Sleep Paralysis

I have heard of this but never really knew what it was. The other night my daughter’s friend was visiting and we were listening to some of her paranormal experiences she had since she was three years old. (I will be blogging some of those stories in a series of articles.) She said that some of her experiences could be the results of sleep paralysis for which her sister suffers from as well. Many nights they would wake up to the feeling like they were being choked and someone was pressing down on their chest. They also experienced seeing shadow figures or apparitions near them and were too paralyzed with fear to scream. She remembers one time when they were sharing an apartment that her sister experienced a terrifying night of seeing an apparition of a man standing at the end of her bed. This man appeared to be getting closer as she tried so desperately to scream April’s name. April was in her room sleeping and heard her name being called very faintly. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming but decided to check on her sister anyway. She went in and woke her sister up who was so devastated by the frightening incident. Was she dreaming or did she experience an apparition appearing to her in her room?

Sleep Paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from the REM (rapid eye movement) state, but the body paralysis persists. This will leave a person fully conscious, but unable to move. The paralysis can last anywhere from several seconds to several minutes for which a person can experience panic symptoms. The paralysis state may be accompanied by vivid hallucinations and could interpret the experience as a dream. There are a few scientists that feel those suffering from this condition could explain some stories of alien abduction and ghostly encounters. Very little is known about the functioning of sleep paralysis. Some feel it could be linked to the post-synaptic inhibition of motor neuron in the pons region of the brain. There are studies being conducted on what actually causes the paralysis and how to deal with it. Most people will experience sleep paralysis at least once or twice in their lifetime.

I had an incident that happened several years ago while I was still living at my parent’s house. I just got back from a date with my now hubby and went right to bed. I fell asleep right away but woke up hours later. I was on my back, a position I don’t normally sleep on. I opened my eyes and saw an old man looking down on me. As he appeared to be moving closer, I tried to scream but was too frightened. Finally I was able to get a scream out and my parents came running. My Dad checked over the room and found no one there. They said I was probably dreaming, but to me it seemed real. I have told this story in a couple of post but now think that experience could have been sleep paralysis.

Part Four: "It Was A Dark & Quiet Night..."

Chapter Four

How It Came To Be

The newly acquainted group of five sat on the carpet of the second floor loft for a half an hour. John was sitting with his legs straight out and his back against the wall. His eyes were closed, but he had not been sleeping. John had wanted to keep his ears on alert. Mark and Elizabeth sat on the steps of the staircase that led to the third floor. Elizabeth had her head propped on Mark's shoulder. A hand held camera was on Mark's lap, turned off. Paul and Rachel sat opposite of John in the middle of the room. They both sat Indian style and Paul was leaning back on his hands. They all sat in quiet for the past few minutes. One of them had just experienced something that may or may not have been the sole reason for their reason of being in this place.

John explained his story of the footsteps and the shadow moving to the rest of them, and none of them had any reason to doubt him. His experience is the reason why Mark and his wife had come armed with cameras. Mark had heard about the hotel and it's history a few years back and became fascinated with the building. At the time he heard the stories, he and Elizabeth were in film school. His dream was to always be a documentarian. Mark wanted to invest his time to bring real life stories to the world's eyes. Stories that no one knew existed.

Elizabeth had fallen in love with his sense of adventure, and she too had the same passions. She had always been a paranormal buff and it was her that finally convinced Mark to make this hotel his next project. She had done months of research and was able to locate some relatives of the the victims from the great tragedy. Elizabeth had put the thought into play that maybe if some blood relatives came back to this hotel, perhaps it would spark up some of the activity. The building already had a history of supposed haunts. Legends of ghosts and things that go bump in the night began to surface only a few years after the original event happened. Teenagers would break into the building and dare each other to stay overnight. The stories have it that no one has ever made it through a full night. Odd things would happen, and even the bravest of teenage boys would run out screaming, never to return again. When so much death happens in one building, something is bound to stay behind. Mark and Elizabeth had been in the building a few times before, but only to scout it out, and board up windows and prepare it for this very night. In those times, they had seen no other worldly beings or heard no mysterious noises.

Their goal was to film a documentary about a building that had become lifeless. They wanted to tell the story through the words of the relatives. In some way, it would have been a kind of redemption tale. The main goal was to capture proof of the existence of these ghostly beings. Elizabeth grew up in a strict Christian home. Her mother always told her that to believe in ghosts was to be a follower of Satan, but she never once believed that. Elizabeth went to church every Sunday, and she loved God. She had begun to realize over the years that perhaps some of the things she read in the bible had been a little outdated. She applied the things in her life that needed to be applied, mainly love. Her belief in ghosts had never turned her away from loving God or anyone else. In some sense, she wanted to do this to prove her mother wrong, but she knew even if she came back with proof, her mother may be more dissapointed in her. She will probably accuse of her of some kind of witchcraft.

As they all sat around in the quiet, Mark finally decided it was probably time to film everyone's testimonials. He thought this would be the best time, before all the real action started to happen. He went around to each person and they essentially gave their story, and how it came to be that they all were here together.

The two film makers didn't have much trouble convincing Paul and Rachel to join in on the documentary. Paul jumped at the option. He had been living on his own for close to eight years. He was once the popular guy in school, but once high school ended, he realized who his true friends were and there weren't many. Paul learned that people attached themselves to him because he had a face that everyone knew, after all he was on the football team. There's always that myth that if you are on the high school football team, you have to be a mean, ruthless jock who only hangs out with the cool kids. Paul never wanted to be that person, he just loved playing football and he was good at it. One graduation ended, people went their separate ways and Paul somehow got lost in the mix. He had spent the next ten years trying to rebuild himself into the person he wanted to always be. He wanted a family, he wanted a good career. That's what he worked for in high school, but everyone wanted him to be that star.

His parents were killed a year after he graduated and so he had to make a life for himself. He's worked several different jobs and was never able to go to any college classes. Any dreams he had of becoming a successful family man seemed a lifetime away for him. A few months prior, something amazing happened to him. He was approached by a documentary director and was asked to be in a film. Elizabeth had uncovered that Paul was the grandson of the town mayor that was slaughtered years before. Paul's parents never relayed this information to him, but since they had passed on, he would never get to know why. For the first time, Paul felt he was needed for something, that someone wanted him. That moment was a breath of fresh life for Paul.

Rachel grew up thinking that her father left her mom when Rachel was just a baby. When she was a teenager, she started hearing the legends of this hotel and town. She knew the story, everyone did. It wasn't until she was in her late twenties that her mother finally told her that her father was the sheriff that was killed that night. Her mother told her this as she was dying from cancer, and she wanted to lift some of the regrets off of her before she passed. She told Rachel that she didn't want her to feel connected to such a horrific event. A mother who simply wanted her child to live a normal life and not have to deal with kids adding her to the stories and legends.

Rachel never really knew the details behind what really went on however, only what she had heard through the numerous tales. Rachel had hate in her heart for her mom. For more than twenty years she thought her father was a dead beat and running free in the world without a care in the world that he has a daughter. A man she grew up hating, now is a man she has deep sorrow for. Her intentions of coming to this place were a bit selfish. She wanted in some way, to meet her the father she never knew. She wanted to have a connection with him, not matter how brief or out of this world it may be. Rachel had hoped that by going to that hotel, her father may be there as well.

John had lived a troubled life. His parents both passed when he was a young boy, and he lived with his uncle for close to fifteen years before he too passed away. John was home schooled most of his life because his uncle was always moving. John's father and uncle were the two children of Adam Jacobs, the man who destroyed a whole town. When Jacob's killed his wife, the two kids were sent away to live with relatives. John was well aware of the story in it's entirety, because his father told him when he was five years old.

He finally found himself in an actual high school starting his junior year, but he never made friends. In fact, he was bullied almost every day by kids higher up on the high school food chain. They tripped him, threw things at him, the works. John could never figure out why, because he had done nothing to deserve it. But he soon learned that all it takes to be ridiculed at school is simply to be a person people classify as a loner. John started ditching school and failing classes, but his uncle never seemed to care or even notice. He would hang out by himself someplace secluded and wish he were someone else.

He realized that he felt more unhappiness on a day to day basis that any iota of true happiness. No matter how hard he tried, he could not make himself happy. John would get angry for no reason, he would lash out at people trying to help. When he was eighteen he tried taking his own life, but failed. This is when all the treatment began, and he had to see numerous therapists. He ended up being diagnosed with a manic depressive disorder and had to down several pills a day to balance his life. His life became dependent on medication.

When he was twenty he did his own research into the massacre that destroyed his family as well. He learned that his grandfather showed signs of the same disorder he had. He had discovered that his grand dad was put in an institution when he was a teenager for killing a dog in a brutal way and his only excuse was that he was bored. There was a report that mentioned that Adam Jacob's claimed his mind was taken over by the Devil's manipulation. He said that Satan had taken control of him and it was the devil that killed that dog and his wife many years later but everyone thought he was crazy. John had started to piece together that maybe his grandfather had passed something on to him.

