Welcome my friends to October – we all know what that means. It’s time for Bacon’s Spooktoberfest! A month full of things that go bump in the middle of the night. The strange noises that vibrate through the house. The kind of eerie creepiness that settles in that you just want to run to your room and hide under your bed… Shivers. I almost scared myself. So friends stay tuned to my blog for excitement. This year, we are doing things a little different. We are writing a continuous story for 31 days of Bacon’s Spooktoberfest. So if you miss a day, you can catch up. Have a fun and scary month sweet friends.
And don’t worry, you can always hold my hoof.
Barks – wiggles butt and looks cute. YAY! I’m a big boy now. I get to stay by myself with the guys while mom/dad are away this weekend. How cool is that? I am a big boy now. And Bacon is going to give me his room – that is way cool to be in bro’s room and bed. It has everything in there! I can survive three days without mom. The guys say I can’t, but I can. Surely I can. I’ll watch the Anipal Planet and have fun. I might even get a chance to play on the internet some. Opps wait a minute…. I just got a text. It looks like it’s from Nana.
Um.. no. Nana wouldn’t send that but she’s in the video. No way! Who did this?? Hemi – it has to be Hemi. Just why in the doggy heavens would he do that? I am so going to tell…. no I’m not. That little furball will get his. Just wait. I’ll get him back. Trying to scare me!
Welcome my friends to October 1, 2018 – we all know what that means. It’s time for Bacon’s Spooktoberfest! A month full of things that go bump in the middle of the night. The strange noises that vibrate through the house. The kind of eerie creepiness that settles in that you just want to run to your room and hide under your bed… Shivers. I almost scared myself. So friends stay tuned to my blog for excitement. This year, we are doing things a little different. We are writing a continuous story for 31 days of Bacon’s Spooktoberfest. So if you miss a day, you can catch up. Have a fun and scary month sweet friends.
And don’t worry, you can always hold my hoof.
Meows – This being left alone for the entire weekend could be a blast! Bacon and Houdini can have their spaces. I want the big bed in mom/dad’s room. That is like the happening place here in the Hotel Thompson. I can watch my Investigative Discovery television channel and bring on all of my kibbles in there. Nana can wait on my paws when she comes to feed us. I may even purr at her once/twice just so she thinks I care… even though I don’t – evil purrs. It’s what I do. Wait a minute, I just got a text with a video. Who would be sending me a video? The number says unknown. That’s weird.
Shivers to meow mercy! Who in the heck would send me something like this?! It has to be that pig. Yep, nods head. It has to be Bacon trying to get my fur to stand up. It just has to be him wanting to see me get frightened. As if. This cat doesn’t do scared. I’ll show that pig. I’m not going to say a word.
Oh my friends. This tale today is scary unbelievable. It makes you want to do a double take… and possibly a triple take. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. You see working on my 31 Days of Spook takes month of advance preparation. All year long, I’m looking for just the right stories to bring to you. Stories of the macabre, ghosts, strange tales, paranormal and things that go bump in the night. But this story, it caught my attention and I’ve been waiting for some time to share it.
This is something that is strange. It takes place in Chihuahua, Mexico. There’s a well known bridal shop in the town called La Popular. In the bridal shop, there is a mannequin nicknamed La Pascualita that is wearing a wedding dress in the store window. Sounds all innocent enough, right? Well here’s the twist. Some say that La Pascualita might be real. Do I have your interest piqued now?
You see, for the past 75 years this bridal shop has had rumors flying around about La Pascualita. Some believe that this mannequin is actually a perfectly preserved corpse!
La Pascualita was placed in the window on March 25, 1930. Locals saw it and knew that something just wasn’t right about it. Look at the pictures to the left. Do you know notice anything odd?
According to the legend, La Popular’s owner Pascuala Esparza had a daughter. His daughter tragically passed away on her wedding day from the bite of a black widow spider. Some believe that Esparza had his daughter embalmed and that she is now the famous La Pascualita in the shop window. Of course Esparza has denied such rumors.
