Among the many cities I’m dying (well, not literally) to visit is New Orleans. Just like the Witch City of Salem, it’s a town where death seems to be a part of life. Ghosts, witches, vampires, and other nocturnal peoples seem quite at home there and the presence of hoodoo is undeniable. Every shop, bar, and hotel carries with it some fascinating, if not haunting, tale.
One such place is 5 Continents Bed & Breakfast, which I did look into and noted in the “Haunted LGBT Accommodations” section in the back of my book. While I left out some of the history and hauntings at the inn, I just might finally revisit it for the sequel. It’s a beautifully-restored old home, and apparently still occupied by its original owners.
Passport Magazine visited this haunted hotspot for the Halloween season (possibly after seeing it listed on my website… I’m not trying to assume, but reporter Paul West did attempt to contact me about a story earlier this summer, but due to email issues I missed him… sorry again, Paul!) and interviewed the innkeeper as well as a paranormal team as they looked for paranormal evidence at the business.
What if that world of “pure imagination” were really a sick, twisted, dark place filled not with candies and chocolates, but with gore, brutality, and horror? Well, for all of you who thought that Willy Wonka really was a few apples short of a bushel, writer Eric Appel brings you a strange twist on the old tale of Charlie Bucket. His movie trailer for Gobstopper mixes comedy with terror. And best of all, it stars one of my all-time favorite actors… Christopher Lloyd!!
Who else could pull off that uncomfortably-creepy character with just the right comedic timing? (Sorry, Gene Wilder… deal with it. lol)
Sadly, the film isn’t real. But what a shame! Here’s the “trailer’ for Gobstopper, via Funny or Die:
And now… I bit you all adieu for a few days as I take care of some offline affairs. Thanks, Fred, for telling me about this gem of a video. I’ll be doing my best to add a little humor in your life now, since you need it the most.
Thanks to my friend Buddy, I received this little clip in an email. It’s The Soup’s take on the season finale of Ghost Adventures. Just a little reminder to be careful what you say, especially on camera. It might come back to haunt you…
Normally, when browsing websites, I don’t pay too much attention for people asking for votes for much of anything. But when I noticed this short film trying to make it to the Cannes Film Festival (and the dead-eyed dolls), I had to watch, click, and pass it along.
This pin-pricking animated short was filmed by Joaquin Baldwin, originally from Paraguay and currently residing in California (though he did stay for a while in Ohio for college, so I’ll consider him a semi-sort-of-local artist). I have chanced across him online a few times, but never had the pleasure of talking to him directly. Which is a shame. He’s very good… and the sort of person I think would be great to spend a conversation with. Besides, I have a few personal thoughts on a few possible hidden meanings/subtle nuances which have crossed my mind.
Check out the video, Sebastian’s Voodoo, below and click on it to go to the YouTube site where each vote through May 20th counts!
A good many people take their ghosthunting seriously. And others… well, they can’t avoid finding the humor behind it all.
Some of you who have watched Most Haunted may remember sensitive Ian Shillito from his appearances in Series 8. Now, the openly gay paranormal investigator has formed London Paranormal. The organization holds tours, gives lectures, and launched the ‘London Ghost Festival’ last year.
But that’s not all. He is also the co-creator of a troop called the Scary Mary’s. And yes, they are what you think they are: gay men in search of spooks. Combining a paranormal show’s overuse of night vision with a healthy dose of laughter, it’s not your typical investigating. It’s all about the fun, the bits which normally end up on a cutting room floor. And with names such as “Wampy”, “Stella Bagwash”, “Waynetta Shillito”, “Pooh Bear”, and “Steele Magnolia” you can tell it’s all about the fun.
Without further ado, I bring you an investigation of the pink sort at Harwich Redoubt Fort:
My comedic tastes range from the traditional to the insane. And with the latter, one New York comedy troop comes to mind: The Whitest Kids U’Know. Their sketches range from absurd to offensive, yet comedy (as with beauty) is in the eye of the beholder.
I’ve been overdue for a good dose of comedy and thought I’d share with you all a few interesting video clips from their program. Surprisingly, they each have a paranormal theme. The first follows a demon assigned to a Ouija board at a slumber party. It’s followed by a skit surrounding an office worker plagued by the supernatural. Like most jokes from WKUK, they speak entirely for themselves.
The second video is definitely not safe for work… though it is work-themed.
Today marks the 8th observance of World Toilet Day. I shit you not! (I’m sorry… that was too easy.) According to the World Toilet Organization, the idea behind it is simple: ‘we deserve better‘. This means more respect for sanitation workers, elevation of the “social status” of porcelain bowls, and proper potty facilities for the billions of people around the world without a place to pop a squat.
To mark this day celebrating a device which became a standard fixture of homes thanks to the diligent efforts of Thomas Crapper, I thought it fitting to pay homage to the bathroom ghost. While these videos might be legitimate or fake, they are entertaining nonetheless.
I found this video on YouTube quite a while ago. Luckily, I was cleaning out my folder with bookmarks for this blog and stumbled across it again.
Filmed at an allegedly haunted house in the Romanian town of Bacau, this news footage shows what quite obviously appears to be a ghostly presence in the upper balcony. Is it genuine? I can’t state that for certain. But it’s intriguing nonetheless. And with my Bohemian roots, I couldn’t resist. Even though Romanian is one of the Romance languages, I won’t attempt to translate exactly.
I apologize in advance for the overused X Files theme music…
Most people in northeast Ohio have heard the incredible legends surrounding Gore Orphanage Road. Though the true stories have been twisted over the years, two tales have meshed into one. Though the rumors of Old Man Gore killing kids are unfounded and untrue (”Mr. Gore” didn’t even exist), there are some spooky happenings at the old Swift Mansion ruins that I can personally testify to.
I have investigated the spot several times over the years. I have witnessed hand prints of children on parked cars and glowing green mists in the woods. The ghosts of children who died of disease here are real. And recently, FearNet took a trip down the old road to explore the hauntings. Several notable names were interviewed, including author Charles Cassady, tour operator Psychic Sonya, and my dear, sweet, hilarious lawyer pal and webmistress to Dead Ohio: Stephanie Lane.
And here you thought all lawyers were curmudgeons hellbent on making people miserable and lacking any sense of humor.
I could talk about the legends, but FearNet did a great job summarizing things and adding that creepy Oompa-Loompa vibe which we’ve a come to love this time of year. Watch the video here:
Some of you may remember the “creepy gnome” of Argentina sighted earlier this year and the infamous video circulating the web. It was later determined to be a hoax, though the teen responsible for that footage, Jose Alvarez, still claims it was real.
But now, the creepy gnome tale has resurfaced. Footage was recorded in early October of a “midget monster” near a water fountain in Clodomira, filmed by Juan Carlos Roldan and friends on a mobile phone.
“We were messing about – singing and dancing – when we heard a loud rustling noise from behind us. This tiny thing started running down Avenue San Martin at us. It had a pointy head and dark clothes,” said one of the teenage witnesses.
“This little thing was barking like a dog, but running sideways on two legs. It headed off towards the football stadium.”
A photographic expert from Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero has reviewed the footage and believes it could be authentic. Aldegonda Alvarz hasn’t found any obvious trickery.
Should Argentina be renamed “Munchkin Land” or is it in fact an animal or little person playing a prank, as skeptics allege? Watch the footage and judge for yourself:
