1139 lines
66 KiB
Plaintext
1139 lines
66 KiB
Plaintext
Expires: 25 Aug 1995 00:00:00 GMT
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Summary: Frequently discussed topics for the newsgroup alt.folklore.ghost-
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stories
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Subject: ALT.FOLKLORE.GHOST-STORIES FAQ
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Archive-name: folklore/ghost-stories
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Posting-frequency: Monthly
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Welcome to alt.folklore.ghost-stories!
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Alt.folklore.ghost-stories is for the discussion of, well... ghost stories!
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If you've been visited by ghosties, ghoulies, long-legged beasties, or
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things that go bump in the night, a.f.g-s is the perfect place to tell the
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world about your experiences. In fact, if you've heard any ghost stories at
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all lately, feel welcome to post them here.
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Of course, like all newsgroups, a.f.g-s has its share of frequently
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discussed topics. Thus, the alt.folklore.ghost-stories FAQ. I've tried to
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make the FAQ as comprehensive as possible, without getting too bogged down
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in useless rhetoric. It will probably be most useful to those new to the
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group, but hopefully there's something in it for even long-time readers.
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If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please don't hesitate
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to send them to obiwan@netcom.com (that's me!) or post them to the group.
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There's always room for improvement! And speaking of improvement, this FAQ
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would not have been the same without the advice, suggestions, and
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contributions of the following people:
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Arthur Anderson aca3@netaxs.com
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Brian Bethel brianbet@innet.com
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David Chorley chorley@vms.ocom.okstate.edu
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cjs cjs@netcom.com
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Mike Czaplinski mcc@nsscmail.att.com
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David Fluker davidfluker@delphi.com
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Jay Gitomer jgitomer@metamosh.clubfed.sgi.com
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Thomas Grotenhuis thmsgrtn@dordt.edu
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Jason Hoffman Jason.Hoffman@nopc.jaxx.com
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Matt Hucke hucke@sumter.cso.uiuc.edu
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Paul Johnson paj@gec-mrc.co.uk
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Leesa Kern lkern@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
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Lisa Korneluk korneluk@eagle.navsses.navy.mil
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Mark Korven Mark_Korven@goodmedia.com
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Laura Little-Reynolds u0ab9@wvnvm.wvnet.edu
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Susan Lynds sel@noaacdc.colorado.edu
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Joseph W. Metcalf regis@alpha2.csd.uwm.edu
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Prabal Nandy probe@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu
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Proserpina proserp@duckmail.uoregon.edu
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Arturo Sanchez txmrtur@txm.ericsson.se
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Nikki Taylor taylorn@kenyon.edu
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Dave Wilton dwilton@ix.netcom.com
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A very special thank you goes out to Susan Lynds. She wrote the section
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on the Wendigo and sent me oodles of info on will o' the wisps. She was
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also invaluable as a proofreader and constructive criticizer. In fact, a
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few of the sentences you'll read come directly from her. Many of the books
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you see in the Interesting Reference Material section were also sent to me
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by Susan. To sum it up, we should all bow down in deference to Susan for
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making this FAQ a better document to read.
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A note on quotes: I have enclosed quotes from authors or people on the net
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in quotation marks ("). [These parts might be edited a bit for clarity or
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grammar.] The exception is the section which Susan Lynds wrote, which I
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have preserved intact, and not enclosed in quotation marks (any quotation
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marks in this section mark the work of a published author).
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This FAQ is posted on the 20th of every month to alt.folklore.ghost-
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stories, alt.paranormal, alt.paranet.paranormal, alt.answers, and
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news.answers. This FAQ is also available via anon FTP at the following
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addresses:
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ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.folklore.ghost-stories/
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ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ob/obiwan/GhostStories/FAQs/
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The FAQ is also available via the World Wide Web:
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http://www.lido.com/ghosts/
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Here's the outline of the FAQ. To try to make the FAQ easier to search,
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I've used the following key:
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A = Answer
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Q = Question
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S = Subject
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I. Some Posting Guidelines
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Q1.1 Are all the stories posted to alt.folklore.ghost-stories true?
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Should they be true?
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Q1.2 Do I have to be some kind of paranormal nut in order to post here?
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Q1.3 Which topics are appropriate to post about?
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Q1.4 I have this great ghost story! Should I post it?
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Q1.5 I'm writing a book/article, and I'm reaping the net for stories and
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ideas. You don't mind if I steal yours, do you?
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Q1.6 How do I spell _____?
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II. The Ouija Board
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Q2.0 What is a ouija board?
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Q2.1 A lot of people on this group say the ouija board is evil, and
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to stay away from it. Is this true, and should I stay away?
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Q2.2 Where can I buy a ouija board? Failing that, how can I make one?
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Q2.3 Are there any 'rules' I should follow when using the Ouija board?
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Q2.4 What does "ouija" mean?
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Q2.5 A Brief History of the Ouija Board
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III. Famous Hauntings and Spooky Spots
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S3.1 The Amityville Horror
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S3.2 The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall
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S3.3 The Bell Witch
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S3.4 Borley Rectory
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S3.5 Haunted Universities
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S3.6 Haunted Theatres
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S3.7 The Tower of London
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S3.8 Winchester Mansion
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S3.9 The Chase Vault
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IV. Urban Legends
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S4.1 La Llorona
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S4.2 Three Men and a Baby
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S4.3 Mary Worth/Bloody Mary
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S4.4 The Vanishing Hitchhiker
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S4.5 Haunted Traintracks
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V. Miscellaneous FAQs
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Q5.1 What is the Wendigo?
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Q5.2 What are will o' the wisps?
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Q5.3 How did that girl in -Poltergeist- die?
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Q5.4 What are some different categories of manifestations?
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Q5.5 Who are Ed and Lorraine Warren?
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Q5.6 What is "Old Hag"?
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Q5.7 Are cars really rolling uphill in that graveyard near my town?
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Q5.8 What is the best way to photograph a ghost?
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Q5.9 Can't you sue if your new house is haunted, and no one told you about
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it?
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Q5.10 What are some theories of what ghosts are/why they exist?
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Q5.11 What is a caul?
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Q5.12 What is an incubus?
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VI. Non-alt.folklore.ghost-stories Resources
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S6.1 Other USENET groups that a.f.g-s reader may enjoy
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S6.2 Some interesting reference material
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S6.3 Good Supernatural Fiction
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S6.4 Other Net Resources
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S6.5 Paranormal Organizations (brought to you by Brian Bethel!)
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And now, away we go... it's the official
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ALT.FOLKLORE.GHOST-STORIES FAQ
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------------------------------
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I. Some Posting Guidelines
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Q1.1 Are all the stories posted to alt.folklore.ghost-stories true? Should
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they be true?
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A1.1 It is highly doubtful that everything posted to a.f.g-s is true, or
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even meant to be true. However, unless you mark your story as
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fiction, readers tend to assume you are telling a tale you believe to
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be true. Hence, it is considered polite in these parts to MARK
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FICTION AS FICTION. People may otherwise assume that you're trying to
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pull the wool over their eyes, or else take the story at face value
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and start giving you advice. It's also common to start out "true"
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tales with "This really happened to me," or "This is a true story,"
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although technically it's not really necessary, as any unmarked story
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is considered to be true.
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CASE IN POINT: In the fall of 1994, someone posted a rather fantastic
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concoction about a spirit which he said had been attacking him for a
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good part of his life. He pleaded with the readers of a.f.g-s for
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help with his dilemma. Many kind readers responded with sympathy and
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advice, while one or two others posted their doubts about the story.
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The original poster acted hurt that someone didn't believe his story,
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insisting that it was true. A flame war ensued. Eventually the pos-
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ter admitted the story was made up, and the people who had believed
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and defended him felt hurt, betrayed, and/or embarrassed. This all
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could have been avoided if the poster had marked his story as fiction
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in the first place.
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Q1.2 Do I have to be some kind of paranormal nut in order to post here?
