Don't tell anyone, but we smuggled something home from Roswell...

Roswell the alien seems to be enjoying his summer in Charleston.

The Haunting Of...Giancarlo Esposito

I recently found out about a show called The Haunting Of... when I was searching Direct TV for paranormal shows to watch, and I decided to check out the episode about Giancarlo Esposito (aka Gus Fring, the baddest meth kingpin/chicken restaurant owner in television history). Giancarlo wants to understand the strange things he witnessed in the past, so he returns to his former home (built in 1864) in Ridgefield, Connecticut with medium Kim Russo. While Giancarlo was living in this house, he came home one day to find his daughter talking to "the little girl who used to live here"...but no one was there. Another time, he ascended the back stairway (noting that it was colder than the rest of the house) and saw a glowing light; when he moved closer, he was shocked to see the form of a man in a long black coat. Soon after, the family took a trip, and Giancarlo's brother house sat for them; when the family returned, the brother informed Giancarlo that he had seen a man in a long black coat.

Kim says that the male presence is bitter and unwelcoming, and once she is inside the house, she says that she sees a man in a long black robe or coat who is most likely a member of the clergy because he is holding a Bible over his heart. It turns out that a reverend used to live there and died in 1917 and that the part of the house where Kim saw the ghost used to be a church. Kim sees the man, his wife, and their son and says that the little girl is a separate entity from them. Russo believes that the reverend is claiming the house as his own, and that is why he has been haunting the house.

On her blog, Kim wrote that in a segment that was not shown, she performed a spiritual ceremony with Giancarlo's brother Kedar.  The ceremony involved chanting and candles, and they announced that they were ridding the home of souls who needed to move on; Kim believes that the ghosts are no longer present in the house.

I enjoyed my first episode of The Haunting Of..., and I definitely want to see more episodes.  My only criticism is that I think they should've shown the spiritual ceremony...it would have been interesting to see, and it would have brought a better sense of closure to the story.  Overall though, I thought it was a great show, and I was riveted the whole time I was watching it.

The Haunting Of... airs on the Bio channel.
http://www.biography.com/tv/the-haunting-of

My rating: 8/10

Paranormal Societies in South Carolina

I've lived in a haunted city since I was four years old, but I was still surprised to find out how many paranormal societies are in South Carolina.  I've heard the ghost stories of Charleston my whole life, but I guess the rest of South Carolina is haunted too!  Here are some of the sixty SC paranormal societies that are listed on http://paranormalsocieties.com/:

Afterlife Paranormal Investigations of the Carolinas  http://nospiritleftbehind.webs.com/
Carolina Ghost Chasers  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carolina-Ghost-Chasers/223967021015210#!/carolinaghostchasers.cgc
Carolina Paranormal Investigation  http://www.carolina-paranormal-investigations.net/index.html
Carolina Paranormal Research  http://carparres.weebly.com/
Carolina Society for Paranormal Research and Investigation Inc.  http://www.carolinaspri.net/
Georgetown Paranormal Society  http://www.georgetownparanormal.com/
GhostPRO  http://www.ghostpro.org/
Haunted Charleston Paranormal Investigations   http://hauntedcharlestonparanormal.weebly.com/index.html
P.A.S.T. Researchers  http://www.pastresearchers.com/
Paranormal Carolinas  http://www.paranormalcarolinas.com/
Paranormal Perception Crew  http://paranormalperceptioncrew.yolasite.com/
Paranormal Pros and Family Spirit  http://paranormal-research-org-se.webs.com/
Phasma Paranormal  http://www.phasmaparanormal.com/
Satsanga Paranormal Research Society  https://www.facebook.com/satsangaparanormal
Society for Paranormal Awareness  http://www.societyforparanormalawareness.com/
South Carolina Ghost  http://southcarolinaghost.com/
South Carolina Organization of Paranormal Experiences  http://scopeinvestigations.weebly.com/
South Carolina Paranormal Investigations  http://paranormalupstate.webs.com/
South Carolina Paranormal Research and Investigations   http://www.scprai.org/
Southern Atlantic Paranormal   http://southernatlanticparanormal.org/
Spirit Talkers Paranormal Society   http://www.spirit-talkers.org/
Spiritual Investigation Team  http://spiritualinvestigationteam.webs.com/
Sumter Ghost Finders   http://www.sumterghostfinders.com/default.asp

If you'd like me to do a blog post about paranormal societies in your state, leave me a comment and let me know. : )

My book is free today and tomorrow!

This probably wouldn't be considered paranormal (though one of the characters is an angel), but I thought I'd mention that my new book is free today and tomorrow, July 26th and 27th.  It's called Never Trust an Angel and Other Plays, and I'm really proud of it. : )

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C372PIS/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0X05KBQ3NNAZB28KJ3XW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

Satan is sure that his overachieving son will run Hell someday, but his wife has a secret that may change everything. Jesus wants to quit his job to start a Christian metal band, and now it's up to God to find a new Messiah...but the person he has in mind doesn't want the job. Will God be able to find a suitable Messiah? Will Christian metal be as terrible as it sounds, or will Jesus take the music business by storm? Will Satan and Angel's relationship survive Angel's betrayal? You'll find answers to these questions and more (How did Judas end up with a courtroom TV show?) in Never Trust an Angel and Other Plays.

Free book: Paranormal Legacy by Caitlin Hensley

Paranormal Legacy (The Inhuman Chronicles) by Caitlin Hensley is free for Kindle July 25th-27th.  Here's the info from Amazon:

 

"After moving to a rural Pennsylvania town, cynical teen Haily Long soon discovers that the next-door neighbors are paranormal creatures of darkness. Despite this little quirk, the Knight family seems friendly enough, especially handsome Nathan. Nathan is well-mannered and polite, your typical boy next door...except for the fact that he turns into something else once a month. In a matter of days, Haily is drawn deep into a shadowed world of danger and deceit, and learns startling truths about her own past. When sinister strangers come sniffing around town for Nathan, and Haily gets pulled into the resulting chaos, she must discover how to unlock her true heritage if she wants to survive."

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This sounds really good, and it's rated 4.8 out of 5 stars...I'm going to get my copy as soon as I get home. : )

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BOVQECC

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Cool Website of the Week: www.pattygreer.com

When I went to the Roswell UFO Festival a few weeks ago, I attended a lecture by Patty Greer called "Crop Circles, Balls of Light, and Orbs."  The lecture was fascinating, so I checked out Patty's website to learn more about her work.  On the homepage, there is a picture gallery of crop circles (which are all really impressive) and a trailer for Patty's documentary The Wake Up Call, where you can see an example of the orbs of light that create crop circles.  Check out the "Movies and Trailers" section, where you can find trailers for all five of Patty's documentaries; I've only seen one of her documentaries so far, but it was so interesting that I want to see all of them!  If you've ever wondered about crop circles, you should check out this website...I have a feeling you'll come away feeling much more informed.

www.pattygreer.com/

Thought of the Day: We can handle it.

If aliens exist, I don't think the government needs to keep hiding it from us.  After everyone freaked out in 1938 when they thought War of the Worlds was real, I can understand why the government and military thought it was a good idea to say that what crashed in Roswell was a weather balloon (though threatening to kill people's entire families if they told the truth was a bit extreme), but now I think we can handle the truth.  When I hear about the horrible things that humans do to each other, I have to wonder if extraterrestrials are any more of a threat than the people we might come across on any given day.  Just when I think people can't get any worse, I hear something that proves me wrong, and I doubt that aliens (or any other otherworldly creature) would even be capable of doing things that are more evil than what the worst humans do on a daily basis.  If aliens landed on Earth right now, I have a feeling that instead of everyone being terrified (unless they were trying to destroy major cities like they always do in the movies), people would be uploading pictures and videos of them to Facebook and YouTube...and you know those aliens would have a reality show contract by the end of the day. ; ) 

The International UFO Museum and Research Center

I've always enjoyed going to museums, and of all the museums I've been to, the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico is my favorite.  There was no museum I wanted to visit more, and I finally got my wish on July 6th, 2013.  The museum, which opened its doors in 1992, was founded by Walter Haut (who was a public information officer at the Roswell Army Air Field at the time of the Roswell Incident) and Glenn Dennis (a mortician who received an inquiry from the military regarding child-sized caskets and claimed that a nurse told him that she had seen the victims of the Roswell crash and that they were around four feet tall, with oversized heads and four fingers on each hand) and is located at 114 North Main Street.

