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.

Ghost Tour de France

With the Tour de France well underway, I thought it'd be interesting to take a ghost tour of France. The trouble is, I had a hard time finding ghost stories from France!

LOST IN TRANSLATION?

I figured finding ghost tours in France, or ghost stories from France, would be as easy as finding them for England. It doesn't seem that the French have embraced the concept of ghost tours in all their historic places as readily as the English have, though.

Paris had one, but the rest of France seems like an untapped market for anyone looking for a place to branch out into paranormal tourism.

Still, I did find a few places that would make fun Haunt Jaunts if you happen to make it to France. (Not to mention they just look like neat places you might like to visit period, ghost enthusiast or no, if you're ever over there.)

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL HAUNTED PLACES DIRECTORY

• Disneyland Paris - The children's section has had reports of "mysterious vortex of energy" haunting the area.
• Monts d'Arree - The locals have a spot they deemed the Gates of Hell because of all the ghost sightings. Legend has it a little girl was sacrificed by devil worshippers there. Her ghost, along with a demon dog, are the ones most frequently reported. (Interesting to note: A nuclear reactor was built on the site, so if you find that start looking for ghosts!)
• Basilica at Domremy - Joan of Arc's ghost is thought to haunt here.
• Versailles - Marie Antoinette's entire court is said to haunt the gardens of Trianon.

FROM SHADOWLANDS HAUNTED PLACES IN FRANCE

• Best Western Bretagne Montparnasse - Stay in Paris and have a hauntingly good time with a ghost said to wake you from your dreams to find a bright, wispy blue hand and arm over your face.
• Paris Catacombs - On the Shadowlands site it says there was a video camera found with footage showing a terrified man running from something unseen, but the man was never found. Sounds like the Blair Witch Project to me. But of course with so many bones, all of which were transplanted from other cemeteries, there might be a restless spirit or two lurking down there...
• The Eiffel Tower - Did an angry boyfriend throw his girlfriend to her death after she refused to say yes to his proposal of marriage? Her ghost is said to be heard first laughing, then saying no, then screaming as she falls to her death.

FROM GHOSTS AND THE PARANORMAL

• Brissac Castle - This is one of the castles in the famed, fairytale land of the Loire Valley. It's dubbed "The Giant of the Loire Valley" because its seven stories make it the tallest of France's castles. Said to be haunted by Jacques de Breze's wife, Charlotte and her lover, who were killed together.

FROM GHOSTVILLAGE.COM

• Mysteries of Paris Ghost Tour - I wasn't kidding when I started off saying the French haven't caught on to the boon of paranormal tourism yet. The cities first ever ghost tour just opened this past Spring. That blows me away given all of its history. I think of all the ghost tours in our oldest cities, which are just babies compared to Paris. But it was comforting because it explains why I had such a hard time finding ghost tour info for other French cities --they likely don't have ghost tours yet! (I smell opportunity for any of you ex-pats or wannabe ex-pats.)

Roadside America: A Guide to Uniquely Odd Tourist Attractions

After I posted my entry about haunted travel sites yesterday, I came across yet another travel site: Roadside America, an online guide to offbeat tourist attractions.

Its focus isn't necessarily restricted to haunted places, though. It's a smorgasboard of things.

WHAT YOU CAN FIND ON ROADSIDE
AMERICA

As travel sites go, they have pretty standard features, such as a listing of hotels & motels. But of course they put their own unique spin on it.

When you click on a state, it takes you to a page with a listing of links to hotels & motels by city. In the sidebar on the right, it also lists "Quirky Tourist Attractions" within the state.

But then they've compiled some very bizarre attractions. This is defiitely the site to visit if you've ever wanted to map out a route to see Muffler Men, Smiley Water Towers, Two-Story Outhouses, or Tiny Churches.

PARANORMAL LISTINGS ON ROADSIDE AMERICA

This is what caught my attention about Roadside America: their Mystery Spots and Roadside Creatures sections.

I didn't find anything really amazing I didn't already know about, but it is a neat concept.

OTHER NOTABLE ROADSIDE AMERICA FEATURES

Two other things I liked about the site were their Sight of the Week and their My Sights Route Planner (you can "create your own bizarre road trips" and save them on the site).

HauntJaunts.net & Other Haunted Travel Sites

In yesterday's post I mentioned how HauntJaunts.net is not a one-of-a-kind, there are other haunted travel sites out there. What are they?

