen Traecle had met her death less than fifty years before.

The second search party claimed they found the first search party stripped of all their clothes and belongings, and their bodies were tied to Coffin Rock. Their intestines had been removed and their reproductive organs had been mutiliated. On their chests, hands, feet, and foreheads, strange cryptic symbols had been painstakingly carved into their skin...."

"...Outside the shack and a small distance away they found seven graves marked with piles of stones. When the graves were dug up, the children's bodies were recovered. Their bodies had been treated in much the same way as the accounts of the victims at Coffin Rock. Symbols had been cut into their faces, chests, hands and feet. They had been disembowled...."

"...Rustin Parr, it was reported, admitted to the murders, saying the voice of an old woman told him to do these horrible deeds. After the seventh death, the old woman's voice told him he was finally free. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and his house was burned to the ground...."

To read all of the article in it's entirety, please scroll back up and click on the provided (highlighted) link from which these excerpts were obtained. The Blair Witch is an intriguing legend, to say the least. Some people still go to Coffin Rock and step inside the cave.

Those that dare to tread within, both during the daylight hours, as well as in the still of the night, claim to at times hear odd noises no sooner that they set foot on the grounds at the mouth of Coffin Rock. Some even tell of hearing an elderly woman's disembodied voice come from the depths of the seemingly endless cave dwellings. Sometimes, even a manic chuckling or all-out maniacal laughter.

This legend, and it's legendary namesake is of a story where you, the reader must decide for yourself. Is this a tale of a woman of the 1780's done wrong, and wrongly accused, as was the case back in the period of witchcraft, only to pay for the town's mistake and bring forth her wrath to following generations for eternity to come? Did a man claim insanity and admit to murders that he himself committed, only to blame it on a dark fairytale?

Or is The Blair Witch legend just that, a legend? Maybe it is a story to tell around the campfire and make all the children run to their tents and hide in fear of the possibility of something coming to get them?

Only Elly Kedward and Rustin Parr know the REAL truth behind whatever fiction lies behind the story.

Reader Request... The Wendigo

2010-10-07T09:08:00.001-04:00

I'm glad my friend, Miriam over on FaceBook brought this topic to light. Seeing as I have never myself heard of this mythical creature before. And he doesn't look like the friendly type, either.

According to Wikipedia, the following is said about this strange monstrous-looking creature...

"The Wendigo (also known as Windigo, Weendigo, Windago, Windiga, Witiko, Wihtikow, and numerous other variants) is a mythical creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. It is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice as taboo.

Wendigo psychosis is a culture-bound disorder which involves an intense craving for human flesh and the fear that one will turn into a cannibal. This once occurred frequently among Algonquian Native cultures, though has declined with the Native American urbanization.

Recently the Wendigo has also become a horror entity of contemporary literature and film, much like the vampire, werewolf, or zombie, although these fictional depictions often bear little resemblance to the original entity.

All cultures in which the Wendigo myth appeared shared the belief that human beings could turn into Wendigos if they ever resorted to cannibalism or, alternately, become possessed by the demonic spirit of a Wendigo, often in a dream. Once transformed, a person would become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh. The most frequent cause of transformation into a Wendigo was if a person had resorted to cannibalism, consuming the body of another human in order to keep from starving to death during a time of extreme hardship or famine.

The term "Wendigo psychosis" (also spelled many other ways, including "Windigo psychosis" and "Witiko psychosis") refers to a condition in which sufferers developed an insatiable desire to eat human flesh even when other food sources were readily available,[15] often as a result of prior famine cannibalism."

Now one of the most famous (or shall I say 'infamous'?) forms of United States-based cannibalism came in the form of the Donner Party and their failed expedition. They had set out towards California, through the Truckee, Nevada (there is a California and a Nevada side of Truckee) area of the mountainous regions of the Sierras.

As they headed out in to the wilderness, to find their pot of gold (as did many upon many had done in those days during the Gold Rush, in the mid 1800's, the group had come across a violent winter storm during the white-out conditions of the 1846-1847 Winter Blizzard.

Eventually, with their being trapped in the Sierra Nevada terrain within the deathly condition, surely, they were in big trouble. When there is snow in the Sierras, you can get several feet. Some top at twenty-five. Some even higher. And the Donner Party's food could only last and be rationed for so long. Soon, they were going to have to resort to other means to keep alive. In fact, much soon than they had hoped for.

Eventually, they had to kill off the horses and feed off of them. Any parts that were edible..were eaten. Then, once the horses were picked apart, there was no other real alternative left. They, instead of burying the dead below the deep snow as a final resting place, preserved them in the snow and ate off of their deceased members. Men, women and children alike. They did what they could to survive the extremely harsh conditions.

Would you say that the Donner Party had succumbed to "Wendigo psychosis"? It's very possible. Or did they do it as a way to survive and live to at least see one more day?

Weather these people continued on their flesh-eating ways is of no known knowledge. I say personally, most likely not. Seeing as it was their way of staying fit for survival within the harsh elements. Not some insatiable appetite for human flesh.

ParanorMel may become a Ghost of the Past soon...

2010-09-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

Lately, I have been seriously thinking. Thinking of what to do, when it comes to the blogging world.

I have this blog, as well as my main blog, The (Not Always) Happy Homemaker Diary.

For the most part as of late, I write, and I write, and I write. Yes, primarily for myself. Just to get out what I want to or that I need to.

As for ParanorMel, it is for those wishing to know that they are not alone, can relate to others and feel free to share their stories without societal persecution.

But the more I think about it, the more I see and compare, I think that my blogging days are coming to a standstill.

I'm wondering what the use is, anymore. Is it the fact that I don't blog on practically a daily basis? Is it because I don't hop on to every single Blogging Carnival out there? Is it because I don't comment on EVERY page I read?

I don't do cliques of any kind. I will have a buddy's back in their hour of need. And I will stand up for the underdog. But I don't care to always do or have the 'in' thing, be in the 'in' crowd. I love doing my own thing. And that also comes in to play within the writing world.

My great-grandmother was a famous Chicago Christian-based playwright. I have Mae Questel in my lineage, whom provided the original voice of Betty Boop. I've also got Jean Harlow and President Theodore Roosevelt within my bloodlines. So what? I am certainly happy and proud of my heritage. But they do NOT make me who I am.

If blogging means keeping up with the Jones' in regards to Blog Carnivals and mass commenting to "get noticed" or read, then the TRUE meaning and art of blogging has gone to the wayside.

It should never be about who has the better blog posts, the better blog layout, and all the other hullabaloo I have witnessed in my time around here, since about November of last year.

