America's Haunted Roadtrip Ghostwriting Contest

Here's a contest for you Haunt Jaunting writers out there: America's Haunted Roadtrip Ghostwriting Contest. If you have a ghost story encounter you've always wanted to share, here's your chance!

Download guidelines and an entry form on their site. Deadline for submissions is Sept. 15, 2009.

MORE THAN A GHOSTWRITING CONTEST

But it's not just limited to stories. If you have any spooky photos, they're looking for those too.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I'd like to thank Christine Verstraete (Candid Canine) for tipping me off about the America's Haunted Roadtrip site and books.

The End of My Hitchhiker Haunting Me

For the last six months I have been haunted by a hitchhiker. (My euphemism for cancer.) Today is the end of that haunting. I completed my 20th and final radiation therapy.

"What does cancer have to do with Haunt Jaunts?" you may be wondering.

Everything!

Let me explain...

MY HITCHHIKER, MY MUSE

I don't know why I didn't include the tale of my hitchhiker in my very first post on this blog. As I explain in the About section on HauntJaunts.net, getting cancer was the major catalyst for me getting off my duff and starting this blog and the website.

As it says on the site, "If she does in fact become a survivor, Haunt Jaunts will have played an ENORMOUS part in her recovery."

Well, after enduring three months of chemo followed by a month of radiation, I'm truly in remission. (I was told on May 19 I was in remission, but I knew I also still had radiation to do so...it didn't quite feel "real.")

But now that I'm done with radiation, and therefore my cancer treatment regimen overall, it does feel like I'm truly in remission. And that I can celebrate that fact.

RIP SWEET HITCHHIKER

Yes, it's been six months of feeling haunted, at times feeling like a ghost of my old self or even wanting to give up the ghost during the worst of my chemo days, but...

It's over.

Tomorrow morning I do not have to worry about getting to any cancer appointments. No more living in three-week chemo cycles. No more daily radiation appointments. I'm free to just...be.

Except, I'm not the same. I think the sentiment I ended with in one of my Facebook notes when I found out I was in remission bears repeating here:

FAREWELL, SWEET HITCHHIKER

I can't be mad that my hitchhiker decided to latch on to me for while. I know my initial reaction was to be upset, BUT...so many wonderful things have come out of this cancer. I've renewed friendships, made new ones, strengthened others. I know what it's like to be loved. Heck, I even got down to my goal weight and my cracked heals are cracked no more! (However, the oncologist said that's a normal, but usually temporary good side effect, of chemo. Drat!)

Still, my hitchhiker ended up taking me places I never would have seen otherwise, refreshed my spirit and invigorated my hope and enthusiasm. So...farewell little buddy. You caused me a lot of grief and pain there for a while, but I guess you had to in order to get my attention. You've restored me in ways I didn't even know I needed restoring in. I'm a better person because of having spent this time with you.

Amen! And rest in peace, my hitchhiker. Your days of haunting me are over!

Ghost Adventures: Castillo de San Marcos

In my very first blog I explained the reaction I'd had the very first time we drove by the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine: Here there be ghosts...

Well, if you watched Ghost Adventures on Friday, you saw they investigated the fort. And they did find paranormal activity.

THE LANTERN

The best footage was what appeared to be a lantern being lit on the ramparts. I've heard the rumors about the lantern man before, so it was neat to see them capture something that backed up the many claims surrounding that strangeness.

THE POWDER MAGAZINE

I was surprised there was no mention of the woman ghost rumored to haunt the Powder Magazine though. I've toured the Castillo de San Marcos three times. Every time I heard the story about the officer's wife who fell in love with another soldier, had an affair with him, her husband found out and shut her away in the Powder Magazine where she ultimately died. I heard it from 3 different tour guides too, so I was surprised that wasn't brought up for Zak and his team.

NEW EQUIPMENT

They also used a new piece of equipment I don't recall seeing on any of their other shows before. I forget what they called it, but it reminded me a lot of the Telephone to the Dead. Except the GAC's was smaller and also had these goggles Zak could wear.

They also explained how it worked, but I got confused. Something about it picked up activity and then translated it...the thing did "speak" a couple of times. I'm not sure if I quite buy this gadget...mainly because I just don't understand how it works.

