Montauk , Long Island has always been a very special place for me. I spent many a summer out there as a child, and I still go back now with my own family. It's just one of those magical, mystical, and beautiful places. It's also known to be...well...haunted.
All sorts of stories abound in Montauk, from haunted resorts to haunted lighthouses; from Big Foot to time travel and even more recently the alleged "Montauk Monster" which washed ashore in the summer of 2008. What many people don't realize however, is that it's also a very historical and spiritual place, which could also be the reason for a variety of paranormal activity which has taken place there.
Archeological excavations have shown that Montauk was inhabited by Native American Indians more than 3,000 years before any white man set foot in North America. The tribe called the land Montauket, meaning “hilly country.” The tribe itself was known as the Montauks, and the Indians were called the Montauketts. They were a peaceful tribe who fished the waters and farmed the land. By 1620, Chief Wyandanch had become known as the greatest chief in Montauk history. Unfortunately, his friendship with Lion Gardiner, and his tribe’s involvement with the British settlers would ultimately cost the Montauk tribe their land in years to come.
The Montauketts lived in peace with the white men, but they were almost constantly at war with more aggressive tribes from New England, the Pequots and the Narragansetts. In 1653, the Narragansetts once again set foot in Montauk, waging a surprise attack on the Montauketts. The fierce warriors nearly destroyed the Montauk Indians in one of the worst attacks ever made on the tribe. The ambush took place at the foot of the present-day Montauk Manor. Because of the terrible losses inflicted on the Montauketts, the low-lying land just east of Fort Hill next to Signal Hill became known as “Massacre Valley.”
The land on which the Montauk Manor stands is therefore very much connected with the Montaukett Indians. There were camps, bloodshed and burials there. Next door to the Manor is Fort Hill Cemetery, which was established by East Hampton Town during the 1980’s. It was named Fort Hill after the fort the Indians once had there. There are many Indians buried in this area, although the graves are not marked. The entire area was disrupted during the Manor’s construction.
It was Carl Fisher’s dream in the summer of 1925 to create the “most fabulous summer resort ever imagined in the western world"...a magnificent English Tudor-style “castle on the hill." Fisher was a multimillionaire industrialist who was responsible for the development of Miami Beach, Florida. He envisioned Montauk as having a beach club, a yacht club, polo fields, a golf course, a ranch and a health spa. His centerpiece would be the Montauk Manor, a 200-room luxury resort hotel. In 1927, part of Fisher’s dream became a reality when the Manor was officially opened. The rich and famous of the day flooded its grand ballrooms, played croquet on the rolling front lawn, drank tea on the veranda overlooking the Manor’s 10,000 acres, and ate in the finest of restaurants, which served international cuisine.
Did anyone at that time know the events that had once occurred there? Did they know about the amazing history that lay beneath the massive structure … Indians, wars, plagues and graves?
The Montauketts weren’t the only ones who died on the land. During the late 1890’s many of Teddy Roosevelt’s soldiers came down with yellow fever. It spread among the troops so quickly that Roosevelt decided to lead them up to the sacred site on the hill. The hill was steep, and the soldiers struggled in their weakened conditions to climb it. It is said that over 300 men died en route. Some died in a detention hospital that was set up near the present Manor. The soldiers were temporarily buried above Indian remains, both at Fort Hill and nearby at Lake Montauk. Eventually, most of their bodies were exhumed and sent home. Neither of the makeshift cemeteries were marked.
Throughout the years, many people visiting the Manor have claimed to see an Indian chief in full headdress wandering the floors. Some guests were so alarmed they had reported what they saw to the front desk. Strange banging sounds have been heard coming from a fourth floor room when no one was there, and another story, apparently more recent, mentioned a cleaning lady. The woman was cleaning the men’s sauna downstairs when she heard the door slam. That noise was followed by a baby’s cry. Terrified, she ran to the management and said she would never work there alone again.
I've gotten a number of orb photos at the Manor, and on one very foggy and quiet night I heard Indian drumbeats on the property when no one was around. Next door at Fort Hill Cemetery, a nine-year-old girl who lived next door claimed to have seen an American Indian in full headdress “perched on top of the hill” two years after the new cemetery was established in the 1980’s. Before she could show anyone, the man was gone.
