• About the Author
  • Archives
  • Categories
  • Return to Queer Paranormal
  • Archive for April, 2008

    Queer Paranormal Road Trip: The George Hotel


    2008 - 04.24

    Move over, Green Lady. You have some company.

    The George Hotel in Dereham, Norfolk has a few known ghosts: The Green Lady, the maid, and the night porter. Paranormal investigators from around the United Kingdom have visited this 18th century inn for many years to find evidence of spirits. Apparitions have been seen on the second floor. Glasses fly off shelves in the bar. People experience pain in their arms on the stairs where a maid fell to her death.

    And then someone discovered another presence.

    John Blythe of Haunted Weekend stumbled across a spirit in what was once the hotel’s bakery. A male employee of the hotel mentioned a chilling experience while in the dry storage room. An unseen force was trying to unzip his pants one day. A medium picked up on a female presence in the area which kept touching her long hair in an effort to lift it up (as you would expect in a bakery… for sanitary purposes). A male medium also sensed a presence, only it kept trying to tug at his belt, much to his alarm.

    Later on reviewing an old photograph of hotel workers, the female medium pointed to the guilty soul.

    Only it wasn’t a woman.

    That’s right. The ghostly “aggressive female energy” looming in the former bakery was, in fact, a man. The hotel now had a fourth ghost to add to its roster: a gay ghost.

    From the sound of it, he’s not just looking for bread flour anymore…

    For a Good Cause…


    2008 - 04.24

    Sometimes, the paranormal community gets bogged down in pettiness. Disagreements and conflicts get everyone off track. Arguments over protocol result in stagnant behaviour. A desire for fame and power overshadows purpose and humanity.

    Yet occasionally, paranormal investigators band together to do some good in the world.

    In Chester, UK, paranormal enthusiasts are doing just that. The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has organized an event at the haunted Stanley Place in an effort to raise money for people suffering from the disease. Would-be ghost hunters are asked to raise funds for MD, and in return will be allowed an overnight investigation at the structure, built in 1591, on the 27th of September, joining investigators and psychics in their work.

    Another organization, Famous and Frightened, is getting celebrities involved in the same positive mojo. Stars from around the United Kingdom spend a little time poking around haunted locations in pursuit of the paranormal… and raise funds for causes throughout the region at the same time. Their first event, held on the 2nd of April at the London Dungeons, was a great success and raised a hefty sum of money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. They are currently planning their second venture.

    Who says paranormal investigators only need to concentrate on the dead? Some are actually trying to make the lives of the living a little better at the same time…

    Sleepless Near Seattle…


    2008 - 04.23

    Police in Federal Way, Washington, have a bit of a quandary on their hands. Exactly how do you investigate an alleged rape when the culprit can’t be caught… literally?

    Two women living in an apartment on 25th Place South repeatedly called the maintenance man to complain that a ghost has been raping them on weekend nights for the past two years. Not feeling equipped at handling the situation, he told them to contact the police. Perplexed police officials will not comment on the crime, though they said they have no leads.

    One of the victims has stated that the first incident occurred while she was living in Kent. The activity seemed to follow her… and is now affecting her roommate.

    News reporters have been unable to track down the women for comment.

    Ghost hunter Ross Allison says that with all the paranormal shows on television, paranormal reports are way up… and he doesn’t think it’s a coincidence. According to Ross, many people “…start to label every little interesting thing happening in their home as paranormal when it might just be a house creaking.”

    Sounds like the only thing creaking in this apartment is the bed…

    Invasion of the Penis Snatchers…


    2008 - 04.23

    Be careful if you go to the Democratic Republic of Congo. You just might lose more than your wallet.

    Thirteen people are currently being detained by police after being accused of black magic. Allegedly, they have preyed on men, shrinking their genitals or making them mysteriously disappear. Supposedly, their motivation is extorting money from the victims to “cure” them.

    They aren’t being held because the police take these accusations seriously: it’s for their own safety.

    Once someone is labeled a sorcerer guilty of these misdeeds, the locals mob them. There have been several attempted lynchings already. Such occurrences are common in West Africa: nearly a decade ago in Ghana, a dozen people accused of penile thievery were beaten to death.

    No matter how illogical it may sound or how many times the irrationality is explained, many villagers take it very seriously. Especially Alain Kalala, 29, of Kinshasa.

    “It’s real,” he said. “Just yesterday here, there was a man who was a victim. We saw. What was left was tiny.”