But if it's real...wow. Then it's got a lot of possibilities.

They also have this thing they call an EMF Pump. Basically it's like a battery that generates EMF energy to "feed" ghosts so they can manifest.

Now that's something that seems pretty useful. I'm curious if it helps save the battery juice of other investigative equipment like cameras, digital recorders, etc. that often get drained when ghosts are suspected of trying to manifest. Maybe we'll find out on future shows.

CLIP OF GHOST ADVENTURES' CASTILLO DE SAN MARCOS EPISODE

Haunted Golf Courses

I found a story about haunted golf courses when I was slogging through my backlog of Google alerts today and stumbled upon a posting by Stephen Wagner at About.com: Paranormal Phenomena called "The Latest Paranormal News."

Wagner was listing ghost-related or otherwise odd stories he'd found, among them one entitled "Even golf courses have ghost stories" by Joe Morelli at the New Haven Register.

Apparently a book called Haunted Golf: Spirited Tales from the Rough was released this past April. It details incidents like the murder of a woman at a golf course in British Columbia whose spirit is said to haunt the seventh hole. Or the mysterious incidents at the Canton Golf Course in Connecticut. And, my personal fave because it reminds me of Cheeseman Park, the "remnants of corpses discovered at Lincoln Park [Golf Course] in San Francisco."

I never would've thought of adding golf courses to the Jaunts listings. Or amusement parks or anywhere else people go for relaxation and fun. However, this has opened my eyes to a whole new dimension of Haunt Jaunt possibilities!

And I can't help but wonder if any ghost hunters have ever investigated any golf courses? Hmmm...golf anyone?

Camp Grounds as Potential Haunt Jaunts

I never considered camp grounds as potential Haunt Jaunts until I stumbled across an About.com: Paranormal Phenomenon post called "Camping Encounters with Monsters and Ghosts" by Stephen Wagner.

The only thing I normally think about when it comes to camping and ghosts is telling ghost stories around the camp fire. But Wagner's article related incidents of ghost and monster encounters around camp fires and campsites.

MONSTERS IN THEM THAR' WOODS

I used to camp all the time with my family when I was little. I loved it. I have a pretty active imagination, but I don't remember ever being afraid of the forests we camped near. The only time I ever got a little creeped out was when my cousin Mike started scratching on the roof of the camper shell covering the back of my dad's truck. It woke me up and I didn't know it was him at first, so...there was a wee bit of chaos until my dad told him to knock it off.

However, Wagner told some good monster camping stories. One about a family who encountered some kind of bear-like creature with yellow eyes in the White Mountains of Arizona. (Lucky them. I don't know which is worse: being scared out of your wits by some creature roaring and then suddenly charging into your camp, or camping near that same region and having your dog suddenly bolt out of the tent only to get sprayed by a skunk. Oh yeah, that made for a pleasant experience...)

Anyway, Wagner also told of other stories: a glowing beast that showed up in a field next to where some people had set up camp, and a green "humanoid like" creature that surprised campers near a lake in a nature reserve. (The last one creeped me out because apparently they fled the scene only to return later to pick up their gear but found their tent destroyed and all their gear in the lake.)

GHOSTS IN THEM THAR WOODS, TOO

Well, the ghost stories in Wagner's post didn't really have much to do with woods. But people did spot ghosts while camping.

One was a silver lady a girl in Australia spotted while camping with her family. The other one recounted a tale of a guy who had been camping with his girlfriend and woke up to see a ghostly form hovering over her body.

WHERE CAN I LOOK FOR THESE MONSTERS AND GHOSTS?

That's what I didn't like about the article. It didn't tell specifics about the ghosts sightings, as in where they happened, except in a couple of cases.

Like the creature that surprised the family camping in the White Mountains of Arizona. It at least gave you that much, but where exactly did the family have the experience? I don't know.

The other two monster stories were vague. The settings were described, but states weren't even mentioned.

The ghost stories did give some indication of place. The "silver lady" was spotted at "a beachfront caravan park near Killala Beach, New South Wales, Australia." The hovering ghost encounter happened "along an unpaved forest road in the Manzano Mountains in northern New Mexico."

