Kenosha Paranormal Experience

https://youtu.be/cZ69z13up_Y

Something to do on HALLOWEEN - now that SPOOKY SEASON is here

Courtesy of Google

 

Courtesy of Google

If you're looking for Haunted Halloween sites to visit this weekend, check these places out in Portland:

Oaks Park Haunted ScareGrounds

Old Town (otbrewing.com) Shanghai Tunnel Haunted Tour is Open!

The Crystal Ballroom has their Erotic Ball on October 30thand you can check out their site here:  Crystal Ballroom - Historic Music Venue located in Portland, Oregon (crystalballroompdx.com)

McMenamin's (including the  Bagdad Theater) is offering Halloween special treats: All Locations - Halloween - McMenamins

Unfortunately, Lone Fir Cemetery isn't having the Tombstone Trick or Treating this year but you can check out some photos from previous years: TOMBSTONE TRICK OR TREAT! – Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery

and hopefully next year it  will be back with us. 

You can also check out my Local Guide Map here

or paste in the link: https://goo.gl/maps/5zckDnc3sG9g9dteA

And Google's YouTube Interview of me here 

or paste in the link: https://youtu.be/k4TEHqAvQvs

Plus, if you're not in Portland and you'd like to check out a National Hot Haunted Picks, check it out here

or simply paste in the link:

https://blog.google/products/maps/maps-halloween-guide-2021/

 

5-Minute Haunted Halloween Tour #2 (Seattle)

It's actually 7 minutes - but close enough. For the month of October I wanted to do something Spooktacular to celebrate the Scary Season. So, I decided to visit some "haunted" sites around my hometown. 

I've visited quite a few sites around Portland, Oregon. So, I decided to head up to Seattle to see a few new places on my path to the paranormal.

If you're interested, simply click on the video below to a hear a quick story about one very haunted location in Seattle.

5-Minute Haunted Halloween Tour of Green Lake in Seattle

Join us on our Haunted Halloween Tour! We wanted to start this Halloween Season off by sharing our own Spooktacular Series of Haunted Sights we were all anxious to see. So, what better way to ring the season in than with a quick Spooky Tour? 

I hope you enjoy this journey down the path to the paranormal with our first sight: Green Lake, in Seattle, Washington. Plus, we'll be telling you all a few stories we found along the way (some aren't even spooky and a couple might not have anything to do with the paranormal).

A Haunted Telephone Call Came In While I Was Working on My Homemade Halloween Decorations - STRANGE!

Beware this blog post contains the story of a Haunted Halloween Telephone Call - or at least the answering of the call was super STRANGE. 

I was working on the table decorations, including the quilting of the placemats for my table decor when I had to take a break and something super strange happened. If you're interested, watch the short video below and listen to the story at 4:17, which is where I'm telling my son about the strange happening.

Let me know what you think about this strange call...and what you think of my placemats too ;D

Thanks for reading and watching.

Haunted Halloween Gingerbread House

I decorated this little Haunted Halloween House by myself, when usually I have my daughter and daughter-in-law help me. It turned out sort of cute but it wasn't easy. Now I have a lot more respect for those people on Halloween Wars.

I'm not saying you shouldn't buy this little Trader Joes Haunted House Chocolate Kit but, if you do, you should understand that you might need a little help - at least putting it together. Because you have to hold it until the frosting sets enough to keep the sides from falling down.

But, if you're interested and want to see how I did it, please watch this very short video clip (and if you want my buttercream frosting recipe - you'll want to grab a pencil and jot it down when I talk about the frosting that comes inside the kit).

CRAZY VIDEO OF ME DECORATING THIS HOUSE

If you do make your own Haunted Halloween House, please share a  picture because I'd  love to see it.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

The Milwaukee Monster - (Part 5 Ghosts, Gangsters and Ghouls)

HAUNTED PLACES I VISITED IN MARCH 2020

Haunted Shaker's Cigar Bar in  Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I've been working on a  ghost story and doing some ghost research. So, I went to Shaker's Cigar Bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...notice the ghosts in the windows? Yep, it's haunted. And, if you're thinking about going to visit it or interested in reading more about it,  check out the Milwaukee's  Haunted Bar site.