For the past year, John had become a member of his local church. He had found a saving grace. He at least knew that there was one person out there that had nothing but love for him, and that was God. The town he had lived in was well aware of the massacre, and it didn't take long for the people to realize who John really was. They all knew he was that loner kid who no one liked. People in his own congregation would tell him to leave because only the devil lives in his blood. John had never experienced anyone truly loving him and seeing him for the person he was. He so desperately wanted people to look at him and get to know him and really know that he is a good person. He wanted them to know that he was not his grand father.

Once the knowledge became widespread in the town he lived in that he was related to the madman Adam Jacobs, people would torment him. People from his own church would leave threatening letters on his door telling him to leave. There was no one in his life to protect him. No one other than God. He prayed every night for it to get better. He could not understand why people in this day and age would act like this towards him. Why would no one give him a chance? It came to a point where had to bring his uncles gun with him where ever he went to protect himself.

He had decided to finally move on with his life and get out of that dreadful town. Not a day passed, and he was found by Mark and Elizabeth. He rejected their offer a few times, but they were adamant. They finally offered to pay him a large sum of money, and he finally accepted only because it was help make his move much easier. The whole drive up, he kept debating whether or not he should even do it. He wanted nothing more than to move on from the lingering dread that this place brought him. He almost turned around several times but eventually did not. John had finally come to the conclusion that maybe confronting this place would bring him some form of closure. This was a demon he had to face, one last time.

Mark had finally finished recording everyone testimonials. "These will all of course be edited in throughout the movie when it is completed, but I wanted to get them out of the way," he said. He had done them all privately, he knew it could be difficult for some of them to share their stories in front of the others. He set his camera down and began to address the group. "OK everyone, I think what were are going to do is split up into groups and each group will have a camera. I think what we will do is have me, John and Paul in a group and the girls will be the other one." He stated.

Elizabeth looked a little thrown off, "You are going to make the ladies be on their own?" She said almost jokingly.

"You can handle yourself sweets," Mark said back. "So the guys will do the third floor, and I do have the key," he pulled out the key and showed them, "and gentle-ladies, would you like to do the kitchen and dining areas?"

Rachel shot him a sarcastic "screw yourself" look. Elizabeth interjected, "As much as I would like to say he's being a sexist ass, that would be a good place for us to start, 'sposed to be a lotta stuff goin' on down there," she explained to Rachel. Rachel just nodded her head. Mark handed them their camera and showed Rachel how it worked. He gave them the military salute, and they went on their way.

"Alright sirs, let us venture upstairs into the great ghostly unknown," Mark said to them. And with that, the three guys walked up the stairs, and the loft was left in an eeire and quiet darkness.

...TO BE CONTINUED.

--Mike--

Disneyland: The Happiest Haunted Place on Earth

Thousands of people visit Disneyland every year. It’s a place where adults can be kids again and kids can let their imaginations run wild. You can walk down Main Street and run into one of your favorite Disney characters, or ride to adventures through small worlds, down Splash Mountains, attacked by pirates, or abdominal snowmen on the Matterhorn Mountain, run through Tom Sawyer’s Island, and are totally scared by ghosts in the Haunted Mansion. You can spend a day or two forgetting your troubles and just have fun, lots of fun!

Disneyland is located in Anaheim, California and is known as an American theme park. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company and opened it’s doors on July 18, 1955. The park has seen more than 515 million guests walk through its gates since it opened. With all the fun that Disneyland provides, no wonder it is called, “The happiest place on Earth.” Is this place, which has seen its share of royalty, presidents and other heads of state visit its adventures and rides, haunted as well? According to the many reports of sightings of ghosts and other paranormal activity, it would be a resounding “yes”. The following is some of the stories I found during my research:

The Haunted Mansion:There are many urban legends of deaths that have occurred in the Haunted Mansion. The Imagineers have done a great job of creating a spooky environment for all to enjoy and have a scary adventure through an old New Orleans style house. Some of the stories of “real” ghost haunting the place have been circulating for some time but are they all true. One of the stories is that an elderly man died of a heart attack because the ride was supposedly too scary. This happened before the ride was officially opened. They re-designed the ride and it was finally opened in 1969. His ghost has been seen by some wandering around the place. Another urban legend is of a 1940’s man who died in a park nearby where Disneyland would later be constructed. He was piloting a small plane and crashed in a lake. Some of the employees have seen his spirit late at night and refer to him as “the man with a cane”. Also in the area where the passengers disembark, a man in a tuxedo has been seen. One day an employee working in that area kept seeing a shadow in a mirror she uses to see the rides coming up. Every time she turned around, no one was there. The figure appeared to be wearing a tuxedo. She then experienced a chill and an unseen hand on her shoulder. Shortly afterwards, she ran out of there and quit her job. Another story is about a woman who wanted to scatter her son’s ashes inside the Haunted Mansion but was not allowed. She snuck in and scattered them anyway. Shortly afterwards some people have seen the apparition of a small boy crying and sitting near the exit. And still there is another story of a teenage boy, who stepped out of the Doombuggy to get a better look at the “Séance Circle”, fell to his through a gap in the walkway and died by breaking his neck. That area has seen its share of strange phenomenon like ghosts and strange music with no explainable source to where it was coming from. The next time you are riding around in the “Doombuggy” of the Haunted Mansion, the ghost sharing the ride just might be “real”. Muhahahaha!

The Haunted Mansion is not the only place that has had reports of unseen happenings; there are many other rides and buildings that are haunted as well.
The Fire Station on Main Street has reports of strange footsteps and lights turning themselves on, and a voice telling an employee, “Don’t forget, I am still here”, all on the second floor.
The storeroom behind the magic shop on Main Street had reports of cold spots and a creepy feeling while in the room.
The Disney Gallery above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is said to be haunted by Walt Disney, his wife and another woman named Mary. Walt’s ghost has been seen in many places around the park.
Pirates of the Caribbean ride has also had story of the mother who wanted to scattered her son’s ashes on the ride. Basically it’s the same deal, she snuck in and scattered them anyway. Sometimes at night the ride operators have seen a lone boy riding in one of the boats on the video monitors. After checking it out, they found no one there. Is this boy at the Haunted Mansion or riding a boat on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride? I suppose it depends on who is telling the story.
Matterhorn Mountain is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman named Dolly. The story is told that she unhooked her belt to check on her children riding behind her. The ride hit a steep incline, she fell out and was hit and killed by the sled behind her.
Space Mountain has a ghost of a man who died on the ride in the 1970’s. Witnesses have described him as a large man with reddish hair and a red face. His apparition has been seen getting in a car of a lone rider but disappearing before the end of the ride.
It’s a Small World can be a Pupaphobic’s worst nightmare at night. Lights have been reported turning themselves on and off, while the figures were reported moving on their own after the power has been shut down.
Tom Sawyers Island is being haunted by a couple of ghosts that might be the grad students that drowned in the Rivers of America. Also, many employees have reported seeing children running around the island. After boating over to the island to check it out, they never found them.
Tomorrow Land has had reports of a menacing spirit along with cold spots where the spirit has been seen. The People Mover Ride, which used to run through Tomorrow Land, has the ghost of a teenager who apparently jump from the car as it moved along the tracks, and was dragged to his death. They say the he reached up grabbing desperately to his girlfriend’s long blonde hair but couldn’t hang on. He will usually manifest himself to girls with long blonde hair and will tug on it.

Disneyland is truly the “Happiest haunted place on Earth” especially for those of us who love all the ghost stories. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get locked inside for the night and see for ourselves if the place is really haunted?

--Julie--

Part Three: "It Was A Dark & Quiet Night..."

Chapter Three

7:00 PM - And So It Begins...

John had just gotten through telling Rachel and Paul how he was the grandson of the mass murderer who destroyed their families lives. Much to his surprise that had no ill feelings towards him. Rachel had explained that there was no reason to ever be mad towards John because he wasn't there fifty years ago. She said it was it was well in the past and there's nothing anyone can do to change what happened. Paul told him he didn't know any of this had even happened until a few days prior, so why should he care. This lifted some weight off of John's shoulders, but being in that hotel had still made him uncomfortable.

The three of them had found rooms just to the right at the top of the stairs. At the top of the staircase was a spacious room that was probably once some form of loft. It had a ratty old couch and love seat with a small coffee table that had been colored in gray with dust. A fireplace sat before the furniture, but there was no fire wood. Towards the back of the loft there was a six seater, round wood dining room table. When the trio had walked up the stairs there was no light coming from anywhere. The bulbs on this second floor were burnt out. John had noticed that the window on the back wall had been boarded up pretty securely, blocking any chance of moon or sunlight from coming in. If they weren't armed with flashlights, it wouldn't have been possible to see a thing. To the right of the window was another small staircase that led to the third floor. It appeared that no light had been up there for sometime either.

