Not exactly paranormal, but not normal either

For those of you who don't know, I'm a playwright who has published two books, and what I write about wouldn't be considered paranormal, but it definitely wouldn't be considered normal either.  I write about gods...I put regular people in my plays too, but I like to write about gods because anything can happen, and I'm not limited by what mortals are capable of doing.

I like to think that I write plays for people who don't like plays...I write for people who just want to laugh and forget about their problems.  If you don't normally read plays, I hope you'll consider giving mine a chance...if you go to Smashwords, you can download a free sample of "For I Am Zeus," which is about Zeus trying to pick up a woman in a bar:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/317582

I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to imagine Will Ferrell as Zeus...that's who I picture when I write my Zeus plays. : )

Escape from Planet Earth

Last night I watched the animated movie Escape from Planet Earth and thought it was pretty good!  The movie is rated PG, 89 minutes long, and features the voices of Rob Corddry, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, William Shatner, Jessica Alba, Craig Robinson, George Lopez, Ricky Gervais, Jane Lynch, and Sofia Vergara.  I mostly watched the movie because I love Rob Corddry, William Shatner, Ricky Gervais, and Craig Robinson, but I ended up enjoying the whole thing, and most of the characters are aliens, so that was a bonus.  Rob Corddry plays Gary Supernova, an alien who works for mission control on the planet Baab; Scorch (Brendan Fraser) is his brother, who is not very bright, but is seen as a hero.  When Gary finds out that Scorch might go on a mission to the "Dark Planet" (Earth), he tries to stop him, but Scorch goes anyway...and when he is trapped by General Shanker (William Shatner) and taken to Area 51, it's up to Gary to save him.

I didn't like the movie as much as I've liked some other recent animated movies (such as Despicable Me and Megamind), but overall I enjoyed it and think that kids will really like it.  I especially liked Ricky Gervais' character, Mr. James Bing, a talking computer, and wished he had been in the movie more...and I'm on board with any movie where Rob Corddry plays the main character (I've loved him in everything I've seen him in!).

My rating: 7/10

http://www.escapeearthmovie.com/

Cool Website of the Week: Your Ghost Stories

For today's post, I decided to look for a website that will really creep us out, so I searched for "ghost stories" and found a great one!  On Your Ghost Stories, people are invited to submit their real-life paranormal experiences, and I'm really glad I stumbled upon this website in the daylight instead of right before bed.  The website has sections for real paranormal experiences, articles about ghosts, information about well-known haunting, and ghostly pictures and videos...and they have an iPhone app.  I'm going to go check out the "Real Ghost Stories" section and scare myself while I'm home alone...sounds like a great idea, right? ; )  

http://www.yourghoststories.com/

Blast from the past: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

If you were interested in the paranormal and other scary stuff as a child, I'm guessing that you've read Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series.  I loved those books and even remember some of the stories in them twenty years after I read them.  One of them that I remember is "The Hook," which is about a couple hearing on the radio that a murderer with a hook for a hand has escaped from prison not far from where they're parked.  The girl is afraid and wants to go home; the boy thinks she's being silly, but he agrees to take her home, and the girl thinks she hears scratching at the door as they drive off, and when they get back to her house, and the boy goes around to her side of the car to open the door, he finds...a hook on the door handle!  This version is pretty tame compared to some that I heard later, but that was the first time I'd heard it, and that story has always scared the crap out of me.  I know that's not a paranormal story, but there were ghost stories in the books too, so I wanted to write about the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series on my blog.  These were some of my favorite books when I was a kid, but I have to say, now that I'm 32 years old, these stories are not as scary as I remember. ; )

If you're like me and loved these books as a child, leave a comment and let me know what your favorite story was (if you remember it)!

http://www.amazon.com/Scary-Stories-Box-Set-More/dp/0061980935/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377621079&sr=1-1&keywords=alvin+schwartz