I've seen where some say that they don't run in cliques and don't do 'one-sided' things when it comes to blogging. But I'm sorry to say, I noticed. And yes they are in these 'cliques', though I don't think their eyes are open enough to really see. But I and others do.

As for fighting between to 'adults' in the blogging world? I stay the hell away. I have my own problems. In the real world mind you. So what good does it do for me and my blood pressure to jump in the middle of a cat fight? Not any good at all. For all parties involved. I say let them two have at it, remain neutral and state that you REFUSE to get pulled in.

Now, seeing as I am pretty sure that this post to will get brushed under the rug (as in not even read), let alone even validated by another's words (I'm NOT talking about Angel or Alexes y'all), I'm coming to a point of where to go from here.

Is The (Not Always) Happy Homemaker Diary and ParanorMel going to survive and move on to the next post? Or should I cut my losses, and realize the fact that I put too much time and energy in to these two blogs, that they should just be killed off?

I'm more active at the school now, then before. My kids and my home take priority. As does my husband. Plus we have a trip and the holidays coming up.

Is it all really worth it anymore? This will be a hard decision, being that I *really* do enjoy writing. But at what cost?

Halloween

2010-09-19T11:32:00.000-04:00

It is one of my two most favorite Holidays. Christmas is the other one.

The reason I love Halloween so much is because, for one night, I can escape in to another realm of thinking. I can be who I want to be. Not who I HAVE TO BE. Which of course is wife, mother, sister-in-law, daughter and daughter-in-law.

This year, I am planning on doing a cool project with my youngest daughter's Kindergarten class. It's going to be Jug Jack-O-Lanterns that will also serve as a Trick-Or-Treat bucket.

My kids, my husband and I all love to dress up on Halloween. We love seeing all of the different costumes, the smiles on all of the children's faces, and we love hearing "trick or treat" from the little ones. Especially those that are still trying to learn how to talk.

Here is a bit of a rundown on the history of this spook-tastic holiday from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween...

"Halloween (also spelled Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.

Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films...

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin (pronounced sow-an or sow-in)".[1] The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".[1] A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced Kálan Gái av).

The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes[2] regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.[4][5] Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.[6] Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual...

The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Eve, that is, the night before All Hallows Day. Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English (ealra hálȝena mæssedæȝ, the feast of all saints), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556."

Also, many Christians are very against this "holiday of evil and devil worshiping". To them, it is not pleasing or glorifying to God, to prance around asking for handouts and being dressed as things that are un-holy in nature (witches, ghosts, monsters). The Chrsitian sects that are primarily against this fun night are the Fundamentalists and the Evangelicals...They feel that the holiday's Pagan ways stray too far from Godliness, that there is no 'good' that can come from 'celebrating the devil' (which to those who know the TRUE origins and nature of this night's festivities, know that those ASSUMPTIONS are very far from the truth).

Do you like Halloween? Do you and/or your family celebrate by passing out candy and maybe go and have a little fun getting some goodies in return? What are your thoughts about the one night that you can be whomever and whatever you want to be?

Vlog...Getting to know the REAL me. (an introduction/rundown/test video)

2010-09-18T16:12:00.000-04:00

Guest Writer, Suzi... Shared Abilities By Blood?

2010-09-17T06:49:00.000-04:00

Suzi and I had met on FaceBook, via the "Like" Page for Psychic and Medium, Chip Coffey, who is featured on A&E's 'Psychic Kids' and 'Paranormal State'.

We hit it off pretty instantaneously, her and I, within one of Mr. Coffey's posts where there was a heated argument ensuing. Suzi and I 'tag-teamed' and showed a certain other commenter the error of their ways of their words.

For as long as she can remember, Suzi has had Psychic abilities. Now, her daughters have all shown to have psychic gifts as well. They are (to my knowledge from our conversations) the third generation of the females on her mother's side to possess abilities.

Does the following story tell of truth that indeed Psychic and/or Mediumship abilities can and often times do pass on from one generation to the next? Or is it mere a mere fluke of timing on the part of 'who's got it, and who don't'?

You be the judge after reading this from Suzi's own account...

I have been aware of my abilities for a very long time. I hear spirits, have psychic dreams, have a gut instinct that never fails me if I listen. I was in denial for many yrs because my family doesn't believe in afterlife, spirits or psychic abilities. It's happened too many times to deny the validity anymore.

When i became a mom, it never occurred to me, the same gift may be passed to my children... But it did, to each child. Difference is, I am raising my kiddos to believe in the things unseen, to listen to the voice inside.

I used to live in an area in my hometown that was used as a sick bay infirmary back in the 1800's. People went there when they had contagious diseases or were on their death bed. One day, drivng down the hill to my home on the lake, my eldest daughter, then 3, started waving saying "Look momma! A boy in old clothes!" Knowing that noone lived in that particular area & being concerned for a childs safety, I put my car in reverse. Went back & I saw nothing but my head was pounding like I'd been hit.

She still saw him & proceeded to describe him to me. At the time, I believed she had seen a spirit, just didn't know we could help him. Many years have passed since we have lived on that road & bout a month ago, my now 13yr old daughter asked to go back. (see her younger sister was born in that hm w/ my midwife, so she wanted to see it again)

On the way down the hill again, almost instantaneously, we both got an intense pressure headache in the same spot she had seen the boy. We continued to the spot where I birthed my 2nd child, reminisced on the area a bit & then started our way back up the hill. But, before we did, I talked to her like Chip would on the Psychic kids show.

I parked the SUV right in the spot, w/ returned headaches & all. Then we both spoke both out loud & under our breath to the spirits of the boy & any other lost spirits there.

"Basically, you are dead, you need to grasp the hand of your passed on love one & walk into the light. God will help you from there. Its time to move on.." & so forth.

The pressure began to release slowly but surely. We felt good about what we did that day, but my daughter asked that we not go back...

She said she was she feared returning & didn't want more souls to come to her, it hurt too much. I understood, told her how proud I was of her. She was proud too, that we did it together.

Shes growing up so fast & I have 2 more right behind her & many more stories to tell.... Until next time! :^)

2010-09-16T16:44:00.000-04:00

EVPs..Their 'official' name is Electronic Voice Phenomenon. Many people that go on ghost hunts carry either a tape recorder with a clean tape inside, or an electronic/digital recorder and go around asking questions, in the hopes of getting a response on playback.

This is the best way to hear a ghost/spirit speak to you. The definition of EVP via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomenon is...

"Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are electronically generated noises that resemble speech, but are not the result of intentional voice recordings or renderings. Common sources of EVP include static, stray radio transmissions, and background noise. Some have claimed these sounds are of paranormal origin,^[1] while there are natural explanations such as apophenia (finding significance in insignificant phenomena), auditory pareidolia (interpreting random sounds as voices in their own language), equipment artefacts, or simple hoaxes. Recordings of EVP are often created from background sound by increasing the gain (i.e. sensitivity) of the recording equipment."

Personally, I have never had this happen for me. And actually, I have never tried. But I would love to.

There are also three different Classes of EVP. Class A, being the clearest you can capture. Class C, being the lowest in comprehension.

Here are a couple of videos that I have found that have obtained Class A EVPs...

(In this one, at the beginning a skelleton with a top hat kind of "bounces out" at you in their logo. Don't be alarmed.)

In this next one, it's pretty amazing how clear the answers are. This is what would be called an Intelligent Haunting or spirit. The only thing I do not like about this, is the fact that the person recording all of this is using an Ouija Board, which I highly recommend against, due to personal experience years ago.

For the last video, this man has picked up EVPs of children who have passed away, but are stuck between this world and the next plane of existence...Not for the faint of heart when it comes to kids.

The Voice That Wasn't His.

2010-09-13T16:28:00.002-04:00

Normally, I do no more than one post in the blog, per day that I decide to write. But being that this had happened last night, and it's not something that I normally have happen, I just *had to* write this down for my readers to read about...

Last night, I had heard, and even answered a voice. Whom I thought at the time was my husband speaking to me.

I thought it was my husband saying from the living room, "Hey! Come here a minute." as I stood two rooms away, washing a few dishes in the kitchen. When in fact, it was *NOT* my husband at all!

After finishing the dishes that I was working on, I had sat in the chair next to him as he sat here at the computer, and proceeded to ask him what he wanted, being he DID request for me to "come here", thinking he wanted to show me something.

He looked at me strange and then out-right told me he did *NOT* call for me in any way.

And I know it was *NOT* one of the kids. This was a MAN'S voice. An adult male. Not a child.

I told him that I knew for a FACT, I did *not* imagine what I heard. And it sounded (obviously) just like my husband calling for me.

Strange...

After the incident, I just shook my head, and then proceeded to brush it off and continued with the rest of my evening.

That is, until I noticed out of my (bad) eye, what looked like a young man who was proceeding to climb my stairs.

Guest Writer, Sarah... An eye-opening experience.

2010-09-13T08:42:00.000-04:00

I've known Sarah for quite a while. We "met" online via a site for mothers. We hit it off pretty instantaneously on different levels where motherhood is concerned.

Both of us are believers of the Paranormal. We both have some degree of psychic ability. But when it comes to personal experiences, I beat her out in about oh... ten or so miles (laughs).

The following is Sarah's account of her very first personal experience with the Other Side. Even though she has felt things, and maybe even heard some things, she had NEVER, up until this point (quite recently) experienced anything visually.

Mind you as well, this is a new place (for her and her young daughter), in which they just moved in to.

Sarah's story...

So late last night I am in my room we have recently moved into a new apartment. Two bed room in a nice building with only four apartments in each unit. It has to parts to it so eight units in the total building. The building its self was developed and put up in the 70's. The location is ten minutes away from down town Madison Wi. It is in a residential neighborhood.

I am a paranormal investigator myself. I stay up late doing research on the paranormal. I am not scared of the dark and never have been. I grew up next to a cemetery dead things do not scare me. I am a psychic intuitive amongst other things that is something I hold very close to my being. I do not tell a ton of people when I first meet them. I do not have full power because I have not learned to use it in the right way.

I wake up in the middle of the night because I hear a sound. Not just any sound but the sound of a creaking door. What do I see yes I see the door open a jar right in front of me. Hear the footsteps very soft but clear as day even if it is in the middle of the night.

Remember nothing really scares me I have had things moved on me but never in front of my eyes. So I had the hair's on the back of my arms stand up. I felt creepy and short of breath all signs of a sprit being present.

No my apartment is not leaning to one side that would explain it no it was not my child she was sleeping in her bed.

I always tell my readers it is up to you to make up your mind about the paranormal. I will not try to convince you there is more. I will only tell you that there something we cannot see feel or touch and there is always a chance of catching it in action you just have to know how to look for it and what to look for.

sarah skloot ©2010

Animals..Do they live on after death?

2010-09-09T09:49:00.000-04:00

It has been an on-going argument for years and years. And it is one filled with mystery and intrigue.

Can animals come back in spirit form? Do animals indeed, as people do, have a soul or an after-death, beyond-this-realm-living energy?

Many people, right off the bat will say no. But why not? God supposedly gave us souls, created us in His image and made it possible to live on in spirit-form after our earthly time was done. Why can the same *not* be said of our animal counterparts?

They breath, feel pain, mate, love others of their species (in some instances, mostly it's getting together to reproduce and ensure the species) and they die. Pretty much as we humans do!

I have had many cats and a couple of dogs in my time so far. One cat that stands out the most is Tuffy, who meandered on to our porch when I was about six years old. She had apparently been abused, starved, and had her tail slammed in to a door. And she was a "teenager" when we first took her in.

When I was thirteen, and in the first Spring after my mother's passing in 1989, Tuffy had started having many 'bathroom problems'. After taking her to the vet myself via my BFF's mom, I had to make the heartbreaking choice to have Tuffy put down. She was in kidney and renal failure. I did it even though it killed me inside.

A few months later though, sometimes I would see, from the corner of my eye, a gray/white streak go by, or even hear closely what sounded like a meow of a cat. Just a nip type meow. Short and sweet. I often wondered if Tuffy came to visit the heart-broken child that felt horrible guilt over "killing her mom's cat".

Now within this home, once in a while, knowing all three of my kitties are outside, or even upstairs, I will catch a very quick glimpse of a black and white cat. Yes, I do indeed have one that fits the description and goes by "Shadow".

But most of the time, I see this 'cat' from the corner of my eye, as it comes off the landing of the stairs and meanders over to where the basement door is. Only, I hear not a single paw hitting the stairs, which are hallow and make noise as any of the cats (that are alive and kicking) come down those steps.

No sooner that I turn my head, the ghostly feline is not in my sight. And when I go over to the basement's foyer, there is no cat in sight!

This truly does lead me to believe, at least personally, that indeed, animals of all types, not just domesticated animals, have a soul, too. And they can be here in the spiritual form for reasons only known to them. For them, like us, death is not the end of the road. They too travel to another realm where their energy lives on beyond this life.