To the right of the loft area was a short hallway with two doors to the left, and one directly at the end. Rachel and Paul immediately took the two doors to the right and went in to examine their rooms and get changed. The hallway curved to the right and led down a very long and very ominous path. There were more doors to both sides. The carpeting was the same as downstairs but slightly more worn down. The walls had the same chipped white paint but there were no photos like in the hall downstairs. The end of the hallway could not be seen from the other end, it was to dark.

When the others chose their room, it had become hauntingly quiet. John chose the door that was at the end of the first small hallway. His door creaked open slowly and a puff a dust hit him in the face. This door hadn't been opened in some time. The room was pitch dark. John flashed the beam of light in his hand towards the inside of the room. There was no carpeting. There was no closet space. There was only a queen size bed with a moth eaten bed spread. There also used to be a window in this room, but it too had been boarded up. John threw his bag down upon the wood floor and more dust kicked up. He scanned around with his flashlight. Nothing on the walls, the room was desolate.

The floorboards from the hallway outside suddenly creaked as if someone had taken a few steps. John turned around to face the doorway, the beam of light slightly illuminating the loft in front of his room. He didn't hear a door open. No voices echoed out.

"Guys?" John whispered loudly, but got no response. He stuck his head out the door and looked in front and then to the left down the hallway. The beam in his hand shed some light down the hall but not enough to see. John walked out but did not close his door and began to walk down the hallway. He nervously and slowly moved down the hall. The floor beneath him moaned loudly with every step. His heavy breathing was the only other sound he could hear. There was no one there, maybe it was his imagination. He had reached the end, and there was just a wall. None of the other doors had been opened, and he checked a few and they were locked. He stood dead still.

Right then, he suddenly heard clear and defined footsteps from right behind him. John quickly spun around but saw no one. "Paul?" he said, but no response. "Rachel?" Nothing. The footsteps sounded like they were walking away from John, but he could tell that they were right in front of him but he saw no one. He was frozen, his hands shook and the beam of light was rattling over the wall. John felt paralyzed and a cool chill came over his body. A very slight cloud of breath could be seen for just a moment when he breathed out. The footsteps stopped and John still stood immobile at the opposite end of the hall. He gulped, and began to breath even heavier. Then a deathly silence fell over the entire hotel. John thought he had gone deaf for a moment. He trembled.

He took a step forward. Creak. Another step. Creak. Another. Creak. Out of nowhere his bedroom door slammed shut as if someone had ran full force into it. John jumped from the shock and his flashlight dropped. He fumbled to his knees and felt and quickly grabbed the flashlight and stood back up. He immediately threw the beam of light towards his door and for an instant he saw what looked like a shadow of a person run towards the loft, and the footsteps he heard confirmed that.

"Shit!" He yelled and began to run towards his room door. By the time he got there Paul and Rachel had both swung open their doors and jumped out of their rooms to see what was going on.

"Why are you slamming doors?!" Rachel screamed towards John. John got to his door and briefly examined it. It hadn't been broken. He turned the knob and swung the door open. He peered in his room but no one was there.

"I didn't do that, I think someone was in my room." John breathed it with a hint of fear in his tone. "Were any of you in my room a minute ago?" He questioned the two nervous looking people.

"No, I've been in my room the whole time bro, could it have been Mark or Liz?" Paul said with some excitement.

"No, they're still downstairs, someone was in my room. Someone was in this hallway with me!" John began to raise his voice. Rachel shook her head with confusion, she had no clue what was going on.

Paul grinned. "Damn dude do you know what that means?!" Paul said with a smile and slapped John's shoulder. John ignored this and walked out to the loft. He scanned the whole area with his flashlight. Paul and Rachel were right behind. Rachel looked somewhat scared and she stood hip to hip with Paul. Her flashlight was right next to her face. John spun his light towards the stairs that go to the third floor. He shrieked immediately at the extremely quick glimpse of what looked like a face peering around the bend of the stair case but it vanished as quick as he saw it. More footsteps followed right up the stairs.

"What is is?! Why did you scream?" Rachel whispered.

"I just saw someone," John said and hesitated, "I think." John climbed the first few stairs and peered around the bend of the stairs. He looked up and there was a door at the very top. He ran up the stairs and tried to open the door but it was locked. "Damn," he whispered.

Paul was right behind him. "Dude I heard those footsteps, that was intense!" Screamed Paul with enthusiasm. John's mind was to focused on what just happened to listen to anything Paul was saying. Just then Mark and Elizabeth had just ran up the stairs and met up with the other three.

"Guy's what the hell is going on? I thought I heard someone scream." Mark said slightly out of breath from running up the stairs so quick. John walked down the other stairs and shined his light on the married couple.

"Did you guys hear any kind of footsteps? Someone running maybe?" John asked.

"Well we heard a little bit of that, we thought it was you guys." Elizabeth responded. "Why do you ask?"

John all but ignored Elizabeth, "Mark do you have a key to the door on those stairs right there?" He questioned and pointed towards the smaller staircase.

Mark looked at John than at Paul and the scared looking Rachel. "I do but hold on minute. What is going on?" Mark said directly to John.

John looked Mark straight and the eye, "Well the reason you are here Mark," he said, "I don't think it's going to be all for nothing."

"Meaning what?" Mark said curiously with a grin appearing.

"Meaning I think you might want to start rolling." John shot back. And they all just stood still, in the darkness.

...TO BE CONTINUED.

--Mike--

**Part One can be read by clicking this link: A Lifeless Town
**Part Two can be read by clicking this link: 6:00 PM - Ten Hours Earlier

The Town Too Tough to Die

Haunted History of Tombstone, Arizona
Brief History:For nine years in the late 1880’s, Tombstone was the mecca of many notorious happenings.
In the summer of 1877 a prospector named Edward Lawrence Schieffelin arrived in the San Pedro Valley of Arizona searching for silver. He had been searching for ten years and he had yet to be successful. Ed worked all day in the area known as the Tombstone Hills in the Mule Mountains. Often asked why he always goes up in those hills, he would say, “to collect rocks”. One soldier told him, “If you keep fooling around amongst the Apaches, the only rock you will find will be your tombstone.” Finally, he saw a wash with scattered pieces of silver in it. As he moved up the hill, he found a large vain of silver. He decided to call his claim “Tombstone”. In early 1879 the City of Tombstone was built. On Allen Street the lots sold for $5 each and the town had 40 cabins and a population of 100. A year later, in 1880, four towns were thriving in the mining district and Tombstone was the largest. The population exploded to 3,000 and in a year later it more than doubled to 7,000. Before the decade was over, the population was over 10,000. Tombstone had more brothels, gambling houses, saloons than any other town in the southwest. With all the gun play, the undertaker had a booming business. With the flooding of the mines and the two fires that almost destroyed all of Tombstone, it soon became a ghost town. But with the popular interest in the history and the ghostly sightings, Tombstone is thriving again. It has earned the name, “The Town too Tough to Die”.

Ghost Sightings and Haunts:The streets of Tombstone are said to have hundreds of sightings of spirits hanging around various places. One of them is said to be Marshal Fred White, who was accidentally shot by Curly Bill Brocius on October 28, 1880. He was hit in the groin trying to disarm the gunman who was joking about shooting up the town. Marshal died two day later. He has been known to haunt the street in front of the Bird Cage Theatre, where the shooting took place.

Another sighting of a man with a long black coat has been seen on many occasions. He has been seen, around the corner from Tuff Nut Street, near the site where Virgil Earp was ambushed by three men and shot in the arm. It was told that he had over 19 buckshot in him and it crippled him for life. The spirit never makes it across the street so many believe it may be the ghost of Virgil Earp, himself.

A mysterious woman in white has been seen walking the streets of Tombstone. There are many stories about the woman and how she died. One story is that she killed herself after her child died from the Yellow Fever. Another story is that she was a brothel madam who was hung at the courthouse. They say she may be on the look out for her executioners.

They also say the because of the fires, smoke and burning materials are often smelt where there is no reason or explanation for it. More than 40 men lost their lives in the fires. They will occasionally make themselves know by appearing complete with their bad burns.

