What makes a great ghost story? – Part 25

Ghost stories can be told in so many ways, and about so many different types of ghosts. There is a major difference in ones told around the dinner table or during a family gathering when older members may be passing one down, and ones told at night in a secluded place in the woods around a campfire. The best ones by far are the ones that leave you to scared to fall asleep at night. The kind you remember long after you hear it.

So what makes a great ghost story? It’s the suspense, the setting, the realism, and the things that leave you wondering.

The best ghost stories make you believe they could happen. They leave you wondering what you would do if you were in a similar situation.

They are set in believable and realistic places. Maybe it is somewhere you go regularly, or somewhere you have always wanted to go but were unsure, and are even more unsure after hearing the story.

As you are listening to one of these stories you are sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting for what is coming next. Waiting expectantly for the moment that will make you scream.

When you go to bed at night you still hear the story repeating in your head. Jumping at the slightest sound. Trying to drift off to sleep but feel a touch, see a shadow tha wasn’t there before, feel eyes watching every movement.

Yes, the best ghost stories are the ones that not only scare you at the time but that scare you long after.

Pondering the existence of ghosts, demons and angels – Part 8

The existence of ghosts, demons, and angels is an age old question. Many people are skeptic but many are believers. There is a small precentage that are in between. Instead of telling ghost stories I am more into scientific proof, logical thinking, and a little paranormal exploration. The only way I can truly discuss this topic is to give the most interesting and believable facts I know for both sides.

Ghosts

Albert Einstein, the most briliant man in the world, taught us that energy can not be created or destroyed. The human body has both electrical and chemical energy flowing through it. Now is it not possible that ghosts are actually the result of this unchanging and disembodied energy? Where ghost sightings have been investigated there have been unexplained electrical impulses recorded.

On the other hand, many people believe that the soulor energy of a person is connected with the mind. Once the mind is legally dead that soul or the energy of a person is released from all form and matter. It may not be destroyed but without the body it can not stay pulled together and will drift into the atmosphere.

Demons.

Though there is no solid scientific or medical proof that there are demons or demonic posessions there are detailed recordings of such events through out history from all over the world. For the most part people condone them as psychiatric related incidences, which I will discuss later, but there is two key things that could not be caused by mental illness. In many cases it is said that the possesed, often young and poorly educated, would speak in languages not familiar to them. These languages have included Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic. Now how would a poor 10 year old girl in the early 1600’s be able to fluently speak a language she had never heard? The second oddity is that many times when in posession of a body a demon has been recorded as saying he is from certain places and laying claims to have seen and caused things that the victim would never be able to know about.

Many aspects of so called demon possesion do describe the symptoms of mental and phsyical health conditions. Extrodinary strength is common in autistics, rantings in uncoherent syllables is not uncommon in any mental problem, extreme mood changes are symptoms of bi-polar disease, body distortions can be caused by epeleptic siezures that can be brought on by mental health problems, and in cases of multiple personality disorder people have been recorded as talking, thinking,

Would you consider the Holy Ghost to be a ghost as we recognize them? – Part 1

The Holy Ghost is also known as the Holy Spirit. They are one and the same. The Holy Ghost is the spirit of God. A ghost is not something that you necessarily recognize. There are many ghost hunters and ghost stories. My dictionary gives several definitions of the word ghost. One says to haunt. Another says spirit or demon. Still another says a disembodied soul. The spirit of a dead person. The Holy Spirit is certainly not a demon. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. It is the spirit of the almighty. The Greek and Hebrew words where they refer to man are translated as soul and rendered as life or breath. Psuche “Greek” in the New Testament is interpreted as the vital breath of life. The Holy Ghost is not what most quote, unquote ghost hunters go in search of. The Holy Ghost does not go around haunting houses or grave yards. So I do not consider it to be as recognized as such.

Genesis 1:2 gives the first reference in the Bible to the Holy Spirit. It says the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. I do believe in other spirits upon this earth besides the Holy Spirit. There are many demon spirits. Spirits which belong to Satan and do his bidding. The Bible tells us many things about the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is our comforter. It is our conscious and our guide. Our bodies are a living breathing temple for the Holy Ghost to dwell. Proverbs 20:27 says… The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts. First John chapter four verse one says: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they be of God. So yes, there are many spirits but none like unto the Holy Spirit. God’s word also tells us that we as his sheep know his voice and a strangers voice we will not follow. As Christians we have access to the throne of his grace by the spirit. We should walk in the spirit and be filled with the spirit. We should minister in the spirit and we are justified by the Holy Spirit. Lastly I must add that we should not grieve the Holy Spirit but renew our selves and find love in the Holy Spirit of God. God is a spirit and we should worship him in spirit and truth.