Ghost Hunters: The Henson Studios and the "Manson" House

Yesterday I watched a season 3 Ghost Hunters episode called "The Henson Studios and the 'Manson' House," and it was pretty creepy!  The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) gets a call from a man who lives next to where the Manson Family murders took place, and since the house where it occurred is no longer there, the man believes that the victims are now haunting his house.  The TAPS team meets with David Oman, the homeowner, and he tells them that strange things have been going on since he was building the house...a construction worker said that he heard voices and footsteps on the stairs that kept getting louder and then stopped; when he felt a cold breeze on his shoulders, he left and didn't return for six weeks.  David tells the team that one night he saw a ghost standing next to his bed, pointing toward the driveway; when David was researching the Manson murders a few months later, he realized that the ghost was Jay Sebring, one of Manson's victims.  The team calls in fellow investigator Chris Fleming since he has some equipment that they do not have, and they think it would be useful for this investigation.  Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango investigate the guest room; Steve asks the spirit to give them a sign that it's there, and the blinds start moving.  Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, and Chris take the living room and also ask for a sign; they hear a loud noise in the kitchen and cannot figure out what made the sound.  They then move to the master bedroom, where they feel cold spots, and the K-2 meter, which measures energy, starts going crazy.  They change the batteries to see if it's causing a malfunction and then start asking yes or no questions, hoping that a spirit will communicate with them by making the K-2 meter blink; they find out that the spirit who is communicating with them is male, he was murdered by the Manson Family, and there are more spirits in the house.  Chris asks if the spirit is Jay Sebring, and the K-2 meter blinks once for yes; they also learn that Sharon Tate is one of the spirits who is haunting the house.  They ask the spirit to prove he's there by making the temperature drop from 66 degrees to 62 degrees; the temperature in front of the thermometer changes, but the temperature in the rest of the room stays the same.  When reviewing the recordings from when Donna LaCroix and Steve were using the EVP meter in the living room, they hear a female voice answering Donna's questions; they did not hear this voice when they were in the room.

Next the TAPS team goes to the Jim Henson Studios, where studio employee Johan Filla says he saw a dark figure in a top hat on the roof one night; when he went to the roof to investigate, no one was there.  There have been many ghostly sightings there, including when one employee saw a woman disappear into a wall.  On the soundstage, Jason and Grant get a thermal hit that looks like a female body floating three feet off the ground, and in an area known as "The Barn," Dave and Donna hear a "Shh!," and Donna hears a voice whisper "Tango, Tango."  I was hoping that the paranormal activity was really The Muppets coming to life, but no such luck. ; )

The Manson Family part of the episode was pretty creepy, but the Jim Henson Studios wasn't too scary...I don't really want to meet any ghosts though, so I'll probably never take a tour of the studio, even though I'm a little obsessed with The Muppets.

My rating: 9/10

http://www.syfy.com/ghosthunters

Shows I Love: The 4400

One of my favorite paranormal/sci-fi shows, The 4400, began airing on the USA network in 2004.  It started out as a miniseries, but the ratings were so strong that USA added three seasons before canceling it in 2007.  The show is about 4400 people who had disappeared over the past sixty years reappearing on Highland Beach, Washington in a beam of light.  None of them have aged, and some of them come back with paranormal abilities.  The main characters are Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch) and Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie), who are NTAC (National Threat Assessment Command) agents investigating The 4400.  Tom's son Kyle (Chad Faust) has been in a coma since 2001, when he was drinking on Highland Beach with Shawn Farrell (Patrick Flueger), his cousin; Shawn was abducted that day, and when he returns in 2004, he discovers that he has the power to heal and brings Kyle out of his coma. 

Other notable characters include Lily Moore (Laura Allen), who disappeared in 1993 and came back pregnant, Richard Tyler (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), who vanished in 1951, has a special connection to Lily, and develops telekinesis, and Maya Rutledge (Conchita Campbell), a child who disappeared in 1938, has precognition, and is taken in by Diana.  Of course I can't forget Jordan Collier (Billy Campbell), who becomes the self-appointed leader of The 4400; despite the fact that he builds a place where the 4400s can live safely, we're never quite sure whether he's good or bad (I'm leaning toward bad; there's just something about that guy...).

