The Haunted Health Professional

I'm not going to name the exact profession or person due to privacy issues, so I'll just call her/him my "health care professional."

I've been seeing this person for about six weeks now, and from the very beginning, things were off. I liked the person just fine; it was everything else. Something about the building, and especially her/his offices (from now on I'll refer to her/him as "Dr. Astral") really made me uncomfortable. Dr. Astral's offices are weird -- oddly shaped, strange jutting angles, narrow rooms, strange smells. Did not feel comfortable at all.

As I'm laying on the table after a treatment, I go into a light trance like state. I "see" Dr. Astral come in, stand over me, and say: "I'm going to kill you." I knew this wasn't true and not anything like the real Dr. Astral at all, or, anything in my own head. I told "it" who was pretending to be Dr. Astral to stop it. But I still felt very uncomfortable.

On my next visit I mentioned to Dr. Astral, as diplomatically as I could, that the rooms were very strange. That's when Dr. Astral told me the building, built in 1924, was Eugene's first hospital. (Google tells a different story; this building was actually the third hospital in the area.) DING! When I heard that, I literally felt my stomach drop down to my toes.

Today I had another odd experience. Once again, on the table, in that mild trance like state. From out of nowhere, I had the most intense feeling in my throat -- as if someone had flipped on a switch -- of sever hoarseness. Like a bad case of strep throat. And with it, the vague image in my mind's eye of an old man, laying in a bed, I got the impression the sore throat was connected to him. As soon as I focused on the feeling -- rather, acknowledged the sore throat, and the image -- both vanished. Again, like someone had flipped a switch, and immediately, the incredibly severe painful sore throat disappeared.

I have seen apparitions, heard voices, witnessed objects moving by an unseen force, and felt electrical as well as emotional feelings connected with hauntings, but never a physical feeling of discomfort that wasn't "mine," but the life of another.

Jason Offutt: Encounters With Black-Eyed Kids | Mysterious Universe

I have no idea what the "black eyed children" are, but it's a Fortean topic that has me intrigued in a good old fashioned creepy scary way! I've been following these stories from Jason Offutt, Lon Strickler, etc. for awhile now and continue to be truly spooked by these eerie accounts.

I'm not sure the black eyed kids are ghosts, per se. However, this is a very weird area to explore. Encounters With Black-Eyed Kids | Mysterious Universe

Best Paranormal Reality Shows

Stephan Wagner at Paranormal Phenomena on the Best Paranormal Reality Shows.

I haven't seen Paranormal Witness yet, one of Wagner's top three picks, but I agree with his two other picks: Celebrity Ghost Stories and My Ghost Story. As Wagner comments, both shows have believable people telling their stories, and the reenactments show some restraint with the cheesy effects. (So many of these shows go overboard with the dramatic camera angles and over the top music.)

I appreciate the fact both shows  don't throw in skeptics or debunkers or try to "rationally" explain away the encounters.

Visit Wagner's site and if you like, share your favorite paranormal reality shows.

On Coast to Coast Tonight: Neurosurgeon's NDE/ Ghostly Encounters

Tonight on Coast to Coast, host George Noory interviews Eben Alexander on NDEs and 'ghostly encounters': Neurosurgeon's NDE/ Ghostly Encounters - Shows - Coast to Coast AM

Also, the 'Ghost buster Gals' Ronnie Foster and Laura Mistycah in the second half of the program.

TwoCrowsParanormal: The Haunted Queen Mary

Blog find, thanks to The Anomalist. Here's an article on the Queen Mary from Two Crows Paranormal:TwoCrowsParanormal: The Haunted Queen Mary

Naveed's Realm: Ghost child in the hallway

It's good to see Naveed blogging again -- like myself, it seems he's having a hard time getting back into the esoteric groove. Here he writes about an odd apparition in his home. What I found interesting was the echo of what I wrote about for my upcoming Trickster's Realm column (should be up sometime soon) where I comment that, while weird things happen now and then in my home, I wouldn't say it's super active, haunting wise. Naveed's Realm: Ghost child in the hallway

"Spirit Intrusion"

While relating the ghost encounters at work, someone referred to the ghost as a "spirit intrusion." I had never heard that term before. I wanted to ask this person about it but the situation wasn't right. "Spirit intrusion." From the brief on-line searching I did, it seems to be a term or concept related to Shamanism and the chakras. Here it's described, not in terms of ghosts, but a physical ill within one's body. 

Here's something (scroll down a bit) concerning some Native American traditions. Like the above, it concerns the physical body and ills, with spirit and souls being the invasive cause.

While I'm unfamiliar with this concept of "spirit intrusion" I'm not so sure the ghost in this case is a case of what a colleague said about spirit intrusion. I think this person meant all ghosts are "spirit intrusions" and I'm not sure really what she meant. I had the feeling she believes all "ghosts" are manifestations of unease that are heavily tied in with the observer. If I get the opportunity I'd like to discuss this and find out more with this person. In the meantime, this is a new and interesting path to explore.

Sylvia Beach Hotel, Newport Oregon: Haunted or Photo Glitch?