Wish I could give you more to go on if you wanted to set out this summer on a camping Haunt Jaunt of your own to investigate these places, but...that's all I got folks.

Potential Haunt Jaunt: The Sam Davis Home in Smyrna, TN

This afternoon my husband, Wayne, and I made an unexpected Haunt Jaunt to the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna, TN. It's not far from the hospital where I'm getting my radiation treatments, which Wayne accompanied me to today because he unexpectedly got the day off.

Anyway, I figured if nothing else it'd make a great getaway article for my gig over at Examiner.com, but...I couldn't resist asking, "Do you have ghosts?" when our tour guide kept commenting about doors being unlocked he swore he had locked himself, or vice versa.

Ghost Stories

Wayne gets very uncomfortable when I ask such questions. However, he's also surprised when, 9 times out of 10, instead of looking at me like I'm nuts, people say, "Now that you mention it..." and launch into ghost stories.

Today our guide said there are lots of unexplained things that happen there, but the best ghost story he knew of was one that happened to another volunteer.

The Crying Woman

I forget why he said the guide was in the house, but he was alone...except he heard a woman crying. He ran to see what was wrong, and sadly I don't remember if he was running into the parlor or another room, but when he got to where he heard the crying coming from it stopped.

He went to rejoin the other volunteers and said, "I just had the strangest experience." He went on to tell them and one of the women asked, "Don't you know what week this is? It's the anniversary of Sam's death."

Sam Davis: His Life and Death

I've seen signs for the Historic Sam Davis Home but didn't know who Sam Davis was. I thought he was an old man who was influential in Tennessee politics or something.

In a way he was, but he sure wasn't an old man. He was only 21 when he died and was serving as a Confederate soldier in the Civil War. He was hung after he was caught by Union troops and convicted of being a spy. When his mother saw the wagon pull up with his coffin inside, she fainted.

His body was brought back to his home for burial in late December 1863. It was around that time of year some 140 plus years later that the volunteer heard the woman crying...a woman the other volunteers immediately concluded must be Sam's mom, Jane.

The Sam Davis Home made for a fun jaunt I wasn't even expecting to have today. It was a neat history lesson...and a neat new place to add to the Haunt Jaunts files.

Ghosts in the News for the Week of 5/3/09

Here's a couple of places I came across in news stories this week that might be fun to take a Haunt Jaunt to.

HISTORIC FORT WAYNE - Detroit, MI

According to an article published on May 4, 2009 by TheTimesHerald.com, Metro Paranormal Investigations (MPI) out of Macomb, Michigan, in conjunction with the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition, will be giving ghost tours/allowing for paranormal investigations of Historic Fort Wayne on the following dates:

• May 16, 2009
• June 20, 2009
• August 16, 2009
• September 19, 2009
• October 31, 2009.

The fort is located in downtown Detroit along the banks of the Detroit River. Like many such sights, there've been a lot of reports of mysterious forms and unexplained activity. Some of which I presume you'll learn about during the guided tour that'll start off the evening. (Investigators with MPI will be on the tours.) Then, afterwards, you're on your own to investigate where and how you want.

Tickets may be reserved by visiting The Haunted Tours at Historic Fort Wayne site. (Click here.) Cost: $40 per person, with proceeds benefiting Historic Fort Wayne.

Clever idea to raise funds to preserve a historic site!

For more info about MPI, check out their website.

RAMS HEAD TAVERN - Annapolis, MD

I have a special affinity for haunted pubs. Even before my experiences at the Shilo Inn or in St. Augustine, there was the George & Dragon in Phoenix.

It was supposed to be like an English pub. Neat place. We often met coworkers there for happy hour or dinner. It was a waitress wearing a mass of jingling bracelets on her wrist that first alerted me to the theory their may be an otherworldly patron or two hanging about. Like with Harry's in St. Augustine, this ghost had a penchant for the bathroom, too. (But I never experienced anything like what I did at Harry's.)

Anyway, so I love when I stumble across haunted bar stories. Which is what I found in a story by Diane Rey on HometownAnnapolis.com from May 4, 2009.