I mostly watch comedy shows, but I was hooked from the first few minutes of The 4400 and was really disappointed when it ended.  I may have even been a little obsessed with it, as evidenced by this small shrine that is still on my bedroom wall at my parents' house:

Do any of you guys like The 4400?  Who's your favorite character?  Mine is Kyle. : )

Free paranormal book: Ghost Hunting Diary Volume I by T.M. Simmons

Today's free book is Ghost Hunting Diary Volume I by T.M. Simmons.  It sounds really interesting, so I'm getting my copy right now!  Here's the book description from Amazon:

"This collection of ghost hunting diaries is a selection from those T. M. Simmons kept during her twenty years of adventures in the paranormal world. As a writer, she felt compelled to keep records of her encounters, and until now, she has only shared these with a few friends and relatives. Encouraged by their interest, and the awe and sometimes apprehension on their faces, she is editing some of the dozens upon dozens of diaries in her files. Volume I contains Down the Ghost Trail, which chronicles the start of T. M. Simmons’ ghost hunting career at the haunted Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana. Crossing Over explains how she learned to help lost souls cross into The Light. In Midnight Ferry, a late-night phone call sends her into a confrontation with a nasty ghost-witch who meant horrific harm. The other three stories are ones she chose as some of her favorites. She has also included a few definitions of her beliefs and the rules by which anyone whom she allows into her ghost hunting life must abide. These stories are true, and each new volume will be offered as a prelude to the upcoming fictional Dead Man mystery series. Dead Man Talking, which should be available as an ebook within a few days of this first volume, will be a fun, scary romp in the paranormal world. Part of the first chapter is included at the end."

http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Hunting-Volume-Diaries-ebook/dp/B0053TREPW/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377096872&sr=1-4&keywords=free+ghost+stories

Celebrity Ghost Stories: 10 Most Terrifying Places, Part 2

Here is the rest of the Celebrity Ghost Stories: 10 Most Terrifying Places countdown...if you missed the first half, check out yesterday's post. : )

#5. Chelsea Hotel (New York City)

Heading to his room,
Michael Imperioli
Heard someone crying.
Looking down the hall,
He saw a woman sobbing.
She was dressed in black.
Michael asked if she
Was okay, then heard a pop.
A light had gone out
Behind him; he turned
Back to the woman, but she
Was no longer there.
Her name was Mary.
She lived there in 1912.
After she found out
Her husband had died
On the Titanic, she hung
Herself in her room.

#4. The Osborne Estate (Buckinghamshire, England)

Jack Osborne, watching
TV with his dad Ozzy,
Saw a shadowy
Figure walking down
The hall; the figure vanished.
Jack's clairvoyant friend
Came over and said
That she felt some spiritual
Activity there.
As they headed for
The third floor, she stopped and said,
"There's a man up there"
Who doesn't want to
Hurt them, just isn't ready
To leave.  It turns out
The house was once a
Recovery hospital
For wounded soldiers.

#3. A cabin in the woods (Ishpeming, Michigan)

Lewis Black was quite
Disturbed when he kept hearing
Crying babies in
A cabin where he
Was staying in the dark woods.
It sounded like a
Dozen babies, like
It was coming through the walls.
Lewis was later
Told that a vet had
Owned the cabin and performed
Abortions inside.

#2. Leech Lake (Northern Minnesota)

Samantha Harris
Was in a tent in the woods
With fellow campers.
Heard motorcycle
Noises, saw a light circling
The tent.  In the morning,
They found tire tracks
Around the tent, but none of
The other campers
Saw or heard a thing.
They talked to some counselors
And learned that in the
Seventies, a few
College students went there on
Motorcycles, and
They were murdered there.
Were they warning the girls that
Evil was still there?

#1. An abandoned house (Westport, Connecticut)

Linda Blair found a
Rundown house in the middle
Of the woods with her
Sister and a friend.
Once inside, they heard creepy
Noises and thought that
They should leave; two girls
Got out, and the door shut right
Behind them.  Linda
Pulled with all her might,
But the door refused to budge.
Linda heard footsteps,
Turned and saw a man,
A woman, and a little
Girl dragging a doll.
As they closed in on
Linda, the door flew open,
And her sister pulled
Her out.  She later
Heard that a family was
Killed there long ago.

http://www.biography.com/tv/celebrity-ghost-stories

Celebrity Ghost Stories: 10 Most Terrifying Places, Part 1

Over the weekend, I watched an episode of Celebrity Ghost Stories entitled "10 Most Terrifying Places" (or as I like to call it, "10 Places I Will Avoid Forever").  I was planning on writing a summary/review of the episode, but then I decided it would be more fun to write a haiku about each terrifying place talked about in the episode.