In recent years, ghostly phenomenon has begun to slow down at the Manor. Perhaps the Indian chief has passed on. You could always check out the Montauk Lighthouse then, which is also rumored to be haunted. I have yet to research and investigate the lighthouse, or you can take a hike in the old Camp Hero which is loaded with all kinds of stories. I don't know who or what you'll run into there.
Even if you're not into ghosts, Montauk remains for many, one of the best places to vacation on Long Island, whether you're staying at the Montauk Manor or in one of the motels in town. Do take a trip up to Fort Hill Cemetery though. It is a beautiful and spiritual place, and offers one of the most spectacular views of Montauk.
Excerpts from this blog have been taken from my book Ghosts of Long Island; Stories of the Paranormal. If you're interested in reading more about the history and haunted phenomenon in Montauk, check out the chapter entitled, "The Spirit of an Indian Chief at Montauk Manor."
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Can Ghosts Play Practical Jokes?
I would never have believed that ghosts could play practical jokes until it actually happened to me. It was back in 2006, when paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto and I set out for Eastport one miserable rainy and foggy afternoon We had plans to interview Lloyd Gerard of Lloyd Antiques on Main Street. He was going to tell us the story of his great-great-great-great-uncle Levi, who’d been haunting the place for years. He’d become sort of a legend in Eastport, according to Lloyd.
Andrew Simon Levi came from Russia to Long Island in 1860. He was a teenager determined to avoid serving in the Russian Army — in a sense a draft dodger. He became a traveling salesman, a peddler, selling needles and pins door to door. It is said he walked two months from Brooklyn to Montauk to Greenport to Orient, and then back to New York for supplies. He traveled alone, and never married. Levi died in 1926. For reasons unknown, his spirit has returned to haunt his great-great-great-great-nephew’s store.
“I’ve always been a skeptic,” Lloyd told us. “But what I see, what I hear, and actually what I smell…I have to believe, skeptic or not. Levi used to smoke cigars, and we have smelled cigar smoke. I don’t let anyone smoke in here, but we have smelled cigar smoke. Not only me, but the girl who works here once a week. She said to me one day, ‘Boy, who’s smoking a cigar around here?’ I said, ‘Nobody.’ A few minutes later she said, ‘But I smell cigar smoke.’ I said, ‘Well, it’s Uncle Levi.’ ‘Who’s Uncle Levi?’ she asked. I had to explain to her who Uncle Levi was. He’s here.”
Uncle Levi had always enjoyed playing practical jokes, and Lloyd said he still does. “He tips over tables, knocks things off shelves. He told one of my customers that a table upstairs was $65.00. It was a $400 table, and he tells this guy it was $65.00.”
Joe had asked Lloyd if he did, in fact, sell the table to the man for $65.00 and Lloyd replied, “I thought I better sell it for $65.00, or else. I didn’t want to incur his wrath. He’s been seen. He’s been heard. I hear him. He walks around upstairs. It could go for months with no indication that he’s here, then all of a sudden he’ll knock something off a shelf, something will fall over in front of you when you’re walking down the aisle.”
The apparition of Uncle Levi has appeared to many people, although Lloyd himself has never seen him. “Logical or not, people come to see me and say, ‘Where’s Levi?’ and I say, ‘It beats the hell out of me,’ but usually he’s upstairs. People go up to see him. Little kids come in and say how do we get to see Levi? He does come down here, though, and knocks stuff down. He loves practical jokes. People used to play practical jokes on him when he was alive."
After Joe and I had finished our interview, Lloyd said we were more than welcome to look around the store and take some photographs, adding that maybe Uncle Levi would knock something over for us. Joe and I laughed and headed to the infamous “upstairs,” talking about Uncle Levi and his jokes. It was quiet up there, and Joe walked around with his recorder while I took photos. Back then, on assignments, I had been shooting both manual for black and white, and digital for color. I had just taken some photos with my manual camera, and set it down in the middle of a table behind me. I picked up my digital camera and turned slightly to take a photo, when suddenly my manual camera crashed to the floor. Besides being concerned about its condition, I was completely stunned. I had a bag over one arm and a battery pack over the other. Possibly I might have knocked it over, but it was not as if the camera had been at the edge of the table. I’ve had my manual equipment for twenty years, and have never dropped it, damaged it or even scratched it, ever. I found this “accident” hard to believe.