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A1.2 No. Although there are lots of people here who believe in paranormal
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activities, certainly not everyone does. Many people like reading the
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stories, but generally take them with a grain of salt. Everyone is
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welcome here, but remember: Flaming someone because they believe or
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don't believe in something is *not* welcome.
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Q1.3 Which topics are appropriate to post about?
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A1.3 Obviously, ghost stories (preferably true ones) make up the most
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appropriate posting material. However, I've also seen great threads
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about guardian angels, mysterious monsters, psychic phenomena, and of
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course ouija boards. I don't see any reason why we can't discuss
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these things here in a.f.g-s, as long as it doesn't degenerate into a
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flame war or something. This is a friendly and relatively flame-free
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newsgroup, and I'm sure everyone would like to keep it that way.
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General discussion of ghosts (e.g. "What are ghosts?") is also
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welcome. Basically, if it's paranormal and scary, you're on pretty
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sturdy ground (I would, however, discourage UFO posts, as there are
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already plenty of groups for those).
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Q1.4 I have this great ghost story! Should I post it?
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A1.4 YES! If you have a good story to tell, please don't hesitate to
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post it. There's nothing more frustrating to a.f.g-s readers than a
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post containing nothing but the words "Something scary happened to me.
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If there is enough interest, I'll post the story." We *want* to hear
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your story... honest!
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Q1.5 I'm writing a book/article, and I'm reaping the net for stories and
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ideas. You don't mind if I steal yours, do you?
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A1.5 Ha. Ha. Ha. Yes, as a matter of fact, we do mind. I'd suggest
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that if you're going to take other people's stories and give nothing
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back, you should find another newsgroup. It's OK to use someone's
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stories if you have written permission from the person and/or are
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paying them in some way. It might also be a nice idea to *give* a
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story for each one you take. Just a few things to think about.
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Q1.6 How do I spell _____?
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A1.6 Here are some commonly misspelled words that pop up frequently on
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alt.folklore.ghost-stories. You, too, can be a good speller!
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Correct: WEIRD Incorrect: WIERD
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Correct: SEANCE Incorrect: SAYONCE
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Correct: OUIJA Incorrect: WEEJA
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Correct: SUCCUBUS Incorrect: SUCUBUS
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II. The Ouija Board
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The ouija board is a hot topic around here, and everyone seems to have a
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strong opinion about it one way or the other. I've tried to summarize
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those opinions, and also some questions about the board that get asked
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a lot.
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Q2.0 What is a ouija board?
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A2.0 A ouija board is a game in which messages are supposedly communicated
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by the dead to or through the players of the game. [Note: some people
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consider the ouija to be "more than just a game," but it is marketed
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as a game, and for purposes of convenience it will be referred to here
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as a game.] The playing pieces consist of a game board (like a
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Monopoly board) and a pointer, called a planchette. The game board
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has all the letters of the alphabet written on it. The numbers 0-9
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are also usually included, along with yes/no and hello/goodbye spaces.
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The layout of a typical board looks something like this:
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_________________________
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|A B C D E F G H I J K L M|
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|N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z|
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| 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
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|YES/NO HI/BYE|
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|_________________________|
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The pointer is made of plastic or glass, and either points to the
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letters with one end or has a clear window embedded in it through
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which one can view the letters.
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To play, two or more people lightly touch the pointer and concentrate
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on a question. The pointer will (hopefully) move and point to letters
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and numbers which will provide answers to your questions.
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Ouija boards are also known as "witch boards" and "talking boards."
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The nickname "ouiji" or "weejie" is also used quite a bit.
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Q2.1 A lot of people on this group say the ouija board is evil, and to
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stay away from it. Is this true, and should I stay away?
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A2.1 Since it's nearly impossible to merge the two views on this
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topic, I've tried to accurately sum them up here:
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* The ouija board is not any more evil than your Monopoly board.
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It's just a toy, a piece of cardboard, and any "evil" force you
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feel emanating off it is purely a result of your imagination.
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Yes, the pointer does work, but that's the result of tiny
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involuntary physical movements, and the messages you see are coming
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from your subconscious or psychic mind.
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* The ouija is in fact a powerful tool, and its powers cannot, and
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should not, be written off entirely as your subconscious.
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Inexperienced ouija users are especially prone to being affected by
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malevolent forces which communicate through the board, often
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masquerading as a departed loved one. The best way to avoid this
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sort of thing is not to use the board at all.
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Q2.2 Where can I buy a ouija board? Failing that, how can I make one?
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A2.2 You can, in the U.S. anyway, find a ouija board in a toy store or a
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game store. You might also be able to find one in a large bookstore.
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Parker Brothers make a nice, relatively cheap, model.
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To make a board, arrange all the letters of the alphabet on a smooth
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surface. You might also want the words "yes", "no", and "goodbye",
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as well as the numbers. Use something that glides easily over the
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surface (like a glass) to use as a pointer. Now, place your fingers
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(this works best with a friend, by the way) gently on the glass and
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concentrate. Hopefully the glass will start to move and point to
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various letters, which will form words and sentences. Oh yeah, it
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helps if you ask a question first.
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Q2.3 Are there any 'rules' I should follow when using the Ouija board?
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A2.3 If you consider the Ouija board as just another toy, then there are
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no hard and fast rules to follow. Holding on to the pointer helps,
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though. :)
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If you believe that you are really contacting spirits through the
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board, you might want to follow a few basic guidelines. Here are
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some that I've gleaned off the net and from other sources:
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* Use a silver coin as the planchette (pointer), or wear an article
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made of silver. The silver is supposed to protect you from harmful
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spirits.
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* To improve "reception", use a solid wood board, and work in male-
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female pairs.
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* Draw a circle around you and the board, or make a circle of candles.
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Concentrate on creating a safe, protected place as you do this.
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Some people believe that spirits must stay outside this circle.
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Also, a well-lit area is said to drive away evil spirits.
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* Always say goodbye to the entity you are talking with when you want
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to end a session. If you don't say goodbye, and the spirit doesn't
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reply in kind, he may be trying to stick around, maybe to make your
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life miserable. Additionally, do not explicitly invite the spirit
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to enter someplace, since this will make it hard to get rid of him
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later.
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* It helps to have one additional person (not touching the planchette)
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present to transcribe the session. Sometimes the pointer starts
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moving too fast for you to read and process the words it's spelling
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out. The transcription might also be helpful later on so you can
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look back on what happened. Another way to transcribe is to have
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someone call out the letters to a tape recorder.
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* Don't take anything the spirit says literally. Ouija boards are
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famous for lying or otherwise giving false information.
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Q2.4 What does "ouija" mean?
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A2.4 The word "ouija" is actually a combination of two words, the french
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word "oui" and the German word "ja." Both words mean "yes" in eng-
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lish.
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Q2.5 A Brief History of the Ouija Board
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A2.5 From thmsgrtn@dordt.edu (Thomas Grotenhuis):
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The ancient Egyptians used a device LIKE a ouija board. They used a
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ring attached to a strand of thread, held over a circular table with
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symbols on it, and the ring would strike the table to spell out ans-
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wers.
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The Ouija board, the kind we see in toy stores today, came about in
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1889 when William Fuld of Baltimore, Maryland, and his brother Isaac,
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marketed Ouija boards to the American public. They had a small
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operation and the board was the hottest item they would ever produce.
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People bought the board not as a game, but as a device with which they
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would talk to their loved ones killed in battle (note the two World
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Wars happening; this was where the board's popularity really soared).
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During this time, the fad spread, and so did Ouija's notorious
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reputation as being more than just a "game."
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Finally in about 1960 or thereabouts, Parker Brothers approached the
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two Fuld brothers since they were having trouble making enough boards
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to satisfy the demand for them. PB then took over the rights to the
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ouija board and the rest, as they say, is history.
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Ouija came about as kind of a by-product of the whole spiritualist
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craze that was all the rage in the early 1900's, and during Houdini's
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time as he debunked many 'mediums'. Table-tipping was being done back
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then, and a Frenchman, who's last name was "planchette", produced a
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device that looked like a small table like a ouija pointer, that stood
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on two small stilts and a pen or pencil at the third point. The
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operator would sit with his hands as lightly as he could resting on the
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planchette, this device named after it's inventor, and the thing would
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move, producing writing.