 

#10. Wadecombe Ghost Town (Devon, England)

 

On his honeymoon,

Daniel Stern saw people dressed

All in black, silent.

Approached a woman

To ask her for directions...

When she turned around,

Her eyes were all white.

She began speaking in tongues.

Was she the spirit

Of one who had died

In the church so long ago

When a bad storm caused

The steeple to fall

Inside the church one sad day?

Many lost their lives.

 

#9. The Oriental Theatre (Chicago, Illinois)

 

Ana Gasteyer

Went backstage after her show,

Heard a child's voice,

Then saw a woman

And two children dressed strangely.

They were all wearing

Old-timey clothing,

"Turn of the century garb."

They turned a corner,

Vanished, and Ana

Learned there was a fire there

That had killed hundreds.

 

#8. La Reserve De Beaulieu (South of France)

 

Erik Estrada

Was thrown from a horse, landed

On a tree stump (ouch!).

Back at the hotel,

He had pain, shortness of breath.

He opened his eyes

And saw a woman

Staring out of the window.

She was dressed in white.

The pain struck again,

And the woman approached him.

She put one hand where

It hurt, the other

Over his eyes; could she have

Been a ghostly nurse?

 

#7. Il Palazzo Venezia (Venice, Italy)

 

Joan Collins went to

A party.  A portrait of

A woman hung on

The dining room wall.

She was said to haunt the room.

Windows flew open.

The guests found candy

Forming a body outline

Where the woman died.

A knife flew across

The room, embedding itself

In the wall; they screamed.

The butler told them

The woman had been stabbed by

Her jealous husband.

 

#6. Old Main Prison (Santa Fe, New Mexico)

 

After filming, Scott

Patterson and producer

Wandered to Death Row

And the gas chamber,

Where Scott took a seat and heard

Three knocks from below.

Saw black shapes sitting

In the viewing area.

He ran away and

Saw a winged figure

At the top of the stairway.

It flew toward him, so

He got on the ground.

He screamed and covered his head,

Felt it fly over.

 

To be continued...

 

The Old Charleston Ghost Shop

Today I visited the Old Charleston Ghost Shop, which is located at 168A Church Street in Charleston, SC, and since I run a paranormal blog now, I thought I should write about it.  My husband and I spent about half an hour in there, looking at the merchandise and talking to the guy who runs the store.  There's some really cool stuff in the store, which sells "all things creepy and cool," according to its sign, but since I'm quitting my job soon, I decided to behave myself (for now).  If you're interested in the paranormal and live in or visit Charleston, make sure you check out The Old Charleston Ghost Shop...the store has a great selection of books, and you might also find some jewelry, magic tricks, or a cool clock to take home.  I'll definitely be going back soon!

http://www.oldcharlestonghostshop.com/

Rifftrax Live!: Starship Troopers

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Rifftrax Live!: Starship Troopers.  For those of you who have never heard of Rifftrax, it's like Mystery Science Theater 3000, but without robots...and it's from the same people (Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett), so if you like MST3K, you'll like Rifftrax.  Nelson, Murphy, and Corbett watched and commented on the movie at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee and beamed it to other movie theaters via a live satellite feed...which is why we missed about ten minutes of the movie when a storm knocked out the satellite reception.  In case any of you haven't seen Starship Troopers, here's a little background info: it came out in 1997, stars Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Neil Patrick Harris, and Dina Meyer, and is about humans going to war with aliens. I've watched a bunch of alien movies, and the aliens in Starship Troopers have got to be the grossest ones I've ever seen...most of them are giant bugs, and the big one at the end kind of looks like a butt!  It was a fun movie (though I thought it needed more Neil Patrick Harris and less scenes of people fighting bug aliens) with impressive special effects, and I'll probably watch it again soon since it was hard to hear a lot of the dialogue over the commentary.  The commentary was the reason I paid $12.50 per ticket for a movie I'm pretty sure we already have at home, and it was hilarious...I wish Rifftrax would do one of these in theaters at least once a month because I would go see any movie that's getting the Rifftrax treatment. : )

Movie: 7/10
Rifftrax commentary: 10/10

http://www.rifftrax.com/

Cool Website of the Week: Latest UFO Sightings

This week's cool website is Latest UFO Sightings, where you can watch videos of UFO sightings and see pictures of crop circles.  On the home page, the most recent sightings are listed first, but if you want to see if any UFOs were spotted in your area, just click on your continent at the top of the page and pick your country or state.  There's also a section for documentaries that look pretty interesting...I wish I had more free time because I want to watch every video on this website! : )

http://www.latest-ufos.com/

South Park: Cartman Gets an Anal Probe

Since yesterday was South Park's sixteenth anniversary, I thought I'd post a link to their very first episode, which happens to be about my favorite paranormal subject: aliens! (You thought I was going to say "anal probes," didn't you? Pervert.)