Here's one of my Trickster Realm columns for Tim Binnall's site that I wrote a couple of years ago:<a href="http://binnallofamerica.com/tr6.8.9.html"> Newport, Oregon: A Haunted Hotel?</a>

The Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon is a unique place with an interesting history. The hotel is in the Nye Beach area; which until recently was exceedingly funky and charming. Now they've gone upscale and the looming, out of place, over priced condos and stores are a gloomy statement on things to come. The juxtaposition of old, shambled structures with tall cold modern buildings is typical in many beach towns. That aside, I still love the area and spend a lot of time there.

As I note in the article, I don't think the owners are very open to the possibility the place is haunted. I get the impression they don't have time for such nonsense. But I have felt some very intense and slightly unhappy energy in some spots while visiting. Does the photograph show something of a ghostly nature, or a glitch in the camera? Can't say, but do know this is the spot where things felt very unpleasant.

From The Guttenberg Project: Ghost Stories

The Guttenberg Project has been offering free works in the public domain for some time. Here are classic ghost tales you can can download for free.

Alcatraz Stories

My new Trickster's Realm column for Binnall of America is now up at Tim Binnall's site:Alcatraz Stories:

Fox's Alcatraz, is one of the new shows I find myself enjoying. Mainly because it's about Alcatraz; the conspiracy/mystery part is a bonus. (A Trickster moment: the lead role is played by Sam Neill; on The Dead Files last Friday, the psychic did an investigation of Alcatraz, and found that one of the prisoners (or was it a guard? I don't recall) was named Sam Neill.)

I've had a fascination with Alcatraz since I was a child. A combination of factors probably contribute to this interest: a love of all things watery, the mystery of the island as prison, growing up in Los Angeles, the 1969 Native American take over (which is rarely if ever mentioned on shows about the island, particulary if it's a program about hauntings. Whether that's out of respect or political, as in propaganda, I'm not sure) and ... the nuns.

Greg Taylor: Stop Worrying...There Probably Is An Afterlife -- Indiegogo

I'm happy to promote Greg Taylor (The Daily Grail, Darklore Journals, etc.) latest project: Stop Worrying...There Probably Is An Afterlife -- Indiegogo:

For too long, the debate over the possibility of some sort of hereafter has been dominated by these two diametrically opposed views. So much so, that the general public is not aware that there is some very good evidence supporting the idea that, at the time of our physical death, some part of us 'continues on'. In the book I am currently writing, I will tell the story of how, for more than a hundred years, scientists have been finding evidence for consciousness continuing on beyond death; people have been recounting their own personal encounters with 'the other side of the veil'; and some of the world's best thinkers have been suggesting that human consciousness may be far more than just the accidental by-product of a flesh-and-blood brain. The evidence may not be concrete, but it's certainly enough for any person to hold a 'rational' belief that we all continue on in some way.

I have written about these topics in short-form for almost 15 years now on my popular website The Daily Grail, and in a number of books I have already published (see for example this article). I am an experienced publisher, having released a dozen books already through my independent publishing house, Daily Grail Publishing. Please help me bring this topic to a wider audience, in more detailed form, by supporting this book project.

What I Need, And What You'll Get

I am already currently working on the book (20,000 words down at the time of writing), and it will be released no matter what level of support I receive - this has been a personal quest of mine for quite some time now. The goal of this pre-publication funding is to make the book as good as it can possibly be, by allowing funds for absolutely comprehensive research (tracking down/purchasing source documents, interviewing key people, freeing up time for writing, etc.) and book design/manufacture expenses. As such, I've made a very conservative estimate of $5000 as a goal to do this, though my ideal funding level is higher. However, I appreciate whatever support is offered by those interested in seeing this book published.

Ghost Synchronicity: Stories at Work

A synchronicity; after starting this blog about ghosts, a lively discussion of the ghost at my place of employment. This conversation was not started by me in any way; it erupted spontaneously between two staff members when I was in the room. A colleague echoed what I've always thought: given we've both had life time experiences with haunted places and have had our share of ghostly encounters, neither of us have had much, at all, tingling of our ghostie-senses. Others have, and there was, according to another employee (who also lived in a haunted house) a recent episode of activity.

It's interesting I seem to just not be getting the vibe, even though I certainly have in so many other situations, including those I wish I hadn't welcomed. (I wish I hadn't encountered a few!) But at my place of work, barely nothing in terms of bumping up against the ghost.

I have felt ... vague but still viable enough feelings at times. And I've always felt uncomfortable in a certain part of the building, but never attributed it to a ghost. Instead, I just figured it was because it was far from my own station, or it was too cold up there, something like that. But I was surprised to hear one of the women say that she's always felt uncomfortable in that part of the building, and she attributes it to the ghost.

There have been strange things happening, witnessed by others through the years. Nothing malevolent in any way. I know this is frustrating but since it's a public place and I work there I can't say anymore. But one thing seems clear; just about any building, and certainly one that is a few decades old, and has gone through several remodels, built on land that is still, in parts, untouched, is full of energy from so many bodies from so many backgrounds. All of that contributes to a place ripe for spirit energy.