I remember Joe looked at me and said, “Uncle Levi?” Luckily the camera itself was just fine. But the protective lens filter was broken, and the flash attachment had taken a bit of a beating; the part that attaches to the camera was broken. I was still in disbelief, trying to figure out how this could have happened.
Several days later, I had an e-mail from Joe. He had picked up some EVP’s on his recorder. He wrote, I honed right into the camera episode which I thought would be a good starting point, since I also asked Levi to talk to us afterwards. The best EVP is when your camera crashed and I said something like, “Oh, Levi? Was that you?” Right after, you hear a guy go, “Psssst!” Like someone is saying “Come over here.”
I listened to what Joe sent over, and sure enough, I heard the voice saying “Pssst!” In another EVP maybe five minutes later, the sound of glass breaking could clearly be heard. There was definitely no glass breaking in the store at that time. We would have heard it. Was Levi making fun? Perhaps this time the joke was on us.
You can read the extended version of this story in the chapter entitled "The Ghost of Uncle Levi" in Ghosts of Long Island; Stories of the Paranormal. Stay tuned to blogtalk radio on Thursday, January 5th when Joe and I will be discussing Uncle Levi and his practical jokes on the air. Visit us at www.blogtalkradio.com/kerriannandjoeshow.
Andrew Simon Levi came from Russia to Long Island in 1860. He was a teenager determined to avoid serving in the Russian Army — in a sense a draft dodger. He became a traveling salesman, a peddler, selling needles and pins door to door. It is said he walked two months from Brooklyn to Montauk to Greenport to Orient, and then back to New York for supplies. He traveled alone, and never married. Levi died in 1926. For reasons unknown, his spirit has returned to haunt his great-great-great-great-nephew’s store.
“I’ve always been a skeptic,” Lloyd told us. “But what I see, what I hear, and actually what I smell…I have to believe, skeptic or not. Levi used to smoke cigars, and we have smelled cigar smoke. I don’t let anyone smoke in here, but we have smelled cigar smoke. Not only me, but the girl who works here once a week. She said to me one day, ‘Boy, who’s smoking a cigar around here?’ I said, ‘Nobody.’ A few minutes later she said, ‘But I smell cigar smoke.’ I said, ‘Well, it’s Uncle Levi.’ ‘Who’s Uncle Levi?’ she asked. I had to explain to her who Uncle Levi was. He’s here.”
Uncle Levi had always enjoyed playing practical jokes, and Lloyd said he still does. “He tips over tables, knocks things off shelves. He told one of my customers that a table upstairs was $65.00. It was a $400 table, and he tells this guy it was $65.00.”
Joe had asked Lloyd if he did, in fact, sell the table to the man for $65.00 and Lloyd replied, “I thought I better sell it for $65.00, or else. I didn’t want to incur his wrath. He’s been seen. He’s been heard. I hear him. He walks around upstairs. It could go for months with no indication that he’s here, then all of a sudden he’ll knock something off a shelf, something will fall over in front of you when you’re walking down the aisle.”
The apparition of Uncle Levi has appeared to many people, although Lloyd himself has never seen him. “Logical or not, people come to see me and say, ‘Where’s Levi?’ and I say, ‘It beats the hell out of me,’ but usually he’s upstairs. People go up to see him. Little kids come in and say how do we get to see Levi? He does come down here, though, and knocks stuff down. He loves practical jokes. People used to play practical jokes on him when he was alive."
After Joe and I had finished our interview, Lloyd said we were more than welcome to look around the store and take some photographs, adding that maybe Uncle Levi would knock something over for us. Joe and I laughed and headed to the infamous “upstairs,” talking about Uncle Levi and his jokes. It was quiet up there, and Joe walked around with his recorder while I took photos. Back then, on assignments, I had been shooting both manual for black and white, and digital for color. I had just taken some photos with my manual camera, and set it down in the middle of a table behind me. I picked up my digital camera and turned slightly to take a photo, when suddenly my manual camera crashed to the floor. Besides being concerned about its condition, I was completely stunned. I had a bag over one arm and a battery pack over the other. Possibly I might have knocked it over, but it was not as if the camera had been at the edge of the table. I’ve had my manual equipment for twenty years, and have never dropped it, damaged it or even scratched it, ever. I found this “accident” hard to believe.
