During vacation your guard is down, you are open to new experiences, novel food, different points of interests. An event like a paranormal encounter is certainly exotic but also can be unwelcome if it is unanticipated. And depending upon the event and how it was received, can be perceived to be quite harrowing. Granted, paranormal just doesn’t happen to those who are expecting it and spooky shit can happen everywhere, anytime. But the majority of us prefer not to vacation at traditionally haunted places for our vacations: Disneyland, the Queen Mary, the Myrtles Plantation, Tombstone, the U.S.S. Hornet. The majority of the general public plan to spend time in more traditional and less spooky locations:  Grand Canyon, Los Angeles. Yellowstone, New York, Rt 66, Lake Winnipesaukee, etc. Granted, these locations have their haunted history too but that is not the primary purpose for most visitors.

These following examples cover the spectrum of surprising vacation spookiness, ranging from mystifying to malevolent. Each demonstrates that sometimes no matter what you pack and prepare for your vacation, spooky can happen anywhere and anytime!

Probably more than unsettling than a ghostly vacation encounter on land is a spooky experience at sea. Instead of leaving the mainland and all earthly cares behind, these unfortunates sailed right into the inexplicable and bizarre. These 2 creepy cruise line experiences are a reminder that regardless of the luxurious setting, nobody is safe from the paranormal.

According to the Ghost & Ghouls website, a mother and daughter were traveling on the Thomson Celebration when one of the days of their itinerary became miserable and stormy. Because it was a rainy day, they decided to spend time below deck watching a movie at the cruise ship cineplex. The duo settled down with their popcorn and drinks in one of the middle rows. They were the only ones in the theatre. However, ten minutes into the movie, 3 people walked in on their left. They walked all the down to the front and then turned around and walked back up.  Despite the fact that there were only 2 other people in the theatre, the newcomers sat right behind them-yeah, I had those kinds of people sit behind me too; they usually kick the back of my seat to boot. As soon as the trio sat down, the 2 women decided to move. When they got up, however, they noticed that there was nobody behind them. What made it so puzzling was that the late-comers would have had to pass them to leave the theatre.

Although that encounter was off-putting, it was a cake-walk compared to this next spookiness at sea.  This paranormal episode also had happened to a mother and daughter but it occurred in their cabin and was far more disquieting. It was the middle of the night and the mother woke to discover what she thought was her daughter next to her bed. She called out to the shadow but instead of responding, it just walked away. Mom quickly fell back asleep. After a few hours, they rose with the sun and were startled by the tv turning itself on. Even more distressing, while they were searching for the remote the room was overcome with the smell of brimstone.

They quickly packed their bags without showering or changing their clothes and made a bee-line to the elevator which was across from their room. On the other side of the elevator, there was a storage room which a staff member was trying to access. Mysteriously, he couldn’t get the door open. He voiced his frustration to the mother and daughter as they were waiting, “What’s going on? It’s like somebody is from the other side is holding the door!!!” The women couldn’t get into that elevator fast enough!

An unexpected paranormal adventure at sea is particularly unsettling because you are trying to get away from it all. The land, civilization, all earthly cares-even the ground itself. However, back on dry land, it still can send you through a loop, especially if you are totally innocent of the site’s haunted history. A honeymooning couple at Key West chose a quiet, unassuming B&B off the Main Drag. They wanted a place intimate and cozy with no surprises or a lot of people. Unfortunately, their assumption about a limited amount of people was not correct. Their room was oversold and they needed to be moved to another room on another floor. As they walked to their room, they encountered a painter dressed in paint-splattered white overalls and who was just about to place a drop cloth on the landing. The couple said hello but he ignored him and continued with his task. To make the situation even more uncomfortable, the smell of paint became increasingly overwhelming-even after they opened all the windows. They called the front desk and pleaded to be moved again. When the honeymooners mentioned the painter, the front desk was incredibly confused. There was no painting scheduled at this property as it was the weekend and the middle of summer.

Thankfully, the request was honored. However, while they were going to their room to retrieve their belongings, they noticed the painter was gone! To add to the confusion, it looked and smelled like he was never there! They decided to take a tour of Key West after dinner and the couple mentioned to their guide of their odd experience. Their guide’s eyes widened as they finished their tale. She explained that this experience was not just an odd event with a worker but an actual haunting! That painter was not a taciturn worker but the ghost of an employee who died 10 years ago – on that very day of their arrival!  He, unfortunately, fell down an elevator shaft and returns on the anniversary of his death.

Each witness to a paranormal event-willing or unwilling-becomes part of the story. They become an element of the tale as they recount it to others. Generally, the witness recounts a lady in white, a spectral child peering from a corner or worse, a scratch on the arm or a hissed, “Get out!”. Unfortunately, for one particular family in Australia, they not only became part of the story but their son became a casualty-with a bizarre photograph to tell part of the tale.

In 1979, 6 young boys and 1 adult male died in a horrific fire at an amusement park called Luna Park.  A fire broke out in the last car of a ride called the Ghost Train and unabated, it destroyed the entire train.  Although there were a variety of factors that led to the tragedy-low water pressure, poor staffing and training, the owner’s alleged ties to the Mob-there was no firm conclusion of why the fire got so quickly out of hand.

There are those who think that the case of the tragedy might not have been man-made but in fact came from a far more supernaturally sinister source. Sometime after the disaster, one of the mothers who lost her son was looking at pictures of the bereaved family’s last hours at the fateful park. The last picture she reviewed not only gave her pause but also chills. To the right of her late son was a disturbingly costumed individual. Upon reviewing the photo, she recalled that a costumed character did sidle up to her son while he was waiting for the Ghost Train. As she was taking several photographs, an individual with a horned headdress, animal printed cape and sarong included himself in a shot of her son. Because of the excitement of the day, the incident quickly disappeared from memory almost as quickly as it happened.

Upon further investigation with Luna Park, the mother discovered that this individual was not affiliated with the property. Their costume is not associated with any particular character, plus to compound the mystery, upon interviewing the staff, nobody recognized the figure as a busker or any someone from an outside entertainment agency.  There is a variety of online discussion whether there is an occult connection with this person or the accident but that is for another writer and another article. But what can be said is that this person was never seen before this fateful day and was never seen after.

What happened to all these vacationers may vary in terms of location and phenomena but the after effects were remarkably similar. Each of the parties felt shaken and disquieted from their experiences.  An unbidden encounter can cause anxiety, stress and other symptoms similar to PTSD, the actual term called Post-Traumatic Vacation Syndrome. The traits for those who experience profound disappointment during vacation can be just like those who have a traumatic paranormal encounter. Perhaps with these stories in mind, we should be packing holy water, iron, and sage along with the sunscreen, bathing suits and flip-flops.  After all, spooky shit can happen anywhere and anytime!

The post My Family Went on Vacation & All I Got Was This Ghost Story appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

We are no strangers to these magnificent forces of nature, and many of us have hurricane prep down pat. I looked up at our gorgeous blue skies this morning and wondered what it must have been like before NOAA and the complex monitoring, spaghetti models, 24-hour television, and other warnings we have. Our coastal ancestors must have been caught off guard countless times, lulled by the beauty and fresh air that is a pre-hurricane day in the fall—very literally the calm before the storm.

For some, though, they had the spirit of a young lover, now known as The Gray Man, to serve as warning of impending storms. And sure enough, The Gray Man was spotted in Pawley’s Island, SC, on Sunday, just as our modern systems were awakening to the realization that Florence was headed this way.  South Carolinians familiar with the stories know that The Gray Man means business. And as we can see, Florence is sure to make good on his word.

Residents of Pawley’s Island and neighboring towns have seen The Gray Man as a harbinger of terrible storms since the 1820s. They describe seeing him walking on the beach, looking every bit like a man in gray clothes until they approach, and he simply disappears.

The legend says that spotting him is a good thing – he is here in warning, and often, once spotted, people report their houses are spared the devastating effects of the storm. One Gray Man spotter in 1954 said even the towels hanging on her porch remained intact, in spite of widespread destruction from a storm.

An internet search will turn up several versions of who the Gray Man is, but my favorite is the love story of a young man trying to get home to his fiancé. He had been abroad for two years, and hurried to her be by her side, taking a shortcut home as a storm swept through the area. In his rush, he became mired in quicksand and never made it to her.

His love for his betrothed was so great, though, that he visited her after crossing over. She saw him walking on the beach, and then later he came to her in her dreams. But his visits left her quite heart-broken, and she became ill. Her father, the story goes, took her back to their main homestead, away from the reminders of their coastal tragedy.

The legend of their great love was born the very next day, when a devastating hurricane swept across Pawley’s Island, causing loss of life and significant destruction. The young lover’s life was spared by her heartache and her father’s concern.

Lucky for us, The Gray Man does not limit his warnings to Pawley’s Island or to the family of his beloved. He has been seen at Cape Hetaeras and along other beaches of the Carolinas, always before a major storm hits.

We can’t genuinely know his story, but I do know I would heed his warnings. And once Florence has gone and clean-up has begun, we shall toast our gray-clad friend and his great love.

Special thanks to APS Core Member KayWright for her research assistance on this piece.

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It’s paranormal history. It’s the fabricated stories that locations will release. It’s the fake stories from ghost hunters who are trying to generate views on their YouTube channel, likes on their Facebook page, etc. We’re currently in an age where haunted locations will post their haunted history on their website to draw in paranormal researchers and ghost hunters. This comes from the fact that we want to see the value of a product before investing money to rent out the location. While this is a reasonable action in terms of marketing and running a business, it is doing something much more damaging than we can ever imagine.

