Posts

Showing posts from February, 2010

Reminder Sunday

Tomorrow is the last day to submit to the Ghost Stories Carnival March edition. Your submission must be in by 11 pm Central. Pick your best post between February 3rd and March 1st and submit it. No registration required. Must be paranormal related.

The Devil's Tree

Image
There is an Oak tree not like any other in Bernards Township, New Jersey. In the Summer time, it's a sight of beauty. Winter, however, brings out its more sinister side. The Devil's Tree has many legends attached to its branches. Travel back throughout the years to a time when the KKK's power dominated many parts of the United States. The Devil's Tree sat in an isolated part of the woods. As per the KKK's ritual, many men and women were lynched on a single branch almost parallel to the ground. Years before they met their fates, rebellious slaves hung by their necks in colonial times from that tree. Another legend states a man killed his entire family. Then, he walked to that tree and hung himself. These alleged deaths are believed to not be the only murders/suicides that have occurred at the branches of this tree. Some believe the Devil's Tree is cursed, responsible for all the souls who died by its wooden tendrils. Others consider it the property of the Devil a

Leprechauns

Leprechaun may have been a horror flick starring a young Jennifer Aniston, but these fairies' presence are deep in Irish mythology. There are many theories as to its name origins. A couple examples include leath bhrogan or shoemaker or luacharma'n, Irish for pygmy. These creatures have also been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann or pre-Christian deities of Ireland. Typically we know these sprites as small old men dressed in a green suit. Originally, his appearance differed depending on what part of Ireland he was located in. He wore red not green. In 1831, Samuel Lover wrote: "...quite a beau in his dress, notwithstanding, for he wears a red square-cut coat, richly laced with gold, and inexpressible of the same, cocked hat, shoes and buckles." Yeats described him as "The leprechaun's jacket has seven rows of buttons with seven buttons to each row. On the western coast the red jacket is covered by a frieze one, and in Ulster the creature wears a cocked hat,

GS Question of the Week

Will we eventually know all the secrets of the Egyptians? How they lived and died?

Reminder Sunday

All comments have been saved and I'm gradually adding them to the appropriate entries. I have noticed several people requested link exchange and I fell behind on that aspect. As I'm adding comments, I will make a list of all links and get back to you on that. I'm sure there are a few waiting in my inbox as well. At times, I tend to slack off a bit. I apologize for that. I will check each one out. You have 9 days to submit to the Ghost Stories Carnival March edition. Your submission must be in by 11 pm Central on March 1st. Pick your best post between February 3rd and March 1st and submit it. No registration required. Must be paranormal related.

King Tut Mysteries Solved

Image
Josh Gates and the Destination Truth team investigated the curse linked to King Tut's tomb. Now, just in time for the latest TV special about the boy king, results from DNA tests and CT scans have been announced. After two years, it has been determined that King Tutankhamun suffered greatly during his short life. The frail boy possessed a cleft palate, a club foot and a weakened immune system due to congenital diseases. His death was a result of complications from a broken leg exacerbated by a case of malaria. Many scientists long believed this to be the cause of death. Although, some speculated he was murdered when a hole in his skull was discovered, but a 2005 CT scan ruled that out as a possibility. The revelations doesn't stop there. The boy's parents were most likely brother and sister. Marriages between brothers and sisters were common among Egypt's pharaohs. His father has been determined to be Akhenaten. His mother has been pinpointed to be one of Akhenaten'

White Horse of Edgehill

Image
On October 23rd, 1642, the first battle in a war that would last four years commenced. It began as a beautiful Sunday afternoon in England. Between Edgehill and Kineton, the armies of Parliamentarians led by the Earl of Essex and Royalists led by King Charlies I and Prince Rupert of the Rhine met for the first battle in the English Civil War. Foot soldiers on each side shared glances yet not one fired a single bullet. Their hearts raced in anticipation. Who would make the first move? Essex had no intentions of attacking. However, the presence of the king riding from regiment to regiment with his entourage in tow helped provoke the duel. The battle was in full swing well in to the night. The frigged weather provided some wounded soldiers with hope they would survive. By morning, both parties reformed their armies but neither were willing to continue. Essex moved his men on to Warwick Castle and the King's army headed on to London. About 1,000 men lost their lives. There were no winn

GS Question of the Week

Quija boards sold as toys. Good or bad idea? Why?

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Image
Couples all over are celebrating the love they share on this day. However, the day of love shares a gruesome past with one of the bloodiest murders in history. On Valentine's Day in 1929, five members of the North Side Irish gang as well as two nonmembers were murdered in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago's North Side. Gangs will always rival one another. However, Prohibition steered this one to a climax. Leaders Al Capone and Bugs Moran battled to lead the primary bootlegging operations in Chicago for about five years. Everyone involved felt the tension as it increased. Before it was over, one if not both would be dead. A plan was formed allegedly by Al Capone. Bugs Moran along with members of his gang would be dubbed in to believing a hijacked shipment of whiskey was going to be delivered at a garage on Clark Street or for whatever reason. There, the men would take their last breath. Unfortunately, things didn't go exactly as planned. Al Capone hired lookouts sprea

A Monk Who Walks on Water

Millions have seen Illusionist Criss Angel walk on water. However, in Boston, Lincolnshire UK, the spirit of a monk has been seen walking across a swimming pool. Of course, this monks' talents are probably more residual than entertainment for visitors. In the late 13th Century, friars migrated to the booming town of Boston. There were four orders: the Dominicans or black friars (named for the color of their robes), Franciscan or grey friars, Carmelites and Austins or Augustines. St. John's Hospital was run by an order of monks called the Knights Hospitaller and cared for the poor and sick. In the mid-16th Century, Henry VIII closed all the friaries. The Geoff Moulder Leisure Complex's swimming pool is adjacent to Boston Grammar School field. In this field, archaeologists have uncovered a burial site believed to be linked to one of the ancient friaries that once stood in the town of Boston. If indeed it was part of a friary, this may explain why the monk seen not only wa

San Lucas Island Prison

Image
“If you don't have anything to do, don't come here to do it." It seems the Ghost Hunters International team has become fascinated in investigating the penal system around the world. Their next stop is San Lucas Island in Costa Rica. This island's history horror began in the 16th Century. The Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Fernandez Oviedo used San Lucas as a concentration camp for local Chara people. These people were slaughtered on the site of their sacred burial grounds. A few hundred years later, San Lucas was turned in to a penal island. The prison was constructed in 1873 by dictator Tomás Miguel Guardia Gutiérre. It was dubbed the Caribbean Alcatraz. However, San Lucas also didn't achieve the inescapable label so many prisons sought. There were many daring escapes to shark infested waters and tragic failures. But then again who wouldn't want to attempt freedom from one of the most heinous prisons known to man. Only the worst criminals in Costa Rica wer