I remember Joe looked at me and said, “Uncle Levi?” Luckily the camera itself was just fine. But the protective lens filter was broken, and the flash attachment had taken a bit of a beating; the part that attaches to the camera was broken. I was still in disbelief, trying to figure out how this could have happened.
Several days later, I had an e-mail from Joe. He had picked up some EVP’s on his recorder. He wrote, I honed right into the camera episode which I thought would be a good starting point, since I also asked Levi to talk to us afterwards. The best EVP is when your camera crashed and I said something like, “Oh, Levi? Was that you?” Right after, you hear a guy go, “Psssst!” Like someone is saying “Come over here.”
I listened to what Joe sent over, and sure enough, I heard the voice saying “Pssst!” In another EVP maybe five minutes later, the sound of glass breaking could clearly be heard. There was definitely no glass breaking in the store at that time. We would have heard it. Was Levi making fun? Perhaps this time the joke was on us.
You can read the extended version of this story in the chapter entitled "The Ghost of Uncle Levi" in Ghosts of Long Island; Stories of the Paranormal. Stay tuned to blogtalk radio on Thursday, January 5th when Joe and I will be discussing Uncle Levi and his practical jokes on the air. Visit us at www.blogtalkradio.com/kerriannandjoeshow.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Lighthouses, Legends and Lore
When we think of lighthouses, all sorts of images come to mind. Perhaps you picture a man of the sea smoking his pipe while looking over the vast ocean, or perhaps you see treacherous storms, or a life of loneliness and solitude; mystery and intrigue. Oddly enough, a great majority of people envision a ghost, the spirit of a previous lighthouse keeper who could not leave his watch, and who remains at his former post indefinitely. Are lighthouses truly haunted? If so, why? Or is it our imaginations conjuring up romanticized visions of days gone by?
An Internet search reveals hundreds of haunted lighthouses from all over the world. In the United States they stretch from Maine, to Georgia, to Florida, to Oregon and to California, just to name a few. And then of course, there's New York, home to its own haunted lights.
Lighthouses in general are intriguing, so if you add a ghost or two, all the better. Most of us can't imagine the life of the lighthouse keeper. It was an extremely difficult lifestyle. It is because of this, that many believe that some of the keepers may have lost their minds, and that upon their passing, their spirit remains. Their energy trapped within the conical walls of the towering spire.
I've had the privilege of having private tours of several of Long Island's lighthouses because I've written about them throughout the years. Eaton's Neck Lighthouse, Montauk Point, Huntington, Fire Island, and my personal favorite, Execution Rocks Lighthouse. Although I'm not a fan of climbing endless flights of spiral staircases, especially while carrying heavy camera equipment, I definitely have a fondness for these wonderful, historic places. I'm someone who loves to be out on the water as well, so I've jumped at every chance to visit these fascinating pieces of history.
The Huntington Lighthouse, as well as the Eaton's Neck Lighthouse, I have visited and written about in my earlier books on Huntington, where the focus was on preserving history, not ghosts. Do I think they could be haunted? Sure, but I'd have to do a thorough investigation to really find out. The Fire Island Lighthouse and Execution Rocks, were places I wrote about for the "Ghost" books. Both are presumably haunted.
At Fire Island, tales of pirating, illegal rum-running and shipwrecks abound, as do tales of ghostly phenomenon. The lighthouse is a now a beautifully restored museum. The volunteers I spoke to during the time I did my research, didn't believe in ghosts, but they did say that the rumor began after a children's book came out in 1987, which was written about a little boy who lived with his family at the lighthouse during the late 1970's to early 1980's. According to the story, the boy was lonely so the lighthouse became his friend. The boy said he heard the lighthouse talk to him. Not long after, workers at the lighthouse made up the name George, and claimed he was the one who haunted the old building. However, other stories I came across told of a lonely keeper who hung himself from the tower. Some claim to have heard footsteps on the metal steps, and music and moaning coming from the tower. Could this be the spirit of a keeper making his way back to the tower?