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Ouija replaced the messy planchette (the writing was messy cursive
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scrawls) when a board was used in place of the sheet of paper, and all
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three stilts on the planchette were covered with felt enabling it to
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slide in any direction. This made the communications fast, clear, and
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easy. And specifically meant to be done with a partner, "gentleman
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and lady preferred."
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III. Famous Hauntings and Spooky Spots
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Following is a brief rundown of the most popular hauntings discussed on
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alt.folklore.ghost-stories. Note that these are all relatively famous
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hauntings, and not urban legendish or my-aunt-Edna's-house type tales.
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S3.1 The Amityville Horror
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The Amityville Horror, although now considered a hoax, is one of the
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most famous "hauntings" of all time. The small house in Amityville,
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New York was made famous in the mid-70s when George and Kathy Lutz
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told the media of bizarre happenings which were alleged to have taken
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place at the house during the month they lived there. These happen-
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ings included such things as flying demented pigs with glowing red
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eyes (my personal favorite), walls that oozed blood, an infestation of
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flies in the attic, and a pit to hell in the basement.
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Supposedly, whatever had tormented the Lutzes was also the thing that
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had driven Ronald DeFeo to shoot and kill his entire family in that
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house in 1974.
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S3.2 The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall
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The Brown Lady is famous mostly as being one of the most reliably
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photographed ghost in history. [The picture can be found at my web
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page or FTP area.] Although she has not been seen since 1936, she is
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said to wear a long brown dress or cape. No one knows who the Brown
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Lady is, or how she is connected to Raynham Hall.
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The first sighting was reported in 1835 by a house guest, Colonel
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Loftus. He actually viewed her twice. He said she was wearing a
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brown satin dress and had only black empty sockets for eyes.
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Another sighting was made by Captain Frederick Marryat. He inten-
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tionally slept in the "haunted room," but instead caught a glimpse of
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the Brown Lady an upstairs hallway. His description was the same as
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Loftus', except this time the Brown Lady was carrying a lantern. Mar-
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ryat happened to have a gun with him, and fired point-blank at the
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figure. The bullets, of course, passed right through the ghost.
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The ghost was not reported again until 1926, at which time it was
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viewed by two little boys. In 1936, the famous photograph was taken
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by photographers Captain Provand and Indre Shira during a shoot for
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the magazine -Country Life-. Shira saw the ghost on the stairs, and
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instructed Provand to take a picture. [Note: In -The Encyclopedia of
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Ghosts-, Daniel Cohen notes that this photograph could have been
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easily faked. It is a fascinating picture nonetheless.]
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S3.3 The Bell Witch
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"The Bell Witch" haunted the Bell home in Tennessee in the early
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1800s. The "witch" was actually a poltergeist, which did lots of
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annoying things like throw things around and scream/knock loudly
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at all hours. John Bell, the father, died during the Bell Witch's
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tenure. Some claim he was poisoned by the Witch. Betsy Bell,
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John's daughter, is suspected of having faked the whole thing.
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Reliable records are lacking, so we'll probably never know whether
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the Bell Farm was truly haunted.
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A more complete account of this haunting is available on the ghost
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stories web page (see section 6.4).
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S3.4 Borley Rectory
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Borley Rectory is often called "The most haunted house in England."
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The site of the rectory originally held a monastery, which was
|
|
inhabited by Benedictine monks. Subsequent to this, the monastery
|
|
came under the ownership of the Waldergrave family, who occupied it
|
|
for three centuries. In the late 1800's a descendant of the Walde-
|
|
graves, the reverend H.D.E. Bull, built a new rectory on the site of
|
|
the old monastery. It was not until after the new rectory was built
|
|
that strange things started to happen.
|
|
One of the spectres that was said to roam the grounds was a nun who
|
|
in the 13th century fell in love with and tried to elope with a monk.
|
|
According to legend, the nun and monk were caught in their get-away
|
|
horse and carriage. As punishment, the monk was hung and the nun was
|
|
walled up alive in the rectory. Some people reported seeing the
|
|
ghostly form of the horse and carriage in addition to the nun.
|
|
The reverend Harry Bull, who died at Borley, also was reputed to have
|
|
haunted the rectory. He would appear dressed in the grey jacket in
|
|
which he passed away.
|
|
In the late 1920s, the house was owned by a reverend (Lionel A.
|
|
Foyster) and his wife who reported poltergeist-like phenomena.
|
|
Supposedly the prankish spirit locked the wife in the bedroom, and
|
|
other times threw her out of the bed. There were also pebbles thrown
|
|
at the windows, and mysterious writing which would appear on walls.
|
|
Harry Price, a famous ghost hunter, investigated Borley Rectory in
|
|
1929, and again in 1937. He supposedly witnessed some of the
|
|
activity, including the ghostly nun. Although Price spent a great
|
|
deal of time in the Rectory, his research is generally considered to
|
|
be biased and therefore flawed.
|
|
Unfortunately, Borley Rectory burned down in 1939, taking its secrets
|
|
with it. In 1945, human remains rumored to be those of the nun were
|
|
found on the site, and were given a proper burial. But the legend of
|
|
Borley has not died yet; people still visit the site today to see if
|
|
they can spot the ghostly nun.
|
|
S3.5 Haunted Universities
|
|
There are many stories of college hauntings. If you wish to read of
|
|
them, you can ftp to my alt.folklore.ghost-stories archives (see
|
|
address at the bottom of this FAQ). Relevant files include:
|
|
cmu.children.mary.reed kale*.contact
|
|
cmu.haunting.phantom.typist kenyon.haunting
|
|
ghost.elevator.und.haunting marquette.haunting
|
|
haunted.dorm.upei.haunting asu*.ghost
|
|
I haven't run across any university hauntings that are well known
|
|
outside of one particular school but if anyone knows of any, let
|
|
me know and I will include it in this section.
|
|
S3.6 Haunted Theatres
|
|
Mike Czaplinski (mcc@nsscmail.att.com) writes the following about
|
|
the ghost of Drury Lane Theatre:
|
|
"Drury Lane Theatre. From my fuzzy recollection, the ghost is
|
|
described at various times as a soft green glow, or a handsome young
|
|
man. I seem to recall there being an entry on this particular
|
|
haunting in THE BOOK OF LISTS (circa 1980). According to the entry
|
|
(again, subject to my faulty memory), during renovation in the late
|
|
1970's, they stumbled on a skeleton with the remnants of a grey riding
|
|
coat with a knife sticking out of its ribs.
|
|
The folklore is that whoever sees the ghost is destined for
|
|
theatrical greatness."
|
|
Further details (provided directly from -The Book of Lists-, Bantam,
|
|
1977): The ghost is that of a young man who was murdered in 1780.
|
|
J. Wentworth Day, a ghost hunter, reported seeing a moving blue light
|
|
in the theatre in 1939.
|
|
If anyone knows of any other famous haunted theatres, I would be
|
|
happy to hear about them. There are a few files in my archives that
|
|
are about haunted theatres: lyric.theatre, playhouse.ghost, and
|
|
theatre.ghost.
|
|
S3.7 The Tower of London
|
|
The Tower of London has a long and bloody history, and of course
|
|
many ghostly legends are associated with the Tower. In 1483, two
|
|
young princes were murdered in the Tower, and their ghosts were
|
|
reported to have haunted the tower until the year 1674, when their
|
|
bones were found and buried in a proper ceremony.
|
|
The most famous and most often reported ghost in the Tower is
|
|
Anne Boleyn. She was beheaded by her husband, Henry VIII, in 1536.
|
|
Other Tower ghosts include Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes, and even
|
|
the apparition of a bear. In 1816, a palace guard who was on duty
|
|
spied the bear. Not realizing he was facing an apparition, the guard
|
|
attempted to lunge at the creature with his bayonet. The guard repor-
|
|
tedly later died of shock.
