Tag: earthbound spirit

Paranormal

Where Can You Find Ghosts, Aliens and Bigfoot? Paracon!

Serena Dracis, Author

concretemtbaker

On Saturday, Oct. 22, I drove out to Concrete, WA for Forest Moon Paranormal’s first Paracon. Concrete is tucked in the mountains near the Washington-Canada border, at the base of Mt.Baker. Multiple UFO sightings, an active Bigfoot population, and the town of Concrete itself is extremely haunted. You couldn’t ask for a more perfect location for this event. And it is unbelievably beautiful. I mean really, just look at this!

concreteriver2

Paracon = Paranormal Conference, in case you were wondering. It was my first, and I had no idea what to expect. I was hoping to hear some interesting speakers, maybe learn something, and this Paracon really delivered.

Every speaker that I heard did such a great job of presenting their topic, answering questions, and being available to talk with anyone. I got there late, so I missed the Bigfoot presentation, and only caught the very end of the UFO talk, but here’s what I did hear.

Ghostology 101 with S.J. and Russ Wells of F.O.G. Paranormal.

A thorough, basic primer on the how-to’s of paranormal investigation. Their discussion included definitions of common paranormal terms, safety considerations, and some really amazing pictures they’ve taken on investigations. What I really liked, and haven’t seen in many paranormal groups, was the respect and compassion F.O.G. maintains for their human clients AND the spirits they find during investigations.

S.J. and Russ have been investigating the paranormal for well over 30 years. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience. If you’re in the Pacific Northwest, and are experiencing paranormal activity you would like investigated, contact S.J. and Russ at F.O.G. Paranormal

Tying the Paranormal Together with Christina George.

Christina George is a paranormal investigator and radio host with Paranormal Connections. Christina’s talk centered on the idea that all paranormal aspects are linked. Historically, this idea has not been popular in the para-community. The ghost investigators didn’t have much to do with the UFO peeps, and neither had anything to do with Bigfoot crowd.

Christina has over 20 years in the paranormal field, and has found that people who experience the paranormal often experience all of it – spirit contact, seeing UFO’s, developing psychic abilities. So if you’re going to investigate, it makes sense to expand and investigate all of it. Otherwise, links and commonalities that are vital to understanding these phenomena can easily be missed.

Experiencers: The Importance of the First Hand Account with Dave Scott of Spaced Out Radio.

Dave shared his personal experiences – with ghosts, aliens and Bigfoot. More than just telling his stories, Dave’s presentation illustrated something that everyone who’s had a brush with the paranormal thinks at one point or another – Am I the only one who’s experienced this?

No. You’re not. You’re not crazy, you’re not alone. And it is critical to get out, find like-minded folks and share what you’ve seen. Many experiencers never speak up because they’re afraid; of losing family or friends, of being ostracized, even of losing their job. Dave pointed out that even in paranormal investigations, the person’s individual experience is sometimes cast aside as unimportant – because it cannot be measured, or otherwise validated. This is inherently wrong. Our experience is crucial; what we see, what we feel, must also be recorded and shared.

He did point out that it’s important we do this in a safe environment. But those places are out there. The three groups I’ve mentioned are all a really good place to start.

I was so impressed with all the speakers. The common thread through all the presentations was one of respect. Respect for people telling their stories. Respect for the beings who trigger the phenomena. Respect for other investigators. There was a definite sense of cooperation and camaraderie between all the participants and speakers. I have been experiencing the paranormal my whole life, but I am a total newbie when it comes to trying to network with others who have. The people at this Paracon were all welcoming, friendly and it was a huge relief to be able to talk and share openly.

I have to give big kudos to Eric Cooper, his wife Issy, and everyone who worked so hard to put together and pull off this event. Eric is the founder of Forest Moon Paranormal, a paranormal crisis team. Forest Moon is one of the few groups I’ve found (the other being F.O.G) that considers the spirit’s well-being when they are helping clients affected by paranormal activity.

What so many people forget is that ghosts are people, usually people who have suffered a terrible, traumatic event in addition to dying. These spirits are often in pain, frightened and confused, which can cause them to lash out in anger. As I nurse, I can attest to the fact that living humans do this – I’ve seen it first hand. Humans in fear and pain, whether they’re alive or dead, deserve to be treated with compassion and respect to help ease that fear and pain. The good people at Forest Moon and F.O.G. never lose sight of that when they respond to a client’s request for help.

This event will be back next year. I know I’m planning on being there.

concreteroadcreepytrees

Paranormal

Haunted Hiking Trails

Serena Dracis, Author

SaltH20

I love hiking! Ok, so I don’t backpack into the back country. Yet anyway. But I am so fortunate that here in the Puget Sound I have access to so many different types of hiking trails to explore.

Being out in Nature forges a connection between you and the Earth that you just can’t get in the city. The energies of the water, the trees and the animals all combine in a way that can only be described as magical. It’s good for you on all levels, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

If you’re at all sensitive to these subtle energies, you very quickly realize that you aren’t the only one out there on the trail.

