The Haunted West

Went to see the movie, "Paranormal Activity" this week. It's low budget; made for something like $11,000 and is shot in the fashion of "The Blair Witch Project" complete with weird camera angles, nostril shots and hand held camera jitters. If you have a propensity for motion sickness, take your dramamine before going. The story line is this: A young couple begins hearing strange noises in their house, so the boyfriend goes out and buys a video camera and begins carrying it around and filming their activity during the day, while at night, he sets up the camera at the foot of the bed to film while asleep. The girlfriend apparently has had episodes of paranormal encounters throughout her life, and is a reluctant partner in her boyfriends ghosthunter wannabe activities. Like "The Blair Witch Project", stuff begins to happen and the couple's fear builds to a shocking climax. Again, like "Blair Witch", the best, and scariest part of the mov...

What would school be without a field trip? As a part of the Nevada Ghost and Paranormal Series, we have been scheduled for 2 field trips in Virginia City, Nevada. The first one was on October 10. The next one is scheduled for October 30, the night before Halloween. There were probably about 45-50 people signed up for our first field trip. We all met at the Silver Queen Saloon where we we were divided into groups of 7-9, including a tech specialist and a psychic. There were seven in our group: Mona, Jill, Kelly, Cheryl, Paula, myself, and our psychic, Pride. Originally our team included Karen and Gail from the ongoing class, but an emergency prevented them from coming. Gail was to have been our tech specialist, but because most of our group had already been on investigations, we figured we could just wing it. Paula was not slated for our team, but since we were short, we jumped on getting her switched to our team. It wouldn't have been the same without my girl, Paula. ...

No spirit guide for me. Nada, Zip. I spent a few minutes every night for the past week trying to center myself and visualize stuff. I visualized my car, my bedroom, my workplace. I couldn't quite visualize circles of protection, or grounding ropes. I became distracted by the TV or sleep. By Tuesday night, I wasn't so sure I would be able to conjure forth a spirit guide, and I didn't. Oh well. I'm not that disappointed.

Sometimes I get into too much of a rush, especially when I am excited about something. I'm one of those people that tear off packaging and throw it, along with the instructions, away in my rush to play with a new toy. Invariably, I'm also one of those people that you see digging through the dumpster later on in an attempt to retrieve soggy, coffee-ground stained directions. When I signed up for the ghost series, I was in a rush. What I thought I read as "Tools for Ghost Investigating" was actually "Psychic Tools for Ghost Investigating". Um...big difference. I'm not a particular fan of psychics, mediums, clairvoyants and what have you. I admit, I'm prejudiced in that way. I lump them all together with palmists, tarot card readers and shady old ladies with crystal balls seeking to part you with your hard earned money. So, while I try to keep an open mind about things, I approached this class with reserve.  Maureen Hepner, the instructor for this cla...

This past Saturday was the second class of the Nevada Ghost and Paranormal Series offered by TMCC. The first session of the class involved a preliminary investigation of the Silver Terrace Cemetery in Virginia City, Nevada. There were about 15 students signed up. We all met at the Miner's Park, a short walk away from the cemetery. Here we got our instructions from Janice Oberding, divided up into 3 groups of 5; each group having a dowser and at least one person with psychic sensitivity. We introduced ourselves to the others in our group, filled out our investigations logs and proceeded to the cemetery. Ten cemeteries actually make up the Silver Terrace Cemetery: Masonic, Oddfellows, West End, Firemen's, Silver Terrace, Wilson and Brown, Improved Order of Redmen, Knights of Pythias, City/County, and Catholic. The population of the cemetery is at least triple the population of modern day Virginia City. It's a reminder of the towns glorious past...

Paula takes great exception to being referred to as a "tech whore". She's says that while, yes, she is addicted to paranormal gadgetry, she wouldn't necessarily sell herself for for a piece of equipment. Okay Tweaker, I won't call you a whore anymore, if you promise to stop scratching yourself every time you browse the surveillance camera aisle of the local spy shop.

When I first signed up for the TMCC's Nevada Ghost and Paranormal Series, I really didn't know what to expect. I've been on ghost tours before, usually around Halloween, when most people's curiosity in the paranormal is peaked. I've been to a few lectures and I've visited a few places online, read a book or two and explored a few local spots. I don't consider myself outlandish or weird, and if asked, I would say I am a skeptical believer in the existence of hauntings. I believe most claims can be debunked, however, my own personal experiences have led me to believe that there are some things that just cannot be explained away. Most people, upon hearing that I seek out places that might be haunted, give me a look of disbelief, followed by, "REALLY?", a nervous pause, then a change in subject. Ghost hunting has become my guilty pleasure, not discussed with most co-workers and friends. So, when I showed up for the first lecture, I was ...