Bats in the Belfry, Cats in the Attic

Well, it is now January 2016, and I am set to graduate from college in May. Of course, when I first started doesn't seem so long ago. Things have changed so much from when I started, and I am glad for it. I still don't completely know what it is I will do when I leave, but I have the peace of knowing that things will work out. I have so many opportunities, even despite the daunting job situation in which every employer requires at least 2-3 years of experience in addition to a degree. These past four years have given me experience working behind a desk, tutoring writing and ESL, volunteering in education, speaking publicly, and work-shopping my writing. I've gained practical experience living and working in a non-English-speaking country, at least for a short time. These things have prepared me. I feel like my horizons have broadened so much. I have worked extremely hard over these four years. If there is one thing college has taught me, it is knowing how to say no to peo...

*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...

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...

On the first of January, 2013, I started writing a spiritual Journal. It's been a little over six months since I've started it. My original motivation for beginning one happened after a little encouragement from a friend who considers herself sensitive to the paranormal. I had some experiences in the past that I could not explain, and she gave me good advice to write it all down in an attempt to figure things out. Since then, I've not only written about possible paranormal experiences, but I've also journaled through opinions, dreams, oddly coincidental experiences, troubles, and blessings. source I've never been one that has been good at keeping journals. This time, I'm glad I've stuck with it. Although only I write an entry about once a week, I can definitely tell the progress I've made in a mere six months. Since starting my journal, I've become more positive in the face of adversity. My demeanor has also become more calm, and I seem to be m...

Surprisingly, there's not very much information on the internet pertaining to keeping a spiritual journal. Sure, there's a WikiHow  page, but most of the information I've found is either vague or relating to specifically Christian spiritual journals. Actually, there are no limits for spiritual journals, so why and how you write one depend on you, the author. source I felt compelled to keep a spiritual journal for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I consider myself to be a spiritual person. I wanted to write this journal to make sense of past experiences that could possibly be paranormal-related, and I also wanted a way of tracking my spiritual growth. These are not the only reasons for starting your journal. You can use it to explore what inspires you as a person. You can also use it to reflect on dreams and nightmares .  You can even write the journal to reflect on fate and the meaning of life . If you are a religious person, you may want to write down meaningful p...

Halloween morning, I groggily skulked out of my bed, stepping on the cold tile of my bathroom. It was 6:30 am, and I was not ready to get up. Regardless, I sleepily prepared my hair and makeup, because I was determined to be Jareth the whole day.  To become The Goblin King, I took a trip down to Walmart where I purchased my man piece, which is a star of Labyrinth in it's own right. No bulge equals no Jareth, and I wanted to stay true to the movie. If you can imagine, it's pretty silly and a bit awkward going to store late at night to buy nothing but a fairly large groin gaurd.  The hair is also a big part of the costume. I prepared the hair using an 80's glam rock wig and a ton of got2b Schwarzkopf gel and spray.  Finally, came the make-up. I found a few tutorials on You tube that helped give me direction. I applied primer all over my eyelids and on half my eyebrows.  After that, I took a white cream shadow pencil, and I caked ...

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 ...

To say that I like abandoned houses is an understatement. I am extremely fascinated with them. They are forbidden time capsules with clues about the past strewn about. Each one tells a different story, and much of it is left to the imagination. I love the adventure of it all. A couple days ago, I went with a few friends to an abandoned house not too far from where I live. It was really interesting. Just as a warning, this post is heavy with pictures. We walked up to the entrance of the house. On the front porch, there were phonebooks, buttons, and bottles of schizophrenia medication.  Nathan and Jean Claire We entered through the open window, since the front door is permanently closed due to the house weighing it down.    There were piles of clothes, old belongings, and more bottles of anti psychotics strewn everywhere. On the wall, you can see "Jon", which appears to have been scrawled in glue. One of the former resi...

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 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, ...