Archive for the ‘Tales across the US’ Category

Ghost Hunting Across Marietta, OH

Posted: September 29, 2024 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2
The Anchorage Mansion looks so creepy in the dead of night, doesn’t it?

So, as many of you know, I was in Marietta, OH this weekend for the Hidden Marietta Paranormal Expo. And you probably also know that I not only freaking love Marietta, but that it’s filled with haunted buildings. And while I was in Marietta, I made sure to do some ghost hunting at two of my favorite places: the Lafayette Hotel, where I was staying, and the Anchorage Mansion, where Hidden Marietta does their main business.

And hoo boy, did I get some results!

Now, for those unaware, I tend to use dowsing rods quite a bit when I ghost hunt. These are copper, L-shaped rods that have copper cylinders around the handles. The idea is that the ghosts can manipulate the rods to answer yes-or-no questions or to point. And the cylinders around the handles keep the questioner from manipulating the rods.

My first session was in my hotel room, where I contacted the spirit of a former employee. And, given the answers I got, I felt kind of sad for her.

After that, I decided to try getting some responses in the hallway. Where, by the by, I got some amazing results with some friends about two years ago (see that post here). And this time around, I got results again!

Pretty awesome, huh? The most amazing thing is, when I played the video back, you could clearly hear that thumping noise! My audio clearly picked that up! Now, as to what caused it, or for my camera to go out of focus for a couple of minutes, I don’t know. Still, it was pretty cool! (Also, I met the husband of the couple at breakfast the next morning and got to fill him in on my results. I wonder if he’s a believer now?)

With my exploration of the third floor completed, I headed down to the basement. According to the guy at reception, there are nine spirits of children haunting the hotel, as well as several dogs and a cat. (He also thought he’d heard of a woman who used to work at the hotel dying in the last twenty years and a guest having a heart attack in the 1980s, though he wasn’t sure of the details and couldn’t remember where the employee who died used to work.) The most active and famous of these children is Thomas, whom I was told during my first stay at the Lafayette can be contacted from the basement.

So, to the basement I went! And Thomas reacted to my calls.

How spooky is that? At 5:48 and 8:42, you can clearly hear a snapping sound that likely isn’t the front door! And at 8:08, I could have sworn I heard a whisper coming from down the basement hallway!

Well, after that, I headed to the Anchorage Mansion, where I met my friend Jeff Ignatowski, and we were led on a tour of the Anchorage, hearing about its history and ghost stories. And let me tell you, there’s been some new stories. For instance, there’s apparently a nasty new spirit in the attic and tower that’s pretty territorial. It’s even forced Henrietta and Clarabelle, the two little girls who play up in the attic, out of the attic and to the second floor! The staff have been moving their toys down so they’re not constantly being harassed by this new, mean entity.

Now, after the tour, Jeff and I went to the servants quarters, which is on a sub-floor leading off the second floor. Here, another malevolent entity that has a problem with women is supposed to lurk. Here, we tried to contact said entity and get some answers.

Creepy, right? We didn’t get any answers, but it was interesting how some of those entities reminded me of the Donner Party. And I nearly hit my head on a barrier hanging from the ceiling. Was something leading me there, hoping I’d hurt myself?

Well, after that, we spent a bit of time in the room where Clarabelle and Henrietta’s room, or the room where their dolls, pictured below, are now. The dolls in the rocking chair are theirs, and were designed based on their feedback. Supposedly, you mess with the dolls, they’ll mess with you right back. One college student touched them, and then got slapped on the back. There was a child-sized handprint on his back, according to the stories.

After that, Jeff and I tried messing with some of the equipment to rent in the dining room, but it didn’t really work for us. And that ended the evening. Still, it was pretty cool. And I always enjoy coming to the Anchorage Mansion. Hell, I always love coming to Marietta! And I’m so glad it gave me some amazing experiences again.

Though my experiences with scary stuff didn’t end once I left Marietta. You see, after I left the convention, I stopped by a computer store in Columbus to pick up something. And while I was there, I found something that filled me with fright! You can see the video below!

3D printers! After writing an entire novel about an evil one, so many of them in one place filled me with fright! And I’m sure if the novel ever gets published, a gathering of them will scare plenty of people!

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Remember, we’re 32 days away from Halloween, so if you’re still looking for something spooky to read this October, I’ve got plenty of stories to offer. Plant/human hybrids and strange gods, Mafia-hunting serial killers, and carnivorous horses! Just check out the button below and you’ll find all my published works, including some free stuff available for download.

And if you end up reading any of my work, please leave a review! Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps other readers find my work.

Also be sure to check out my YouTube channel. If you like it, you can subscribe and be the first to watch my videos when it uploads.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Book Links and Excerpts

A Very Active Evening at the Ohio State Reformatory

Posted: May 22, 2024 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

All videos should be listened to with headphones on and the volume turned up.

As I said in my last post, I was recently at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, OH, one of my favorite places on Earth, for ParaPsyCon. And as you probably know, it’s one of the most haunted places in the nation. Of all the times I’ve been there, only once have I not experienced something strange or spooky. And that one time was not this past weekend!

And speaking of which, on Friday night, the Reformatory had a mini ghost hunt for the vendors (the mini part meaning it was only three hours instead of the entire night). And you know that I had to participate in that! So, I did. And my friend Jeff Ignatowski, owner of Scorpion Lair Games and Killers the Card Game, whom I’ve mentioned here before, was there too with a new ghost hunting device called a ChatterGeist. So, we teamed up for the ghost hunt and to see if we could get anything.

And oh boy, did we get something! In fact, nearly the whole night, the prison was jumping with activity! And I got a ton of it on camera!

Our first stop was James Lockhart’s cell. If you didn’t know, James Lockhart was a prisoner who, in 1960, immolated himself and died soon after. He was 22. His spirt is said to still haunt the cell he died in. I’ve always had good luck speaking with him using the dowsing rods (he’s got a reputation for not being very talkative), so we headed there first.