Hauntings don’t only happen in the city. The spirits and energies of the dead can be found anywhere people have been, even if no one lives there now. Haunted forests, trails, ghost towns are found around the world.

I know what you’re thinking. “I want to go to there.”

You can start here, with this article. It says it’s a list of most haunted hikes in every state, but a number of them are abandoned asylums or other facilities that appear to require more like a short walk from the street rather than a hike through some wilderness. But maybe that suits your hiking style – no judgement here! They all have suitably spooky histories attached. In my home state of Washington they list the Iron Goat Trail, site of an avalanche that caused two trains to derail. Now I know my next hiking trip.

So maybe you pick a spot from the list above, or maybe you google “Haunted Hiking Trails in California” (or Rhode Island, or  – you get the idea) and set off on your adventure. Here’s tip Number One.

Don’t build up a great big set of expectations. Don’t count on the fact that you’re going to see or feel all the stuff from the descriptions. Because that’s one of the best ways I know of to not experience the paranormal.

Yes, some people have big encounters – physical, audible, visual – that are stunning. And yes, some places are notorious for consistent encounters. You may very well be that lucky; and if you are I want to hear about it!

Typically though these energies are subtle, and you need to practice tuning in to them. We can all do it to a certain degree. But it does take a conscious effort. The following can help you refine your paranormal senses.

Quiet your mind. Easier said than done, right? Thoughts creep, flit and fly through our minds constantly, and often we are not consciously aware of them. Thoughts resist being stilled and will work doubly hard to get your attention; especially when you first start practicing. Meditation is an excellent teacher of quieting the mind. It’s a skill you want to work on every day, so that when you are out in the field, you already know what to do and how to achieve that quiet mind.

Open your senses. More than what you see, what do you hear? Is there a smell that doesn’t belong – pipe smoke in an otherwise empty cemetery? Perfume in an abandoned cabin? Avoid attaching a judgement or analysis to what you experience such as, “that must be the miner’s pipe” or “the wife must’ve worn that perfume.” Did you feel a touch on your hair? Or feel someone brush past you who isn’t there? Be aware of, notice everything going on around you.

Go beyond your physical senses. Do you feel an emotion that seems to well up from nowhere? Or a thought that pushes at you from outside your skull? Again, avoid judgements and simply experience it. Or – do you get a sense of rushing or prickling inside your skin, like energy moving from one spot to another?

Wait patiently. You must be willing to sit in a quiet space for some period of time. Spirits do not appear on schedule like a show. This isn’t Ghost Theater. Sit. Breathe. Quiet your mind. Open all your senses. What do you experience?

Hiking a haunted trail gives you a twofer. You can connect with the nature spirits AND commune with the departed. Even if the haunted area does not bring forth ghosts, you can still use all of the above to reach out and connect with Nature. Water, Earth and Sky spirits are all around you. Can you sense them and hear their messages?

Is there a downside?

What do you do if the spirits you connect with aren’t entirely friendly? If you’re going to embark on psychic adventures you should probably have some psychic defenses. Because not everything out there in the other dimensions wants to be your friend.

Read about steps you can take to protect yourself next.

BWSnowTrail

 

 

 

 

 

Paranormal

Paranormal Pictures – Orbs!

Serena Dracis, Author

I love ghost pics and videos. Ok, I know. They’re super easy to fake. I get it. That does nothing to diminish their allure.

Because some of them are real. How to tell the difference though is pretty tricky. I’m certainly no photography expert, however there are some quick and easy things to look for when you’re scanning a bunch of spooky pics late at night freaking yourself out doing research.

Easy stuff first – Orbs! They’re usually dust. Yes. If you have a pic with potential paranormal phenomena (try saying that fast!) most sites that do photo analysis do not even want to even look at orb pics.

Here’s what dust turned to orbs looks like.

DustyOrbs1

These are faint and far away, but if you look close you’ll see more than just the three I’ve highlighted. But wait, it gets better.

DustyOrbs2

So many ghosts! Nope, just so much dust stirred up from walking on that dirt floor. Your first clue is how many orbs are floating around. With this pic too, the more you look the more you see.

But sometimes an orb appears to be a genuine manifestation of spirit activity. A sizeable chunk of ghost hunting involves the use of technology – EMF meters, laser arrays, voice recorders – to name just a few. If we’re going to accept that discarnate entities have the ability to manifest through some manipulation of energy to affect these devices then it’s reasonable to presume that they could manifest as an orb in a photograph.

So what’s the difference? Look for:

  • A singular orb instead of a flock.
  • A distinct or unusual shape. Not perfectly round.

When I took the photos above I wasn’t trying to connect psychically with anything. In these two below, I sensed the presence of a spirit and asked them to manifest as an orb. This is what I got in response.

