Real Haunted Houses, part 2

May 22, 2020 by halloween 2 Comments

Halloween is the time of year where haunted houses spring up across the country. What about real haunted houses — which can be visited at any time of the year? There are hundreds of them, so we’ve listed a few of the good ones below, in case you’re in the area around Halloween and want to experience a few genuine chills and thrills!

Lillian Collins Hospital, located in Turlock, California

This reputedly haunted building was constructed in 1918 and is now in the Sierra Building. A doctor who worked here invented the MedicAlert bracelet because his daughter had an allergic reaction to drugs when she was there in 1953. The daughter was also the granddaughter of the hospital founder. The hospital was too small and was abandoned eventually.

The Queen Mary, docked permanently in Long Beach, California

This is one of the most haunted ships in the world and it’s also listed on the Natl. Register of Historic Places. Construction started on the one thousand foot long ship in 1930. The Great Depression delayed launch and it was sent on its maiden voyage in 1936. Many sailed aboard her — the Duchess and Duke of Windsor, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Sir Winston Churchill and thousands of troops in WWII.

Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California

Sarah Winchester, of the Winchester Rifles fame, started to build this house in 1884. She felt guilty over the deaths of those killed by Winchester rifles. An army of craftsman and workers built the home of 160 rooms, and it took almost forty years to complete. She always believed that her husband and baby daughter died as the result of those thousands of deaths by Winchester rifles.

Alcatraz, in San Francisco, California waters

Many gangsters and federal prisoners and eventually Native Americans stayed or occupied the land here. It’s rumored that if a person sleeps in one of the now closed prison’s cells. They will hear banging on the cell doors during the night.

Royalty Theatre in Clearwater, Florida

This place was once a vaudevillian movie theatre and ever since 1921 there’s been a lot of paranormal activity here. Apparently, an entity called Captain stays here. He’s bearded and has blue eyes ad wears a blue hat and coat. He loves the stage and can be heard walking across it. On a stage wall which has seen twenty coats of paint, a knife image will simply not go away. Theatre goers do say that the Captain is an amiable man.

Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida

This site is now a college, but it used to be a hotel which was run by a man called Henry Flagler, along with his unstable wife. The Mrs. hung herself after their daughter died, using the 4^th floor of the hotel as the place to do the deed. The girls dormitory was here and the site is now host to many strange events. Girls staying here can tell of hearing ballroom music above their heads. Another girl’s bed shook violently. The fourth floor is still sealed off.

The Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas

This place is reputedly the most haunted in the San Antonio area. A murdered maid wanders the upper halls. A lady has been spotted too, and she reportedly died from a broken heart. President Teddy Roosevelt used to visit the bar here and try and recruit soldiers for his Rough Riders. His ghost has also been spotted.

Nicholson’s Home in Washington, Louisiana

This was the site of a Civil War hospital where many amputations were performed on soldiers. An amputee wanders the corridors today. He is apparently friendly, but simply walks around and around with his one leg.

The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana

This location is known as one of the most haunted in the South. This gorgeous home was built in the later part of the 1700s.

Old Elerbe Road School in Shreveport, Louisiana

Several people disappeared here and that’s why the school closed up. One was a janitor who was loved by all. Children looked for the man and they, too, disappeared. School lockers are gone and a mural remains of the grim reaper. During the darkest hours, children are heard screaming and a school bell tolls.

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado

Stephen King stayed here and it was reportedly the inspiration for his book, The Shining. He didn’t actually write the novel at the hotel. Parts of the TV version of The Shining were filmed here. Stanley Kubrick didn’t use the place for his movie of The Shining. The hotel is registered with the Natl. Register of Historic Places.

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California

Montgomery Clift stayed at the elegant, older-style hotel in 1963, while rehearsing From Here to Eternity. He apparently liked room 928 on the 9^th floor, where he’s been heard pacing the hallway, learning his lines, and playing the trumpet. One would hope that wasn’t all at the same time.

Happy Haunted Halloween!

Halloween Symbols – Ghosts, Bats, Broomsticks and more!

May 22, 2020 by halloween 1 Comment

We’ve come to know Halloween as a time to dress up and go out trick or treating, or host a family party. Halloween’s practices and symbols have breathed new life into a few dark practices of ancient civilizations. Many Halloween symbols are familiar to peoples scattered across the globe, but every group does take new meaning into each Halloween symbol and gives it their own kind of spin. Some believe that a symbol represents thrills and chills while others believe that some of the symbols mean death or that they are either scary, or life affirming.

Amongst some believers, these symbols are evil and representative of an occult and satanic world. It all depends on what culture people are from and what they have come to believe as the truth. Some images are a mixed bag and can come from something like the fantasy Dungeons and Dragons, Aztec art, Tarot cards, and ads for Halloween costumes and accessories. Halloween symbols are popular and have lasted for generations, as well as appearing to be here to stay. Halloween can be a spiritual war for some and scary, but good fun, for others.

Bats

Bats are harmless creatures and these mammals actually fly. They eat a lot of insects such as mosquitoes and their appetites can be ravenous. One bat, the vampire bat, drinks flood — usually from cattle. Vampires are reputed to be able to change into a bat at will, hence the name. Some bats will only eat fruit. In Eastern countries, bats can represent good luck. There is an interesting bat exhibit at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Disneyworld. Visitors may walk through and observe bats (or not) and learn a lot about this night creature’s habits.

