Flight of the Skyhawks: Summertime
Summer is here!
In Saskatchewan it officially came at 5:51 a.m. (I know this because my alarm clock radio was blaring the news at the time and it said so). Summertime means summer like activities, you know, like going outside and braving the scare ball in the sky. This also means that Black Mask & Pale Rider will be taking a short vacation as well. This will give me some time to do some much needed clean up on the story, plus present the next part in a much better fashion than what I presently have.
Fear not, dear reader!
This doesn’t mean there won’t be any stories to read. After all, Blood of the Moon will be continuing, and Flag on my Backpack begins July 1st, which will be the summer replacement (think of it like TV, but with text, and your imagination creates the pictures). Also, look for a new draft of the first series, complete with stills drawn by Clarissa R. Hummel. I’m using the summer months to do some sun shine activities, relax and do some reading (which means adding some much needed reviews to current web lit I’ve been reading at Web Fiction Guide). Also, I’m going to be preparing for this coming October’s 31 Days of Ghosts: 2010 Edition. I’ve got something special this time around, that factors in with the western style that Black Mask & Pale Rider have been involved in. Thet’s raight, pardner! Ghost stories of the Wild West! Plus! Blood of the Moon will have a Halloween Special, as each day in October will have a new, ongoing series dedicated to all things spooky!
So that’s the deal for the summer months. Hope you have an enjoyable and fun filled summer. Flight of the Skyhawks will return! Fear not dear readers!
Ghost Stories: The Wrap Up and Other News
Welcome to the day after Halloween. Yesterday was a blast, and we hope that you found all of our blog posts useful and entertaining as we did when we wrote them up.
I’d like to give many thanks to the friends I have out there on the internet who were kind enough to post banners on their websites and offer a guest post for the blog.
James Melzer
Jennifer Hudock
Philippa Ballentine
Ray Onativia
Rope (A city of Heroes fried of mine and Tim’s)
Ya’ll rock my socks.
Tim and I had a goal this month of 5,000 views. We met and exceeded that goal with 5,905. Thank you all for clicking and viewing.
Another exciting thing was we were getting hits from scifiwire.com, which is a website powered by the SyFy channel. We appreciate this very much. We can’t express verbally how awesome everyone has made us feel.
Now to what went on Halloween!
I had decided in the beginning of the month that I was going to make completely homemade costumes. I didn’t really (and never really) have the money to spend on a costume for myself or for my kidlet. However I was in the Halloween store more for his birthday party that is coming up than I was for anything that actually dealt with Halloween.
This year I spent a whole 12 dollars and some change on his costume. My little boy went out as a gumball machine. It wasn’t a hard thing to construct. Some balloons, a clear trash bag, three glow sticks and a red turtle neck and pants. I also painted a small box bright colors and put fifty cents on the sides.
The reaction from people were priceless, they loved how creative it was and gave out candy by the tons.
I was working with my brother’s digital camera, since mine wonder off into the unknown and the time stamp was activated as well as wrong so all of my pictures were taken on 01/01/2007. Amazing how I can change weather conditions, as well as go to the past for pictures.
LGIB went Trick or Treating with me as well. Though she was too scared to knock on some of the doors unless I made her do it. Her costume was a goth girl and she doesn’t normally like her picture taken in the first place so I was unable to get a picture of her in her costume.
Now in Bloomington there is a time frame of which children are allowed to Trick or Treat. 5:30pm to 8:30pm the little goblins and ghouls and in my case gumball machines can trick or treat in safety. At 8:30 the trick or treating is over. However this doesn’t stop the festivities that continue well into the wee hours of Halloween. Bloomington being a college town has to be strict when it comes to the safety and comfort of it’s residences.
I also decided to dress up this year. I went with something I knew I could pull off and would be inexpensive for me as well. A Gypsy. I already owned skirts, dress, and other gypsy things. But this year I went a little more out and spent a few dollars on some jewelry, hair extensions and a scarf.
This was the result. I felt this year was more successful for the Halloween month than any previous year. It’s been an exciting month to say the least.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Ghost Stories: Spirit Photography
What exactly is spirit photography?
According to some, it is a spirit that appears only in a photograph. Over the years many different spirits have been captured on film, but whether they are real or not is a completely different question.
The first record of spirit photography was with William H. Mumler in the 1860′s. He took a self portrait and later discovered a second figure when he was the only one standing for the picture. As it turned out, he actually had made a double exposure. Still, he became a medium, and began taking photos and retouching them with images of long lost loves and relatives. His scam was revealed when he began using well known members of Boston society as spirits, but these people weren’t yet dead. Mumler’s most famous photograph is that of Mary Todd Lincoln, with the phantom figure of her husband, Abraham clearly seen.
Wisegeek.com explains it as such:
In its broadest sense, spirit photography refers to any type of photograph that appears to have captured supernatural phenomena. Examples may include photographs of ghosts, fairies, aura, or images created by thought. Photographs of cryptids, animals with no definitive proof of their existence, are not considered spirit photography. While many examples of spirit photography through the years have been debunked as fakes, others remain unexplained.
During the Victorian era, when photography was just in its infancy and used as an artform, spirit photography was quite popular. Driven by people who were spiritual in nature, and wished to contact loved ones who passed on. This was especially true for the many bereaved during the American Civil War.
While many spirit photographs are of a shadowy figure, many display strange lights or orbs. Often, many of these photographs can be explained, but a good number go unexplained.
Another kind of spirit photograph is the psychic photograph, that creates an image as imagined by the photographer. This type of photography is called nensha in Japanese, and the most famous examples were created in Japan in the early 20th century under the study of professor Tomokichi Fukurai.
Still today there are many out there who claim the have had visitations through the lens of a camera, and the age of digital has not stopped this from slowing down. No, in fact, it’s sped up the number of people who claim that they have seen, or rather captured some sort of ghostly apparition through their telephoto lens.
Ghost Stories: Curse of the Mummies
We switch from the familiar settings of North America and Europe to the exotic locale of Egypt for today’s 31 Days of Ghosts.
The Royal Cobra (Uraeus), representing the protector goddess Wadjet , atop the mask of Tutankhamun
For decades we have been told of the Curse of the Mummies, a supposed curse that affects anyone who enters the tomb of an ancient Pharoh of Egypt. The curse has been used in varying degrees with many different Pharohs, but newspapers did not begin reporting the curse until Archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. Stories of men on the expidition who met an untimely fate began to arise and circulate through European and American newspapers. In the end, many of the untimely deaths were explained scientifically rather than giving way to belief of something more supernatural.
Many of those on Howard’s expidition in the 1920′s actually lived well into their seventies before dying. Others that did die weeks after the opening of the tomb, could have, it was explained, succumbed to bacteria that hadn’t seen the light of day for centuries. Needless to say, there are still those today that believe in the Curse of the Mummies.
The Egyptologist Zahi Hawass who believes the display of Mummies in museums is a lesser evil than allowing the general public into tombs
Egyptologist Zahi Hawass is one modern day scientis who believes that the curse should be heeded. While there is a great deal to learn about the pyramids, they are still graves. Hawass believes that the public should not be allowed inside the pyramids, but does resign to the fact displaying the mummified corpses in a museum is the lesser of two evils. On one dig, Hawass recalled the removal of two mummies, children. He had nightmares that involved the children until such time as the father was reunited with them in the museum. Don’t get excited, the father was another mummy put on display.
The death of Lord Carnarvon six weeks after the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb resulted in many curse stories in the press
That’s not to say that down playing the curse wasn’t still intriguing. It was common in private tombs in the Old Kingdom to have a warning etched into their crypts. Although, the tombs of Pharohs did not often have a curse, they were severe in their warnings. ”As for all men who shall enter this my tomb…impure..there will be judgment…an end shall be made for him..I shall seize his neck like a bird…I shall cast the fear of myself into him” This lovely piece was written on the tomb of Khentika Ikhekhi (9-10th dynasty).
Nevertheless, whether this curse has been debunked by science or lives on in the imaginations of millions, the curse is an interesting thing. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle speculated that the deaths of those who opened King Tut’s tomb in 1922 succumbed to a deadly fungus. In truth, there were only three recorded deaths shortly after the opening of the tomb, but Rupert Furneaux wrote in his book The World’s Strangest Mysteries that many more can be counted for as a result of opening the tomb, and even goes so far as to list them all.
But maybe, as Zahi Hawass quoted once, they are very, very real.
Cursed be those who disturb the rest of a Pharoh. They that shall break the seal of this tomb shall meet death by a disease that no doctor can diagnose.