On Stafford Street you will find The Buford Bed & Breakfast, which was built in 1880 by George Buford. People staying there in the upstairs room have noticed a strange light in the room. There are no street lights outside the B&B, so there is no explanation for the light. Another guest has reported arguing with a ghostly woman in a rocking chair over whose room it was. The ghost would tell her “This is my room, GET OUT!” Another ghostly figure of a man has been seen around the B&B also. It is suspected that it could be the ghost of George Dahls. The story goes that George was in love with a 17 year old named Petra Evans. He was 21 and had been in love with her since childhood. He went to work at the mines so he could have enough money to marry Petra. He stayed 9 months in the mines and returned much wealthier. It was too late; Petra had fallen in love with another man. George was so devastated, cried all night and woke up in the morning angry. He got a gun, walked across the street and shot Petra four times, and then shot himself in the head. Petra survived. The owners of the B&B have often seen George, perhaps looking for his long lost love. He would make his presence known by turning on and off the lights and ringing the doorbell at 3:00 in the morning. No one was usually at the door. A lavender smell is often detected. Perhaps Petra is around too.

Another place known for ghostly haunts is the San Jose Boarding House. This place was frequented by Doc Holliday. In the room where Doc stayed, the doors keeping opening and shutting and the toilet keeps flushing. One guest had pictures taken of him and his secretary in that room. In all of the pictures, she had a haze over her face but his face was clear. There is no explanation for it. The owner even had an experience. One night she had trouble breathing, like she was being choked. She said the Fathers name loudly and started to feel better.

Tombstone was a male driven town. Most of the women were whores and worked in brothels and saloons. One of the places where that were most apparent was the Aztec House. This was an upscale, high class boarding house for people with money. Mostly men stayed there and would entertain whores there. Woman staying there get very uncomfortable to the point that they feel like they need to get out! One woman was watching the house for the owner and had her dog with her. She heard lots of noises and there was lots of movement with no wind to make the movements. She saw shadows, doors opening into the kitchen and nobody was there. Her and her dog did not stay the night. She also owns a house in Tombstone, which she rents out. Children have told stories of seeing and talking to a male ghost there.

The Birdcage Theatre:Opened on Christmas 1881 and was not only a theatre, but also served as a saloon, gambling hall and brothel. The New York Times called it, “The wildest, roughest, wickedest honky tonk between Bash Street and the Barbary Coast”. It had all the best beer and champagne. A miner could spend a months pay there. It was opened 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even on holidays. There were 26 deaths during the 80 years of business and has over 100 bullet holes in the walls and ceiling.

Some of the ghostly events that have been reported are crowd noises, music, card shuffling and cigar smoke.
A stage manager was said to be killed there when a sandbag dropped on him. His ghost can be seen walking across the stage.
A gift store owner saw the spirits of three cowboys in the gift store.
In the poker room in the basement, a lady in a white dress has been seen in the security cameras when no one was in that room at that time.
Another employee was helping an older gentleman find his wife only to have him disappear on her.
A tourist found a rare gold coin ($25 birdcage chip with only 3 in existence) on the table in the poker room. No one can explain where it came from.
In some pictures, a ghostly figure of a cowboy can be seen in the stagecoach.
During a séance, an owner was choked by a spirit.
The smell of cheap lilac perfume can be smelt.

Perhaps one of the most notorious prostitutes at the Bird Cage was named “Gold Dollar” for her long gold hair. It was said that a woman named Margarita came to town and took a shine to Gold Dollar’s boyfriend Billy. She loved sitting on his lap. One time Gold Dollar got wind of Margarita sitting on Billy’s lap and she headed to the Bird Cage Theatre. She threatened Margarita and told her that she was going to cut out her heart. They got into a brawl and Gold Dollar stabbed Margarita in the chest, cutting her heart out. The angry ghost of Margarita has been seen walking around the Bird Cage Theatre.

Ghost Hunters Experience and Reveal at the Bird Cage Theatre:The personal experiences: cards shuffling, smelling smoke, shadows walking across the window, shadow walking across the stage (perhaps the stage manager), a ball dropping and rolling, cowboy boots walking; Jay and Grant saw a woman about 5’ tall, in a white dress, wearing a bonnet, going downstairs in the poker room. They could not find anyone down there. (Perhaps the same woman caught on the security camera). They also smelt a lilac smell (perhaps the presence of Margarita). Steve and Brian heard a loud noise and found their heavy electrical cord unwrapped and lying on the ground. They could not figure out how that happened.
Audio: heard piano (music) playing
Video: saw the cord lift up and unwrap itself and no one was there (spooky)

O.K. Corral:After being threatened to be killed if they didn’t leave town, the Earps and Doc Holliday said that they would never run. So on October 26, 1881, Virgil received word that the Cowboys were at the O.K. Corral, and they were armed, which was against city law. The five killers waited for them to show up. After 30 seconds, three men were dead and three were wounded. Wyatt was the only one untouched. His brothers and Doc were wounded. Today, the O.K. Corral is allegedly haunted by the ghosts of the Billy Clanton and/or the McLaury brothers. Some have seen a faded cowboy apparition walking through the corral or cowboys appearing to have their guns drawn. There have been numerous cold spots felt in the corral in various areas.

Boot Hill:With more than 250 graves of Tombstone’s most notorious buried there, several ghost sightings have been seen there. Many noises can be heard there with shadow figures and apparitions showing up in people’s photos. Ghostly figures have been seen walking around the graves.

I will be throwing in articles between Mike's story. Tombstone is a fascinating place to visit with many ghosts walking it's streets and living in the buildings.

Part Two: "It Was A Dark & Quiet Night..."

Chapter Two

6:00 P.M. - 10 Hours Earlier

Heavy drops of rain pounded on the roof and hood of the black SUV. It was dark outside this night, but the beams from the headlights illuminated the pathway ahead. The windshield was fogged to a point where no one could see in or out. The wipers lay dormant on their side, wanting so desperately to clean the thick haze of water. This was the only car in sight, it parked on an incline. It was dominated by the building it rested by; a two story hotel stood firmly on it's ground looking down upon the SUV.

The hotel was built out of wood and was almost twice as long as it stood tall. It looked dull in it's white paint. The paint had began to fade and turn brown from the mud and and years of stormy weather. A large flight of stairs led up to a massive front porch. Weeds grew from underneath the porch and broke through the wood flooring. An old wooden rocking chair and a few sad looking plants were all of the porches decor. Just above was a balcony that was equal in length and in damages. Shutters hung carelessly of their hinges. The banisters were chipped and some had completely broken off. A tree on one side of the building had toppled over and found a new home resting on the side of the hotel. It was clear that the building hadn't had any attention in a very long time.

The SUV's headlights shut off and the car faded into the vast dark emptiness. A healthy, strong looking young man sat in the driver's seat. He had fair skinned complexion, with bright blue eyes and well kept wavy brown hair. The drivers seat was warm from his four hour drive to arrive here at this place. The young man sat still, contemplating whether or not he should step out. Wondering if what he was about to go into was the best idea. He sat straight up, with excellent posture; his hands at his sides. A deep breath slowly escaped through his pursed lips as his eyes fastened shut for a moment. Thin tears ran down his pale cheeks. A slight whisper of words slipped out of his mouth,

"Get out of the car" he murmured. His now reddened eyes gradually opened, and he wiped away any evidence of tears. On the passenger seat sat a lone blue duffel bag that appeared to fairly stuffed. The driver leaned over and unzipped the bag and then opened up the glove box. He rifled through some papers and grabbed what he was searching for, a revolver. Pulling it out he momentarily hesitated, but then slipped it into the very bottom of his bag and zipped the bag back up. He grabbed the duffel and yanked the keys out of the ignition and pushed his door open. His feet planted on the wet, slick ground and he slammed the door shut behind him. He now stood face to face with the building that that leered over him. As if it were peering down right in his eyes, judging him. The rain poured down upon him, covering him head to toe in water, but he stood dead still. Temporarily paralyzed. With all his might he tried so desperately to move his feet towards the stairway, but he could not do it.

The front porch suddenly became illuminated and the light knocked him out of his trance. The large front door creaked open and light from inside poked out as well a lanky thirty something man named Mark. He stood a little over six feet off the ground and weighed as much as junior high student. Half of his face was covered in hair due to quite a prominent beard and a head of disheveled hair that draped down his pasty white face. He wore sneakers that were probably once white as a sheet of paper but have since discolored into some muddy shade of brown. His jeans were worn down and had holes in them that weren't there when he bought them. An oversized black t-shirt blanketed his lengthy upper torso.

He stepped out onto the porch and and cupped his hands in a semi circle covering his eyes from the porch light. He could make out a vague and immovable silhouette standing before the porch steps. "You must be John", he yelled in the hopes that it was a person who stood before him. The silhouette moved forward and revealed the twenty five year old and more appropriately dressed, John. He was a little below six foot and had a good build to his body. Not rail thin, and not in need of any desperate diets. His brown hair matted down from the hair and water dripped down precariously down his face. The shoes he wore were brand new and had now all but been ruined by the mud he stood three inches deep in. His jeans were faded, but well pressed. His white and blue striped shirt was buttoned up and slightly dressy and was almost see through due to the water that had taken over him.

He walked to the bottom step, "And I'm guessing your Mark? The director right?" he yelled back.

