Poltergeist Activity

A friend recently related a story to me about the place where he works. He said that some strange things have been occurring there. Voices can be heard after hours in an otherwise empty building. Items will go missing only to be found later in the most unlikely places. One morning he said that upon arriving to work early he had found numerous items scattered about the work area. Upon asking fellow employees if they had moved the items before they had left the night before, the response was "No".  The longer fellow employees work at this place, the more their personality seems to change. And not in a good way. 

Is this the result of poltergeist activity?

Wyoming Anomalies book

I recently published the next book in my series about Anomalies in the 50 States. This one is about Wyoming. Now available as an e-book on Amazon. Click here!

Book Release!

I am so excited to announce the release of my first book!

Colorado Anomalies: Ley Lines, Earth Mysteries, or Cosmic Coincidence

It is a book about my home state of Colorado and the Anomalies found there. I write about why and how the majority of the Anomalies are found in certain areas. It is now available as an eBook from Amazon. Click Here!

The Reveal.....

WOW! What an experience! 

Very surreal. 

If one wasn't a believer in spirits before, a ghost hunt at Miramont Castle would certainly make them a believer. 

The Ghost Hunt was led by the group The Haunted Dimensions. And yes, they used K2 meters, flir camera, and a nifty app on their pads - Ghost Radar. Ghost Radar works very much like the Ghost Box by scanning through radio frequencies quite rapidly and detects sound bytes which it then can translate into words. (a simplistic definition)

There were two groups of approx. 13 people plus at least 3 investigators. One group started at the top on the fourth floor. And the other group started in the basement. Each group worked its way through the Castle and eventually met up for coffee where we compared notes. We then split up into smaller groups to investigate our 'favorite' spot. 

While nothing like seeing an apparition or being touched by something happened to me, some of the night's attendees did speak of experiencing such things.  My night's remembrances are of flashlights. And questions being answered. The Lead Investigator would ask yes/no questions and ask for the spirit to respond by turning on the flashlight. This happened a lot! Some of the resident spirits were quite chatty. I guess you could say these were intelligent hauntings. On two occasions I volunteered to sit in one of the rooms by myself with only a flashlight, camera and recorder. I spent at least 15 minutes, maybe more, 'chatting' with a boy(?) from Europe who had been at the Castle because he was ill - perhaps ill with tuberculosis. Very surreal to hear the words on the Ghost Radar and to see this flashlight, which is positioned across the room with absolutely nothing around it, go on and off.

I had no doubt about the existence of spirits or ghosts before our trip to Miramont Castle. And what I experienced only reinforced those beliefs.

Brief History: Miramont Castle is located in Manitou Springs, Colorado and was built in 1895 as a private residence for Father Jean Baptist Francolon, a French born Catholic priest, and his mother. The Castle is an eclectic mix of architectural styles - from Byzantine to Tudor. The Sisters of  Mercy shared the property with the Father and operated a sanitarium, caring for people with a variety of illnesses who came to Manitou Springs for the 'miraculous healing waters' which flowed from the various springs. After the Father left for the East coast under a cloud of suspicion in 1900, the Sisters stayed on to run the sanitarium - tuberculosis was by now the main illness but recovering soldiers returning from the Wars would soon fill the rooms. The Castle eventually fell into disrepair but in 1976 the Manitou Springs Historical Society purchased the building and began renovation to the structure. Today Miramont Castle is on the National Historic register and serves as a museum which houses only a portion of the rich history of Colorado.

*** Note to Self : Add Daytime Tour of Miramont Castle to Roadtrip Bucket List ***

A Ghost Hunting We Will Go!

Exciting news! Hubby & I are scheduled to go on a Ghost Hunt tonight! **cue creepy music**

How exciting is that!

We will be two of the 20 people who will be investigating Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs with the Parahistorical Team, The Haunted Dimensions.

Check back on Tuesday for the big Reveal!

Ghostly Singles

Are you tired of Haunting alone? 

Has the fun vanished from those midnight wanderings in the cemetery?

Well, Ghost Singles is the place for you!

At Ghost Singles you can meet others from the ethereal plane just like yourself!

Find yourself a date for that Seance! Or just chat with someone of like interests - chain-rattling! walking through walls! scaring the pi$$ out of someone!

So don't attend the Hallowe'en Party alone this year! Go to Ghost Singles and find your perfect Spirit!

all images courtesy of Magickal Graphics

Roadtrip ~ Hotel Colorado & Cigar Smoking Man

Hubby and I spent our 'weekend away' at the Hotel Colorado. 

The Hotel Colorado was built in 1893 by silver magnate, Walter Devereux at a cost of $850,000. The architect designed the building as a replica of the Villa de Medici. Devereaux spared no expense in its construction and imported many things like the carpet and rose bushes but native stone was used in its construction.

The original design had a pond located in the center of the courtyard and guests could catch their own trout for a meal. Today a small koi pond with a lovely fountain graces the grounds.

I can only imagine what a sight this must have been to travelers of the Old West. 

The Hotel Colorado was a luxury resort and many famous people have walked its halls. The 'Unsinkable' Molly Brown, Diamond Jack Alterie (and other Chicago Gangsters), President Herbert Hoover, President William Howard Taft, and President Theodore Roosevelt.  

President Theodore Roosevelt liked the Hotel and the area so much he stayed there on several occasions. And according to legend, the Hotel Colorado was the birthplace of the Teddy Bear (not really sure what the true story is about how or why the teddy bear was created - I found three different stories).