Ghost Stories: Catacombs of Paris
Paris. The city of romance, adventure and food. At least on the surface, but did you know that under Paris is a large mass grave?
The Catacombs of Paris are a famous underground grave site known as Oussary. Due to an act of vandalism in September of this year, Paris officials closed the gates to the once open to the public area. Officials didn’t say what the extent of the damage was; just that it had become hazardous for the public.
These extensive tunnels under Paris began in the 18th century. This was when cemeteries couldn’t handle the amount of dead that was coming in. Neighbors to the cemeteries were getting sick with diseases because of the open graves, improper burial and all around improper care of the dead.
Based on the idea of Police Lieutenant General Alexandre Lenoir, the remains of the cemeteries were removed and placed in the abandoned quarries under the city. This was done as discreetly once the cemeteries within the city were condemned. The process of disinterring the bones from the cemeteries, moving them solemnly into the quarries, and arranging them there took several decades.The tunnels that are under the city were used to mine rock and other materials to build Paris. Once abandoned, they served no other purpose.
The current size of the Catacombs has been recorded at 300km (184.62mi) under the streets of Paris. This makes building extremely difficult and often dangerous.
The entrance to the catacombs isn’t a grand one like most of the museums that fill Paris. It’s nothing more than a simple black door which you would miss if you aren’t looking for it. It’s a long walk down to the main entrance, which is marked with a sign.
“Arrête! C’est ici l’empire de la mort.”
Stop! This is the empire of death
The walls appear to be stone at first, but upon closer examination it begins to take on a more macabre tone as the features become more distinct. The wall consists of human remains all neat and orderly as they sit upon each other.
Tibias and femurs by the thousands are stacked, interspersed with rows of skulls, which were sometimes arranged very artistically in a cross or other pattern. There isn’t a single skeletons intact; the goal of the arrangement had clearly been maximum compactness. Ribs, spines, and other bones filled in the spaces behind the walls of large leg bones. The tunnels of bones stretched on and on; many side passages were blocked with locked gates, but even the path designated for tourists was about a mile long.
No one has made an attempt to identify the bodies, but they do have plaques stating which cemetery they came from. There is also no map of these tunnels; rather there is nothing extensive.
The Catacombs are ever growing, and heavy fines are placed on the trespassers who go where they aren’t supposed. It’s not uncommon for a “cataphile” to get lost in these tunnels. A Cataphile is a spelunker for all intents and purposes. They explore the caverns in hopes of finding a new area.
Except for the sounds of tourist chattering, flashes of lights from cameras, and dripping water, the tombs are quiet. Eerily so. As for haunts. There’s the remains of six million or more people. You tell me.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Ghost Stories: The Wilde Hunt
While it may not be a ghost story per say, it is something of haunting legend. The Wilde Hunt has it’s place in historical folklore, from the Nordic tribes, the Prussian tribes, Celts, and even First Nation people in North America. A modern day aspect of the Wilde Hunt is depicted in the song, famously sung by Johnny Cash, Ghost Riders in the Sky, and covered by numerous artists including Brooks and Dunn, Spiderbait, The Blues Brothers and more. Here’s Spiderbait’s version, along with some scenes from the Ghost Rider movie, that can be said is inspired by the Wilde Hunt.
The Wilde Hunt has a long history, dating back to the Middle Ages. The hunt was called many names by different cultures including Woden’s Hunt, Cain’s Hunt, The Devil’s Dandy Dogs, Herod’s Hunt and in North American Native lore Ghost Riders. In each case, the description is similar; huntsmen riding on horseback in the sky with hunting dogs as they chase down their prey. Often the legend was used to describe thunderstorms.
The hunters themselves may be the dead or fairies, while the lead huntsman may be some unidentified lost soul, a deity or spirit of either gender, or even a well known figure such as Dietrich of Berne, the Danish king Valdermar Atterdag, Woden or Arawn.
It has been variously referred to as Wilde Jagd (German: “wild chase”) or Wildes Heer (German: “wild host”), Herlaþing (Old English: “Herla’s assembly”), Mesnée d’Hellequin (Old North French: “household of Hellequin“), Cŵn Annwn (Welsh: “hounds ofAnnwn”), and Åsgårdreia (Norwegian: “ride of Asgard”).
Often it was believed that to witness the hunt was an omen of some coming catastrophe such as famine or war, while at best the death of the one who witnessed it. Others believed that the spirit of those sleeping would be drawn in to join the cavalcade.
The origin of the story can be placed with the Germanic nations, and to some degree, Nordic tribes. The Norse god Odin in his many forms, astride his eight-legged steed Sleipnir, came to be associated with the Wild Hunt in Scandinavia because of his aspect of berserking. Odin acquired the aspect of the Wild Huntsman, along with Frigg. The passage of this hunt was also referred to as Odin’s Hunt. People who saw the passing hunt and mocked it were cursed and would mysteriously vanish along with the host; those that joined in sincerity were rewarded with gold. In the wake of the passing storm (which the Hunt was often identified with), a black dog would be found upon a neighboring hearth. To remove it, it would need to be exorcised similar to the custom for removing changelings. However, if it could not be removed by trickery, it must be kept for a whole year and carefully tended.
According to much research, the object of the hunt varied, from a phantom boar to a wild horse to white-breasted maidens that could only be taken once every seven years, and even wood nymphs or Moss Maidens. Often, the Moss Maidens represented the drying leaves that fell from trees as the wind picked them up and carried them off, which made sense as the Wild Hunt was associated with the harsh winds of autumn and winter.
The wild hunt has been known so well all over the world it has been seen in popular culture of the 20th Century, most notably in the above mentioned song, Ghost Riders in the Sky. As well, it can be said to be a direct influence on the character of Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider comics from Marvel Comics. Other novels have used references which point to the wild hunt, either directly or indirectly. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings has an aspect of the Wild Hunt with the Dead Men of Dunharrow. Jim Butcher’s Dresdenverse explores the Wild Hunt as Harry Dresden searches for an infamous necromancer’s book that is said to summon the Wild Hunt. Heck, even I added my own twist to the Wild Hunt, as the elven gunslingers Shani Wennemein and Pania Alow faced the huntsman together with Martin Derringer in the Adventures of Black Mask & Pale Rider.
To be certain, the Wild Hunt is a long held folklore that will be seen and heard for many years and generations to come.
Ghost Stories: The Flying Dutchman
Sailors all over the world know the legend of the Flying Dutchman. For them it’s a sign of impending doom. For many of us land lubbers, the story of the Flying Dutchman is something we only hear about through movies or books.
The legends behind the Flying Dutchman are based on facts. It’s said that it began in 1641 after a Dutch ship sank off the coast of Cape Good Hope.
Captain van der Decken was making his way back to Holland. His trip to the Far East had been a success. When the Flying Dutchman came the tip of Africa, Van der Decken thought it wise that he should make a suggestion to the Dutch East India Company to make a settlement at the Cape he was passing. This was to offer hospitable portage for sailors all over.
Disney's Flying Dutchman
The Captain was lost in this thoughts that he didn’t notice the storm he had sailed his crew into. It was too late when he did realize it. He and his crew battled for hours to get out of the storm and at one point, it looked like they would make it. Only the ship had hit rocks and began to sink. Van der Decken, not ready to die as his ship plunged into the murky waters, screamed out a curse: “I WILL round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until doomsday!”
Even today whenever a storm brews off the Cape of Good Hope, if you look into the eye of the storm, you will be able to see the ship and its captain – The Flying Dutchman. Don’t look too carefully, for the old folk claim that whoever sights the ship will die a terrible death. Many people have claimed to have seen The Flying Dutchman, including the crew of a German submarine boat during World War II and holidaymakers.
The captains name differs from legend to legend, but the story remains pretty much the same. Is there really ship that is doomed to sail eternally? Beats me. But sailors have sworn to see such thing and tragedy usually befalls them. This could probably just be summed up as a coincidence of fear.
As it was once told many a times. To fear something is to give it power.
Keep it real and rockin
<3
Ghost Stories: Batoche
“We must cherish our inheritance. We must preserve our nationality for the youth of our future. The story should be written down to pass on.”
Louis Riel
The 1880′s were a tumultuous time in the Canadian North West. European and American settlers were venturing into what would become the three prairie provinces; Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Several years previous, the Canadian government already had problems with an uprising at the Red River Settlement. This uprising was lead by a man named Louis Riel.