Of course, I didn't just pack up and head off to Wisconsin. My daughter was working in Chicago for a couple of weeks, and I decided to go visit her for the weekend. While I was there, we decided to go on the Chicago Gangsters and Ghost Tour.  After that exciting adventure, I decided to go visit a lot of other haunted sites.

My daughter, Kara, and my daughter-in-law, Fatina, went with me on our road trip to check out some  of these strange and spooky sites.

Kara, Fatina and Me in Search of Ghosts

Plus my daughter-in-law Fatina and my daughter's best friend McKenzie, have a Stranger Danger podcast  so.  .  . where do you think we ended up going to visit...?

Yep, Jeffrey Dahmer. Or,  maybe I should say the ghost of Jeffrey Dahmer because serial killers are just a  little too creepy for me...typically. I can handle ghosts, ghouls, creeps and crypts but serial killers are super spooky to me.

But, this was a group road trip, so,  like I said, we went to visit the haunted sites associated with Jeffrey Dahmer.

You've probably heard of him before. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was also known as  the Milwaukee Monster. But, I'm not going to get into all the creepy things he did. I'm just going to show you some of the sites we went to see and I'll tell you about the one place where we experienced something that some might say was a paranormal experience.

Like the house next door to where he lived. It looks pretty haunted too and it's been abandoned. I bet it's because no one wants to live next door to where Jeffrey lived.

House next door to where Jeffrey Dahmer lived

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9ytLTLC8Kk

This is the spot where Jeffrey lived. As you can see, it's been  completely obliterated.

What remains is an empty lot. And, it was a little creepy even standing next to the spot.

Just down the street from  this location was the Ambassador Hotel,  with the Deco Coffee Shop.

Ambassador Hotel and Deco Coffee Shop

So we went inside. It was so pretty, even the bathrooms had stained  glass  doors.

Beautiful Bathroom

And after we chatted  for a while with one of the employees and  got the inside scoop on the spirits there, we wanted to move on.

We had more sites to see and spirits to try to catch.

Another picture of the haunted Shaker's Bar

Shaker's  Bar - with some Dahmer merchandise you can buy

Now, all  these  sites were a little creepy but there was only one place where something seriously strange happened and that was in one of  the hotels we visited.

The Pfister Hotel

I saw a beautiful chandelier I wanted to show my husband, so I grabbed my phone and started to film. And, while I was filming, nothing strange happened. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary but when we got back home and I showed  the video to my husband...

The film flickered and faded in and out in a ghostly manner. So, you can believe me or not but I posted the video to my Facebook page. And, I do believe there are some pretty creepy places and spooky sites to see.

What do you think....do you believe in spirits?

The Most Haunted Cemetery in the World - Bachelor's Grove Cemetery, Midlothian (Part 2 of Ghosts, Gangsters and Ghouls)

Bachelor's Grove Cemetery just happens to be the most haunted cemetery in the world. And, I was  skeptical about this spooky story but, as my daughter-in-law, Fatina, and I jumped in the car and drove off on our road trip, I soon began to see how this location had earned its reputation.

First, we had trouble finding the cemetery. It's actually hidden inside the woods and although google maps  has the location marked  correctly, it's not so easy to find. There are no signs directing you to the historical location. And there isn't even a parking lot or a simple sign to mark its location.

We had to park across the  street at the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve. Then we ran across the busy highway to find the entrance, which was marked by two wooden posts with a rope strung between the two, blocking the path.

But we didn't let that stop us, as we walked around the rope and started our search for haunted spirits. The path was nothing more than dirt, littered with stones, that might have once been a walkway. Now, it was muddy and slippery but we walked on.

After walking about a quarter mile, we suddenly came upon an opening and didn't even notice the graveyard until we were right next to it. It was literally in the middle of the woods.

A chain link fence surrounded the small cemetery but there was no gate, no sign, nothing except for tombstones in the center to confirm we'd found the spot.

We went in and wandered around reading the fallen gravestones.

Many were too deteriorated to even read and some were nothing more than stones poking out of the  earth.