What makes a great ghost story? – Part 18

In today’s world of instant gratification, most people think that in order to be scared they need to have people chopped up into little pieces or be chased by a machete wielding psychopath. Well, I’m hear to tell you that blood, guts and gore are for readers who aren’t patient enough to wait for the big pay off.

There are a variety of elements that make up a great ghost story, that don’t include blood, guts and gore. I, for one, believe that one of the best elements is for the writer to believe in the supernatural. If you’ve experienced spooky stuff yourself, it will make for a better story.

Another element that is essential in any good ghost story is authenticity. It helps the reader to feel like they’ve experienced this with you (or your character). I’ve had a few supernatural experiences myself, and I know when I write about them I get chills and get spooked as if it were happening all over again. If I can translate that into my story, I know I’ll have the readers hooked, too.

Suspense is a must have in any good ghost story. Building up the suspense will draw the reader in and as you reveal bits and pieces about your story the quicker your readers mind will work trying to solve the mystery.

However, my favorite thing about ghost stories is the historical aspect behind it. Everyone knows that a good ghost story deals with something that happened in the past. The trick is to sort through all the details and find out what the ghost is after.

Add all these ingredients together and you’ll have one heck of a ghost story.

Reflections: Living in a haunted house – Part 1

Ever since I was four years old I’ve lived in a haunted house. Ghosts and ghost stories have been in my family since long before I was born. My family has always been sensitive, I suppose, whether you believe in that or not. My mother saw her grandmother’s ghost when she was a girl and the farm she lived on with her three brothers and her parents had a haunted barn where they would hear footsteps in the loft at night and occasional horse sounds. My grandfather had a story that he’d bought two horses, siblings, and the owner had said to him ‘if you ever separate them, I’ll haunt you forever’. Unfortunately, Grandpa had no choice after a while and had to separate the horses. It was shortly after that the barn noises began.

There’s nothing very special about my house really. It’s brick and wood, but it’s not very old. There are those who say that brick and stone buildings somehow keep things in, I suppose our house is a slight testament to that. There are, on average, three ghosts in our house though we only really know the origin of one. Our first was a little girl, but we do have others.

When I was a child I didn’t understand why I felt I was never alone even when I was in my empty room with the door closed. I always felt that in the room next door to mine, my mother’s room, there was a girl my age in there. I don’t really see ghosts, I feel them. I don’t know terms, but I can tell you what she looks like to a T when I have never seen her. I know this because my mom has seen her and I told her what she looked like afterward. The little girl is blond, long hair, very pretty. Pale skin, a bow in her hair that always matches whichever dress she wears. Mostly the dress is a beautiful pale yellow, an easter dress with white stockings and white buckle shoes. Like I said, I never saw her, but I always knew she was around.

Some nights my mother would wake to find her rocking chair rocking in a steady rhythm. Sometimes the little girl would be sitting in it and sometimes she wouldn’t. We haven’t done as extensive of research on our home like we’d like, but as far as we can tell the little girl might be connected to the land instead of the house itself. Our home is built on old farm land, like most homes are in this area. We don’t know how she died or her name, but we can’t deny that she’s here. She makes her presence known often, but we’ve learned how to live with her.

When I was in my teenage years and I was alone in the house,

What makes a great ghost story? – Part 19

Ghost stories have been made great by being truthful and with a history . The story “An American Haunting” was a true story . President Andrew Jackson Quoted he would never stay at that house the film was made about .

The tragedy and human sacrifice draw us like a moth to a light bulb , the stories intrigue us for the simple fact of skepticism . Life cut short stories of tragedy past make for some of the best haunted reading . Stephen Kings “The shining”, was written in a hotel in Colorado , the hotel is so very haunted . Closet doors open and close , little girls voices are heard in the basement and many others .

Ghost of a love one , that entity that comes back to your bed side at night to say good bye . My Mother came back to tell me good bye two nights after her death , to tell me good bye . My Dad did too , he told me to take care of my Mom . I said I would , and just like that the hair lay down on the back of my neck and he was gone out of my life forever . Moms appearance was one of comforting , I could feel her presence , but could not see her , but her voice was as plain and soft spoken , with the tone of ” It will be alright “.

The stories that have evil doings are the most terrifying , the one’s like poltergeist . The thought of living over a grave yard , un nerves me to begin with . The things that are associated with every day living and be haunted by something that wants your energy . If it grabs your attention and holds on to you , you have experienced the feeling of a haunting .

What makes a great ghost story? – Part 11

A great ghost story has to have mystery, suspense, and a surprise ending.