Riel was a strange one to be certain. On the one hand, he help found the province of Manitoba and lead a provisional government in the province’s infancy. Militia sent by Ottawa managed to push back the first uprising in 1869 to 1870. Riel fled to Montana where he married and had children. During his time in exile, voters actually elected him to the House of Commons three times.
He returned in the early 1880′s to what is now the province of Saskatchewan.
The events that follow lead to the bloodiest battle between First Nations, Metis and the Canadian Government in this country’s history.
Louis Riel’s main quest was to find equality and rights for all Metis people. Being of First Nation and either French or Scottish decent, the government did not recognize them as Treaty Indians. Nor did they recognize them as members of the Crown. It was common place for Metis settlers to find their own land being sold off to European settlers without any compensation.
Riel has been described as both a Father of Confederation and a traitor. In Quebec, he was held in high regard as a hero and there were many out cries of injustice when Riel was hanged in Regina after the Rebellion of 1885. Riel’s commitment to justice and equality for Metis people cannot be questioned. Even his high regard of all fellow human beings, whether they be friend or foe. As is written in his own memoirs and written by others who knew him, he did not speak ill toward anyone.
So what does all of this have to do with ghosts. Batoche, Duck Lake and even nearby Battleford were the scenes of the bloodiest battle for rights and privileges in Saskatchewan’s history. It is not surprising that along with that history there remains spirits to help keep it alive.
Batoche was established in 1872 as a Metis settlement and named for Xavier Letendre dit Batoche. By 1885, 500 people lived in the village. There were several stores and a Roman Catholic church. Batoche was also the seat of government for Riel’s Provisional Government of Saskatchewan. The village was populated by not only Metis, but by French Canadians, and had a strong Catholic faith. The Catholic church, which still stands in the now Nation Heritage Site of Batoche, is a clear indicator of the battle long since past. It’s walls still bullet ridden.
The villagers fled Batoche during and after the battles, leaving the site a true ghost town. Many of the buildings still stand today, and as it is a Heritage site, it is a reminder of the blood that spilled in the days before Saskatchewan became a province.
Riel’s execution in Regina was reported on in newspapers all over the world. Britain defended the decision to execute him, stating that treason was still a crime. French newspapers called it a slap in the face to the French by British hands, and continued to show the contempt that the United Kingdom had for France. Papers in Italy reported that the Catholic church was very worried about the decision to hang Riel, as he was a very devote member of the Church. In the United States, the reaction was mixed, some heralding Riel as a hero, others as a halfbreed terrorist. However, The Philadelphia Inquirer had the most accurate comment on the matter.
The ghost of Louis Riel will haunt Canadian statesmen for many a day.
And in truth, it did.
As recently as 2006, Bills have passed through the House of Commons, some demanding that a national holiday in recognition of Louis Riel be announced, others demanding that Riel be pardoned and his mark of record to show that he was not a traitor of Canada. To have this kind of affect almost one hundred years after his death is truly amazing.
Since 1905, the year Saskatchewan became a province, buildings have been named for Riel, highways, dorm areas, statues erected, and even a play written dramatizing the trial of Louis Riel. Metis people have acquired similar rights and freedoms as those of First Nation decent and of European ancestry.
But what of the battle sites themselves?
Stories linger that there can be voices heard, apparitions of soldiers from both sides of the war, from the battles sites in Batoche all the way to Fort Carlton and Battleford. The fort in Battleford is also an historic site, and many of those who work there as tour guides dressed in period costume have confirmed some strange goings on.
Perhaps it is the ghost of Riel come back. Logic would dictate no. Logic even discards the thought that the spirits could be others with close ties to Riel, such as Gabriel Dumont. Dumont escaped Canada, and lived in the States for a few years before the Canadian government granted him amnesty. Dumont lived out his days near Batoche, hunting and farming.
But between the various battle sites there are strange and unexplained happenings. Possibly and most likely, some of these events that go unexplained may have some direct connection to the battles of 1885 in the heart of the Canadian Prairies.
“I am more convinced everyday that without a single exception I did right… and I have always believed that, as I have acted honestly, the time will come when the people of Canada will see and acknowledge it.”
Louis Riel
31 Days of Ghosts: 50 Berkeley Square
For fifty years now the location of 50 Berkeley Square has been owned by Maggs Brothers Antiquarian Booksellers. The walls are lined with many books, some from famous authors, others long forgotten.
It’s the legends and stories that go along with 50 Berkeley Square that make one of the most infamously haunted houses today. As with most ghost stories, this one starts with a love gone awry.
A Mr. Myers was living in the house and furnished it for his bride-to-be. However the discontented bride-to-be jilted him and left him with a broken heart. Myers, to escape society lived in the famous top room of the house and would often walk around the house at night to see what should have been the scene of his happiness bathed in candlelight. His midnight wanderings could have laid the foundations for ghost story.
It has been told that many a guest have stayed and quite a few of them have been frightened to death or left insane enough they cannot tell what is that scared that them so.
Now Berkeley Square has been known for it’s supernatural and paranormal activities. This could be due to plague pits that are in and around this area of London. Whatever this thing is that is haunting Berkeley Square will probably not be leaving anytime soon.
Another interesting piece of paranormal tellings that I have found about 50 Berkeley Square:
In 1840, the 20-year-old dandy and notorious rake Sir Robert Warboys heard the eerie rumours about the Berkeley Square Thing in a Holborn tavern one night, and laughingly dismissed the tales as ‘unadulterated poppycock’.
Sir Robert’s friends disagreed with him, and dared him to spend a night in the haunted second-floor room in Berkeley Square.
Warboys raised his flagon of ale in the air and announced: ‘I wholeheartedly accept your preposterous harebrained challenge!’
That same night, Sir Robert visited the haunted premises to arrange an all-night vigil with the landlord. The landlord tried to talk Sir Robert out of the dare, but the young man refused to listen, and demanded to be put up for the night in the haunted room. The landlord finally gave in to Sir Robert’s demands, but stipulated two conditions; if the young man saw anything ‘unearthly’ he was to pull a cord that would ring a bell in the landlord’s room below. Secondly, Sir Robert would have to be armed with a pistol throughout the vigil. The young libertine thought the conditions were absurd, but agreed to them just to get the landlord out of his hair.
The landlord handed Warboys a pistol and left as a clock in the room chimed the hour of midnight. Sir Robert sat at a table in the candlelit room and waited for the ‘Thing’ to put in an appearance.
Forty-five minutes after midnight, the landlord was startled out of his sleep by the violent jangling of the bell. A single gunshot in the room above echoed through the house. The landlord raced upstairs and found Sir Robert sitting on the floor in the corner of the room with a smoking pistol in his hand. The young man had evidently died from traumatic shock, for his eyes were bulged, and his lips were curled from his clenched teeth. The landlord followed the line of sight from the dead man’s terrible gaze and traced it to a single bullet hole in the opposite wall. He quickly deduced that Warboys had fired at the ‘Thing’, to no avail.
People have undoubtedly heard screams of terror from this house. Stories and legends have weaved their way into the history of the Square. The house remained unoccupied for a good while. And when the Maggs Bros. moved in it has seemed that the now shop is quiet. But that doesn’t stop the dark tales from existing.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Ghost Stories: Banff Springs Hotel
History of the Banff Springs Hotel
The original wooden structure of the Banff Springs Hotel was built in 1888 as a result of the westward movement of the Canadian Pacific Railway. William Van Horne, the Vice President of the CPR, ordered the construction of the Banff Springs Hotel because of the breathtaking mountain scenery and the natural hot springs. He saw the potential of this site as a world-class tourist resort.
In 1926, the original wooden hotel burned down and massive reconstruction began. The new hotel was fashioned after a Scottish castle with towers and stone walls. In the 1930s, the Banff Springs Hotel became a popular destination for celebrities and royalty. The hotel became known as the Castle of the Rockies.
Other well-known hotels in the Canadian Pacific chain are the Royal York Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, the Empress Hotel in Victoria, the Hotel Vancouver, the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, and the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.
The Secret Room at the Banff Springs Hotel
When building the original wooden hotel, there was an error made by the contractor. They ended up with a room that had no windows or doors but it was kept secret by the builders. The room was not discovered until the fire occurred in 1926. There had been reports of apparitions roaming the hall in the vicinity of this room.
Room 873 at the Banff Springs Hotel
This room is no longer in service and the door has been covered with brick and board to match the rest of the hallway. It is rumoured that a family was killed in this room. Because a little girl’s fingerprints on the mirrors inside the room could not be wiped off, it was decided to seal off the room. Guests can see ghosts of family members in the hallway.
