April Issue 2011

Voices to Visions

Voices to Visions

April 2011 __________________________________________________________________

a Dust and Shadows Magazine

April 2011

1 Cover Photo by Alice Mary Herden

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ ABOUT US

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS

Cheryl Smeed Alice Mary Herden Founder of Dust and Shadows, a Paranormal Investigation and Research Group Alice is a freelance photographer and sports photographer for Hernando Today.

Her experiences with the Paranormal go back to where she resided with her family in Largo. Encounters with the paranormal have been from breathing to a full black mass apparition.

For this magazine, I wanted to share as much information about the paranormal without all the adversity. Showing ghost as creeped out artwork, like they are from some horror film, really upsets me. Don't get me wrong, I love dark gothic art, but reality for the paranormal that just doesn't fit.

Workshop Articles Cheryl is a certified parapsychologist with over 30 years’ experience. She is clairvoyant and remembers communicating with spirit companions from a very young age. Cheryl brings to our group the ability to communicate with disembodied spirits, providing information and insight to our investigations.

“If you keep your mind open, you will see far beyond your beliefs.”

I met Cheryl during our investigation of the West Pasco Historical Society and was completely drawn to her. She was like a magnet of happy energy. We bonded so fast, our friendship bloomed. I am so happy that she can squeeze time in to be in our Dust and Shadows group and write the workshop articles for our magazine.

I do hope the readers learn as much as we do with each month we put this magazine together.

Our Magazine is non-profit. You only pay for printing and shipping.

You can also purchase prints from our investigations and daytrips.

Visit our Website for details Karen Bashak Article writer for Famous places Karen and I work together at the same retail establishment for over 5 years. She is talented, smart, beautiful and just a joy to be around. I am so happy that she has time to write some for our magazine.

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Action Sales and Merchandising INC Arrowwear USA Become a sponsor

Jesselee Lang Concept Art for Paranormal Folklore Jesselee Lang is a superb 3D fantasy-based artist that tells astounding stories through digital art. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he provides design, artwork and graphics to the web, print, and video game industries. He offers free images for download at his website, and you can also find his art spray-painted on the sides of train cars. Jesselee enjoys crafting powerful stories, projecting them into a single work of art for others to appreciate. His works put you in the middle of the action.

I met Jesselee through a stock photography site. I enjoy his artistic view and creative imagination. He is a great addition to this magazine. http://www.darkgeometry.ca/ Issue Contents All material and information gathered within this magazine are researched and/or solely opinions stated by the writer.

You choose your opinions and beliefs upon your own conclusion with each expressed view or article written.

Photography Artwork All photography and artwork within this magazine are property of the photographer and/or artist.

Interviews Interviews are conducted via e-mail. If possible, some interviews are conducted in person and recorded.

Our Sponsors Vision-Vault LLC- Green-Fly Media Merchandising Professionals LLC

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Sponsors donations help with the yearly payment of the website. Advertising is free in our print magazine, and your website link will be listed on our website.

For more information about becoming a sponsor, please email us at: Editor@voicestovisions.com Special Thanks A special thanks to my husband, Don. You have been the light of my life and I love you will all my soul. Thank you for being a huge supporter in all my goals. I could have never lived without you.

Don Capone is a voice over actor, very talented and very funny. Thank you for all your advice and help with the radio ad.

His Website: http://doncapone.com/

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ IN THIS ISSUE • Editors Views Media • Interview Rosemary Ellen Guiley • Encounters Why Me • Paranormal Folklore Banshee • Famous Places Banff Springs Hotel • Famous Hauntings Barnstable House • Readers Ghost Stories Neighbors St. Augustine Beach • 101 Photo by Alice Mary Herden Ghost Tours • PTM New England Society of Paranormal Investigators • Dust and Shadows Location Green Cove Springs, Florida

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ EDITOR VIEWS Media

You can read about the Ghost Writer located at these links below:

The Movies: Ghostbusters, Amityville Horror, Poltergeist, Ghost, The Haunting, Shutter, The Others, and so forth As seen in the Movies I think my favorite movie about ghosts is the movie The Others. This was a great movie and really took you for a turn towards the end of the movie. This movie made total sense to me. Could this really be how it is? Could it be what it is really all about? Is this how they exist along with us? Alejandro Amenábar directed and wrote this movie and it was based off of a book written by Henry James back in 1898, The Turn of the Screw, but the ending is different.

The movie Shutter, probably increased the sales of Polaroid cameras, was directed by Masayuki Ochiai and written by Luke Dawson. I used a Polaroid camera and did capture what our group feels as a true apparition of a little girl. This could have made a more prominent aspect to spirit photography. Below are some interesting links: Polaroid History

Ghost Polaroid and view the episode aired on Fact or Faked Paranormal Files: Ghost Writer With the great imagination of writers and directors creating these movies have either intrigued us or created fear within us. Way back when, when we were little kids, the Night Gallery was creepy enough for us. I remember my sister and I used to stay up late at night, way past our bedtime to watch this. I couldn’t watch the intro. I can still see us sitting in front of the TV, and I was holding my head down and covering my ears waiting for that intro to be over. Little did we know, back then that there was actually paranormal activity going on in our own house.

Yet the moives take you into a different perspective then the reality shows.

Reality TV Shows: Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State, Fear, Most Haunted, My Ghost Story, Celebrity Ghost Stories When did this all start? Trying to get an answer on the internet is frustrating. We can go back to my own memory, which the one TV show I remember was Fear on MTV. I used to think how stupid this was for these people and what agreement they made to sign up to do this. You think about the liability and mental state of being in that type of position. Think about it.. You alone in the dark.. And you’re telling me you’re not going to get freaked out knowing what they told you before hand about what happen in that area/room you’re locked in?

Photo by Alice Mary Herden

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I think when Ghost Hunters came out on TV, everyone wanted to become a ghost hunter, which I really don’t like that word “hunter”, but that is beside the point.

Paranormal groups popped up everywhere and it become more and more popularized. So much that some owners of these haunted locations have shut off paranormal investigations and as far as reality TV shows, have they actually forgot the whole meaning of becoming a paranormal investigator?

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Yes, sometimes these reality shows really make me shrug.

I did watch an episode of Ghost Hunters but when I saw that they invited the Housewives of whatever city, just made me turn off the TV. Why they did that, who knows?

Investigating private residences have been rarely seen on these reality shows. I feel that is more of the issue that deals with liability. You’re stating that you are there to help, but what happens if you can’t cleanse the residence or you make it worse for the home owners. Yes, you can smudge with sage or do the salt border but really, say “we’re sorry”, and walk on?

Investigating historic or abandon locations, the only liability is for yourself and your members. You not dealing with a personal issue or making any personal claims that could lead you into a whole different situation.

I do understand that having a reality show, you have to make it exciting for the viewer. But really, I mean, really, seriously. What are you showing us? Did you see that?

What, I didn’t see anything you saw, the camera was on you, or it was dark or the camera was somewhere else. Did you hear that? Yes, a knock and?

My husband and I along with many other paranormal groups do watch these shows all the time. I watch them for knowledge, what locations they are investigating, how they do their investigation, which if in fact, they do change their technique sometimes and what, if any, new equipment they are testing out.

A recent episode of Ghost Adventures, and Ghost Hunters, they started to wear live cameras on strapped to their vest. FINALLY. Now the viewer may actually see what you see. I want to see what they see. I want to see that shadow you saw walk pass the doorway. But again, it’s a 50/50 chance you’re looking at the right place and the right time.

But what I personally would like to see on these reality shows is for them to help the spirits that still reside in that location. To find out who they actually are. Do they need help? Do they need to find something? Do they need closure? What do they see? And so on… To get more answers to questions and more evidence to prove their existence. Not to make non-believers to believe, but to prove the existence to be evident.

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With the reality shows, unlike local paranormal groups, they have more of an opportunity to investigate historic locations then us. And more, if so, financial backing for traveling and equipment.

So this gives them the advantage to really dig in, as well as, finding more about the evidence that surrounds the paranormal.

In closure, besides all the build up of intense music, and snipped clips, it’s still a reality show.

I just wish they would go that extra step to find out more about “them”. ~alice http://video.syfy.com/shows/fact_or_faked_paranormal_f iles#////shows/fact_or_faked_paranormal_files/case_foot age/season_1_7/ghost-writer--episode-103/v1242244 http://www.drkrm.com/ghost2.html http://www.savepolaroid.com/history/ http://nightgallery.net/index.html?title.html&0

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ INTERVIEW

I have been interested in the paranormal since childhood, and I am driven by intense curiosity that expands in all directions, which is why I never specialized in a narrow band of the field like most researchers. My broad-based research became quite an asset, as all things in the paranormal (and by that term I am including ufology, cryptozoology, mysticsm, etc.) are interconnected.

• In our April Issue, we discuss issues concerning media, ghost tours and encounters that are paranormal related.

The next few questions will deal with these discussions.

• Media.

• What is your input on the effects of how people relate to paranormal activity when watching these paranormal reality shows? And is there any concern you may have about the effects when investigating these locations for the spirits that still reside within those locations?

Rosemary Ellen Guiley • Please take a moment to tell us about you and your involvement within the paranormal field.

I have worked fulltime in the paranormal for more than 20 years as a field investigator, researcher, author and presenter.

My work spans everything paranormal, spiritual and mystical, A-Z, from angels to zombies and everything in between. I investigate both the “light” and the “dark.” I have written around 45 books and hundreds of articles.

I am not concerned with proving the paranormal to anyone, for it has existed as reality to me since early childhood. Rather, I am interested in the how and why of our extraordinary experiences, and how we are changed by them.

There are distinct patterns of experiences that can be traced throughout human history.

Clearly we are experiencing other realities, so what can those experiences teach us?

• You have published amazing books about the paranormal, as well as, folklore. How did you get started on writing these books on these subjects and is there a personal connection with each book you write?

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Reality shows are a double-edged sword. They have stimulated a lot of interest in the paranormal and have made it more acceptable for people to talk about their experiences. This is positive and enlightening for all of us.

But the shows are entertainment and ratings-driven by networks and sponsors who don’t care about fact versus fiction as long as the audience is delivered. Thus, reality shows must often resort to embellishment and even fabrication of effects, and scripted, made-up personal dramas in order to sustain audience interest. Real investigators do not run around shouting at ghosts and spirits, and then fleeing and screaming when phenomena manifest. Equipment is an asset, but not the be-all and end-all of investigation.

• In your opinion, do you feel that maybe with the shows airing today, have lost the true essence of what paranormal investigation was intended to be?

In many cases, yes. Some shows are much better than others at portraying paranormal investigation.

• When people do live with some sort of paranormal activity, whether it being subtle or continuous, do you feel that most people are scared to confront or acknowledge their situation due to all the media that has covered paranormal experiences?

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ The media feed people fear, and that does affect beliefs and attitudes toward the real thing, unfortunately. On the other hand, we have seen an increase in people who want investigators to attend to them because they want to get themselves on TV. • Ghost tours.

•Many cities throughout the world, conduct some sort of ghost tour for the public. Can you tell us your views on how you feel these are handled and do you feel these ghost tours are for the good of the spirits that reside at those locations?

Ghost tours vary considerably in quality. Some are more entertainment story-telling in nature, and some expertly combine story-telling with a lot of solid information. I often take them when I travel, if time permits, just to get a flavor of the local haunted landscape.

• Encounters.

•There are many living people that do experience or have experienced something paranormal. When someone does experience something paranormal, what would be your first section of advice you would give that person if they shared that personal encounter with you?

My response depends on what a person wants. Some people just want to share their experiences and do not ask for advice, because there is no situation warranting any action. I am often asked for an interpretation of phenomena or encounters, and my answers are tailored to individual circumstances. The same applies if people are troubled by their experiences. Every situation has to be evaluated on its own merits, so, as I say below, there is no universal response. There are few definitive answers in the paranormal, anyway, and ultimately some people have to arrive at a conclusion that makes the most sense to them, their worldviews and their life circumstances.

Providing insights is helpful to this process, and I always try to offer something that will be useful. In general, natural explanations for phenomena should be considered and ruled out as best as possible before moving on to paranormal explanations. Some people are looking for reassurances that a) it was not their imagination and b) they are not crazy.

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• Some say that some spirits attach to a living person or to an object. Could you give us your explanation on why this does happen?

Objects provide a link to something desired by the spirit: an environment, a person, a source of energy, a source of vicarious excitement, pleasure and entertainment, or an avenue of manipulation and control. Some spirits can reside benignly attached to objects and remain below the radar. Others like to act out, and their ability to do so depends on all of the factors just mentioned. Some people provide more “juice” than others. Troublesome spirits can cause a wide range of poltergeist disturbances and “negative haunting” effects.

Spirits attach to people for the same reasons. Sometimes they attach first to people and are then able to latch onto their possessions via the person’s frequent use and emotional attachments. The nature of the human emotional attachment attracts different kinds of spirits.

When bad things happen to people, such as abuse or violence, intense bursts of emotion flood out and sometimes provide openings for opportunistic spirits to zoom in and take up lodging.

My good friend and colleague, demonologist John Zaffis, has hundreds of objects in his museum that were the sources of troublesome spirit attachments, and it is truly amazing what spirits can use for homes. Anything! Dolls seem to be the most common, perhaps because they evoke a human nature to them. All of John’s objects have been nullified and bound.

Spirits can be deliberately bound into objects via magical rituals, something I do not recommend. People who try to manipulate spirits frequently wind up in trouble.

• Asking a spirit to leave their location, with all the suggestions you have stated on your website, which of those would you consider more prominent in responses?

There are no universal remedies that work in all cases, so I always tell people that they may have to experiment until they find something that is effective. There are too many variables: the type, nature and power of the entity or entities present; their reasons for being present; environmental conditions; and, the biggest wild card of all, the living human element.

Prayer, environmental cleansings, magic-based exorcisms, religion-based

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ exorcisms (which of course have magical elements in them), and even will power have all been employed in various combinations with success. None of them is guaranteed to work in any one case.

• Before asking a spirit to leave, would you consider researching and investigating with all your available assets, on finding out who actually is in spirit at that location?

Anyone who would attempt to expel a spirit without ascertaining what/who it is and why it is there should not be working in this field.

vehicles and objects. It seems that anything that has ever existed, and has been used and recognized by human beings, can become a ghost.

Some of our “ghost” experiences might be time slips into the Eternal Now, where all things that ever were, are and will be are continually happening. Some might be peeks into parallel dimensions, or spontaneous accessing of a collective memory bank, a concept similar to the Akashic Records of all things. And some might be temporarily earthbound or stuck souls who, for various reasons, did not cross over to the afterlife.

• Scenario: Why Ghosts exist.

Photo provided by Rosemary E. Guiley A conclusion that I have thought about, is that we are all in some sort of wavelength frequency. What, and if possible, the reason why we could see and hear these spirits are because we are crossing a frequency path. But in turn, they are crossing ours, and so forth. This could go back hundreds of years.

Believing that when a living person, let say, dies at the age of 45 in the year 1916. We in this time, in the year of 2011, see this person in spirit. What would you think about an open discussion on that person that died at the age of 45 in the year 1916, relived every moment of their life until they died, like a continuous cycle, and they stayed within that frequency? But while they are reliving their cycle, they can see spirits from back into the 1800’s.

No one knows exactly what a ghost is, and why they appear, and why they look the way they do. Psychical researchers and parapsychologists have put forth an amazing array of possible explanations over the past century. For a full discussion, I refer people to my Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits.

Personally, I do not think there is any one explanation of ghosts. I think that most ghosts are memory remnants that exist in psychic space, something left behind by the living like photos and videos in the albums of their lives.

They have residual energy, but the energy is finite, and it eventually runs out, like a battery – which is why some famous hauntings of past centuries no longer seem to be active.

Organic life is not necessary for creation of ghosts, however, for there are many cases of phantom buildings,

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www.visionaryliving.com www.djinnuniverse.com

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ ENCOUNTERS

the case maybe, it’s still a very uncomfortable situation and sometimes a frightening situation to be in.

Why Me My Ghost Story http://www.biography.com/video.do?name=myghoststory This documentary show consists of real experiences and some of these experiences have been document on video.

Some of the experiences they are dealing with might just be similar to what you are experiencing.

These documentaries may not help you personally but at least it shows you that you are not alone.

Why are these things happening to you or to your family within your home?

