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/