The Doomed Bride at the Banff Springs Hotel
There are two stories regarding the ghost of a bride at the hotel. Dressed in her wedding gown, she was descending a staircase. She tripped on her gown and fell down the stairs and died of a broken neck. The other story reveals that there were candles on the staircase and her gown caught fire and in a panic she fell down the staircase and died. There have been reports of the apparition of a young woman in a long flowing white dress walking down the staircase or dancing in the ballroom. Hotel staff have heard noises in the bridal suite on days when there were no registered guests for the room. People have also seen the spirit of a young woman on the stairs with her dress on fire. Then she vanishes.
The Bellman at the Banff Springs Hotel
The most popular ghost is that of Sam Macauley, a bellman who died in 1976. Not too long after Sam’s death, the ghost of a bellman wearing a 1960s uniform has been seen and the description fitted Sam perfectly. He has been known to help people who are locked out of their rooms or turn on the room lights or help carry bags. His favourite haunt is the 9th floor. Anytime people try to tip him or start a conversation, the ghost of Sam will vanish.
Other Ghosts at the Banff Springs Hotel
Hotel guests and staff have reported sightings of the ghost bartender telling customers that they have drank too much and need to go to bed. The spirit of a headless man playing the bagpipes has been reported on occasion. Guests have reported a chilly breeze on the staircase where the bride had fallen.
The Banff Springs Hotel is a grand hotel and it’s understandable why people from the spirit world don’t want to leave.
Ghost Stories: Myrtles Plantation
Claimed to be the most haunted house in the world, Myrtles Plantation is located in St. Francesville, Louisiana. The amount of paranormal activity here is quite impressive. Hand prints in the mirrors, footsteps on the stairs, mysterious smells, vanishing objects, death by poison, hangings, murder and gunfire — these are just a few of the things that have occurred supernaturally
The house was built in 1794 by David Bradford, who was leader of the Whiskey Rebellion and said to havea price on his head by President George Washington. After trading his home for 230 barrels of flour, he moved his family down the to plantation house where he lived until 1817
While Bradford was alive, he took students in to learn law, one of which married his daughter Sarah Matilda. His name was Clark Woodruff. It was Woodruff that bought the plantation from his mother-in-law. Woodruff and his wife lived there with their three children.
However tragedy befell the family when Sarah Matilda contracted yellow fever and died shortly after, along with two of their children.
In April 1835, Woodruff sold the house toRuffin Grey Stirling. The Stirling’s were a very wealthy family who owned several plantations on both sides of the Mississippi River. On January 1, Ruffin Grey Stirling and his wife, Mary Catherine Cobb, took over the house, land, buildings and all of the slaves that had been bought from Elizabeth Bradford by her son-in-law.
The house traded hands several times over the years and the stories followed with it.
Woodruff was known for his promiscuity and forced himself on a house servant known only as Chloe. Rather than be sent out to the fields to work, she allowed him his sexual demands. When Woodruff grew tired of Chloe, she resorted to eavesdropping on the family, listening for her name to come out. It was Woodruff that caught her and punished her by cutting off an ear.
Later she had her revenge when she toss a handful of oleander into a birthday cake for Woodruff. While Woodruff didn’t eat any, his wife and two children did. It is said they supposedly died from oleander poisoning.
Fear of their master, the other slaves, dragged Chloe from the house and hanged her in a tree. They then attached rocks to her feet and tossed her into the river.
It’s believed that Chloe still haunts the grounds. She’s been sighted between two buildings on the land. She’s often been sighted when a child cries, and she responds to the cry or leaning down over a sleeping guest.
While these have been accepted as facts, what really happen no one will know as there was no actual evidence that anything like this had taken place.
A mirror in the house is said to have some of the victims trapped within. Causing handprints on the inside of the glass. Oddly enough, the glass was replaced and still the hand prints came back.
More haunting tales of Myrtles are dealing with probably the only movie that was filmed there that wasn’t of a paranormal nature. The cast and crew of The Long Hot Summer experienced shifting furniture. The crew would move the furniture only to return and find it back in the original places.
There have been many claims for Myrtles Plantation, but with a history that’s muddle, broken and missing in places, it’s hard to pinpoint any one true account. Employees have first hand experience with the supernatural beings of Myrtles Plantation. One man was hired as a gate man to meet and greet people as they came to the Plantation. He opened the gates for a woman dressed in white who didn’t speak a word to him. He quit his job and never returned when she vanished through the front door without opening it.
There is even a piano that is said to start playing music by itself and stop when someone enters the room.
The legends and stories of Myrtles will be around for years to come. It’s amazing how much stuff there is lurking in this house. How many people claim to have had paranormal experiences. Its things like this that will keep people going back year after year.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Zodi note: There is tons of information that I have left out. Feel free to google around about it. You’ll be amazed at what you learn.
Monster Mash
I just learned this today, and it’s a perfect time to talk about it, seeing how close we are to Halloween.
On this day in 1962, the novelty song Monster Mash reached number one on the American Billboard 100 list. The Monster Mash, performed by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, was released as a single in October of the same year, along with a full length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes.
Pickett himself was an aspiring actor who sang with the band the Cordials at night after attending auditions during the day. While performing Little Darlin’ one night, Pickett did a monologue, imitating horror movie actor Boris Karloff. The audience loved it, and band member Lenny Capizzi encouraged Pickett to do more.
Later, the two band members composed Monster Mash and recorded it with Gary S. Paxton (who owned the record label Garpax Records), Leon Russell, Johnny McCrae, Rickie Page and Terry Berg, all credited as the Crypt-Kickers.
The song is narrated by a mad scientist who’s monster rises from the slab and begins to dance.
Monster Mash has been released and re-released many times over the years, and several bands have done cover versions of it, most notably the Beach Boys. Rush also included samples from Monster Mash in their 1996 album Test for Echo in the instrumental track Limbo.
The Misfits also recorded their own version of the song, which was released with the DVD release of 1969 stop motion film Mad Monster Party. The song was later released as a single in 1999 and a new version was recorded for their 2003 album Project 1950.
Monster Mash is one of those songs that comes back year after year. Make sure that you hear it at least once this Halloween. It will make this time of year complete for any horror buffs. And a treat for everyone, here’s the Monster Mash to groove along to.
Ghost Stories: Ottawa and the Hill
From the prairies to the east now, as we take a look at two rather odd things in the Nations Capital. Often when one might think of Ottawa, Parliament or the Ottawa Senators come to mind. And sometimes, when you look hard enough, you’ll see the unexplained.
Haunted Chateau Laurier Hotel, Ottawa
The Chateau was commissioned by Charles Melville Hays who was the General Manager of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway of Canada. The Chateau Laurier was the first hotel built in the chain of Canadian Pacific hotels. Other well-known hotels in the chain are the Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, the Empress Hotel in Victoria, the Hotel Vancouver the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, and the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.
The Château Laurier was opened on June 12, 1912, by its namesake Sir Wilfrid Laurier. It is fashioned in French Renaissance style using granite blocks for the base, limestone for the walls and copper for the peaked roof. Throughout the years, secret political meetings have been held behind closed doors away from the Parliament Buildings. The hotel has been visited by celebrities such as James Cagney, Shirley Temple, Harry Belafonte, Marlene Deitrich, Roger Moore, Karen Kain, and Bryan Adams.
Charles Melville Hays who commissioned the hotel had gone over to Europe in order to choose furniture for the hotel’s dining room. Unfortunately, his return trip was on the Titanic which sank on April 14, 1912, which was 12 days before the scheduled opening of the Chateau Laurier. The only surviving male in his party was sculptor Paul Chevre who created a bust of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Hay’s wife Clara and all the women in his party survived.
Hotel guests and staff have seen the ghost of a male who resembles Charles Melville Hays. It is understandable why his spirit wants to stay grounded in the Chateau Laurier. This project was very important to him and he never lived to see the grand opening.
Staff and guests have heard noises such as rattling and shaking inside the Chateau Laurier. There has also been the sighting of the ghost of a little girl. On another occasion, a woman fled from her room in panic because objects began moving around her room at their own will.
Many guests have had the eerie feeling of being watched as soon as they enter the hotel. It is also alleged that a guest from the media was accosted by a ghost in a stairwell.
Not everything happens to be a ghost or goblin to cause people to stare in disbelief. We stay in Ottawa, as we detail some of the rumours of former Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King, then Prime Minister of Canada.