    Sure, blame it on a witch doctor.

    No Signs of Intelligent Life Here…


    2008 - 04.23

    Are aliens really out there?

    Given the odds, it’s more than likely that life does exist on other planets. But are they dimwits?

    Stephen Hawking, the well-known astrophysicist, posed this question Monday during a lecture at George Washington University. “Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is very rare. Some would say it has yet to occur on earth.”

    This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to explore space. Hawking compared space exploration to the voyages of Christopher Columbus. The benefits simply outweigh the risks. “Just think,” he said, “we wouldn’t have a Big Mac or KFC.”

    Who new he had a sense of humor?

    Intelligent life is a relative term. Who is to say that we’re not the idiots? Just because we can’t detect “Zongregian Idol” being broadcast over the galaxies doesn’t mean there couldn’t be a life form out there with more sophisticated knowledge sending out messages that we have yet to comprehend.

    To claim that we’re the smartest creatures in existence is just as foolish as calling the Titanic “unsinkable”. It’s just begging to be proved wrong.

    Armed and Not Very Dangerous…


    2008 - 04.22

    I don’t want to leave out those of you, dear readers, who could care less about the environment…

    Therefore, I thought I’d mention another interesting holiday which we should all keep in mind for next year: the 22nd of March is World Pillow Fight Day.

    Organizers in many large cities stage massive pillow fights on this day. Clean-up crews are also asked to bring rakes and trash bags. If there isn’t one in your nearest city, you can always schedule your own!

    I know a lot of us have some aggression to work out. What better way than bash people with down feathers?

    It reminds me of the Absolut vodka commercial riot scene. If only more wars and protests were fought this way: no casualties and a few laughs!

    Stop to Smell the Roses…


    2008 - 04.22

    Once again, it’s time to celebrate Earth Day: a day of environmental awareness around the globe. Though it may have come under fire in recent years, its message is poignant. With the current debate on global warming, this is a good time to contemplate the state of out environment and the impact we have upon it.

    No, I’m not some insane, radical “tree hugger” who is hellbent on bringing down the corporations and creating hippie communes around the world. Yet I do see carelessness constantly and an very mindful of out effects on the planet. Pollution is still a critical problem and our dependence on fossil fuels is a major issue. We all need to seriously take a look at our lives, and try to do something, however small, to avoid turning the world into our own private toxic waste dump.

    We are very much a throw-away society. Everything ends up in landfills. We burn coal, oil, gas, and petrol to an insane degree, forgetting that it isn’t replaced overnight. Even if we don’t care about the pollutants thrown into the atmosphere and water supply, we’ll soon run out of the fuels we use. By the time we wake up to that fact, it will be a desperate scramble to find alternative means of energy.

    Of course, there are efforts around us to change. Australia is experimenting with solar power in the Outback, using the heat of the sun to power a wind turbine that could eventually power thousands of homes. On the east coast of the United States, people are using the tidal currents to power turbines to supply power to businesses. Modern windmills are sprouting up all across the globe to harness power for communities. Electric and hydrogen-powered cars are becoming a reality.

    If you want to do your part without taking much effort, start small. Instead of driving two blocks away to visit friends or go to a small store, take a walk instead. When going to the grocery store, avoid plastic bags… purchase an inexpensive, reusable canvas grocery bag instead. Replace a few incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones. When you’re not home, unplug your televisions and electronic devices to save on wasted standby power. Plant a tree.

    Take a moment from your day to see the world around you in a different light. Doing little things now just might save you from severe alterations in your lifestyle in the future…

    Supernatural Spotlight: Chris Woodyard


    2008 - 04.20

    Back when I began reading books on the paranormal, Chris Woodyard became a fast favorite. Before stumbling across her first book, Haunted Ohio, in 1991, I hadn’t found many stories from my own state to seek out. Her books provided the first locations for my many weekend trips in pursuit of Ohio hauntings.

    Chris grew up in Columbus. Her father ran a small printing company. From an early age, she new that writing was her dream. She had some works of poetry published, worked as an editor, and even created a murder mystery novel (which ended up being stolen by a disgruntled secretary). After moving to Dayton with her husband and daughter, she finished her first book about her new hometown.

    The librarians in Beavercreek suggested ghosts as an idea for another book. Since there weren’t really any Ohio ghost books out there, she decided it was an achievable goal (besides, she had a few paranormal experiences throughout her life). And that started the series of four books on Ohio ghosts, along with a children’s ghost book and a few others.

