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

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/

AtomaCon Panel: Demonology: Is it real?

Of all the panels I attended at last weekend's AtomaCon, I have to say the Demonology: Is it real? panel was my favorite. It was led by Alex Matsuo, founder and director of the Association for Paranormal Study and author of The Haunting of the Tenth Avenue Theater, The Haunted Actor, and More Than Ghosts. A demon is a malevolent entity (or a fallen angel according to religion), and I never gave them much thought until I found out that The Exorcist was inspired by a true story. Alex said that she specializes in residential cases in her paranormal investigations and has come across a few demonic cases. According to The Bible, only Jesus can deal with demons, but he's not around to help out, so instead Catholic priests/clergy or pastors are called upon to exorcise a demon once they decide that someone is possessed. In order to get to this point, the individual in question must be evaluated by a priest, who assesses whether the person is suffering from mental illness or demonic possession (they have similar signs).

Signs of possession:

-anger

-hysterical laughter

-talking gibberish, speaking in languages the individual doesn't know, or speaking in tongues

-knowledge of things the individual has no way of knowing

-shifts in bone structure and body contortions

-aversion to holy objects/holy water

-changes in voice, personality, and appearance

-self-harm

Characteristics of demonic activity:

-foul odors

-banging/knocking

-oppressive feeling

-shadow figures

-growling

-reaction to religious objects/prayers

-heavy objects moving on their own

Stages of demonic possession:
1. Manifestation: when the demon is invited in (either directly or indirectly)
2. Infestation: when the demon makes itself known (growling, whispers, etc.)
3. Oppression: when the demon oppresses an individual physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually
4. Possession: when the demon has access to the body
5. Perfect Possession: when the individual accepts the demon, and an exorcism is no longer possible

In order to act on behalf of Christ, the priest must do an act of contrition before he performs the exorcism. Before the exorcism begins, the possessed person will be restrained so they can't hurt themselves or anyone else, then the exorcist will recite prayers both in English and Latin, which takes 35-40 minutes when read non-stop. The exorcist will also attempt to get the name of the demon and ask for the time and date of the demon's departure.

During the panel, we watched videos of exorcisms from other religions, which was pretty interesting, and Alex played an audio recording from one of the 67 exorcisms performed on Anneliese Michel (who was the inspiration for The Exorcism of Emily Rose), which really creeped me out. Anneliese died from malnutrition and dehydration at the age of 23, and her parents, a priest, and a pastor were all charged with negligent manslaughter. (You can find out more about Anneliese here: http://www.demonicpedia.com/exorcism/the-exorcism-of-anneliese-michel/)

I've watched a bunch of movies about demons/possession and read a few books on the subject, so I thought I knew almost everything there was to know about it...but the Demonology panel was fascinating, and I learned a lot. I didn't really enjoy riding home in the dark afterward or trying to fall asleep that night though. ; )

http://alexmatsuo.com/

AtomaCon Panel: Haunted Theaters

I had a great time at my third AtomaCon...I went to a bunch of informative panels and met some really cool people. Since I have a paranormal blog and am also a playwright, it should be no surprise that I attended Alex Matsuo's Haunted Theaters panel. Alex is an actress, playwright, director, and author (of The Haunting of the Tenth Avenue Theater, The Haunted Actor, and More Than Ghosts), and she is the founder and director of the Association for Paranormal Study, which is based in San Diego and Raleigh. The first theater she covered in the panel was the Tenth Avenue Theater in San Diego, which was originally a Baptist chapel. The building is haunted by a British lieutenant (church members heard a British voice giving military orders and would sometimes see him standing in the chapel), a preteen girl named Missy who fell down the stairs and split her head open (Missy's spirit likes to talk to people, turn lights on, and follow people around), a pastor who hung himself in the chapel because he felt guilty about Missy's death, and a former church member named Carol LaRoche, who haunts the bathrooms.

A few of the other theaters covered in the panel:

-Theatre Royal in London: haunted by "The Man in Grey," who wears 18th-century clothing; seeing him is considered a sign of good luck

-New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City: haunted by Olive Thomas, who died of mercury poisoning at 25; her ghost is usually spotted by men and is wearing her Ziegfeld Follies costume and holding a blue bottle (which is what held the mercury that caused her death)

-Palace Theatre in New York City: haunted by more than 100 spirits, including Judy Garland

Alex told us about some of her own experiences, like feeling hands grabbing her dress and ankles during a Civil War reenactment at Gettysburg and once seeing a shadow figure mimicking an actor onstage during a performance. She said that spirits need energy in order to manifest, and theaters are full of energy (from everyone in the theater, lighting, electricity, etc.), which may explain why so many theaters seem to be haunted. The Haunted Theaters panel was really interesting and made me want to read all of Alex's books to find out more about her paranormal experiences. I'm going to a haunted theater (Dock Street) to see my favorite band next month, and I've never seen a ghost there, but I'll keep an eye out this time. : )

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