Privately, William Lyon MacKenzie King was highly eccentric with his preference for communing with spirits, including those of Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, his dead mother, and several of his Irish Terrier dogs, all named Pat. He also claimed to commune with the spirit of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, American president and close friend. He sought personal reassurance from the spirit world, rather than seeking political advice. Indeed, after his death, one of his mediums said that she had not realized that he was a politician. King asked whether his party would win the 1935 election, one of the few times politics came up during his seances. His occult interests were not widely known during his years in office, and only became publicized later, and have seen in his occult activities a penchant for forging unities from antitheses, thus having latent political import. In 1953 Time Magazine stated that he owned – and used – both a Ouija board and a crystal ball. In the 1970s biographers used the extensive diaries he kept during most of his life to delve deeper into his occult activities. One person he held seances with was Canadian Artist Homer Watson.
Ghost Stories: Stepp Cemetery; Zodi’s A Brave Little Toaster
Zodi's a brave little toaster
Several days ago I blogged about a local haunt. Stepp Cemetery. It just so happened that a friend of mine knew of it as well and she wanted to take me Saturday. I was willing to go, but then chickened out at the last minute because I didn’t want to be around people should I have a moment where I break down.
My brother and her decided they would go again tonight. I went with them, along with my dad. The drive up was pretty quick, then down the snaky road to a gate. It was nothing more than a stone wall with a metal bar barrier, just to prevent cars from driving up the road. At this point we have to get out and walk.
It was still daylight out, or well twilight if you wanna really push it. But light enough to see without flashlights. About half way up and I felt panic settling into my chest. I could hardly breathe. The overwhelming sadness just settled around me. After a few moments of my dad calming me down, I was able to continue and actually step into the cemetery.
Now the land around the cemetery is all woods so it got dark pretty quick. As we were looking around, Dad told us to look towards the woods behind the Hacker family plot. There we saw a man dressed in a Confederacy soldiers uniform carrying a musket over his left shoulder. It was quite impressive to see and even feel how proud this man was.
It was about this time this time I had my second breakdown. I felt everything in my entire body just fall to pieces. It honestly felt like everything I loved and cherished had been taken away and I was left with just heartache and sorrow. A few moments later, there was a black clad woman who made her presence in the cemetery clear.
After I recovered from this bout of tears and calmed down enough to form a sentence. I told my dad I didn’t want to leave because I have a duty to my readers.
A short time after that I was pushed, my clothes were pulled. My brother was slapped, had his hair pulled as well as our friend “other mother.” Dad was hit and then my bum was pinched. It was at this time we heard a giggle and leaves crunching underfoot.
We were the only ones in the cemetery the whole time we were there and none of us were moving.
All in all I had a blast, it was interesting to see the difference in style of grave stones from simple stone to elaborate etchings. It is a very beautiful and peaceful, if not restless cemetery.
Do I believe it’s haunted? Hell yes. Will I go back? Maybe. Did I have fun? Absolutely.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Zodi note: I no longer have a digital camera, but I do have a camera phone. Once I sort out how to send pictures to my computer I will post them.
Ghost Stories: Waverly Hills Sanatorium
When Tuberculosis was in full throttle during the late 1800′s – early 1900′s people believed that the best cure for it was fresh air, healthy foods and plenty of rest. Still hundreds of thousands of people died from this disease.
In 1924, hospitals were overcrowded with those trying to get well, donations were made in large quantities and a new hospital was built in Louisville Kentucky. Waverly Hills was know as the most advanced tuberculosis hospital in the country, though patients still succumbed to Tuberculosis.
Many of the practices at Waverly Hills were experimental at times, often seeming barbaric to today’s medical technologies. It was believed that fresh air was a key cure to TB; old photographs show patients getting their fresh air while literally being covered in snow. Though coming across such pictures are difficult to find. Other methods of treatment were by expanding the lungs with a balloon or removing muscles and ribs. Most didn’t survive these operations.
Those that survived these grim and brutal treatments as well as TB itself left through the fronts door. Most on the however, left usually down the underground tunnel which has become known as the body chute. This tunnel was utilized for a variety of things from transporting supplies and coal into the hospital to removing bodies from the hospital for burial or cremation. The thinking behind this was so that people didn’t see the hearse or the body which could lower morale and make people worse off. Architecturally, this tunnel was also big enough to fit everyone in the hospital in should WWII make it to American soil.
By 1931 TB was declining and by the 1940′s it was all but eradicated. In 1961 the facility was closed down but re-opened a year later as a geriatrics center. Due to accusations of patients being mistreated and abused, Waverly closed it’s doors for good in 1982.
Over the years it became a landmark for the homeless, drug addicts and graffiti artists. Today Waverly Hills is under restorations by it’s current owners Charlie and Tina Mattingly. They offer a variety of tours and stays at the Sanitorium. For more information check out The Real Waverly Hills.
The hospital has gained a reputation for being haunted and stories began to circulate of resident ghosts like the little girl who was seen running up and down the third floor solarium, the little boy who was spotted with a leather ball, the hearse that appeared in the back of the building dropping off coffins, the woman with the bleeding wrists who cried for help and others. Visitors told of slamming doors, lights in the windows as if power was still running through the building, strange sounds and eerie footsteps in empty rooms.
On the fifth floor, there is room 502 which is notorious for two supposed suicides. It is said that a nurse hung herself at the age of 29 because she was pregnant and not married. How long she hung there before she was found is determined. Another nurse several years later is said to have jumped from the window to her death below. There hasn’t been any proof of these death.
People have stated that they have seen a man walk across the hall of the fourth floor, wearing a white coat. There have been other accounts of ghosts on this floor. The fourth floor is well known for its extreme paranormal activities.
Waverly Hills is probably haunted. Perhaps next year I will make plans to spend the night and decided for myself if it’s truly haunted or not.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Ghost Stories: Saskatchewan’s Mental Hospitals
Our next stop on the hospital tour is in North Battleford.
Called the Saskatchewan Hospital, this is a mental hospital that back in the early 1900′s was totally self sufficent. All staff and patients lived and died on the grounds. This building was the first mental facility in the province.
Being the location is on the edge of northern forest, the hospital’s backdrop looks onto a wonderful area of the province. Which over the years has become incredibly haunted.
By 1929, with approximately 1,000 patients in each institution, the overcrowding became deplorable. Patients were deteriorated and unclean. The only clothing they wore were strong dresses made of canvas. They slept on beds sometimes two to a bed, sometimes the odd one under a bed.
There is an old cemetery hidden away in over grown brush that on many nights lights and sounds are seen and heard. Whispers can be heard from behind the gravestones but when you look behind the stone nobody is there.
There was also a wing of the hospital that burned down in the early 1930′s and one of the patients was badly burned in the fire. She died a few days later and her ghost can be seen wandering the burned out wing at night.
The hospital is also connected to all the buildings on the grounds via underground tunnels that many staff have mentioned passing by people in these tunnels who simply vanish once you pass them.
It’s been said that those who go to the hospital are left with chills running up and down their spine. Especially at night. You never know who may be watching you!
The third hospital in Saskatchewan we’ll take a look at is in Weyburn. Weyburn rests on the banks of the Souris River in south eastern Saskatchewan.
The building is the second oldest mental institution in Saskatchewan. Opened in 1921, it was, at the time, the largest building in the British Empire. It’s construction was directly affected by overcrowding in the hospital in North Battleford.
During the 1930′s an investigation into patient care took place. What was discovered was the practices used by the doctors were inhumane and cruel. However, the mental institution remained open.
When the facility first opened, mental illness was poorly understood and the primary methods of treatment consisted of ‘work and water.’ A lot of them worked at the laundry and in the kitchen and in the gardens. They were just glad to have things to do.
One of the favored treatments of the 1860′s was the Water Cure, in which a patient would be immersed naked into a tub of icy water and then taken to a tub of scalding water after their body temperature had sufficiently lowered. In addition, female patients, received a cold water douche, administered with a hose and then they were wrapped tightly in wet sheets to squeeze the blood vessels shut. This was followed by vigorous rubbing to restore circulation. The “treatments” were administered several times each week but not surprisingly, such techniques brought little success and most of the patients never got better.
Other treatments used at the hospital were not so benign. In an attempt to control and treat patients, methods such as insulin therapy, electroshock and lobotomies were practiced.
Although invasive, these methods were driven by a desperate need to help patients who were often a danger to themselves and others. Later, other therapies came into practice.
