Ghosts in a Graveyard

I love this twin gravestone for a husband and wife.

First off, I'm a writer of paranormal gothic romances, so it's pretty obvious I love all things spooky and strange. Lately I've been posting photos on my Facebook and Twitter sites relating to the paranormal, romantic, gothic, and the haunted. I thought I'd like to do a little more from the paranormal angle so I tried coming up with ideas on what to post.

It wasn't hard. Having lived in New England for 17 years now, I've noticed this area has a LOT of graveyards. Just within a couple miles of our house, there are five that I know about. Our yard even has one! Believe it or not, that was a selling point in its favor when we bought the house.

So I grabbed my cell phone and traveled to the various graveyards, five in all. I took numerous photographs of gravestones, stone entryways and walls, wrought-iron gates, and the like. It was a nice time - graveyards are so peaceful - and I looked forward to going to others another day.

Then I found something.

To be clear, I wasn't looking for paranormal activity - the thought never even crossed my mind, actually. I just like graveyards and they, of course, are often considered places linked to the paranormal. The last graveyard I visited was the largest and I spent some time there, wandering in and out amongst the tombstones, snapping pictures and enjoying the sunny day (though, being me, I would've preferred a dark and gusty one).

When I got home, I downloaded the photos onto my computer and scrolled through them. About 10-12 photos into the last graveyard, I noticed two photos, one taken right after the other, that seemed to be washed out. I was disappointed, since those photos are the only ones I took of that particular tombstone. Thinking I would probably delete them, I scrolled farther down and noticed another photo of a different gravestone that had the same effect, though more localized. Hmm.... That was odd. The first two photos I figured were from a sun effect. The strange thing was, my back was to the sun. You can actually see my shadow on the tombstone.

Gravestone Monument - Photo 1

Gravestone Monument - Photo 2

I have to admit I kind of think the first photo looks like a fish - see the eye and mouth on the right side of the monument? Had I caught a ghost fish? Weird, which brings me to another weird thing - what is that open space (the eye) where there isn't any blue/purple? A head? A smudge? I really don't know. But I know it ain't right. Ha.

With the third photo, the sun was more to my left and the tombstone was in shadows, though I think I was standing in the sun when I took the picture. This stone was on the opposite side of the graveyard and much closer to the entrance. Note the two 'open' spots on the far right.

Gravestone With Odd Blue/Purple Streaker

Having a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, I've had a lot of training on how to be a scientist. Some would call psychology a 'soft' science because it's a nebulous subject to study - how do you measure behavior or personality in a standardized fashion when humans are so unique? But because of that bias, I think at some level we are trained to be even more rigorous and untrusting.

So naturally I had to set about debunking the pictures. I looked up blue/purple streaks on the Internet for camera phones and found nothing for my particular phone. I think an apple phone might have had some pinkish-blue effect, but it didn't look like what I had and I don't have an apple phone. Not finding anything obviously doesn't mean there isn't a problem with the camera on the phone, but as far as I could see, no one else had posted any of those problems on the Internet. I have never had this issue before, and haven't had it since (though it's only been a few days).

Ghost Hunting

Was it a sun effect? Well, I had to be sure. The next day was gusty and gray and I took my boys along with me to do a little 'ghost' hunting. We're amateurs at best, but we tried our best to go in with open, scientific minds. We had 3 different cameras going, 2 camera phones and one regular one. We took a lot of pictures, my youngest tried to entice the 'ghost' with promises of fame if it showed itself, then headed back home, the rain starting before we'd gone ten feet.

A Family Affair

We got nothing. No blue streaks, no faces, no strange forms, no odd experiences (though I didn't have any strange experiences the day before, either). The youngest was very disappointed, but he has learned how hard it is to be a ghost hunter.

Did I do something to the camera? Maybe I touched the lens and created the streak. It was quite possible with my fumble fingers. So this morning I tried my theory out. I took two pictures with my back to the sun and two facing it. Before each shot, I rubbed my finger over the lens, quite thoroughly, and took the picture. Nothing. All four were clear as a bell. I'd like to say that eliminates that theory as an explanation, but maybe not. Maybe it depends on the angle of the sun and I wasn't at the same angle as I'd been with those 3 photos. Who knows?

