Bacon’s Spooktoberfest – Day 1

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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There we all were – all of us anipals – me, Houdini and Hemi.  It was time for the ‘family meeting’ here at the Hotel Thompson.  Us anipals translated ‘family meeting’ into who left the fur ball on the pillow Hemi or who has been eating the cat food Houdini to the dreaded Bacon you need to slow down from flying through the house kind of meetings.  These meetings were always about what we can do to improve the dynamics here at the Hotel Thompson.  Rolls piggy eyes.  I’m sure you can relate – boring – yawns.

We were settled in the living room when mom/dad walked in demanding our attention.  But that’s when it turned weird.  Mom brought popcorn to the meeting.  All of us anipals love popcorn.  Hey, something is not right.  We all gathered our clusters of popcorn, started snacking and listening to mom/dad.  Dad was talking.  Now that’s weird.  Usually it’s mom during the ‘family meetings’.

“Kids, we have some news that you might be a little upset at first but before you get upset, think of this time as an adventure”, dad then stopped and looked at mom before continuing.  “Me and mom are going out for a couple of days this coming weekend.  We are going to leave on Friday and come back Sunday.  We think you are old enough not to be housed out to everyone.  This time, nana will come and check on you to feed you but we are going to let you stay here in your home…. by yourselves.”

Us anipals just looked at each other in shock.  What do you mean, leave us alone?  Like all alone – no parental guardianship?  PAWTY!!  I mean, that’s a shame.  I’m sure we will get along somehow.  Secretly us anipals were high fiving each other behind our backs.   Gotta make it look good though – sad looks on all of our faces and of course the needy hugs and lap time for sure.

 

Boo! Frankenstein Friday

Today, October 27th, is Frankenstein Friday – booyah!  Frankenstein Friday is always the last Friday in October.  It’s a day to celebrate the birth of Frankenstein and its creator.

Frankenstein is one of the best known characters from horror movies and dates back to the 1800’s.  Frankenstein was born and created in 1818 by Mary Wollenstonecraft Shelley at the age of 21 when she wrote the ever famous Frankenstein.  Can you imagine being so young and creating a character that would last forever?!

Do you know where the origin of this day came from?  Today was created by Ron MacCloskey from Westfield, New Jersey in 1997. He picked a Friday to celebrate so more people could participate.

Have you heard of Westfield, New Jersey before?  Does that sound familiar?  Well, Westfield, New Jersey is also the hometown of Charles Addams, the New York Times magazine cartoonist who created The Addams Family.  Small world huh?

 

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! Pigman

It has been many years since a sighting, but old swampers would call him the South Georgia Pig Man. Over the years reported sightings have persisted in and around the South Georgia swamp areas, especially deep in the remote recesses of the Okefenokee swamp.

Reports describe the creature as a large ape like being, that walks upright, has abundant hair and a nose similar to a pig. Observers have commented on a skunk like odor that has accompanied the sightings. There have been no reports of hostility or aggression, in fact the creature was referred to as timid and shy with sad expressive eyes.

These Okefenokee area sightings have many details in common with creature sightings documented in the Everglades. A very similar missing link referred to as the Florida Skunk Ape. Could it be possible these beings are related genetically?

Before development transformed Florida, these man like creatures might have migrated. One of their routes could have been by way of the Kissimmee River Valley up along the Lake Wales Ridge to the extensive game rich swamps associated with the St. John’s River Basin.

The migration would have passed right by what is today the city of Jacksonville onward to the Okefenokee and beyond.

Who knows?  Maybe I’m related somehow in some fashion or form to this Pig Man?  It could happen… we could have matching snouts.

 

 

Boo! A Boy and His Bigfoot

This report was forwarded to the Georgia Swamp Ape Research Center, GSARC and detailed an encounter in the Okefenokee Swamp. While a fourteen-year-old boy and his family were camping on the West side at Stephen Foster State Park in 1972, the boy was walking along a waterway when he heard footsteps behind him, drawing closer. He assumed it was his siblings. “I figured they were going to scare me, and I decided to let them sneak up and I would jump out and scare them.” Moments later “a thing that looked like a cross between a chimpanzee and a little man” approached along the path. “It saw me and let out a sound like from hell,” then crouched down and nimbly sprung on the boy. “It knocked me down and tried to get its teeth in (to) my neck. I screamed. I thought I was dead.”

Fortunately, the youngster’s parents heard the scream and shouted back. “It raised up real slow and sniffed the air for a few seconds,” he continued. “Then it just got up and walked into the canal and swam across to the other side,” disappearing into the woods.

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Boo! A Swamp Thing

The Okefenokee Swamp was truly a land of mystery in June 1829, when the Milledgeville Statesman published a bizarre story about it. The tale was related by a John Ostean, “residing on the borders of this swamp in Ware County,” and others who lived on the opposite side in Florida. Locals had long heard from Creek Indians of an enchanted island inhabited by “mortals of super-human dimensions and incomparable beauty.” The story goes that two men and a boy had taken advantage of a long dry spell and pushed deep into the swamp for two weeks to seek this island. However, “their progress suddenly arrested at the appearance of the print of a foot-step so unearthly in its dimensions, so ominous of power, and terrible in form,” that they paused. The print was eighteen inches long and nine inches across, the stride of this giant over six feet. The party hastily returned and spread the tale of the “Man Mountain.”

