With an October birthday, I wanted to make my son a fun Halloween themed birthday cake. So, I pulled out some white chocolate to make some ghosts and tombstones for the top and then I made some black and orange buttercream frosting and went to work - well of course I had to bake some cakes first.
I baked four 6" wide and 2" tall cakes - I cake was a fail so this is three of those cakes stacked one on top of the other.
Then I did a crumb coating on the cakes and...well, if you want to see how I did it, check out my YouTube video on the process:
And, let me know if you have any questions or ideas about how I could have done a better job because I'm not a professional baker but I sure love to make treats, snacks and fun eats :D
Plus, here are a few photos that aren't on my Youtube channel:
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.
While we were in Chicago, we had to visit one of the most famous gangster's in history, Al Capone.
Maybe you've seen the movie Scarface, which just happened to be Al's nickname. So, we took a road trip to Mount Carmel Cemetery to pay our respects. And, of course, Mount Carmel is said to be haunted. But, not by Al. Instead the story Julia Petta, the disappearing lady in the white gown.
But, still we had to stop by Al's grave.
Al Capone's Grave
Even though Al Capone went to prison at 33, and died January 25, 1947, it looks like a lot of people still visit his grave.
Stormy Skies over Mount Carmel Cemetery
The clouds rolled in and it turned into a stormy sort of experience. And, as we searched for the specific gravesite, we came upon some beautiful crypts.
A beautiful place to sit and remember. . . loved ones
We didn't have any paranormal experiences while we were there although as soon as we climbed out of the car, it started to rain, and as soon as we climbed back in the car, it cleared up. We started to leave and, we got a little turned around for a second, so we drove back by the cemetery, and it started to rain again. Just a little creep factor.
We also went on a Gangsters and Ghosts tour in downtown Chicago and had to stop at Death Alley, which is said to be haunted by the victims of the fire of December 30, 1903. Over 2000 people were inside the theater in front of the alley, when an electrical fire broke out and claimed hundreds of lives.
Death Alley in Chicago
There were lots of other spooky sites but I'll save those for Part 5 of Ghosts, Gangsters & Ghouls.
After our Gangsters and Ghosts tour, we were tired so we went back to our hotel and enjoyed another type of spirits ;D
My daughter and daughter-in-law, and I went on a road trip in search of forgotten spirits (and I'm not talking about Lemon Drops ;)
We've taken a few of these ghostly road trips before, like the time we went to Kenosha, Wisconsin and Lake Michigan and caught a few strange (some might say Paranormal) occurrences on camera.
But this time we were searching in Gary, Indiana--yes, it seems like Indiana has more than its fair share of ghosts and ghouls. Maybe that's why it's ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.
I'm working on a ghost story. So, lately, I've been doing a lot of paranormal research by visiting Castles, Crypts and Creepy Places. And even though I've gone to a lot of cities and different states, I've realized my favorite creepy place is right here in Portland, Oregon.
If you're interested in seeing my #1 location for creepability, check it out here.
And, if you've had any paranormal experiences of your own, please share a bit about it in the comments below.
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.
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....
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