The building that houses the tavern can trace its roots all the way back to 1703. It's been a lot of things over the years besides a tavern and has seen a lot of people come and go. well, um, er...maybe not so much go.

The most notable lingerer is a spirit known as Amy. Legend has it she died in the building while "entertaining" a male client. In addition to spotting her apparition, some claim to feel a cold chill they believe is her when in the presence of "hot guys." (From one of he servers.)

But there's also an old woman some believe roam the tavern, and employees report feeling uncomfortable and spooked by another presence in the cellar.

It sounds like a neat place as is. Food, drinks, music...can't go wrong. But what sounds even more fun is what the Maryland Ghost and Spirit Association did recently: they gathered in the tavern's "tea room," had dinner, then conducted a hunt afterwards.

As Rey quoted manager Scott Haney in the article, "Ghosts don't have to be scary. If they help sell beer, even better."

My thoughts precisely!

Haunted Skies

I just read an interesting article called "Ghosts on a Plane" over at TravelParanormal.com.

I thought it was going to be about planes that were haunted and experiences travelers have had on board, but it was a little different. It referenced air force bases being haunted, but talked primarily about crash sites and the after effects some have experienced.

It takes a lot to give me chills these days, and I thought I'd heard just about every variation of ghost story out there, but I have to admit this article brought fresh shivers to my spine. Especially the tale of a crash site in Illinois.

If I'm understanding the article correctly, the crash happened in 1979 near Des Plaine.

CHILL #1

After the crash there were reports of "bobbing lights." Some thought it was people looking to scavenge the crash site, but when police were called out they found nothing. Kind of weird, but makes sense. As I'll never forget Donna Marsh saying, the "freshies" didn't know where to go. Instead their energy lingered and resulted in the mysterious lights.

Still, I had never thought about a crash site holding residual energy like this. Why, I don't know. It's no different than a car crash site and I've heard (and even believed) a fair share of tales about those. Maybe because it's not every day you pass a plane crash site...

CHILL #2

This is what really got me, though. Right after the crash, residents at a nearby mobile home park started having some weird experiences with knockings on their doors (and even windows). Except, when they went to answer (or investigate), no one was there.

And one man reportedly was out walking his dog one night, came across a man who not only smelt of gasoline but was smoldering a bit. Gas Man told Dog Walker Man he needed to make an emergency call. Dog Walker Man turned to point out a public phone but when he turned back Gas Man had vanished.

ARE THERE GHOSTS ON PLANES?

I know some groups, even my favorite ghost hunting group TAPS, has investigated air force bases where helicopters or planes now used as displays have purported hauntings, but I wonder if any working commercial airliners ever have an extra passenger on board?

That thought might give me pause the next time I'm flying with an empty seat on either side of me...

Click here to read "Ghosts on a Plane."

Cheeseman Park - Denver, CO

A BRIEF HISTORY ON MY CONNECTION WITH CHEESEMAN PARK

I attended Cheeseman Academy from 1st grade through 6th. My class was the last to graduate from the school, in fact.

Cheeseman Academy was situated on the fringe of Cheeseman Park. It was housed in a glorious old brownstone mansion. It had started out as a girl's school, complete with dormitories, in the early 1900s. I'm not sure when it became a co-ed private school, but a woman named Ms. Miller owned and ran it for years and years. She died when I was in 5th grade I believe. Maybe 4th. Her son and his wife took over the school when I was in 6th grade, then decided it was too much, the building was too old and needed too much upkeep, enrollment was dropping so...they opted to shut it down.

THE DREAMS

For a long time I used to have horrible dreams featuring Cheeseman Academy. Dreams not inspired by terrible teachers or bullies I had to contend with, but just by the feeling I sometimes got while at the school. Sometimes it was just a plain spooky place to be.

I'd dream about a malevolent spirit. One that lived up in the attic, a place that in real life students were rarely allowed to go. When we were, it was always in the presence of a teacher, never by ourselves. It would torment me in my dreams...fly down at me as I was walking upstairs, stalk me in the gym, make me not want to be left alone in certain classrooms... I loved attending the school when I was little, but I sure wasn't always happy to dream about it.