Mark nodded his head and smiled and waved his hands in a gesture that was inviting John to get out of the rain. "I am, yes. But we can discuss that inside, so maybe you should get out of that rain huh? The others are waiting, they are all here." Mark said as he started backing up towards the door, hinting even more for John to get a move on.

John hesitated for a moment and surveyed the hotel in it's entirety once more. The whole thing felt foreboding and it struck a kind of nerve in John like he shouldn't walk up those stairs. Like he should turn around and get back in his truck and head home. He looked to Mark and nervously nodded his head, "Yeah I just uh, I just need to um," he stuttered and did not complete his thought. He closed his eyes and took one last breath. His right foot crept onto the first step and the stair moaned. One stair after the other, John's heart beat quickly. With every step he took, the stairs creaked and groaned even louder than the one before. Mark stared at him as if he were a lunatic but smiled all the same.

John finally approached Mark and the doorway and Mark gave him a smile and held out his hand. John had to move his duffel bag from hand to the other in order to return the hand shake, which he did with a fake smile painted across his face. "It's nice we finally get to meet, we are all very excited about this," Mark said.

John nodded and smiled again, "Yeah me to, it's good to get away." Mark gestured John inside the door and John moved cautiously inside. Mark walked in and took a suspicious glare and focused it on the looming darkness that surrounded. He closed the door shut and locked it.

---

Mark had walked John down a long and dimly lit hallway. The green carpets were torn and wood fragments peered through. The wood walls were painted in white and had several chips and tears. Old black and white photos of the hotel and all it's memories were hanging loosely on the walls, covered in a deep gray dust. Light fixtures dangled on the walls, and they flickered on occasion. The building had a very strong musty odor to it, for it hadn't been cleaned or looked after in over fifty years.

"We would like to get started with this right away, we are a little behind schedule," Mark said with his back to John as he was guiding him down the hall. John's eyes wandered curiously over the photos and walls. He ran his finger over one of the pictures and a mountain of dust poured down. "Yeah, sorry about that," John said in a daze as if he didn't know he was speaking.

Mark stopped at an entry way to his left and turned to John, "Oh no biggie man, but let me introduce you to everyone," and he walked into the next room. John soon followed and turned the corner to reveal what appeared to be a parlor. This room was near empty. A few small wood tables were in the back two corners, and a desk stood to the right of the doorway. A dusty old bell sat on the desk. A small stool sat behind the desk, but it had toppled over. The wall towards the back had a key rack that seemed to be missing all of its keys. A few dead plants surrounded the room. A broken chandelier hung from the ceiling and it hadn't produced any light for years. A long white fold out table was perched on the other side of the room and a few chairs sat before it. Various electronic equipment were strewn over the table. A tripod stood next to the table and it housed a large video camera.

Three other people stood in the room and all stood up from their chairs when Mark and John walked in. Elizabeth was around Mark's age and she immediately approached him and gave him a courteous and gentle scratching of his back. They were husband and wife and she could not be more opposite to Mark. She was beautiful and thin. Her face was something made for movies and she had smooth brown hair that reached down to just below her neck. Her smile was to die for and that's exactly what she was doing towards Mark and John. John smiled back, without realizing he even did so. She reached her hand out to John, he shook back.

"It's nice to meet you John. I'm Elizabeth, I'm this guys better half," she joked. Mark sarcastically laughed.

"She's also my assistant, so in this building what I say goes, " He joked back.

He motioned over to the other two people who were standing on the other side of the room. He pointed over to an older woman, Rachel. She was in her early fifties but didn't look a day over thirty. There were no apparent wrinkles, no gray strands of hair. She had well kept blonde hair that was shoulder length. She too was wearing jeans and a simple blue tee shirt and had on a pair of comfortable sneakers.

"Hi I'm Rachel, it's a pleasure to meet you John. I'm really looking forward to this project and being able to work with all of you," she said in a very polite tone. John shook her hand.

"I'm happy to meet you too. I'm looking forward to this." He said back.

Standing next to her was Paul, who looked to be just about John's age. He was more physically fit than John and slightly taller. He had a very appealing and attractive face and his hair was short and dirty blond. His jeans looked to be the type you buy at a high end store that gears towards the younger and hipper youth of America. His red shirt was fitted and had some store logo spread across. He reached out his hand and gave a very firm and assuring hand shake to John and had a huge grin on his face.

"Hey John I'm Paul! I think we are going to have a great time here. Don't know 'bout you, but I'm looking forward to my fifteen minutes of fame, " he said very exuberantly. John smiled, but he was a bit taken aback by Paul's excitement. He didn't even respond to Paul, he just turned back to face everyone else.

Mark stood next to his wife and picked up a camera. "So we are going to start filming this thing here in just a few minutes, but I would love for all of you to get set up in your rooms and make yourself familiar with the hotel. It's going to be a long night," he said.

"Where are our rooms?" Asked John.

"They are going to right up this flight of stairs and there is a row of rooms to the right. Feel free to pick whatever ones you want." Mark said pointing over to a flight of stairs that was just outside another entry way to the parlor. John turned and saw the menacing looking staircase. It was a very narrow set of stairs, that once had carpeting, but had since lost it all. They looked to be crooked and led up to pure darkness. John looked to Mark, and Mark had already been in the process of handing everyone flashlights. "You guys are all going to need these. Most of the bulbs have burnt out, and I just didn't want to replace them. I think it's going to add to the mood anyway," explained Mark.

The group starting collecting their bags and flashlights and began walking towards the staircase. Mark and Elizabeth stayed back to get all their equipment ready. John, Paul and Rachel walked side by side to the stairs. Rachel broke in the conversation, "So John, why did Mark seek you out? He seemed pretty adamant that you were part of this documentary. Do you have experience in film?" She questioned.

Paul looked over to John with a curious look in his eyes. John looked over to the both of them and started to stutter, "Well, I guess you can say I have a bit of a history with this place." He mumbled.

Rachel and Paul looked to John and their interest was peaked. They reached the staircase landing. John started to walk up but Rachel and Paul did not follow immediately. "What do you mean history?" asked Paul.

John's back was to them, and he stopped on the fifth stair. He kind of let out a small chuckle, "Mark didn't tell you." he said with his back still to them.

"No he didn't." spoke Paul.

"He told us that Paul and I were the only ones who had a connection to this place. So how are you connected?" Rachel asked.

John's had still not turned around. "So then you know the story of what happened here?" he asked.

"Quite vividly. I admit I was a bit surprised to learn about it and how my family was part of it. My parents never told me about this place." Paul told him.

"My father was the sheriff of this place and I was just a baby when he was killed by that psycho. I never really knew my father thanks to him. I knew the story vaguely from over hearing conversations between my mom and my aunt but it had never been confirmed until now. And Paul here, his grand dad was uh, he was the mayor of this town. So what's your story John?" Rachel told her story with a bit of despair and sadness in her voice.

John finally turned around to look his two new friends in the eyes. He took a deep breath. "Well you know that psycho you said killed your dad, and killed your grandpa, Paul?" He said with dread.

"Yeah." said Paul. Rachel just nodded her head and she folded her arms.

"Well uh, that psycho," he hesitated. He didn't want to continue talking. "Well he um, he's my grand-father." John looked them straight in the eyes, and spoke these words with fear in his tone. Rachel and Paul just stared back, with blank expressions.

...TO BE CONTINUED.

--Mike--

The Boogeyman: The Haunting of Marla

This story is about a friend of mine, Marla, and happened almost thirty years ago. As they say in Dragnet, “The story you are about to read is true, the names have been changed to protect the innocent.”

Marla, Deanna and I were best friends in high school and did just about everything together. It was our senior year homecoming game/dance and we decided to party before the game. My sister, Carly, was older and had her own apartment, and so we talked her into getting us some Boonesfarm wine to get a buzz on, or in Marla’s case, wasted. Marla never made it to the game. By the time we got to the school, there was grape wine all over the side of my car and Marla was passed out in the back. Deanna and I locked the car, left her sleeping it off, and then went to the game. When we got back, Marla was up and said that some creepy old man was watching her in the car. She said that she thought he looked transparent, but just chalked it up to the effects of too much booze. This was the first time she mentioned the old man, but it wouldn’t be the last.

After high school we all went to various local colleges while still living with our parents. Marla started having some health issues such as swelling in the legs and water weight gain. She began feeling extremely tired, weak and confused. Her parents took her to the doctor and after a battery of tests; they found out that one of her kidneys was failing. She started losing weight and had an awful taste in her mouth and was put on treatment right away. Marla was experiencing excruciating pain and was fitted with a small box of pain medicine that would release a dose every time the pain got unbearable. While she was going though this physical pain, the paranormal activity started.