Our Graveyard on a Dark and Windy Day

In the end, I had a fun time taking pictures of the old graves around the area and I plan to write another blog talking about the 'stories' behind a few of the stones - stories derived just by reading the tributes.

So what do you think? Ghost or camera malfunction? As much as I'd like to think I was visited by someone or something from a different realm - a haunted realm - I also am not someone who wants to deceive others or myself.

But it is fun to believe, if only for a little while, isn't it?

~~~~~~

Update (8/2/14) ~ A friend of mine who knows photography said that what I was experiencing was a color banding issue. Okay. Makes sense. Well, my family and I were out and about yesterday, visiting several different sites around Portsmouth. One place we stopped was a cemetery, and guess what? I got two more photos here (of the same object - an angel) with the coloring issues...but nowhere else. What we can't figure out is why this 'issue' happens only in cemeteries! Here's one of the angel photos:

Angel Statue in South Cemetery

You be the judge...

~~~~~~

For more Mischief, Mystery, and Magic...

The Wrath - A Paranormal Gothic Romance

I Shall Return - A Paranormal Gothic Romance

Paranormal Ponderings...

Cool Photo, huh?

What started my paranormal ponderings? I think I've always believed in a world that exists beyond my average, everyday life. I think most of us do, or want to, anyway. Why not? Believing in the unusual adds a little spice to life, especially during cold New England Januaries and Februaries. Besides, since I can't actually rule out the existence of mythical creatures, ghosts, and the like, I've decided that it would behoove me to keep an open mind about most everything.

Inspired by Ghost Hunters!

At the moment, I'm busy editing my book, I Shall Return, which is a Paranormal Gothic Romance, and have also published a PGR called The Wrath. Writing these books has stirred up memories of my own paranormal experiences, so I thought I'd share a few of them with you.

Unfortunately, I haven't had many. Actually, my husband, who's a software engineer, has had more than I have. It's a little annoying. I'm supposed to be the creative one, the sensitive one, and he's the one who sees ghosts. Ah, well. Maybe I'm just TOO sensitive. Ha.

Could it have been a fairy light?

My first experience dates back to my childhood in Minnesota. Outside my window, about twenty feet away, stood a large spruce tree (they look like your typical Christmas tree). As this tree grew, the lower branches died off, leaving a cleared out area beneath the tree. At night, when I had trouble sleeping, I'd sit on my bed, chin resting on my folded arms, and stare out the window into the darkness. Only it wasn't always dark. There were nights when I would spot a tiny pinpoint of light beneath the tree. I'd stare at it and stare at it, watching to see if it would move, but it never seemed to. At first I thought it had to be something under the tree - an old coffee can or chicken feed bucket - that reflected the light. Of course, in thinking this, I was also quite aware that there really aren't any big sources of light in the dark Northern woods of Minnesota (keep in mind, all the lights in the house were out since everyone was asleep - we go to bed early in Minnesota - what else is there to do?). Even if there were lights, they would have a hard time reaching beneath the branches of the full tree. Still, one morning I remembered to go out and check for evidence and found nothing. No metal of any kind, not even a strange plant or mushroom that might give off a phosphorescent glow (though the light was more like a tiny flashlight or lantern). I continued to see that light for many years, and I still wonder what made it. A fairy 'leaving the light' on for the return of a loved one? Perhaps. It's as good a theory as any. Or was it a lure for unsuspecting folk? I never did check the light at night. Growing up in Minnesota teaches one to develop a healthy sense of survival.

Our old place. The half window marks where the attic is.

My second experience happened more recently. I was in my late twenties and living in an old New England house, which had been divided into various apartments. I loved living there, with its hardwood floors and old doors. Our apartment had the only access to a giant attic, which we used for storage. Its ceilings were so high that I swear you could've fit a tall ship in there. I had recently given birth to my first child and my sister had come from Minnesota to visit. I, of course, showed her the attic (people in my family like attics) and while up there, I started chattering on about something. A few seconds later, something cold and 'wet' touched my elbow. I swiped it away, distantly thinking it was a water drop. It happened again. I swiped at it and went on talking. It happened again. After a few moments, it occurred to me that the attic was as dry as a bone, meaning no water droplets. It seemed that someone was trying to get my attention. Either that, or he/she was trying to get me to shut up. On a side note, my husband didn't like the attic. He said he felt like someone was always watching him up there. In another room of the house, he said he could sense something bad or off in there. Great. That was where we put the baby's crib. Come to think of it, we ended up moving the crib into our bedroom. Go figure. My husband never mentioned these feelings before we moved (other than that I knew he didn't like the attic), though maybe I sensed something, too, and got my innocent baby out of that room before he could be turned into the male version of Stephen King's Carrie.