I listed them yesterday, but they're worth noting again:

THE OTHER HAUNTED TRAVEL SITES

• A Ghost in My Suitcase
• The Haunted Traveler
• TravelParanormal.com

NOT SUCH A NOVEL CONCEPT

It was in late 2007 when I first thought instead of doing Haunt Jaunts: A Travel Guide for Restless Spirits as a book like I'd initially seen it as that I'd set it up as a website.

One of the first things I did was check out the Internet for any similar sites already in existence. That's how I found A Ghost in My Suitcase.

At first I was bummed. "Someone else has already had this idea? Drat."

But as I cruised around on the site, I realized his vision and mine were two different things. He was using the website to promote his book of the same name. His shtick was 50 haunted places in 50 states.

My vision was bigger than that. I wanted to be a sort of paranormal yellow pages. A place people could turn to when looking for restaurants, hotels, or attractions with ghost stories attached to them. If the allegedly haunted place had a website, I'd link to it, as well as include its physical address and phone number.

Also, I liked the idea of not only breaking Jaunts down by state, but also by venue and giving them catchy names. (Hence, Apparition Attractions, Eerie Eateries & Pubs, Spooky Stays, etc...)

"There might just be room on the web for both of us!" I realized.

COMPETITION OR...?

Then this year as I've set about getting things set up in earnest I stumbled across the other two sites: The Haunted Traveler and TravelParanormal.com.

My first reaction was similar to the one I'd had upon discovering A Ghost in My Suitcase. Then I checked them out.

Each offers something unique. The Haunted Traveler's site does list some Haunt Jaunts and gives a history behind some of them, but his main deal is his spirit photography. (Which is amazing, I must say. I haven't checked into how much his work costs, but talk about hauntingly beautiful...)

And then TravelParanormal.com lists all the 50 states, but it's more of a compilation of news and articles related to cities within the state.

ONE MORE HAUNTED TRAVEL SITE

There's one more haunted listing site that my friend Brenda sent me not too long ago: The Shadowlands Haunted Places Index.

This has the most thorough listings of all of them. Not only does it have all 50 states, but also includes listings for haunted places outside of America.

However, it still isn't the vision I had. If I''m not mistaken, it would (and I think does) list somewhere like Waverly, whereas I wouldn't.

I only want to list Jaunts where people can go freely. (You may have to pay for a room or something like that to stay at a Jaunt, but it's accessible to the public.) I didn't want to get into listing abandoned places and all that, no matter how good the ghost story.

COMMON THEME + DIFFERENT APPROACHES = MORE CHOICES

As I see it, we each offer a different flavor. It's kind of like pizza: not all of them taste the same. Some people like the sauce at one place better than another. Or the crust. Or the way the meat is sliced. Everyone has their favorite based on how it suits their palate.

I think the same applies for finding ghosts via haunted travel sites: one might appeal to one ghost enthusiast more than another. At least there's some choice.

Of course, that doesn't stop me from hoping HauntJaunts.net will explode. I can see it now: the Domino's or the Pizza Hut of the ghost community.

Okay, okay, it may sound crazy.But it doesn't hurt to wish big, does it?

Haunts Jaunts Extends a Friendship Blog Award to These 8 Blogs

Yesterday I saw an email from my good pal, Lisa Logan (who I introduced here last week who'll be making a guest post), saying she'd given me a friendship blog award or some such on her blog, Writing in My Wildest Dreams.

"Huh?" I thought, confused.

See, I'd had a rather exhausting weekend. I haven't seen my dad since March 2008, when I made an emergency trip back to Denver when my mom went into the hospital. That trip was the beginning of what turned into what I'll probably come to call my Catastrophe Year.

(I ended up moving my mom back to Nashville with me because not only was she diagnosed with lung cancer while she was in the hospital, but she also had dementia and doctors determined she could no longer live alone. That was just the beginning of it all. I keep hoping with my hitchhiker being in remission that the dark days of my Catastrophe Year are behind me, but....)

That brings me back to my dad. Wayne and I went up to Indiana to see him because he flew in from Denver for a high school reunion and to stay with his sister. We drove up to see him because now his health is failing. His girlfriend is exhausted trying to keep up with all his doctor appointments and hospital stays, so... I once again feel the pressure to help like I felt when my mom took a turn for the worst. Except his situation is different from my mom's in a lot of respects. Different complications and considerations and my mind hasn't been still for the past four days trying to figure out what to do about it all.

So to see this award from Lisa was just that little bit of a happy booster that I needed. To remind me that there is a lighter and happier side to life. One I want to participate in too. With that said, here's how I'm participating today: By extending some "Let's Be Friends Awards" myself!