They say that some spirits can attach themselves to other living beings or even objects. And to find that explanation of why, well, after searching the internet on “Why do spirits attach themselves to living people”, I get pages and pages and pages of results. So that tells you everyone has an opinion or their reasonable definition.

Photo by Alice Mary Herden There are some people and families that are dealing with some type of paranormal activity. Depending on the history of your location, situations can be very subtle and some situations can be over bearing to handle.

When we were experiencing paranormal activity in our old house, it was pretty much ignored and not an issue that needed to be dealt with.

“Mom, I saw someone sitting on my bed.” The daughter said. “Dear, that is just your imagination.” The Mom replied.

Maybe our mom didn’t know how to handle it. She didn’t want us kids to be scare? She really didn’t tell us, that I can remember, anything she actually witness. I do remember my Dad saying that he did see a black shadow in the hallway. To this day, he denies it.

Much of our encounters would be considered subtle, but others not so. They may have more occurrences, more voices heard and physical contact. Incidents can happen now and then, or they can happen more often. Whatever

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You will always get the believers and the non-believers.

People that can give you THEIR explanation and others that just really can make it difficult. To the ones that are really trying to give you an explanation on why you are experiencing what you are experiencing, deals basically with the same situations as being in a home that has paranormal activity, but it’s more of a personal situation.

Zoning in on you could be lots of things, for instance, the spirit might be around the same age, feels your energy, the warmth, the sensitivity, reminds them of someone they knew. But the only way to know that is if you ask!

I don’t understand why different things happen to me at our old house and different things happened to my brothers and sisters. Was did this spirit do this or that to me, but not to my sisters or brothers? My brother, Scott experienced cabinets rattling, doors open when they were closed and weird noises. My sister, Debbie experienced hearing her name whispered. Was it just for them to see and hear? Personally towards them?

Maybe I was more open, more vulnerable, reminded them of someone, maybe that is why our experiences were different. I will never know. But the thing of it is, is you are experiencing something that you can’t understand or

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ explain to yourself. Which I feel is important regardless of what other people think is; it’s you that has to understand what is going on.

It would be easy if you could just pack and leave, but sometimes that is not possible. So do you have to adjust your life with what is going on? Maybe. Some incidents are consider to be livable, with the occasional visitation now and then, but with other’s, it could be an ongoing situation. How do you handle it? What are you supposed to do? Some people tell you to demand those spirits out of your house, tell them to leave, send them to the light. But is that the right way to do handle it? Could you make it worse?

Could it be possible that you bring this on to yourself? Let me give you a scenario. My mom passed away in 2004 and I have missed her so much. I miss her hugs, her laughter, holding her hand, her perfume and even her calm way of yelling at me. Do I or could I actually put so much energy out there that I could bring her to me? Would that increase other experiences and/or other energies, other then my mom’s, to me? Maybe that would be the reason why some paranormal incidents only occur towards me.

Physics, mediums, paranormal investigators and even religious figures will tell you what they feel or sense why this is happening with you or to you. Some of their explanations will make sense to you, some will make you confused or some can down right scare you. Listen to what makes sense to you. If you are going to seek knowledge with anyone, write down any and all questions, regardless if you think they are weird. And ask them those questions.

Again, it all comes down to what make sense to you, and any reasonable explanation that you can accept. In our own paranormal group, we have skilled women, with so much experience and knowledge about spirits. Sometimes their explanations make sense to me, and sometimes they don’t. It’s what I take as acceptable and reasonable to me and not what they think is reasonable and acceptable for me.

You have the right to research your own location’s history.

You could team up with someone you trust and find out the history, what happen, who lived there and so forth.

Write down your questions and you could get in touch with your local paranormal team and have them do an investigation at your house to find out some answers.

Remember, sometimes these answers are not what you

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want to hear, or there are sometimes they will not get any answers. Just don’t take one investigation to heart. If they do find any evidence that something actually is paranormal within your residence, have them do another investigation later on. The first investigation would be your base and the second investigation would be based off that, if any evidence was recorded. They might find out who is there and why, and this could be some type of closure for you and the spirit (s).

Please keep in mind that if you do contact a paranormal group, request that you do not want them to provoke in any way, shape or form and if you hear them provoking in any way, shape or form, ask them to leave. The reason being, any provoking could make it worse. This is a personal issue that is happening to you and you would like respect towards you and whom ever is in spirit.

Just remember you are not alone. Spirits do exist. Finding the answers of how and why, together we can all find the answers.

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ PARANORMAL FOLKLORE

Banshee

member had died or if the family member was far away, it would be a sign that death is to come.

The Banshee is only seen at night and has been connected to a certain persons and mythology. According to legend, King James I of Scotland in the year of 1437, was approached by a Banshee and was foretold his of his death. She was also later reveled that she was to be the Irish battle goddess, Morrigan. There are tales that the Banshees would have one leader, overseeing up to 25 other Banshees.

A common tale is that the Banshee is associated with a silver comb. The comb is an centuries old tradition in Irish myth. It is said that if you do find a comb on the ground, you should never pick it up, because it was placed there by the Banshees in order to lure you away.

You can find more interesting versions and stories on Banshees throughout the internet.

Digital Art by Jesslee Lang Although this folklore name might sound somewhat scary, and the first image that comes to mind would be that of an old looking hag, putting that image aside, it is stated that the Banshee was also a fairy in Irish Folklore. The term Banshee was deviated from the word bean (meaning woman) and sidhe (meaning of the mounds).

When I heard this folklore name, I did too imagine a woman that had a hag like appearance. That of dark, dirty skin, long protruding nose and chin. Her eyes squinted as her long grey hair flowed in the wind, while she was standing crunched over on the top rock from of a pile of boulders. As she stands crunched over, holding her cane with her left hand, she covers the side of her face with her gray ragged, ripped and blood stained cloak. Her right boney hand with the long cracked fingernails is reaching out to the moon. Umm, although that sounds pretty cool as creating an illustration, but in real life, I would like to keep the image of a beautiful fairy instead.

As the folklore goes, the Banshee’s mournful screaming was a sign to foretell the death of a member of a family to the home they visited. The Banshees are told to be attached to five Gaelic names; such as O’Grady’s, O’Briens, to name a few. The lament would be sung, if a family

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ FAMOUS HAUNTINGS Barnstable House If there is a house that has some history, this would be one of many that have made a name for itself.

Located in Cape Cod, Massachusetts with a history dating back to the 1716, sure enough there would be some paranormal activity going on here. This house has so much rich history that was has been passed down from generations and sellers to different buyers you would think the energy there could be so intense. Stated as also being known as the “House of Eleven Ghosts”, I am pleased to present to you an Author, who researched the history of this house and a Paranormal Group that has investigated this location.

quiet, and your relaxed to be caught off guard with a a loud bang, and catch it on camera? How does it get better than that! You can see this video on our website www.nespi.net.

• This is not your first investigation at the Barnstable House; March 2011 is your groups’ second investigation.

Could you tell our viewers a quick evaluation from your first investigation?

The first time we investigated the Barnstable House we all felt as though we were not alone. The air felt thick, there were a lot of noises and best of all 5 pm ticks on the clock and everybody in the building can’t seem to get out of there fast enough! This building today is occupied by lawyer offices and interviewing them made us excited when most of them stated they wouldn't get caught dead there after dark or alone! After reviewing our evidence and capturing a total of 22 EVP's definitely got the blood pumping to return • Can you share with our viewers how you set up your investigation from beginning to end, as well as your placement of equipment and your team members?

Interview with Mike Astin New England Society of Paranormal Investigators • Hi Mike, Can you tell our viewers, why the Barnstable House is a favorite spot for you and your team to investigate paranormal activity?

The Barnstable House is a favorite of ours because of the intelligent spirits who award us with fascinating evidence every time we investigate there! The best EVP we have got from The Barnstable House was when I was relocating my digital recorder and said " Relocating microphone to office around the corner" Immediately following was a voice that said " office around the corner" We also captured great video of a weathervane that fell over. we were conducting EVP work in the conference room for over two hours when all of a sudden this whale weathervane weighing 40 pounds just found its way the ground! When it's really

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We start by interviewing the property owner and gathering all the hot spots and bait to help us conduct the investigation. Once we complete the interview we set up all the equipment in the appropriate locations. For example if there is a report of a spirit roaming the hallway we will set up a stationary camera and wireless audio in that location. Centrally located we will have command central consisting of the DVR and "home base" if you will as a common ground for the group to meet and break throughout the night. Usually we will have 4-6 stationary cameras, 8 digital recorders, thermo imager, K2 meters, EMF, wireless microphones, HD camcorders, and a bunch more equipment!