Broomstick

This has long been associated with bats and was used to great effect in Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. No matter how hard he tried, poor Mickey Mouse soon became inundated with water because all of the brooms kept multiplying and carrying buckets of water! With the popularity of Harry Potter books and movies, broomsticks are more popular than ever, especially for a good game of Quidditch!

Black Cat

In both Japan and Western cultures, a black cat can be linked to either white or black magic. For today’s Halloween décor they are most often seen on porches alongside of pumpkins, and made from curly black plastic!

Blood

Gore has always fascinated people in a spooky way and many Halloween themed movies and books really play it up. Knives, in horror movies, seem to produce the most amount of blood and chills and thrills. People need blood to live so that could be why vampires are popular at Halloween time as they just love blood! A fear of losing blood and then dying is at the core of people’s chills when around vampires and their kin.

Evil or Spooky Eye

Both Harry Potter fans and many cultures around the world consider an evil eye a bad sign. Most everyone knows what an Eye of Horus looks like and it has come to symbolize the Ancient Egyptian culture. Evil eyes have been featured in a lot of Halloween and other horror movies for decades.

Ghosts

Ghosts are the quintessential Halloween symbol and kids love to dress up as ghosts, while adults can be a lot of different ghostly types such as pirates, dead brides (Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas), and many others. Ghosts can also come in different shapes and sizes and be seen or not, or even half seen out of the corner of your eye. They have also been caught on films about the paranormal.

Pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns are the universally recognized symbol of Halloween in both Europe and America. In the British isles, jack-o-lanterns were made from turnips or gourds. When children go out trick or treating, a plastic pumpkin container is usually their container of choice.

Halloween Ghost Stories

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

Ghost Stories

There isn’t a more appropriate time of year for sharing ghost stories than Halloween. Swapping ghastly tales of freight at slumber parties, around a bonfire or at a Halloween costume party helps get in the spirit of holiday. Whether made up on the spot or handed down through the generations, spooky stories are perfect for all ages around and on Halloween.

I’m Not Making This Up, I Swear

From all points around the globe, ghost stories emerge. Just like watching a horror movie that claims to be true, the most terrifying haunted tales are the ones that are supposed to be based on real events. This isn’t that far a stretch since all one has to do is turn on the television and pick from one of several shows where people are hunting down “actual” ghosts in haunted places.

Just even within the United States there are plenty of areas that boast a spirit world claim to fame of being the most haunted area, town, city or community. From these paranormal hot spots plenty of ghost stories emerge. So much in fact that many places now offer ghost walks where tourists or locals can take a guided stroll and hear some of the accounts of the ghostly activity.

There are countless books of ghost stories or hauntings specific to different regions. Pick a city, town or state and do a search for that location’s hauntings to have more home based ghost stories for Halloween time. New Hope, Pennsylvania, for example, has been labeled possibly the most haunted nook of America. Type in “haunted New Hope PA” and there are plenty of ways to find stories or ideas from around the area to create some that could sound true to guests huddled around at a Halloween party.

Tales, Folklore, Urban Legends and Myths

As previously mentioned, many spooky accounts come from another source or even from personal accounts of paranormal events. Many ghost stories though, are the result of folklore, urban legends, myths or even rumors. In these cases there is rarely ever a way to trace it down to the original storyteller other than someone’s claim that it really did happen to a friend’s sister’s ex-boyfriend.

Usually, with this type of tale, everyone has heard some version of it, with the names and minor details changed. A good example of an urban legend of this nature would be the story of “Bloody Mary.” The name often changes and, in fact, a similar idea was explored in the 1992 movie “Candyman” in which the lead female was researching urban legends. Also, the number of times it takes to say the name varies from 3 all the way up to 20, but the basic idea stays the same. After an explanation of how Mary died, and this is where stories can really vary or just be made up, the listening audience and story teller gather by a mirror in a room lit only by a single candle. By chanting the name together a certain number of times, Bloody Mary’s spirit will appear behind the humans in the mirror.

Why Ghost Stories Have Become So Popular

Ghost stories are obviously beloved because of their ability to raise those hairs on the back of necks, cause goose bumps and generally frighten even the most devoted skeptics. Tales of things that go bump in the night have also been created to give people explanation where no other reasoning seems to be. Humans are quite perplexed by and fascinated by death and what happens to souls on the other side. Haunting theories claim that a spirit may be trapped if there was a murder, suicide or otherwise overly traumatic death. The idea being the spirit has a difficult time moving on to final rest and become trapped in a spot where they either died or a place that was familiar or near and dear to them.

Any Halloween get together is sure to be a thriller if chilling tales of the paranormal are on the itinerary. The important part is to keep them age appropriate. It is also a wise idea to not make it the very last thing people leave the party with, so having a more upbeat event following the round of ghost stories is a kind way to enable guests to go home and actually be able to sleep through the night. Whether or not they choose to try summoning up Bloody Mary in front of their own bathroom mirror is their choice.