I have only been investigating the Paranormal as part of a group for two years, but in that very short time I have come across something that I think could be described as some sort of psychological phenomena all in itself.

The need to be haunted is something I witnessed on many investigations, in some cases the owner of a location would exaggerate stories to such an extent that the simplest question would confuse them, there were also the cases where the owner of a location would talk of keeping the ghost, as though it were a pet, and then there was the worst case scenario, the location that advertised itself as the most haunted place in the county of Wiltshire (where i live) only to have the landlord caught faking activity during an investigation.

What, one wonders, could make these people be so desperate to be haunted?

It could be that they are so fascinated by the paranormal that they misdiagnose any sound or slight happening as paranormal when indeed it simply needs to be looked at logically. It could also be a case of the person in question having lost somebody tragically in their life and they are desperate to believe that their loved one is still with them, Then there is my favourite theory - The curse of the Paranormal Pound (or Dollar in the US)

With television shows such as Most Haunted, Haunted Homes, Derek Acorahs ghost towns and the like on our screens most week nights, it is easy to see why people may get excited at the prospect of being haunted.

We all know The Red Lion at Avebury who were on Most Haunted, We know The Black Swan in Devizes who were on Most Haunted, look at how those locations make a profit of supposedly being Englands most haunted locations…

I am sure it is the same in the USA too, places that have been on ghost hunters or on most haunted or what have you, start to charge people to access for an investigations…

If you were the owner of public location that had ghost stories attached to it, and you heard that supposed haunted hot spots can make the owner a fortune on investigation charges, would you not instantly see the £ or $ signs in front of your eyes?

An easy way to cash in, and a good way to draw in custom - “Come and eat in The worlds most Haunted restaurant” - Doesn’t take a genius does it.

What causes me to worry the most is the thought of a grieving relative or loved one stopping their bereavment process by convincing themselves the ghost of their loved one is still with them, when this may not be the case. This can be emotionally, physically and psychologically damaging.

My worry about this phenomena of the need to be haunted does worry me though, because not only is it morally wrong, it also takes Paranormal Investigation teams to locations that they need not be investigating, it wastes the teams time and resources, especially when there may a location that they could investigate to yield some really important results.

Just my 2 cents, or pence, depending on where you’re from.

As a young child I can vividly remember the excitment that built up to October 31st, back then the day simply meant that I would be able to dress up as a witch in my cloak and hat and go out with my mum asking the neighbours for sweets and other treats. We would cut out silouhettes of bats, witches and monsters to hang in the window and the highlight of the day would be carving a pumpkin to create a spooky face. As a child I had a fascination with anything macabre such as the tales of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, ghosts and vampires, and so Halloween was a well loved day.

As I grew older I stopped going trick or treating but instead still took great joy in halloween, I would proudly dress the windows of the shop I worked in for the annual halloween competition that was ran by the company. I would dress up with my colleagues and we would celebrate when we won each year. My fascination for macabre stories grew and grew and I soon took my passion for the paranormal one step further when I formed the Twelfth Hour Team.

Since then my beliefs and opinions have changed so much with regards to ghosts and ghoulies, yet I still have a deep love for Halloween, It has become a very commercial event with shops having halloween stock on the shelves as soon as August, but for those out there who share a passion for the macabre, Halloween will always have a place in our hearts.”

Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday.

The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.

Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.

The tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.

The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes.

To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

The Halloween celebrations of today have a whole different feel about them. All hallows eve is an extremely commericalised day, just like any other festive celebration such as Easter or Christmas. Shops tend to start selling halloween stock such as specially designed sweets and costumes as early as August.

Halloween celebrations are no longer restricted solely to Pagans or people of certain religions, everyone tends to get involved with the fun of the day. So the next time you put on your witches hat or wear a pair of plastic vampire fangs remember that the celebrations you are taking part in first came aroud because of superstitions about the “world on the dead” coming closer to the “world of the living.”

Written by Hayley Stevens

Yep I am moving…the blog will be temporarily inactive yet still online for those of you wishing to read the posts, follow links etc..

As soon as I get internet again we will be back with more updated material.

thank you all for the patronage.

andre riot and the ghost sickness blog

Before I make this post, I firstly want to say thanks to Andre for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Ghost Sickness blog. I first started writing my own paranormal blog earlier this year and used it as a channel to vent my thoughts, ideas and opinions regarding the paranormal when I had no-one around me who would listen or understand, so to be given the opportunity to contribute to someone else’s blog too is a privilege, so thanks! – Hayley

Now to business, I wanted to write to tell of a story I recently heard regarding a family here in England who fled their home from a sobbing poltergeist. Spooky huh? Apparently the family finally had enough of the phenomena occurring in their small home, not only did they have the ghostly sobbing to contend with, but there were a series of other unexplainable happenings such as object literally jumping across the room, huge sudden drops in temperature in random rooms, there was also the creepy appearance of a skull image in a picture frame and the most disturbing is the noise of a child sobbing heavily in the dead of night.

Enough to send even the bravest of paranormal investigators running, let alone a young family with children. A family friend called in a clairvoyant, who claimed he saw the image of a child in a dressing gown.

Allison, the home owner said: “I don’t really want to leave the house so it would be better if they could do something to sort it out and get this thing out of my house. If they can’t get rid of it I’ll have to move.”

In a statement, Carlisle Housing Association said: “Carlisle Housing Association takes any situation which is causing distress to its tenants seriously and will offer support and assistance where it can. Two members of The Housing Management team visited the tenant on Monday morning to assess the situation and also arranged for the local vicar to contact her separately. We appreciate the distress the tenant has voiced and will continue to offer her our support.”

Carlisle Housing Association, which owns the property, has now arranged for a priest to step in and end the family’s nightmare.

This a very odd move on the housing associations behalf, it isn’t very often that housing associations in the UK would take such actions, lets just hope that it puts the home owners at rest and allows them to get on with their lives.

A ghost is a person who after physical death stays in the Etheric Plane ( also called energy plane) very close to the physical world. Very often the newly dead cannot accept the fact that they have died and that that don’t have a physical body. Such persons continue to live in their familiar environment, doing the things they did while in the physical body. If they had addictions, they try to continue to indulge in them, visiting their familiar surroundings.

If the death of the person is a violent one, or an unexpected one, sometimes they become trapped by continuously enacting the sequence of events leading to their death, not realizing that they no longer have a physical body and frequently get frustrated because attempts at communication with relatives or friends are useless and don’t understand why people take no notice of them.

They can play the same reenacting for an eternity (in the Etheric plane time as we know it does not exist) until they are rescued. There are teams of helpers in the Astral world whose jobs are to rescue these “lost souls” and lead them safely to the Astral world. Sometimes they arrive at their own realization that they no longer live in the physical world, and move on on their own accord.

When a person who has passed on remains in a particular locality, such as house for example, that energy ix known as a “ghost” and the location as a “hunted” place.

To a person living in the physical world in a hunted house, the ghost seems to carry out exactly the same actions every time it shows up, frequently at the same time in identical form over and over again such as walking up and down the stairs, walking on a creaky floor, moving things around and even switching lights on and off. This can happen because the ghost absorbs great quantities of energy from the surrounding environment, including people who are observing them.

In many instances ghosts can be seen with the physical eyes, often as a cloud or a cloudy human shape.

Battle fields such as those of the American civil war,are often “hunted” as many soldiers full of vitality had sudden violent deaths and their energy bodies (Etheric bodies are still fighting the war, not aware that they have actually been killed.

Some reoccurs have difficult time convincing them that they no longer have physical bodies and that they are dead.

© 2007 Dr. Hernando Salcedo M.D.

The Intelligent Haunt In this type of haunting, the spirit has a purpose that is probably unrelated to you, although they may be seeking your help to solve their own issues. The intelligent spirit is aware of your presence and usually attempts to communicate with you in some way.

Intelligent spirits are believed to be the energy of a person who died unexpectedly or traumatically. Some paranormal experts believe that this kind of spirit does not know that it is dead and is simply continuing with life as unusual.

For a more detailed description of an intelligent spirit and what you can do if you are bothered by the presence of one, read When an Intelligent Spirit Haunts Your Home.