I've always been a big proponent of listening to signs. Some time after moving into our first home, I kept spilling my water. I drank a lot at the time (water, not booze) and kept spilling it. Over and over. Either I was deteriorating physically, or something else was wrong. Since I wasn't experiencing any other symptoms, in any other way, I knew I needed to look further into the phenomenon. It took me a while, but I finally figured that maybe someone was trying to tell me something about our water. So, long story short, we got it tested. Turned out, it had some bad stuff in it. We bought a filter system and it took care of the problem, and after that, I stopped spilling my water all the time. Coincidence? Maybe. Cool? Definitely.

Another sign I pay attention to comes in the form of my dreams, one of which I remember quite vividly. I kept dreaming that my youngest son was drowning. I endured three dreams where this happened, and each

The little guy who was saved by dreams.

time, I managed to save him. Not long after having my scary dreams, we visited the town beach. We'd been there for a while when the wind started picking up, turning the water choppy. My two-year-old was in the shallow water wading. My older two were farther out. My husband got low blood sugar and we decided to call it a day. I left my youngest to go fetch my older two, who couldn't seem to hear me over the wind and waves. But then I was hit by the sense that this was a bad idea, even though the water where he was standing was only about a foot and half deep. I had only taken a few steps, but when I turned back, he had already gone under (he must have gotten dizzy from watching the waves and sort of slipped in so his back ended up on the bottom). I remember his blue eyes staring up at me through the water, slightly perplexed. I was there within a second, and quickly pulled him into my arms. He was fine, if a little startled at what had happened. I yelled really loudly for my other two to come in right now, and this time they heard me. After having those dreams, I'd been feeling hyper-vigilant all day, and that feeling made me turn back, just in time. Scary, but a good lesson - listen to your dreams, especially if they tell you to buy my books.

Perhaps what happened to me could be explained away, but what's the fun in that? You can try, though, and if you come up with an alternative explanation, let me know. At any rate, I'll write another blog another day about a few more paranormal experiences that my family has encountered.

Until then, keep on believing...

Who You Gonna Call? Ghost Hunters!

As part of my October blogging funfest, I couldn’t possibly leave out a review of one of my new favorite shows…Ghost Hunters. I got hooked on the show last season because of my mom. She needed someone to share her addiction so she taped a bunch of episodes for my husband and myself (at the time we didn’t get the Sci-Fi station because we’re frugal). That means we were able to watch several episodes, one right after the other. We got hooked.

And now we have Sci-Fi.

I blame my mother for our decision to get the extended cable package, just so we can watch Sci-Fi. It’s not something I would do for myself. It costs more money and I really don’t want the kids watching TV all day, or myself, for that matter. But since she’s living with us now, I figured we’d better keep her happy by making sure she had her favorite channels to watch. I did this all for her. It had nothing to do with my wants or desires.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Anyway, Ghost Hunters centers around TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society), a paranormal research group that travels around the U.S. gathering evidence to either confirm or debunk a purported haunting. Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson run TAPS out of Rhode Island. Surprisingly, they are about as normal as you probably could get for being ghost hunters. They seem to love what they do, but they are always happy to head home to their families at the end of the day. If they look tired to you, it’s because they are. They do all their investigations at night (natch), after working all day as plumbers for Roto Rooter.

Compared to a good portion of those working in the paranormal field, TAPS takes an unusual approach to their investigations. Their first priority is to debunk a haunting. That means they want to try and prove that what is happening is not paranormal. They appear to be very serious and dedicated to finding other explanations and are slow to call a place haunted. While they have both had their own paranormal experiences (which they won’t talk about), they are healthily skeptical and prefer to take a scientific approach to their investigations. I don’t know about you, but this makes me enjoy the show all the more. I guess it’s because when they do find something they think is a haunting, you feel like you can really believe them.