UGOrb1UGOrb2

Ghosts? I took these pictures in a location that is notorious for spirit activity – Seattle’s Underground. While these two pics are both singular orbs, and I was getting a response psychically, it is still hard for me to say that yes, these are spirits manifesting. My sense is the top photo has more potential than the bottom picture. But I would not consider either of these good evidence.

Have I seen orbs that I thought looked genuine? Yes, taken by other people. Do a quick search and you’ll find them too. See if you start to get a sense for what is dust and what may be spirits. I have yet to take a really solid orb photo that I’m confident represents genuine paranormal activity. When I do you can be sure I’ll post it. Until then, I’ll keep trying…

Want to see some really good, unexplained photos? Check out here.

Have you taken pics of orbs, apparitions or other unexplained phenomena?

 

 

 

 

 

Paranormal

Girls Gone Ghost Hunting Part One

Serena Dracis, Author

TJShipPic

A few weeks ago my friend Kim took me on a ghost tour of downtown Seattle for my birthday. On the tour we found out Spooked in Seattle also hosts ghost hunts for the public to participate in. Kim and looked at each other and didn’t really have to say anything, we knew we were going there next.

“Next” was an investigation on the USS Turner Joy, a decommissioned Naval Destroyer that’s also a museum. The Turner Joy is moored in Bremerton, Washington – just a short hop across the water from where I live in Seattle. Kim and I signed up for the overnight event – Saturday October 3rd to the morning of the 4th. You too can participate in Spooked in Seattle’s public ghost hunts by visiting their web page. The investigation on the 3rd was the last overnight event for the year, but they do have two-hour events listed for November.

I had no clue what to expect. Sure I bump into spirits all the time – it happens when you’re psychic. But I have zero experience when it comes to the technological side of the paranormal. Truthfully, I’m not very tech-y. I feel overwhelmed at the thought of having to ‘build my author platform’, and half the time I think Siri is smarter than me and plotting against me. You should hear how she says my husband’s name when I ask her to call him.

There were several pieces of equipment provided that night by Ross of AGHOST. EMF meters, a laser grid array, plus ping-pong balls to encourage the spirits to manifest and move something. I brought my own camera and digital recorder. On my phone I had a number of ghost hunting apps, but as I talked about in this post, the general consensus is that while you can sometimes get an EVP or actual EMF reading, the apps do not produce valid data.

We got there at 9 and met the group. There were about 20 or so people there for the two-hour event, but for the overnight there were just four other women in addition to Kim and I. I’m not sure which is a scarier thought – that there are ghosts on the ship or that the six of us would be crawling around the ship into the witching hours of the night. But after 11 that’s what it came down to, and I gotta say, the Turner Joy did not disappoint.

During the first two hours on the ship I picked up the energies of a spirit nearby in several locations, but nothing I could truly call definitive spirit contact. Kim and I both saw a shadow move on a wall of one of the berthing quarters where EVP’s and and other activity have been recorded. No one was in the immediate area that could have caused the movement, but neither did we catch it with the camera.

Later, when it was just the six of us for the night, Kim and I were alone in another berthing area. In this part of the ship an EVP from an earlier investigation caught the word “Sweetie”. As we sat there, talking to the darkness surrounding us, I noticed a clicking sound, repeating at irregular intervals. Looking up I saw this light flashing on and off.

TJMotionSensorThe one hanging on the silver locker, just to the left of the word BURMA. I would love to say it flashed in direct answer to our queries. I really would, but I can’t definitively say that. I can say though, that we weren’t moving around and we found out after the fact that it was a motion sensor set to capture movement on the ladders behind us. We were pretty pleased though to just get some activity early on in the night.

But, as the night deepened it seemed that was all we were going to get. No knocking spirits had answered our queries, no obvious phenomena appeared on the pictures. Only time will tell if the recordings made will yield an EVP. (Yeah, I’m still going through those.) If you thought ghost hunting was glamorous, let me tell you it doesn’t get any better than this! Three tired women sitting at a table asking questions to thin, and kinda stinky, air. The smell of ship is unique, a little diesel, some musty fragrance and others I did not really want to identify.

Melissa had joined us from the other group of women after her friends retired for the night. At one point she left us briefly, taking a journey through a doorway and up a ladder. Kim and I leaned on the table across from each other, sagging just a little lower, our energy levels ebbing. My eyes slipped closed for just a moment and I considered laying my head down…

Then Kim let out a truly blood-curdling scream! I was awake now, standing up and hearing an answering cry from the doorway where Melissa had just descended back down the ladder behind me.

“What the &*^%?” Escaped my lips. Yes, I said a bad word. Maybe a few times. And then I doubled over laughing when I realized Kim had mistaken Melissa for an apparition.

Kim and Melissa were likewise bent over and we all belly laughed for a good minute or so. “I swear I thought she was going to come back from behind me!” Kim gasped. “It looked like she was floating! I didn’t recognize her at first!” Still laughing, we settled back and the table, now refreshed and ready to continue.

Maybe the spirits thought it was funny too, because after that we got more activity…but that’s going to have to wait for the next post.

Have you been on a ghost hunt? Have you tried to capture EVP’s or used other technological toys to capture paranormal phenomena? Tell me about your ghost adventures!

Paranormal

Paranormal? There’s An App For That!

Serena Dracis, Author

CreepyTree

I’ve been talking to dead people for a very long time. It started when I was just a kid and I would see the old lady in my house. Over time I’ve developed my own inner system for communicating with the other side. But in the interest of full disclosure, it is just kinda all in my head.

It’s sort of the big elephant in the room, and the main way that skeptics and debunkers dismiss psychic phenomena. But I presume, since you’re here and all, that you’re okay with the whole psychic, telepathic, etc., experience. And until fairly recently, the only way to know if a spirit was around was either some sort of physical manifestation, or a psychic medium told you what the being on the other side was saying.

Enter technology. Modern ghosthunters have adapted devices to measure the electromagnetic spectrum and record voices that are not immediately audible to the humans present. In the early days these devices were rather large and bulky. Today you can buy a variety of apps to download on to your smartphone. Which I did before heading out on the ghost tour I did last weekend.

In my excitement I started randomly downloading apps that looked good, and then I went and did some research. A lot of the apps were rated as crap less than useful when seriously looking for paranormal phenomena. They all state plainly that they are strictly for “entertainment”. Remember how we creeped ourselves out with the Ouija board in dark closets when we were kids? And you were scared even though you were sure someone was really pushing that planchette? This is the new brand of that. Is it real? Hard to say. I suspect in the presence of other paranormal activity – knocking, orbs, apparitions – that a positive reading on these apps could be considered confirmatory. But if it’s just randoms bleeps on a screen with no other data, well, you have to be your own judge on that.

In this Wall Street Journal article, it describes how some pro ghosthunters think they work, and some don’t. Seems opinions can get fairly heated.

I’ll be the first one to admit I’m not very techno-savvy. I’m still surprised I manage to get blog posts up. But it was fun to play with the apps I downloaded, and I did find one in particular, Ghosthunter M2 by Jedasoft that has produced some surprising results. I saw a fair-ish number of positive reviews. It even has it’s own Facebook page. While the ones that liked it made a point to say that it couldn’t be used to produce viable scientific data, they noted that it could be useful to get a sample of spirit activity.

Now normally when I attempt to interact with the spirit realm, I take steps to protect myself. I’m not sure if it’s because I didn’t really expect the apps to work, or I was just lazy, but I started turning the app on at random times without engaging any of my spiritual protections. And I got a mixed bag of results – some blips on the screen, high EMF readings where there was no other source of EMF nearby, creepy digitized voices pronouncing random words.

But then…

I started to notice my senses tingling a little more than usual around my house. Yeah. I turned those apps on in my house and around my yard. I keep my home pretty clean spiritually. Usually negative entities don’t even bother because I move them on as soon as I detect them. This was definitely something of a darker aspect, and it was elusive. It hid from me when I actively searched for it, retreating beyond the borders of my yard.

The first night, my dreams were only vaguely unsettling and quickly faded out on waking. The second night it was a completely different story. This being attacked me in my dream, multiple times. The dream evolved through several scenes, and in each one a person was trying to do me harm. In each case the people would grab me and draw me toward them, attempting to pass the negative energies into me. In the last attempt, a woman pretended to know me, to be my friend. She drew me in close to give me a friendly kiss, but at the last moment I saw her eyes change to a weirdly pale light. For a flash, they went milky white. Behind her shoulder I saw a dark hooded figure appear and place it’s hand on her, lending her strength. A dark fog rolled out of her mouth and she stabbed one finger into the hollow of my throat in an attempt to distract me so this fog could move into me.

I woke with a start and could still feel the pain of her finger digging into my throat. My arms were crunched up protectively toward my face and throat and my muscles were still shaking and cramping from fighting against her pull.

So here’s the deal, I haven’t had a bad nightmare like this in a very long time. I’m not the best, most all-powerful psychic there is, but I have spent a good deal of time honing my skills. Let’s just say that I usually have sufficient protections that my dreams are typically untroubled by beings attacking me. This thing had gone right through those protections and had managed to attach itself to me.

Awake now, I scanned the room and saw it looking at my husband next. I quickly centered and grounded myself, called in my spirit allies and protectors and did the psychic equivalent of tapping it on the shoulder.

Hey. You’re really not welcome here. And what you just did was really rude. I told it. So I’m asking you to leave. Now.

Awake, I could see this being was just a small, confused creature. It wasn’t even fully human, more like just a fragment of some poor soul’s anger and pain. In short, it wasn’t very smart. All it knew was how to cause pain and terror, because that was all it had ever experienced.

When it realized I could see it, it went into The Scary Dance. This is something spirits will do when they’re trying to convince you they’re big and bad. Sometimes it works, because the spirit I’m up against is one of significant power. This little being dancing around my bedroom was hardly that. It’s gyrations were almost cute.

Let me tell you, spirits hate it when you’re only amused by their Scary Dance. They try harder.

Look, I told it, You have exactly two choices. I can help you. I can point you toward the Veil and help you get to the other side so you can find the rest of you and be healed. Or you can leave.

It laughed and gnashed phantasmal teeth and told me it was going to kill me.

Um, no, you’re not. I said. You’re going to make your choice. Cross over or leave my premises.

You can’t make me! It cackled. I do whatever I want.

You’re right. I can’t make you. But They can make it very uncomfortable for you to stay here.

When dealing with beings who project negative energies, it’s important to maintain your own center and calm. If you maintain your heart and mind in a loving space then the power these beings have is greatly reduced. Plus I had help.

“They”are my allies in spirit. Big, bright, beautiful beings who help me in my work. They manifested their presence in my room, and though the room itself remained dark the energies of love and light poured in. The little being took one look, squeaked in dismay and popped out of my awareness.

I did an energy sweep of my house, and my allies likewise assured me it was gone. Then told me using the phone apps had opened me up and called it in. Because I didn’t have all my usual protections in place it had found a weak spot to slip through.

Lesson learned.

Have you tried any of the ghost hunting apps? Been on a ghost tour or a ghost hunt? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Paranormal, Spirituality

Ghost Hunting Part Two – The Ghost That Followed Us Home

Serena Dracis, Author

The tour guide was only half kidding when she said “We aren’t responsible if any of the ghosts follow you home.”  It brought back memories of The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.  I could almost hear the sonorous tones of the heavy male narrator’s voice from the ghostly Disney ride override the tour guide uttering the same phrase.  She added cheerily, “but if they do, please call us, we’d love to come investigate!”

No need, the ghostly lady in the back seat wasn’t the first to hitch a ride with us, and I’m sure she won’t be the last.  I can see and talk to the dead, and help them cross the veil to the other side if they are earthbound.  Hub and I were almost home when she made her presence known.  Thin, willowy, but too heavily scarred by sorrow to be called beautiful, the dead lady kept looking longingly at my husband from where she perched behind him in the car.  “My husband?  Where is my husband, and my baby?”  She asked repeatedly.  She was confused, didn’t understand how she was suddenly in this strange carriage, didn’t completely understand she was dead, and far out of her own time.

It took a little effort to get her attention, she was fixated on Hub, mistaking him for her long dead husband.  I reached out, snapping my fingers in front of her face and calling sharply to her.  When I got her to finally look at and respond to me, I got her story in an instant.  Husband and baby both sickened and died.  She wasn’t sure of what, just showed them to me as feverish and coughing.  She answered “Marie” when I asked her name, but kept reaching toward Hub with her insubstantial hands.  Her pain was a tangible presence in the car, she’d died of a broken heart.

“He’s not your husband.  He’s mine.  Your husband and baby are dead, and you are too.”  She turned big, pale eyes to me, uncomprehending.  “You are dead.  You’re a ghost, stuck here on the earthplane.”  I told her.  By this time we had arrived home.  Hub got out of the car, leaving me alone in it after he parked it in the garage.  Just me and the ghost.  Outside the car door, my chickens began to stir and cluck uneasily in their darkened henhouse.  It felt dark and heavy in the garage, as if the lights weren’t bright enough.

“I miss them so.”  She whispered.  “Why can’t I find them?  How did I get here?”  She was full of questions.  I don’t know how other mediums communicate with spirits, but I find it easier and truer if I stick to emotions and images with minimal words.  I show them what I mean.  So you’ll have to forgive me for translating some of those images, emotions and thoughts into sentences.  It makes an easier read and description of something that is sometimes difficult to transpose into words.

I also work very closely with my guides and guardian spirits.  I ask them to come close and aid the spirits I work with, easing their transition across the veil to home.  There in my garage, sitting in my car, I called in my guides and asked them to help locate this woman’s loved ones on the other side.  Marie continued to stare around the car and darkened garage, she was starting to get frightened and tune me out.  “Where did the man go?  Is that my husband?”  She continued to fixate on Hub.

“Hey, Marie.  I need you to listen to me for just a moment.”

“No.”  Indignant.  She didn’t want to listen to some random woman, she wanted to find her family.  I could understand that, but she wasn’t going to find them at my house.  “Why should I listen to you?”  Disbelief, scorn.  She sneered.

“I can try to help you find them, Marie.”  Again she turned those big, pale eyes on me.  Anger showed in them.  “You don’t know my husband.  I don’t know you.  Where am I?”  She was starting to get agitated, the atmosphere in the car darkened more, and it was hard to see out the windows.

When the spirits get upset, the only answer to their fear or anger is love.  I powered up my heart chakra, and offered her pure spiritual love.  I showed her I held only compassion for her and real desire to help.  “I want to help you, I want to try, and my guides want to help you too.”  Her expression of anger slowly melted, as she took in that I meant what I said, and that I wasn’t affected by her anger.

In Reiki II, my class learned a technique called the Bridge of Light.  It is a spiritual energy bridge offered to one who is about to die, or to spirits who have not yet crossed over.  For the dead, and the dying it eases their transition, and connects them with loved ones already on the other side of the veil.  I showed Marie the bridge, and offered the energy to her.  I offered her additional Reiki energy to help her heal her psychic wounds, and to help her retrieve the parts of her soul that she’d lost along the way.

Anger and mistrust dissolved.  “Truly?”  She was afraid to hope.

“Yes.”  I told her.  “And my guides mean it too.”  Marie touched the Bridge of Light with one foot, and her whole being lit up.  She took two steps, and smiled tentatively.  Her lips stretched wider as she followed the path laid out on the Bridge, aided by her own guiding spirits who met her and welcomed her before she’d traveled halfway across.  Her spirit lit brightly as the missing parts of her soul flew home to join her as she fully crossed the veil.

With an nearly audible pop, the atmosphere in the garage lightened.  It had a bright and sparkly feel, and the hens uttered soft coos as they settled back into sleep.  Marie blew me a light kiss and a thank-you as she joined her family on the other side.  I smiled and got out of the car.

“Everything okay?”  Hub asked as he threw the ball for our Lab to chase.  It glows in the dark, so she can find it at night.  I took a deep breath and looked around our yard, then back into the garage.  No ghosts.

“Everything’s just fine.”  I told him.

I'm pretty sure Marie was hiding in this room on the tour.
I’m pretty sure Marie was hiding in this room on the tour.

 

Paranormal, Spirituality

Weird Weekend – Modern Ghost Hunting Part One

Serena Dracis, Author

Hub and I went on a Ghost Tour last weekend.  I love that sort of thing, and his daughter gave us a gift certificate for the tour for Christmas.  We were lucky it wasn’t raining, but cold and foggy, which gave the perfect atmosphere.

Just the history part made the tour worthwhile, but we made multiple stops at various famous downtown Seattle landmarks.  Like the Smith Tower.

SmithT

Security guards tell of hearing furniture being dragged across floors above them, even in rooms where there is no furniture.  Shadows are seen flitting across monitor screens, security cameras catching movement on supposedly unoccupied floors.  In both cases, when the guards investigate, no one is on the floor.

We went into the lower level of the Merchant’s Cafe, the oldest restaurant in Seattle.  I immediately felt the presence of many spirits, especially in the bar area and the bathroom.  I saw a lady, dressed in vintage clothing stroll down the hall to disappear into the bathroom.  I followed, snapping pictures, then returned to hear the tour guide saying how a woman is often seen going into the bathroom.  I wanted to say, ‘Yes, I know’ but kept quiet.  The bathroom pics were not that impressive, although a faint orb is visible in one.  I had better luck with the bar.  I got a few funny looks from others on the tour, but I whispered to the spirits that I knew they were there, and I was going to take some pictures.  If they would like to appear in the pictures, that would be much appreciated.   I took two pictures with nothing, then got this one.

Orb3a123012

I know. Dust motes, it’s the quickest and easiest explanation.  Hub cleaned the lens thoroughly before we left for the tour, and it was closed unless I had it out taking pics.  I did get quite a lot of orb pictures, actually, and they are never in the exact same spot, so I’m quite sure it’s nothing on the lens itself.

I know.  It doesn’t preclude floating motes in the air.  With the three orbs in the picture above, I’m not 100% convinced they have a spectral origin.  These next two though, I’m pretty sure I captured the spirits who inhabit these portions of underground Seattle.

Orb1a123012

 

Orb2a123012

They are so bright and shiny, and I was actively communicating with the spirits in these locations at the time.  The only alteration I have made to these two pictures is to crop them to zoom in on the orbs.  The bar picture is completely untouched.

This was only my second time actively trying to communicate with spirits and capture it digitally.  I’ve had great luck so far and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you.  While nothing overt happened to Hub or I on the tour, I did make contact with several of the ghosts in the locations we visited.  Including the one that followed us home.  Stay tuned for that story!

My next time out, I’m going to try and capture some EVP’s.  What ever I get, I’ll be sure and share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paranormal, Spirituality

Weird Weekend – Paranormal And Technology

Serena Dracis, Author

I’m not a ghost hunter, and I confess I have a hard time watching paranormal investigative shows.  It seems like all you get is a bunch of people running around either shrieking, or saying  “Did you see/hear that?”  Conversely, I do enjoy scanning YouTube for clips put up by the multitude of paranormal investigation groups around the country.  Something entirely different, in my opinion.  These are groups devoted (for the most part) to serious study of, and recording, paranormal phenomena, and are not for-profit or ratings driven.

I have not been out with an official ‘ghost-hunting’ group; I get plenty of encounters on my own, but I have to confess to a curiosity and desire to travel with one of these groups.  They have a lot of gadgets and devices that can record, measure and otherwise detect paranormal activity.  I have no idea how these work.  Something that seems to be on the rise though is photos of ghosts where nothing is seen to the human eye.

I found this collection on YouTube:

The advent of security cameras, both motion-sensitive and continuous record, has brought us videos of objects moving, flashing lights, and unexplained shadows while establishments are closed, locked and unoccupied by the living.  Like this example of a ‘ghostly head’:

I particularly like this one, from Hampton Court Palace.  They even talk about him on their website, they’ve nicknamed him ‘Skeletor.’

Creepiness, right?  Or just a tour guide in period costume?  I think it interesting that the Palace website is vague about exactly what it is.  According to the website, however, this is a fairly active area for ghosts in general, with public and staff reporting sightings or encounters.

Sometimes they move things, as in this rather dizzying video posted by Mass Most Haunted of their investigation at the Lizzie Borden House.

Could they be faked?  Sure.  Could some of them be genuine?  I think so.  I leave it to you to determine which you find the most plausible.

I’m not much with a video camera, but something I’ve always wanted to try is EVP.  EVP stand for Electronic Voice Phenomena.  In short, you take a recording device, ask questions and then hear voices on the playback.  It used to be done with reel-to-reel and cassettes, but now digital voice recorders are used, also they are heard on playback from video recordings..

These were captured at the Chapel on the Hill in Sedona, Arizona.

Have you done any ghost hunting?  Have you ever captured something weird on video or in a picture that you didn’t see when you were recording?  What’s your scariest encounter?

Paranormal, Spirituality

Welcome to Weird Weekend

Serena Dracis, Author
Source: http://sheldoncooper.org/

When I was in grade school, I was the weird one.  Were you?  I was the one who read too much, asked the questions that made the teacher stammer, and was always out of step with what was hip or cool because I was too busy thinking up new stories, wondering which superpower I’d most like to have, or watching a spider spin a web.  I pondered if there really were aliens, or gods, or ghosts like the ones I read about in books, or saw chasing me down my upstairs hallway.

Did I mention I read way too much?  Is there such a thing?  I was reading Robert Heinlein and Anne McCaffrey when most girls my age were reading Nancy Drew or Judy Blume.  Robert E. Howard’s Conan and random copies of John Norman’s Gor series also found their way into my collection at an early age.  I’m grateful my parents never really knew just what was between those pages.  I loved the show ‘In Search Of’ hosted by Leonard Nimoy.  I was fascinated by ancient myths, and the legend of Atlantis.

 

 

 

Today, my interests find multiple outlets, and since writing is one of them, I’d love to share with you on the weekends, some of the things I love most about the supernatural, paranormal and extraterrestrial.

The paranormal is a close, personal friend.  As a psychopomp I help release earthbound spirits, as a Reiki Master-Teacher I offer energetic healings to my friends, family and loved ones.  I really enjoyed sharing these experiences through this blog, and loved reading your remarks and comments.  Like my dog-training Wednesdays, though, my paranormal postings need some expansion, hence the Weird Weekend.

Today let me introduce you to two favorites of mine in the book world:

Graham Hancock, author of Supernatural:  Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind, Fingerprints of the Gods, The Message of the Sphinx and many more.  I really enjoy Graham’s writings; thought provoking, challenging and controversial, he also hits on my beloved topics of ancient civilizations, other dimensions and realms, and so much else!  If you’ve ever wondered if there might be something to the old legends of Atlantis, or floods.  If you’ve puzzled over the remnants of what seem to be anomalously high tech ruins such as the pyramids, or the lost cultures of Central and South America, then you will want to read Graham Hancock.  He proposes that an unknown, advanced civilization flourished ages ago, at the end of the last ice age, and then backs it up with solid, scientific evidence.  I’ve never been disappointed in one of his books.

 

Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Those temple steps are 30 feet wide, each one a solid piece of rock. Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/tiwanaku.html

 

In the fiction realm, if you don’t know her already, let me introduce you to Jacqueline Carey.     From the first pages of Kushiel’s Dart, I was hooked.  Lush and decadent, reading one of Ms. Carey’s novels is like sinking into a vast, intoxicating cloud.  Vivid imagery, rich characters and beautifully intricate plots will lure you in and never let you go.  Her main character, Phedre no Delaunay is sold into a pleasure house at the age of 5, and rises to become friend and advisor to her queen as well as one of the most celebrated courtesans of the realm.  Do you like your fantasy richly detailed and extra spicy?  You will want to check out Jacqueline Carey.

No blog exploring the paranormal would be complete without mentioning Coast to Coast AM hosted by George Noory.  George Knapp, Ian Punnett and John B. Wells also host through the month.  If it’s weird, you’ll hear about it on Coast to Coast.  Often times, they’ll break news that I won’t hear on my local stations for days, or even weeks later.  Colony Collapse Disorder in bees?    Heard about it on C to C.  Aliens?  Did you want to talk about Roswell?  Or Rendlesham Forest?  Just keep listening and you’ll eventually hear it all.  Conspiracy theories?  The Face on Mars?  Jim Marrs and Richard C. Hoagland are frequent guests.

I am geeky enough that I download the podcasts to listen at my leisure.  I even managed to make it on to the annual Ghost to Ghost Halloween show last year, telling about one of my ghostly encounters.

Are you looking for something out of the ordinary?  Are you interested in things most people claim could never be?  Tell me what you want to know about, let me know what fascinates you about the supernatural.  What have you heard go bump in the night?

Paranormal

Dead Girls Love My Husband

Serena Dracis, Author

I haven’t posted about ghosts in a little while, and thought I’d share this encounter with you:

Hub and I went out the other night to a friend’s birthday party.  It was being held at a club downtown, and the building is well over one hundred years old, lots of history and of course, ghosts!  We got there early, and went upstairs and I looked around to see if any spirits were nearby.  Hub took one look at my face and knew what I was doing.

I immediately got a hint of a female floating some ten or fifteen feet away.  Her hands were on her hips, she had bright curly red hair, and looked disheveled.  Her layered dress wasn’t very clean, and her face had the bumps and lines of woman who has lived a very hard life.  She glared at me from across the room, and while to me, she seemed to be floating, from her perspective, she was standing next to a fire place.  She was projecting a stubborn determination.  The building had been remodeled since her time, but she only knew the floor she stood on, and the fireplace she stood by.  Her arms crossed and she rubbed her shoulders and upper arms, she remembered being cold, and it was still affecting her.  I said “Hi.”

“Yeah, what do you want?”  She was surly, she didn’t like being talked to.  She sneered and glared at me.  I felt her anger like buzzing vibrations against my skin, that then focused on my forehead.  “Want to stare at the dead whore?  Is that it?  Well this is my place, and I ain’t leaving it!”  Her emotional vibrations began to give me a headache.  She did not like people intruding on her space, did not like that I could see her.  She resented being dead, but she also resented that some of the living could see her and treated her like a circus freak.  She only wanted to be left alone and she wanted nothing more than to push my attention away.

“Alright.”  I pulled back, and actually turned my head away from the spot she hovered in, rubbing the center of my forehead, which was still twitching and vibrating from intensity of her anger.  Hub noticed and asked, “Are you getting anything?”  “Yeah,”  I answered, “But she’s not very happy.  She’s over there.”  I gestured and described the redhead and the fireplace.  “She doesn’t really want to talk.”

“Oh really?  Why not?”  Hub wanted to know, and looking over he addressed the spot where she was still glaring.  “We just want to talk a little.  Nothing wrong with that, right?”  I watched as a new look came over her face, surprise, and her anger started to melt.

“Who’s that?”  She wanted to know.  “Is that a man?”  The spirit was suddenly interested.  “That’s my husband.”  I told her.  Anger vanished and now she sparkled.  She didn’t exactly become beautiful, but she did put on a smile and said. “A man!  It’s been a long time since I talked to a man.  Well, hello handsome!”

I don’t know exactly why this is, but dead cannot always see the living; maybe they’re too caught up in the memories of their lives.  This was the first time I’d experienced a spirit not-seeing, then seeing a person next to me.  Perhaps it was just a matter of her following where my attention went.  Watching her transformation though, made me laugh, and I  had to tell Hub what she’d said.  I tried to mimic the lilt she put into her voice, which made us both laugh again.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?  That’s the polite thing to do, you know.”  She demanded.  I presented Hub, who waved and said “Hi.”  He then asked me what her name was.  “Ruby.”  She answered.  “He really is handsome, how’d you get so lucky? What a catch!”  This really was a first for me, a ghost cooing over my husband.  I described Ruby’s exclamations, and praise, which made us both laugh, and him glow.  “Even the dead girls love me!”

Ruby’s whole attitude changed, especially when Hub joked with her flirtatiously.  “Oh, I like him!”  She forgot about her anger, but she still didn’t really want to talk to me.  When I tried to offer to help her cross to the other side, she refused.  “Nah!  I’m okay here.  Tell your cutie pie I said good bye.”  Then she faded from my sight.  Naturally I passed on her farewells, which made us both laugh again.

Not every spirit wants or is ready to move on, Ruby clearly wasn’t.  I don’t try and force them, or make them cross over, in fact, I’m not sure I could.  It’s always at the spirits own choice.  Ruby didn’t put in any more appearances, and we left later on without any more ghostly encounters.  But Hub was more than pleased that he’d finally spoken to a ghost.