And I should just mention, the moment we were about to start, the birds started freaking out! You can’t avoid the birds, they make nests in holes in the building and in the windows and you can always hear them. But when I sat down in Lockhart’s cell, they just freaked out! It was weird. And as it turned out, it was very relevant.

After this session, Jeff and I set up the ChatterGeist device. And the results we got were quite relevant to where we were.

Weird about that “melting” comment, right?

After wrapping up in James Lockhart’s cell, we headed to solitary confinement, where I’ve interacted with the spirit of a dead guard before. However, that night, I learned about a very different story that occurred in the solitary confinement cells. When they used to double people in solitary (which kinda defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?).

Damn, that’s spooky! Who knew Jeff had a dark connection to the prison like that?

After solitary, we were going to head to the attic, but then we found out that the subbasement, which is usually left off the tour and which is supposedly filled with very active spirits, was open for the ghost hunt. So, guess who went down to a place I’ve only seen on TV? We did. And boy, did we get results!

Man, of all the things that I experienced that night, the subbasement sticks with me the most! I mean, you heard those sounds, right? And up until we were trying to leave, we were the only ones in the basement. What made those noises? We may never know.

But as you saw the end of the video, we had some guests and one of them, Daryl, is a volunteer at OSR studying to be a tour guide. So he told us some very dark stories that actually put some things from the last video into context.

Damn! That prison was not run very well back then. 0/10, would not recommend.

After the stories, Jeff and I went up to the attic. Sadly, we didn’t get any good proof on camera, so I did not upload any footage from there. So, we headed to the library. And it was actually kind of peaceful. Here’s what happened.

With that, we went downstairs to the infirmary, where we hung out with some other ghost hunters who were talking to a very smarmy ghost (I wish I got that on video, but oh well). After that, they left and we got out my dowsing rods out for one last time. And it’s probably the second-most memorable experience for me for that night.

I want to think that maybe that ghost just wanted someone to know how he died, and maybe telling someone allowed him to pass on. I hope we at least brought him some peace.

Anyway, after that, it was close to eleven, so we packed up and left so we could get some sleep before the convention in the morning. But man, was it a great night! The prison was more active than I had ever seen it, and we got some amazing stuff on video. I hope plenty of people find the videos informing and entertaining, and maybe makes them want to explore the beyond as well.

Or maybe it’ll scare them silly. I would be happy with that.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope you enjoyed my breakdown of my ghost hunt at ParaPsyCon. Be sure to check out my YouTube channel by clicking here and maybe giving me a subscription. And be sure to check out Jeff’s Channel, Route 666, as well.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

A Much Needed Trip to Marietta

Posted: November 12, 2023 in Reflections, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2
The Ohio river at the tip of Marietta’s downtown at sunset.

Y’all, life has been stressful lately.

You guys know I have a day job, right? Well, without getting into details, mine has gotten super busy lately, to the point where I’ve been working late nights. Consequently, I’ve been unable to do as much writing as I would like, which only stresses me out more. Plus, everything is more expensive these days, especially gas and food. All this and then some were really stressing me out, so I was in desperate need of a vacation.

Luckily, Friday was Veterans Day (thank you to all vets for your service) and my workplace gave me Friday off. And, since I was already planning on going down to Marietta for that event with Hidden Marietta, I decided to make it a weekend-long mini-vacation and have some fun.

And you know what? It was just what the doctor ordered! I just got back from Marietta a few hours ago and these past couple of days were among the most relaxing of my life.

So, if you don’t know, Marietta is the oldest town in Ohio and is located in southeast Ohio along the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. It has a beautiful historic downtown section, the crown of which (in my opinion, anyway) is the Historic Lafayette Hotel. It’s a beautiful and historic hotel, as well as a very haunted hotel, so I like to stay there when possible.

The facade of the Lafayette.

Sadly, I didn’t experience anything paranormal (unless I dreamed it), but I stayed in a lovely little room and was able to walk around downtown and check out the shops and restaurants, something I’ve always wanted to do.

My room in the Lafayette.

I also got to visit the Mound Cemetery, which is such a cool place. It’s located in the center of Marietta’s residential district and contains graves of people who fought in the American Revolution and helped found the earliest settlements in Ohio. Being among all those people who helped shape this country from its earliest days was kind of humbling.

Entrance to Mound Cemetery
Tomb of unknown soldiers who fought in the revolution. Quite amazing to visit.

I also got to stop by the cemetery’s namesake, a giant Indian burial mound in the center of the cemetery. It rises like a small mountain, and you can actually walk up some stone steps along the side of the mound to the top, where there are a couple of benches and a raised stone denoting where a time capsule was buried. I climbed those steps and the view was breathtaking. These photos don’t do it justice, but I hope you got some of the magnificence of the mound and the surrounding cemetery.

The mound. It looks a lot more awesome and imposing in person, believe me.
The view from atop the mound. In the center, you can see the stone where the time capsule is.
Another view from atop the mound.

Pretty cool, right?

Also, there was this.

I know what you’re thinking. What was in there, how did it get out, and should we be worried? It actually reminded me of Ghoul by Brian Keene, where a ghoul is released from a tomb in an old cemetery like this one. I actually reached out to him on BlueSky about this, and he said it was either a ghoul or an incredibly powerful groundhog (new Ohio cryptid?).

Whatever caused this, both the broken-open tomb and the mound melded in my mind to create an interesting idea for a story. I would like to write it someday, though of course, there are a million things to get through before I can even consider writing it.

After that, I visited the Anchorage Mansion for the event (you can read about the last time I was there here). Sadly, unlike last time I did not experience anything paranormal beyond a few doors that opened and closed when I wasn’t looking (probably just a coincidence). A friend who was there did see a ghost, but I wasn’t in the room. I also only sold one book, which was a letdown. But I did get to see some friends, and one of them did join me for dinner afterwards, which was nice.

And then today, I had breakfast and then went to a frozen custard parlor for a snack. I then visited the Campus Martius museum, which chronicles the settlement and history of the area, and has some of the oldest buildings still in existence in Ohio on its grounds. No photos of those, but I did enjoy stopping there and I even found a gift for a friend of mine for the holidays. It was a good way to wrap up the trip before hitting the road for Columbus.

And you know what? I really needed this. As I said before, life has been really crazy lately, and this trip was super relaxing. Yeah, there were a few hiccups and those weren’t fun, but I still had a wonderful time walking around Marietta and seeing more of this beautiful town.

And I think we all need these breaks from life’s stresses every now and again. It isn’t easy to get away and may cost some money, but with the world the way it is, it’s important to take care of your physical and mental health and find time to unwind. I honestly feel like I can take on whatever this week throws at me with more ease than I would if I hadn’t taken this trip (helps that I can’t work late this week for various reasons). Perhaps I’ll even be able to stay chilled out until my next vacation, whenever that is.

I hope you get to take the time to care of yourself and enjoy a different locale as well very soon.

Have you gone anywhere for a mini-vacation lately? Where did you go and what did you do? And did it help with your stress?

One last thing, Followers of Fear: since Friday morning, thirty-two people have downloaded copies of my short story Car Chasers. This does not include how many people read it off the website itself, so the number could be even higher. Thank you all for checking it out. This is exactly the response I was hoping for, and I hope this response continues and gets more people interested in my work.

If you haven’t checked out Car Chasers but would like to, you can find it on my Book Links and Excerpts page, along with all my other work. It’s completely free to read and download, so I hope you’ll check it out and let me know what you think.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m going to try to get to bed early tonight so I’m well-rested for work tomorrow. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

StokerCon 2023 Was Amazing!!!

Posted: June 19, 2023 in Living and Life, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
6
Me being silly in front of a big poster.

I’m back, Followers of Fear! And let me tell you, I had the best time at Stoker Con, the biggest convention for the horror writing community in the world! Four days spent with my comrades in the Horror Writers Association discussing all things horror and enjoying all things macabre. Honestly, it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had!

And it was in Pittsburgh, which despite how difficult it is to drive in, was the home of George A. Romero, so his presence was felt throughout the convention. Hell, the city has kind of embraced Romero as sort of a patron saint, and the George A. Romero Foundation was even a sponsor for the con, so that made it extra special.

But back to the con. Honestly, how can I describe it to you? I guess I could go over the things that made it memorable to me while also supplying photos here and there. Yeah, that works, so let’s go for it.

All the awesome panels! I think there were over 60 panels and classes to take, and I attended as many as I could. All were a lot of fun and quite educational. I didn’t sit on any panels, but I did enjoy watching them. Some, like the Evolution of the Zombie panel, were more like a conversation between the panelists and the audience. Probably helped that I walked in pretending to be a zombie in need of caffeine and snacks.

The panel for portraying drug use and drug addiction. Started out funny, but quickly got serious.

Others, like the Bisexuality in Horror and the Mental Health in Horror, hit me in a personal space (for those unaware, I’m bisexual, and I am on the autism spectrum. I also have ADHD and an anxiety disorder, among other things). It was interesting to hear what others had seen about my communities in horror and how we can portray them better in our stories.

Others, like Writing Nonfiction and Pitching Your Novel, I went to see what tips I could glean from my more experienced colleagues. I got some great info from the former that are already producing results, and the latter will come in handy in a couple of years once I finish Crawler.

Every panel was definitely worth it!

Author readings! While I was there, authors gave and attended readings for upcoming and recently released works. I did a reading with Barbara Cottrell, Jeremiah Dylan Cook, and Gabino Iglesias on Friday. We each took turns, with me going third. Of course, I read from Hannah, specifically the story “What Errour Awoke.” I think people enjoyed it.

Me during my reading. And yes, I wear that hat and cloak during plenty of events.
From left to right: Jeremiah Dylan Cook, myself, Gabino Iglesias, and Barb Cottrell.

Of course, the best reading was from Clay McLeod Chapman. And it wasn’t even a reading, but a one-man show! He’d basically memorized a monologue where a seventh grade boy recounted learning sex ed and how the diagrams of the reproductive systems resembled Lovecraftian entities (and they kind of do, from a certain point of view). He flailed and gesticulated around the room while speaking loudly. It was the most hysterical histrionics I’ve ever seen! I wish I’d seen it on camera.

The Final Frame competition was intense!

Final Frame film competition. On Friday night, we gathered in one of the ballrooms for a competition of 13 short horror films from around the world. These films ranged from the comedic to the terrifying, and most were quite good. The clear winner was “The Queue,” about a content moderator for a video-sharing platform who finds the videos are way more than meets the eye. God, that film was so terrifying, my brain tried to repress it minutes after I’d seen it! If you get the chance, definitely go out and see it.

Honorable mentions go to “Shut,” “Eric,” “Drop Dead,” and “We Forgot About the Zombies.”

The Awards Banquet. Saturday night was when the Bram Stoker awards were awarded, and it was lovely. After a tasty dinner, awards were given out in Superior Achievement for a variety of categories (and I love that it’s “Superior Achievement,” not “Best”). There were a lot of laughs from our speakers and presenters, and some beautiful moments. Cynthia Pelayo became the first Puerto Rican horror author to win Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection, and to win a Bram Stoker, overall. And Gabino Iglesias became the second not too long after, while also winning Superior Achievement in a Novel, the first Puerto Rican to do so.

And a lot of people won Stokers for the first time, leading to tears. I got to hug a lot of people who won their first Stokers after years of trying, and I was happy to be there for those moments. It was beautiful, and I’m so happy for them.

