Monday, September 30, 2013

Chiller 31 magazine

There's a brand new Halloween-themed magazine called Chiller 31, and some pictures I took are in the first issue.  There are 4 of my pictures in the issue (Halloween decorations and my dog in a bumblebee costume), and you can get the digital version for $2. This is pretty cool...I've had a picture of myself in a magazine before, but never pictures I've taken! : )

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/636046?__r=453430&s=w

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Book Review: Beyond Roswell

Beyond Roswell: The Alien Autopsy Film, Area 51, and  the U.S. Government Coverup of UFOs by Michael Hesemann and Philip Mantle is the most informative book about UFOs and aliens I've ever read.  After visiting Roswell, checking out the International UFO Museum and Research Center, and reading many books on the subject, I thought I knew almost everything there was to know about the UFO crash in Roswell, but this book proved me wrong...for example, I didn't know that a UFO was spotted in Roswell on July 2, 1947, just a few days before the crash.  The book mentions accounts of witnesses I hadn't heard about anywhere else; one I found particularly interesting involved a firefighter who was on duty the night of the crash.  He told his twelve-year-old daughter that he had seen pieces of metal on the ground and corpses "from another planet" (page 45); a few days later, the girl, Frankie Rowe, was visiting her dad at work when a policeman entered the fire station and showed her father a piece of thin metal from the crash site that could not be cut or torn.  Soon after, military personnel paid a visit to Frankie at her home, and she was told that if she ever talked about what she saw, she "could be taken out into the desert never to return" (page 46).  (Threatening to kill a child?  Dick move, military...and way to prove that it wasn't a weather balloon.)

I found the chapter about The Majestic Twelve especially interesting.  I would love to get my hands on the M-12 "Bible" because it sounds fascinating, but I have a feeling it's impossible to get (I checked Ebay...it's not there), and I don't really want to get murdered by the government. ; )

Another thing I found interesting was that a man who said he filmed the autopsies of the Roswell aliens claims that one of them lived for two years after the crash. I'd never heard that rumor before I read this book, but I hope it's not true because two years of being constantly experimented on sounds pretty awful.  I'd also like to mention that this man kept calling the aliens "freaks," which I thought was really obnoxious.

If you're interested in Roswell and what came after, you should definitely read this book...it's the best book I've read on the subject, and it's full of fascinating information.  After you read it, you'll feel like an expert!

My rating: 9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Roswell-Autopsy-Government-Coverup/dp/1569247099/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380384527&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+roswell

Friday, September 27, 2013

Free paranormal book: Behind the Voice by Cassi Gray

Today's free paranormal ebook is Behind the Voice by Cassi Gray.  It's 64 pages and has a 4.1-star rating.  Here's the description from Amazon:

"During what should have been a regular day at work, Cordelia finds herself trapped in an elevator with a presence who swears to cause her no harm, but has every intention of changing her life forever. Cordelia's world spins out of control while she struggles internally with herself over the existence of this man. Realizing the supernatural power he has over her she must learn to believe in him, for her life greatly depends on it."
 
This sounds pretty good!
 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Charleston Magazine: Haunted Charleston

The October issue of Charleston Magazine has an interesting article about haunted places in Charleston, SC.  The article features the Angel Oak, 37 Meeting Street, Magnolia Cemetery, the Bull-Huger House, Secessionville Hollows, the Brick Kiln Ruins in Brickyard Plantation, the Old Citadel, Fort Moultrie, The Wampee House, the Pink House, and the Joe E. Berry Residence Hall.  I've lived in Charleston for 28 years, and I've never even heard of some of these places, so I thought the article was very informative, and I really enjoyed it...here's the link if you'd like to read it:

http://charlestonmag.com/charleston_magazine/feature/haunted_charleston

Do any of you guys live in a haunted city?  Let me know, and I might write about it! : )

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Guest blogger: Michelle Wright. Psychic Medium, Author, and Optimist

Today is a special day because we have our first guest blogger!  Her name is Michelle Wright, she's a psychic medium, and this is her story:

I never woke up one morning horrified to find I was surrounded by spirits. It was as if I was expected to see them and if it wasn’t deceased family members giving me messages and signs it would be spirits connected to my school friends. The latter became nothing short of a nightmare as I would march into school happy to think I was helping by blurting out warnings and other strange stuff. What I got for my trouble was fights or detention for disrupting the class until I wised up and stayed quiet. Being this way had been a way of life for so long I never knew any different, naively believing everyone could see what I saw. 