    She now operates her website, Invisible Ink: Books on Ghosts & Hauntings, which is the largest seller of diverse paranormal books anywhere. Odds are, if you’re searching for that hard-to-find book about ghosts, she has it on her site. In fact, while scouring the internet for new publications, she happened to stop at eBay and purchase a copy of my own work. And she loved it, which made me feel better about a project which had taken almost a decade of searching to finish.

    Though some may believe she has faded a bit into the woodwork, she’s still out there… doing the occasional lecture and selling ghostly literature. But please, don’t barrage her with tales and requests for investigations.

    She’s still afraid of spooks…

    He’s Sasper…


    2008 - 04.20

    Here’s something I stumbled across that’s certainly twisted.

    Meet Sasper, the homosexual ghost, brought to you by the insane folks at SickAnimation!

    The Ties That Bind…


    2008 - 04.20

    Good people make life worth living. No matter what happens in life, some of the friendships we make outlast everything negative we can go through. I usually don’t take the time to thank my friends enough, so here’s yet another opportunity… at least for the ones of whom I have photos.

    I have to start out with Joel, since he is both the farthest in distance (Australia) and the closest to my heart. I’ve known him for about two years now (has it really been that long?) and he’s been the truest, most incredible friend I have ever had in my entire life. We can talk about anything with each other without fear of ridicule or embarrassment. Never once has he even remotely upset me, nor I him I hope. He has been there through some of my darkest hours with nothing short of awe-inspiring devotion. Because of all of these things, he is like the brother I never had (though far cuter then I would normally have had for a brother). Even though his seasonal bouts of depression may cause him to close down from time to time, he’s the one person I never want to lose from my life.

    Then, there’s Alex, my straight-but-not-narrow-minded ghost hunting friend who moved to Tennessee. Our friendship started out as almost a non-friendship. He told a rude joke that offended me, and I mentioned it to his wife, Theresa. It turned out to be a misunderstanding: they had a lot of gay friends, and he overly apologized for it. From then until the day they moved away, they were my dearest friends. And then, of course, there was that strange and shocking night online which shall remain unmentioned (let’s just say he’s an unpredictable boy). Even though we aren’t close anymore, I still miss the both of them. Good and interesting company is always hard to come by.

    I couldn’t compose this list without mentioning Bill. After all, he has tolerated me the most over the past few years. I met him through my paranormal website years ago. Since that time, he’s become my best local friend, though at times I am the butt of many of his jokes. He’s an odd mix of goofy humour and bitterness, with a dash of humanity thrown in every so often for good measure. I’ve watched him go through some rough times and life changes over the years and have been there as best as I could be. Ans he’s seen me through a few colossal mistakes, such as my last ex. Though we may not always see eye-to-eye on matters and we do occasionally need a little time away from one another, he is truly a good friend. I guess you could almost say he too is like a brother to me… a nitpicking older brother, that is.

    Chris is the second person I met through my website. Well, technically not the second. I met him before Bill. He was very enthusiastic about the paranormal in a time when I was feeling a tad bit burnt out with paranormal groups. He’s been through more than his share of, shall we say “interesting life moments”? We lost touch for quite some time but became reacquainted in the past few years… around the time he began dating Bill. He’s the one person I know who tries his best to smile no matter how rotten the situation, all the while wearing his heart on his sleeve. He can be both good-hearted and a tad bit stubborn. Materialistic, yet spiritual. Yet he seems to be growingly more comfortable with himself, which is always a wonderful thing. He is my second ‘best local friend’. And just like Bill, we may not always be in agreement or share the same opinions, but I wouldn’t have him any other way!

    Lastly is my newest friend of the bunch, Evelyn. I met her only within the past few months via the paranormal group I belong to. She’s beyond interesting, with more interests and opinions than you can shake a stick at! She can be tough as nails, but she’s always a joy to be around. We both seem to use humour in place of sanity… life isn’t very survivable without a lot of laughter. Like most of us, she has problems, but doesn’t use them as an excuse. We have a lot of similar interests, which always helps too! She’s slowly becoming one of my regular local pals, though I liked her from the first moment I met her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be my “date” on so many occasions! No, not in that “pretending to be straight” way… in the “I don’t want you to feel like you’re going stag” sort of way!

    As always, I’m leaving some people out. Colleen, Tommy, Dana, etc. I’ll have to work on getting some more photos so I can do a sequel.