It’s changing history.

The historian expressed a lot of concern in the fact that 100 years from now, what will remain of our text? What books will remain in print? What websites will still be in operation? If the historical facts of most paranormal places remain in existence from the embellished, exaggerated, if not fabricated, stories that were created to draw in a crowd…then we’re changing history for future generations. They will see the incorrect historical information and take it as fact, with the true stories falling away to the wayside.

Of course, there are untold stories that never made it into the history books. That’s a different dilemma. But when you release certain information, and historical research proves that the event didn’t happen, the name was wrong, circumstances were different, etc., then there’s a problem.

At the same time, I understand that there have been individuals who have tried to alter history, especially less-than-positive incidents that may have happened under their watch. As participants of the paranormal field, we have the extraordinary opportunity (and responsibility) to keep things as factual as possible. We will run into stories that can’t be found in the books. We ran into this with the Tenth Avenue Theater. However, the stories we were hearing were coming from church members who witnessed these events, knew the individuals we interacted with, etc. These stories came from the age before the internet, social media, etc. where these unmentionable secrets were hushed and they hoped they would be forgotten. We told the stories that were never meant to become public. But, I feel that enough time passed where any collateral damage was minimal, if not eliminated thanks to the passing of those who enforced such silence.

The moral of the story is that you shouldn’t make stuff up for the sake of being more spooky. If the spooky thing happened, great. If it didn’t, leave it alone. Let the stories come organically from your investigations. Let the stories come from the preserved diary entries of those who lived. If you capture compelling data that goes against documented history, make a note in your write up so that people know where the story came from. Be as transparent as you can while sharing your findings. If you realize something lines up with an actual event, that’s even better!

Happy hunting, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty in historical research. Let the future generations have as much truth as possible so they know where they came from.

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Hamilton’s Grave at Trinity Church, NYC.

If you know me as well as another APS member, Beth, then you’re probably thinking, “It was only a matter of time before APS talked about Hamilton’s ghost.” Truthfully, I wanted to cover Hamilton for a while, especially after Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical took off. I have alway had a fascination for hauntings that surrounded the Revolutionary War as well as the Civil War. I found the concept of historical figures haunting famous locations. If we truly believe in ghosts and hauntings, then how cool would it be to talk to THE George Washington or Alexander Hamilton himself?

I try to make an excursion to New York City once a year to see some of the latest Broadway shows and just enjoy being in the city. I had always wanted to live in NYC for a time, but so far, it’s still a dream from my home in Raleigh, NC. Whenever I get into a new show, I always have to know the back story of the historical events, the writing process, and more. I approach paranormal investigations in a similar manner. Hamilton resonated with me not just because it’s a groundbreaking show, but it shed light on one of the least popular founding fathers, both historically and socially. After becoming OBSESSED with the musical, I got Ron Chernow’s book that inspired Miranda, and I dove into this chapter in Revolutionary War history that I was unfamiliar with.

Can you guess what was the first thing I looked up? Yep. Ghosts. Was Alexander still haunting a part of New York City? Who knows…but I wanted to see what the scoop was if there was anything there. I found a few stories of Hamilton supposedly haunting the area around his tomb.

In July 2016, I had a chance to go to NYC since I was lucky enough to snag tickets to Hamilton. I decided to make it a whole trip dedicated to Hamilton. There was a wonderful exhibit at the New York Public Library with actual copies of The Reynolds Pamphlet, Farmer Refuted, and even drafts of Washington’s farewell speech. We also went to Weehawken to the dueling grounds where Burr and Hamilton went head to head. We even went to Trinity Church to pay our respects to the Hamiltons along with other historical figures buried there. The only area I didn’t go to was where Hamilton died. Mostly it was due to time. But, I learned that I need to be putting this amount of energy into all my historical research endeavors, ESPECIALLY the paranormal.

My boyfriend showing off Hamilton’s bust near the site of his duel with Aaron Burr in Weehawken.

The stone where Hamilton supposedly rested after the duel

Hamilton died in his friend’s, William Bayard’s house in Greenwich Village. The address of the location was at 80-82 Jane Street, however, historical maps have since proved that to be inaccurate, which I’ll get into in a moment. He was treated at 27 Jane Street where the doctor, John Francis lived. Jean Karsavina, who resided in the house starting from 1939, experienced footsteps, creaks, the chain on the toilet swinging, and saw blurs and shadows. This story was covered by Hans Holzer, and it indicates the house where John Francis lived, the doctor that attended Hamilton on his death-bed, is haunted. You can read the full story here,

NOTE: There is a plaque at 82 Jane Street says that Hamilton died in that home. Bayard’s house was actually a block further north of the plaque. More details at the end.