People showing interest in my work! Throughout the convention, people were showing interest and even preordering copies of Hannah and Other Stories (which you can do here). And during a mass author signing (think a book fair within a very small hotel room where you can either buy books or bring your own to get signed), I sold plenty of copies. It put a hop in my step to have so many people wanting to read and support my work.

Being with my people! It’s great being connected to so many horror writers online, and even meeting a few over Zoom or even in person from time to time. But it was nothing compared to meeting so many likeminded individuals in person, and being able to discuss horror subjects so openly. Hell, I had two different conversations on cannibalism in one evening!

Being part of this community, being able to meet and talk with people I’d only interacted with online, and making new friends, is truly special.

Me and my fellow HWA Ohio members: DM Guay, Neil Sater, Sarah Hans, and John Kachuba.
Me with Gabino Iglesias, first Puerto Rican author to win the Bram Stoker award in Superior Achievement in a Novel.
Me with Alma Katsu, Lee Murray, and Barbara Barnett, three amazing ladies of horror. Alma and Lee won Stokers later that evening.
Me with John Langan and Phillip Fracassi. The former and I had plenty of laughs sitting next to each other at the banquet.
Me with Patrick Frievald.
Me with Clay McLeod Chapman.
Me with Brian Keene.

So yeah, Stoker Con was absolutely amazing, and I was so happy to be able to go. And while I probably won’t be able to go next year (San Diego is a little too expensive for me), I would definitely like to go. Maybe next time, I’ll be able to sit on a panel. Maybe I’ll even be nominated for a Stoker award. That would be nice.

Opening ceremonies. It was great.

And if you get the chance, I would highly recommend going to Stoker Con. It’s a fun time and you can learn a lot. I’m already so inspired and can’t wait to start writing this week. Imagine what it’ll do for you.

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I got a lot of work to do before the day is over. But don’t worry: I’ll be back real soon. There’s still plenty to talk about.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares!

An Evening in the Haunted Anchorage Mansion

Posted: May 14, 2023 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2
The Anchorage Mansion. Majestic but spooky, isn’t it?

As you know, I was in Marietta the other day for the Hidden Marietta Paranormal Expo. And while I was there, I signed up for a flashlight tour and short ghost hunt of the Anchorage Mansion, the headquarters of the Hidden Marietta Tour Group, who are also responsible for the expo. And, being me, not only did I bring my dowsing rods, but I filmed some creepy stuff and put it on YouTube!

So, if you don’t know, the Anchorage Mansion is a large, Victorian mansion set on a hill looking over the lovely city of Marietta. It was built in the 1800s and was home to about four different families before becoming a church run rest home. After the rest home was closed, it laid abandoned until the local historical society, and then Hidden Marietta, took over it and started fixing it up. Today, the house’s first floor has been refurbished and the second floor, the servants’ quarters (which is kind of like a floor 1.5), and the attic and its tower will hopefully be fixed up in the coming years.

And Hidden Marietta offers tours and ghost hunts, both public and private, to the residence, because the place has a number of ghosts. Some ghosts include the original owners, a pair of little girls named Henrietta and Clarabelle (nobody’s entirely sure who they are, though there are theories), and former residents of the rest home, the most famous of whom is a prankster by the name of Walter.

I was there for the flashlight tour with a half-hour ghost hunt added afterwards, and my friend/fellow vendor Jeff Ignatowski was there as well (he’s the inventor of Killers; The Card Game, which I recommend you check out). With a group of about a dozen people, we toured the house and learned its history and about its hauntings, of which there were numerous stories. And while I enjoyed supplying my knowledge of Victorian house-planning and customs when appropriate (I knew researching The Pure World Comes would come in handy someday), I was overwhelmed by how active the house was.

Kid you not, early on in the tour, we started experiencing activity. While we were in a side room off the dining room, I saw a blue light flashing back and forth in the dining room. I asked about it, thinking it was one of the tour guides with her phone, but she said it wasn’t her or her phone. Followers of Fear, it was a blue orb! I’d never seen one so clear and close with my own eyes before.

And throughout the night, I would see more and more orbs and light anomalies. In fact, I was able to get some on film in the attic tower.

Crazy, right? Some of those anomalies just flew up into the roof and disappeared. My dad even saw the video and said he saw five. And he’s a bit of a skeptic to this sort of thing (or maybe he’s just a skeptic when it comes to ghost hunting shows).

Anyway, after that the tour ended and we received some equipment to go throughout the house and investigate. I went with my friend Jeff to the attic, where we heard those two little girls Henrietta and Clarabelle are known to hang out. And the results were beyond anything I expected.

Divebombing bat aside, it was quite the moment for me. Clarabelle made the stairs creak, which was something I’d only seen in movies and ghost-hunting shows. To experience it myself was like a dream come true.

After that, Jeff and I went downstairs. We wanted to go into the servants’ quarters, where a very violent ghost hangs out (no joke, they do not allow women to go in there alone). But another group was in there, so we decided to head down to the dining room and try to get in contact with Walter. First, I tried using the GhostTube app on my phone.

Then I used my regular camera, which ended up producing a kind of odd angle to parts of the video.

As you can tell from the end of the above video, the ghost hunt came to an end at that point. And while I had fun and felt satisfied, I wish I could have stayed longer. After all, the Anchorage Mansion is the real deal. I bet skeptics will have a few thoughts if they visit this mansion at night, that’s how crazy active it is.

So, if the opportunity arises, I definitely will visit the mansion again, and maybe do a full ghost hunt. I would love to get plenty of footage and experience more paranormal activity. And, of course, if possible, I would love to go with some friends.

In the meantime, I’ll be at ParaPsyCon this coming weekend at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. As you well know, the Reformatory is one of the most haunted places in the United States, as well as one of my favorite in the world. I’ll be selling books and doing Tarot readings there the entire weekend, so if you’re in the area, please stop by! And if something supernatural happens to me there (and it probably will, given my track record), I will try to get it on video.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and make sure to check out my YouTube channel for more spooky videos and updates on my work. Mostly spooky videos, but also updates on my work.