The fourth floor is sealed off, but people still hear voices from there, and some have said to have seen a woman in the fourth floor window. She walks back and forth, back and forth, all night.
The building is in the very middle of thick trees. At night it has been reported that people have heard voices in the trees.
Currently, the hospital is scheduled for demolition.
Ghost Stories: Elizabeth Bathory – The Blood Countess
Cachtice castle stands in ruins today, thought in the 16th century, it stood tall and proud. Within the walls of this castle, legends and rumours began. Stories that would lead one countess to be titled The Blood Countess.
Elizabeth Bathory or Erzsébet Báthory as she was known in Hungarian, became famous for her murders of young girls over twenty years.
Bathory was born in 1560, married when she was only twelve years of age to Ferenc Nádasdy. It was Ferenc who gave her Cachtice castle as a wedding gift. Of course as most marriages were for political gain, this one was no different.
Bathory was schooled in Greek, Latin, and Hungarian and as everything but illiterate. It was said that she was a great beauty, thought no one would speak openly about the daughter of one of the most influential families in Hungary.
In 1578, her husband became chief commander of Hungarian troops. Elizabeth was in charge of the estates and business affairs of the lands, later she was also given the power to defend the estates. She intervened on behalf of women who were destitute, including a woman who’s husband was kidnapped by the Turks and her daughter who was raped and impregnated.
One would think that with a kind heart like Elizabeth’s that nothing grim and gruesome would be going on behind the walls of the castle. She was considered a doting mother to all of her children. It might have even been her husband who turned her on to the idea of torturing her servants for her own pleasure. The real reason why she did it isn’t completely known.
Legends tell that Elizabeth, would beat her servants with barbed leashes, heavy cudgels and then drag them into snow where they would be doused in ice water until they froze to death. Later it was told that she began to use blood to reduce the aging after discovering this after she struck a servant for pulling her hair. Various eye-witness accounts tell vivid details of her crimes, but none saying that she actually took baths in blood.
In 1610 rumours flew around, and soon could not be ignored by the King. He assigned Juraj Thurzo to seek the truth to these rumours. On December 30th, Thurzo invaded the castle to find a dead girl in the hall, and many more dead, dying or awaiting torture in one of the many cells. At this time only a few of Elizabeth’s personal servants were taken; Helena Jo, Dorothea and Ficzko. The evidence and the confessions, probably tortured out of them was enough to convict them within a few days.
The two women were considered witches and had their fingers dipped in Christian blood then the nails removed with red hot pincers, after this they were burned alive. Ficzko was decapitated and then burned next to the women.
Testimonies of witnesses gave accounts of what happened, most were considered hearsay, but ones that were consistent included:
- Beatings over long periods of time, often resulting in death
- mutilation or removal of hands, face and sometimes genitalia
- biting flesh off their faces, arms or other body parts
- freezing to death
- fatal surgeries
- Sexual abuse
The actual count of victims was around 650, but it unknown if that is the true number. Elizabeth, to save face of the family, was not convicted of any crimes. However, she was considered a menace to her family and their name, and was placed under house arrest. Elizabeth Bathory was walled into her bedroom, which had a slot for air and food to pass through.
Four years later, a guard of Bathory’s room, found her face down, dead.
One thing I find incredibly interesting about the lives of people like Elizabeth Bathory, and like Vlad the Impaler, is when you read about them you find they were incredibly devote Christians. But over the years, that devotion to the Christian faith is given a wash and more focus placed on the atrocities that they committed.
Were they evil and villinous in their lives? No question, their techniques in war, such as Vlad, were sickening. The descriptions of how he staked people were horrifying. Elizabeth’s life became akin to one of the seven deadly sins. She was so vain in her appearance, but I believe that can be attributed to everyone around her saying she was so beautiful. She wanted to retain that beauty and did whatever she could to keep it.
The views of these two by eastern and western Europe are also very different, especially with Vlad the Impaler. In Western Europe after Vlad’s death, the west painted him as a maniacal madman who took great pleasure in seeing his enemies suffer. Whereas in the East, his actions were defended as a prince protecting his people, taking on their sins so they could live life free of sin. As well, he was heralded as a hero for his actions. In Germany and Russian, documentation has been recorded about Vlad’s exploits, and while some are very similar in the accounts of the events, they paint an entirely different picture.
Elizabeth wasn’t the warlord that Vlad was. She wasn’t protecting her properties or her homeland. Her husband had done that already. But there was a great deal of political intrigue that surrounded the aspect of Elizabeth, especially with her relations to powerful people in Hungary and Poland. In Hungary, those in power knew that Bathory was slaughtering innocents for her own pleasure, but they couldn’t really do anything about it due to her political connections in Poland. No one wanted to start a war over this. Bathory’s accomplises were eventually tried and executed, but Bathory herself was walled up in her castle. In some of the accounts, you could almost say there was an amount of sympathy for this woman.
What’s even more incredible about Bathory’s history is that she began as a very kind hearted woman.So, what exactly set her off to become known throughout history as the Blood Countess? We can only really speculate and offer educated guesses, as medical records were not kept nearly as accurate as they are today. But it may have been a condition of the mind, and as the mind grows older, the mind can change a great deal. Was Bathory insane? I think one merely need examine the accounts of her life after becoming known as the Blood Countess to come to a conclusion.
Vlad and Bathory were just two individuals throughout history that lead very villainous lives. Sure, there were others, but these two had their stories retold generation after generation. With the telling of each story details may have been exagerated, twisted or even completely changed to make it seem more horrifying than it really was. Such as the case with the concept of the vampire becoming prevelent in both Vlad and Bathory. Which can only stand to reason as they both live in an area of Romania where the populous believed in vampirism so readily.
So with these two, no there wasn’t any grim tales of hauntings or any ghostly visits that continue at their castles. Why do they appear in a list of ghost stories throughout the month of October? Because their actions in life were equally as horrifying, in most cast moreso, as what ghost stories could ever be told.
Ghost Stories: Dracula in Popular Culture
Yesterday, Zodi went through the history of Count Dracula. Today, I’ll tackle part 2, that being Dracula in popular culture.
Dracula has become as iconic in pop culture as Jason Voorhees. Used as a villain in various movies and even the protagonist at times, he is well known for being the premier vampire.
Beginning in 1897, Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, which really was more of a love story than a gothic horror. Dracula walked the earth looking for his long lost love. That aspect of romance has stuck with the old boy, and it’s one of his talents to woo young women with his charms.
The first Dracula film was in 1922, but Dracula was somewhat changed. As described in an earlier blog post of 31 Days Of Ghosts, the film was called Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. The Stoker estate sued and won, and all prints were destroyed, only a few pirated copies survived until this day. The film was later redone in 1979, by Werner Herzog.
The first production that received permission from the Stoker estate was a stage play directed by Hamilton Deane, with Deane himself taking on the role of Van Helsing (sound familiar). In 1927 the play opened on Broadway with Bella Lugosi in the role of Dracula.
The first on screen presentation came in 1931, with Lugosi taking the role of the Count once again. During the 30′s and 40′s, Hollywood made Dracula a household name, having him appear in various movies as the villain, and even appearing with other monsters. Who can forget Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It was in this movie that Bella Lugosi played the Count for only the second, and final time. One 1944 film is called The Return of The Vampire, which has rescue workers revive a staked vampire. Bella Lugosi plays the role of the vampire, named Armand Tesla. Essentially, Dracula in everything but name.
The Universal Studios films in which Dracula (or a relative) appeared (and the actor portraying the character) were:
- Dracula (1931 – Bela Lugosi (collectively the most famous interpretation)) (A second version was filmed simultaneously in Spanish, with Carlos Villarías as Dracula)
- Dracula’s Daughter (1936 – Gloria Holden)
- Son of Dracula (1943 – Lon Chaney, Jr.)
- House of Frankenstein (1944 – John Carradine)
- House of Dracula (1945 – Carradine)
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948 – Lugosi)
- Dracula (1979 – Frank Langella)
- Van Helsing (2004 – Richard Roxburgh)
After Universal, came Hammer Films. Hammer Films took up the classic vampire into it’s film stable during the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s. Christopher Lee was the actor who took up the role of Dracula. But quite possibly the most revered of the Lee portrayals was not a Hammer Film. Count Dracula as directed by Jesus Franco, was a low budget film, but kept closer to the originalbook of Stoker’s. While the look is called a classic by cult fans, the movie took huge liberties with Stoker’s plot.