Take a gander at the following video. Keep an eye on the family's television set. Is this a capturing of a real 'ghost cat'? Or the wonderful (and misguided, as usual) use of today's camera technology to make people THINK that they are seeing a kitty in spirit form? YOU be the judge...

Exorcism

2010-09-04T15:24:00.002-04:00

There have been many a movie made about the subject. Linda Blair's "The Exorcist" being (not very) arguably the most famous of them all. And now, we have a new version for today's generation, aptly titled, "The Last Exorcism".

It is primarily a well-known Catholic practice. And one, if done for real, and not faked in any way, being performed on a truly possessed victim, can be extremely frightening, let alone a draining task to partake in.

But Exorcisms also are performed within the Islamic, Hindu, Judaism and Buddhism faiths/religions, as well.

To get a much better understanding of the practice, please feel free to CLICK HERE and read more. Including the Scientific World's view of the practicing of Exorcisms.

One of the most famous of our time, in Germany is the story of Anneliese Michel. She was reportedly possessed by six demon entities. She had underwent an exorcism in 1975.

Apparently, the movie, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" was at least in part, based upon the story of Anneliese Michel.

Please watch the following videos to get a better idea of Anneliese's story. They are speaking in Czechoslovakian, but English subtitles are included.

WARNING!! Some of what you are about to watch can be very disturbing in nature. Viewer discretion is advised.

Of course not everyone believes in Possession, let alone Exorcism. And sadly, like always, Science and Religion will always collide.

Many people that do not prescribe to this as being a real infliction will tout that the person is just in some way, severely mentally disturbed. Be it Bipolar,Schizophrenia or other Mental Disorders.

The only ones that know for certain, if indeed Possession is for real, are those that are claiming as such.

You be the judge. Is Possession, and are Exorcisms real, or just something in your head?

Choking Game.. Ghost Style.

2010-08-30T11:29:00.000-04:00

Last night, I went to sleep not long after midnight. I was tired, to say the least. Everything was right in my world. I had my wonderful husband snuggled beside me as we lulled off to dreamland.

Not long after 3 AM I had shot up in bed. I am not the type to do this. In fact, I am a very sound sleeper.

But last night, around 3:20, I woke to feel like I was about to literally faint. And the back of tongue, as well as a part of my throat went completely numb and tingly. It felt as if someone was cutting off my airway. I was being choked!

Never have I had something remotely like this ever happen to me. I never felt hands wrapped around my throat. But INSIDE, I felt like I was suffocating.

As soon as I bolted upright in the bed, the tingling and the numbness started to subside. As was the feeling of wanting to pass out.

Of course, this made my husband also bolt straight up and get worried. He asked what was wrong and if I was alright. I played it off and said I was, and that I must have had a bad dream.

Because he too knows that this is VERY out of character for me, where sleeping is concerned.

Now, is this something that is 'paranormal'? I do not honestly know. Maybe it is something medical.

But maybe, it could even be BOTH?

I cannot say for sure either way at this point in time. But I can say that I was more scared than I have been since the last physical encounter, which was a week after we moved in here. If you wish to know more about that experience, then please READ HERE.

If anyone that reads this can shed more light on what I went through, be it medical and/or paranormal, I am all ears (or is that eyes??). I'm flabbergasted.

Guest Writer, Robin...Her First Encounter With The Other Side.

2010-08-29T14:40:00.000-04:00

My friend Robin, who I met through a mutual friend over on Facebook, recently had a loss in her family. Her Grandmother had passed away recently, and she went home for the funeral.

The following from my Guest Blogger, Robin is her story. And a first for her. And because of this, she now is a believer of the Supernatural. At least where ghosts are concerned....

Robin's Story

Last Tuesday my grandmother passed away. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago and her physical health was failing. Still, it was a surprise to hear that she had passed away so suddenly. I made arrangements to fly from New Jersey to Texas on that Friday to be there in time for her memorial service and funeral that Saturday. The service was beautiful and I was amazed, but not surprised, to see how many people came out to pay their respects to my grandmother.

It was a busy day, with friends and family coming from all corners of the U.S. to celebrate my amazing grandmother’s life. On Saturday, after the funeral and luncheon, my sister-in-law and her children, my cousin and my other cousin’s wife and son left to go back home to be ready for school on Monday. On Sunday, my aunt and her husband left and it was just myself, my brother, cousin and parents left at my grandmother’s house, along with my grandfather.

My grandparents live on 50 acres in West Texas. They live in the country, surrounded by scrub brush and cedars. We routinely see turkeys, foxes, rabbits, armadillos and numerous birds. When the lights go out in the house at night, it’s so dark you can’t see your hand in front of your face. There are no streetlights, nothing to throw off an ambient light for you to see by. There are flashlights all over the house so that you can see to get to the bathroom.

Because there were so many of us left in the house, our sleeping arrangements were a little weird. Being the only girl, I got the front bedroom with the double bed, nearest the bathroom in the hall. My parents were sleeping down the hall in the room with the twin beds. My brother was in the living room on the couch, which wasn’t that uncomfortable (I slept there the second night I was in town). My cousin was on the caretaker’s bed in the master bedroom with my grandfather in his bed.

On Sunday night, the first night I was in the front bedroom, I was sleeping soundly. All of us had worn ourselves out doing chores around the house for my grandfather. In the middle of the night, I woke up. I looked to the left of my bed and saw someone standing there. I thought maybe my brother had gotten lost on the way to the bathroom (remember, it’s super dark out there). I mumbled a, “Whatcha need?” and watched as the silhouette of the head turned towards me. I was straining my eyes hard to see who it was, but couldn’t quite make it out. The person never said a word to me, just turned to look at me. At that point, I realized that it was my grandmother.

Her hair, what I could see, was perfectly done and she was dressed in clothes, maybe the clothes that she had been buried in, but I couldn’t see clearly enough to tell. She exuded a sense of peace and happiness that all of her family was under her roof again.

I also knew that she had already been to see my grandfather and my cousin and brother and was leaving my room to check on my parents. She looked at me for a moment (I could tell by the way her head had turned) and then she turned around and left the room, right through the door. She had had knee surgery a few years back and walked in a gait that my grandfather called, “a hitch in her getalong,” and I could see enough to tell that she was walking that same way. She left through the door and I haven’t seen her since that night.

I told my mother about seeing her and she told my grandfather and he was calmed by the idea that she was at peace and pain-free after she had been through so much. But the story doesn’t end there.

On the Wednesday after the funeral, I was scheduled to fly out to come home. As I was getting ready to go through security to catch my plane, I called my mother to tell her that I was going to get out on time. She said, “I wanted to tell you before you got on the plane that your sister-in-law called (the one that had been at the funeral) and your niece woke up last night and your grandmother was in the room with her.”