While ghost hunting, they use an array of technological devices to help them track down spirits (a.k.a. entities, full body apparitions, shadow figures, but rarely called ghosts). A few of my favorites: the thermal-imaging digital camera, which is used to record images often created by heat signatures that humans cannot see with the naked - or partly dressed - eye; a recorder that tapes EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), capturing voices or sounds ordinarily not picked up by the human ear; and K-2 meters, which measure magnetic fields. Oftentimes, the researchers use the K-2 meter to communicate with intelligent hauntings. I like watching it light up in response to questions, and not just because it’s pretty. You really feel like they’re having a conversation with the entity, or whatever it is. One time they asked a spirit, which was supposedly a 9-year-old boy, are you lonely? And he responded with a fervent, "Yes." How did they know the spirit was a boy and nine years old? They asked him.

One of my favorite episodes happened right here in my own backyard at the Mt. Washington Hotel. A princess is purported to haunt the premises (I believe it is the Princess Clarigny de Lucinge). While doing EVP work, Grant and Jason captured her replying to one of Jay’s questions. He said something like, "Where are you?" and she replied, "I’m in my room. Where are you?" At the time, he couldn’t hear her, but later when they played the EVP recording, it was very clear - I could hear her perfectly.

The Princess is what you would call an intelligent haunting because she can interact with you. A residual haunting has no sense that you are there, just keeps repeating whatever it does over an over again. I once read up on a theory that postulates that we are not actually seeing or interacting with a ghost (the spirit of a dead person), but are crossing a time-space continuum. So the princess might actually have been alive, but in her time, while Jay and Grant were doing their ghost search in their own time. It kind of makes sense to me, in a weird, fascinating sort of way.

I feel bad for the people who want ghosts and no evidence is found and vice versa, those who don’t want ghosts and several are found. Service places (restaurants, bed and breakfasts, bars) tend to like having stories to tell about hauntings. Having evidence to back up their stories always makes them that much more alluring. It’s kind of sad when TAPS does research (at the library, town hall, or on the internet), which actually shows that the stories behind the hauntings aren’t even close to being true. I think we all like a good story, and we all want to believe in that story. Their job is to debunk, which is good, but sometimes I’d rather be fooled.

One of my favorite parts about Ghost Hunters is the interaction amongst the crew. Things seem to be more tame this season, but in previous seasons there were a lot problems to work out. As an unapologetic voyeur (though not the creepy type), I like watching conflict. Jay and Grant are funny guys, and Steve, the tech guy is a smart aleck if I’ve ever seen one. He likes to poke people and his current favorite target is Tango. Tango is such a sweet guy and probably a bit naive, but he is learning to stick up for himself. Interesting fact: Steve is scared of just about everything (heights, spiders), but he’s a ghost hunter. Go figure. Kris (the main female) serves as their liason to the customers and also goes on investigations. I like her, which is too bad. No conflict there. Sigh…

This sounds morbid (which I am), but I always like when they visit asylums, prisons, and places of that sort. Tons of activity is always happening in these buildings, most likely because there’s been a lot of suffering and death inside them. On Friday, October 31st, starting at 7:00E, a special Halloween TAPS takes place at Fort Delware, a very active site. It’s supposed to be an awesome episode and you can participate in live feeds and all that fun stuff while watching. Plus, it’s hosted by Josh Gates, host of Destination Truth and one of my favorite television personalities. If you have trick-or-treating duties, you’ll have to Tivo it. We don’t have Tivo (we’re frugal, remember?) so we’ll probably have to tape it. Or go T-o-T’ing very early, which sounds better. Poor kids.

So, if you ever encounter a spirit, entity or things that go bump in the night, tell me, who you gonna call?

Ghost Hunters!

I Captured Me A Castle!

Well, not really. Wishful thinking on my part. But I did visit one this weekend, named…wait for it…Hammond Castle (cue thunder and lightning now!). As part of my October blogging spooky funfest, I thought I’d share my experience with you so that for once you’ll have to live vicariously through me instead of the other way around, which is what usually happens. Not only is this castle awesome, it’s located in the U.S., which means most of you Americans reading this won’t have to cross an ocean to see it. To add flavor to my blog (just a pinch of spice), I also want to share a couple of the strange things that happened to us while we were there.