When I visited Execution Rocks lighthouse, I had a very different experience. Talk about a spooky place! Paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto and I, were taken out in a 25-foot Homeland Security Response Boat with the United States Coast Guard, to the abandoned lighthouse which sits in Long Island Sound. We had an entire tour of the boarded up 2 1/2 story, lighthouse keeper's house, and of the sixty-foot tower. It was an incredible adventure. Surrounded by treacherous rocks, I shuddered as I recalled the stories of the hideous acts that may have occurred there. As the legend has been told, during the Battle of Long Island in the Revolutionary War, British soldiers rounded up "American rebels" in order to put them to death. Because they did not want to "fuel revolutionary passions," they quietly took the Americans away for brutal torture and execution.
It has been said that the British secretly took them to this island of rocks and beat them, then drove spikes into the rock reef, and then chained them to the rocks at low tide. As the tide rose, the American prisoners drowned beneath the icy waters. Other tales reveal that many of the prisoners met their fate by hungry sharks that happened upon a free meal. As if this wasn’t enough, the newly captured were chained next to the skeletal remains of their former comrades…a way of torturing them mentally before they met their own watery demise.
There is a line in the Declaration of Independence which reads, “…the murders they commit on the inhabitants of these States…” According to my research, several historians believe that this line refers to accounts of the brutality that took place on Execution Rocks, and that the line was included in the Declaration as a memorial to those who died there.
It is said that the ghosts of the condemned prisoners remained. There is even one legend that suggests the ghosts sought revenge against the British. Not long after the hideous acts had taken place, a shipload of British soldiers were sent to pursue General Washington while he retreated from Manhattan to White Plains. The ship was wrecked at the reef, killing all the Redcoats aboard. Many people have claimed that the ghosts who haunted the reef caused the shipwreck.
Every lighthouse has its fascinating legends and lore. You can read more about these and other haunted locations in my books, Ghosts of Long Island; Stories of the Paranormal and Ghosts of Long Island II; More Stories of the Paranormal. Both books are available in local bookstores and on Amazon.com in hardcover and in e-format.
An Internet search reveals hundreds of haunted lighthouses from all over the world. In the United States they stretch from Maine, to Georgia, to Florida, to Oregon and to California, just to name a few. And then of course, there's New York, home to its own haunted lights.
Lighthouses in general are intriguing, so if you add a ghost or two, all the better. Most of us can't imagine the life of the lighthouse keeper. It was an extremely difficult lifestyle. It is because of this, that many believe that some of the keepers may have lost their minds, and that upon their passing, their spirit remains. Their energy trapped within the conical walls of the towering spire.
I've had the privilege of having private tours of several of Long Island's lighthouses because I've written about them throughout the years. Eaton's Neck Lighthouse, Montauk Point, Huntington, Fire Island, and my personal favorite, Execution Rocks Lighthouse. Although I'm not a fan of climbing endless flights of spiral staircases, especially while carrying heavy camera equipment, I definitely have a fondness for these wonderful, historic places. I'm someone who loves to be out on the water as well, so I've jumped at every chance to visit these fascinating pieces of history.
The Huntington Lighthouse, as well as the Eaton's Neck Lighthouse, I have visited and written about in my earlier books on Huntington, where the focus was on preserving history, not ghosts. Do I think they could be haunted? Sure, but I'd have to do a thorough investigation to really find out. The Fire Island Lighthouse and Execution Rocks, were places I wrote about for the "Ghost" books. Both are presumably haunted.
At Fire Island, tales of pirating, illegal rum-running and shipwrecks abound, as do tales of ghostly phenomenon. The lighthouse is a now a beautifully restored museum. The volunteers I spoke to during the time I did my research, didn't believe in ghosts, but they did say that the rumor began after a children's book came out in 1987, which was written about a little boy who lived with his family at the lighthouse during the late 1970's to early 1980's. According to the story, the boy was lonely so the lighthouse became his friend. The boy said he heard the lighthouse talk to him. Not long after, workers at the lighthouse made up the name George, and claimed he was the one who haunted the old building. However, other stories I came across told of a lonely keeper who hung himself from the tower. Some claim to have heard footsteps on the metal steps, and music and moaning coming from the tower. Could this be the spirit of a keeper making his way back to the tower?