In 1942 the Hotel was leased to the Navy for the use as a hospital. In the 4 year period it was utilized to care for those injured in WWII, it serviced over 6,500 patients. The basement was used as a morgue.

Walking through the Hotel, a person gets a sense of comfort that comes with age and familiarity. 

The wooden banisters glow from the multitude of hands which have run up and down them.

Entrance to restaurant made from native pink sandstone

I had read of stories of otherworldly happenings at the Hotel Colorado and wondered if we would get to meet any of the long-past guests. 

We didn't have long to wonder. Upon exiting the elevator and walking to our room, the distinct smell of cigar smoke could be detected. Nothing heavy like cigar smoke can be but something just ever so light. 

Hall outside our room

In the three days we were there, we encountered on many occasions the faint odor of cigars in the hall outside our room. On one occasion, Hubby had left to go outside and only moments after he had gone, I could smell cigar in the room with me! Now keep in mind that the Hotel Colorado is Non-Smoking!

Who was the cigar-smoking man? 

Let's get some rest, we're going 'caving' next week!

And just ignore any bumps or moans you might hear in the dead of night.....

Wickedly Wonderful Wallpaper

Don't forget to decorate your computer for Hallowe'en!

Here are a few links for some wickedly wonderful wallpaper ~

Smashing Magazine

Halloween Wallpaper HD

How to Geek

A Good Reason...

Coffins and Other Chill Inducing Images

Some images from past Frozen Dead Guy Events ~ the Coffin Races, Polar Plunge and other "Chilling" Pics!

Source of Images

Hearses

There are a lot of unique and fun events and activities at The Frozen Dead Guy Days ~ Tours of the TuffShed where Grandpa is frozen, Coffin Races, Brain Freeze Contest, The Blue Ball, Polar Plunge, Frozen Salmon Tossing, and my favorite, The Parade of Hearses. 

Here are photos of some of the Hearses that have appeared over the years in The Parade of Hearses.

Source of Images

Frozen Dead Guy Days

Frozen Dead Guy Days is held annually the first full weekend in March. This unique annual celebration is held in the town of Nederland, Colorado - a ski town (Eldora Ski Resort) located west of Boulder. 
Hubby & I had wanted to go this past weekend but the weather wasn't cooperative. Extreme high winds postponed many events and brought temperatures down into the negatives. Our age, or perhaps it was the warm house, caused us to reconsider standing around outside on such a cold blustery winter day. But we vow to attend next year. Weather permitting.....

History behind the event ~  In 1989, a Norwegian citizen named Trygve Bauge brought the corpse of his recently deceased grandfather, Bredo Morstøl, to the United States. The body was preserved on dry ice for the trip, and stored in liquid nitrogen at the Trans Time cryonics facility from 1990 to 1993.

In 1993, Bredo was returned to dry ice and transported to the town of Nederland, where Trygve and his mother Aud planned to create a cryonics facility of their own. When Trygve was deported from the United States for overstaying his visa, his mother, Aud, continued keeping her father's body cryogenically frozen in a shack behind her unfinished house.

Aud was eventually evicted from her home for living in a house with no electricity or plumbing, in violation of local ordinances. At that time, she told a local reporter about her father's body, and the reporter went to the local city hall in order to let them know about Aud's fears that her eviction would cause her father's body to thaw out.

The story caused a sensation. In response, the city added a broad new provision to Section 7-34 of its Municipal Code, "Keeping of bodies", outlawing the keeping of "the whole or any part of the person, body or carcass of a human being or animal or other biological species which is not alive upon any property". However, because of the publicity that had arisen, they made an exception for Bredo, a grandfather clause. Trygve secured the services of Delta Tech, a local environmental company, to keep the cryonic facility running. Bo Shaffer, CEO of Delta Tech, is known locally as "The Iceman" and caretaker responsible for transporting the dry ice necessary for cryopreservation to the IC Institute, something he has done since 1995. In that year, the local Tuff Shed supplier and a Denver radio station built a new shed to keep the body of Bredo in. In honor of the town's unique resident, Nederland holds an annual celebration, first started in 2002.


Tomorrow - The Hearse Parade!

Source of Images

Dillon Cemetery

Before we head to Dillon Cemetery, let me give you a bit of history about Dillon Reservoir (often called Lake Dillon) and the town which sits on its shore - Dillon, Colorado.This large body of water plays an important part in the history of Dillon Cemetery.

 Dillon Reservoir was originally a small, naturally-formed mountain lake. In 1956, the Denver Water Board decided that high mountain water storage was needed for the water demands of the growing city of Denver. The decision was made to enlarge this small mountain lake to create the needed water reserve. In 1961 the Dillon Dam was completed and the small lake grew to the massive reservoir seen today. 

The growth of the reservoir flooded the original town of Dillon - which can still be seen under the west side of the lake - and the Dillon Cemetery. The town relocated to its present location and has continued to grow over the years. The cemetery was relocated to a nearby hillside.

The original Dillon Cemetery was established in 1885 and was the only graveyard patented under federal law. Interred in the cemetery are many who were important to the development of the area - drivers for the High Line Stage Coach Route, miners, sawmill workers, blacksmiths, county officials, and railroad personnel - to name just a few. 

Looking South at Dillon Cemetery entrance

Looking North at entrance from inside cemetery

The Dillon Cemetery is in a beautiful setting and is heavily treed. Many old tombstones can be found but just as many headstones are duplicates of the originals. And yes, the graveyard is still in use today. Tours of the cemetery are given during the summer months. I do believe I shall be in attendance when the weather warms up! 

Name is carved into a rock