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ At this location we keep a log of where all the equipment is so retrieving it is a breeze and nothing is left behind.

Throughout the night investigators will make notes as activity happens so we can take extra time to review those specific times thoroughly!

• Getting prepared for your second investigation, what information and/or evidence that were collected from your first investigation at the Barnstable House did you base towards your second investigation?

Knowing the fact that the spirits were well aware that we were there we we were careful in what words we used to try and catch them off guard! We know they mimicked us when relocating the microphone so we dictated most every major move we made trying to get another mimic or response. We noticed from the first investigation through to last time we were there the spirits liked to talk when we were talking! Usually responding to unrelated topics (like the mimic) so we made a point to hang out and do less paranormal questioning. One of the investigators couldn't find the light switch at the end of the night. A voice came though clear as day saying “They are looking for the switches!" Like I stated earlier in the interview we run our digital recorders the whole night start to finish and would have missed that great EVP if we had stopped recording!

Maybe the spirits think we stopped and that’s why they are talking! I think that would be our biggest advantage from our previous investigations at this location and used this "bait" to help catch more evidence!

•What techniques did you change, if any, from your first investigation and applied those changes to this second investigation?

The techniques used were definitely as I described above utilizing the "hang out" method to trick the spirits to believe we didn't care about their presence in hopes to capture more voices this time around!

• What overall synopsis would you write about your experiences investigating the Barnstable House?

Overall we as a group have placed the Barnstable House in our top 5 most favorite haunted locations! It's one the few places you will not only hear voices, you will also capture them!

Another quick good Barnstable House experience:

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I arrived at the house early waiting for my teammates to arrive and decided to lay on there comfortable couch in the lobby. I found myself very relaxed and decided to take a quick nap. I had about an hour until the others were arriving so after a 12 hour day at work and a long night about to come a quick nap is in order! Well I have to admit I was pretty tired and dozed off but was smart enough to turn my digital recorder on in hopes I would get a good one! Twenty minutes into my nap I felt my foot get flicked.

I did have my shoes off and immediately woke up. I did not move in hopes I would feel it again or least confirm that it even happen! Well it happened and when it did I flew off the couch! I captured a laugh on mic and could hear scratching noises in the background! That night Investigator Billy witnessed a desk draw open in one of the offices, unfortunately it was not captured so we tend not to talk about personal experiences but what was captured was the same laugh!

Photos provided by Mike Astin

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Donna gave me much more information that was undisputable so I invited her to our home and she helped me with a few other questions about Ben’s life. We became friends and one night she called us and invited my wife and I to accompany her to a haunted house reading on Halloween in Barnstable, Massachusetts, presented by the Lauren and Walley Radio Show who were from Boston.

The experience was comical and unbelievable as the stationed personnel who was staying the night in the house was playing Ghost Busters as the invited public came in from the street.

Interview with Paul J Bunnell • Thank you so much for taking some time to chat with us and sharing your experience and knowledge about the Barnstable House.

• The Barnstable house; what was it about the Barnstable house that inspired you to research and write a book about the residence and its history?

I first encountered a strange connection to my American Loyalist ancestor, Benjamin Bonnell (b. 1744 to 1828). He had a colorful life starting in New Jersey, taking sides with the British during the American Revolution, signed up with Benedict Arnold after he changed sides to the British; Ben was involved in several major historical events that finally relocated him to New Brunswick Canada in 1783. As a genealogist, I searched all the records on Ben and decided to write my first book on his life, “Thunder Over New England, Benjamin Bonnell, The Loyalist” in 1984 and in 1985 I made a trip to New Brunswick to gather more information on his life, and climbed up Devil’s Back Mountain where Ben lived and died in 1828. After taking a few photos of his farm area and returning home, I discovered one very interesting deep spiritual looking blue spot on a photo right on the path I walked. Many strange and unbelievable things occurred but to get to my Barnstable House project; I met Physic Donna Miller at a Physic Fair in Hyannis, Massachusetts when I presented her with the photo and another object for her to read. She blew my wife and me away when she told me the spot was my ancestor’s spirit and he was wondering why I was researching him and why I was up on his mountain. Well

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The house was in the middle of reconstruction so there was no heat or lights. It was spooky enough looking at some of the characters who came in from the street but when Donna, my wife Leslie and I along with a disk Jockey, with a mike started our travels through the house trying to ignore the weird-os. She identified several spirits rd throughout the house but when we got to the 3 floor and settled into a small bedroom with a crawlspace closet, the vibes were very strong of a spirit in there. As we all stood around a broken down couch where Donna, Leslie and a stranger sat. Donna said there was a playful child in the area and she was shy and her name was Lucy. The lighting was dim in the room with just a streetlight outside that furnished our sight. Suddenly, I saw a little girl spirit peek out from the closet. My God, I could see right through the approximately 7 years old child. I shut my mouth thinking no one would believe me until another man in the circle spotted her and yelled out. Lucy suddenly stopped peeking in and out of the closet as the radio broke into excitement rd by the announcement of the 3 floor shocker.

Many other things happened that night until we left at 1 AM, and the excitement continued at 5 AM when I tuned onto the station to find that Lucy had ran her little fingers through one of the sleeping radio employee’s hair. Well, after writing my experience and recording the history of my ancestor’s life, I thought writing the history of The Barnstable House would be a great project to record all those past and present facts of all experiences from owners, renters and employees.

• During your research about the Barnstable House, what area of its history interested you more and why?

All the recorded spirit encounters (11+) and the personal and public experiences I found once I researched its history.

• It is stated that this particular house is also known as the “House of Eleven Ghosts”. What is your personal belief in the Paranormal and how do you feel about the overall interpretation of why spirits exist?

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ I do feel there is something happening out there and I think there is energy that is left behind and in the case of the Barnstable House I found or felt that many spirits living there today were once people that lived there or visited and had a memorable experience that brought them back, and then there are those that met there tragic end there, entrapping their spirits. And finally, another view would be that the house itself collects lost spirits.

• When you first walked into the Barnstable House, can you tell our viewers what your feelings were and what was the first object that caught your eye?

The first impression all three of us got when opening the door to the Barnstable House, and listening to the Ghost Busters song blasting throughout the house, and seeing some costumed trick or treat General (e) playing and roaming about each room was a feeling of a tragic mistake going there. The first object that caught our eyes was the cut out one foot square glass window exposing the dark cellar below and the story of that place quickly came to mind. One of Little Lucy, who drowned in the spring that ran through the cellar attempting to retrieve her little blue ball she was playing with, and falling into the water. There was a single light bulb hanging on a wire given the cellar a very cold feeling. Once we were introduced to Lauren and Walley, Donna placed a protective bubble around us that allowed us to go through the house unharmed as we started getting seriously involved.

Once hearing where we were going, we knew this was a well-known haunted house but we did not know its complete history. And after our experienced in the house and getting the idea to write about its history I decided on a different approach with the house telling the story as it devoured all the helpless spirits during the past 300 years.

Besides my personal sighting of Lucy, my wife Leslie had her own physic experience. As we were doing readings in the rooms, Leslie suddenly saw in front of the fireplace in the room where the radio station was centered for the night a quick flashing vision of one of the burning logs rolling out of the fireplace into the middle of the room where they would also be sleeping. It upset her so much that she told Donna to tell the guys spending the night to be careful. I was surprised they took the information seriously and told Donna they would watch out. That night they did in fact have one of the logs roll out into the middle of their sleeping quarters and one of the guys jumped up and put it safely back into the fireplace. The next day we were blown away when Donna told us what had happened.

•This house has a 300-year history. It has been passed down, sold and bought from different people with different backgrounds. With all the history that surrounds this home, would you say that the energy from the pass owners, spirit or otherwise, still reside there?

Most definitely, starting in 1713 with the building of the Barnstable House in Scituate Massachusetts, starting with the famous Paine family, to the Davis, Savage, even Melville himself. Though the ghost count started with some of these families, the most noted recorded or reported were an Indian, little Lucy, Captain Graves, the mysterious bride, broken hearted widow and mother, the hanging of Edmund Howes, and several others. But the house stakes claim to several odd and famous occupants as Doctor Savage, Herman Melville (Moby Dick), Judge Davis, a Massachusetts Governor, the Bacardi Rum Heiress and others. It is said with Herman Melville’s family connections to the house that its nautical atmosphere and upstairs view of the Barnstable Harbor most likely inspired several pages at least to his famous novel, “Moby Dick.”

• The Ghost of Captain Grey; it is stated that his presence is felt within the house, residing in the basement. Was there any history you found about him?

• While visiting the Barnstable House, knowing that this location was stated to be haunted, how did that affect your writing and research in creating your book? And did you and/or your wife experience anything that might be or you feel would be considered paranormal?

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I don’t know that Capt. John Gray roamed the cellar, but there were stories of him walking the halls of the house complaining and getting the reputation of being grumpy. I did not find a concrete record of him but he could have been one of the many renters or visitors of the house.

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ •About your book, Life of a Haunted House, could you give our readers an excerpt of your favorite part, and why that part of your book is your favorite?

Quote from the very odd Dr. Samuel Savage as he sat on a large rock and greeted by a neighbor who knew his character was extremely strange. After greeting Dr. Savage and the neighbor making the mistake in asking him how he was, the answer held up that reputation: “And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was death; and hell followed with him.”

You probably would understand his reply when you read the tragedies of his life in my book.

About Paul:

Hunters Society in Paranormal Investigation, and also as Ghost Hunter, and trainee investigator for MUFON. He was also one of the first volunteers to registered in the BYU blood donor program for their genealogical DNA study of early Essex County Massachusetts ancestors in the early 1990’s; Supporting member of MCNAA (Massachusetts Center For Native American Awareness); and was a supporter with the Corporation of Metis of Quebec and Eastern Canada; and of the Metis Community of Eastern Canada; and the Confederation of Nova Scotia Metis, Sou’ West Nova. A registered citizen of the Koasek (Cowasuck) Band of Abenaki Nation, and editor of their newsletter, The Dawnland Voice, and also tribal genealogists, and later elected Tribal Sub-Chief. He is the editor and founder of the “Loyalist Quarterly” newsletter, the only U.S. Loyalist newsletter since 2004, devoted to that history. Founder of the States Genealogical & Historical Vendor Conferences in Nashua, NH 2006. Past President of the Cape Cod Writer’s Association. Past Editor and founding board member of The Falmouth Genealogy Society and Newsletter; Panel Adviser/Reviewer for Change of Birth Records to Indian for State of New Hampshire per NH Native American Commission.

Read more about Paul:

Paul J. Bunnell, U.E. Abenaki

http://bunnellgenealogybooks.citymaker.com,

Sub-Chief–Professional Genealogist - Author

* Photos and information provided by Paul J Bunnell

For over 33 years, Paul has devoted himself to genealogy and Loyalist studies and Metis, Native American families.

He later took credited genealogy classes through Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, greatly improving his skills and knowledge in that field. Accomplishments are wide; awarded an documented Accreditation and later a Fellowship at the American College of Genealogists of Illinois in 1985-95; certified and registered lineage member of The United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada; and The Hereditary Order of Descendants of The Loyalist and Patriots of The American Revolution, Wash.

DC. He has held past and present memberships in over 60 genealogical and writing organizations around the world, including life long memberships and chairman positions, including Irish membership with TIARA, and The Ballykilkline Society, President of the Violette Family Association, and member of the Massachusetts Genealogy Council. He is also certified with the International Ghost

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ FAMOUS PLACES Banff Springs Hotel

The rebuilding was on a grand scale by any standards and the previous wooden hotel was replaced with a more enduring stone structure of sweeping proportions and elegance. The guest log would now come to include King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II, Benny Goodman, Helen Keller and a veritable Who’s Who of other luminaries.

Some guest and staff have reportedly opted for a more permanent affiliation with the hotel, one that includes the afterlife. There are 5 major manifestations that are most often described; their destiny to be inextricably interwoven with that of the Banff Springs Hotel. th

BANFF HOTEL 8 © Randall Shirley | Dreamstime.com Haunted or Hyped Rising in majestic coexistence with the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada, at the junction of the Bow and Spray Rivers, stands the palatial Banff Springs Hotel A.K.A. “The Castle in the Rockies”. This crown jewel of the Fairmont Hotel chain beckons guests from far and wide to its regal picturesque setting.

Departing guests are left with a memorable experience due to its world class service, amenities and from time to time supernatural phenomena…..Oops, I almost spilled the beans.

It is supposed to be a secret, but the hotel may be haunted. Of course the haunting is probably the worst kept secret of all, but if anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from me.

Built in 1888 as a wooden structure by William Van Horne to accommodate the tourism boom associated with the westward expansion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the original hotel was built with some quirky faux pas. The architect envisioned a grand hotel affording guests a spectacular panoramic view of the mountains framing Lake Louise. Unfortunately, the builder transposed the blueprint backwards so that the kitchen and other service areas of the hotel were treated to the splendid view rather than the guests. A massive fire in 1926 reduced the hotel to a charred skeleton and thus arrived a second chance to get it right and to build it bigger and better. It was only after the fire that a room was discovered that had been built with no doors and no windows; making it an ideal place to wile away the hours undisturbed if you happen to be able to walk through walls, like a ghost.

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Strolling down the 8 floor hall you would see rooms 871, 872, 874 and 875, but where is room 873? If you look closely at the wall in this area there remains a faint outline of former doorway, now bricked over and decorated to appear to be part of the corridor wall. Supposedly, an entire family was murdered in this room, yet room 873 remained in service after this murder, for a while.

Chambermaids, who had thoroughly cleaned this room, reported that the fingerprints of a small child had mysteriously reappeared on the vanity mirror time and time again, never to be obliterated for long. Finally after many unsuspecting guests complained of events in the room ranging from the merely unsettling to the truly frightening, the hotel management chose to seal and conceal this room from the public.

Two of the other main players in the haunting of the Banff Springs Hotel were former employees. An unnamed bartender has been known to cut off many a tipsy customer with the admonition that “You have had enough to drink- you should now go off to bed.” The other employee was an elderly bellhop called Sam MacAuley. It is believed that Sam died between 1976 and 1978, shortly after being unwillingly retired. Attested to by many a guest, Sam still diligently caters to the needs of the hotel’s guests when needed and then vanishes until he is needed again. It is noteworthy that most descriptions of these 2 individuals are strikingly similar. There are still other reports of headless bagpipers wandering the halls and a young boy, dubbed “Jack” who just seems to show up to take in the activities of the hotel.

And finally the most famous “ghost in residence” is the young bride who died on her wedding day, or so the story goes. It is said that this bride fell down the now publicly inaccessible main staircase, breaking her neck in the fall.

There are 2 theories as to the cause of her fall, one stated that she tripped over the hem of her wedding dress, while the other theory claims that her flowing white gown was set ablaze by the candles adorning the balustrade, causing her in a panic to fall headlong down the stairway to her death. Visions of this bride on the staircase or in the main ballroom, dancing alone to some long forgotten melody,

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ abound. Famed psychic and medium from A & E’s Paranormal States and Psychic Kids, Chip Coffey, has claimed that on a visit to the Banff Springs Hotel the bride made known to him that her name was Christina and that she was pregnant on the day of her wedding and death.

Ghost hunt at the Banff Springs Hotel | Sightings http://www.monstrous.com/Sightings/Ghost_hunt_at_the _Banff_Springs_Hotel.html Other evidence of the haunting of the Banff Springs Hotel are in the form of visual and photographed orbs of light sometimes accompanied by cold spots and a whole host of other miscellaneous sights an sounds. Officially, hotel management continues to discount stories of the haunting and claim that relating such stories is strongly discouraged among staff members, yet the stories continue to proliferate and are in fact a huge draw for the hotel. It was widely known among the employees , that one former manager, in a misguided attempt at creative marketing, went so far as to attach invisible fishing line to luggage and had it dragged across the main lobby in an effort to increase occupancy by perpetuating the stories of the haunting. Seems that by shrouding the stories of haunting, mystery and secrecy, thus making them all the more irresistible, the hotel management has shrewdly capitalized on the phenomena.

Other than the fact that there was an actual bellman named Sam who worked at the hotel prior to his death in the mid to late 1970’s, there is no evidence to prove any of the other individuals actually existed or that any of the events associated with the haunting ever really took place.