Speaking of Victorian mansions with freaky things going on inside, my Gothic horror novel, The Pure World Comes, will be on sale through Wednesday in honor of its one-year release anniversary. Set in 1894, the story follows Shirley Dobbins, a maid who goes to work for the eccentric baronet Sir Joseph Hunting. While at his estate, the Hunting Lodge, strange occurrences happen at the mansion, and Shirley soon learns that not only do these occurrences may have something to do with the baronet, but they may threaten her and those she holds dear.

The ebook is currently on sale from all retailers, and the audio book is on sale from Chirp, Spotify, Nook Audiobooks, and Apple. If this piques your interest, I’ll leave links below. And if you like what you read, leave a review online somewhere so I know what you think. Happy reading and pleasant nightmares!

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Goodreads, Audible, Chirp, BingeBooks, LIbro.Fm, Storytel, Palace Marketplace, Hoopla, Vivlio, Smashwords, Thalia, Scribd, Spotify

Touring the West Virginia Penitentiary

Posted: August 16, 2022 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
13
Tour entrance of the West Virginia Penitentiary

As you know, I went to another haunted location recently. This one was the West Virginia Penitentiary, which was to be the host of the West Virginia Penitentiary Paracon. Now, you know me, I never pass up the opportunity to visit a haunted location, so the day before the Paracon I visited the prison for a tour.

Now, if you’ve never been to the Penitentiary (and I bet many of you haven’t), it’s a big, Gothic building that reminds me of my beloved Ohio State Reformatory back in Mansfield. Granted, it’s older by about twenty years and was in operation for far longer, and its history is certainly bloodier. In fact, the prison used to be known nationwide as “Blood Alley,” and it was cited by the Justice Department in an investigation of America’s prisons as its worst examples. In the late 1980s, there was a riot there that killed four people, and at one point, an Aryan Brotherhood leader was murdered by his deputy during yard time!

And these are just drops in the bucket: apparently the prison saw about 998 deaths during its operation. And that’s just the ones that we know of that weren’t scheduled executions.

Obviously, the building is supposed to be haunted up to the gills, and I was hoping I might experience some creepy occurrences while there. Sadly, I didn’t, and I couldn’t attend the vendor ghost hunt after the paracon. However, I did feel something in one area:

The “skating rink,” where I got a really bad feeling

There’s this long corridor near where you enter the building for tours called the skating rink. It got that name because during the winter, event today, this corridor ices over and you can skate on it. When the prison was in operation, prisoners were supposed to line up along the walls before going back to their cells, and anyone who would step over a line on the floor would be shot dead. It was a great way to get rid of someone you disliked, and plenty of people did.

I did not know this, but I felt some negative energy in that area. When the tour guide told us about that, it made sense.

I then told our tour guide about my feeling, and he later said to another tour guide as they passed by that he was scared of me (I hadn’t even told him I was a writer yet). I was proud that he figured out to be afraid of me. Very few realize they should until it’s too late.

Some other places that caught my attention were:

This one wall. Can you see a signature? That’s from Zak Bagans, leader of the Ghost Adventures team from TV. Apparently he left his signature there while filming an episode there. However, someone destroyed part of the signature (I think the dude was drunk), and it’s now a funny part of the tours.

This hallway is infamous for a funny reason: apparently the pattern on the floor was imported from Spain, but when Netflix used part of the prison for filming an episode of Mindhunter, they placed their own tile on the floor, ruining the pattern. Netflix is now banned from ever using the prison. I find that hysterical.

This is the Wheel. It separated the main prison from either a residential or administrative section of the prison. Only one other like it exist in the world, in Manchester, England, and it’s the only one in existence still being used.

On the tour, we learned that the prison was used as the filming location for the TV show Castle Rock, and that this particular cell was where Bill Skarsgard stood for his scenes. Standing in that same cell was just plain awesome!

Finally, there was this moment: this section, in addition to having some creepy spirits, is probably the only area in the prison where the cell doors still work. The cells are about five feet by seven, and would usually house three inmates, and they would let us experience what it’s like to be in that cell as a prisoner for a minute.

Naturally, I got it on camera.

Yeah, that was a cool moment. Even if I didn’t get any sort of presence in there.

So, would I go back? Probably, if I could properly investigate the place. There are some shadow figures that supposedly hang around, and I would like to see about contacting some of the other spirits, including ones in areas that weren’t on the tour (some places were just off-limits for certain reasons).

And maybe I’ll get something really creepy on video. Creepier than me, anyway.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to work on Crawler. After this chapter, I may take a break to work on a short story or two. And I might have a post or two to write in the near future. So, until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and is that a chupacabra outside your window?

An Investigation of the Bellaire House, Part 3

Posted: October 20, 2020 in Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Finally, Part 3! Hopefully it’s the last part. Click here and here for Parts 1 and 2, respectively.

When we last left off on the Bellaire House, we had finished up a rather silly attempt at a spirit box session in the basement and had moved to the seance room to try there. This is the room, according to legend, where Lyde Heatherington died of a heart attack by the fireplace, and her brother Edwin attempted to contact her spirit, which may have opened a portal in the house.

We started up with the spirit box again, Nikkie putting on the blindfold and headphones again. As I said, this was to form another layer of veracity. If the one repeating what they heard through the static couldn’t hear what was being asked, any correlation between answers and questions could be evidence of paranormal activity.

This was, by the way, when we came into contact with the spirit I’ve come to call George’s Friend, as whoever she is (and we’re pretty sure she’s a woman) wanted us to help George.

If you watched the video, you saw how often certain words, like “George” and “water” and “underneath” were repeated. There was also the word “hundred,” which could correlate with the word “century” from another spirit box session (not on camera).