They didn’t which resulted in a stressful childhood. My mother was a psychic medium as was my grandmother and her mother before her. I had without consent inherited the gene or gift as my mother put it even though I saw it as something far more sinister—a curse. Even today I can identify with world famous mediums who in their autobiographies talk about their early years being a major struggle as they battled against being seen as a ‘freak’ or ‘emotionally disturbed.’ Apart from my immediate family I had to grapple the same problem. Biting my tongue whenever I wanted to blurt out a spirit message to a complete stranger became the norm as did keeping my gift a secret for many years.

Someone asked me once what it felt like to live with one foot in the other world while going about my daily life. My answer was simple...I have always believed in an afterlife where loved ones wait in joy for our return home. This world is just a school of learning, a place to advance our souls and burn karma. The world beyond is the one I accept more readily. What’s it like ‘over there’ is a common question from clients who come to me for readings. Here is where I’d like to dispel the myth that we all float on clouds playing harps or sleep forever. We are still very much alive, more than ever as we enter a wider world which s an ethereal copy of our reality. Spirits create homes and environments as much the same as what they had when alive until they are ready to move on to a higher realm. Loved ones prepare for our passing and pets we had wait patiently for our return. So where do I fit in? 

I bring forth the messages only the person in front of me will make sense of. This is a reassurance they are hearing from someone other than me and a chance to let go of the grief which may have been holding them back. I don’t use tarot cards or ask for something personal to work with. I am a channeller...a direct link. Most of my psychic experiences are visual. I see the spirit usually standing by my ride side bringing not only messages but showing me how they passed. Sometimes I pull back if they passed over suddenly, or in a lot of pain because I can take on what they were feeling...not pleasant for me at all and very draining. Often, at the end of a reading I’m left with a headache or fatigue which passes within the hour. On the bright side spirits can be funny. I remember one reading I did where a loving mother was determined her daughter didn’t leave her floor so wet after she washed it. “Do you want someone to go head over heels?” she said. For the daughter it was proof her mother had come back and was still making her bossy presence felt! Then there are excitable spirits who have waited so long for a medium to relay messages they are impossible to understand. Imagine you’ve not been able to speak to someone close to you for years because you lost touch. One day out of the blue you find each other again. I doubt the first words spoken would be formal, if anything you’ll both be too excited and probably babble for the first few seconds. A spirit waiting for the all important connection is exactly the same. We don’t change very much.

I sometimes wonder why I was landed with a responsibility which often feels like a burden. Life as a medium is not an easy one, but I wouldn’t change a thing and, I will always hear my wise mother’s words. “Like it or not, it’s what it is, a way to help people who really need it.’’

From the age of nine I was passionate about becoming a writer, now, having fulfilled my dream through journalism I graduated to writing paranormal and historical fiction novels. Earlier this year I signed with a great new publishing company Curiosity Quills who released two of my previously self-published novels and three new ones. But no matter how busy my schedule is I still make time for giving psychic readings whether they be face to face or by email. After all said and done I can’t ignore the obvious. I will always be a medium.
Check out Michelle's website!


If you'd like to know more about Michelle's books, here's her Amazon author page: 



Thanks for being my first guest blogger, Michelle...that was fascinating!


