The allure of ghost stories
With Halloween approaching and many of us turning our thoughts to what’s out of this world, I’ve been thinking on the allure of the ghost story. It’s a treat, isn’t it? Something delicious to share. The spookier the content, the sweeter it is … On that note, I really enjoyed this post by author Ilie Ruby, and am looking forward to reading more of her work.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/10/26/we.love.ghost.stories/?hpt=Sbin
Belief in the afterlife: the gift of hope
An artist's impression of the sun consuming the earth
It’s amazing how often stunning synchronicities edge into our lives, though we usually give them little notice. One happened just then, as I was readying to post this link to my guest blog on the lovely Rebecca Dettman’s website (Bec is my former WHO colleague and a talented journalist and intuitive).
The subject of my musings in the guest blog is how a belief in the afterlife affords, above all else, hope. In the post – and in Spirit Sisters – I share the story of how as a child, I’d read a text book which rattled me for months. I’ll never forget how starkly it described how one day, the sun would obliterate the earth. It was a case of when, not if, and I couldn’t sleep afterwards, trying to imagine this vacuum, this vast nothingness.
Only my budding interest in the paranormal assuaged, to some extent, my fears. The promise of something existing in some distant realm, beyond the reach of the wrecking ball sun, was a wonderful gift.
You can read my entire post here:
Lady Gaga the ghost hunter
Lady Gaga about ghosts?
Lady Gaga is reportedly obsessed with ghosts. The Queen of wacky is said to be terrified of negative forces, and “has every hotel and tour venue scanned by a team of paranormal investigators before she will agree to stay there,” says Britain’s Grazia magazine.
A team of paranormal investigators checking out every hotel? She’s been on her massive Monster world tour for months, so this would be a logistical horror story. A source told the magazine: “She believes in paranormal activity and won’t take any risks when she is on the road. It’s important to her to be safe from spirits.”
The report claims that she’s spent around $50,000 on high-tech ghost-detecting equipment including EMF Meters.
What has she got to be so afraid of? Sounds like she needs to pick up a copy of Spirit Sisters asap. The many stories of people gaining comfort and hope after communication from their late loved ones might assuage her fears. And save her some cash.
Famous Picton Ghost Hunts under threat
I was disappointed to read that the days of the Picton Ghost Tours in NSW may be numbered. It’s literally been years since I first made a mental note to travel to Picton, a small township about 80 km southwest of Sydney, and soak in its haunted heritage. Now, according to news.com.au, locals are calling for the tours to end, citing vandals and hooligans wreaking havoc after hours.
St. Mark's Anglican Cemetery, Picton
Picton became a talking point back in January when a woman noticed two strange children in one of her photographs. I’m not sure what the truth isi behind that image, but the disappointing fact is that the children appear to be wearing modern clothing. Personally, I like my ghost kids in Victorian knickerbockers and ringlets. Hoops optional.
Anyway, I hope the council does away with its plans to end the tours. The late local historian Liz Vincent began them many years ago, igniting a wealth of spooky sightings and anecdotes for the files, and boosting tourism in the local area. I interviewed Liz during my research for Spirit Sisters and her enthusiasm for history and the paranormal (preferably together) was contagious. Today, her husband John and daughter Jenny are doing a great job keeping her passion alive. I wish them the best, but in the meantime, I’ve moved that mental note a little higher up the ‘to do’ list.
Oxford tourist captures historical ghost?
A tourist on a ghost tour in the beautiful university city of Oxford, UK, has captured what she thinks may be the ghost of a woman in period dress strolling along New College Lane. “I thought it looked so beautiful glowing with All Soul’s College in the background I had to take a photo,” Sue Tomlinson told the Oxford Mail. “When I first saw [the photo] I thought it looked strange and wanted to get home and put it on the computer so I could see it bigger.
You can see the image here: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8427740.Tourist_captures_spooky_image_on_camera/
Looking at the photo, I can make out what appears to be a woman in a skirt (and perhaps a bustle?) Peer a bit closer and she might be wearing a hat and cape and carrying something in her hand. Set your imagination free and she even looks to be in something of a hurry … Then again, I’m ever wary of pareidolia, the psychological phenomenon of a random image being perceived as significant, like seeing patterns in clouds, or deities stamped onto toast …. What else this could be? Well, as the owner of a very sub-standard point-and-click digital camera, I’ll have to reserve judgment, but I’d welcome your thoughts.