Now, you might think that this is a child that is just repeating what she had heard, but we hadn’t told anyone about me seeing my grandmother. No one.

I sent a text to my sister-in-law asking about it and she said that she hadn’t seen my grandmother, but on Wednesday (the day after my grandmother died) she had been crying. She said that she felt a hand on her cheek and then my grandmother saying, “Hush now, sugar. I’m fine, I’m at peace. Quit that crying now.” Lord, if I can’t hear my grandmother saying that!

I’ve never been a big believer in spirits still walking the Earth after death. I never thought that I would actually see one. But, if I had to choose to see one, my grandmother would have been it. It helps all of us to know that she is at peace and happy and out of pain.

I know that when my grandfather, whom she was married to for 65 years, passes away, they will go together to wherever they need to go. They will walk hand-in-hand, happy to be together again.

3 AM Haunts

2010-08-26T14:41:00.000-04:00

When speaking of 3 AM, I'm not speaking of the song from from the group Matchbox 20. Although, I do like the song.

But what I am talking about is how MANY hauntings seem to happen in that hour's time frame.

The get a better understanding about this THEORY, I suggest you read THIS.

Just a few nights (or should I say, early mornings?) ago, I had told my husband good-bye as he left to be at work for his 4-AM shift at the store. Normally on those mornings, I drift right back off to dreamland and am then up by seven.

But for some unknown reason, I was tossing and turning. This went on actually from the time I went to bed (which was 10:30 PM), until I got up for the day.

In the times that I fell back to sleep where you aren't in REM, but also not fully awake (I call it Sleep Limbo) I distinctly heard what sounded like foot steps through the upstairs. And even on the top portions of my staircase that leads down to the basement area (where my bedroom is).

This all started at around 3:45 in the morning, no sooner that my husband had left for his 10-minute trip to work.

Plus, I had even heard what sounded like the basement door opening and shutting in the five o'clock hour. No kids were up. Cats were not in the house. Husband was long gone to work. So, no explanation for the occurrence.

When I had gone to physically see if ANYONE was up, or if maybe my Brother-In-Law may have come in somehow, I found NO ONE. Not up. Not at the doors. Not sitting or even awake.

And all of my doors were locked.

It seemed that at least on this particular morning, in the three o'clock AM hour, there was a partier in the house. And this person enjoys crashing my sleep occasionally.

This is NOT the first time that something of this nature has happened to me.

Phantom Calls

2010-08-16T11:46:00.000-04:00

Actually, I wasn't planning on writing on this blog page today. But, something happened a while ago that I just HAD TO write it down.

It was eerie. But fascinating. It was shocking, but in a way, calming. It was even a tab bit funny. That is, after said shock wore off.

I'd been talking to my father, long distance this morning. Almost three thousand miles space us apart.

Nearing the end of our conversation, after he told me of something strange happening, concerning his coffee pot, we got to talking about a package he is supposed to send my kids. Mainly to the oldest of my three in the brood.

At one point, he said he was still looking for...and stammered a bit, trying to think of the word he was trying to say to describe what he was speaking of.

Suddenly, for one split second in time, I heard a voice that was NOT of a male, and was sounding off in the distance, like they were trying to yell, as to be heard. Clearly, it was a female tone.

It said, quite plainly, mind you, "DVD!", just as my father thought of the word and spoken it himself.

At first I was in shock and awe. Especially knowing that he had the experience he did this morning, concerning coffee missing from the pot, in which he knew before hand was there, until he went for the next cup of 'joe'.

No sooner that 'both of them' had spoken, I blurted out that my dad's voice DRASTICALLY changed to more of a female's tone. That's when it hit me, he was NOT talking. SHE was! It's as if she was trying to tell him what he meant, and trying to make me know that he was speaking of a DVD he wanted to find.

Never have I had a phantom call in my life. Nor have I ever had known of an ethereal listener, either. It was a tad unnerving, to say the least.

After experiencing this lady telling me what I was to be told before my dad could blurt it out for himself, I did a little digging.

HERE IS WHAT I GOT FROM AN ARTICLE...

Strange, huh? It was a bit exhilarating to have this happen. Surprising, none the least, of course. But filled with excitement to have happen as well.

And the voice was not sounding like it was right there with us. It sounded distanced, and like it had to practically yell to be heard. It wasn't angry or sad. Just letting me know that my dad was trying to get out 'DVD'.

Was it my deceased grandmother, who's ashes are on the way here to my home? Or could it maybe have been my mother? Though, the voice didn't sound like either of them, really.

Weird!

Psychics and Mediums. Not all are real. Not all are fake. You be the judge.

2010-08-13T10:12:00.001-04:00

Have you ever been to a Psychic for a reading? Were they accurate? Watch the following video and judge for yourself.

Many Psychics do "cold readings", where they ask simple questions that ask about say the color of hair or eyes, the deceased person's first letter of their name. Watch this video below and see how a 'Cold Reading' is done.

Some people that read this may very well get upset. But, a fraud is a fraud. Sure no self-proclaimed Psychic can be, or is completely right on the money 100% of the time. They after all, are still human.

But, to tell two scared, concerned, and grief-stricken parents that their son is dead, and can be found in the woods, 20 miles from their home, only to be found ALIVE is beyond reprehensible. Look at this for yourself...

After listening to these two videos, I kept on thinking to myself, why did Sylvia Browne HERSELF *not* go on Anderson Cooper and defend HERSELF?? Instead, she sent her Business Manager, Linda Rossi to defend her client.

In my *personal* opinion, if indeed Mrs. Browne is the legit Psychic that she claims that she is, she would have HERSELF, gone on to the news show and explained her flubs and her beliefs. Not leave it to some lady who lost it on air, in front of MILLIONS of viewers.

I'd love to hear YOUR thoughts on this subject.

Guardian Angels

2010-08-10T10:14:00.002-04:00

Many people, especially within the Christian belief system, believe in Guardian Angels. They are an 'assigned' angel that watches over the mortal person and is with them through good times and bad.

The definition from Wikipedia states, "A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person. Belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout all antiquity. The concept of tutelary angels and their hierarchy was extensively developed in Christianity in the 5th century by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

The theology of angels and tutelary spirits has undergone many refinements since the 400s. Belief in both the East and the West is that guardian angels serve to protect whichever person God assigns them to, and present prayer to God on that person's behalf.".

Take for instance, you get in to an EXTREMELY horrific car accident. One where the vehicle is nothing but a pile of metal and large car parts. One where people should not have survived. But you walked away from what should have been your death trap, with what is considered either to be mild injury, or moderate injury.