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Free paranormal book: Ozarks Ghosts and Hauntings by Bud Steed

I just came across a brand new free paranormal ebook in one of Facebook's paranormal groups, so I thought I'd share it here...the book is called Ozarks Ghosts and Hauntings (America's Ghosts), and the author is Bud Steed.  Here's the Amazon description:

"The rocky hills and dark valleys of the Ozark Mountains hold many secrets for those bold enough to go in search of them. From the grieving ghost of the Ozark's Madonna to the dangerous apparition who haunts the Irish Wilderness, ghosts and legends abound in the Ozarks. A long settled land, the Ozarks has seen its fair share of tragedy and turmoil; from accidents to civil war battles the Ozarks holds more than her fair share of ghosts and hauntings, the stories told and retold down through the generations, a huge part of the hill country folklore.
Join Para-historian and author Bud Steed as he retells some of the best ghost stories of the Missouri Ozarks and debunks a popular legend that has been told since the 1940's; a legend that has been the cause of several deaths itself. Take a ghostly trip through the communities and hills that make up the Missouri Ozark Mountains and experience the spirits and entities that call it home."

Sounds pretty good...I love true ghost stories!  If this sounds like something you'd like to read, you can get it free here:

http://www.amazon.com/Ozarks-Ghosts-Hauntings-Americas-ebook/dp/B00F5COF1S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379122187&sr=8-1&keywords=ozarks+ghosts+and+hauntings

Friday, September 13, 2013

Ghost Hunters: Titanic Terror

I recently started watching Ghost Hunters, but there are so many episodes that I decided to just watch the ones that are about places I've visited or are just interested in.  Since I went to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta few years ago, I thought the Season 5 episode where the TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) team investigates paranormal activity in the aquarium's Titanic exhibit would be pretty interesting...and it was!  The exhibit is a traveling one, and paranormal activity seems to follow it wherever it goes...people have reported seeing shadows while in the exhibit, hearing footsteps, and feeling fingers scape their scalps.  Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, and Steve Gonsalves meet with Meghann Gibbons, Director of Public Relations, as soon as they arrive at the aquarium, and she tells them that many of the aquarium's volunteers have reported strange occurences in the Titanic exhibit.  For example, volunteer Margaret Mourino sensed a presence behind her in the iceberg exhibit, then felt something pressing on her scalp. 

Jason and Grant begin the investigation in the cabins exhibit, where they see shadows and experience a sudden drop in temperature; when they move to the iceberg exhibit, they encounter a five-foot tall cold spot, and Jason feels something tugging his sweatshirt.  They soon move to the artifacts room, where Grant sees a shadow he thinks is Jason, but when he sees  the beam of Jason's flashlight in another room, he realizes that he was mistaken.  When Jason joins him, he also sees the figure and chases it, but no one is there.  When the men get up to leave, Grant feels a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down.  Dave Tango and Steve review the footage and hear a voice during the part of the recording where Jason and Grant ask the presence to knock twice if it wants them to leave; it sounds like the voice is saying "No, please wait."

This episode wasn't too creepy, but I'm glad that the Titanic exhibit was not at the aquarium when I visited...and if I'm ever thinking about going to an aquarium and then find out that they have the Titanic exhibit, I won't be going there. : )

My rating: 8/10

http://www.syfy.com/ghosthunters

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Cool Website of the Week: Mutual UFO Network

This week's cool website is the Mutual UFO Network (more commonly known as MUFON).  MUFON is probably the most well known UFO organization, and their website is full of great information...there's an FAQ that answers questions about MUFON and UFOLOGY, a page that lists UFO-related events, a store, news, information about other UFO organizations, and a place where you can find your local chapter of MUFON (unfortunately, it looks like the South Carolina chapter may be defunct since the link to their website comes up with a page saying the domain is for sale).  You can also donate money or join MUFON on the website, and believe me, if I hadn't quit my job, I would probably be paying the $50 to join and get the hard copy of their journal...and then I just might be tempted to fill out the application to become a MUFON field investigator (that sounds really interesting)!

www.mufon.com/

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Book Review: Haunted Charleston

