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
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
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: 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: 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: Ghost of Bloomington Part 2
Today is a continuation of the Ghost of Bloomington. I found several hauntings of Indiana University; Bloomington Campus. But nothing long enough to spread this out over several parts. So for this morning I have all several accounts of IU.
Now most people would expect a campus to be haunted, sadly it’s due to the number of men and women who become stressed over finals or reports that commit suicide. I’d like to take a minute to kindly tell everyone that if you or anyone you know has thoughts of suicide you need to seek help immediately. Contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK, go to your local ER, or dial 9-1-1.
Around Bloomington Campus, while not common, has happen. In Read Dorm, it was stated that a woman, Paula, had enough of the stress with school and threw herself down the stairs head first; dying on impact. As the stories goes, you can still hear her scream on December 12th as she reenacts her fall.
Another dorm haunt is over at Reed Hall. A woman with long black hair, and a bloody night gown is said to haunt her room or the room she was murdered it. Legend has it that her medical student boyfriend killed her and hid her body in one of the abandoned tunnels under the building. When questioned by the police, his guilt overcame him and it confessed, then took them to the body. The woman’s body has also been seen in several other areas of Reed Hall.
The Lilly Library is also said to be haunted. From what can be found, the collections within the library are sometimes visited by their previous owners. There is nothing specific. Zodi note I am going to try and get more information from a friend of mine whose father works for IU and has for some twenty odd years now. As soon as I have new information I will post it.
One of the most unique haunts on IU’s grounds is over at the Indiana Memorial Union (IMU) where people have witnessed a dog and several human entities who haven’t yet passed on. The Union has been a favorite place for people who broke under pressure. Mental Health services are availability at the University now and from what I know and have saw in newspapers, there hasn’t been any suicides any time recently. Though, I could be wrong.
When abortions were illegal, there were doctors who still did them. Indiana University wasn’t an exception. Over at the IU Career Center it is said that you can hear the cries of the aborted children.
Finally, over at the folklore office it’s been said that a former chairman who likes to visit the school to this day. Which chairman this is, I don’t know. As I stated earlier, I will be contacting a worker there and perhaps he’ll be able to give me a bit more information on the haunting of Indiana University, Bloomington campus.
I would also like to take this time to also repeat something else. If you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide or have thoughts of suicide, please make contact with professional help immediately. For the US 1-800-273-TALK; for the rest of the world and the US there is Befriender.org.
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Ghost Stories: Ghosts of Bloomington Part One
If it’s one thing I have got to say and have stuck by all three years that I’ve lived here is, I love Bloomington. I always have ever since I came to visit a friend in 2004. A year later, I moved out here.
Now I’ve always been slightly empathic. Of course I’m skeptical of it myself, but I know I am an overly emotional person. Anyone who knows me can vouch for that. It’s this very reason, you will never seen in a cemetery, nursing home, hospital, that I don’t need to be in. In cemeteries, I feel the sadness, the pain, the suffering. I also feel the anger and broken hearts of many whose feet have traveled through the cemetery. In nursing homes, it’s death, he lingers in every corner, waiting. I will go into nursing homes when I go to visit my grandmother, but for the most part, I’m very quiet. Often I’ve been called shy, which I’m not. I’m just trying to keep from freaking out. Simply put, I try to stay out of places where supernatural and unexplained things happen. I don’t like being scared. What does all of this have to do with 31 days of Ghosts? Some of the haunts around my new hometown of Bloomington Indiana. It surprised me the number of haunted places in university town, including the university itself.
But first, I would like start with Stepp Cemetery, located north of Bloomington on state highway 37 on the border of Monroe and Morgan counties. Having never been here, let alone heard of it, I can say I’m almost half tempted to go during the day to take some pictures. If I could ever find my camera.
No one has been buried in this cemetery in decades. There are only two dozen or so headstone that remain, and they are very old and crumbling. It would be lost and forgotten if it wasn’t the eerie and odd things that happen. Several variations of this story result in a woman watching over one of the gravestones and the cemetery in the darkest hours of night. People have claimed to see this woman sitting on a tree stump watching over the remains of her loved ones.
While the words of the story changed and have taken on more of an urban legend approach, no one can doubt the oddities that surround Stepp Cemetery. Older accounts of the story is that a woman moved from the east, married and then lost her husband tragically in a dynamite accident. Her daughter becoming the center of her world, grows up, finds a gentleman to settle with but dies tragically in automobile accident. Both husband and daughter were buried at Stepp.