ABOUT THE AWARD:

Blogs that receive the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers.

I'd hereby like to deliver this award to the following exceedingly charming, friendly bloggers:

1. Lisa Logan of Writing in My Wildest Dreams (back atcha babe!): I think that not only is Lisa one of the most talented, creative, and on the verge of breaking it BIG writers I know, I LOVE her theme days, especially that Wild Dream Wednesday!
2. Chris Verstraete of the Candid Canine: I was honored she let me read her Searching for a Starry Night and fall in love with her Sam character long before it found a publisher...and then to be there biting my nails with her as she awaited responses to submissions, rejoiced with her during her acceptance, lived vicariously through her as it found publication, and celebrated with her when it became a 2009 EPPIE Finalist. To top it off, she's developed a great blog that lets others celebrate her journey too.
3. AutumnForest of Ghost Hunting Theories: I had been interested in her blog, but didn't know who she was until I clicked through to her profile after she consistently left comments on mine. Then I was even more honored she was commenting because here I've been such an admirer of the hard work she puts in over at her blog. (Not to mention all the interesting theories she proposes, some of which I'm convinced might either revolutionize ghost hunting techniques or change the way ghost hunters view their data.)
4. Mike and Julie at Above the Norm: I found them via Ghost Hunting Theories and immediately respected them. They're my kind of people! All things paranormal intrigue them, so they include just about everything in their blog: TV and movie reviews, book excerpts (that they're writing), thoughts in general...it's very interesting and entertaining stuff!
5. Tom G of Dark Destinations: I stumbled across this blog thanks to a link in a Google Alert. I immediately respected it and became a follower because it's a variation of the same thing Haunt Jaunts is. (Its tagline: The online travel guide to the mysterious and macabre...)
6. ATrueOriginall of The Paranormal Casebook: This blog is way rocking. I admire ATrueOriginall because she relentlessly posts clip after clip of daily paranormal news. How she does it, I don't know, but she's made herself an authority and a respected one at that among a ton of bloggers who share an interest in the paranormal and unexplained.
7. Phantoms & Monsters: I don't know who's behind this blog, but I like the stories they post. Often it's reprises of stories published elsewhere with links to the original piece. I also dig, dig, dig their header graphic. Creepy...
8. Nick Redfern's There's Something in These Woods: This blog mainly focuses on another side of the paranormal: cryptozoology. From Bigfoot to werewolves to vampires and other creatures that we know as myths or from legends, Nick sets out to find evidence of their existence. I like following to see what new creatures I'll learn about. (Some are just legend, their existence hasn't been proven, but they're beasts I've never heard of. I always like expanding my horizons!)

A 'Haunting Formula' for Best Haunt Jaunts

On one of the blogs I've been following lately, Ghost Hunting Theories, the author has concocted a "Haunting Formula" in conjunction with some research she's doing to rate "50 haunted sites around the US." She uses a criteria of six things to base her scoring on:

1. What the building's constructed out of (i.e. brick, stone, etc)
2. Age of the building
3. The building's history (history or death or other traumatic events)
4. What it's built on or over (i.e. limestone, sand, granite)
5. It's proximity to train tracks
6. It's proximity to water

She may have scored other places using her Haunting Formula, but these are the ones I know she's examined so far:

Ft. Mifflin

St. Augustine Lighthouse

Eureka Springs Crescent Hotel

Iron Island Museum

Bunnyman Bridge

All have earned perfect 6 out of 6s except for the Eureka Springs Crescent Hotel. It got a 5 out of 6.

It's very interesting to me because what great Haunt Jaunts some of these places would make! (Some were already on my list to add to the Jaunt pages on HauntJaunts.net, like the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Ft. Mifflin, but her posts reminded me about the other places that would also be good adds.)

What's even funnier, I just realized today that Ghost Hunting Theories is the brainchild of Autumnforest. If you follow the comments on my blogs, you'll see I have two regular commenters and she's one of them. (The other is Lisa Logan, authoress of the blog Writing in My Wildest Dreams.) I was tickled to find that out, because hers is one of my favorite blogs to follow and here she sometimes leaves comments on mine!

At any rate, I'll continue to follow her findings. It's very interesting stuff and just may provide a new way of looking at haunted places. (Not to mention Haunt Jaunts.)

Examiner.com's Haunted Places and Haunted Sites Examiners

I recently signed on with Examiner.com to be a Nashville Getaways Examiner, but was excited to find several Haunted Places Examiners for me to follow in the process.

