Bats in the Belfry, Cats in the Attic

Picture taken by Moments by Monica for Ghosts of Marietta Two of my fellow ghost hunters with Historic Ghost Watch and Investigation host Wicked Paranormal Radio every Tuesday evening on Paramania Radio. Tomorrow, I will be their guest on the show from 8:00 pm-10:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. Join me for fun conversations about ghosts, my personal experiences with the paranormal, as well as my time as a ghost tour guide. This is a fun, conversational show, so prepare yourself for plenty of jokes and other random side conversations. You can listen in by going to paramaniaradio.com   tomorrow (Tuesday, June 8) at 8:00 pm EST. Just  click the "play" button at the top of the screen to start listening. If you miss the live stream, the show will be recorded and archived on Wicked Paranormal Radio's main page . Make sure to  RSVP on the Facebook event page . 

*Taken from a paper of mine in 2014           The Victorian Era, which took place during the mid-nineteenth century until the twentieth century, is a period characterized by societal change. The Industrial Revolution and clearer class divisions had taken hold, and there was an “increased ordering of leisure pursuits” especially amongst the middle and upper classes who had extra time and money (Lamont 903). Innovations in entertainment abounded, as seen through the burgeoning of cinematography, and Victorians were especially taken with “spectacles,” or shows that shocked or mesmerized audiences. In addition to new advancements in entertainment, Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution forced many to re-evaluate their orthodox religious beliefs, creating a mass crisis of faith. Caught in the middle of the revolution in entertainment and this popular crisis of belief was a uniquely Victorian situation: the emerging Spiritualist movement which challenged both conventi...

A couple of weeks ago, my ghost group, HGWI,   trekked down to have a paranormal investigation at Taylor Memorial Hospital. When we arrived in the small town, the old sprawling building just sprung up out of nowhere. When we set everything up, we toured the building and listened to some history. After sunset, we initiated our investigation.  The town really prized this hospital when it was built in the 1930's, and you could see the craftsmanship put in to it. There were high ceilings, long hallways, and remnants of marble floors in some areas. It fell in disrepair after the hospital relocated to more modern facilities in the 1970's. There was a man, they say, who acquired a large sum of money to renovate the old building, but he abandoned the project (they say because of the amount of paranormal activity he had witnessed). A nonprofit group called People Helping People United now owns the place, collecting money by hosting investigations in order to restore the buildi...

I just wanted to do a quick update this month! First off, I will be moving out in May! I'll be moving to Atlanta where I'll be cat sitting and taking Summer courses. I'm even considering doing an internship with Atlanta's very own Literary Magazine, Loose Change. I'll be cat sitting Geraldine. In addition, the week after Easter, I am supposed to be doing an overnight paranormal investigation at The Old Hawkinsville Hospital . I will definitely have posts about all of the above. On another ghostly note, how many of you have had paranormal experiences?

There are some exciting things developing in my life recently, and I'd like to share a little because, naturally, I'm excited. I'm on Spring Break right now, and it's not really a break, because I will be doing a considerable amount of schoolwork. I'm gearing up for a writing tutor conference being held at my school. I will be one of the speakers, and I will be presenting on the inherently contradictory oppressive yet liberating situation of writing studios. I'm very much looking forward to it, but as of now, I'm completely unprepared. I don't even have a paper written up, but when I do, I hope to be able to get it published in a journal. Wish me luck! I'm also taking a couple of courses this Summer. They're Brit Lit and Applied Linguistics! I'm taking the linguistics courses to earn me my TEFL certificate, so I could do literacy outreach with refugees in the states, or I could teach abroad if that's where life takes me. I'm also ...

Swarms of flies, strange noises, shadowy figures, possessed children climbing up the walls...These all sound like elements from a horror film, but these occurrences characterize a recent paranormal case from Indiana that's been circulating through the media. So far, this case has been well-documented with records from local police and Department of Child Services, psychological evaluations, and priest intervention. After reading one article from USA Today, I find  it compelling that a DCS report details one of the children being "lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him." Despite this many written records from seemingly credible sources, there are still some loose ends. Demon in the photo? There's an app for that. First of all, I'm wondering why there is no video or photo documentation. In a case like this, it should have occurred to someone to document this on camera. In the reports I've read, the homeowner hired clairvoyants and reque...