Around the time that Hamilton became a smash hit, it was reported that paranormal activity really got stirred up at 71 Jane Street (which is across the street and a few houses east from plaque). The New Yorker Radio Hour sent Becky Cooper to a séance that attempted to raise Hamilton’s spirit. Since Joe Hamilton (no relation) bought the house in 1994, she and her family have experienced weird noises and crashes that were so loud to the point where they had to wear ear plugs. When Joe was remodeling the house, she was told to leave the plans out so that Hamilton could see them. Usually, you hear a lot of activity happening during the remodeling of a home. But in Joe’s case, she left the plans out and things were fine. Irene Connors, who owned the house before, believes that Alexander Hamilton’s ghost resided in her home. She actually saw a man with knee-length trousers, he was slim and wore a white powdered wig. She reportedly saw his face a few times.

If Hamilton’s ghost is indeed reappearing since the musical came out, it kind of makes sense. Lin-Manuel Miranda ensured that Hamilton got the recognition and legacy he worked so hard for. After years of being nearly forgotten, except for who we saw on the $10 bill, to everyone knowing his name and becoming obsessed with his story, perhaps we’ve given Alex some energy to make himself known again?

Eliza Hamilton’s Grave

They brought in a medium, and she didn’t pick up on Hamilton but sensed a child. Using an Ouija board, she asked what the child what their mother’s name was, and it apparently said, “Eliza.” I don’t want to spoil it, so you can listen to the 15-minute segment below. There were thoughts that it was Hamilton’s older son, Philip, who also died in a duel in 1801 before Hamilton. Then there is a theory that because baby Philip (who was named after his older brother) was brought into the room where Hamilton died so that he could give his father a kiss goodbye while on his deathbed.

Is it because of Miranda’s musical that the spirit of Alexander Hamilton has found new life, so to speak? Given that so many people lived in these houses around the area for over 200 years, it could be anyone haunting 27 Jane Street or 71 Jane Street.

Question About the Houses

I did some digging on Google Maps to see what I could find of these 3 addresses, plus the possible location of the Bayard Estate.

According to Google Maps, 27 Jane Street is now an empty lot

Here is 71 Jane Street

Here is 82 Jane Street (You can see the plaque on the building)

Here is where the 3 addresses stand in relation to each other

Here’s a map of NYC sketched in 1767. You can see where the Bayard Estate is under the title, “Mr. Bayard.”

Looking at the maps, here’s the approximate location of Bayard’s Estate as it stands today even though the original buildings are likely gone. 27 Jane Street is the bullet point on the right under the Art Bar.

NOTE: The midway point between the plaque at 82 Jane Street and Bayard’s House supposed location is…you guessed it: 71 Jane Street. Coincidence? You tell us!

Sources:

https://the-line-up.com/ghostly-return-alexander-hamilton

http://www.wnyc.org/story/alexander-hamilton-haunting-jane-street/

http://www.aaronburrassociation.org/bayard_house.htm

http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/historic-us-ghosts

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But it didn’t work. As my rage and fear grew, it seemed to get more powerful. What was going on?

I had been stressed out for several months, and my mental wellbeing was wearing thin. I was constantly exhausted, and the strange things happening in my home seemed random. But it wasn’t until I spoke to my team psychic that I realized that what was “haunting” me was actually coming from ME. What I mean is, with all of the stress I had been dealing with, I had managed to create my own entity. In Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, this is called a “tulpa.” It is created using thought. Though it wasn’t created intentionally to be a ghost that haunted my place, it was the cumulation of all of my stress and anxiety. Because my thoughts had been pretty dark, especially after the passing of my mother, all those thoughts and feelings manifested into something that attacked me on a nightly basis.

As it turns out, a lot of our clients are dealing with similar situations. They are dealing with an immense amount of stress and dealing with it with alcohol, drugs, food, anything to self-soothe. Many times, they are also neglecting to take their medications and taking care of themselves overall. When we have cases like this, I tell the client that there is only so much we can do as a team before the client has to step in to work on the rest.

How did I deal with my tulpa? I started meditating and praying every day. I started eating better and seeing my doctor regularly. Plus, I started exercising and doing something each day that made me happy that would be a healthy choice. Is it the perfect plan? No. But by working on myself from the outside in, I noticed the nightly occurrences reduced gradually until it went away. Do I think it’s permanently gone? No. There are times where I get emotional and upset and I “sense” that nasty thing is around to feed off of my negative energy.

If you don’t believe in thoughtforms, tulpas, or weird stuff in general, perhaps it’s all in my head. But that thing seemed to be the representation of all of my stress. By accepting that my behavior was a form of harming myself, and that I was responsible for it, it gave me the wake up call I needed to get my life back on track.

In closing, when there was peace within myself, my surroundings became peaceful as well.

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