When I visited Execution Rocks lighthouse, I had a very different experience. Talk about a spooky place! Paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto and I, were taken out in a 25-foot Homeland Security Response Boat with the United States Coast Guard, to the abandoned lighthouse which sits in Long Island Sound. We had an entire tour of the boarded up 2 1/2 story, lighthouse keeper's house, and of the sixty-foot tower. It was an incredible adventure. Surrounded by treacherous rocks, I shuddered as I recalled the stories of the hideous acts that may have occurred there. As the legend has been told, during the Battle of Long Island in the Revolutionary War, British soldiers rounded up "American rebels" in order to put them to death. Because they did not want to "fuel revolutionary passions," they quietly took the Americans away for brutal torture and execution.
It has been said that the British secretly took them to this island of rocks and beat them, then drove spikes into the rock reef, and then chained them to the rocks at low tide. As the tide rose, the American prisoners drowned beneath the icy waters. Other tales reveal that many of the prisoners met their fate by hungry sharks that happened upon a free meal. As if this wasn’t enough, the newly captured were chained next to the skeletal remains of their former comrades…a way of torturing them mentally before they met their own watery demise.
There is a line in the Declaration of Independence which reads, “…the murders they commit on the inhabitants of these States…” According to my research, several historians believe that this line refers to accounts of the brutality that took place on Execution Rocks, and that the line was included in the Declaration as a memorial to those who died there.
It is said that the ghosts of the condemned prisoners remained. There is even one legend that suggests the ghosts sought revenge against the British. Not long after the hideous acts had taken place, a shipload of British soldiers were sent to pursue General Washington while he retreated from Manhattan to White Plains. The ship was wrecked at the reef, killing all the Redcoats aboard. Many people have claimed that the ghosts who haunted the reef caused the shipwreck.
Every lighthouse has its fascinating legends and lore. You can read more about these and other haunted locations in my books, Ghosts of Long Island; Stories of the Paranormal and Ghosts of Long Island II; More Stories of the Paranormal. Both books are available in local bookstores and on Amazon.com in hardcover and in e-format.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Hurricanes and Ghost Tales
By the time you read this blog, power will have been restored and the internet for me, will be up and running. When I first set out to write this, we were in the midst of Hurricane Irene. We had lost power, and wind and rain swirled around my 1930's colonial, which has withstood more hurricanes than I have. I know there are spirits from the past watching over my home and family, and this gives me comfort. I know this to be true because of the amount of times I've gone into my backyard on a clear night and photographed. I receive dozens of orbs...spirits. They're always here watching over and protecting.
My street is lined with Sycamore trees as old as my house. They've managed to stay standing despite fallen limbs. Power lines lay tangled in the street amongst the debris, while my oldest son complains that he can't play X-box. As for me, I've prepared well, and I'm satisfied with that. Sometimes it's actually nice. No TV, no radio, no phones ringing, no email to check. It brings us back to simpler times, and makes us realize what's truly important. We may not like to survive without these things, but we can.
So how then am I writing this blog without my computer? I am writing it the old fashioned way...with a pad and a pen. I will have to type it in later. It reminds me of my earlier days, fresh out of college, a young journalist hand-writing everything. My page is filled with cross-outs and arrows just like it used to be over twenty years ago. The creative process actively at work.
As I sit in my sunroom and gaze out upon the swaying trees, I recall a night in September of 2003 when Hurricane Isabel hit North Carolina. I was there with my family staying at our friends' B&B in the rural town of Siler City, 250 miles from the Outer Banks. The only other guests, were a mother and her adult daughter and their Border Collie. They were from Kitty Hawk, and their area was getting pounded from the storm. Siler City was hit with strong gusts and heavy rain. Trees fell in the forest around the post and beam country home with its tin roof. You haven't lived until you've listened to rain, and acorns from giant oaks, fall against a tin roof. It is a sound uncommon to most Long Islander's, but it is a sound that will be forever in my mind and heart.
As bad as the storm was, there was something enchanting about the experience we had that day. We made new friends. We shared a bond; we were experiencing something together. As the storm wore on, we eventually lost power. We had plenty of food, water and wine, and we made the most out of our situation. Although the ladies from Kitty Hawk were worried, we helped them to relax a little.
The place was beautiful. Candles shone all around the large open area that was the first floor. A beautiful kitchen, dining area and living room all drenched in candlelight. We sat around the long dining table, which was filled with food, and ate, drank and contemplated life. There was nothing else to do, but talk. It was quite amazing, and we had some of the best, and most thought-provoking conversations I think I'll ever have in my life. It was a time I will never forget, and one I will treasure always.