Outside of many films, stage productions and musicals (yes, even musicals), Dracula has been inspirational to many books. This list includes Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian, Fred Saberhagen’s The Dracula Tape, Wendy Swanscombe’s erotic parody Vamp, Dan Simmons’s Children of the Night, and Robin Spriggs’s The Dracula Poems: A Poetic Encounter with the Lord of Vampires, just to name a few. Even Loren D. Estleman and Fred Saberhagen had the Victorian-era Sherlock Holmes match wits against the Count.
Dracula has even appeared in comic books. During the 1970′s, Marvel Comics released The Tomb of Dracula. The Curtis imprint even ran Dracula Lives. And as recent as a couple of years ago, the X-Men did battle with Dracula in X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula. Other vampire books which can be attributed to Dracula may also include some of Marvel’s Mid Night Heroes which included a vampire that teamed with Ghost Rider, Vampirella the sexy vamp from Harris Comics, and the manga version of Vampi.
Video games were next, as the most prominent was Vampire: The Masquerade, which was based on White Wolf’s pen and paper RPG of the same name. Castlevania is another, which has the protagonists battle Dracula in his castle, of which includes a character named Alucard (Dracula backwards).
Dracula has even made it onto the small screen.
- Dracula appeared in the commercials for Energizer in 1993. He emerges from his casket to get the battery off the Energizer Bunny only to be locked out of his castle when the wind blows the front door close. When he gets his spare key, the sun comes up and Dracula is vanquished.
- Dracula has also appeared as a villain in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in an episode called “Buffy vs. Dracula.” Dracula admits to Buffy Summers that he is intrigued and charmed by her legacy as she is of him. He also clarifies the origin of her powers, regardless of his attempt to lure her to evil. Buffy, having “seen his movies,” waits after first killing him, noting that he “always comes back.” He reappears in the canon post-finale comics Tales of the Vampires: Antique, and later the Season Eight story “Wolves at the Gate” (both written by Drew Goddard.) Outside the canon, Dracula appears in Spike vs. Dracula, which reveals that Dracula has connections to the gypsy clan that cursed Angel with a soul. As established by his appearance in “Buffy vs. Dracula,” he is an acquaintance of Anya Jenkins, and Spike claims he is a sell-out of the vampire world, fond of magic and Hollywood. The vampire popularized by Bram Stoker in the Dracula novel is also used as a basis for the ideas in the show, primarily the methods in which vampires are killed.
- The enormous house in the Nickelodeon game show Finders Keepers occasionally featured a room entitled “Dracula’s Den,” which was constructed to resemble a room in a castle with windows with boards nailed across them (presumably to keep out the sunlight), cobwebs, bats, and a Gothic-style chair and roll-top desk. The room also featured a full-sized coffin, in which a cast or crew member usually hid dressed as a mummy or as Dracula himself.
- The cartoon series Aqua Teen Hunger Force features a recurring television program called Assisted Living Dracula which features an elderly Dracula’s life in a retirement home. In one episode, the real Dracula visits MC Pee Pants in his latest incarnation as an old man named Little Brittle and bites him. MC Pee Pants leaves the hospital as a newly-made vampire, only to die from exposure to sunlight. Dracula suffers the same fate.
In the television series The Munsters, the character of “Grandpa” Sam Dracula, a vampire, clearly identifies himself as being the Count Dracula at one point. Though assuming he is Dracula, he has found a way to sustain himself without blood and is no longer vulnerable to sunlight. He is portrayed as a friendlier mad scientist-type. He still retains his abilities to turn into a wolf or a bat. Instead of the quasi-Eastern European accent usually associated with Dracula, Grandpa Munster speaks with a Brooklyn accent.- Gilligan’s Island had an episode entitled, “Up At Bat,” in which Gilligan is obsessed with the idea that, after being bitten by a bat, he’s actually turning into a vampire. The dream sequence in the episode portrays Bob Denver as Dracula.
- In 2006, a successful UK children’s comedy, Young Dracula, started on CBBC, featuring Dracula and his two young children trying to live discreetly in rural Wales.
- At the end of the holiday TV special The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t, Count Dracula (Judd Hirsch) gets into a disco suit similar to Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever after the witch (Mariette Hartley) transformed into a realistic person resembling Stephanie Mangano from the 1977 disco film of the same name.
- In several episodes of the TV show Scrubs, the main character J.D. makes references to a movie he is writing called Dr. Acula, the story of a “vampire doctor.”
- In the show The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Dracula (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is portrayed as an African-American man who tends to speak in third person. He lives in a retirement home and really gets angry when he is referred to being “old.” This version more closely resembles Blacula
- Dracula appeared in the self-titled 1990 syndicated series Dracula: The Series. The series lasted only 21 episodes and featured the adventures of Gustav Van Helsing and family versus vampire/business tycoon Alexander Lucard.
- Count Dracula made two appearances in the live-action superhero show Superboy.
- A mysterious vampire called Dracula appears in the Brazilian telenovela Os Mutantes: Caminhos do Coração. In fact, he is a mutant vampire created by mixing his DNA with vampire bat DNA. Unlike in the novel, this Dracula is neither invincible nor undead, but he does possess superhuman strength and the ability to fly, and he also transforms some female characters into his vampire brides. His lieutenant is a ghoulish vampire called Bram, in homage to the original author. His archnemesis is psychokinetic (and psychotic as well) vampire hunter Christiano Pena, who is bent on destroying Dracula, even if he has to kill innocents to do so.
- In the episode of The Brady Bunch “Two Petes in a Pod,” Peter dresses up like Dracula for a costume party.
- In the Sid and Marty Krofft series Lidsville, one of the Evil HooDoo’s Bad Hat Gang was Bela the Vampire Hat, a bat-eared top hat with a fanged cowl.
- An episode of the British TV series Demons called “Suckers” tells the future story of Mina and Quincy.
With all the various spoofs, appearances and adaptations of Dracula over the years, one question remains. Where did Bram Stoker get his ideas. Well, before writing Dracula, Stoker spent several years researching European folklore and stories of vampires. Dracula is an epistolary novel, written as collection of diary entries, telegrams, and letters from the characters, as well as fictional clippings from the Whitby and London newspapers. Stoker’s inspirations for the story, in addition to Whitby, may have included a visit to Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire, a visit to the crypts of St. Michan’s Church in Dublin, and also St Mary’s parish church in Hendon, London.
I believe it’s easy to say that Dracula has made a major impression on popular culture in our society.
Ghost Stories: Drac Facts
Okay so it’s a bit late but better late than never right?
So how did this 15th century prince become one of the greatest Hollywood icons ever?
Vlad The Impaler
In 1431, Vladislav Dracul III was born in Transylvania, Romania. In time he would grow to be the cruelest Prince to rule what is now Southern Romania. His father was assassinated, making him ruler in 1456. It was during this time that Vlad became known as Vald the Impaler. As he was famous for taking his enemies and impaling them on spikes to sit outside his castle. Most people would still be alive, and take days to die. Birds would begin to eat the rotting flesh and their screams of pain would echo over the land.
Vlad’s country was in a terrible state of disarray and he used harsh, and often direct measure to gain order and respect quickly in his country. He needed a economically stable country if he was going to survive the ever raging war on his borders. The early parts of his reign were physically eliminating any possible threat to his power.
Bran Castle, Vlad Home
Vlad was captured by the Turks, and later by the Hungarians. His brother had his eyes burned out with red hot irons and then burned alive. Even after all of this, he still reclaimed his throne twice over. During one of Vlad’s foray’s into Transylvania, he managed to capture another prince. It’s been documented that Vlad made this prince read his own eulogy while kneeling over his own grave shortly before he was executed.
Vlad wasn’t a force to be reckon with. While another battle waged on, Vlad pulled back into the mountains leaving a trail of impaled corpses along the way. The Turkish Sultan halted his advance because the smell of rotting flesh. Vlad was sadistic, but clever.
In 1462, Vlad’s first wife died after reading a message that an enemy army was on the move. She threw herself from a tower into the tributary of the Arges River. Legends say that she said “would rather have her body rot and be eaten by the fish of the Argeş than be led into captivity by the Turks.” Today that tributary is known as the Lady’s River or Princess River.
With his first wife, he had a son, who took the throne in 1508. Vlad also married again, after his captivity by the Hungarians. This wife also gave him two sons, though neither names of the sons were recorded.