Marla shared a back bedroom with her younger sister Sandy at her parents’ modest suburban home. It was her parents, sister and two brothers living there at the time with her. No one else in the house knew what she was experiencing because she was afraid to say anything. She figured they would tell her that it was the medication causing hallucinations, which she often questioned herself. She did feel comfortable enough to tell me. Her accounts caused the hairs on my neck to rise and chilled me to the bone. Marla hated to spend the night alone at her house, so she often stayed at mine. After hearing her daily and nightly occurrences, I didn’t blame her.

One evening, while the entire family was out and Marla was alone, she fixed a dinner and went to her bedroom to eat it. Marla often ate in her bedroom, a place she used to feel safe. Shortly after she finished her meal, she heard footsteps walking down the hall, and then stopping at her door. She shouted out to see who was there, but no one answered. Thinking that one of her brothers was playing a joke, she opened the door, looked down the hall, and saw no one. She walked around the house, looked outside, and noticed that all the cars were still gone. She went back to her room, shut the door, and lay on her bed to watch TV. Again, she heard footsteps walking towards her room and stopping at the door. Quickly, Marla ran to the door and opened it just to find an empty hallway. She started to get chills and told herself to get a grip; the meds are causing you to hear things. A short time later, Marla heard the pictures in the hallway being moved, like they were swinging back and forth. This lasted a few minutes, and then quickly stopped. Marla stayed frozen on her bed until her parents got home. Feeling safe, she lied down and fell asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, she was woken up by a male voice calling her name and feeling his hot breath on her ear. She opened her eyes to see that no one else was in the room. Needless to say, she didn’t much sleep that night and many nights to come.

Marla constantly heard the unseen footsteps and a male voice calling her name at night and in the daytime as well. She could feel the hot breath on her ear and felt her hair move every time her name was whispered. She heard and saw other types of unexplained movement all around the house, especially down the hallway. One day, while she was home alone and in her room, she heard the footsteps again. This time was different because the footsteps were followed by the door opening, footsteps walking towards her on the bed, the feeling like someone sat on the edge of the bed, and an imprint of a person sitting there. Marla was paralyzed with fear and couldn’t move. This lasted on a few seconds but for her it was much longer. She knew now that it was time to tell her parents what has been happening. No one else in the house had any experiences of unknown happenings, just Marla. I honestly can’t remember what became of her telling her parents the whole story, all I know is that he, the old man, started making his presence known to Marla after that incident.

The old man, or as Marla called him, “the Boogeyman”, was seen not only in the house but other places outside the house as well. She described him as slightly transparent, thin, weathered, wearing a tattered jacket and hat. He never approached her, just seemed to be watching her every move. Even though he didn’t seem like he was going to harm her, his sudden appearance gave her chills. During the time Marla was seeing this old man, we decided to get an apartment together. She was feeling much better and her kidney survived the treatment and the pain was gone, but the old man was still there. Even though she saw him in our apartment, I never did. I occasionally felt like we were being watched and had that uneasy feeling. I'm sure that her constant conversations of the ghost man probably had my imagination running wild. I asked Marla if this old man could have been a family member watching over her while she got through her health crisis. Perhaps he was not meant to harm you but protect you. I was trying to spin a positive on this scary time in her life and try to figure out why this was happening. This made sense to her, so she had a talk with her father. She found out that the old man fit the description of his great grandfather. Months later, after we moved back to our parents' homes, the old man didn't make anymore appearances. Her health had much improved as well as other aspects of her life.

It has been years since I last saw Marla. I don’t know the present state of her health or if she ever had any more paranormal experiences and a visit from the Boogeyman. I know that this experience of hers will forever be imprinted in my memory.
"Be well and peace."

--Julie--

Part One: "It Was A Dark & Quiet Night..."

Chapter One
A Lifeless Town

The moonlight pierced the empty and lonely streets of the small deserted town. There were no cars parked jaggedly along the curbs this night, nor any night for the past many decades. The trees and shrubbery were drawing their final breaths of life for no water had quenched their thirst for months. There were no birds perched happily in their branches. Even the insects had ended their nightly singing. Life had ceased to exist in this town.

Children used to run freely with their arms spread wide with smiles on their faces. Now all that remains is an abandoned playground. The swings blow carelessly back and forth in the momentary gusts of wind and then stop dead. The sandbox is full of metal buckets and shovels; a hopscotch course with half used pieces of chalk the roll freely across the pavement. Broken tree branches were the only things hanging from the monkey bars. There was no more playful laughter echoing from this park. Only silence and memories of what once was.

All that remains of the local pub is a sign that barely hangs on by one loose chain. The door wide open, dead leaves blowing inside. Bar stools tipped over, and some have lost their metal legs. The wood bar and tables, covered in dust and dirt. A few black and white photos of the good times had fallen from the walls and the glass smashed. Empty glasses and alcohol bottles had found new homes over the dirt ridden floor.

The houses that once supported families, are now shrouded in darkness. Mail boxes left open and some had cracked and fallen to the ground. The lawns were taken over by dead weeds. Tire swings hanging from trees blew depressingly in the wind. Windows were smashed, doors off their hinges. Cobwebs dangled from the ceilings. Dust had covered every inch of all the furniture. No more marriage quarrels. No more family nights. No barking dogs, no sneaky little kittens. The houses had become relics, as if they never really existed.

A long stretch of road left the hub of the town and led uphill to a very dilapidated hotel. It overlooked the gloom and the sadness. It used to be the life of the party. Weekly town meetings and parties were held in the ballroom. In 1950 the town's one hundredth anniversary gala was going to be held in this very hotel. People from all over the country were coming in to celebrate. It would have been the greatest event the town would have ever seen. It would have put it on the map. Food for close to four hundred people had been prepared. Everyone who was everyone was there. Husbands, wives, children, the sheriff, the mayor, everyone and anyone who lived there.

The party had started, people were having the time of their lives. For most, it would be the last moment of true happiness they would have ever experienced. Two weeks prior, a man named Adam Jacob's had been arrested for murdering his wife. He knew he didn't do it, he could even prove he didn't. The sheriff and mayor didn't care, because they were to concerned for impressing the people and politicians from out of town for the big event. Adam wasn't going to stand for their ignorance any longer. That night, he broke out of his jail cell and killed the two deputies standing guard. He walked up the long road, blood on his hands. He was now a killer.

It was the shortest walk of his life. He barged right through the front doors of the hotel and managed to barricade them. Adam was armed with two pistols and plenty of spare ammunition. Twenty feet away the entire town had forgotten he even existed. Not one of them cared that he was locked up for something he did not do. Most of them rallied to have him put away and it was him against them. Adam no longer had anything to live for. He had just killed two men, and everyone he used to think loved him, now thought he was capable of murdering his own wife.

The guns were loaded. The ballroom was full of people having the best night of their lives. Adam said a silent prayer. Then he walked right into the ballroom and shut the doors behind him. Gun fire and screams was the last thing this ballroom was ever going to remember. Sixty five men, women and children died that evening. The mayor and sheriff both lost their lives along with Adam Jacob's who had spared one bullet for himself. The remaining locals picked up and left the next day and by the end of the week not a single soul was left in the town. A single monster, in the form of Adam, destroyed the very existence of this place in one single night.

Now all that remained was the empty piece of land. All the memories wiped clean. Life could not go any longer for a place as evil as this. Not a laugh had been echoed for over fifty years. No weekly football match at the park had been played. No one had gone fishing at the lake. The town knew only deafening silence for more than half a century. Life would never come back to this place.

Until at the top of the hill, in the hotel that ended the town in tragedy, a light flickered on. A few moments later, a blood curdling scream shattered the silence. A scream like this building hadn't heard for over fifty years. It appeared a new tale was about to be told for the lifeless place and it began like this...it was a dark and quiet night, and all had been calm in the empty little town.

...TO BE CONTINUED.

--Mike--

Short Story Series

Hello readers!

So it's been a while since I've really been in the thick of things here at the Above the Norm blog. I just recently got back into it, I posted 2 of the last 3 blogs. I was having some really bad employment/financial issues. I was laid off from my job (but in a very back handed, sneaky way) in April and I only just got a new job a few weeks ago. I was walking a very very thin line with all my bills, I even had to pay my rent 4 days late, which is something I've never done. I fell way behind on my bills, I was constantly calling my bill companies to ask for some leeway. Thankfully they all did. I have about three more weeks of some really bad money struggling to go through (why does gas HAVE to be $2.60 when I have NO money lol), but there is finally an end in sight! Starting July 3rd I'll be all caught up on my bills, and life will be back to normal!

But 95% of my free time those past few months I spent searching for jobs or figuring out bill situations. I was always out and about selling what few things I had to get some extra gas and food money. So I wasn't able to spend much or any time really, on the blog. But I'm back now, and here to stay! I hope you all have enjoyed my last few blogs (Freaky Flicks and Symptoms of A Haunted Home). My work schedule is pretty great (5:30 AM-10:30 AM Monday-Friday) so I should have plenty of time now to catch up on my blogging.