Haunted Charleston by Sara Pitzer contains twenty-five stories about ghosts in Charleston, South Carolina, which just so happens to be where I live.  The book is divided into six sections: Hospitality Haunts, Grave Haunts, Scary Places, Heard But Not Seen, Seen But Not Heard, Plantation Haunts, and The Gullah Legends.  The places that are talked about in the book include the Battery Carriage House Inn (which is haunted by a heartbroken college student who committed suicide and by a much more terrifying growling headless male), St. Michael's Episcopal Churchyard (haunted by Harriet Mackie, who died at age seventeen the night before her wedding), the Old City Jail (haunted by Lavinia Fisher, who is believed to be America's first female serial killer), the Joe E. Berry Residence Hall at the College of Charleston (thought to be haunted by children who died in a fire when the residence hall used to be the Charleston Orphanage), and the Dock Street Theatre (haunted by a prostitute who was struck by lightning on the balcony when the theatre was the Planters Inn).  I had heard a few of the stories in the book before, but not most of them, which was nice since I think I've read every book about Charleston ghosts in the Charleston County library system.  If you live in Charleston, this book is a must!  If you just visit here or are interested in haunted cities, you'll probably enjoy the book too. : )

My rating: 8.5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Charleston-Scary-Sites-Encounters/dp/0762771828/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378768803&sr=8-2&keywords=haunted+charleston

Sunday, September 8, 2013

New Facebook group

Hey, guys! : ) I'm having so much fun with my blog that I decided to start a Facebook group too...if you're interested in the paranormal, please join us! If you're an author who writes about the paranormal, feel free to share your book info with us. : )

https://www.facebook.com/groups/159094620962782/ 

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Free paranormal book: Psyched by Juli Caldwell

I saw Psyched by Juli Caldwell listed yesterday in one of the free ebook email lists I subscribe to, and it sounded really interesting and has great reviews (it's rated 4.6 out of 5 stars)!  I downloaded a copy last night, and it's still free, so I thought some of you guys might want to check it out.  Here's the Amazon description:

"Aisi Turay has it all under control.

At least, she thinks she does. Forget that the most popular girl in school hates her guts and will stop at nothing to embarrass her. Forget that her little brother is tormented by the ghosts and demons she sees all the time. Forget that her mom is a con artist who pretends to be psychic to make some cash. Forget that her dad is hiding a secret than can destroy everything she knows about herself. Nope, she's got this one...until that one awful day when she nearly loses it all.

With ghost-hunting hottie Vance, a guy who stumbled into her life at the worst possible moment, Aisi must search for the messages hidden in visions and memories to protect her family. Maybe, just maybe, they can reclaim what she thought was lost forever."

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D4C4HOQ/ref=pe_245070_24466410_M1T1DP

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Cool Website of the Week: Paranormal Zone X

This week's cool website is Paranormal Zone X.  This website seems like one I could spend hours on if I had the time; there are sections about aliens, crop circles, cults, ESP, ghost evidence, ghost hunting equipment, near death experiences, Ouija boards, vampires, and a few other things.  On the homepage alone, you can find info about a variety of strange creatures, paranormal phenomena,  and
conspiracy theories.  This website has extensive information about the topics it covers, so if you're interested in the paranormal, I bet you could really keep yourself busy on Paranormal Zone X...I know I'll be coming back often. : )

https://sites.google.com/site/paranormalzonex/

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Book review: Captured!: the Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience

A few weeks ago, I heard about a book called Captured!: the Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience that was written by Kathleen Marden and Stanton Friedman, and it sounded interesting, so I got it through the Interlibrary Loan department at the library where I work.  The book was released in 2007, and the cover advertises the book as "the true story of the world's first documented alien abduction," and since it was written by Betty Hill's niece, who is the International Director of Abduction research for MUFON (Mutual UFO Network), I thought it would be the best book to read to find out more about the abduction of Betty and Barney Hill (Betty published a book about it in 1995, but I hear that it's not easy to get a copy of it). 

On September 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were on their way home from vacation when they saw what they at first thought was a falling star over the New Hampshire highway; they saw the "star" stop in the sky and begin moving toward the moon, so they stopped on the side of the road to get a closer look through binoculars.  At one point, the object turned toward them, so they got back in the car and started driving...until the UFO came toward their vehicle, and they had to stop in the road.  Barney got out of the car, and using the binoculars, saw figures looking at him from the craft.  He ran back to the car and resumed driving, but soon heard beeping sounds around the car; a few hours later, Betty and Barney arrived home much later than they had expected and had no recollection of the missing hours.  The Hills did not remember what happened until they underwent hypnosis.