There are no verifiable names provided by grieving family and friends. There are no medical records of the deaths of any such individuals. There are no law enforcement records of the investigations of any such deaths at the hotel. There are no newspaper accounts of any of these tragedies. It seems odd that not one single shred of evidence exists to document any of these events. On the other hand, as I have suggested in previous articles, the dead may not be in control of how, where or when they manifest themselves. I will even go further by suggesting that the living are, at best, imperfect receivers and may only perceive these oddities in the context of their own personal experience or imagination.

Could it be hypothetically possible that a young virginal Indian Maiden may have died by accident or by human sacrifice centuries ago in the region? Yet we might see her in the form of a modern bride in a flowing white gown?

Who is to say, for sure?

In closing, I wonder if the lack of solid evidence may not be steering us toward an alternate route, but an avenue

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leading to the discovery of new possibilities that may well deserve exploration or at least consideration.

Karen A. Bashak Article Writer for Famous Places

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ READERS GHOST STORY

Neighbors: Fiction by Alice Mary Herden

Just wanting to start over, ya know..

I need something new, fresh, a new beginning. So, I decided to take a road trip and just drive to see where I would end up.

Well that didn’t end up so well, going back long empty roads to no where.

Finally a town starts to emerge within the distant.

The town seems like an old town dream, with beautiful oak trees with the moss swinging in the breeze from the limbs outlining the roads to Main Street. Town seemed to be just like any other little town. Post Office, Court House, Schools, Libraries, Park and not to far from the Interstate.

So, I stopped and parked on the side of the street on Main in front of a little café. Got my paper and went inside for a lite lunch.

I am here looking for a new place, a place to start my home business and from looking at the rental places that were listed in the paper, they seem so far away and so expensive for me to afford. After my lunch, got back into the car and started to drive down Main Street. I looked to the left and looked to right and drove slowly, just in case I missed a sign. I looked to the left and saw this beautiful old two story house, right off Main. I turned around and parked in front of the house. Looking to right of the house, there was an assistant living place and to the left a two story old house that was converted into a Bed and Breakfast. Across the street, there were residential house.

What a beautiful neighborhood, right off the main street and close to downtown. I peeked inside; saw the double staircase, all wooden floors, and beautiful original windows. Then I walked L in the back and checked everything out, it seemed like it was in great shape. I walked up to the front of the house and saw this man standing across the street, thinking nothing of it, figuring he was from the neighborhood just taking a walk. I stood on the sidewalk, just looking at the front of the house.

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Thinking, this might due, but concerned about the place to the left of the house.

Naw..

Everything will be fine. So I turned around to get in my car, I saw across the street a lady.

She looked like a retro groupie, but around 70 years old. The man still standing there, who looked like he was a fisherman. Thinking nothing of it.. And taking in consideration that the building was an assistant living facility, I went to call the realtor.

After that call, 3 weeks later, I was moving in. The price was affordable and it was just perfect to start all over.

All the days and nights went well, painting, moving in furniture, hanging my photos on the wall and getting the front of the house ready for my gallery, all in all, just making the house my own. But things started to become different, it could have been me being over stressed on appointing an opening date for my gallery, which was really to soon and thinking that it just must be the situation that I put myself in.

One night, on a beautiful clear night, I was upstairs drinking my last cup of coffee before I relaxed and soaked in the tub, I look at the front window from my office. I see the fisherman standing across the street, just standing there. He didn’t look up, just stood there looking around.

Then came the groupie, she stood beside him. I am thinking, why are they out so late, shouldn’t they be inside. I take another sip of my coffee and look down at them again and they are looking right up at the window. I was startled, closed my eyes and opened them again and they were gone. I said to myself, man, I really need to relax.

The next morning, I had some free time and I decided to go walk downtown to take some photography. Got my camera and notepad and headed out the door. I started

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ walking towards downtown, which was only about 3 blocks from my house. I took some photos of people, buildings and whatever caught my eye. I walked down the sidewalk and noticed a store. The White-Raven. As I walked in the bells hanging from the front door chimed as I pushed the door open. There behind the counter was an older lady. She looked so beautiful and mysterious at the same time. I introduced myself and she looked at me and smiled. She stated you’re the one that bought the white house. I replied yes. She and I talked about what I was doing to the front part of the house and so forth. I looked around the mystical store and before I left she said, are you sure you don’t want to purchase something for your home, sage perhaps? I politely replied I am good, thanks though.

When I was walking back to my home, I noticed the fisherman and the groupie across the street. They watched my every step that I was taking. I walked up my porch, opened my door, closed and locked it. I leaned my back against the front door and just looked down at the wooden floors, taking deep breathes.

The next day, I see them across the street again from my office window upstairs. I decided to take some photos of them. Got my camera, and started shooting through the window. I checked my photos that I took on the camera, and I got nothing. I look up and I still see them across the street, but they were not in the photos. I decided that this was the time to actually go next door and find out some information.

I talked to the receptionist and told her about the fisherman and the groupie that stood outside, across the street from my house. I gave her a description of them and she was assuring me that there were no residents that fit that description. I turned and looked to the back of the room, and there sitting in a chair facing me was an older woman. She looked at me and just nodded her head. I smiled at her and left the building.

To be continued…….. *Photo by Alice Mary Herden

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ 101

something paranormal? Or does it just make you less in habitant to experience something real?

Ghost Tours can be very educational; you can learn a lot of history from that location you are visiting. But before you spend the money to go on these ghost tours, granted you will not be entertain by your host, but you will learn a lot of history without the hype, try looking into day tours.

My husband and I love Saint Augustine. We love the history, the beauty, the shops and the restaurants. And of course, we love the Lighthouse.

Years ago, we actually went on their ghost tour. Yep, we pulled out the $$ and did it, not once but twice, maybe thinking the second time we would actually experience something.

What hurts so much is that there were so many people.

There was no quiet time, no personal time. I am thinking would I, if a spirit, want to show myself with all these people? My answer would be, depending on what mood I am in. Just layback and let them talk about, or scare the hell out of ‘em. People that knew me, the second choice would be a given. But that would be me.

The guides were so sweet, and their knowledge of the Lighthouse was very educational. But in order to keep this interesting, do they hype it up? Do they say to the new groups going in, some tales that others told? Are they true or not?

I remember the tour guide talking about an incident that happened in the bathroom. And you know me, I went into that bathroom. Yes, with what she said about a lady spirit that is seen in there, I was a little nervous to say the least, but I had to do it. I was the only one in there, and I just casually talked to myself, and I have this thing with mirrors and reflections. I just stared into the mirror and talked to myself. Nothing happened but the “before hand” conversation made it subconsciously entertaining to say the least.

So getting all this information drawn into your subconscious make you thrive more to experience

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Our tour guide at Fort Matanzas • photos by Alice Mary Herden Do your own tour. Make a list of all the historical locations that are in that area. Some you might have to pay, others you can give a donation. Bring your camera, video and digital recorder. When you go in the early morning or late afternoon, there and of course depending on the season, might not be hardly anyone visiting that location. The best part of this is after the tour, most of them let you roam around. You do not have that opportunity to do that during a ghost tour. This gives you a chance to run your digital recorders, take some photos, ask questions and so forth. Most of the people that either work there or volunteer at that historical location will be more then happy to share their knowledge, education and experiences.

This is great for the kids, too! Have them pretend to be a reporter, let them ask the questions, play detective and so forth. This is a great way for them to learn and be educated, and they won’t be in the dark!

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ WORKSHOP

fondly. Often the songs I hear may not even be appropriate to the station I’m hearing them from.

There is an old song from the 40s I hear on the radio quite often (on a soft-rock station of all places!) that was one of my parents’ favorite songs. When I hear it I know they are with me, or it is a message that all is well in my world.

Maybe it’s because it stirs such wonderful memories that it raises my spirits, but I hear that song quite often for no particular reason. While it’s a song I wouldn’t necessarily seek out, I find it strangely soothing; the feeling my parents imparted throughout my life. So I know it’s a special message from my parents.

A friend lost her husband a few years ago at quite a young age. She came to me to communicate with him. I immediately got this song in my head that I didn’t even particularly like, but it described him perfectly and made perfect sense that he was letting us know he was there.