Inhuman Spirits Inhuman spirits are exactly what the name implies. These spirits are inhuman and have never been a human. They exist as an entity of their own. Some claim that inhuman spirits are demons or evil spirits that were cast out of heaven with Satan. These spirits roam the earth in search of someone whom they can possess.

It is believed that inhuman spirits harbor extreme hatred towards humans and that all of their activities are designed to pave the way to breaking the person’s will and taking possession of their body.

Inhuman spirits are able to manifest themselves in any form they choose, but generally manifest as a half-man and half-animal.

To learn more about inhuman spirits and what you can do if one haunts your home, read Hauntings: What is an Inhuman Spirit?

Shadow People: Reports of shadow people have existed throughout history. The observer generally reports seeing a dark shadow that resembles the form of a human which appears and moves of its own accord. The figures does not have distinguishable facial features and may be either much smaller or larger than a human. They are often noticed as movement from the corner of the eye, sometimes disappearing when the observer turns to investigate.

Shadow people may move quickly across a room, usually disappearing through the wall or closed door. Many report a feeling of extreme dread or fear accompanying the sighting.

To learn more about shadow people, read Hauntings: What Are Shadow People

Residual Ghosts: A residual ghost appears at the same time and place over and over. It may appear nightly, weekly, or even yearly; but whenever it appears it repeats the same patterns observed on previous sightings. It is believed that residual hauntings make up the vast majority of reported experiences.

The residual ghost does not interact with those around it. It seems to be oblivious to your presence and continues with its nightly travels whether or not you are there to observe it.

To learn more about Residual Ghosts, read Hauntings: When a Residual Ghost Haunts Your Home

Poltergeists: Poltergeist activity is distinguished from other paranormal activity by the sudden onset of unusual noises and objects moving on their own which lasts anywhere from several days or weeks to up to 2 years. Then the activity suddenly ceases.

Poltergeist activity may suddenly cease; however, in some cases the activity will progress through 5 stages as the activity increases in intensity and may pose real dangers to your well being.

To learn about the 5 stages of activity and find out what you should do to end Poltergeist activity in your home, read Poltergeists: Noisy Ghosts

Ghost Cams: If you dream of being a ghost hunter but you just don’t have the equipment or you are not quite ready to venture out into the darkness to investigate haunted locations, you can now watch the live ghost cams from the comfort and safety of your home. Many are equipped with features that allow you to take a screen shot of any apparition you may spot, and then send the image to the organization that has set up the ghost cam.

With your help, ghost hunter organizations are able to film and monitor hours of video on their ghost cams, which they do not have the time to do on their own. You could capture evidence of ghosts or paranormal activity right from your computer screen.

The Internet’s Best Ghost Cams

Located just west of Frederick, Maryland is another Civil War battlefield, Antietam. Again, fascination, intrigue, and the macabre possessed me to venture into a world of the unknown and historical abundance.

The battle of Antietam turned a the rolling countryside town of Sharpsburg into a butcher’s block of massacred men.

History

As stated by Wikipedia.org :

The Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South), fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with almost 23,000 casualties.[1]

After pursuing Confederate General Robert E. Lee into Maryland, Union Army Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan launched attacks against Lee’s army, in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn on September 17, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee’s left flank. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Miller’s cornfield and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church. Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. In the afternoon, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s corps entered the action, capturing a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and advancing against the Confederate right. At a crucial moment, Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill’s division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a surprise counterattack, driving back Burnside and ending the battle. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, while removing his wounded south of the river.[2]

Despite having superiority of numbers, McClellan’s attacks failed to achieve concentration of mass, allowing Lee to counter by shifting forces along interior lines to meet each challenge. Despite ample reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes, McClellan failed to destroy Lee’s army. Nevertheless, Lee’s invasion of Maryland was ended, and he was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, it had unique significance as enough of a victory to give President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to announce his Emancipation Proclamation.