When you think of all the great ghost stories you have ever heard, they start out very slow and sultry. Mystery lures the audience into the story, not knowing what turn the story might take. The many angles or paths the storyteller might take you down. Are you going to be in the woods, a haunted house, or is the storyteller going to take you into a whole town? Mysterious is also the characters in the story; can the storyteller pick the right characters to draw the audience? His characters have to have the right mysteriousness about them to have them create the suspense to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Suspense in a ghost story is a key element for telling a great scary story. You have to build the suspense to create the scare in the audience. Gradually you inch your way to each scare in your story, building the suspense as you go. The more suspense you have built by the time the scare truly happens the bigger the reaction from your audience. Create small scary events leading to bigger ones; you then have built a successful suspense platform in which to land your truly scary stuff.

Now comes the best part the surprise ending. If you listen to the greatest ghost stories ever told, you find they all have a surprise ending that scares the pants off the audience. The ghost bursts out from a hiding place, the ghost chops up people, and the ghost is not dead but suspended in the middle of life and death. These are all surprise endings. The greatest ghost stories will leave you wanting more thrills and scares as you recover from the last surprise ending.

Mystery, suspense, and a great surprise ending are the best ways to create a great ghost story, just ask my dead Great-Grandfather he writes them all the time for me. (Kidding, surprise ending!)

Ghost Towns In The East

Every state has ghost towns. Eastern and Midwestern States are no exception. At one time or another you may have driven your car right by a ghost town, not aware of it. If you are a hiker, backpacker, or a hunter, you may have walked past or through a ghost town not knowing one was there. 

When people hear the words “ghost town”, they associate the term with the old, abandoned towns of the Western frontier. Many of those settlements are still standing, but in the Eastern states, the majority of old towns from the 1800’s to the early part of the 1900’s are no longer visible. And it is because they are no longer visible, that makes them virtually unknown.

Another reason why people are not aware that ghost towns exist in the east is because historians and writers have overlooked them.

History writers never took the time to research the ghost towns of Middle America and the Eastern states. Instead, there has always been the fascination with the ghost towns of the Western states.  Most books or stories having to do with the “gold rush” will probably mention a Western town that once thrived; yet today it is a ghost town. Those stories have kept alive the interest about the Western ghost towns.

The excitement that surrounds the ghost towns in the Midwest and the East, becomes even more interesting, because they are more difficult to locate. And the difficulty of locating these ghost towns makes them more of a mystery.  

My travels as a treasure hunter have taken me to many Eastern Ghost towns. I have hiked through miles of brush, crossed hundreds of streams and rivers and climbed steep ravines in search for the old towns of the east.

Anyone who is interested in American History should take the time to research and to explore the settlements that once populated our rural areas. It’s a great adventure and an interesting way to spend time outdoors.

 Cellar Holes

In the Eastern and Midwestern States, most of the ghost towns are nothing more than a hole in the ground. The holes are cellar holes. They are what’s left of the houses that once sat on top of them.  

Searching for cellar holes or ghost towns is an exciting adventure that can lead to some interesting experiences and treasures. Many times, in the areas surrounding the ghost towns, are pieces of history, lying on the ground, untouched for hundreds of years. Old bottles and pottery shards often lay scattered. I also use a metal detector to search for relics lost or buried by the past inhabitants.

 The First Pioneers

The first pioneers were a hardy bunch. They had to deal with harsh winter months and hot, humid summers. In addition wild animals and infectious diseases were a constant problem. Of course, there was no running water or electricity either. Everything was done by hand, including digging the cellars for the homes.  

Nor was raising a family easy.  Many young babies and children died of disease. This is confirmed by the fact that as I locate old cellar holes, I often stumble upon an old tombstone erected on the property by the family, and often the grave is the burial site of a young child.

I have a lot of respect for those pioneers

How To Find Eastern Ghost Towns

Ghost towns existed as a small town or village. They were probably the first settlement of an area. Today they are holes in the ground, covered and hidden by hundreds of years of vegetation. Time, weather and man, have all played their parts in the ruins of the old towns of the Eastern and Midwestern States.

Start by browsing used bookstores. Look for old books in the local history sections.  Oftentimes by reading through an old book about an area, you can gather information about an old town.  

Historical Societies 

Visit your local historical societies.

A great amount of information on the history of your area can be found there. I have found ghost towns by searching through old newspapers that were on file at the historical societies.   

Libraries 

The history sections of your local libraries are another great place to search for the old settlements.  

The Internet 

A great tool for research now is the Internet. Researching ghost towns on the Internet is no different. For a recent television series I produced, the Internet and my computer provided valuable information for my search of a ghost town.  For more information please visit www.metal-detecting-ghost-towns-of-the-east.com  

Angel, Spirit or Ghost