|
|
In 1864, a soldier saw a ghost and again attempted to use his
|
|
bayonet. The soldier fainted when he realized his antagonist was a
|
|
ghost, and was later court-martialed for neglecting his duties (hard
|
|
to guard the castle when you're fainted dead away). However, the
|
|
charges against the soldier were dropped when two witnesses came
|
|
forward to support the soldier's ghost story.
|
|
S3.8 Winchester Mansion
|
|
The Winchester Mansion, in San Jose, California, was built by Sara
|
|
Winchester, the widow of William Winchester. Sara visited a psychic
|
|
who told her that she must build a house large enough to house
|
|
the souls of all those who'd been killed by Winchester guns, and
|
|
Sara spent the remaining 36 years of her life (until she died in
|
|
1922) doing just that.
|
|
The mansion's construction is just as odd as Sara's personality.
|
|
There are stairways and doors that go nowhere, secret rooms and
|
|
passages, and elevators that only go up one floor. Some believe
|
|
that Sara had the house built in a confusing way so that the sprits
|
|
wouldn't be able to find her and seek revenge. The number 13
|
|
is prevalent throughout: 13 bathrooms, stairways with 13 steps,
|
|
and so on.
|
|
There is a rumor that Sara would never give her workmen the day
|
|
off, because she was afraid that the day she stopped building she
|
|
would die. One day, however, after many complaints, she finally
|
|
gave her staff a day off, and that is the day she died.
|
|
S3.9 The Chase Vault (AKA The Moving coffins of Barbados)
|
|
Contributed by Matthew Hucke (hucke@mcs.com):
|
|
In Christ Church cemetery on the island of Barbados there is a burial
|
|
vault of unknown origin. The earliest records call it the "Chase
|
|
vault". It was first used for the burial of a Mrs. Goddard in 1807,
|
|
followed by two-year-old Mary Ann Chase in 1808 and her sister Dorcas
|
|
in 1812, a probable suicide. A few weeks later, Dorcas' father Thomas
|
|
Chase died. When the vault was opened, all the coffins had been moved
|
|
from their original places. It was thought that thieves had been in
|
|
the vault, but the concrete seal of the tomb was still in place.
|
|
Two more burials were made in 1816. In both cases, when the vault
|
|
was opened, the coffins already present had been moved about. The
|
|
casket of Thomas Chase was of lead, weighing 240 pounds, far too large
|
|
to be moved by a single vandal. In each of these burials, the wor-
|
|
kers returned the coffins to their proper places and sealed the mauso-
|
|
leum with cement.
|
|
It happened again in 1819. This time, the Governor sprinkled sand
|
|
on the floor (to show footprints), and pressed his personal seal into
|
|
the fresh cement. In 1820 the tomb was opened again, and the coffins
|
|
were again out of place, even though no footprints showed and the
|
|
concrete seal was undisturbed. The governor ordered the coffins
|
|
removed and the vault left open; the mystery has never been solved.
|
|
[ information taken from Daniel Cohen's _The Encyclopedia of Ghosts_,
|
|
Avon Books 1984.]
|
|
|
|
IV. Urban Folklore and Legends
|
|
S4.1 La Llorona
|
|
La Llorona is the legend of a woman who has lost her children, and
|
|
who can be heard, and sometimes seen, weeping in the night. La
|
|
Llorona (the name means "She who weeps" in Spanish) is in most stories
|
|
said to be Mexican, although sometimes she is a woman who lived in
|
|
the American Southwest. As with most urban legends, there are many
|
|
variations of La Llorona, but the central plot remains intact: The
|
|
woman has lost her children, usually because she herself has killed
|
|
them because she wants to marry a man who doesn't want any children.
|
|
She is so anguished over the depressing circumstances that she kills
|
|
herself as well, and is thus doomed forever to roam her native land,
|
|
weeping and wringing her hands. Sometimes she is said to be searching
|
|
for her children, and sometimes she is said to appear only as a
|
|
warning to those who see her.
|
|
Here is a typical version of the La Llorona legend by Proserpina
|
|
(proserp@duckmail.uoregon.edu):
|
|
"Sightings abound throughout the Southwest. Supposedly she drowned
|
|
her children in the acequia (irrigation ditch,) and now she roams the
|
|
ditches looking for her, or any, children. Usually the story is told
|
|
with the intentions of keeping kiddies away from the ditches, so they
|
|
won't drown."
|
|
-The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits- by Rosemary Guiley tells a
|
|
more traditional Mexican version, which occurs in Mexico City around
|
|
1550. According to legend, an indian princess fell in love with a
|
|
Mexican nobleman. The nobleman promised to marry her, but betrayed
|
|
her and married someone else instead. The ultimate result of this
|
|
bit o' treachery is that the princess murdered her children in a fit
|
|
of rage, with a knife given to her by the nobleman. Afterwards, she
|
|
wandered the streets crying for her children, and was eventually
|
|
hanged for her sins. Since then her ghost has been searching for her
|
|
children.
|
|
Another interesting feature of the La Llorona legend is that it
|
|
appears to have merged with the Vanishing Hitchhiker legend (see
|
|
below). La Llorona is reported by some to hitch a ride on a road
|
|
near to the place where she drowned her children.
|
|
S4.2 Three Men and a Baby
|
|
If I had to pick just one topic from this FAQ to post, this would
|
|
be the one. There is a scene in the movie -Three Men and a Baby-
|
|
in which some people claim to have seen the ghostly figure of a
|
|
small boy who was killed in the house in which the scene was filmed.
|
|
In some variations, the boy's parents are said to have sued the
|
|
movie studio, or the owners of the "house", for letting their boy's
|
|
name be released to the press. There are also tales of other ghostly
|
|
objects being seen throughout the movie, most notably a rifle pointing
|
|
at the head of the "ghost boy".
|
|
That is the legend. Here are the facts. The scene in question
|
|
was not shot in a house, but on a soundstage in a Hollywood studio.
|
|
The "ghost boy" is in fact a life-sized cardboard cutout of Ted
|
|
Danson (who stars in the film), which had been left in the background,
|
|
presumably accidentally, by a crew member. This cutout is seen in
|
|
full view in another scene in the movie.
|
|
There is no ghost boy. No boy ever died on the set, and no one
|
|
involved with the movie was ever sued by the mythical parents of
|
|
said ghost boy. No one appears to know how the legend started.
|
|
Some have suggested it was a promotional scheme perpetrated by the
|
|
producers of the film to get people to buy/rent/go see it. Most
|
|
likely the flub was simply noticed by one or more innocent movie
|
|
goers, who told a friend, or perhaps a newspaper...
|
|
S4.3 Mary Worth/Bloody Mary
|
|
Here is a popular legend which many remember from their childhood.
|
|
The Mary Worth (also known as Bloody Mary, Mary Margaret, etc) story
|
|
is popular at sleepovers. As the story goes, a beautiful young girl
|
|
named Mary Worth was in some sort of terrible accident (or
|
|
occasionally the wounds are inflicted purposely by a jealous party),
|
|
and her face was hideously deformed. From then on, she is shunned by
|
|
other people, and she sometimes becomes a witch.
|
|
Now for the scary part. Supposedly if you say Mary Worth's name
|
|
three (or five, or ten... it varies) times while looking into the
|
|
mirror, Mary Worth will appear and scratch your face off or kill
|
|
you. She is exacting a hideous revenge on the undeformed people
|
|
who made fun of her in life.
|
|
There is a great Clive Barker movie, -Candyman-, based on this
|
|
sort of legend.
|
|
S4.4 The Vanishing Hitchhiker
|
|
This legend is probably familiar to most readers. It is a dark
|
|
and stormy night. A person driving sees a forlorn figure at the
|
|
side of the road and decides to give him or her a lift. Usually
|
|
the hitchhiker is a young woman in some sort of trouble... her
|
|
prom date dumped her, or her car broke down. The driver gets to
|
|
her house only to discover that his passenger has disappeared without
|
|
a trace from the back seat of his car. He knocks on the door
|
|
to the house, maybe to make sure the girl is ok, and the door is
|
|
answered by the girl's parent. Eventually it comes out that the
|
|
girl died some years ago, and every year on the anniversary of her
|
|
death (or her birthday), the girl hitches a ride back home with a
|
|
stranger.