Funny thing though – if La Pascualita isn’t Esparza’s daughter why all the secrecy. What secrecy you ask? Well, of all of the employees of the shop there are only two that are allowed to change her clothing and that is only behind a closed door.
Other employees of the shop so that La Pascualita’s hands are very realistic and some say you can even see wrinkles and varicose veins on her legs. Other employees say they come into the shop in the early mornings only to see that La Pascualita has changed positions on her own. And then there are other employees that say La Pascualita ‘watches’ them during the day.
You be the judge. What do you think?
Story courtesy of Greg Newkirk with Roadtrippers and Pictures from Pinterest
Oh my friends. Let’s do a twist today. Let’s see if you can scare me for a change. Mom/dad were sitting the living room last night with us anipals. The room was dark except for the flames of the fireplace. They were talking about movies they have seen over the years that scared them silly. Conversation went back and forth until they settled on two.
Dad’s Movie Pick – 1408. This movie came out in 2007 and started John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. You see John Cusack’s character was a so called ‘ghost hunter’. He went to famous places and would spend the night in haunted rooms. Most of the time, nothing happened and the places were debunked. But then while writing his latest book, he travels to New York to stay at the Dolphin Hotel in room 1408, a haunted room. In fact, it was so haunted that the hotel would not rent the room to anyone. Through lawyers, he finds out that if the room is vacant, the hotel has to rent it so he makes a reservation to stay. He checks in and meets with the hotel manager, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson tries everything he can to persuade Cusack’s character not to stay in the room – a room upgrade, expensive booze and even will allow Cusack to look at a book he has made showing over 50 deaths in room 1408. But in the end, Cusack stays in 1408. Let’s just say that 1408 is everything you can imagine it to be.
Mom’s Movie Pick – House on Haunted Hill. This movie came out in 1999. Mom/dad will usually go to the movies to see comedy’s but for some reason, they saw this movie in the theater. Don’t ask me why because it’s not like them. Mom actually watched part of the movies with her hands covering her eyes. At one time, she even told daddy that she might have to leave – that’s how scared she was. The entire movie is about a millionaire who offers a diverse group of people $1,000,000 to spend the night in a haunted house with a horrifying past. “nuff said before I make water from being scared.
So my question to you my friends, what is the one movie that you saw that scared your pants off?
My Aunt Tina lives in Chicago, Illinois. She’s helping me out today with my 31 Days of Spook. Recently she visited Mount Carmel Cemetery right there in Chicago. What? Don’t you visit cemeteries during your down time? I’ve heard they can be very relaxing and an educational experience. Let’s take these for pictures for instance that my Aunt Tina took and shared with me.
It’s a beautiful grave site. Of course there are lots of beautiful headstones and memorials in this cemetery but this one is different. Let me introduce you to Julia Buccola Petta.
Julia Buccola Petta died at age 29 while giving birth to her stillborn son, Filippo. Julia was buried in her wedding dress and given the nickname of The Italian Bride. According to legend, Julia’s mother Filomena began having dreams in which Julia was telling her that she was still alive.
Years after her death, Filomena received permission to have the grave opened and her daughter exhumed. Her mother then took a picture of Julia in her casket which was then placed on the monument.
The picture is still there on her grave at the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Do you notice anything in the picture?
After years of being buried, Julia looks – how shall we say it? – still together if you catch my drift.
Today mom and dad helped me by reminding me of a story at their true love – Savannah, Georgia. One of the must things to do in Savannah if you have never done it is to take a stroll through downtown at night on a haunted ghost tour. There are walking tours, horse and buggy tours or even a hearse tour if you dare.
Many moons ago, mom/dad went with my mom’s sister and her daughter, my little niece Savannah. Nice name huh? Savannah must have been about two and they decided to do a night time horse and buggy haunted ghost tour. It must have been scary too because little Savannah stayed camped out inside of mom’s hoodie the entire horse and buggy tour.