It’s an old song and my friend hears it every so often even when listening to radio stations that are not oldies stations, and this song is definitely an oldie. She always finds herself feeling strangely calm, secure, and reassured.

Special Messages

By Cheryl Smeed Last month I mentioned receiving messages from our deceased loved ones in the form of pennies, sailing knots, and other “signs” that our loved ones are with us. This month I would like to tell you more about messages you may get out of the blue; messages that come from unexpected sources like fortune cookies, books, a song you hear on the radio, and other ways that seem to make sense only to you.

Probably the most common form of special messages comes from hearing certain songs on the radio. When I hear a certain song, it immediately reminds me of someone or takes me back to a place and time I remember

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Another friend had a very reassuring experience with a message she found in a fortune cookie. We expect fortune cookie messages to be anywhere from vague to profound, but her message was as if someone put it in there just for her. Of course, we know that did not happen, but it was more than insightful. Her ex-boyfriend asked her to lend him some money. She loaned (or perhaps gave) him the money he asked for, but then experienced guilt and remorse, wondering if she had done the right thing. Was she helping him or just enabling him? Would he use the money for whatever it was intended? While she was at work, she came upon a fortune from a fortune cookie that read, “I have great faith in you.” Suddenly a weight was lifted from her shoulders and she knew then she had done the right thing. She believed the message had come from her mom.

Bibliomancy is an ancient type divination using generally sacred books that seem to lead you to certain words and passages. You open the book anywhere, close your eyes and point to a passage. Lo and behold, the message makes perfect sense and seems to be only for you! The same thing can be said of any books, newspapers, magazines, and other reading materials where you seem to understand why you landed on that page, or read that particular paragraph or sentence.

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Some people are especially sensitive to special messages beyond our human senses through clairvoyance (seeing),

clairaudience (hearing), clairscentience (sensing), clairalience or clairaroma (smelling), and clairgustus (tasting) when there is no apparent source of these experiences. A friend knew his father’s spirit was present when he could smell a certain type of cigarette his father smoked, yet there was no source of smoke around him.

Many people often report smelling cigars and pipes that remind them of deceased loved ones, yet again, there is no source of the odors. Others have reported tasting something they had eaten, a special food a deceased loved one had prepared when they were children, yet they had not eaten that food in many years.

Special messages can be found anywhere. You do not have to look for them. They will find you. However you receive a “special message” you will know it, even if it doesn’t immediately make sense to you. Know you are blessed, and that your loved ones impart love, guidance, and protection while reminding us they are near, and allowing us to take their messages to heart.

—---------—---—--–-—-Cheryl Smeed is a certified parapsychologist, psychologist, intuitive, and ordained minister involved in the study and investigation of psychic phenomenon. She tutors, teaches classes, and facilitates workshops in angel and spirit communication, metaphysics, and the parapsychic sciences, and counsels humans and communicates with their animal companions.

Photos by Alice Mary Herden

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ PARANORMAL TEAM OF THE MONTH

formed! Our mission is to scientifically investigate, capture and document the existence of true paranormal activity at absolutely no charge to our clients. Always with an eye toward the skeptical, our experience shows that about 80 percent of reported activity can be explained away and/or shown to be caused by very normal conditions or occurrences.

• How important is it to build a paranormal team with strong backgrounds, but also build a team with different views?

Mike Astin, Billy Martin and Mike Medeiros New England Society of Paranormal Investigators • Can you tell us about you and what you do outside of being an investigator within the paranormal field?

I own a company called Extreme Audio located in Hyannis, Massachusetts. We specialize in custom audio systems for car, marine and home theaters. The business has been successful for over 11 years. I have a love for what I do and that drives me to be more successful every year.

I also belong to a local sportsman’s club actively participating on a precision pistol team and stay sharp on shooting IDPA (defensive pistol). I am currently taking classes to become a certified firearms instructor. On top of all that, I am the father of four boys and you can imagine that keeps me busy.

• What got you interested in the paranormal field and what happen in your life for you to form your own paranormal group?

To start, my birthday is Nov 1, my favorite holiday is, always has been and will be, Halloween how great is that candy and then presents the next day, plus, I have always loved scary movies. In 2004, Mike Mederios, the cofounder and VP of NESPI, and I decided instead of going to Spooky World, which was a normal occurrence we used to do in Oct, wed rather go walk around an abandoned insane asylum . There we encountered hearing some music, touching, voices and shadows. For a true skeptic to encounter this, where no electricity is active in the building, is enough for anyone to buy investigation equipment. Pretty much after that I was sold on investigating paranormal experiences and NESPI was

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We developed a program called EVP (Electronic voice phenomena) Researchers. Here, the members developed the necessary skills to properly perform an investigation. It takes a special individual to capture the evidence and, if the individual proved capable of doing so, we promoted them to investigator. This has been part of building a good team. Communication and cooperation is also important to developing a good team. We have, at this point, the strongest individuals in all areas to create what we call investigator. Within our team, everyone is capable of capturing EVPs. Our investigators are also experienced in the technique and placement of all the equipment.

• How does your paranormal team differ from other paranormal groups as you stated, "We are professionals, not a weekend ghost hunt club"?

Our team consists of reputable people including law enforcement, real estate, business owners and professional musicians. We are all unique and have gone through years of scientific evidence to better ourselves and we apply these fundamentals on every investigation.

This is taken very seriously. That is what separates us for most others. We do not entertain. Our investigations are designed to either prove, or debunk paranormal activity and also to help those that are experiencing the effects of the paranormal.

•You have investigated both residential and business locations for gathering paranormal evidence, which, in your experience, has been the best location for gathering that evidence and which location are you and your team more comfortable with.

Cape Cod, and the Plymouth area, are very active locations for paranormal activity. Many of the historic homes, which have been converted to businesses and commercial

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ buildings, experience paranormal activity. We love investigating properties dating back to the 17th century and the history is amazing. We are comfortable investigating any place that is haunted, however, the old historical buildings are always a favorite!

• In the New England Area, what is the best place you and your team conducted an investigation, what were your results and where would you like to investigate next?

Tough question. Within our top five would have to be the Barnstable House. This location is without question an intelligent haunting! We’ve experienced everything from audio, EVPs and significant video. We’ve had an intelligent entity communicate with us. A perfect example of that is when I notated that I was relocating my microphone to an office around the corner; we captured a voice mimicking me stating office around the corner. That one EVP alone made it worth going back and investigating further and during that investigation, we captured about 20 class A EVPs. The history of the building is unique: it was built in Scituate, MA and floated across Cape Cod Bay and reassembled at its present location in Barnstable Village.

The fact that eleven spirits, or ghosts, if you will, haunt this place makes this a unique location to investigate.

• How would you explain to someone that is in fact experiencing paranormal activity within either their business location or private home, what is exactly going on?

Oddly enough we find most people want their home or business to be haunted! Explaining to someone their home is not haunted seems to be harder than explaining it is haunted! We sit the owners down and show them all of our findings and discuss everything that we found from video, to audio, right down to the history! We love when we dig up some information on someone’s property that they never knew about! In the event we have an individual suffering the effects of a true haunting we will comfort them and discuss options to help them. Nespi has resources to help people including a psychologist, and a priest.

• Noticing that your group, The New England Society of Paranormal Investigators, gives lectures on paranormal investigations, what is the most important aspect of your lecture you want the attendee's to understand about the paranormal.

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Our main purpose of the lectures is to educate people not only on terminology of paranormal activity, but signs of paranormal activity, what to do in the event they experience paranormal activity and how to go about contacting us. Our mission statement that explains everything we do and our intentions. Our presentations are very comprehensive consisting of PowerPoint presentations and audio playback of EVP's. We usually end a lecture with a fun EVP game where the give away scratch tickets or local free pizza, etc donated by local businesses.

It’s always been a huge hit. People love it. The audience participation involvement is the key to having a good lecture. It keeps them interested, engaged and we have a good time with it.

• The term you use "Ghost Hunt", tell us why you use that term and do you feel it is an appropriate term to use?

Ghost hunt.....It’s our slang terminology for investigation.

We say ghost hunt but in all actuality, we are skeptics that investigate paranormal activity so we can be proven wrong. Each time we go to a location that claims to be haunted, we go in to debunk and, if we capture evidence, it was exciting and rewarding because we hunted ghosts.

But in all actuality it is an educational investigation for the group and the people that are experiencing paranormal activity.

• In your section;, What you may encounter, you talk about Discarnate Human Being, and you state that through your intense evp research that you have discovered what other paranormal groups haven't talked about. Can you elaborate on this?

We are very good at doing EVP work. Other paranormal groups tend to run a microphone solely during an EVP sessions, but we operate differently. We capture a lot of our audio before and after the EVP sessions, when we usually record our best evidence. We don’t want to give all our tricks away but we try to trick whoever we are communicating with to think that we really don’t care about them. We tend to get pretty good evidence when they believe were not paying attention to them. We try to stay on topic during the investigation, but we will converse about unrelated topics and are pretty successful at capturing good EVP's during that recording. I also feel sometimes that there is a 'guardian' who is not allowing these spirits to communicate with us. That's ok because if we're not talking to them, but instead we are talking about

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ them, they tend to slip and end up communicating with us!

•Cleaning Spirits: have you ever experienced conducting this type of ritual, and how much do you feel this is apparent to a paranormal group?

We don’t clean out spirits. We will outsource it if people really want it. I’m not a big firm believer of burning sage in the house. I personally feel that it could make the spirit angry. The paranormal activity may settle down for some time but it usually may come back with a vengeance. We always recommend blessing the house. Being a confirmed Catholic, I always refer people to a priest. A priest will come in; bless all 4 corners which always make people feel better. But, typically, people like if their house is haunted so they really aren't interested in cleaning out the spirits but they are interested to learn about the spirits through our investigations.

• Before going on any investigation, is there some type of protection you and your group choose to conduct before and after the investigation?

We do the St Michael prayer to protect us before every single investigation. Believer in religion, or not, it doesn’t hurt to stay protected.

•If you captured a disembodied voice on your recorder that stated "help me", what would you do and why?

We would heavily research the history of the house and the property including research on the family tree. We would also go back and investigate and see if we could generate communication with the spirit for an answer on what 'help' they are seeking. I would run a recorder and say that I can help you if you talk to my recorder and try to get an answer directly. If that doesn’t' work, well go back a few times go back to our roots and try to trick the spirit into answering.

Website: www.nespi.net.

Photo provided by Mike Astin

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ DUST AND SHADOWS Green Cove Springs

When I first walked into the jail, my jaw just dropped. I could have stayed there all day just taking photos.

Capturing different angles to the effects of light and shadow. It was a beautiful sight.

Abes’ Cell Vishitra Garig and Mr. Bass gave us a personal history lesson of the jail, as well as, sharing some of their own personal paranormal experiences. The Jail also serves as a museum and stores the Clay County archives.

Abe Milton was awaiting to be executed for killing a white man. He was executed, by hanging in the year of 1911, on the gallow right outside of the jail. While Don and I were by ourselves in Abe’s cell, I was taking some photos. Being a photographer and any other photographer would know if a shadow was caused by the flash. Well the series of photos are very strange to me.

Our history lesson started off in the front part of the jail, talking about all the Sheriff’s that has served and represented this particular jail. There are some interesting saved artifacts that were found while renovating the jail.

Playing cards and a spoon that was turned into a key to name a few.

While being in that particular part of the jail, we did capture an evp. *you can listen to all our evp’s on our website* We will be talking more in depth about the history of the JailHouse when we have our second visit in June, 2011.

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The photo on the left is the inside of Abe’s Cell. The cell is located at the ended of hallway, first floor on the right.

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ The photo on the right is Don’s reflection in the window; he was to the left of me. I am thinking maybe I can get a reflection of something by shooting in the window pane.. …..

Same shot.. So now it’s gone.. The photo to the right is an example of what my shadow would be if I caused a shadow when I was using a flash. Remember, I am shooting vertically and my flash is on the left.

PHOTO 1 IN SEQUENCE

The above photo, you can see my reflection and flash in the window. But the shadow there is confusing. I was shooting vertical; my flash was on the left. So any shadow to the left would have been caused by me or Don. Now the shadow on the right, well, I have not explanation of.

So what caused this shadow, we don’t know. We tried walking around, going behind, taking more photos just trying to recreate this but we couldn’t.

Could it be someone? I don’t know. We know that Don and I were the only ones in the Jail and the shadow was not caused by us. * The digital recording of this can be heard on our website.*

PHOTO 2 IN SEQUENCE

SECOND FLOOR

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________

Bread and Chocolate While we were still hanging with Vishitra, she explained to us that during paranormal investigations, the spirits do not like the role playing experiments, like one of the investigators playing bad sheriff. This is extremely understandable, after so many paranormal teams that have conducted investigations at the jail; you think they would get pretty sick of hearing that. She stated that they do respond when you about food and chocolate but most important is just being nice.

An interesting evp we picked up while we we were there. *Bread and Chocolate, there is an evp when we were talking about the food they ate. We were on second floor, right cell corridor in the hallway. Sounds like someone is agreeing with us.

harder and found out it to be the windows. These are old windows that have the rope to ease up the window frame.

These are loose, so if there is a breeze, it would most likely knock the window.

Upstairs Upstairs we captured some really interesting evps. The hallway on the right had the most active interaction while Don and I were there.

While going upstairs to the right of the entryway of the corridor, is where I got a strong scent of Don’s cologne.

Don was behind me, so how could I have smelt his cologne from the top of the corridor? We picked up an evp that we feel is saying “Hey Hey”.

The evps Back to the first floor. While Don and I were on our own, we captured quite a few of evps and also figured something out that could be considered paranormal. * Curley or Curik * Talking about the shadow * Trying to debunk the shadow and captured something else.

We did hear some type of noises, like banging. We couldn’t really figure out what or where it was coming from. So when the noise happened again, we looked

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Location: Second Floor-Right side cells *Now this is where I experienced personal contact. I felt someone touch my head. It felt like a pat on the top right of my head. I was standing on the far right near the bars in

Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ the corridor of the cell doors, between the second and third cell.

and touched my left hand. There was no spider web around that area.

We captured maybe someone running right after I respond to the pat on the head and laughter.

Over all this, this is a wonderful place, and yes this old historic jailhouse has paranormal activity. The one thing I did learn was regardless of who they are, what their life was, if they are still residing in, if so, a purgatory state, they still need to be respected.

*Now while Don was in one of the cells he said something that one particular inmate found inappropriate. And he responded attentively. *Then we have a nice little statement from one of them, but referring to what or whom is unclear. Who does he like? What does he like?

I strongly suggest you let Vishitra and Mr. Bass educated you about the history of this building. There is so much richness, sadness and some amazing surprises only they can tell you.

* I think this disembodied voice says, “Gosh look fine.”

Location: Second Floor, left side cells *Going down the corridor to the cells on the left side of the jail. What I think it is a child’s laughter.

Our Second Visit.

Vishitra did state that during some of their paranormal investigations they did hear the sounds of cell doors opening. I was in there by myself on the first floor in the hallway and Don was outside on the phone. I stopped in my tracks and heard it, not once but twice. The sound of cell doors was coming from upstairs. Damned if I was going to go upstairs by myself. I needed someone else to witness if something was actually there. Keep in mind that these doors are extremely rusted and very heavy. They certainly do not move with ease.

We ran video while we were walking around and had two digital recorders running. One I left downstairs and the other one I carried with me.

Still by myself, talking to them and saying I would like to know more about you and so forth, in the corridor on the first floor. Some evps I picked up:

We will see you in June!

* What I think it says.. “Where have you been?”

*photos by Alice Mary Herden

* Asking if they knew what year it was.. “No”.

Contact Information:

During the time upstairs, walking towards the left side, I did feel a spider web effect.. It was lower near the wall

clayarch@bellsouth.net

(904)-371-0027

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ IN OUR NEXT ISSUE • Editors Views Owners of Haunted Locations • Interview John Robert Colombo • Evidence Contact • Encounters Dealing with Contact • Paranormal Folklore Birds • Famous Places Battle Abbey • Famous Hauntings Bell Witch • Readers Ghost Stories Ghost story by Paul Bunnell • 101 Team • Workshop Article by Cheryl Smeed • PTM Ghost Head Soup • Dust and Shadows Location Boone, NC

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Tees and Prints are now available

Tees Available at Zazzle http://www.zazzle.com/ladykassie

Prints are available at our Smugmug Gallery http://vision-vault.smugmug.com/

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Voices to Visions April 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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