I had the dreams on and off until Cheeseman was finally torn down sometime in the '90s. I haven't dreamt of the school since then..nor of the ghost.

CHEESEMAN'S HISTORY AS A CEMETERY

At one point, Cheeseman was the old city cemetery. Mt. Prospect Cemetery was its name. In 1890 an Act of Congress mandated that this parcel of property was not supposed to be used for a cemetery but was supposed to be a park. Bodies were removed --paid for by relatives if they could afford it and were wanting to claim family members.

However, in the area known as Potter's Field , where the poor and indecent were buried, who was there to pay for their removal? The city of course. And they paid a man named E.P. McGovern $1.90 a body.

But McGovern had to use children's caskets because a bad mining accident in Utah created a shortage of adult caskets. But since adult bodies wouldn't fit in the children's caskets, he sized them to fit. As you might expect, some discrepancies in billing resulted.

The health commissioner of the time decided to halt further removal of bodies and to seal the land. Some now wonder if this sealed the fate of the park that was to come...

GHOST ACTIVITY IN AND AROUND THE PARK

Sine Cheeseman Academy resided on the edge of the park, we were there almost every day. (Winter excluded.) But on nice fall and spring afternoons it was the rule not the exception to go for an outing to the park.

Some have reported strange feelings or interactions while in the park. Such as laying on the grass and feeling like they couldn't get up, like something was holding them down. I never felt anything while I was in the park...only while I was in the school.

And others who live in the houses or condos and apartments that line the park have felt similar things. Some have been more friendly than the ghost who inhabited my dreams, but some have provided quite a shock.

WHERE IS CHEESEMAN PARK IN DENVER?

Cheeseman Park is located between E. 8th Ave and E. 13th Ave and Race St. and Humboldt St.

FUN FACTS

• Cheeseman Park's history was partly the inspiration for the movie Poltergeist.
• The Denver Botanic Gardens is also by the park. Because the DBG was also erected over the old cemetery, some people have reported experiencing paranormal activity there too. In fact, an old coffin and remains was recently unearthed when the DBG started construction on a parking garage.

Spooky Nights at the Shilo Inn

In 1998, I worked for the law firm Snell & Wilmer in Phoenix, Arizona. I worked in Bankruptcy at the time, but business was slow back then. Because we had a minimum hours requirement and I was having trouble meeting mine, I was "loaned out" to another practice group.

Funny, now that I think back I don't know what the group was called. I know they did oil and gas stuff out of the Salt Lake City office, but I don't know if that's what they were called. That part really doesn't matter. What's important is that I spent two weeks in Salt Lake City copying oil records at a government building.

THE HOTEL

I'm also not 100% on the name of the hotel I stayed at, but I do believe it was the Shilo Inn in downtown Salt Lake City. I remember I was across from the convention center and this hotel fits the bill.

It was during my second week in town that I had my "encounter."

THE FIRST EXPERIENCE

The very first odd thing I remember happening was when I woke up one morning. I got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom, then found myself rapidly ducking as I turned the corner and saw a dark mass flying at me from out of the corner of my eye.

I remember feeling so confused. I was certain something had flown at me. Not just something, but possibly even someone. If I hadn't been standing there all by myself I would've sworn someone else had just rushed at me...or maybe even swung at me.

But there was nothing there. I was all by myself. I pretty much dismissed it after I took a shower. I was a little worried about my health actually...until I rationalized it that I was maybe just more asleep than I wanted to admit when I'd first stumbled out of bed.

THE SECOND EXPERIENCE

Harder to dismiss was what happened over the next couple of nights. (Which I'll just lump generally together as "The Second Experience.")

I remember being awoken by something...sounds in my room. Almost like drawers being opened. When I turned on the lights nothing was out of place, though, and I was still all alone.

Yet, I had the oddest sensation I wasn't all alone. And for some reason I had the notion children were hiding in the drawers. It was a really creepy feeling, and like I alluded to before, it lasted more than one night.

GHOSTS OF THE MURDERED CHILDREN?

When I got back to Phoenix I was talking to one of the project assistants who'd been born and raised in Salt Lake City. She had asked how I'd liked it there. I had really enjoyed the city. I'd had my nights free...and had gotten off at 5 p.m. most nights so I had time to explore a little. I'd actually ended up having a blast.