Paranormal stuff, that is…(cue thunder and lightning now!).

First off, I’ll tell you a little bit about the history of Hammond Castle. It’s located in Gloucester, Massachusetts, a beautiful town stretched out along the Atlantic Ocean. It was built by John Hays Hammond, Jr. (the guy on the right) between the years 1926 and 1929. A world traveler and inventor, he built this home for his new bride and also to accommodate both his artifacts gathered while traveling and his laboratories for inventing all his hundreds of inventions. Thanks to Mr. Hammond, we have the remote control. It if weren’t for him (and a few others) I might actually have to get up off the couch to change the channel, and that’s just wrong! You da bomb, John!

John Hammond was, at least in my (always) humble opinion, a very unique and interesting man. I think you’ll agree when you see what he did and what he created. Inside the castle, you will find one of my favorite places - a conservatory made to look like a town square. The main feature of this glass-ceilinged room is the gorgeous, plant-lined pool that can be filled with tap water or switched to seawater with just the pull of a lever. There is also an optical illusion in the pool that I’ll leave for you to discover when you visit. Fun fact: Back in the day, Mr. Hammond used to jump into the pool from one of the windows overlooking it, which would have been quite a leap from what I can see. If I had lived there, I might have tried it myself. Admit it, you would have, too.

The kids especially liked seeing all the weapons and the suit of armor, sneaking up the spiral staircases that led to the turrets, and staring at the pool, wishing they could swim in it for just a ‘little’ bit. I was of the same opinion as my wee ones, plus I enjoyed visiting the rounded library, walking through the great hall and imagining this was mine, all mine!, studying all the old artifacts (including a skull, which I’m in the market for myself), and taking in the views overlooking the ocean.

I’m thinking of putting in a bid for the place.

Now comes the paranormal part…While we were there, my husband decided to take a picture of the two younger boys in front of the suit of armor. It was my middle child’s turn. While he was patiently trying to maintain his he-man pose, my husband was fiddling with the camera, which was not cooperating. Suddenly, my hubby looks up at us.

"That’s weird," he mutters. "The words (or something close to this), ‘You are not authorized to proceed as it is not deemed to be a public photograph’ just came up on the camera screen." We looked at him strangely, as we so often do, and he shrugs. "That’s what it says." We don’t know what to tell him. Too bad it disappeared before I had a chance to confirm his report. At any rate, he finally got the camera to work and was able to take the pictures in front of the suit of armor without consequence (i.e., the ghost of John Hammond did not strike us down). Not long after that, I tried to take some pictures of my oldest son and the dang camera wouldn’t work. I kept pushing the button and finally had to turn it off and back on before it would work again. Now I know this can be put down to a mechanical problem with the camera (I’ll mention here that when we left the house, our camera was fully charged and working well), but those words coming up are hard to explain away. If this is something that can be debunked (yes, I watch Ghost Hunters), please let me know. It’s a Kodak, Easy Share DX6490. The strange thing is that I feel like I’ve heard about this before.

So what had happened here? Was it a ghost? Maybe. The camera malfunctioning? Possibly. Was it spooky? Most definitely. Good thing I like spooky.

As you can see, we always enjoy our visits to Hammond Castle. Every time I go I feel like I learn something new. For more information on the castle, click here. Keep in mind that they put on a Halloween extravaganza (which I’ve never been to and would like to try out) in the middle of October, closing the castle to regular tours during those few weeks. I advise that you call ahead. For more photos of Hammond Castle, go to my photo page. Also know that there is a nearby park (you pass it on the way to the castle) for rock climbing, playing, beach combing and picknicking. We typically visit the castle, then have lunch at the park. Though we’ve also hit a couple of the restaurants for yummy chowder, like we did this last time (since it was raining).

I’ll leave you with John Hammond’s words, written in a letter to his father in 1924:

"My ambition is to leave a modest, but beautiful, museum. I want only an authentic atmosphere, some furniture, and genuine architectural pieces — doors, windows, etc. In cold restrained New England, a place with the romantic beauty of the Italian and French past may prove the inspiration of many poor artists and students to come. It will give them something that I have been fortunate enough to know and enjoy. It also gives me satisfaction to think that I may be able to produce something of lasting worth."

I believe he certainly accomplished that.