You can also hear the sadness in the speaker’s voice. She speaks through Nikkie, but it’s apparent that she’s desperate and sad and is pleading to help George, whoever that is. Honestly, I felt my heart break when I was there. And every time I watch this video, I get a little sad.

And how she asked us not to go at the end. That’s not only persuasive, it kind of makes you want to cry.

We would talk to George’s Friend again very soon…

After this, we had a few more spirit box sessions. I put my phone and GoPro at this time so they could charge, so I don’t have them on video, but they were something else. I even took another turn on the spirit box, and that was where things got a little freaky. You see, during my turn in the seance room, I got the name “Lucifer” again. And not just once, but five times!

Again, this could be me just attributing meaning to sounds that are entirely random. Lucifer is, after all, not only my favorite name for the Devil (whom, by the way, I don’t believe in), but my favorite TV show. Still, to be on the safe side, Kathy did give me some means to protect myself using salt, which the Lees recommended.

At that point we split up to do experiments in other parts of the house. I can’t speak to what the other group did on the second floor and in the attic, but I was in the seance room with Dave and Danette, and this time we tried an experiment of our very own.

Now, you all should be familiar with my dowsing rods, which ghosts are believed to use to manipulate to answer yes or no questions. But the GhostTube app is something new. It’s not only a camera, but it measures electromagnetic energy and volume in the area. And it has some sort of dictionary that spirits are able to manipulate so they can communicate. The idea was we could combine both tools and see if the results correlate.

This was when we got George’s Friend again, and learned some more about George. But we may have also learned some stuff about George’s Friend.

So if you didn’t watch the whole video, according to this session, George died of a stroke in the attic while George’s Friend was in the tunnels. And the way the answers on the dowsing rods line up with the answers on the GhostTube app is striking. I don’t know if anyone’s ever done an experiment like this, but if not, it’s a good sign for this kind of experiment.

We also learned that George Friend might be evil. Or, some spirit was evil. Perhaps we were hearing from the spirit that wanted to go to Hell and was obsessed with the devil. It might have been interfering with George’s Friend’s response.

After that, things wrapped up pretty quickly. Greg, Kathy, Nikkie and Dan went to their hotels. Dave, Danette, and I stayed in the house overnight (and I made sure to do one of the salt cleansings Kathy taught me while I was in the shower).

The bedroom I slept in. I actually slept pretty well.

I woke up around 8:30 the next morning on Sunday, October 11th. All told, it was a good sleep. I only woke up once, and I don’t remember having any bad dreams.

To my horror, Dave and Danette were gone!

But it turns out they simply had to get on the road and didn’t want to wake me up. They left a note in the seance room with instructions on how to lock up the house. Yeah, if they’d run out of the house because of fear, they wouldn’t have left a note. Hell, if they’d run out in terror, they wouldn’t have left me. They’re not the type to do that.

That being said, I didn’t stay too long in the house. Maybe an hour and a half at most, long enough to pack up, turn off all the lights, and make sure nothing was out of place. Like I said, that house has a bad energy to it. Even in calmer, kinder moments, it’s not the sort of place you want to spend too long in. It’s a toxic environment.

After I locked up and did one more salt ritual to keep myself safe, I filmed one more video, just summing up my thoughts on the Bellaire House and then headed north to visit some other places, including my folks in Cleveland.

If you didn’t watch the video, I just said that the house does appear to have spirits, and that some of them are aggressive or malevolent. I didn’t say this in the video, but if I had to guess, there’s probably a portal of some sort, and that’s why the house has such a range of spirits. Just a guess.

In any case, I probably would come back to the Bellaire House again for an investigation if asked. However, I’d come packing plenty of salt, and I would not stay in there alone. Not for longer than a few hours, and definitely not overnight. I also wouldn’t stay more than a day. Like I said, that place is toxic, and the Lees acknowledge it has an effect on relationships if you stay too long.

So that was the Bellaire House in Bellaire, Ohio. It’s an intriguing and hopping place, but also a dark place. One filled with spirits that may be friendly, but may also be quite dangerous. And I’ll remember my night there as long as I live.

Also, managed to keep this in three parts. Yay on me.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope to have more to tell you very soon. But until then, pleasant nightmares.

An Investigation of the Bellaire House, Part 2

Posted: October 17, 2020 in Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
5

As promised, let me tell you what the rest of the investigation into the Bellaire House was like (for Part 1, click here).

After the Lees left, we began our investigation into the house. As you may recall, I was joined by Dave and Danette, friends I’d met at the Ohio State Reformatory’s public ghost hunt last year, and Greg, Kathy, Dan and Nikkie of the Tri-C Ghost Hunters. Since all the equipment had been laid out beforehand (as well as bedrooms claimed for those staying overnight), we went right up to the attic. Partly because, as the Lees explained, “servants” were kept up there during the Underground Railroad. It’s also the place where a spirit (possibly a demonic one) named Emily Davis hangs out. It’s also the place where some of our more sensitive members felt a very strange energy.

While up there, we started out with laying some devices and trigger objects, objects which may energize a spirit or make them want to interact with us. In Emily Davis’s case, this was a big, bouncy ball. After that, we started spirit box sessions.

Now, if you’re not familiar, a spirit box is a device that sweeps through radio stations at a fast pace, like four per second. This is too fast for a regular radio station to play music or an ad. The idea is that the spirits will speak over and through the sweeps in order to interact with us. Because only a spirit would be able to work through that noise!

To add some veracity to the experiment, we would have someone sit by the spirit box, blindfolded and wearing noise-cancelling headphones plugged into the spirit box. They would listen for words in the radio waves and repeat what they heard. Since they wouldn’t be able to hear the other members’ questions, anything that the listener would say wouldn’t be influenced by questions. If it meshed in a weird way, it could be evidence of the paranormal.

The downside to that is the possibility that you could hear something said while listening to the static and ascribe your own meaning to it. For example, a Dungeons & Dragons fan would hear “duh-duh” and maybe think “dungeon.” See what I mean?