Noonday Missionary Baptist Church's Cemetery is also known as "Devil's Turnaround." It is located along a little back road in Kennesaw, Georgia, and most of the graves are scattered in the woods. It is easy to miss, but some of the gravestones are visible from the road. The cemetery has graves from the 1860's. I wouldn't doubt that some of its occupants were slaves at one time. Many say the land is haunted by malevolent spirits who hurl objects and make physical contact--shoving, scratching, and even biting visitors. I could understand why any lingering spirits might be upset: These grounds have been terribly neglected. Much of the graves are broken and toppled over. Some are barely visible through the overgrowth of ivy and weeds. People also say the root of the haunting may be related to rumored cult rituals performed on the property. Located right by the cemetery are huge power lines (high voltage transmission lines). I could hear them b...

"Ghost Hunting" is not only an activity, but it is also a subculture. A Subculture is defined as:      "a group having social, economic, ethnic, or other traits distinctive          enough to distinguish it from others within the same culture or              society." -Dictonary.com By definition, Ghost Hunting is classified as a subculture. It has it's own basic beliefs, celebrities, shows and movies, books and magazines, and conventions. It even has it's own set of demographics, which is mainly adult white males. This subculture is also part of a larger paranormal community. Not all people into the Paranormal are ghost hunters, but every investigator I know of is into the Paranormal. Investigators and paranormal enthusiasts have a wide range of beliefs, but with the uniting belief that there is something else out there. This could be  cryptozoology, UFO's, Ghosts, elementals, etc. source...

As people view the world of investigations, ghost stories, and psychics through the television, many aspire to become directly involved in the paranormal field. Before you jump into ghost hunting with preconceived notions, I'd like to offer some helpful advice: Who ya gonna call? An investigator's mindset:  There is a certain mindset everyone should have when approaching the paranormal. First, keep an open mind . This seems like the most obvious. If there are enough stories surrounding a location, there's probably something to it.   You should always have a healthy dose of skepticism . It's important to think about all of the possibilities behind the suspected paranormal occurrences. Don't automatically jump to conclusions about the source of the activity. For example, there are many instances where a "cold spot" in the room is just the Air Conditioning vent overhead.   Don't be hysterical. I see this way to often on television...mainly fr...

I've been feeling inspired recently. Maybe I'm watching too many of my stories...and by 'my stories', I mean paranormal junk television. It's a guilty pleasure of mine. My recent inspiration has driven me to start posting more about the paranormal. No longer will this intense interest of mine be neglected on this blog. I've posted about paranormal subjects in the past, but not as much as I'd like. I plan to post about various phenomena, anecdotes, possible scientific explanations, investigating, opinions of mine, etc. For my new readers: Welcome and thanks for following! I am a paranormal investigator. I am considerably lucky to have gotten entangled with a very capable group of investigators. I've learned much from them since getting involved in 2011, and I don't plan on stopping. Despite growing up with one superstitious side of the family (maternal), I was never a wholehearted believer until I had a meaningful encounter at the age of 16. (You c...

Some of you may be familiar with the television show, "A Haunting." If you aren't it's a paranormal series that incorporates interviews and re-enactments to tell a story about hauntings, possessions, and other phenomena. I've been watching this show for years, and it's always entertained me. It is often cheesy and over dramatic, but that's just a part of the show's charm. More recently, [ my paranormal investigating group ] gained a Father. He's an Orthodox priest, and his name is [ Father Darren ]. (See what I did there?) Father Darren, who's also known as Father Benedict, is experienced in the paranormal field. He's also an exorcist. He's there for us when the group or client might be suspicious of a haunting of darker nature. What does this have to do with "A Haunting," you ask? Well, Father Darren was recently featured in Episode 9 Season 5 (alongside my fellow ghost tour guide Michelle).  In the episode, Father Darre...