After we finished our discussion on the meaning of life, and darkness drew deeper upon us, the ladies of Kitty Hawk asked if any of us knew any good ghost stories. I smiled. They had not yet known what I did for a living. More wine was poured, as I began to weave my tales of Revolutionary War Ghosts, Native American Spirits, the lady in white... I told them of the ghosts of old whalers, of old lovers, of shipwreck and of peril. The faces of my captive audience glowed with a golden cast. With eyes wide, they were held spellbound on my every word. It was one of those perfect moment in time, one of which would never have happened if it wasn't for the storm. Sometimes I think these storms are God's way of reminding us to slow down, to simplify and to just "be".
The rain now has stopped in my Huntington home, and the wind is starting to die down as I continue to write. We've opened the windows, and the gentle breeze feels wonderful throughout the house. It has dawned on me that my windows have not been opened since the beginning of June. Because of air conditioning, I have not had fresh air in the house for three months! It's unbelievable, isn't it?
I know we all have a lot of clean-up to do, and we feel like we're inconvenienced, but in the midst of the storm and its aftermath, try to take the time to just "be". Maybe you'll be presently surprised at how wonderful it makes you feel.
Kerriann Flanagan Brosky is the author of Ghosts of Long Island: Stories of the Paranormal, and Ghosts of Long Island II: More Stories of the Paranormal. During Hurricane Irene, she was without power for four days. She enjoyed eating dinner with her family by candlelight, and spent quality time with her kids playing board games.
My street is lined with Sycamore trees as old as my house. They've managed to stay standing despite fallen limbs. Power lines lay tangled in the street amongst the debris, while my oldest son complains that he can't play X-box. As for me, I've prepared well, and I'm satisfied with that. Sometimes it's actually nice. No TV, no radio, no phones ringing, no email to check. It brings us back to simpler times, and makes us realize what's truly important. We may not like to survive without these things, but we can.
So how then am I writing this blog without my computer? I am writing it the old fashioned way...with a pad and a pen. I will have to type it in later. It reminds me of my earlier days, fresh out of college, a young journalist hand-writing everything. My page is filled with cross-outs and arrows just like it used to be over twenty years ago. The creative process actively at work.
As I sit in my sunroom and gaze out upon the swaying trees, I recall a night in September of 2003 when Hurricane Isabel hit North Carolina. I was there with my family staying at our friends' B&B in the rural town of Siler City, 250 miles from the Outer Banks. The only other guests, were a mother and her adult daughter and their Border Collie. They were from Kitty Hawk, and their area was getting pounded from the storm. Siler City was hit with strong gusts and heavy rain. Trees fell in the forest around the post and beam country home with its tin roof. You haven't lived until you've listened to rain, and acorns from giant oaks, fall against a tin roof. It is a sound uncommon to most Long Islander's, but it is a sound that will be forever in my mind and heart.
As bad as the storm was, there was something enchanting about the experience we had that day. We made new friends. We shared a bond; we were experiencing something together. As the storm wore on, we eventually lost power. We had plenty of food, water and wine, and we made the most out of our situation. Although the ladies from Kitty Hawk were worried, we helped them to relax a little.
The place was beautiful. Candles shone all around the large open area that was the first floor. A beautiful kitchen, dining area and living room all drenched in candlelight. We sat around the long dining table, which was filled with food, and ate, drank and contemplated life. There was nothing else to do, but talk. It was quite amazing, and we had some of the best, and most thought-provoking conversations I think I'll ever have in my life. It was a time I will never forget, and one I will treasure always.
After we finished our discussion on the meaning of life, and darkness drew deeper upon us, the ladies of Kitty Hawk asked if any of us knew any good ghost stories. I smiled. They had not yet known what I did for a living. More wine was poured, as I began to weave my tales of Revolutionary War Ghosts, Native American Spirits, the lady in white... I told them of the ghosts of old whalers, of old lovers, of shipwreck and of peril. The faces of my captive audience glowed with a golden cast. With eyes wide, they were held spellbound on my every word. It was one of those perfect moment in time, one of which would never have happened if it wasn't for the storm. Sometimes I think these storms are God's way of reminding us to slow down, to simplify and to just "be".