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s01e01-cartman-gets-an-anal-probe?xrs=eml_20130813_southparkanniversary

Paranormal Witness: Hollywood Sign Haunting; The Good Skeleton

One of the fun things about running a paranormal blog is discovering TV shows I've never watched so I can write about them. Last night's show was Paranormal Witness...I watched an episode called "Hollywood Sign Haunting; The Good Skeleton," and it was creepy!  The first half of the show was about the "Hollywood Sign Haunting;" this particular incident happened in 1988 when four high school to college age kids (Christina, Alain, Brian, and Al) decided that they wanted to touch the Hollywood sign.  They hiked up there in the dark, and decided to hike back down around midnight; on their way back, they saw a female figure heading up the path toward them...she was wearing heels and had a veil covering her face.  Brian said hello a few times, but the woman did not respond and soon approached the four friends, flashing a terrifying skeletal grin at them.  As they were running away, Christina slipped, and Alain saw the figure behind her, so he picked Christina up and ran.  Brian and Al jumped the fence and drove away; Alain and Christina got separated, so Alain ran to his car and began driving away as the figure was chasing Christina...luckily for Christina, she managed to slip through a crack in the fence and catch up with Alain (but of course she was pissed that he was going to leave her there with a ghost chasing her).  Alain did some research after their escape and found out that the Hollywood sign is haunted by the "Lady in White," an actress named Peg Entwistle who jumped off of the sign to her death when her first movie got a bad review.

 

 In "The Good Skeleton," it's 1999, and Thomas, Yuma, and Azha Vuono have moved to Yuba City, California from New York.  As soon as they moved into their new house, their normally quiet dog Bo barked at the garage for hours, but no one was there; he suddenly yelped and went silent (I don't like where this is going...), and Thomas found him dead in the front yard and assumed Bo had been hit by a car, even though there was no way Bo could've gotten out of his pen without someone letting him out.  The next day, Yuma found daughter Azha having a conversation with no one; Yuma asked who she was talking to, and Azha said she was talking to Nick.  When Thomas later asked Azha who Nick was, she drew a picture of a mutilated body.  One day Thomas was exercising in the garage and asked Azha if she'd like to keep him company, but she refused to enter the garage because she said that a "bad skeleton" was haunting the garage and wanted to hurt them.  Unexplained things started happening to Yuma...she woke up one morning with dirt all over her feet and had no idea why, and one night heard a voice in her sleep that was telling her to "come to the water."  With no control over her own actions, Yuma walked outside and headed to the river across the street; Thomas woke suddenly, and realizing Yuma was no longer in bed, ran outside and found her in the middle of the highway after she had just missed being run over by a truck.  Azha stopped being afraid of the garage, saying that Nick was a "good skeleton" who would protect them from the bad one; the family later learned from the neighbors that a man named Nick used to live in the Vuono's house, but he died in a motorcycle accident at the exact spot where Bo had been hit by a car and Yuma had almost been hit.  Yuma asked her mother to perform a ceremony with her that would help Nick move on, and Azha never saw him again.

 

This show is creepy, and I can't wait to watch more episodes!  I like how they have the real people describe what happened and then have actors reenact everything...very effective storytelling.

