Hollyweird Paranormal

If you're in search of a paranormal podcast to listen to, check out HollyweirdParanormal, which
combines true crime and the paranormal. I love both of those things, so I listened to the latest episode...it was informative and entertaining, and I really enjoyed it. The podcast is hosted by Tammie Merheb-Chavez and Brice Mitchell Williams, and they've done four episodes so far: "The True Crime and Paranormal Aftermath of The Sharon Tate & Manson Family Murders," "The True Crime and Paranormal Aftermath of The Cecil Hotel," "The True Crime and Paranormal Aftermath of Superman, George Reeves," and "Famous Haunted Hollywood Apartments." I'm glad I found out about this podcast, and I'm definitely going to listen to more episodes. : )

Hollyweird Paranormal

Book Review: The Haunting of the Tenth Avenue Theater by Alex Matsuo

When I went to AtomaCon in 2015, I attended Alex Matsuo's haunted theaters and demonology panels, and they were so interesting that I decided to read a few of her books. I wrote about More Than Ghosts: A Guide to Working Residential Cases in the Paranormal Field on the blog last year, and now it's The Haunting of the Tenth Avenue Theater's turn. The Tenth Avenue Theater is located in San Diego and used to be a church; Matsuo, who is a playwright and actress as well as the founder and director of the Association of Paranormal Study (APS), has been involved with a few productions there. Jeff Cotta bought the building from the First Baptist Church of San Diego in 1997 and agreed to let APS investigate the allegedly haunted space a few years ago. The theater is rumored to be haunted by a young girl named Missy who died when she fell down the stairs at the church, a pastor who felt guilty about Missy's death and committed suicide in the chapel's cloakroom, and a British lieutenant who temporarily possessed the doctor who tried to save him and apparently decided to make the building his new home when the doctor came to the sanctuary to pray.

I don't want to say too much about what happened during APS's investigations of the theater because I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who might read the book, but I will say that Matsuo described the investigations so effectively that I felt like I was there. The Haunting of the Tenth Avenue Theater is a fascinating read, and Matsuo definitely knows her stuff when it comes to the paranormal. I've enjoyed both of the books I've read by her, and I hope she'll write many more in the future. : )

My rating: 10/10

Nerdist Presents: The Mystic Museum

In the mood for a fun Halloween short? Check out Nerdist Presents: The Mystic Museum! The short is around 11 minutes long and stars Kelsey Gunn, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Kristian Bruun, Ptolemy Slocum, and Jake Getman. Kelsey runs the Mystic Museum but has never personally experienced anything paranormal, so she's happy to get involved when Olivia, a paralegal with a haunted apartment, comes in for help. Will Kelsey be able to help Olivia find out why she's experiencing supernatural shenanigans, or will they hit a dead end? You'll have to watch it to find out! : )


http://nerdist.com/the-mystic-museum-olivia-taylor-dudley-kristian-bruun-nerdoween/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=NerdistNewsletter_20171019

Haunted By Murder

As often as we hear about ghosts and hauntings, it's rare that we hear about hauntings by the people who are most justified to exact revenge from beyond the grave. I'm talking about murder victims, of course, and you'll be happy to know that several killers have been harassed by the spirits of the unfortunate souls whose lives they took. Check out Freaked's "10 Murderers Haunted By Their Victim's Ghosts" to find out whose victims didn't take death lying down.

https://freaked.com/murderers-haunted/

America's Most Haunted Grocery Store

Stories about haunted houses and hotels are pretty common, but you rarely hear about haunted grocery stores. A California town called Chowchilla is believed to be home to the most haunted grocery store in America: the Save Mart on Robertson Boulevard (which closed in 2008). The ghost of a man with claw marks on his face was spotted in the frozen food section several times, and a former store employee says he came face-to-face with the spirit and that on the store's security camera footage, it looked like the employee was screaming and running away from nothing.

http://backpackerverse.com/chowchilla-home-to-the-most-haunted-grocery-store-in-america/

I found this story on Backpackerverse, but I did a little research and found a few more websites that talk about the haunted Save Mart:

http://www.weirdfresno.com/2010/04/was-old-save-mart-in-chowchilla-haunted.html

http://forgottenusa.com/haunts/CA/2625/Save-Mart%20Supermarkets/

Hollywood Ghost Stories and Urban Legends

I recently came across an article called "17 Creepy Hollywood Ghost Stories and Urban Legends" on Ranker, so I thought I'd share it here. The list includes the Black Dahlia, James Dean's cursed car, the ghosts that haunt the Queen Mary and the Hollywood sign, and many other interesting stories, so check it out if you're into that sort of thing (and if you're reading this blog, I'm guessing you are). : )

http://www.ranker.com/list/hollywood-ghost-stories-and-urban-legends/jacobybancroft?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=creepy_hollywood_stories

Movie Spotlight: Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak is a 2015 movie starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver. In 1887, the ghost of Edith Cushing's (Mia Wasikowska) mother comes to her with a warning about Crimson Peak.  Fourteen years later, Edith marries Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and moves to England with him to live in his mansion, a haunted estate known as...Crimson Peak. Upon arrival, Edith is greeted by an adorable dog, and she asks if she can keep him...and since this is a horror movie, we all know how that's going to turn out. : (

Crimson Peak is a visually stunning movie with great performances from everyone. The ghosts are some of the scariest-looking ghosts I've seen in a movie, and Thomas and Lucille (Jessica Chastain) are the creepiest siblings ever.