But I wanted to announce that I am going to attempt to write a short story...in chapter by chapter increments and post each segment to the blog. My goal is to try to do 2 to 3 chapters a week on here. It will be one story going for about a month or so (maybe more). I have the general idea for my story planned out and I have a title: "It Was A Dark & Quiet Night...". I've always loved writing and at one point (and still do) wanted to be a screenwriter. Maybe that dream will come true one day...but for now I'll stick to story writing. It's supposed to be a mystery type story, but my mind always changes hehe.

So keep an eye out for that...part one may even be up a little later today.

Glad to be back!

--Mike--

Freaky Flicks Presents: What Freaks Your Flick?

I can't really tell what the general reaction of this audience is...some look scared, some look jovial, some look like something just suddenly grabbed their feet, and some kind of like all three. When I walk into a theater after paying $9.75, I want my experience to be fun in some kind of regard. If I'm paying for a movie I know will be crappy, I at least want to be entertained by it's sheer stupidity. If I pay for a comedy I want to laugh. If I pay for a drama, I want to be moved. If I pay for a "scary" movie...I want to be scared. This last effect seems to be all but missing from today's horror fests. This article is based primarily on my own opinions, and I'm not trying to put words in other people's mouths. I know that everyone has different feelings towards what scared them.

For me it's been quite some time since I've been scared in a movie. By scared, I do NOT mean jumpy. This is the first point I want to talk about. Way back when, horror filmmakers depended on everything that was happening on screen to scare an audience, and I mean everything. The story had to be frightening, the killer or bad guy had to truly be haunting, and the mood had to be as dark as possible. Jump moments, or jump scenes, were definitely there but were not relied upon to provoke fear. In today's horror movies, that's all been flipped. In most of the horror films we see today, jump scenes are virtually all a scary movie has to terrify it's audience. If you fall victim to these jump moments, ask yourself this: did that really chill me to the very core? Will that moment leave a scar on my brain and make me nervous to fall asleep tonight? Your answer more than likely will be no, but again I'm not trying to put words in your mouth. The answer for me is most certainly a big NO!

When you take jump scenes out of today's freaky flicks, what do you have left? A bunch of stupid teenagers/college kids getting slaughtered one by one and we could care a less about them. This leads me to my second point: there is rarely an original story to today's scary movies. 95% of the time we have this story: a group of twenty somethings go off into seclusion to have a raging party only to quickly learn there is a crazy killer on the loose who is either seeking revenge on one of them or just a crazy killer with no motive. They all get picked off one by one. They are all annoying. There is always one token "ethnic" person (I don't mean this in a bad way, but these film makers always like to have at least one stereotype character), one token "funny guy", a hot big boobed brunette or blond and the hunky sports star who just wants to be a normal guy and the girl he really wants to date but just doesn't have the courage to ask. Is this honestly scary to anyone anymore?

Even today's young audiences can't really be terrified by these things, but they all scream their faces off in these movies. Even though they've seen that type of movie about fifty times already. So why do they scream in the theaters? Most teenagers are with large groups of friends, and most of them are in the movie because it was easy to sneak into. They scream because that's what you are supposed to do in a scary movie right? They also do it to be "cool" and just have fun with their friends. Notice how they all giggle right afterward. Now I know some people do legitimately scream in these scenes, but it's not as common as you may think. My point was that teenagers have become the target audience. You can tell by the pointless and incredibly dim witted storylines that a five year old can follow. You can tell by the countless cliched jump scenes. You can tell by the massive amounts of blood and the kill scenes that are beyond graphic. Is that really what is scary?

There was a good movie last year called The Strangers. I was a big fan. It teetered on that line of being a slasher movie but also one that messes with your mind because it played kinda close to home. It was about a couple who were staying in some secluded house for the night after a wedding. Something went wrong between the two of them, but we never know what it is. Out of nowhere mysterious knocks and sounds from outside come about. Mysterious people sneak in the house without the couple even knowing. Then later this couple is terrorized about three random people who all have masks and don't talk. They don't slice and dice them though. They screw with them. They unnerve them. They break into their home and break this couple down mentally. THAT to me is terrifying and I think the filmmakers did a great job at making it almost real. I'll admit after watching it, I felt nervous to be alone at home. But these types of movies are very far and few between, because it is the slasher movie like I said, that dominates today.

These slasher movie USED to be scary actually. Some of our readers grew up on the classic slasher movies that started it all. I didn't grow up on them, but I still saw them in my younger days. Michael Myers (the original Halloween 1978) was horrifying. He was silent, he walked at a brisk pace and he just killed. He interrupted a peaceful neighborhood on a normal Halloween night and just terrified audiences across the country. The movie made babysitters nervously peer out their windows when a slight sound was echoed outside. In its time, the movie was extremely original. It scared me as a kid (and I was born 7 years after the movie was released). Then came Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th) in 1980. Although technically it was his mom doing the killing in the first film, but he came about in sequels. He terrified kids at a summer camp, dawning a hockey mask and brandishing a machete. He made teenagers deathly afraid to go to camps after those movies. Let's not forget good old Freddy Kruger (A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984) and his charred body and metal claws. He killed his victims in their dreams when the slept. I'll be the first to admit, I was none to pleased to go to bed after watching those movies. These are the effects these movies had...today we don't really get that. Well we actually get remakes of these classics. Tons of them. We have two Halloween remakes. One Friday the 13th (more to come I'm sure), and also A Nightmare on Elm Street remake is in the works as we speak. No doubt to cash in on today's teens thirst for gore gore gore.

Gore has taken over the scary cinema as well. Sometimes it actually works in my opinion, when it's done tastefully. When the original Saw movie came out, I loved it. I thought it was highly original, and had some genuine freaky moments. I hadn't seen a movie like that. Most people think the original Saw was a gory movie...but in fact there wasn't much blood at all. There was the one scene where the guy cuts off his foot, and then the pool of blood in the middle of the room, but gory? Not really. Saw II took an original premise and just ran with it...but in a bad direction. The series (soon to be at number six) has become a total gorefest. Mindless torture scenes full of heads being twisted, faces blown off, people on fire, etc. I've only seen the first two. It's kind of tarnished the original I think. These constant sequels have made the original almost forgettable, which is sad because it really is a good movie and had a very twisty ending. Again though, the kids these days are blood thirsty! The movie studios who make these films have to make their movies appealing to their audience. It's all about money in the end anyway. Funny because horror movies are one of the least profitable genres of film in recent years.

There's another side to scary: the supernatural. These are my favorite types of horror movie. I love a good ghost tale. Sadly, they don't make 'em very good anymore...or at all really. Ghost movies don't appeal to a large audience these days, so there's no need to make them. They used to be quite popular. I shouldn't even have to mention Poltergeist 1982, possibly one of the most classic ghost tales ever told! To this day, that movie unnerves me unlike any other scary movie. It was always quiet and you always knew when something was about to happen. They had shots in the movie that just panned over the quiet house of the family sleeping. The TV was on that blasted static channel. Everything seemed OK, but you knew as the audience that it wasn't. Man that movie is true horror at it's very best. If you haven't seen it, my advice is that you do. Watch it in your home with the lights off. Tell me that doesn't scare you!

Or what about movie like The Changeling 1980(not the Angelia Jolie movie) or The Shining 1980? These movies prove that silence can be the scariest aspect of a film and in real life. They prove to us that the things we cannot see are what scares us the most. If we can see the monster, yes it's scary, but we at least know where to run. But if you are in some giant mansion and creepy sounds come from all directions and things start flying off shelves and demonic voices come from somewhere in your home...where the hell do you run? Where can you go in your home that you are safe? See now that really is scary to me. Not knowing what on earth is stalking you and messing with you. Not being able to see it or even communicate with it. That to me gives me the heeby jeebies! That's what movies like The Changeling and The Shining do to an audience.

We have had our share of good ghost movies as of late, at least in my opinion. Movies like The Sixth Sense 1999, The Others 2001, and The Orphanage (El Orfanato) 2008 ring a bell. They showed us that we don't have to simply rely on blood and guts. Or constant cliched jump scenes. Or eight stupid characters who we don't give a crap about. These movies shouldn't JUST be about the characters, a big part of it should be what's making these characters squirm. Because we have to relate. The movies listed above do just that. They may be about other worldly things that a lot of us don't experience but still provide us with the "what if?". I want to be chilled to the bone. I want to be afraid to sleep at night. I want to come home and check my house to make sure everything is OK. That's the affect a horror movie SHOULD have on an audience. We shouldn't just see a couple having sex and dying in the middle of it and laughing at it. We shouldn't be fooled by the cat in the closet trick and making us jump. I want some class in my scary movie.