Soon the woman began taking treks into the cemetery, talking to her dead husband and daughter as if they were still alive. Passers called her crazy, seeing that she would remain there as the sun fell and if caught would hide in the woods until they left. Eventually, the woman died and she too was buried at Stepp. However her soul remains restless. It’s often told that a dark figure rises from a tree stump. Most accounts say that the woman has white hair, though not old, but more like turned white from shock.
The descriptions of the cries and apparitions haven’t changed much over the years. But the story has, most of them dealing with a mother losing a child.
In the 1950′s there was a murder of girls whose body was dump in Stepp. The mother never stopped looking for the murderer, even in death she waits watching over the grave site.
A young child was killed in an auto accident in the 1920’s and blaming herself, the little girl’s mother would come to the cemetery to mourn at her grave. Distraught, she disinterred her daughter’s body so that she could hold it one last time. She was found the next day, having committed suicide. Her ghost still haunts the cemetery today
Newer accounts with the urban legends fell tell about a woman and her son who were involved in an automobile accident. The mother’s hand was severed above the wrist and replaced with a hook, The little boy was killed and buried in Stepp Cemetery. The heartbroken mother knowing that the boy had always been afraid of the dark, she would walk the grave and watched over him every night. She continued to do so even after death and her ghost now warns away strangers, waving her hook at those who come to close to the grave.
Another is two teenaged lovers go to the nearby state forest and the girl tells her boyfriend she no longer wants to be with him. The boyfriend being angry tells her to get out of the car and that is the last anyone hears of the girl. The mother searches the woods non-stop until she too disappears. Today, her ghost appears in the vicinity of the cemetery and prowls about in the darkness. The ghost of the girl’s mother allegedly frightens teenagers who come there to go parking. It is said that her face suddenly appears outside, peering into the windows– looking to see if her daughter might be in the car.
Many people wonder if this legend is true, or if it just apart of hoosier folklore, a creation out of someone’s vivid imagination. Often they are left with a sense of doubt when they see the tree stump that looks a lot like a makeshift chair and wondering could the legend of the ghost woman of Stepp cemetery be true?
Keep it real and rockin’
<3
Ghost Stories: Chillingham Castle
Chillingham Castle
It’s rumored that almost ninety percent of the people who entered Chillingham castle, never came out.
The castle came into existence as a tower in the mid 13th century. Later it became a fully fortified castle around 1344. The castle was constantly under attack due to it’s strategic location during the Northumberland Border Wars, which were extremely bloody. The castle never fall, but it required constant repairs from attacks.
In the dungeon of this fortress, prisoners would find an array of torture devices. The rack, an iron maiden, spike chair, and and oubliette. At the bottom of this hole are the remains of a young girl who was the last to die in the oubliette. On the walls markings are etched into the mortar ticking off the days a prisoner had to live.
But it’s the ethereal residents of that make this castle the one of the most haunted. It is said that in the “Pink Room” when it turned midnight, there wuld be cries of pain from a child. When the screams would fade, observers have stated that they have seen a boy dressed in a blue appear. While no one knows his name, he was given a proper burial when his remains were found within the bedroom wall.
Lady Mary Berkeley
Another good haunt of this place is the Lady Mary Berkley. It is said that she roams the halls of the castle and the rustle of her silken dress can be heard and the feeling of cold as if she past through someone. Lady Mary’s husband, Lord Grey of Wark and Chillingham left her for her sister Lady Henrietta. Lady Mary was left along in the castle with only her baby daughter for company.
There are also other hauntings reported within the castle walls as well. The pantry ghost is one. Legend has it that a woman appeared begging for water to a guard in a small inner pantry where the silver was stored. Thinking it was a castle guest, he turned to get her some water. A moment later he realized he locked in the room and no one could enter. When he turned back to the woman to question how she got there, she was gone. She still appears to visitors and actual residents of the of the castle, always begging water. Which would suggest that she was poisoned.
Chillingham Castle Chapel Shrine
It’s also been reported that there are voices in the chapel. Two men speaking, but the moment you try too hard to decipher what they are trying to say, the voices disappear.
Whether these accounts are true or not, remains to be seen. But if people who have never met each other report the same thing, shouldn’t there be some credit of truth in their story. Until next time…
Keep it real and rockin
<3