  

http://www.syfy.com/paranormalwitness

  

My rating: 8.5/10

Deep South Paranormal: The Good, the Bad, and the Ghostly

I recently found out about a show called Deep South Paranormal, and I recorded an episode so I could check it out.  The show is about a group of ghost hunters from Lafayette, Louisiana: Hart Fortenbery, Keith Ramsey, Benny Reed, Kevin Betzer, Jonathan Hodges, Randy Hardy, and Kali Hardy.  The episode I watched was entitled "The Good, the Bad, and the Ghostly," and it began with Hart asking Jonathan and Benny to help him find snake venom.  Like all rational human beings, Benny is afraid of snakes, but Jonathan picks up a cottonmouth; Hart says that the venom will keep him from harm, "whether it's spirits or the real world."  Now the team is ready to visit Cahawba, Alabama, a ghost town where a family called the Bells were murdered while defending their slave, Plez, who the Troys (a family who had a long-standing feud with the Bells) had accused of stealing.  John Bell, Sr. and John Bell, Jr. were shot to death by the Troys, and after they were killed, Plez was chased to the St. James Hotel in Selma, where he was shot and killed in a second-floor room.  It is believed that Plez and both of the Bells haunt the town, and paranormal activity has been detected at the old slave quarters, the tree outside the slave quarters ("the hanging tree"), the place where the shootout between the Bells and Troys occurred, the cemetery, and the St. James Hotel. 

Keith, Benny, and Jonathan check out the slave quarters while Hart and Randy take the cemetery in the woods; Kevin and Kali keep their eyes on the video feeds while the others are investigating.  Keith, Benny, and Jonathan hear scratching noises and the sound of chains, then go outside to the hanging tree, where Keith asks for privacy, so he can conduct an E.V.P. (electronic voice phenomena) session, and as he does that, Benny and Jonathan try to provoke the spirits by taunting them.  Meanwhile, Hart and Randy follow some mysterious sounds deep into the woods and later hear footsteps, and Kali informs them that she saw a shadow pass over Randy's reflection in a pool of water.  Hart decides that it would be a good idea to put Randy in a coffin because that might help "wake the dead," so they build one the next day.  The next night, Keith, Benny, and Jonathan take up camp in the room where Plez was murdered at the St. James Hotel; they get a thermal hit on the bed that looks as if someone could be sitting there.  At the cemetery, claustrophobic Randy is in the coffin; Hart sees something glowing near the coffin, and Randy feels like something is in there with him and asks to be let out.  The next day, the team gathers to discuss their findings and conclude that the hotel is haunted, and there's an angry presence in the cemetery.

I enjoyed my first episode of Deep South Paranormal...the ghost hunters are a pretty entertaining group, and I'd like to see more of their investigations. However, I would've given the episode a higher rating if it weren't for the snakes at the beginning of the show...snakes make my skin crawl, even when they're just on TV. ; )

My rating: 7/10

http://www.syfy.com/deepsouthparanormal

Book review: The Humans by Matt Haig

I recently read The Humans by Matt Haig, and since the main character is an extraterrestrial, I thought I should review it for my blog.  This alien is from a planet called Vonnadoria and has come to Earth to assume the identity of Professor Andrew Martin, a mathematician who may have discovered something that could change the world; the real Martin has already been killed, and it is this extraterrestrial's job to dispose of anyone Martin may have told about his discovery.  This Vonnadorian starts out thinking that humans are hideous and is generally disgusted by everything about them, but as he gets to know Martin's family (wife Isobel and son Gulliver), he begins to understand the human race and realizes that he does not want to kill Isobel and Gulliver, even though his superiors keep insisting that he must get rid of them.  At the beginning of the story, our otherworldly narrator states that The Humans is a book "about the meaning of life and nothing at all," but more than anything, it's the story of an alien who learns what it means to be human.  He learns that "caring is what makes you human," and he is turning out to be a better human than the man he's pretending to be. 

 

I really enjoyed this book, and even though it's about a visitor from another planet, it seemed believable.  I especially enjoyed the alien's interactions with Newton, the family dog, who he thinks is needy and annoying at first.  Of course it doesn't take long for him to love the dog...because even an alien can't resist a cuddly canine.

 

My score: 8.5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Humans-Novel-Matt-Haig/dp/1476727910/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375918343&sr=1-1&keywords=humans+by+matt+haig

Cool Website of the Week: Roswell UFO Festival

The Roswell UFO Festival website just posted pictures from this year's Alien Pet Contest, so I couldn't resist making it my Cool Website of the Week.  Check out the impressive costumes...aren't these dogs the cutest?

http://www.ufofestivalroswell.com/2013festival/2013-alien-pet-contest/

Library Ghosts

I work at a library, and when someone leaves with items that don't have cards in them, a loud beeping sound is heard when they reach the exit.  Sometimes the sensor goes off when no one is anywhere near the door; is this a random occurrence or proof that the library has ghosts...and they're stealing books?  ; )

If you've been to a library that actually is haunted, leave me a comment...I'd love to hear about it!