WHAT'S EXAMINER.COM?

It's a newer site dedicated to promoting cities by providing writers a platform to share their expertise or passion about where they live on all manner of subjects. Their catch phrase is: Examiners are credible, passionate, knowledgeable writers.

They have Examiners for everything ranging from Arts & Entertainment Examiners to Careers & Workplace, Bars & Restaurants, Pets, Politics, and Relationship Examiners. (It was actually because a Google alert let me know Seattle Marriage Advice Examiner Becca Campbell referenced one of my old Families.com articles that I became familiar with them.)

And I'm glad I did. Not only because they're allowing me to write about Nashville Getaways, but now I've found other people (Examiners) interested in the same thing as me! Haunted Places!

HAUNTED PLACES AND HAUNTED SITES EXAMINERS SO FAR

Examiner.com hires more and more writers every day so I'm sure this list will be expanding, but here's the links to two of the Haunted Places and Haunted Sites Examiners already on board.

1. Debe Branning, Arizona Haunted Sites Examiner
2. Vince Wilson, Baltimore Haunted Places Examiner

"WHY AREN'T YOU A HAUNTED PLACES EXAMINER, COURTNEY?"

Excellent question! They asked if I wanted to be a Nashville Haunted Travel Examiner, were willing to work with me on that, but I declined. I wanted to broaden my horizons to Getaways because Wayne and I will inevitably be getting out and about more again now that I'm getting better and closer to being done with my cancer treatments. That way I can write about our Haunt Jaunts here, while also tweaking them for the Getaways blog too.

Also, I didn't want to taint Haunt Jaunts the blog. Since I do use it as my travel blog also, albeit for more than just Nashville, I wanted to keep it sort of its own thing.

However, I'm looking forward to becoming more acquainted with the Haunted Places and Haunted Sites Examiners!

. within

Ghost Cams: Ghost Hunt from Home

Today I joined Digg and came across some great articles, including one on a topic I've been pondering writing about/adding to HauntJaunts.net's Find a Jaunts page: Ghost Cams.

WHAT'S A GHOST CAM?

A ghost cam is a webcam set up to monitor paranormal activity. Then, you the at-home-ghost-hunter, can monitor the activity without the travel, hassle, or investment in equipment. And you can do it round-the-clock if you want to. For multiple locations all at once.

HOW DO I FIND A GHOST CAM?

One way is to Google "ghost cam." You'll get a mind-boggling list of hits. Some are for actual ghost cams set up monitoring activity, some are to try and sell you ghost hunting equipment...it's really kind of overwhelming.

Or...

You can save yourself all that work and check out this great article by Ryan Dube called "Go Ghost Hunting with Your Internet Browser." Not only does he list the top ghost cams out there, he shows you how to set up a Webcam Watcher. I didn't even know there was such a tool!

But Ryan sure does, and he uses step-by-step illustrations to explain how to configure everything you'll need to have what he calls your at-home "ghost hunting lab" to flow smoothly from your computer.

It was a really great article that had exactly what I was wondering about (best ghost cams) and a little bit more (a technology lesson).

Ghostvillage.com

This past weekend I spent a lot of time adding books to Haunt Jaunt's Emporium. Among them was The World's Most Haunted Places: From the Secret Files of Ghostvillage.com by Jeff Belanger.

I'd heard of Ghostvillage.com, had even clicked through from some Google search I'd run on something or another, but hadn't ever really checked it out. (I think I'd meant to the time I clicked through, but I believe I didn't dawdle because I was on the hunt for something...)

Anyway, I finally tooled around there a little bit more. I found out Mr. Belanger has written a ton of books, a couple of which I'm sure also got added to HJ's Emporium this past weekend like Our Haunted Lives, the Encyclopedia of Haunted Places, and what I believe is his newest book, Who's Haunting the White House. But he's got tons more.

The site's really neat --not to mention among the most popular of its kind. Well, on their home page they declare they are "the most popular paranormal destination according to Google.com and Amazon.com."

Paranormal? Destination? Perfect item for Haunt Jaunts!

And I can see why it attracts so many visitors. There are forums, blogs, a listing of Haunted Events, even a listing of some Haunted Places and Haunted Hotels and B&Bs under its Directories tab.

Pretty cool stuff. I have a feeling I'll be referring back to Ghostvillage.com a lot.

Oh, they also have a newsletter. I made sure to sign up for it.

Anyway, not a conventional Jaunt, but heading to ghostvillage.com is definitely one worthy of making!