|
|
There are *many* variations of this legend. Sometimes the girl
|
|
appears to make it home safely, but the driver finds something the
|
|
girl left behind in his car, and goes back to return it, thus lear-
|
|
ning the truth about the girl. Sometimes the driver lends the girl
|
|
his jacket or sweater, and goes back the next day to retrieve it.
|
|
Often, he finds his jacket hung over the grave of the dead girl.
|
|
It is interesting to note that this legend has made it into many
|
|
regional folklores. In Hawaii, for example, the hitchhiker is often
|
|
said to be the goddess Pele. It has already been mentioned that
|
|
La Llorona has also been connected with the story. In the Chicago
|
|
area, the vanishing hitchhiker takes the form of Resurrection Mary.
|
|
S4.5 Haunted Traintracks
|
|
Occasionally a reader will post the following story, usually
|
|
attributing it to a local site. Once, there was a tragic accident
|
|
on a set of traintracks:
|
|
A busload of children was crossing the tracks, and could not get
|
|
out of the way in time to avoid the approaching train. Now, if
|
|
your car stalls out on the tracks, it will be pushed over the tracks
|
|
to safety before the train hits you. The ghosts of the children
|
|
have saved you, and sometimes you can see their small handprints
|
|
in the dust on your car.
|
|
The most well-known example of this urban legend are the haunted
|
|
traintracks in San Antonio, Texas.
|
|
For an explanation of how things can appear to move "uphill", see
|
|
FAQ 5.7.
|
|
|
|
V. Miscellaneous FAQs
|
|
Q5.1 What is the Wendigo?
|
|
A5.1 [This section brought to you by Susan Lynds (sel@noaacdc.colorado.
|
|
edu). Thanks, Susan!]
|
|
"The wendigo is a Canadian entity, half phantom, half beast, who
|
|
lives in the forests and preys on human beings, particularly chil-
|
|
dren. The belief in this horror dates back to the earliest Indian
|
|
legends and it is said that the wendigo will eat the flesh of its
|
|
victims. According to R.S. Lambert in "Exploring the Supernatural"
|
|
(1955), 'Wendigos (who might be women as well as men) were believed
|
|
to have entered into a pact with evil spirits, lurking in the for-
|
|
est, who helped them kill their victims.' The legend of this crea-
|
|
ture has been immortalized in Algernon Blackwood's short story "The
|
|
Wendigo" (1907). In W.T. Cox's "Fearsome Creatures of the Lumber
|
|
Woods" (1951) a number of other Canadian "wood horrors" are listed,
|
|
including the hodag, the whimpus, the hoop-snake, the celofay, and
|
|
the filamaloo."
|
|
--A Dictionary of Ghost Lore, by Peter Haining
|
|
Q5.2 What are will o' the wisps?
|
|
A5.2 Will o' the wisps are a natural phenomenon that never the less
|
|
appear ghostly in nature. The wisps, which are actually ignited
|
|
pockets of swamp gas, hover over swamps and swampy areas and glow
|
|
blue. They can move (carried by breezes and air currents), and
|
|
many observers have noted that the wisps seem to mimic a person's
|
|
movements... when the observer moves forward, so does the wisp.
|
|
Will o' the wisps can appear as one glowing ball or as many tiny
|
|
flickers.
|
|
Will o' the wisps have also been called such fanciful names as
|
|
"corpse candles", "fox fire", and "elf light". The phenomenon is
|
|
also knows as "ignis fatuus", which means "foolish fire". Some
|
|
believe the mysterious floating lights to be portents of bad luck
|
|
or even death. Researchers believe that many people have mistaken
|
|
will o' the wisps for the ghostly lanterns of trains and/or their
|
|
long-dead conductors.
|
|
Q5.3 How did that girl in -Poltergeist- die?
|
|
A5.3 Contributed by Christine White (christin@meaddata.com):
|
|
According to People magazine February 15, 1988:
|
|
"It happened so fast. At 9:25 am, Monday Feb. 1, only hours after
|
|
developing what appeared to be flu symptoms, Heather O'Rourke, child
|
|
star of the Poltergeist horror films, was rushed from her home in
|
|
Lakeside, Calif., to the hospital; she was in septic shock and cardiac
|
|
arrest. An hour later she arrived by airlift, alive but in critical
|
|
condition, at Children's Hospital and Health Center in San Diego.
|
|
There she was operated on for intestinal stenosis, an acute bowel
|
|
obstruction, a congenital condition neither her mother nor stepfather
|
|
had suspected. At 2:43 pm, Heather died on the operating table. She
|
|
was 12 years old."
|
|
Subsequent issues of People tell how doctors first diagnosed and
|
|
treated her for Chrone's disease. The parents sued the doctors for
|
|
wrongful treatment, but I don't know what happened to the suit.
|
|
Q5.4 What are some different categories of manifestations?
|
|
Ghostly visitations fall into several distinct categories. Here
|
|
are a few of the most common.
|
|
* Crisis Apparitions -- These ghosts appear most often to their
|
|
loved ones at a moment of great crisis or death. Typically, the
|
|
ghosts appear only once to a special loved one who may be many
|
|
miles away at the time of the accident.
|
|
* Doppelgangers -- Doppelgangers are ghostly doubles of living peo-
|
|
people. Often the doppelganger is not visible to the person him-
|
|
self, and will simply follow the person around. In some cases a
|
|
person will come upon his own doppelganger who is typically engaged
|
|
in some future activity. Doppelgangers are traditionally consid-
|
|
ered omens of bad luck or even death.
|
|
* Repeated Actions -- Many apparitions are always viewed repeating
|
|
the same motions or scenes. Many classic hauntings fall into this
|
|
category. An example of this type of haunting is The Brown Lady of
|
|
Raynham Hall, who was always seen moving down a hallway with a lan-
|
|
tern in her hand. Usually these ghosts pay little or no attention
|
|
to the observer.
|
|
* Poltergeists -- Poltergeists are the only spirits who leave immed-
|
|
iate physical traces. Poltergeists are best known for throwing
|
|
things about and producing rapping sounds and other noises. In
|
|
fact, the word "poltergeist" means "noisy ghost" in German. Pol-
|
|
tergeists often occur where there are children on the brink of
|
|
puberty, and often interact with people.
|
|
* Ghostly Sounds and Lights -- Sometimes a haunting will consist en-
|
|
tirely of the sound of footsteps or ghostly music. There are also
|
|
many legends of ghost lights, which are often said to be caused by
|
|
someone's ghostly lantern or by a spectral motorcycle or train.
|
|
* Possessed Ojects -- Sometimes inanimate objects are said to be
|
|
cursed or possessed. A very famous example of a supposed cursed
|
|
object is the Hope Diamond. Sometimes a particular piece of furn-
|
|
iture will refuse to stay in place, even moving in front of the
|
|
owner's eyes.
|
|
Q5.5 Who are Ed and Lorraine Warren?
|
|
Ed and Lorraine Warren are a husband and wife team who investigate
|
|
paranormal activity. Their most famous case is probably the Amity-
|
|
ville horror. The reliability of their research is considered ques-
|
|
tionable by many. The Warrens currently make a living by travelling
|
|
the lecture circuit and releasing the occasional book.
|
|
Q5.6 What is "Old Hag"?
|
|
A5.6 From the alt.dreams FAQ, maintained by Olaf Titz (olaf@bigred.ka.
|
|
sub.org):
|
|
"3.1. What causes sleep paralysis?
|
|
"A. Conventional wisdom: REM atonia is a normal function of the
|
|
body. The muscles that move the body are "turned off" during REM
|
|
sleep, which prevents you from acting out dreamed actions in rea-
|
|
lity. Non-REM sleep paralysis after waking up ("old hag") is
|
|
caused by a failure to re-activate the muscles immediately. Nor-
|
|
mally this condition lasts only a few seconds, but sometimes it
|
|
can go for a minute, which causes a very scary feeling. You are
|
|
damn sure you're awake now but you can't move. This is extremely
|
|
unpleasant but at least not dangerous."
