Bacon’s Spooktoberfest – Day 3

BACON’s SPOOKTOBERFEST

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. 

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Snorts – OMP – the Hotel Thompson all to ourselves.  OMP – it’s going to be a blast.  The food, the unlimited internet time, the endless phone calls and television time.  Squeals with piggy excitement.  We will all have our spots – Hemi in the big bed, Houdini in my bedroom and me in the living room.  We will all have our own televisions – I’m so excited!  I can finally watch all of my ghost shows without them being edited by mom/dad.  It will be a blast.

I have to work on my ‘needs list’ for nana when she comes.  You know like the basics – Cheerios, animal crackers, bananas, apples, grapes, my salad mix – you know all of the important stuff.  And we can’t forget my popcorn – oh no.  We *have* to have our popcorn.  So there I was working on my list on my computer pounding on my keyboard when the internet started doing something stupid.  It would go out and then my screen wold flash and then it would come back.

Gulps.  And then I got this Haunted Connection message – what.the.cream.cheese was this about?!  A ghost is interfering with my internet connection.  Are you kidding me?!  This has to be the makings of Hemi.  There is no way the Hotel Thompson has a ghost or is haunted.  Yeah – it’s Hemi.  I’m not saying a word and I’m going to act like nothing is wrong.  It has to be that trouble maker the cat.

 

31 Days of Spook – Special Guest

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 Squeals with piggy delight.  My friends I have scored the ultimate story for your today.   Mommy has helped me to get in touch with Mr. Dave Schrader.  If you know anything about the paranormal field, you will recognize the name.  Dave Schrader does a talk show where he is the host and producer of Darkness Radio.  If you haven’t heard of his show, you *must* check it out for chills and thrills.  Dave Schrader has also been seen on television with Zak Bagans on Ghost Adventures, co-hosted the show Paranormal Challenge with Zak Bagans and has made contributions to Ghost Hunters TAPS ParaMagazine.  Dave Schrader currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We are VERY excited to present a story from Dave Schrader today.  Now, settle back and enjoy my friends!

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It was August of 2005 and our radio show was entering its 8th month on the air when I received an invitation to be a part of a psychic and shamanic exploration at Thayer’s Bed and Breakfast in Annandale, MN.  Since I have no psychic bones in my body, I thought I would check it out and see if I could learn something new and tap into some psy experience for myself. I would be surrounded in a peaceful environment with mediums, psychics and shamans at a well known haunted location.  This might be my best chance yet to witness some interesting phenomena.

I say quietly watching people mill about, discussing what they were picking up on, what spirits they sensed and generally soaking in the atmosphere. During my observation, the resident cat – a large fluffy white beastie – decided I was its new friend and would not leave my side, lap or feet. It stuck to me like I was made of tuna. I stroked the cat like an evil Bond villain as I sat and watched a fascinating scene unfold before me of shared experiences, giddy claims of ghostly presence and some chilling moments as part of the group relayed a story about the creepy man on the top floor that leapt to the wall and skittered up and across the ceiling like a Victorian Spider-Man.

Next came an extraordinary experiment. We were all going to tap into ourselves, meet our spirit guides and do a Shamanic journey. We laid upon the ground, spread eagle and not touching ourselves or others nearby while Hanakia Zedek gently beat a drum to some soothing music and in his deep voice guided us to a meditative trance. By this time, the room lights had been dimmed and the room had been cleared of all cats, kids and other distractions.  We were to just BE in the moment and experience the darkness, the music and open ourselves to contact with our totem, spirit guides or loved ones.

As I lay trying to quiet my mind and the senseless chatter that usually clutters it, I found myself getting more restless, unable to attain the nirvana our leader wanted us to achieve.  That was when my furry friend found his way back to my side.  He would nuzzle my hip and flop on my hand seeking affection and attention. I would pet him for a few seconds than push him away so I could try to slip into a deep meditation, but my kitty companion wasn’t having it. He kept purring, nuzzling and pushing against me.

After 20 minutes or so all with my eyes closed, I finally relented and began giving him the love he craved. My hands scratching the deep fur bringing about even more purrs and nuzzles. I began to wonder how much longer this foray into futility would continue with our Shamanic leader. Obviously I was not going to become more enlightened or have a profound moment.  I opened my eyes and glanced down to see which cat was so desperately in need of my attention. My eyes widened, my hand stopped mid scratch and I froze. I could feel the cat purring, pushing against my leg and hand simultaneously but to my utter amazement, there was no cat there.

 I paused assuming my eyes were playing tricks on me and that they had just not adjusted properly to the low light setting.  I closed them tightly, drew in a deep breath and began digging deep into the fur of phantom friend once more. I opened my eyes a second time and there was my hand, hovering mid-air, stroking….emptiness. There was no cat to bee seen, but I could feel and hear it. Within moments, the drumming stopped and the lights began to lift as they adjusted the dimmer switch, our journey to the ether-world was at an end yet here I was stroking an imaginary cat.