My favorite part of the museum was the display with a UFO and some aliens...I have a feeling that almost everyone who visits the museum has their picture taken in front of it.

If you're interested in the Roswell crash, the museum will help you learn everything you ever wanted to know about it.  There is a ton of reading involved (Roswell Incident timeline, official documents, etc.), but if you don't have time to read everything, there's a great book in the gift shop, Witness to Roswell by Tom Carey and Don Schmitt, whose cover boasts that it's "the most comprehensive investigation ever made into the 1947 Roswell Incident."  I read it and thought it was very informative, and I learned some things I didn't already know about the crash.

In the back of the museum, there is a section of wall covered with alien and UFO artwork and a model of an alien in a big glass tube.

Elsewhere in the museum, there is another one and a recreation of one of the crash victims about to be autopsied.

The section of the museum devoted to crop circles was interesting, and I really enjoyed the wall of alien cartoons...I wish they'd all been collected in a book and sold in the gift shop, so I could look at them whenever I want.  The gift shop was the best museum gift shop I've ever seen...usually I don't buy much in museum gift shops because they're generally overpriced, but most of the items in the UFO Museum's gift shop were reasonably priced.  I wanted almost everything in the gift shop, but since I could only fit so much in my luggage, I showed some self-control and only bought six or seven things.

I loved the International UFO Museum and Research Museum, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Roswell crash or just UFOs and extraterrestrials in general.  The museum was very interesting and informative, and admission is only $5.  Be sure to check out the gift shop and stop by the alien Coke machine on your way out. : )

What happens in Roswell...

Just wanted to share a picture of one of my favorite souvenirs that I got in Roswell.

Thought of the Day: Belief

There are many who seem to think that only crazy people believe in extraterrestrials, yet millions of people believe in God and it's considered perfectly normal.  I don't know of anyone who has seen God in person, but quite a few have seen aliens or UFOs, so that doesn't make sense to me at all.

Cool Website of the Week: Crop Circle Connector

My first Cool Website of the Week is Crop Circle Connector.  This website was listed at the end of the documentary we watched during the Patty Greer lecture at the Roswell UFO Festival, and I wrote it down, so I could check it out later.  My favorite thing about the website is that they list every crop circle that has been reported each month...they already have 12 listed for this month!  One thing I noticed is that a good amount of the crop circles are turning up in Wiltshire, England, so if you want to see a crop circle, that's the place to go!  The website also posts a picture of each reported crop circle, and some of them are just amazing...on the "Latest Circles" page, there's a banner that says "Sand Circles," and if you click that, you'll see some impressive crop circles on the beach.  When I attended the Patty Greer's lecture at the UFO Festival, I learned that crop circles are made by orbs of light, which just makes them even more fascinating to me.  If you're interested in crop circles at all, you should definitely check out Crop Circle Connector.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll find out that there's a crop circle in your town!

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/interface2005.htm

A little bit about me...

Name: Crystal Smith-Connelly
Birthday: December 31st
Birthplace: Melbourne, Florida
Current city: Charleston, SC
Pets: dog Layla, turtle Tori, hamsters Bret and Jemaine
Favorite extraterrestrial: ALF
Favorite ghost: Slimer from Ghostbusters
Favorite paranormal book: The Doomsday Conspiracy-Sidney Sheldon
Favorite paranormal movie: E.T.
Scariest paranormal movie: The first 3 Paranormal Activity movies scared the crap out of me.  I don't really get scared while I'm watching them...I don't get scared until I'm trying to go to sleep and start thinking about the movies. : )
Favorite paranormal TV show: The 4400, with The X-Files a close second

Last paranormal book I read: Witness to Roswell-Tom Carey and Don Schmitt

Last paranormal movie I watched: Dark Skies
Favorite Ghostbuster: Peter Venkman (Bill Murray)

Favorite vampire: Pam Swynford De Beaufort (Kristin Bauer van Straten), True Blood

Favorite haunted place: Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, SC

Favorite place devoted to the paranormal: The International UFO Museum and Research Center, Roswell, NM

Guest bloggers

If you've have paranormal experiences and would be interested in being a guest blogger, please email me at crystalsmithconnelly@yahoo.com.  If you haven't had paranormal experiences, but you'd still like to be a guest blogger, that's okay too...I'm also looking for people who would like to write about their love for a certain paranormal movie, TV show, book, etc. : )

Roswell...finally!