|
|
Symptoms of old hag include hearing footsteps, seeing a presence
|
|
(often an old woman, from which the name derives), and a feeling of
|
|
not being able to breathe or move.
|
|
Here is a typical Old Hag experience. This was posted on a.f.g-s.
|
|
From: bwallace@epix.net (Penny)
|
|
"... I turned out the light and settled down to go to sleep. As I
|
|
was lying in bed thinking, I became aware of a rustling sound emanat-
|
|
ing from the turret. I focused on the sound, trying to determine its
|
|
origins. A breeze over papers? A mouse? As soon as I dismissed
|
|
these possibilities the rustling sound stopped and was replaced by
|
|
the sound of stealthy, shuffling footsteps that were headed in my
|
|
direction. The sense of a presence was suddenly so strong that it
|
|
filled the room. I was terrified. The critical detail here is that I
|
|
clearly remember pulling the blanket over my head (I was lying on my
|
|
back.) The next thing I knew I was paralyzed--I couldn't move a fin-
|
|
ger. The footsteps continued their approach and the next thing I
|
|
knew, a tremendous weight settled on my chest, forcing me into the
|
|
mattress. I felt that there was a menacing presence. [...] It was
|
|
nasty! The intense, dreadful weight continued to press down on me,
|
|
almost like a large animal settling itself on my body. I thought I
|
|
would go through the mattress. I knew that I was awake, I was not
|
|
dreaming, and that something evil was in the room with me. Somehow,
|
|
my childhood years of Sunday School paid off and I prayed to be re-
|
|
leased. In that instant, it was over."
|
|
Next time you read a book of true ghostly accounts, keep the old hag
|
|
phenomenon in mind. Most likely you will find a few classic old hag
|
|
experiences (especially by authors who are unaware of the phenomenon)
|
|
which the victim assumed were paranormal.
|
|
Q5.7 Are cars really rolling uphill in that graveyard near my town?
|
|
A5.7 There are some places where the land is shaped in such a way that it
|
|
can sometimes appear that things are going uphill when they are really
|
|
going down. Some people attribute this type of activity to paranormal
|
|
causes.
|
|
Jason Hoffman (Jason.Hoffman@nopc.jaxx.com) explains it this way:
|
|
"This was explained very simply on a TV show several years back.
|
|
There is a place known as "Gravity Hill" where the road is on a slight
|
|
decline. But the trees on the side of the road, instead of being
|
|
vertical, lean down the hill. So that if you are standing sideways on
|
|
the road, with the down side to your left, the trees `should' appear
|
|
to lean to the right, but actually lean to the left. This makes the
|
|
downward side of the hill seem to be the up side of the hill. The
|
|
grade is so slight that it throws off your balance, so you become con-
|
|
fused.
|
|
"This has been illustrated in fun houses at amusement parks...'The
|
|
Leaning Room'. After being in the room for a minute, your natural
|
|
sense of balance tries to correct itself. Then, you try to roll a
|
|
ball down some parallel bars, but the ball rolls up instead."
|
|
Here is another explanation by Paul Johnson (paj@gec-mrc.co.uk):
|
|
"The brain uses a collection of techniques for deciding which way is
|
|
up. The balancing organs in the inner ears only work when you stand
|
|
still, so for most purposes the brain uses visual rules-of-thumb.
|
|
"Amongst these are:
|
|
1: The ground is, on average, horizontal.
|
|
2: Walls are vertical.
|
|
"So these mystery spots are usually on broad, empty plains with a
|
|
slight slope. The slope isn't noticable, and rule 1 is applied by the
|
|
brain to get a wrong answer for the horizontal. Hence any slight
|
|
lessening of the slope looks like a slight upward rise on a flat
|
|
plain, even though it is actually still downhill. So things rolling
|
|
down the slope look like they are rolling uphill.
|
|
"Sometimes locals exploit rule 2 by putting up buildings that conform
|
|
to the visual horizontal instead of the actual one. This reinforces
|
|
the illusion quite strongly.
|
|
"If you are ever shown one of these spots, check a map with contour
|
|
lines drawn on to find out how flat it really is."
|
|
Q5.8 What is the best way to photograph a ghost?
|
|
A5.8 The following information was provided by David Fluker (davidfluker@
|
|
delphi.com).
|
|
"If anyone out there is interested in attempting to photograph para-
|
|
normal activities or spirits, here is how to do it right!!
|
|
1. You need to purchase 35mm Kodak HIE-135/36 film. This is B&W
|
|
Infrared film used for this and other more scientific purposes. You
|
|
can either purchase the film at a local professional photo shop or
|
|
order it direct from Kodak at 1-800-242-2424 in Rochester, NY. The
|
|
roll costs around $10.00 each including shipping.
|
|
2. Once you have the film in your hot little hand, you need to ask
|
|
your friendly photo-pro at the shop for an 87 filter to use with it.
|
|
(if he/she doesn't know what this is, have them call the 800# above
|
|
and get Kodak to tell him/her.
|
|
** the reason for the 87 filter is to eliminate all existing light du-
|
|
ring photography and only to have the IR on the film. (Even though it
|
|
may be dark in a room, there is still existing light that will effect
|
|
your exposure so use the 87 filter!!)
|
|
3. Once you have captured you entity on film, either send the film
|
|
back to Kodak or get it processed at the best quality lab in your area.
|
|
It needs to be processed under three types...hc110, d19, or d76. The
|
|
best for supernatural purposes is d76 as this gives the most normal
|
|
overall exposure. You can also have it processed HC110 but this is a
|
|
much higher contrast index and used mainly for special scientific pro-
|
|
jects."
|
|
In addition, David Chorley notes that HIE 135-36 needs to be loaded
|
|
and unloaded in a darkroom, because the little felt light trap is not
|
|
impervious to IR.
|
|
Yet more info provided by Joseph W. Metcalf:
|
|
1. HIE can not be used in cameras that have a "window" on the back to
|
|
see the film-type & exposures printed on the film cannister nor can it
|
|
be used in cameras that use an infrared film-transport sensor or IR
|
|
focus system. (In other words, get out the old manual-everything SLR.
|
|
(In addition, I would be very wary of using HIE in cheaper point-and-
|
|
shoot type cameras. The light seals just ain't all that great.)
|
|
2. Some type of plastic developing tanks can leak IR light. The best
|
|
bet for developing is Kodalux or a major pro lab. Find a lab that you
|
|
trust and ask questions!
|
|
3. The #87 filter will completely block visual light. A #25 (red)
|
|
filter can also be used with HIE to block everything except the red-
|
|
visual and infrared spectrum. (Makes focusing a bit easier if you have
|
|
the light to work with.) HIE is also sensitive to UV light and can
|
|
get the same type of haze from ultraviolet as daylight film does.
|
|
HIE with the #87 filter can be used to photograph through fog (or
|
|
darkness, of course.) It is possible that anything similar to fog
|
|
could transmit the IR light instead of reflecting it and would not
|
|
show up on the film.
|
|
4. A flash will work with HIE, although I think it would be most
|
|
effective for this application with an #87 filter of it's own. (We
|
|
wouldn't want to scare anyone away.)
|
|
5. There is no recommended film speed for HIE. A good starting point
|
|
is 50 or 100 ASA for D-76 processing. A test roll, with exposures
|
|
logged, is recommended.
|
|
6. IR light requires a focus adjustment from visible light. Some
|
|
manual-focus cameras will have an infrared focus mark to indicate the
|
|
offset. If not, experiment. The difference is small, but it could be
|
|
significant.
|
|
7. HIE has a "salt and pepper" grain. It is a nice artistic effect,
|
|
but the resolution is not the same as conventional films.
|
|
8. And, yes, the film is light green!
|
|
Q5.9 Can't you sue if your new house is haunted, and no one told you about
|
|
it?
|
|
A5.9 Mark Korven (Mark_Korven@goodmedia.com) gleaned the following quote
|
|
from the book -The Scandal Annual 1991-.