Image of the Impale Forrest
It’s been recorded that Vlad the Impaler had between 40,000 and 100,000 victims. In the German stories of Vlad the Impaler, his lists of tortures would include impaling, torturing, burning, skinning, roasting, and boiling people, feeding people the flesh of their friends or relatives, cutting off limbs, drowning, and nailing people’s hats to their heads. He did not limit himself to men, but also included women, children, infants and even babies. Religion, social status even age and race did not stop him.
While details of his tortures are too graphic for me to post and because it is simply something my stomach cannot handle here is the link to the Wiki page on Vlad. I give fair warning now, that wiki page does contain graphic content not suitable for younger readers.
Vlad Dracul was decapitated by the Turks in 1476. (Thank the Gods for that.)
Vlad at Ripley's
Now how did Vlad the Impaler become the inspiration to Dracula? Stoker probably came across it in his research. More modern research is now claiming that the novel leans more towards Elizabeth Bathory, who killed her servants and drank their blood in order to stay young. More to come on Elizabeth Bathory on Saturday. But honestly who would read a book called Bathory the Vampire? Not me. Then again I’ve not read Dracula either.
As I wrap this post up, I invite you to come back tomorrow when Tim will cover the Hollywood side of this famous inspiration we know as Dracula.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Ghost Stories: Nosferatu
Today, we present another guest blogger. Zodi and I know him from playing City of Heroes as the host of Rope Radio Show that we often times listen to while playing our spandex clad heroes. This is the first of three posts on the often romanticized vampires. So let us begin, here is our third guest blogger, Clay Evans.
Ah, yes. The famous obviously-in-broad-daylight courtyard scene, all the more ridiculous because Orlock is destroyed by sunlight later. Thus we come to regret the loss of the filter this segment of film was supposed to be processed with.
Now, Our Hero proves himself early on to have the approximate mental agility of a squashed grape. The character of Hutter is such a blithering moron, you find yourself cheering for the vampire by default. Yeah, skippy. The mosquitoes just happen to bite you twice, in parallel, after Orlock evidences bloodlust AND you read about the habits of vampires. Yeah. What a coinkydink, eh? Idiot.
Further evidence: when he’s finally caught a clue and is about to be turned into a tasty hors d’oeuvres by Orlock, what does he do to save himself – crucifix? No. Holy water? No. Stake? No. Nope, friends and neighbors, Biffy The Wonder Mule attempts to save himself by… pulling the covers over his head. What the hell is this? Is he being attacked by a vampire or The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast Of Traal?
Mind, he’s only in this predicament in the first place because he gets sent there by his boss Knock. What the hell kind of name for a character is Knock, anyhow? “Hi, I’m Knock. First name? Door.”
Yep, said boss is obviously about as stable as Charles Manson on greased rollerblades going down Telegraph Hill in an earthquake. But again, Hutter (“First name? Pizza. My dad’s name is JabbaThe”) evidences all the intelligence of a used prophylactic. “Duhhhhhh… okay, boss! Me bring back heap creepy Count. Duhhhhh.”
Then, of course, we have his incredibly neurotic wife Ellen. A woman who, when her about-as-intelligent-as-a-pencil-eraser hubby is heading off to *by his own admission* “a land of phantoms and robbers” (unuttered rest of that line: “What fun!”) does exactly four things: one, fails to club this fertilizer-brained goof over the head and lock him in the house until he comes to his senses. Two, when he *is* leaving, dresses in funeral clothes (okay, maybe she’s more prescient than we think). Three, wakes up from a sound sleep to attempt a telepathic hookup across an entire continent to warn her hubby that a vampire is about to turn him into a late night snack, already. I don’t know whether her warning actually did any good or not, or Orlock realized ingesting the blood of this insult to a compost heap might turn him every bit as dim-witted. Three, she sits on a bench by the sea, day after day after day (apparently) waiting for her moronic other half to come home. Never mind he didn’t go by ship, anyway. Fourth – and this actually happens at the beginning of the movie – she goes from very happy to see Wonder Iguana to a sort of glassy eyed stare, petting flowers hubby had thoughtfully picked for her from the garden. With the look on her vapid kisser, you’d expect the intertitle to read “Braiiiiinnnssss..”. But no, she says “Why did you destroy them? The lovely flowers…” Oy..
Moving on, we come to the Van Helsing of the piece, Professor Bulwer. We’re introduce to the good Prof when Hutter, happily hurtling along to Knock’s office to get the Orlock assignment in the first place, stops him in his tracks and intones “Not so fast, my young friend. No man escapes his destiny.” Why he’d want to keep this yabbering fool around, I have no idea.
Everything comes together at the end of the film, of course, when Ellen makes an admittedly courageous self-sacrifice for the good of everyone, giving herself to Nosferatu in order to keep him from his coffin until dawn breaks and he is destroyed by the light of the sun (the first ever mention anywhere, by the way, about vampires being destroyed by sunlight as opposed to being merely deprived of their special powers and advantages). Ellen sends Hutter off to fetch Professor Bulwer. Now, apparently this sort of thing is usual for the Prof, as he apparently sleeps, sitting up, in his chair with his suit on underneath his robe for just such an emergency. Oh.
Bulwer just sort of ambles along, and Hutter obviously gets fed up with this, as he finally leaves this schlump behind and runs ahead to be with his wife – who promptly dies in his arms as he gets back to her room. The next to last shot of the film is of Bulwer outside the room with this incredulous pout. “How dare she die before I can get here to save her?” he seems to be muttering.
But ya know what? This movie is just plain damn silly fun. Max Schreck made for, perhaps, the only truly original vampire ever as opposed to endless Bela Lugosi clones a mere six years and some later and his rat-like visage emerging from the shadows of the entrance to Castle Orlock proper is still striking to this day.
No violence to speak of. No breasts. Coffin fu. Idiot fu. Orlock fu. Doc Bob says check it out.
Ghost Stories: Midtown Plaza Spectre
While the title of today’s post is rather ominous, there really isn’t much information to be found online about this strange phenomenon. However, there are many people in Saskatoon that know about it.
First a bit of history. Midtown Plaza is in the heart of downtown Saskatoon.
Built in the 1960′s as a part of the city’s redevelopment. It was part of a major inner city reconstruction that also saw the building of the freeway, the Senator Buckwold Bridge, and the arts centre known as Centennial Auditorium (now called TCU Place, or lovingly nicknamed “The TEA CUP”).
Midtown Plaza has two floors and over 150 stores, including The Bay and Sears as the two main anchor stores. It also is home to the province’s largest underground parking garage, and has two above ground parkades to the north and south of the mall. It’s in these parking lots that we travel.
Some people may find a ghost story about a mall parking lot not very intriguing. After all, ghosts are more readily associated with gothic castles, massive prisons or old hospitals. But a parking lot?
As I stated before, there isn’t much information to be found online, but the stories spread by word of mouth in Saskatoon know of the spectre quite well. During regular shopping hours at the mall, it’s business as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary really happens. But if you happen to be retrieving your car at two in the morning, that’s when things get interesting.
Word is that if you are alone in the parking lot, you could very well begin to hear voices calling out. And it’s not just anything that these voices are calling out, it’s a name. Your name specifically. People have said to have heard it, thinking it was a friend and began searching, finding no one around. Reports of a blood curdling scream off in the distance have been mentioned, but even the police cannot confirm having found out the source.
Perhaps it may have something to do with the history of the mall itself, before it was a mall.
Before the 1960′s redevelopment, Midtown Plaza was in fact a rail station. It was one of two in the city that still stand, having survived the wrecking ball after rail lines were rerouted around the city. The rail station was typical of busy travel in the day, and any imagination of old rail stations would not be far off from what this station was. As with most things in the province, it was constructed to look very British, very Victorian, as a large majority of settlers to the young province were direct relatives of citizens in Great Britain. A lot of buildings were constructed to give a very familiar look and appeal to these new residents of this new and untamed wilderness.
As with the construction of any building, accidents happen. Maybe a worker fell to his death in a tragic manner while working of the train station. Or maybe while laying the rail lines. Maybe a small accident sent a hapless victim to their death on the train tracks as the train was pulling into station. No one knows the real reason or the history behind the voices.
During the latter half of the 20th century, the west side of the city as positioned on the South Saskatchewan River was not known for being the best side of the city. Downtown was only a few blocks away from the poorest and most crime ridden area. And murders were not uncommon. Perhaps the spectre is someone calling out for help, thus explaining the blood curdling scream sometimes heard.
But not even the gender of the voice is agreed upon. Some say it’s a man, others a woman, and still more say it’s a child. Maybe some day you want to find out. Only if you’re prepared to spend the evening in the Midtown Plaza Parking Lot.