Hearing the story, nine Florida hunters ventured into the swamp. After several days’ journey, they found a similar print and others. The men followed the tracks for several days and had camped on a ridge when two of their members “simultaneously discharged at an advancing and ferocious wild beast” whose screams made the swamp “reverberate with a deafening roar.” The creature came “full in their view advancing upon them with a terrible look… Our little band instinctively gathered close in a body, and presented their rifles. The huge being, nothing daunted, bounded upon his victims, and in the same instant received the contents of seven rifles. But he did not die alone; nor until he had glutted his wrath with the death of five of them, which he effected by wringing off the head from the body.” The four surviving men examined the prostrate giant as it died, “wallowing and roaring. His length was thirteen feet, and his breadth and volume of just proportions.” Fearing the struggle might have alerted similar beings; the men gathered their comrades’ guns and fled for home.

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Boo! Home for Sale

I think I’ve found that perfect home for you my friends.  Great house – great location – great schools – there might just be one little itty bitty down side though.  Snorts – would you buy this house?

 

 

Boo! Bells and Coffins

Did you know that around 1829, they had bells attached to coffins?  I didn’t either until I stated doing some research.  You’ll never believe what those little bells were for.  Evil snort.  People in this time often got smallpox, diphtheria and cholera and doctors hastily pronounced they were dead and signed death certificates.  Sometimes they did this without even seeing the bodies themselves – just by the word of family.  Medical procedures were nothing like they are today.  Often with such, people were buried and and would wake up in a casket – shivers – the fear of that!  Patents were put out on caskets that had a hole drilled the coffin through which a chord was run that would be attached to a bell that was mounted above the grave.  The chord handle was placed in the ‘dead’ person’s hand just in case they ‘woke up’ from the dead.  They could ring the bell in hopes that someone would hear above and dig them back up.  It was an unfortunate time to live through, you think?

 

Boo! St. Augustine Lighthouse

Today, I want to concentrate on something close to our hearts here at the Hotel Thompson – the St. Augustine Lighthouse.  We’ve watched television shows highlighting the paranormal activity here – have you seen any?

During the 1870’s construction began on the lighthouse tower.  The superintendent, Hezekiah Pittee, had two daughters drown in an accident.  The girls liked to get in a work trolley and roll down to the waterfront.  One day, the trolley didn’t stop and capsized into the water drowning the two girls.  Since then, reports have been made of seeing two little girls standing on the catwalk.

There have also been reports of moving shadows, voices and unexplained sounds.  Other people have reported seeing a dark figure on the stairway inside of the lighthouse.  On one show of Ghost Hunters, Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes caught a dark figure on the steps moving and a woman’s voice asking for help.  It was haunting to say the least.

Reports have also been made of the smell of cigar smoke and a man in the basement area of the keepers house.  This man is believed to be a Civil War hero and a former lighthouse keeper, William Ham.

The lighthouse is now open to the public.  The St. Augustine lighthouse even offers what they call a Dark of the Moon Tour that allows access into the lighthouse and keepers house at night. During this time, you are given a glow stick to light your way so that you may investigate on your own.  Any takers?  I’m game.

 

Boo! Cemeteries

Today we are going to highlight some famous and eerie cemeteries.  Are you brave enough to enter my cemetery of the famous dead? I’ve wandered throughout the internet and done a lot of research to bring you some intriguing places of final rest… or is it?  I hope that you find them interesting.   Let’s take a little stroll amidst the stones shall we.

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St. Louis Cemetery #1

When I think of scary and mysterious cemeteries, my first thoughts have to go towards New Orleans.  St. Louis Cemetery #1 opened in 1789 and there are over 100,000 residents.  With that much of a crowd, you know some have to be a little unhappy with their final resting place.  I know I would be.  The most famous tenant here is Marie Laveau.  Marie Laveau was a famous voodoo priestess.  People visit her grave site often and mark three “X’s” on her grave.  People that do so believe that by marking the three “X’s”, Marie Laveau will grant them their wish.

Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery and Resurrection Cemetery

The next that came to mind were two different cemeteries in the Chicago area.  The first one is Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery.  I’ve heard about this place a lot over the years.  I’ve seen specials on television and mommy has read me different chilling facts in books.  Not only does this cemetery have a history of unexplained lights and ghosts, it has an entire house that mysteriously appears and disappears.  Many people that have seen the house describe it as a white farmhouse with pillars and a swing.  The other cemetery was Resurrection Cemetery in Chicago.  This story sends chills up and down my spine every time I see it on television.  It starts off with a beautiful girl who was walking home from a dance one late night.  She was hit by a car and killed and has been looking for a ride home every since.  I saw a story one night where a man picked up this lady at a dance.  They danced into the late hours and he admitted that she felt cold to the touch.  Upon taking her home after the dance, she asked him to stop in front of the cemetery.  She got out and disappeared into the air.

Howard Street Cemetery

And how can we forget the most eerie of places in Salem, Massachusetts at Howard Street Cemetery.  With all of the witch hunts that took place here, this has got to be one of the most haunted places in the United States.  Just think of all of the innocent people that were slowly tortured and burned at the stake for the public believing they were witches.  How many of those spirits still walk around wanting people to know that they were innocent but forever labeled a witch.  Talk about your unfinished business in setting things straight.  This reminds me of a story that mom told me about a guy named Giles Corey.  He was officially the only person to die by torture during these Witch Trials.  He wouldn’t say that he was a witch so the sheriff of the time made him lay down in the middle of his field.  The sheriff then had a board placed across his chest and slowly added stones on top of the board.  Eventually two days later, Corey was crushed to death in a slow and agonizing way.