One of the last places on the tour was a little house called the 17 Hundred 90 Inn and Tavern. It’s a quaint little place, not so scary during the day but a night – chills. The 17 Hundred 90 Inn and Tavern is located at 306 East President Street, Savannah. The bottom floors have a restaurant and bar area while the upper floors have 14 suites in the inn. It has a long history of untimely death and ghosts. It was originally built in 1820 and is one of the oldest buildings in the Savannah area.
The most paranormal activity revolves around poor sweet Anna who fell from the window of room 204. There are many stories about poor Anna – we really don’t know which one is the truth.
One story states that she was married to the designer of the home, Steel White, who died in 1790 in a tragic riding accident. Anna fell in love with a German sailor who went off to sea and promised to return but never did. Anna found out that she was pregnant and realized that the German sailor never meant to return. In despair, she jumped to her death from room 204.
Another story similar to the one above with Anna has Anna being a servant at the inn instead of being married to the designer of the home. The end is the same result though, her untimely death.
People have reported the ghost of poor Anna leaning over them while they sleep in room 204. Other stories are of Anna caressing men’s cheeks and as they wake they see Anna crying and then jumping to her death out the window. Items are also often reported missing – wallets, jewelry, keys – all of which are later found mysteriously in a planter or behind a shelf.
Stories were so rampant at one point in room 204 that the 17 Hundred 90 Inn and Tavern required any patron staying in the room to sign a waiver stating they would not request their money back should they not stay the entire night. Nowadays, it is no longer required because most people wanting room 204 are hoping for a little ghost sighting of poor sweet Anna.
So this story was told on horse and buggy ride late at night through the streets of Savannah. Mom, Dad, my Aunt Tina and two year old niece Savannah who was taking up shop under mom’s hoodie. The mood was set. It was dark, a little misty. All you could hear was the clickey-clack of the horses feet, an occasional snarl from the horse and the soft tale of Anna coming for the tour guide. That’s when my niece Savannah decided to poke her head out to the world and say in her little child like voice, “Poor Anna”.
So do you believe in ghosts, spooks and things that go bump in the night? Do you have a little adventure still left in you? Want a weekend trip at a haunted inn – I’ve heard that the 17 Hundred 90 has open reservations…. if you dare my friends.
So last night, there I was in my bedroom. I was all cuddled up in my piggy bed with the lights out pounding away on my laptop working on some stories for my 31 Days of Spook. It was late. Everyone here at the Hotel Thompson was passed out – I knew because I could hear them snoring. Even that little Houdini brother of mine was sawing the logs. I kept having problems with my internet connection. For some reason, the internet kept dropping off from my laptop. Mom has shown me in the past how to reconnect it and refresh it. Nothing worked though on this night.
Finally I knew it was time to pull the sheets up over my head when I got this message. UUMM – I’m good. I think I’ll go to sleep now. Have you ever gotten this connection before on your computer? Shivers and squeals!
Some friends of ours in the deep south here took a picture of their home a couple of weeks ago. When they were looking at the pictures, they saw something that kind of stood out for them. They didn’t see it while they were taking pictures of their house. Do you see it? Would you go back into your home if this was your crib?
There I was last night all cuddled up in my Egyptian cotton sheet on my toddler bed in my bedroom. I was writing some stories and doing research for my 31 Days of Spook – which I hope you are enjoying. Someone sent me a video about selfies. I opened it and watched the video. Oh.my.piggy.heavens. Are you kidding me?! I peed on my bed. I can admit it. It scared me that much. You don’t believe me? Well, why don’t you watch the attached video in its entirety. It’s relatively short. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though – it’s not for the weak. Maybe you’ll think about it the next time you take a selfie.
Today I want to talk to you about a place that mom and dad have visited on Tybee Island. It’s called Fort Pulaski, a national monument, located at US Highway 80 E, Savannah, Georgia. Maybe it’s not full of ghosts, but if you close your eyes and listen hard enough perhaps you will still hear the sounds of battle.
The park is open daily from 9AM until 5PM. You can go on a guided tour or roam the grounds by yourself. Mom and dad decided to go by themselves and see what kind of trouble they could get into – go mom/dad.