My rating: 7.5/10

Police and the Paranormal

I recently came across an article called "10 Cops Share Their Scariest Paranormal Encounters," and it's pretty creepy, so of course I wanted to share it here.

http://www.theoccultmuseum.com/10-cops-share-their-scariest-paranormal-encounters/

There's also one about firefighters:

http://www.theoccultmuseum.com/14-firefighters-share-their-scariest-paranormal-encounters/

If you're a police officer or firefighter who has had a paranormal experience on the job, feel free to tell me about it in the comments...I'd love to hear about it. : )

Book Spotlight: More Than Ghosts by Alex Matsuo

When I went to AtomaCon last November, I attended two panels by Alex Matsuo, founder and director of the Association of Paranormal Study. Her panels on haunted theaters and demonology were so interesting that it really made me want to read her books, so I started with More Than Ghosts: A Guide to Working Residential Cases in the Paranormal Field, which was published in 2015. In the book, Matsuo teaches the correct way for paranormal investigators to effectively handle residential cases, touching on things such as the differences between investigating residential locations and public locations, researching a property's history before an investigation, equipment you'll need, and how to protect yourself during an investigation.

Though I don't actually want to take part in a paranormal investigation, I find the subject fascinating, and Matsuo clearly knows her stuff. More Than Ghosts is very in-depth and informative, and Matsuo gives the information in a way that is interesting and easy to understand. If you've ever thought about getting involved in paranormal investigation, you should really read this book. : )

My rating: 10/10 

http://alexmatsuo.com/
http://associationofparanormalstudy.com/

The 51 Spookiest Spots You Can Visit Across The United States

I live in a city (Charleston, SC) that's known for its haunted history, so when I came across this list of the spookiest spot in each state, I had to check it out. I've heard of a few of these places, but I haven't been to any of them...and the one that's listed for South Carolina doesn't sound as creepy as the Old City Jail in Charleston, which is haunted by serial killer Lavinia Fisher, who is apparently not a very nice ghost. Have any of you visited any of these places...and if so, did you experience anything strange or paranormal?

http://creepy.viralnova.com/haunted-usa/

Cool Website: Phenomena Log

If you're like me (and if you read this blog, there's a good chance you might be), you probably think that real-life accounts of paranormal experiences are pretty interesting. I decided to search the internet and try to find a website with a bunch of these accounts, and I was happy to find this one:

http://www.phenomenalog.com/en/index.php

There's some really fascinating stuff on this website (accounts of alien abductions, hauntings, out of body experiences, etc.), and if you've had your own paranormal experience, there's an area where you can share your story.

Haunt Jaunts Call for Submissions: Shadow People and Cursed Objects

Haunt Jaunts, a travel website about haunted/paranormal places, is planning to release an anthology, and they need your submissions. They're looking for fictional stories (5000 words or less) about shadow people/ghosts or haunted objects, so if you've written something like that, please submit it (if you haven't written something like that but would like to, you have until July 31st to submit). Here's all the info:

http://www.hauntjaunts.net/call-for-submissions-shadow-people-and-cursed-objects/

Good luck! : )

International Ghost Investigators: Hollywood Division (Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor)

International Ghost Investigators: Hollywood Division airs on the Audience network and stars David Anthony Higgins and Paul Greenberg.  It's a very funny show, and in this episode, David and Paul lend their expertise to Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor (who I love...Ben is one of my favorite actors, and I've been a fan of Christine since Hey Dude).

Paul is photocopying his ass when David gets a call from Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor, so they decide to go to  New York to help them out.  Ben says the landscapers are freaked out by what's been going on and asks if Paul and David have a certificate to show the landscapers, so they'll start working again; they tell Ben that they can't give him the certificate until they do an investigation.  Christine says that when she was getting the house ready for their guest Desmond Tutu, she put some cartons of ice cream on the table and turned around to look in a cabinet; when she turned back around, the cartons were "stacked like a pyramid.  Ben says that one of the gardeners ran up to him one day, yelling and pointing at the lawn mower, which was mowing the lawn by itself.  Christine adds that their housekeeper once saw the vacuum move across the room on its own.  David takes out an ovilus ("ghost talker") and tries to communicate with the spirits in the house; he asks them to make themselves known, and the phrase "bowling ball" comes from the ovilus.  He asks the spirits if they've been bothering the gardeners, and the word "leprechaun" is heard.  David asks why the spirits are there, and the answer is "penis."  Worse words follow, so David throws the ovilus outside.  Christine says that Carlos, one of the gardeners, told her that he once felt like he was "being dragged into the bowels of Hell" in the yard.

Paul and David decide to investigate the yard, but first Ben catches them eating spaghetti on the bed; Paul spills his and has to change his shorts, so he borrows a pair of Ben's underwear.  David finds a tree that he thinks is a "witch trap" and some stacked rocks that he also thinks are a "sign of witches."  The stacks fall down, and David runs off; he finds Paul standing in the corner of a shack, just like The Blair Witch Project (except Paul is peeing).  They find what could be the "portal to Hell" and decide to enter through the mist-filled doorway.  

David and Paul tell Ben and Christine that they have "ghost squatters" and show them the video they took after they entered the portal; it's a "time portal to a cemetery in 1890" in St. Louis.  David says that he talked to the head gardener in the portal, and that he told David that his gardeners would be willing to mow Ben and Christine's yard.  Problem solved!

This was my third episode of International Ghost Investigators: Hollywood Division, and it was my favorite so far. If you have Directv, check this show out!

My rating: 10/10

https://www.directv.com/tv/International-Ghost-Investigators-Hollywood-Division-K3pnYnpaYlNNenVGby9GckxSaXJvUT09