The battle was over by 5:30 p.m. Losses for the day were heavy on both sides. The Union had 12,401 casualties with 2,108 dead. Confederate casualties were 10,318 with 1,546 dead. This represented 25% of the Federal force and 31% of the Confederate.^[51] More Americans died on September 17, 1862, than on any other day in the nation’s military history, including World War II’s D-Day and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.^[52] On the morning of September 18, Lee’s army prepared to defend against a Federal assault that never came. After an improvised truce for both sides to recover and exchange their wounded, Lee’s forces began withdrawing across the Potomac that evening to return to Virginia.President Lincoln was disappointed in McClellan’s performance. He believed that McClellan’s cautious and poorly coordinated actions in the field had forced the battle to a draw rather than a crippling Confederate defeat. Historian Stephen Sears agree.

Ghost Sickness Trip

My gal and I ventured out to Antietam with quite a bit more preparation than the last battlefield visits. The temperature was roughly in the high 60’s-mid 70’s, a nice cool breeze to cool off any remote sweat pearls I could conjure. With me I brought a tape recorder with cassette tape, batteries, a disposable camera, digital camera, notebook, and two very dear friends Anna & Nelson. Unfortunately finances haven’t allowed for me to break higher ground with modern ghost hunting gadgetry, but I’ll take what I can get.

Today I wanted to just get basic photos of areas such as Sunken Road, Burnside Bridge, and Dunker Church. I only got the first two, as time was running short. At Sunken Road, however, I took a voice recording of my self attempting to manifest a spirit voice (EVP). To no avail, as well, no photos proved to have any significance aside from sheer aesthetic goodness.

I hope down the road, when I am better trained at seeking the unknown, that I can get way better results.

I APOLOGIZE LOOKS LIKE WORDPRESS.COM IS FIXING A GLITCH. THE CATEGORIES ARE LACKING IN NUMBERS AND HALF THE LINKS ARE SCREWY. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE BACK TOGETHER SOON. THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND CONTINUED PATRONAGE

The internet scene has exploded recently with many big name companies such as Myspace™, YouTube™, and even Google™. With them comes the many trial and error of making a genuine idea that can take such companies global. Video has always been around, but newly has turned the heads of even the most low-tech person. With said “boom” enveloping the World Wide Web, common every day people have turned themselves into a million-dollar generating machine. The most lonesome, back-of-the-classroom geek can make a video one day and get busted with coke in his nose in Hollywood the next day. Making a silly or even mainstream video can get you noticed. but that leads a nice percentage of paranormal enthusiasts with a remaining question. If internet video has evolved into a valid money-making scheme, does this mean people will fake more ghost and U.F.O. videos?

Now, I am a true lover of internet video, and never will dismiss it as entertaining, or even profitable at certain margins, but my recent research on the Haiti U.F.O. Hoax proved rather disappointing. To any enthusiast of Extraterrestrial activity, Area 51, or even the Men In Black (no not the Tommy Lee Jones flick), video seems to be the basis for proof aside from eyewitness claims. So now that we are living on a world that does not take us as proprietors of the unknown, seriously, how does this effect countless years of research? Moreover, will video hoaxes become so uniform that such medium will be extinct to us?

I wrote this as a quick thought, knowing one of my wonderful readers may give me insight. Unfortunately, I have not much to say on the topic and it flashed into my head as a quick presentation of thought.

It’s been a bit since my last news update, so here goes.<p>

Ghost Sickness has blossomed quite a bit since my last News update, we have FORUMS, TOP 100 LINK EXCHANGE, AMAZON STORE, and lots of content added. Moreover, I am starting a Punk Rock Paranormal Radio Show, so keep your eyes and ears open for updates.

I want to give a huge shout to all the people coming by, leaving comments, and just giving me a hand with this. Much Love

Special thanks to: Hayley’s Paranormal Blog, Ghost Talk Radio, and Ghost Man & Demon Hunter Radio Show, for all of the support and banner exchange. Your help is important to me as well as in the furthering of my research.

Hopefully more ghost outings, tours, as wella s historical researach on the way, keep in touch for details.

*If you would like to contribute to Ghost Sickness, we are seeking talented writers and reserachers for articles, book reviews, and more. Just shoot us an EMAIL with the subject I Want To Help