Many people may not know, but I rarely use the term, 'Ghost Hunting.' Usually I prefer to use 'Paranormal Investigating,' 'Paranormal Research,' or simply 'Investigating.' There's actually a specific reason for this. I feel that the term is inaccurate to describe how I perceive the field. The word, 'Hunting' is defined in the as "The pursuit and killing or capture of game and wild animals, regarded as sport." 'Hunting' is obviously an aggressive word, and I do not associate it with what my group and I do. 'Ghost Hunting' may accurately describe the 'investigating' style of the Ghost Adventures crew. If you have seen this program, you know what I am talking about. The team, especially Zak Bagans, are what ghost bullies would be. They aggressively confront and hunt down whatever entity may be on location. This, unfortunately, seems to be the style nowadays with many groups. This makes it that much harder fo...

I decided to do my first poll on this blog. Do you believe in the paranormal? I'm curious to see my readers' answers, so please take the time to vote! The paranormal is a very vague term. It can range from anything to ghosts, vampires, or Sasquatch (Bigfoot). It you check either of the yeses, this does not mean you have to believe in ALL entities relating to the paranormal (you don't have to believe in Bigfoot). So here are your options: Yes, I think it's possible. Yes! I've experienced it! No I do not. I'm not sure... Go forth and cast thy vote! If you read this blog, you probably already know that I do indeed believe in the paranormal. I've had multiple experiences, some more blatant than others, that I do consider to be paranormal. Before I had one specific encounter, I was unsure, but I thought the idea of there being spirits and what not was romantic. Here is a post I did in the past about my experiences with the paranormal (Before I ...

There is much mystery surrounding the art of dowsing. For those of you who are curious, I'm going to share what dowsing is, the uses of it, my experiences with dowsing, and possible explanations surrounding it. source Dowsing, or divining, is considered to be a form of divination  in which the operator holds two L-shaped rods or a Y-shaped rod in order to locate things such as water, metals, gravesites, buried treasure, and even lost items. This method of divination has been considered useful for thousands of years. Dowsing was even condemned at one point for being "satanic," and it was strictly forbidden, especially with puritan settlers in the new world. Today, it is used by hobbyists, including myself, and even in murder investigations. If you would like to learn more about how to dowse, look here . I bought my first pair of dowsing rods two years ago when I went on vacation to Salem, Massachusetts. I got them from a very lovely shop that I highly recommend cal...

source      It's late. It's the middle of the night, and you are suddenly woken up by your phone. You're wondering who could be calling at this hour. The ring sounds off; It is slightly flat. You rub your eyes and reluctantly look at the phone. Caller ID doesn't recognize the number, but you pick it up anyway. The connection is bad, and you can hardly hear the person through the static. Amidst the white noise, you hear, "It's me. I love you. Don't worry about me."  This is impossible, you think to yourself. It sounded so much like your grandfather...your grandfather died six months ago.      There have been many reporting of similar situations. These are considered by the masses to be a paranormal phenomenon called Phone Calls From The Dead (PCFTD). The first I heard about this was from Queen Of The Damned by Anne Rice. Jesse, a main character who is a red haired psychic archaeologist, decides to visit Lestat's old townhome in New O...

     I mentioned in a previous post that I have had a few ghostly encounters of my own. As promised, this post will be dedicated to my personal tales of my experiences with the paranormal. I will share four distinct instances that I consider to be paranormal. Brace yourselves, because I didn't really want to share these experiences since I don't want to give the impression that I am delusional. I am not delusional, I can assure you. I just happen to be blessed with some interesting accounts.      When I was six years old, my mother would always tell me that I would talk, moan, sweat, and move around in my sleep. I used to get terrible nightmares for a six year old. I recall waking up in the middle of the night so I could vomit in the toilet. One morning, I woke up to get ready for school. My parents were standing over my bed with concerned looks. when they pulled the covers off of me, I looked down at my hands. My little six year old ha...

I listed on my description that I am a Paranormal Investigator, so I am going to clarify that just a bit by telling you the story of how I became involved. Over July 2011, I was dreading a huge research project. This project allowed everyone to pick almost any topic of interest and gain experience in the field. If you know me, I hardly do anything halfway. I could’ve chosen quilting or pottery-making, but no. I chose Paranormal Investigation. I chose this topic because it is relative to my interests in all things dark, mysterious, and unknown. I also never thought those absurd TV shows did the field any justice. I wanted to see for myself what the field really was about.  When I had my topic decided, I had to then find an experienced Ghost Hunter to mentor me.                 Finding a legitimate mentor was incredibly difficult. I google-searched to no avail until I finally found a group. To my surprise, ...