People have seen spirits and strange colored lights here. Some claim to hear ghostly sounds as they hike through the woods and some have even said they've seen a two-headed monster.

While we were there, we did see a frozen pond at the edge of the cemetery. We walked over and saw a misty vapor rising from the chilled ground. 

It was freezing cold in the shaded woods. And, as we walked away from the cemetery we heard strange sounds and creaking branches from the trees as they swayed in the wind.

It was definitely one of the creepiest places I've ever visited and this was during the daylight. I can tell you I wouldn't have the guts to walk down that deserted path in the dark to search for the Bachelor's Grove Cemetery. And I can understand why people say this is the most haunted cemetery in the world.

Ghosts, Gangsters and Ghouls - in Gary, Indiana - the 1st in a 5-part series

Recently I went on a whirlwind, weekend trip to visit my daughter in Chicago. While I was there, I thought why not do a little ghost-hunting...so we did.

We started out in Chicago on the Gangsters and Ghosts tour (but I'm saving that for another post).

We started out Saturday morning, on a roadtrip….

ROAD TRIP TO GARY INDIANA

That big (once beautiful building above) is the City Church, in Gary, Indiana, which by the way, just happened to be the murder capital of the world in 1994 and it still holds the dubious honor of ranking as the 6th place in the country for violent crime...Chicago ranks 25th.

So, what better place to start a ghost-hunt?

It was a day filled with Empty Places and Ghostly Spaces.

And, as we wandered around the city, I felt overcome with a sense of sadness, not simply because these once-beautiful buildings  have fallen into such horrible disrepair but also because this city was once home to a thriving community. But, when the steel factory jobs all disappeared, so did most of the people...at least most of those living in Gary. And, while Chicago ranks high on the list of MOST HAUNTED cities in America, Gary would get my vote.

I don't even think I would have had the guts to wander around this city in the dark, at night...of course I don't usually like to wander around most big cities in the dark, at night. But at least during the daylight, I found the nerve to enter a few creepy places.

I'm going to close out for now, but keep watching here for more ghost stories...because they're coming....

GHOST GIRL - How to Make One "Appear"

I’m still working on my Halloween decorations. I'm trying to create a Spooktacular Shoctober.

I have my Ghost Girl haunting the front lawn.  But this wasn't enough so I had to do a little bit more.

She’s made out of chicken wire to make the shape of her dress. Then we draped cheesecloth over the frame. I’m still working on her. I’m thinking of making arms and a head from chicken wire and draping more cheesecloth over the frame to create the illusion of a woman in white floating through the yard.

Any other Halloween lovers out there? What do you think? Any ideas on what else I could do to make the Ghost Girl “appear” ?

Haunted Little Lending Library - it's Spooktacular

I've heard of haunted houses and haunted graveyards or even creepy crypts

But have you ever heard of a haunted Little Lending Library . . .? 

Well, now you have. See that ghost peering out the window at you -- or the spirits floating in the wind just above the doors?

Yep...my little lending library (which just happens to match my house--see the house in the background?) is haunted--at least during the month of  ShOctober ;D 

I just couldn't leave it alone...you might say I was haunted by the idea of decorating the little library. And, if you take a moment to look really closely, you'll see witches flying across the front and pumpkins and bats blowing in the breeze, just underneath the eaves. But that's not all...there's more to come.

We (as in my husband) will be installing a couple more things, including a teeny-weeny chandelier -- that will really light up (if everything goes according to plan). 

And another classic sconce on the inside wall of the library. 

I guess you can tell, I never had a dollhouse and always wanted one. But this is even better. My little library gets a lot of traffic because it's right on the bike path, next to a busy street. So, people stop by all the time to "check-out" a book. Of course it's all on the honor system. Books  are free to take and keep, I just ask that, sometime in the future, those who have taken a book, drop by one of the books they want to donate. It's a "pay-it-forward" system.

When I asked my husband to build me this lending library, he went all out. He installed hardwood flooring, wallpaper and even a chair rail on the inside. He had to handcraft the tiny siding to match the Victorian Gingerbread on our house and then he installed a cedar shake roof. I love this little library but, like I said, for the month of October it's totally haunted.