After you pay to enter the park, you drive over the Cockspur Island Bridge into the grounds. It’s kind of a dark picture to the right but the trees are gorgeous! Look at all of that rolling lovely green grass! So many places for this little porker to play – pets are welcomed 🙂
Then you start to see the fort itself – so massive! I don’t know why but mom was just astonished to the ‘moat’ that was around this huge fortress. Mom and dad said they were the only ones there for a bit and the silence from everything was kind of overwhelming.
It was like you could almost hear the gunshots in the background, the moans of soldiers and people talking. The wind was blowing and you could hear it singing in between the brick walls with the soft sounds of the water echoing. It was kind of eerie.
Fort Pulaski is huge. It was overcast this day so some of the pictures are not the best but hopefully you will enjoy them. Mom took this picture to the right as they were walking down to enter into the fort. It looks calm but mom/dad both said that the air was heavy. They walked all the way down until the other side of the building.
That’s where there was a bridge that they walked over to enter into the fort itself. For the building to be as old as it is (built in 1861), it is remarkably still intact. You do see some stonework falling inside of the casemates but as a whole, it is grand.
Fireplaces and windows are still standing as well as the cannons in the windows. You’ll even notice on the bottom of the cannon picture where the cannons could slide left/right for positioning of the firing.
And how would you like to be a prisoner of the fort? Look to this picture to the left of the ‘beds’ they used. Wood slats. Comfy huh? Daddy tried one when mom ‘locked him up’ in prison. It was kind of hard – snorts.
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And I saved the best picture until last.
The stairs to the top of the fort.
I’m not mentioning names but someone thought they would wobble up these torturous stairs to the top of the fort to take a peek. Notice that the stairs do not have handrails. It was a great view at the top and I would have a picture to share if only mom remembered to bring the camera – silly mom. And she wasn’t crawling back down to get the camera she said. And also let’s say that mom took the adventure of the stairs and that night it hurt in every place possible. That’ll teach mom not to climb and old fort like she was a teenager – snorts.
Oh, and another missed photo opportunity mom/dad made. They saw and met a beautiful white German Shepherd while visiting the Fort. She was so friendly and mom got to love on her for a while with her parents.
So the question remains. Is Fort Pulaski haunted? Mom asked one of the workers and she was told no. Is it spooky – yes. Do you pick up “feelings” of days gone – yes. Mom and dad both said they could close their eyes and hear and picture in their minds the activity that happened once upon a time.
Since mom/dad have been back home, I’ve done a lot of research on Fort Pulaski. To my amazement, there have been many encounters with the unknown at the Fort over the years. There was a story about a mother and son visiting the fort that were crossing over the draw bridge to enter into the fort. They met a Confederate sentry dressed in uniform with his sword. They spoke to him about his outfit and the fort. The mother then inquired about a restroom and he advised that he could not leave his position to show her. She thanked the man and with her son she continued into the fort to ask about the restrooms. There she was advised that the restrooms were at the entrance. She became upset and told the man about the soldier she spoke to at the drawbridge. The man advised her that they had no soldiers dressed in Confederate uniforms at the fort.
Then there was a time that a group of Confederate re-enactors placed a wreath at the graves in 1994. They then settled down for the night and camped out. During the night, a young 12 year old boy couldn’t sleep and was walking around the fort. Nearing the graves, he saw a figure of a Confederate soldier in uniform on his knees near the grave they had put the wreath. The soldier had his hat in his hand, then stood and faded away into the air.
Then during further research, I learned that an actor that you might have heard of did a movie at Fort Pulaski back in 2009. The movie was called The Conspirator and the actor was Robert Redford.
It’s up to you to decide if it’s haunted or not. Maybe someone needs to let the worker at the shop know that there has been some cases of mysterious sightings. It was definitely an adventure that mom/dad would be willing to do again… of course minus the stairs – snorts.
Miniature pot bellied pig and friends - Bacon, Houdini, Hemi and all of the Rock Clan with Journalist Rocky the Squirrel all out looking for adventures from the Hotel Thompson.