Well, we had two sessions, one by Kathy and the other done by Nikkie. And they were rather scary. During Nikkie’s session, she actually got on the horn with a spirit that kept saying it wanted to go to Hell. Yeah, you read that right. A spirit that said it wanted to go to Hell! Who says that? We called a break so that we could refocus and do some reiki techniques to protect ourselves. Let me tell you, those of us who did them felt a bit safer after that.

I also used that time to order a pizza for dinner. And then we went back up for a few more sessions. Including my first dowsing rods session.

So, not a lot of luck on the dowsing rods the first time out (first time that’s happened in a haunted location). But then I got the chance to try the spirit box myself. And that had some results. Here’s my video of it, complete with a little explanation of what we were going to do.

Spooky, right? I got “Lucifer” during my session. And I couldn’t hear a word anyone was saying to me, so when I heard it, it wasn’t influenced by anything anyone was saying to me. Though it could’ve been influenced by my love of that show. Later on though, I said, “You look,” and whoever I was speaking for laughed when Nikkie finished with “fabulous.” Not a very nice spirit. Then there was an argument with the spirit saying “Stop! You stop!” near the very end.

Now, let me take a moment to tell you about the session. When I had the blindfold and headphones on, my world retreated to that static and noise I was hearing. I was trying to make out any words, and my concentration was solely on that. At the same time though, I was taking notes on what I was feeling and hearing. For example, I felt like the sweeps had an almost musical beat to it. And when I heard that beat more clearly, I felt like words were just about to break through.

Also, and this would hold for the other spirit box sessions I would do, I often felt an energy over my head, and I had the distinct impression like something wanted to rip the headphones off my head. As far as I know, I was the only one who felt that way.

After a few more sessions, we headed down to the basement, which had its own creepy energy, especially earlier in the day. However, things did not go as planned. By that point, I’d eaten some pizza and a lot of Diet Coke, and the basement wasn’t conducive to catching radio waves. Add in some silliness on our part (possibly to get rid of those scary vibes from the attic), and you get this:

We’re such silly adults.

Anyway, after all that, we headed upstairs to put on some sessions in the seance room. What happened then? Well, I’ll tell you all that in Part 3. Yes, I’m afraid there’s going to have to be a Part 3. This post is getting long. But I swear, Part 3 will (likely) be the last part.

Until next time, Followers of Fear, pleasant nightmares!

An Investigation of the Bellaire House, Part 1

Posted: October 15, 2020 in Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4
The Bellaire House in Bellaire, Ohio. Looks like it was made for a haunting, doesn’t it?

You’ve been patient, you’ve been supportive and kind. I apologize for the delay, but it’s finally here. Let me tell you about the Bellaire House, where I did an investigation with friends this past weekend (October 10th, if you’re reading this in the future).

So, how did this come about? Well, I made some friends at the public ghost hunt at the Ohio State Reformatory last year. Among them were Dave and Danette, a couple who weren’t afraid to visit some haunted locations while on their road trips. They let me know they were going to be going through Ohio, and might be visiting a haunted house for an overnight. They wanted to know if I would be interested in joining them, as well as members of Tri-C Ghost Hunters, a group of paranormal investigators whose members included friends we’d made last year at the ghost hunt.

Obviously, even with a pandemic, I wanted in, and after some back and forth, we settled on the Bellaire House, a location I’d never heard of before but which, after a little research, I found quite entrancing. Located in Bellaire, Ohio, the house was built and owned in the mid-19th century (I originally thought it was the 20th) by the Heatherington family. One member, Edwin Heatherington (I thought he was called Edmund), did some seances after his sister Lyde died in the house. That may have opened up a portal in the house, leading to the hauntings.

Years later, the house would be bought by the Lee family, who would discover its many spirits and try to flee Amityville style. Only instead of never returning, they ended up turning it into a paranormal research hotspot. (I go into more history in the videos).

I arrived in Bellaire on October 10th and met Dave and Danette at a diner for a late lunch. After eating and catching up, we went to the house. And after I got my stuff inside, I started filming, starting with the exterior.

After shooting the exterior, we went back inside and I did a tour of the house. This time, I got out the GoPro again to do the tour.

Spoiler alert, that skull was real! Yeah, the Lees confirmed it. I just don’t have it on video.

Now, before I go any further with this story, there’s something you should know. Normally when I enter haunted places, I feel pretty peaceful. Even the Lizzie Borden House, where the titular ghost threatened me while I was sleeping in her room, didn’t put me on edge. However, the Bellaire House was different. It had an energy to it. From the moment I walked in, it felt weird. As cool as it was, it was not a house I would not want to spend too much time in.

Later on, it would feel peaceful. Especially in the light of morning. But I knew it was a calm before a storm. Like I said, that house had a feel to it. And it was even stronger in the attic. I felt tingles in my fingers when I first went there.

Whatever that house used to be, it’s no longer a happy home. It’s not meant to be.

Anyway, around five-thirty or six, the rest of our party for the evening arrived: Greg and Kathy, whom Danette, Dave and I had met at the Reformatory last year, and Nikkie and Dan, who are apparently from my county (small world). We got to talking and getting to know each other. And after that, the owners of the House, Daniel and Kristen Lee, arrived to tell us about the house, it’s history and their experiences there.

If you didn’t watch the full video, then let me tell you something. I could tell the Lees were really uncomfortable in the house. They laughed it off, but you could tell. And I kind of understand. While I would like to live in a haunted house, I don’t want one that has a malevolent or toxic presence in it. And I’m a horror and paranormal nut! The Lees are what I would call normies. And they were so disturbed by what they went through, they tried fleeing to Massachusetts! Yet they still had to come back. Now this house is part of their livelihood, and it must be a mental and psychological toll on them.