In 1982, I went to a movie theater for the first time. The movie: E.T. I was only two years old, and that was the beginning of my lifelong fascination with all things extraterrestrial. I've always loved reading books about aliens (mostly nonfiction) and have been particularly interested in the Roswell incident of 1947 (weather balloon, my ass!). My husband wanted to visit some relatives in Colorado this summer, so we decided to visit a place that I wanted to go to as well: I was finally going to Roswell. I've wanted to visit Roswell for years, so I was really excited to attend the Amazing Roswell UFO Festival and go to the International UFO Museum and Research Center; I'm not usually too interested in the history of the cities I visit, but Roswell has the kind of history that keeps me interested. Cover-ups, conspiracies, death threats by the military against those who knew the truth? Why couldn't we have learned this kind of history in school?!

We arrived at our hotel around midnight on Friday, July 5th and were greeted by an alien welcome sign, so I knew I had made the right decision when I booked the Comfort Suites.

We looked over the UFO Fest schedule, circled everything we wanted to do, and went to bed since we had a long day ahead of us. When we made our way to the Roswell Civic Center, we were lucky enough to find a shady spot where we could watch the Alien Pet Contest. The mostly canine contestants (there was one cat) were dressed as various aliens, and they were all adorable; it was obvious that their owners put a ton of time and effort into making these impressive costumes.

 This cute little guy is Jackpot, who came in second in the costume contest.

After the cutest costume contest ever, we checked out the UFO Festival vendors and some of the shops on Main Street. We went to Alien Zone, where I bought a stuffed alien toy for my dog and had my picture taken with an alien display at the front of the store. We also went to Star Child, Third Rock from the Sun, and every other alien-themed shop we came across.

Then it was time to go somewhere I'd wanted to go for a long time: the International UFO Museum and Research Center. The exhibition hall was full of the festival's lecturers, who sat at tables and signed books, DVDs, and posters for fans. There was a really cool display featuring a UFO and some aliens, so we both had our pictures taken in front of it. When I was taking my husband's picture, one of the aliens turned its head, which caught me off-guard since we'd been there for about twenty minutes and I hadn't seen any of them move before that. We looked at everything in the museum, then checked out the gift shop. I spent too much money there, but now I have alien socks, so it was totally worth it!

We decided to go back to the hotel to relax and charge my camera for awhile, and then we went to Peppers Grill and Bar for dinner; my shrimp and crab enchilada was delicious, and our dinner cost just over $20, so I definitely recommend it. After dinner, it was back to Main Street for the Electric Light Parade. We got there early, so we walked to the Roswell Civic Center to get pictures of the floats while they were lined up on the street. I'm glad we did because those pictures turned out much better than the ones we took during the parade, while the floats were moving.

We had to drive to Albuquerque on Sunday, but we wanted to attend one of the UFO Festival lectures, so we chose one called “Crop Circles, Balls of Light, and Orbs.”  The lecturer was Patty Greer, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has visited dozens of crop circles.  The lecture was fascinating, as was the documentary we watched, which showed that crop circles are created by orbs of light.  I’ve always wondered how crop circles were made and knew that humans don’t have the ability to make something so amazing and perfect in a matter of hours (usually in the dark), so I found the lecture very interesting and informative.  If you have any interest in crop circles, you should really check out some Patty Greer DVDs!

I’m so happy that I finally got to visit Roswell, and I missed it as soon as we left.  I wish I could go to the UFO Festival every year…it was a wonderful experience, and I came up with some new play ideas that I can’t wait to write.  Thanks, Roswell!