Anyway, this is just how I feel. This is my opinion. I am a huge fan of movies, and I guess I've become somewhat of a movie snob over the years. But you have to admit...I might be a little right on this...right??

Cliched Jump Scenes

1. Cat jumps out of an armoir (why the hell is a cat in there to begin with?!?)
2. A bat, bird or mouse jumps out of a closet (Again...why??)
3. Girl looks in mirror, goes down to wash her face, looks back up and...AH KILLER!
4. Character is standing in a room that's empty and then...AH hand on the shoulder! (not the killer)
5. Let's look in the fridge. Hm, nothing. Close the fridge and BOO! Someone is standing right there!
6. Character patrols a room and no one is there. She turns around dramatically and SHRIEK! Her best friend of lover is standing right in front of her (and he's SHOCKED that she got scared! What?!)
7. A light is flickering in a hallway (darkness then light, etc). The light is on, nothing there. Light goes off. Light comes back on...DEAR GOD there's a creepy villain in front of you! Where did you even come from!?

Those are just a few.

Another long post from me...when you have Mike blogging...you usually have a lot of reading to do. Hehe! Until next time.

--Mike--

Symptoms of a Haunted Home

Some of us might live in a nice little house like the one pictured above. It's simple, it's cozy, and it's a perfect fit for you and your family. In that house you may have a few kids running around maybe even a cute little puppy or kitty cat. It's decorated the way you want, everything is just the way it should be according to your preferences. You are perfectly comfortable in your house, and you don't plan on leaving for a very, very long time. People may drive by or jog by one morning and say "well isn't that just a nice little house?". However one day, something odd throws all out of that out of balance...something that you can't quite see.

We all get sick from time to time, whether it be a cold or the nasty flu. Some virus, invisible to the naked eye, invades our body and throws us out of our comfort level. Usually we gulp down some liquid remedy or swallow a ton of pills to make these things go bye bye in just a few days. Much like these illnesses invade our body...sometimes something from the other side may invade our homes. Sadly though, NyQuil and Sudafed won't get rid of these pesky little disturbances. By that of course I mean ghosts.

There are many "symptoms" for a haunted home, but most of them are to often confused for everyday household issues. Once you can weed out those common problems, and you are left with some strange things still going on...well then you may have yourself a nasty little spirit or two running amok in your house! Well I'd like to go through a few common things that you may think are ghosties and ghoulies...but really is just your imagination going buck wild!

1. You got a really old house. A lot of us don't live in these fancy new homes that were built just for us and our needs. In fact most people live in homes that have been around for fifty to sometimes up to a hundred years. It's common for people to automatically think there home is haunted simply because it's been around forever. This isn't usually true.

"Well my floorboards creek" you might say. That's probably because you haven't replaced your floorboards in many many years...if not ever. They get loose over time, they get deeply worn out. You may step on a floorboard in your hallway and the floor in your bedroom creeks. That's not a ghost. Usually. Now if you are just sitting on your couch one day and suddenly your floor starts creaking as if someone is actually walking...you might more than a few rodents under your house. You just might have a ghost who is trying to sneak in after curfew.

"Well weird knocking sounds come from walls and ceilings" is something you could argue for having a ghost. Again if you don't tend to the structure of your home for quite some time...it will ware down. Sometimes on old walls (even on new ones...my apartment does this on occasion) the wall or ceiling will pop. It will sound like a knock, and it will probably startle you. But it happens randomly doesn't it? Now if you hear three of these knocks in succession and then physically ask for more knocks and you get them right away...well you just might have a ghost (or there's some weird homeless man living in your walls and you should probably get him the heck out of there!).

2. You got way to many old or loose wires. Jay and Grant on Ghost Hunters have made this a well known debunking method on their show. When you have a crap load of wires and electricity generating in your home, these things can let off some very high EMF (Electro Magnetic Field) readings. So you are home alone and you are sitting on your couch in the dark watching TV and all of a sudden get the feeling someone is watching you from behind. You turn around and no one is there. Then you start to feel paranoid. Or maybe you are in the kitchen one day making dinner and all of a sudden feel nauseous and a bit dizzy and then immediately that goes away. Or you are in your basement doing laundry and you start to feel all of those things and it all goes away the moment you leave.

Well high EMF readings can be quite dangerous if you don't take care of those faulty or loose wires. If the EMF is high in your home it can actually cause you to feel paranoid or delusional. It can even make you see things like shadows out of the corner of your eye. It can make you feel sick and dizzy and it has nothing to do with ghosts. They can actually cause you to be hospitalized, so if you have these issues a lot I would call an electrician ASAP. Now if you have all your wires and electronics checked and cleared by a genuine licensed electrician and then you start to feel these weird things...there might be a creepy dead person standing right behind you and you don't even know it. Turn around...right now...I dare you. Muahaha.

3. You have some wind tunnels. Your doors keep opening by themselves and even closing all by their lonesome. Surely now your house must be a possessed by a demon who was clearly born in a barn...right? Well don't jump to that conclusion JUST yet. During the more humid times of year, your wood doors can expand ever so slightly. This causes a pressure and the door will pop open all on its own. Another explanation is the wind factor. I have had this experience in my apartment before. My bedroom door will be closed and my roommate at the time would come home through the front door. When he opens it, my bedroom door has actually popped open. I'm no scientist, but I believe I read that when the air in a room is suddenly forced in all directions (by a heavy door opening) it will rush to other areas immediately and cause some pressure to apply to other doors. You may even notice your blinds will shake or flutter violently for a moment when someone opens a door. But this can actually make doors open, so it isn't always Casper trying to sneak a peek in your bedroom.

Now if you check your doors, and even experiment with this wind tunnel theory and your doors don't open...well you might have something. For instance if you are sitting in your room and you hear the door knob physically turn or a latch on a door lift...usually it takes more than a breeze to make that happen. Then your door fly's open and shuts closed and latches back up...well that just doesn't happen folks. If this is the case...you probably DO have a case of a perverted Casper.

Thing is...you hear stories all the time about a nice little family is suddenly terrorized by a hoard of ghosts. Some families have even made bank of their tales that turned out not to be true. There was the Lutz family from Amityville who, along with their skilled lawyer, fabricated their entire story in order to make a profit off of movies and TV shows. There was also the family from Connecticut (whom the movie A Haunting in Connecticut is based) who all of a sudden couldn't get their stories straight on what was really happening in their home. Haunted houses are quite surprisingly a very profitable business. There's the Whaley House, the Winchester Mansion, the Lizzie Borden House, The Queen Mary, etc. These places all charge you a pretty penny just to walk through them. It's tough to say what places really are haunted.

Honestly it's usually the quaint little homes we all live in. Most families don't want these things, and will usually move out because they feel forced to. Did you know that for the most part, it isn't actually the building or home that is haunted, but the land it rests on? Over the decades and centuries homes where death has occurred have been torn down and new places are built. The energy generally stays on the land. Sometimes these ghosts will also attach themselves to objects and will actually move with them.

So what are the symptoms of a haunted home? Well I assure you it's not a heart of greed (like the Lutz family). Are you physically being touched? If you are lying in bed or sitting on the couch and you feel someone touch you and no one is there...well you might have something. I don't mean a breeze brushes your face, I mean an actual solid touch or even a smack or scratch? If you feel scratched are there marks on your skin right afterward?

Are there unfamiliar voices or sounds in your home? Do you hear screams or laughter coming from your halls and you know for a fact that it isn't your family? Have you ever been alone and talking to yourself and you get a verbal response from somewhere in your area in the home? Well you probably aren't crazy (although some people would like to tell you you are).

Have you been pushed hard by something that isn't there and know for a fact you didn't trip or bump something? Has your hair ever been tugged with some real force and you know it didn't get caught in anything? Have you seen full formed shadows directly in front of you that seem to move on their own and you know for a fact it isn't yours or light reflecting from outside?

Have objects fallen off shelves or out of cabinets when you know they were securely in there? Have you ever seen an object float or shoot across the room? Have you heard loud bangs coming from your walls or in a room where you know for a fact no one is in? Or by chance, have you seen a full bodied spirit standing in your eye line and then just vanish?

If you experience these things you may very well possibly have some ghostly activity in your home. You may be terrified of them. Just know that most of the time these ghosts aren't even aware you are in the house. A lot of the time it's just their energy causing these things. For the most part there really is nothing to fear. They can't do much harm to you. However I'm sure it can be very unpleasant and especially frightening to your younger children if you have any. But you really can't rid your house of them. They are generally there to stay. So you either have to learn to co-exist...or flee if it's that bad.

I'm not an expert in any field...these are just my own thoughts. But I'm tired of hearing about people having haunted houses just because they have over active imaginations. It isn't fair to the people who really do have a bad case of the ghoulies.

--Mike-- (I'm back!)