But I did happen to mention my weird experiences...just kind of jokingly. I never expected her to tell me what she did.

She didn't know which hotel it'd happened at, but she remembered when she'd been little that a lady had thrown several of her kids out the window before killing herself.

Could it be the sensation of children playing in the drawers of my room had been these children?

I don't know. I've never been able to confirm if that had really happened. (Heck, the project assistant might even have been pulling my leg for all I know! I doubt it, because she wasn't that type, but...I suppose there's always that possibility.)

If you happen to live in Salt Lake City or grew up there yourself and remember such an incident, or if you come across any news articles detailing one, I'd really appreciate hearing of it.

Introduction - Here there be ghosts

What is Haunt Jaunts?

Simply put, it's a travel blog for restless spirits.

I've had the idea for a while now. When my husband Wayne and I moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Jacksonville, Florida, we took a day trip to St. Augustine. As we drove past the fort (officially known as the Castillo de San Marcos), I remember whispering to him, "Here there be ghosts."

We didn't go in that day. We just walked around the town, then went to eat at Harry's. We were seated upstairs and after we ordered I went to use the bathroom. (There are two, one downstairs and one up. I used the upstairs one.)

That's when I met my first ghost.

Well, not "met" exactly. Experienced would be a better word.

THE BATHROOM INCIDENT

I was all alone in the bathroom, but I got the oddest sensation I wasn't. It's hard to explain. There was a chill in the air, and it felt as if there was a presence lingering. Watching. Waiting. I remember as I washed my hands looking in the mirror and scrutinizing the area behind me. I swear it felt like someone was right behind my shoulder, but no one was. I have never hustled out of a bathroom faster.

When I was once again back at the safety of the table, I felt foolish. I sort of laughed to Wayne that something odd had happened in the bathroom. But since nothing had really happened, I'd just had a weird feeling more than anything, there wasn't much to tell. He just shook his head and the matter was forgotten.

THE GHOST BOOK

A few months later, though, I came across a book, Haunt Hunter's Guide to Florida. It's broken up into regions. Region Two caught my eye because it was where we lived. A couple of the places listed we'd either been to or had passed by, but some I hadn't heard of. Like "Site 13 - 46 Avenida Menendez."

"What's that?" I wondered, knowing we'd likely been by it. Avenida Menendez was one of the main thoroughfares through St. Augustine.

So I started reading and learned that at one time it had been the Chart House restaurant, but before that it had been a house. One that had a history of fire and a woman named Bridgett died during it. The author had talked to former restaurant owners who shared some experiences with odd happenings they'd seen. But the line that almost stopped my heart was, "Psychics came in, and they said there was an obvious presence in the ladies' room upstairs."

I pleaded with Wayne to take me back to St. Augustine that weekend. I had to know if Harry's was at 46 Avenida Menendez. (I knew it was, but I had to see it in person for myself.) Sure enough, we found that's exactly where it was...and I was convinced then that I, too, had experienced the presence in the upstairs bathroom.

Thus was born a new kind of travel regimen for us. I used Haunt Hunter's Guide to Florida as a travel guide to take us to other places in Florida where ghosts were alleged to dwell.

THE QUEST

I think part of me was on a quest to again have an experience like the one I'd had at Harry's. Because that wasn't the first time I'd encountered ghosts on my travels. In the couple of years leading up to that, I'd had some other ghost experiences at other places. One a pub in Phoenix and one a hotel in Salt Lake City.

Mostly I was hoping to put myself in a place where I'd perhaps see an actual apparition and have the "Holy Grail" of ghost encounters. But what happened was that Wayne and I ended up going around and seeing a bunch of really cool places and having a blast in the process.

THE BIRTH OF HAUNT JAUNTS

That's how I got the idea to chronicle our travels, and our travel dreams. Haunt Jaunts the blog will be a combination of places we've been, places we'd like to go, and interviews with others who have had similar experiences.

I welcome comments, be they suggestions for places to travel to that you've heard of where ghosts may live, or experiences you've had on your travels. Thanks for your interest!