Many people would say that you must have had a Guardian Angel watching over you.

Also, most who believe in these winged souls, they most of the time feel that their personal angel is someone that knew the person in life (be it the person the angel 'serves' knew that person in life, or not) and then decided (or was told by God) to watch over that loved one until they too were called home.

Over at Angel Believes, my BFF wrote about her Whirlwind Vacation.

Naturally, Angel (yes, people her REAL name is indeed Angel) had posted gobs of pictures. But one in particular especially had caught my eye. And even she told me on the phone, when I asked about it, that she did NOT notice it, until AFTER she put the pictures on to the computer.

The picture in question? Take a look below...

Look at it closely. What do you see? I want YOUR opinion.

Angel is thinking it's her hand, although she doesn't remember raising it to that extent. And to *me*, her arm and her hand seem to be laying relaxed, next to her body.

After further inspection, with the picture enlarged on my screen, to me, it looked like jagged edges of an Angel's wing, suspended out beside the little girl's shoulder.

Note too, the transparency of the 'wing', how you can actually see through it! To me, if that was a real person's arm or hand, the mass would appear more solid, even in quick motion.

Plus, the curvature of the top end of the "angel's wing" is to perfectly curved out. As are the edges at the bottom.

What is your take on this picture? Is it appearing to be a Guardian Angel showing it's self as to prove that they are with the little girl? Or, maybe, is this a "play on light"?

Do YOU believe in Guardian Angels?

Poltergeists. It's not like in the movies!

2010-08-06T09:52:00.000-04:00

You may have heard of, or have even seen the early 1980's movie, 'Poltergeist'. It revolves around a little girl named Carol Ann, who comes in to contact with an evil entity. This "man" reeks havoc among the girl and her family. The classic, and very well-known, timeless line is... "They're heeeeeere!", as Carol Ann sits in front of the family's television set.

A 'poltergeist' is what is also known as a "noisy ghost". Actually that is what the name is derived from, which is a German definition.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist

"About this sound Poltergeist (from German poltern, meaning "to rumble", "to make a noise" and Geist, meaning "ghost" or "spirit") is in mythology and folklore a ghost, spirit, entity, demonic spirit or being that manifests itself by creating noise or moving objects."

For the most part, Poltergeist Ghosts are not harmful. They move things, hide things and make noises to be heard and to communicate. Not to physically hurt you. Most cases are generally 'normal' and the people affected are not harmed.

Personally, I have had this sort of thing happen when I was a teenager. Though, it did not happen to me personally, the whole family unit was affected.

My grandma (Nana) had this one pair of reading glasses. She normally sat them beside her favorite chair, where she could read under the lamp light.

One day, she was looking for them and asked me to hunt them down. Of course I looked EVERYWHERE. I scoured the place top to bottom. As did my father and my step-mother.

For three solid WEEKS, we all looked for the reading glasses. To no avail. Of course, I got pegged for hiding them out of spite. At the time, Nana didn't believe that there was ghostly activity, and as a hard-core Catholic, vehemently stated that ghosts are of the devil's work.

We looked ALL over, high and low. Even in places that we should not have had to look in. Then, my step-mother struck gold! She found the glasses. But in the most unusual of places. It made all of our jaws drop. And made my Nana (finally) a believer.

My step-mom opened the china cabinet (as she did EVERY night for the last three weeks and before) to get the dishes out for dinnertime. Sitting there on the GOOD set of dishes, was my grandmother's reading glasses. Right there in plain sight. And they just "magically" appeared there.

There are other instances of hearing footsteps and things moving, and even voice activity that I alone have experienced. But that one really stood out to me. And the list is just too freaking long to talk about in one post (LOL).

Here is a book Author that I *highly* recommend to read. Including this book, out of the many he has written about all types of ghostly hauntings.

Here is a video of what types of Poltergeist activities CAN occur. All cases are extremely different. It is also has Ed and Loraine Warren (who are now both deceased), who are highly recommended and knowledgeable Demonologists. Some of what you are about to see, WILL shock you and make you think.

The Victorian View On Death...

2010-08-01T14:03:00.002-04:00

True, I normally write about ghosts and hauntings. But I have a "closet" fascination. Some would call it a morbid one, to say the least. But it is practiced (though rarely) still today. Primarily in the south of North America's culture. A fascination that forces us to take a really good look at ourselves, our lives, and our mortality. And it makes us hope that those that we leave behind, will wish to remember us as we were, before death placed it's cold grip upon our shoulder.

Back in the times of Victorian culture, it was not uncommon in the least, that the grieving families would have pictures taken of their loved ones after death, as to capture their essence from life, in which death had robbed them.

The pictures were taken before the deceased person's funeral and burial. And some are so exquisite, that while, heartbreaking, they are beautiful.

The practice was called Post-Mortem Photography. The practice had begun in 1839. But died out after the turn of the century. These were not meant to be a morbid means of "clinging on" to loved ones. But to have a memento of those that were loved dearly. Especially of children, who died in great numbers back in the Victorian era, due to the very diseases that we have eradicated or have built better immunity to in this day and age.

The earliest works of photographers that were doing "Memento Photos" had primarily face shots, or full-body pictures. But without the coffin, in most cases.

As time drew on, then the photographers tried to capture the dead in as real a life-like state as possible. Sometimes, going as far as painting the eyes on to the eyelids, to give the deceased an "awake" appearance.

With some people, the photographer would lay them on a bed or on a love-seat and show the subject as if they were just sleeping.

Over on YouTube, I had found a lady who posts videos of collections of old VHS tapes she had of this very subject. They are made by GhostWatching.

While it makes your heart pound, and it leaves you a bit morose and makes the reality of your own mortality more surreal, the pictures are breath taking, and genuinely beautiful. Especially the children.

Ouija Boards

2010-07-24T18:03:00.000-04:00

My, oh my! One topic that to this day STILL makes me shiver. And know that never, EVER again, will I go near one.

Back in the late 1990's, I was at a friend's house. We were talking and goofing around. Then, they had pulled out a Ouija Board. After delegating who was going to do what (be a witness to the letters, spell on paper, and who would control the planchette, being that there were enough of us together to cover with three people on the board), we started the session.

Simple questions of like, "Is anyone there?", and once we got something, we asked general questions such as gender, age, date of death. Finally, we found out that it was a man in his mid to late 20's (forgot the exact age) and that he died in an accident. We found out he was never married, nor had kids, and he lived in the late 1800's. Then, we asked where he was from and he said...H-E-L-L.

Of course, then we heard creakings and other odd sounds we had not heard before the 'game' was started. Suddenly, the planchette started to go erratic and bounce to all kinds of letters and numbers. Then to YES and to NO.

Finally, we got the triangle moved to GOODBYE and vocally said so.

Ever since then, I have never touched another Ouija Board 'game' again. And don't plan to do so in the future, either.

Here is a good article to read about the subject of Ouija Boards by Max Rodegher
-Author of Studies of the Paranormal... Dangers of the Ouija Board

Now, here is a video of someone warning AGAINST the usage of a Ouija Board...

America's Most Haunted Places (video, documentary)

2010-07-23T12:40:00.000-04:00

I'd lived and visited my fair share of haunted places. And I have visited my fair share of various "supposedly haunted" places as well. Homes, abandoned buildings, busy stores, tourist towns.

I've never truly gone "looking for trouble" or for ghosts. But I had been attracted to certain places and sometimes, the ghosts happened to be attracted to me.

There are not many true-blue videos out there that TRULY do document REAL hauntings. There are many that are "chop shopped" to just post something and draw attention to the one that supposedly "caught" something.

Then, there are those videos that REALLY do capture something truly out of the ordinary and is honestly unexplainable.

EVP's (or Electronic Voice Phenomenon) are some of the most fascinating and mysterious of videos I have ever laid my eyes upon. Or my ears, for that matter.

And I just love documentaries about different places that claim they are haunted. I love hearing about the history of each place, seeing what things might have been like "back in the day" when the "haunters" were still a part of our realm, as to why they feel that they must remain today.

Enjoy this forty-six minute documentary and feel free to discuss it in the comments. I have come to enjoy this show's YouTube Channel.

To the Overly-Righteous, Pious Christians...

2010-07-21T08:42:00.000-04:00

Do me a favor, would you?

Don't come to *MY* blog page here at ParanorMel and say "You are invited to my blog". Especially when all you do is spout uber-religiousity on *YOUR* blog. YOUR page, YOUR beliefs, YOUR blog.

I don't go to YOUR blog and "invite" you to mine. Especially when it is NOWHERE near the content of the subject matter that mine is.

To me, that is just plain, all-out RUDE. You invite me to your "place", but don't have the courtesy to even comment on the blog post at hand.

I'm not one to play the "you follow mine, I'll follow yours" comment/blog reading game.

You follow/comment on my blog. Or you don't. And I will do (or not do, be it the case) the same. Out of RESPECT, as well as COMMON COURTESY.

Now, my readers, have a great day and I hope you DO like the content I have been posting. While I do admit, I wish more people would comment on the posts, as to let me know what they think of the subjects, I'm okay with you all at least READING the content.

Peace out.

Skidding on the floor. Nic Cage style.

2010-07-21T07:49:00.000-04:00

It will be four years since we moved in to our current home, at the end of August.

At that time, the kids were starting school that week, as we were moving things from one place to the other. Before us, my brother-in-law and his brood lived here. And before them, it was their parent's rented residence.

Needless to say, it's jokingly become a "family tradition" that someone in the immediate family lives in this house.

While my husband's parents were here, I always felt a bit 'uneased' downstairs, in the basement. And it was set up pretty much then, how we have it now. Our bedroom is down there in the addition (kids are upstairs in the two actual bedrooms), our family area, and the kid's play area (which was then the sewing area for my mother-in-law).

From the moment the house became "ours", I felt something was off. But not just in the basement any longer. It extended in to the attic and even the main portion of the house. Primarily my son's room (that was the "junk room" when my in-law's had the place).

For the life of me, I couldn't place my finger on why I had these feelings of dread, only to have my son almost immediately after moving in, tell me that he saw the "Bearded Man" that looked like he was from "a long time ago".

Every so often, either myself or my son would hear what sounded like footsteps in the attic. Both day and night. And even to this day, I feel "watched" if I'm up there, with or without someone being with me.

Less than a week after shipping our boxes to our new home, I was seriously hurt. All the times over the years I had gone up and down those steps that led to the basement, never once did I take a tumble. That is, until THAT day.

My kids were on their way home from their first full week at their new school. At this point, I still had my youngest daughter home with me, being she was too young for Pre-K.

Of course, for security reasons, and to keep the wee one from slipping out the door, I kept the basement door locked tight. But I would go down to unlock it so the kids could come in from the school bus.

With Skyler watching TV (back then upstairs in the living room), I proceeded to start my decent down to the basement.

No more than three steps down, I felt like I had been shoved. I clearly felt what seemed to be like a hand on my back. Down I went the rest of the way on those stairs.

I literally rolled down. Not in a "tumbling" manner, or on my butt. If I had slipped, I would have fell on to my tail and backwards. Not go forwards, face-first and in a rolling motion (like tumbling in gym).

But I didn't stop there.

No sooner that I hit (and I mean HARD) the landing to the steps, I literally flew off. Only to skid across my carpeted basement floor. As if someone kicked me off of the bottom portion of the staircase.

If you have ever seen 'Ghost Rider', with Nicolas Cage (which is one of my favorite movies of his!), you will know what I'm talking about with the "skidding" on the floor. When 'Johnny Blaze' (Nic's character) is thrown from his now-alive motorcycle, on to the pavement of the Police Station's towing area, he skids across the cement a good number of feet before stopping and his hands start catching fire to begin transforming in to 'Ghost Rider' for the first time.

To put it basically, I was 'Johnny Blaze' for a brief moment in time. Only I had shag carpet, on top of cement flooring under my belly.

After being drug by some unforeseeable force of gravitational pull towards the basement door, I stopped short of getting my face slammed in to it. Only to pull myself up, via the doorknob and unlock both locks right as the kids were pulling up on the school bus.

For three or four days after the incident, I was so very sore. I had a few bruises, a scratch, I had muscle aches EVERYWHERE. I felt like I got ran over, then back-up on, only to be hit again. And when I told my husband about it, he (the skeptic he is, but not as bad now, as back then) said that I must have tripped over myself. Or that I slipped on a step.

But, even if I did either of those things, as my husband felt that I must have, I should NEVER have had any of the above happen.

And never again have I endured another experience in this home on those stairs as I had done that day. And it is a day, as well as an experience I will NEVER forget.

Paranormal Television Shows (The good, the bad, and the non-worthy)

2010-07-19T09:40:00.000-04:00

Some aren't even worth my time. Such as Paranormal State and Ghost Adventures. They only delve in to the "bad side" of ghostly phenomenon. And it makes me sick to see the FEAR that the shows instill in their viewers. Especially for those that believe, but have yet to truly experience a haunting themselves.

Then, you have Paranormal Cops. While those guys may have the detective skills, they certainly don't seem all that much to be taking the Paranormal Investigator job all that seriously.

Ghostly Encounters, while at times intriguing, can seem too "dramatized" for my taste. Tell the story, don't embellish it.

Now as for those that I like, Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International for me, ranks right up there at the top of the heap. They are genuine and walk in as skeptics. Not out of malice towards those that they are helping, but to get a better overall view of the places that they are investigating and come to a level-headed decision about each site. And their work ethic is exceptional in how they carry themselves on their jobs with each client that they serve.

Also, I like the new (in it's second season) Celebrity Ghost Stories. Just because they are celebrities, it doesn't mean that they aren't human and can't experience ghostly happenings as well. And the way that some of the stories are told, it's just mind blowing and if you have been through a similar experience, you feel that you can TRULY relate to that particular celeb. Although, I am glad that they no longer do that white noise/face thing in between stories as they go to commercial. It not only scared my kids (who like the show, too), but myself as well. Made me jump EVERY time.

My new favorite to add to my list, that I missed the Pilot Episode of LAST WEEK is My Ghost Story. It features three or four different stories from everyday, ordinary, average people such as you and I. They tell their story and as it's being told, video and picture evidence is being provided, as well as a re-enactment by the story-teller(s) themselves. I love that about this show. There are REAL people telling THEIR stories and showing it playing out on THEIR OWN TERMS.

Psychic Kids, with Psychic/Medium Chip Coffey is another good show. And I love how he and his Psychologist friend help these kids through what can be a very scary, life altering, and embarrassing (as well as shunning) thing in their lives. They have the compassion, understanding and drive to TRULY help these kids that have the ability to see, hear, and sense spirits feel not so isolated, and help them get a better handle on their abilities.

Understandably, this is only the tip of the ice burg. There are many more ghost/haunting-related shows out there. Too many to name or talk about in fact. But these, for myself anyways, stands out from the crowd. Do you have any paranormal shows that you like or dislike? Tell us and the reason(s) why.

Queen Mary...

2010-07-07T16:22:00.000-04:00

Many people (of my generation and back) have heard of the ship RMS Queen Mary. At one time, she sailed the ocean, carrying her cruise passengers as they sipped their tea, ate off the fine china, and played Croquet. She was one of the most exquisite ocean liners of her time.

She was built by John Brown and Company, in Clydebank, Scotland. She was designed to be the first of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service from Southampton to Cherbourg to New York. And was one of the super liners of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Today though, the RMS Queen Mary rests in Long Beach, California serving as a museum ship and hotel. She is also registered on the National Register of Historic Places. And now Queen Mary is a tourist attraction, and also houses hotel guests.

It wasn't until the ship was permanent spot that the reports of haunting happenings of the paranormal type came to pass.

There have been reports of hearing children crying in the nursery room, a mysterious splash noise in the drained first-class swimming pool, sightings of John Pedder, who was an engineer that was crushed by a watertight door in the engine room during a fire drill. And those are just a few of the stories passed along to the employees of the old gal.

Supposedly, the ghostly image of a young girl named Jackie Korin who drowned in the second class pool. And the young woman by the name of Sarah was said to have been murdered in the first class women's change rooms by an unknown man and haunts the first class pool with Jackie.

Some guests aboard the massive ship also claim to hear men screaming and the sound of metal crushing against metal can be heard below decks at the extreme front end of the bow.

RMS Queen Mary hold DAILY Ghost Tours to it's guests. Plus, they have a haunted maze and expands to multiple mazes during the Halloween season.

The "livliest" 'Ghost Town' you will ever step in to...

2010-07-03T15:28:00.000-04:00

Let's take a small trip. Back in to another time. Another realm. Another way of life. To the past.

For a few years in my teens, I had lived in the Reno/Carson City area of Nevada. It was quite nice, to tell the truth. Barely any humidity. Air quality was nice, too.

Back in the 1960's on television, there was a Western "shoot 'em up" show called 'Bonanza'. It centered around a man and his three sons back in the late 1800's, during the Gold Rush days in the Sierra Nevada's. Including a city called Virginia City.

Yes, there REALLY IS a town named Virginia City in Nevada, out in the hills of the Reno/Carson basin. And it's still lively today, as it was in it's hay day. Although it is considered a tourist attraction these days. But many upon many of the ORIGINAL structures (including their "birth" names) are still up and in use today in our modern age.

And it is said to be a Ghost Town. Not in the abandoned since. Not in the least bit. But in the literal since. As in the ghostly realm and hauntings since.

Including the town primary cemetery. And the town's cathedral. Oh, and don't forget the Art School that was once a hospital for the wounded and dying Civil War Soldiers. Then, there are a couple of haunted Saloons and restaurants. Pretty much anywhere you go in Virginia City, you will hear tales of the Spirit kind.

Now, sit back and relax. Watch a few videos from my old "home town" of Virginia City and gawk at a few pictures. Take that trip back in time. Where the West was wild and the women were fast (not necessarily easy).

***This is a 4-part-series, and I am providing the first two. If you wish to view more, then go over to YouTube and type in Haunted Nevada. Virginia City *IS* covered in this show's episode. Just watch and keep an eye out for it.

I've been inside many of the places, including the church and the cemetery when I lived there, and visited on trips back home. I've also on more than one occasion felt eyes peering at me when no one (living) was around. I felt presences. I've heard voices and things while in certain buildings that shouldn't be there. Even in broad daylight. Especially in areas where it was not allowed for (living) people to go. They were restricted, cordoned off areas.

Maybe one day soon, I will tell my tales of all I have seen and heard. But for now, just relish on the trip you had taken back in to another time. And maybe even watch a bit of 'Bonanza'. Gotta love Little Joe!

Paranormal, ghostly pictures.

2010-06-25T11:38:00.000-04:00

Okay, I have apparently caught now a couple of REALLY strange photos with my cell's camera. One I can post now. The other though, I still have to Upload from my phone.

In the one I am about to place up, there was NOTHING there at the time that either myself or my five-year-old had seen. In fact, as you will tell by the picture, she look right at me, smiling as I snapped the shot. And I saw NOTHING from the corner of my eye.

Some people think it's my mother. Some feel it's a man. Some think it may even be my thumb.

I know for certain, it's not a finger or thumb in the way. Be it mine or someone else's. No other people were in the kitchen when this was taken. And the lens of the camera is on the TOP side of the phone. I have to press OK to snap the pictures. So, my hand in NO WAY is in this shot.

You be the judge. And feel free to also post your pictures here in the comments, and over at ParanorMel over at Facebook.