I'd heard about The Hills in the past, but I learned a lot that I didn't already know while reading this book...for example, I didn't know that Betty and Barney 's dog was in the car while all of this was happening and that she was stricken with respiratory problems and a fungal infection not long after the UFO incident, and she would whimper and shake often.  I also didn't know that the extraterrestrials started pulling on Betty's teeth and were confused as to why Barney 's teeth (dentures) came out but Betty 's didn't.  If you're interested in the Betty and Barney Hill case at all, this is the book to read...it's very informative, and it convinced me that The Hills really experienced what they say they did (especially since the book points out that they wanted to remain anonymous, and their identities were made public without their permission).  It's a fascinating story!

My rating: 8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Captured-Betty-Barney-Hill-Experience/dp/1564149714/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1378261371&sr=8-2

Monday, September 2, 2013

Cutest ghost ever!


I love Halloween, so of course I decorate way early.  I just had to share a picture of this ghost decoration I have...he's so cute!

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Twenty things you (probably) don't know about me

I'm still working on the book reviews I need to post this week, so today I thought it would be fun to let the awesome people who read this blog know a little more about me. : )

1.  My first word was "Kermie," and at 32, I still love The Muppets.
2.  Sometimes I get really sad about the fact that The Muppets aren't real.
3.  I've seen the first three seasons of Arrested Development so many times that I practically have them memorized...when I watch them by myself, I talk along with the dialogue and sometimes don't even realize I'm doing it at first.
4.  My parents named me after two songs: "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James and the Shondells and "Michelle" by The Beatles.
5.  My first concert was Paul McCartney in Columbia, SC when I was in sixth grade.
6.  I took a musical theatre class in college and loved it so much that I took it two more times.  Some of the songs I sang were "On My Own" and "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables, "Rainbow High" and "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita, and "Bring On the Men" from Jekyll and Hyde (I played a prostitute in that song, and I think I was pretty convincing).
7.  I first tried playwriting when I took an Arthurian Legends class in high school, and we put on an original play as our final project.  Three or four of us were chosen to write the play together, but once I started writing, I had so much fun that I ended up writing most of the play.  There were only a few guys in the class, so we decided that Merlin would be a female named Merlynne; I played her and got to have a British accent.
8.  My favorite song is "Don't Stop Believin' " by Journey.
9.  I mostly listen to alternative and classic rock, but I really love Clay Aiken.
10. I've named three pets after South Park characters: box turtles Tweek, Timmy, and Butters.
11.  I worked at a preschool for three months, and it scarred me for life.  A few years after I quit, I still occasionally had nightmares and would wake up thinking I still worked there. (It should come as no surprise that I'm never having kids.)
12.  My favorite Saturday Night Live sketch is the Blue Oyster Cult "More cowbell!" sketch.
13.  The worst day of my life so far was April 5, 2013, the day I found out that my dog has cancer.
14.  I've been coloring my hair since I was 16, and I'm not even sure what my natural color is anymore.
15.  My favorite holiday is Halloween, and I usually start putting my decorations up the first week of September.
16.  I like the original NES way more than the Nintendo Wii, and my favorite video game is Dr. Mario.
17.  I'm still not over Phil Hartman's death, even though it happened fifteen years ago, and I have a really hard time watching the episode of Newsradio where they reminisce about his character, Bill McNeal, after Bill's funeral because it makes me too sad.
18.  When my husband and I got married, I thought it would be funny to make our exit from the reception to "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords, but no one else agreed with me, so we went with "The Final Countdown" by Europe instead.
19.  My favorite Flight of the Conchords song is "Bret, You've Got It Going On," and I named my hamsters Bret and Jemaine.
20.  We set our wedding date based on the fact that Patton Oswalt was doing a show in L.A. on October 29th (2011); we knew we wanted to get married in the fall and that our honeymoon would be in L.A. and Vegas, but we didn't pick a date until we found out about Patton Oswalt and Friends at Largo...we bought tickets and then decided we'd be getting married on the Sunday before the comedy show.