|
|
"A Wall Street bond trader sued for return of a $32,000 down payment
|
|
he made on a $650,000 Victorian mansion on the Hudson River in Nyack,
|
|
New York. The Reason: he said nobody told him that three Revolutionary
|
|
War ghosts haunted the dwelling. The owner of the house had refused to
|
|
return the money, saying that the ghosts were very friendly. The judge
|
|
ruled in her favor, stating that the law can't take supernatural enti-
|
|
ties into consideration.
|
|
"That ruling panicked lawmakers in neighboring Connecticut, which evi-
|
|
dently has more than its share of spooks. Legislators pushed though a
|
|
"Ghostbuster" bill, making it mandatory for all home seller to disclose
|
|
any spiritual phenomena related to the property."
|
|
Q5.10 What are some theories of what ghosts are/why they exist?
|
|
A5.10 There are many theories of what ghosts (if they indeed exist) are.
|
|
Some people believe that ghosts are the residual energy left behind
|
|
by an emotionally strong person or event. This theory holds that
|
|
more energy/electrical impulses are expended during periods of high
|
|
stress or excitement, and that the energy lingers for a long time.
|
|
Freud thought that ghosts are actually the visions of people who
|
|
are afraid of death. In this sense, ghosts would not be real at all
|
|
but rather a projection of our subconcious mind.
|
|
A somewhat plausible theory is that ghosts are telepathic images.
|
|
That is, a sensitive person would pick up past vibrations from the
|
|
area they were in and witness an event or person as it appeared many
|
|
years ago. This would also explain instances where a person sees a
|
|
loved one at or near the moment of the the loved one's death, since
|
|
the loved one could be unconciously projecting their thoughts to the
|
|
receptive person.
|
|
Ghosts might also be the result of time slips, if time is nonlinear.
|
|
An event that happened in the past might be seen briefly in our time
|
|
because of a fluctuation in time/space.
|
|
Q5.11 What is a caul?
|
|
A5.11 A caul is a piece of the fetal membrane that covers the heads of some
|
|
babies when they are born. This occurrence is relatively rare, and
|
|
because of this folklore says that a baby born with a caul possesses
|
|
psychic powers. In the past, people would keep cauls and placed great
|
|
value upon them as good luck charms.
|
|
Q5.12 What is an incubus?
|
|
A5.12 An incubus is a demon which assumes male form and lies on people
|
|
(usually women) and has sexual intercourse with them in their sleep.
|
|
The female version of an incubus is called a succubus.
|
|
|
|
VI. Non-alt.folklore.ghost-stories Resources
|
|
S6.1 Other USENET groups that a.f.g-s reader may enjoy:
|
|
alt.folklore.urban discussion of urban legends and their varia-
|
|
tions and meanings
|
|
alt.folklore.suburban moderated discussion of urban legends
|
|
alt.horror discussion of horror films and literature
|
|
alt.magick magick stuff
|
|
alt.pagan wicca and other non-christian religions
|
|
alt.paranet.paranormal discussion of paranormal phenomena
|
|
alt.paranet.metaphysics discussion of metaphysics
|
|
alt.paranormal discussion of paranormal phenomena
|
|
sci.skeptic debate on the validity of strange phenomena
|
|
S6.2 Some interesting reference material:
|
|
*BOOKS
|
|
AUERBACH, Loyd -ESP, Hauntings, and Poltergeists: A
|
|
Parapsychologist's Handbook- 1986, Warner Books
|
|
BARDENS, Dennis -Ghosts and Hauntings- 1968, Taplinger Pub.
|
|
BORD, Janet and Colin -Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century-
|
|
1989, Contemporary Books
|
|
BROWN, Theo -Devon Ghosts- 1982, Jarrold & Sons
|
|
BRUNVAND, Jan H. -The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends
|
|
and Their Meanings- 1981, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
|
|
BULLOCK, Alice -Monumental Ghosts- 1987, Sunstone Press
|
|
CANNING, John (ed.) -Fifty True Mysteries of the Sea- 1979, Dorset
|
|
Press
|
|
COLBY, C.B. -Strangely Enough!- 1959, Sterling Pub. Co.
|
|
COHEN, Daniel -The Encyclopedia of Ghosts- 1985, Dorset Press
|
|
COLEMAN, Michael H. (ed.) -The Ghosts of the Trianon,
|
|
the complete 'An Adventure' by C.A.E. Moberly and E.F. Jourdain-
|
|
1988, Aquarian Press
|
|
CORLISS, William R. -Handbook of Unusual Natural Phenomena;
|
|
Eyewitness Accounts of Nature's Greatest Mysteries- 1977, Anchor
|
|
Books
|
|
FORMAN, Joan -Royal Hauntings- 1987, FONTANA/Collins Pub.
|
|
GARCEZ, Antonio R., -Adobe Angels: The Ghosts of Santa Fe-
|
|
1992, Red Rabbit Press
|
|
GUILEY, Rosemary -The Encyclopedia of Ghost and Spirits- 1992,
|
|
Facts on File, New York
|
|
HAINING, Peter -A Dictionary of Ghost Lore- 1984, Prentice-Hall
|
|
HOLZER, Hans. -Yankee Ghosts- 1966, Ace Books
|
|
HOLZER, Hans -Where the Ghosts are: Favorite Haunted
|
|
Houses in America and the British Isles- 1984, Parker Pub. Co.
|
|
HUNT, Stoker -Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game- Harper & Row
|
|
HURWOOD, Bernhardt J. -Haunted Houses- 1972, Scholastic Books
|
|
MACKENZIE, Andrew -Hauntings and Apparitions- 1982, Granada Pub.
|
|
MARSDEN, Simon -The Haunted Realm- 1986, E.P. Dutton
|
|
MARSDEN, Simon -Phantoms of the Isles- 1990, Webb & Bower
|
|
MARTIN, MaryJoy -Ghosts, Ghouls and Goblins: Twilight
|
|
Dwellers of Colorado- 1985, Pruett Pub. Co.
|
|
MAY, Alan M. -The Legend of Kate Morgan- 1990, Elk Pub.
|
|
MUNN, Debra D. -Big Sky Ghosts: Eerie True Tales of Montana Vol.
|
|
1- 1993, Pruett Publishing
|
|
MUNN, Debra D. -Big Sky Ghosts: Eerie True Tales of Montana Vol.
|
|
2- 1994, Pruett Publishing
|
|
MUNN, Debra D. -Ghosts on the Range: Eerie True Tales of Wyoming-
|
|
1989, Pruett Publishing
|
|
MURRAY, Earl -Ghosts of the Old West- 1988, Dorset Press
|
|
MUSICK, Ruth Ann -The Telltale Lilac Bush- 1977, University Press
|
|
of Kentucky
|
|
MUSICK, Ruth Ann -Coffin Hollow- 1977, University Press of Kentucky
|
|
MYERS, Arthur -The Ghostly Register, Haunted Dwellings--
|
|
Active Spirits, A Journey to America's Strangest Landmarks- 1986,
|
|
Contemporary Books
|
|
MYERS, Arthur -Ghosts of the Rich and Famous- 1988, Contemporary
|
|
Books
|
|
MYERS, Arthur -A Ghosthunter's Guide to Haunted Landmarks, Parks,
|
|
Churches, and other Haunted Places- 1993, Contemporary Books
|
|
MYERS, Arthur -The Ghostly Gazetteer, America's most fascinating
|
|
Haunted Landmarks- 1990, Contemporary Books, Chicago
|
|
PRICE, Harry -The Most Haunted House in England- 1940, Long-
|
|
mans, Green, & Co., London
|
|
PRICE, Harry -The End of Borley Rectory- 1946, George G. Har-
|
|
rapp & Co., Ltd., London
|
|
ROBERTS, Nancy -Haunted Houses: Tales from 30 American Homes-
|
|
1988, Globe Pequot Press
|
|
SCOTT, Beth, and Michael Norman -Haunted Heartland- 1985, Warner
|
|
Books
|
|
-Strange Stories, Amazing Facts- Reader's Digest, 1976
|
|
UNDERWOOD, Peter -The Ghost Hunter's Guide- 1986, Javelin Books
|
|
UNDERWOOD, Peter -Gazetteer of British, Scottish, and Irish Ghosts-
|
|
1985, Bell Pub.
|
|
WHITAKER, Terence -Haunted England- 1987, Contemporary Books
|
|
WILSON, Colin -The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries- 1988,
|
|
Contemporary Books
|
|
*TELEVISION
|
|
-Unsolved Mysteries- Reruns are shown on Lifetime at 8:00 PM and
|
|
11:00 PM weekdays E/P time.
|
|
-Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World- Shown on the Discovery chan-
|
|
nel; check your local listings.
|
|
-In Search Of...- A&E; check your local listings.
|
|
-Sightings- FOX (or might be syndicated?), Sundays, 6:00 PM
|
|
-Encounters- FOX Sundays at 7:00 PM (Pacific Time)
|
|
-The Extraordinary- Syndicated; check your local listings
|
|
*MOVIES
|
|
-The Legend of Boggy Creek- A quasi-documentary about a bigfoot-
|
|
like creature roaming the Louisiana bayou. (1972)
|
|
*OTHER MEDIA
|
|
-Ghosts- Reference CD ROM with lots of information on ghosts, famous
|
|
hauntings, etc. Nifty!
|
|
S6.3 Good Supernatural Fiction
|
|
*BOOKS
|
|
Anson, Jay -The Amityville Horror- Flies in the attic!
|
|
Walls that drip blood! Pigs that fly! (And you thought your
|
|
faulty plumbing was a problem.)
|
|
Dickens, Charles -A Christmas Carol- A good ghost story any time
|
|
of the year.
|
|
King, Stephen -Pet Semetary- You'll never look at your cat the
|
|
same way again.
|
|
*TELEVISION
|
|
-The Twilight Zone- Umm, do I really need to explain this?
|
|
-The X-Files- Two FBI agents investigate paranormal stuff.
|
|
A great show! (FOX, Fridays 9PM E/P)
|
|
-Scooby Doo- Teen sleuths and their dog investigate eerie
|
|
mysteries.
|
|
*MOVIES
|
|
-Candyman- Clive Barker movie inspired by Mary Worth-type
|
|
urban legends. Tres scary! (1992)
|
|
-The Changeling- George C. Scott stars in a chilling yarn about
|
|
a house haunted by the spirit of a murdered
|
|
child. (1980)
|
|
-The Entity- Barbara Hershey plays a single mom who is being
|
|
tormented by a rowdy spirit. (1983)
|
|
-The Exorcist- A modern story of demonic possession. Linda
|
|
Blair vomits pea soup. (1973)
|
|
-Ghostbusters- Comedy about ghost-catchers in New York City.
|
|
(1984)
|
|
-The Haunting- A classic tale of a haunted house. Based on
|
|
-The Haunting of Hill House- by Shirley Jack-
|
|
son. (1963)
|
|
-Poltergeist- A family experiences otherwordly activity cen-
|
|
tered around their young daughter (Heather
|
|
O'Rourke). (1982)
|
|
-The Shining- Based on the Stephen King novel about an old
|
|
hotel haunted by lots of mean ghosts. (1980)
|
|
-The Uninvited- A classic haunted house story set in pre-war
|
|
Cornwall, UK. (1944)
|
|
-Witchboard- Tawny Kitaen is tormented by an evil spirit
|
|
conjured up with a ouija board. Actually a
|
|
really good movie despite a somewhat low
|
|
budget. (1985)
|
|
S6.4 Other Net Resources
|
|
*FTP
|
|
ftp.netcom.com pub/ob/obiwan/GhostStories/ This FAQ, some stories
|
|
taken from alt.folklore.ghost-stories, some GIFs
|
|
ftp.lido.com GhostStories/ This FAQ, some stories
|
|
taken from alt.folklore.ghost-stories, some GIFs
|
|
*Gopher
|
|
Skeptical Inquirer
|
|
gopher://gopher.enews.com:2100/11/magazines/alphabetic/sz/skep_inq
|
|
*WWW
|
|
Fortean Times Online
|
|
http://forteana.mic.dundee.ac.uk/ft/
|
|
Archive X
|
|
http://www.crown.net/X/
|
|
File archives featuring horror and paranormal topics.
|
|
Spirit WWW
|
|
http://zeta.cs.adfa.oz.au/Spirit.html
|
|
New Age resources.
|
|
Yahoo
|
|
http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Paranormal_Phenomena/
|
|
All sorts of paranormal links.
|
|
Obiwan's UFO-Free Paranormal Page
|
|
http://www.lido.com/ghosts/
|
|
World Wide Web Ouija
|
|
http://www.math.unh.edu/~black/cgi-bin/ouija.cgi
|
|
SpookySoc HomePage: Spookier than thou!
|
|
http://www.york.ac.uk/~socs207/
|
|
A student-run supernatural organization at the University of York.
|
|
StrangeMag
|
|
http://www.cais.com/strangemag/home.html
|
|
Strange Magazine
|
|
Ghost Tours available in York, England
|
|
http://www.york.ac.uk/york/ent/yorkent.html
|
|
Ghosts in the Machine
|
|
http://www.russellt.com/~paranorm/
|
|
S6.5 Paranormal Organizations (brought to you by Brian Bethel!)
|
|
Research/Counseling for Paranormal Experiences
|
|
(AKA where to go for help, counseling and possible investigation into
|
|
your Thing That Goes Bump In The Night.)
|
|
The following is a list of the most prominent research organizations
|
|
devoted to the science of parapsychology. Many of these groups can
|
|
refer you to local professionals in your area. Several of these enti-
|
|
ties, such as the American Society of Psychical Research, are member-
|
|
ship-based societies but may share resources with non-members.
|
|
.Several of these societies also publish journals in the field of
|
|
parapsychology. Full information concerning services offered is avail-
|
|
able through each organization.
|
|
.To contribute, add, or delete from this portion of the FAQ, e-mail
|
|
Brian Bethel at brianbet@innet.com. Several of these listings are old
|
|
and possibly out of date. Your help in maintaining the most current
|
|
list possible is deeply appreciated.
|
|
....+++++++
|
|
American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR)
|
|
5 West 73rd Street
|
|
New York, NY 10023
|
|
(212) 799-5050
|
|
Society for Psychical Research (SPR)
|
|
1 Adam & Eve Mewes
|
|
Kensington, W8 6UG
|
|
England
|
|
Psychical Research Foundation
|
|
c/o William G. Roll
|
|
Psychology Department
|
|
West Georgia College
|
|
Carrollton, GA 30118
|
|
Parapsychological Association, Inc.
|
|
P.O. Box 12236
|
|
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
|
|
Parapsychology Foundation
|
|
228 E. 71st Street
|
|
New York, NY 10021
|
|
(212) 628-1550
|
|
Parapsychology Research Group
|
|
3101 Washington St.
|
|
San Francisco, CA 94511
|
|
Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, Institute for Para-
|
|
psychology
|
|
Box 6847
|
|
College Station
|
|
Durham, NC 27708
|
|
Institute of Noetic Sciences
|
|
2658 Bridgewood
|
|
Sausalito, CA 94965
|
|
Graduate Parapsychology Program
|
|
Department of Holistic Studies
|
|
John F. Kennedy University
|
|
Orinda, Ca. 94563
|
|
(510) 254-0200
|
|
Division of Parapsychology
|
|
Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry
|
|
Box 152
|
|
Medical Center
|
|
University of Virginia
|
|
Charlottesville, VA 22908
|
|
Center for Scientific Anomalies Research (CSAR)
|
|
P.O. Box 1052
|
|
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
|
|
Society for Scientific Exploration
|
|
c/o Dr. Henry Bauer
|
|
College of Arts & Sciences
|
|
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
|
|
Blacksburg, VA 24061
|
|
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
|
|
(CSICOP, skeptical society)
|
|
1203 Kesington Avenue
|
|
Buffalo, NY 14215
|