The crowd milled about in a semi comatose state. My brain raced trying to make sense of what had just happened to me. I was afraid to speak up for fear of looking like a fool despite the wild claims I had heard from other experiencers all night long. Then I heard the group begin to discuss their personal reflections of the drumming and meditation when one of the people spoke up and said, “How about the ghost cat?” Many in the group admitted to seeing a ghostly cat all night long checking us out and stalking the room. Still I stood silent.

“He was sure curious about what we were doing. I heard the owner say her favorite cat passed away a few weeks back, its nice to know he still calls this home.:”  I was astounded, did I just spend 30 minutes petting a specter? I don’t even like cats I thought to myself, why did he mess with me?

The crowd dispersed and a few days later I got an email from a girl that also attended the event. She had laid to my immediate right and she informed me she knew I had an experience and she had been petting that same cat all night. We had been ping ponging the cat between us for the evening when we would try to focus on the guided meditation and brush it off, it would move to the other one of us.
That was one of the first truly amazing experiences I ever had that was more than a fleeting moment that could easily be explained away and I will cherish that forever.

– Dave Schrader

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Friends – we hope you enjoyed our special guest today.  We would also like to throw a great huge THANK YOU to Dave Schrader for taking time to share his story.  You rock!!

 

Boo! Scariest Movie

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?

 

Boo! Dismemberment

Oh my friends – didn’t you get a chill just reading that title – dismemberment?  It does bring me shutters thinking about it.  You see this is a story that read about and heard on television.  I couldn’t believe my piggy eyes and ears!  I was shocked and ran to tell mom/dad.  They were in awe as well.

There was a man that lived in Tennessee.  Back in November of last year, he and his wife had a huge fight.  Things didn’t end well.  The fight escalated and the guy ended up killing his wife, dismembering her and putting her in their freezer in the garage of their house.  There she was for two days.

During those two days, the man kept thinking his wife was coming to him in his dreams about what happened.  He finally went and checked the freezer and she was alive!  They had a long conversation and she was telling him how much she loved him.  He was crying when he called 911 to come out and help her.

The police arrived to the house.  When they went into the garage, there was no way the woman could have been talking to the guy – she was dead and had been for several days.  Did she come back to seek her revenge?

 

Boo! 17 Hundred 90 Inn and Tavern

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.

 

31 Days of Spook – Fort Pulaski

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.

 

Boo! Myrtles Plantation

Hello my little horror fans. Thank you for staying with me during this 31 Days of Spook.  Today, let’s talk about haunted houses.

When I think about the most haunted house here in the United States, the first one that always comes to mind is the Myrtles Plantation in St Francisville, Louisiana.  Today, it’s a quaint little bed and breakfast.  But before, there was an ugly past that took place that made it the spook fest that it is today.

Back in the day of plantations, there was a despicable thing that southern plantation owners did and that was called having slaves.  It was a horrible act to ‘own’ another person just because of the color of your skin.  Thank goodness that those days are long behind us and we have progressed to the point of not ‘owning’ someone ever again.

But back in the day of the Myrtles when Mark and Sara Woodruff owned the plantation, they had many slaves, one in particular was Chloe.  Chloe was caught eavesdropping on a conversation of the Woodruffs.  For punishment, one of Chloe’s ears was cut off and she wore a green turban to hide it.  Chloe, to say the least, was very upset over having one of her ears cut off.

In order to get even, Chloe baked a birthday cake containing the extract of boiled and reduced oleander leaves, which are extremely poisonous.  Her plan was to make Mr. Woodruff sick but it backfired.  Only Sara Woodruff and her two daughters ate the cake and all three of them died from the poison.  All of the other slaves were very upset over Chloe doing this and supposedly they hung Chloe and then threw her body into the Mississippi River.

To this day when the circumstances are just right, you can see Chloe wearing her green turban walking through the Myrtles Plantation or the grounds.  And, if you look closer, you can see the Woodruff children playing on the front porch just like they did when they were alive.

And there are rumors about a mirror in the plantation.  Shivers.  This one had my fur standing straight up on edge.  Back in the day, when there was a death in the family, people covered all of the mirrors in the home.  Perhaps with everything going on with Chloe and the three deaths, a mirror that hangs in the foyer got forgotten.  It’s rumored that this mirror holds the spirits of Sara Woodruff and her two children.  So if you are visiting the plantation and primping in this mirror, give it a close look.  You might see some little hand marks on the glass.

But let’s now stop here with Chloe.  There are still others that haunt the plantation.  The house itself is reported to be built over an Indian burial ground.  Legend is there is a ghost of a young Indian woman that can be seen around the grounds.