Like having to work in a jailhouse, I’d imagine. Only, who exactly are the prisoners and who are the jailers?

I’ll end this post with that thought. I’ll go into the investigation in Part 2. However, if you go to my YouTube channel, you’ll find all the videos I took already there.

And as for Haunted, the audio collection of paranormal stories I’m apart of, it’s been delayed due to technical issues. But it should be out before too long. And it’ll be worth the wait, believe me. I listened to part of it, especially my section. Believe me, it’s quite spooky. And I’ll be posting the links as soon as I have them.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope to have Part 2 out soon (among other posts). Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

A Haunted Tour of Charleston, South Carolina

Posted: August 1, 2020 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

St. Michael’s Anglican Church. Supposedly a couple of brides haunt the place, having died on their wedding days.

My last post recounting my adventures from my recent trip to Iowa and South Carolina is about the haunted tour of Historic Charleston in South Carolina. The tour was operated by Ghost City Tours, which apparently has tours across the southern United States. I was joined by my buddy Ramsey Hardin, who you remember was my host while in South Carolina. And you know what? It was a fun experience.

Ramsey and I arrived at the meeting place around ten in the evening, and joined a group of people waiting for the tour. There were three tour guides there, to ensure that everyone could social distance while still getting the tour. Ramsey and I were placed with a young woman named Caroline, who is actually a fellow Ohioan originally. Yeah, we had a lot to talk about.

And we did talk a lot. Between locations on the tour, those of us who had had paranormal experiences were encouraged to recount them. Obviously, I talked about my many experiences, including the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, the Ohio State Reformatory, and my recent excursion to the Villisca Axe Murder House. I don’t think anyone else related a story, but Caroline did mention an occurrence involving a friend of hers. At least, I think it was a friend.

As for paranormal activity captured or witnessed…well, I thought I got something on my phone’s camera. Check out the photos below.

These photos were taken one after the other, and if you look at the far left of the second photo, it appears there’s a small orange light on the other side of that pole. One that’s not in the first photo. However, further inspection showed that I took a step to the left (hence why the streetlight is hidden behind a tree). That light I thought was a ghost orb was actually a reflection from the streetlamp off a length of metal. To quote Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures, “this piece of evidence is debunked.”

However, I did catch something on video. Those photos were taken at the graveyard at St. Philip’s, which is known to be the resting place of Susan Howard Hardy, a woman who died in childbirth and who was secretly buried with her stillborn child. After I took those photos, I gave Ramsey my phone and managed to catch her on the dowsing rods. Here is the video of our short conversation.

Cool, huh? The “signal,” so to speak, was weak, but I managed to get some answers from her, and the information I got was consistent with the historical record. By the way, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church is not too fond of the fact that a ghost is known to roam their graveyard. They’ve taken a lot of measures to try and disassociate themselves as a haunted location, so it would be really bad if it became well-known as a location for a ghost that likes to show herself to anyone looking to contact her.

Hint, hint. Wink, wink.

Finally, the tour revealed some places I would love to do a ghost hunt or investigation if ever given the chance. Here are those places and why they’re haunted (AKA why I’ll have trouble convincing Ramsey to join me).

FW Wagener Building

Built by architect FW Wagener himself, the building lies on a street that is part of a busy shopping district near the bay, and has many great restaurants, hotels and galleries nearby. But in the past few years, this building has had several buildings come and go in the past few years. This may be related to the spirit of George Poirier, the son of a rich businessman who never worked a day in his life, living a life of leisure. Which became a problem when a series of events caused George to lose his fortune, leading to him hanging himself in the topmost window. He’s said to still be there, taking his rage out on patrons, which is why there’s so many businesses coming and going from the building (allegedly).

Four Corners of Law

At the intersection of Broad and Meeting in Charleston’s historic district are four buildings that have been used for various types of law: Charleston City Hall (city law), Charleston County Courthouse (state law), the US Post Office and Federal Courthouse (federal), and St. Michael’s Anglican Church (ecclesiastical law). Supposedly, a variety of spirits are known to haunt the buildings, including Lavinia Fisher, possibly America’s first known serial killer, who is said to haunt the Charleston County Courthouse, and two brides supposedly haunt St. Michael’s. Caroline showed us a photo supposedly taken of one of the brides in the church’s window, and it is scary. Like, what every CGI ghost tries to be, but way more terrifying.

The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon

Also known as the old Exchange and the Customs House, this building has seen a number of uses throughout the years, and is now a museum. Various ghosts are said to haunt the place for various reasons, but I’m especially interested in the Provost Dungeon in the basement. Conditions in the basement were terrible for prisoners, as the building regularly flooded with the tides, drowning prisoners and causing them to contract a variety of diseases. Supposedly the ghosts on this level are quite upset and are known to be violent. One tour guide was supposedly so terrified of what he experienced, he quit and has never come back.

USS Yorktown

Okay, this one wasn’t on the tour, but as I said in my Impressions of South Carolina post, the air carrier is rumored to be very haunted. To the point that they sell a book about it in the gift shop. And I thought I saw a ghost on the main floor, and felt like I was being watched in the Engine Room when I visited. And they advertise ghost tours on the website. You can see why I would want to investigate the ship.

 

In fact, you can see why I would want to investigate any of these places! And I would have never known any of this stuff, except for the Yorktown, if I hadn’t gone on the tour. So thanks to Ghost City Tours, and to Caroline, for giving me the opportunity to learn Charleston’s creepier side. And I hope to be back down in Charleston very soon. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to stay overnight at one of these locations, and see if something is there.

In the meantime, if you want to check out Ghost City Tours, their website lists all the cities they operate in, including Charleston, New Orleans and Savannah, among others. Here’s the link if you’re interested.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope you were spooked out by this post. Until next time, stay safe, pleasant nightmares, and YOUR RESIDENCE IS HAUNTED! RUN WHILE YOU STILL HAVE THE TIME!!!

Older Entries