Ghost Hunters: Haunted by Heroes

I'd never watched Ghost Hunters, but I thought that since I'm running a paranormal blog now, it might be a good idea to start.  My first episode was season eight's  "Haunted by Heroes," which was filmed in my hometown. 

The TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) team has been contacted by Mac Burdette, the executive director of Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, SC, about the paranormal activity on the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier that is now a museum ship.  During World War II and Vietnam, 141 men died on the Yorktown, and people have reported seeing mysterious figures climbing ladders, apparitions that can be seen so clearly that it's clear they're wearing USS uniforms, doors slamming in areas where no one goes, and strange noises and voices.  Burdette wants to know if the ship is being haunted by soldiers, so they can be shown the proper respect. 

The TAPS team's lead investigators, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, investigate the museum area of the ship and hear odd noises.  When they watch the footage they have just shot, they see a figure stand up and walk out of the shot...and of course, there was no one in the room with them!  Later, Jason and Grant move to the second deck and hear footsteps going down a hallway; they follow, but never find the source of the footsteps. Not long after, Grant feels something touch him on the chest, as if it is trying to pass by him.  Investigators Amy Bruni and Adam Berry head to the flight deck, where they see someone walking. They chase him and never find him; they contact the rest of the crew to see if any of them were on the flight deck, but everyone is accounted for and none of them were in that area.  Amy and Adam then go to what Amy describes as "the bowels of the ship" and set up a shadow detector, which will make a sound if anything moves over it; they leave the room and soon hear footsteps and voices...and then the shadow detector goes off!  In the engine room, investigators Britt Griffith and K.J. McCormick hear footsteps on the metal grate above them.  The TAPS team returns to their headquarters, analyze their evidence, and conclude that the ghosts who are haunting the Yorktown are spirits who belong there.

 

I enjoyed this episode of Ghost Hunters and will definitely be watching more of them.  I can't say for sure whether everything on the show is real, but I'll be avoiding the Yorktown for the rest of my life anyway. ; )

 

My score: 8/10

http://www.syfy.com/ghosthunters/

Free book: Bloodsuckers on the Bayou by Valerie Estelle Frankel

Bloodsuckers on the Bayou: The Myths, Symbols, and Tales Behind HBO's True Blood is free today!  I love True Blood, and Valerie Estelle Frankel's book sounds really interesting; I know that lots of people love the show, so I thought I'd share the book details on my blog.

"True Blood is more than just an HBO show brimming with sex and gore, or another vampire horror story blown up by big media. Independent detective Sookie Stackhouse is following the classic heroine’s journey, seen in epic myth and popular fantasy, from the quests of Isis and Demeter to the struggles of Dorothy Gale or Katniss Everdeen. Beside her, Sam, Jason, Alcide, Eric, and Bill, along with Pam, Tara, and Jessica embark on their own epic quests into darkness seeking freedom and belonging. From the show’s mythic structure to the maenads, fairies, demonesses, werewolves, and vampires, True Blood swells from its ancient roots to tackle modern issues and sensibilities in a breathtaking epic…while still breaking taboos and tackling boundaries."

http://www.amazon.com/Bloodsuckers-Bayou-Symbols-Behind-ebook/dp/B00E82OHSM/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1375650374&sr=1-5&keywords=true+blood

Cool Website of the Week: Haunt Jaunts

This week's cool website is Haunt Jaunts, a travel blog about haunted places.  On this website, you can find links to websites that list haunted places, ghost tours/walks, and haunted Halloween attractions, and there is also a list of paranormal conventions and conferences.  The website also has a store called the Halloween Scareporium, which is full of cool Halloween costumes and decorations, and some of the proceeds go to the Lymphoma Research Foundation.  Try the search feature, and type your city in and see what comes up...I live in Charleston, SC, so I wasn't surprised to see a few posts about my city (including one entitled "The 14 Most Romantic Haunted Cities We've Jaunted To So Far"...Charleston was fourth on the list).

http://www.hauntjaunts.net/