And during the Civil War, the house was overtaken by Union soldiers.  It’s claimed that there were three soldiers killed in the house in the doorway.  There in the doorway is a blood stain  where the three soldiers were killed roughly the size of a human body that will not come clean.  Legend states that people that try to use a mop or broom on that one particular area are unable to push the mop or broom in that one spot.

Have you had enough of this plantation yet?  Is your fur standing on edge?  Let me end with one more story of the Myrtles Plantation.

There is also the ghost of William Winter.  He was shot on the front porch of the plantation.  He came back inside and crawled up the stairs to the 17th step where he collapsed dead in his wife’s arms.  Often, you can see a ghost walking or crawling up the stairs and disappearing on the 17th step.  Doesn’t this make you want to go ghost hunting now?

 

Boo! – Cemeteries

Cemetery Hill

When I think of places that a lot people died during a lot of fighting, one of the places that come to mind is Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  Cemetery Hill had so many people that died during the Battle of Gettsyburg that it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around it.  There were so many bodies that it was hard to bury everyone in a timely manner.  You can imagine the smell that overcame the land.  There are still reports today of people smelling death.  And you know what they say about unrested bodies, they become ghosts forever looking for redemption.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

A famous cemetery that mom would  like to visit is in Los Angeles, California.  (I know – she’s weird like that.  She finds walking through the cemeteries as calming as walking on a beach.  Go figure – she’s my mom.)  Hollywood Forever Cemetery is the final resting place of many celebrities over the years.   I’ll need to break down a listing of more important graves here later on in the month.  For now though, let’s concentrate on some hauntings of the cemetery.  A famous person known to haunt here is Clifton Webb.  People at the cemetery claim to hear voices and lights near the Abbey of the Psalms Mausoleum.  A story that intrigues me that I’ve seen on television numerous times is the crypt of Rudolph Valentino.  For years on the anniversary of his death, a lady dressed in black would be seen wearing a veil to cover her face at his crypt leaving a single red rose.  No one really knew for sure who this person was and still today the tradition of leaving a single red rose continues on his anniversary.

Bonaventure Cemetery

And I must end this stroll through the cemeteries at one of mom/dad’s most famous places in Savannah, Georgia at Bonaventure Cemetery.  Did you know that this cemetery had the “Bird Girl” statue that is the photograph of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?  I say had now because it has since been moved to a museum nearby but there are still some amazing tombs and headstones left.  Mom/dad have spent multiple days and hours strolling through and visiting with the folks still there.  One of the famous haunts is of little Gracie Watson who died of pneumonia when she was only six years old.  Currently they have her grave fenced off… is that to keep people from touching her little statue or from keeping little Gracie from touching you?   There’s also the hell hounds that local legend have talked about.  People claim to hear them snarling but no one ever sees them.  Perhaps they feel the hot breath of a dog on their ankles letting them know they need to step back.  You think?

 

Boo! Givens Castle

 Today we are focusing on a spook in Chicago ion an area where my Aunt Tina lives.  Buckle in for some bumps and scares.  Enjoy – don’t be scared now – BOO!

Givens Castle / Beverly Unitarian Church

The Givens Castle was originally built in 1886 as a residence by Robert Givens. Givens was real estate developer and wanted the house to be a replica of a castle in his native Ireland.  Some say that Givens built the home for his fiancee who died before the house could be finished.  Maybe that accounts for why Givens only lived in the castle for 8 years.

Around 1894, the castle turned into the Chicago Female College. It is reputed to have had a student die in the 1930’s from flu.

During the 1960’s, the castle was turned into the Beverly Unitarian Church.  A janitor once reported that he had a conversation with a woman who disappeared from sight. Their conversation was about the house and how much it had changed over the years.  The janitor saw no footprints outside in the snow and all of the doors were locked.  Where did she go?  Was it the student that passed away from the flu?

The pastor of the church at the time was a woman who claimed she saw a pair of hands touch her husband’s waist.  Even more, the pastor thought the hands were those of a woman.  The husband never felt a thing.  During this time as well, there were reports of a candle being seen through windows when nobody was present in the building.

Unexplained noises have also been attributed to the ghost and a former pastor said that he often tried to track down the source of the noises but was never able to.

The story is courtesy of Chicago Ghost blogger.

 

Boo! Exton Witch House

This abandoned house is called the Exton Witch House and is located in Pennsylvania.  It is said that this house holds some dark mysterious secrets.  According to legend, there was a family of four witches that are buried on the property.  Their graves are positioned next to each other and it is believed that their corpses are buried in the upright position.  Why do you ask?  Supposedly witches were buried in this custom as to prevent them from causing trouble after their death.  There once was actual tombstones to mark their graves but vandals have since ran off with them.  Those that visit, so that the location is eerie and quiet.  Some even experience strange occurrences.  Would you be willing to go and explore the house with me?

Story/Picture courtesy of First to Know