The rain now has stopped in my Huntington home, and the wind is starting to die down as I continue to write. We've opened the windows, and the gentle breeze feels wonderful throughout the house. It has dawned on me that my windows have not been opened since the beginning of June. Because of air conditioning, I have not had fresh air in the house for three months! It's unbelievable, isn't it?
I know we all have a lot of clean-up to do, and we feel like we're inconvenienced, but in the midst of the storm and its aftermath, try to take the time to just "be". Maybe you'll be presently surprised at how wonderful it makes you feel.
Kerriann Flanagan Brosky is the author of Ghosts of Long Island: Stories of the Paranormal, and Ghosts of Long Island II: More Stories of the Paranormal. During Hurricane Irene, she was without power for four days. She enjoyed eating dinner with her family by candlelight, and spent quality time with her kids playing board games.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
"Can Imaginary Friends be Real? The ghost of Iriving
This is probably one of my favorite ghost stories. It appears as the last chapter in my book, Ghosts of Long Island; Stories of the Paranormal. Every once in awhile, I like to revisit it because it's so classic. It gives me chills every time I read it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Cheri and her family had moved into a house in Huntington sometime between 1966 and 1967. The house, which was built in 1940, was within walking distance to the Huntington Rural Cemetery, located on a quiet street. The Chapman’s began fixing up their new home when strange things started to occur. They had a lot of problems with the plumbing and with the electricity. Water would run for no reason, lights would go on and off, or flicker. She had plumbers and electricians in, and nobody could figure out what was causing these things to happen.
At the same time, her young son, who was four or five, started talking about his imaginary friend. Cheri and her husband didn’t think anything of it. All children have imaginary friends at some point. They had just moved and maybe it was a big adjustment for him. They were also so busy fixing up the house, that maybe the son was bored and just needed a friend.
Whatever the reason, the young boy said he did all kinds of things with his friend. One day he told his mother about some things he had seen in the attic. One of the items was a birthday present he had asked for. It was a truck, which had been hidden in the attic. Startled, Cheri asked how he could possibly know this. Her son replied, “I go up there with my friend." Cheri stopped for a moment, and started to reconsider this “imaginary friend." “What is his name?” she asked her son.
“His name is Irving,” the boy replied.
As time went on the relationship between the boy and Irving continued. So did the strange activity in the house. Still, the Chapman’s never put two and two together. The boy talked about Irving all the time, and how Irving talked to him, and played with him. Cheri became concerned when her son told her about the trips they took.
“Where do you go?” she asked.
“We float out of the attic, and we go to where he lives…in the ground.”
“What?” Cheri was stunned. What was her son talking about? “What do you see?” she asked.
“I see the bones and the dirt.” he said. “At first I was a little scared, but Irving talks to me and tells me it’s okay.”
She began to worry that her son might be going crazy.
Memorial Day weekend came around and Cheri and her family decided to attend Huntington’s annual parade. Because their house was so close to the cemetery which connects with New York Avenue, the Chapman’s cut through the cemetery on the Oakwood Road side to get to the parade route on New York Avenue. Halfway through the cemetery, Cheri’s son yelled, “Wait, that’s where Irving lives!” The boy pointed to a grave up on the hill.
At that point, her son and his imaginary friend had Cheri's full attention.
“Where?” she asked. “Show me.”
The young boy led his mother up to a tombstone. “Here,” he said. “This is where he takes me.”
Cheri looked at the tombstone, and to her astonishment it read, RIGGS, ROSE and IRVING.
How could this be possible? she thought. She had never taken her son into the cemetery. Nor did he know how to read. It was the first time she and her husband ever considered the fact that Irving could be a ghost.
The boy got older, and things continued to happen in the house. The Chapmans raised five children there. Cheri recalled a time when she was cleaning out the basement, and thought one of her children had come home.
“I heard the front door open, and from the basement I could hear someone walking around upstairs. I ran up to check and nobody was there. I thought it was one of the kids but it wasn’t. ‘My children would say to me, don’t worry, it’s only Irving.’”
Cheri had always confided in a friend she worked with about her son’s imaginary friend Irving. One day her friend was cleaning out the house of an aunt who had recently died. There were several boxes in the aunt’s attic, many of them containing photographs. As the woman was descending the stairs, a photo slipped out of the box. It was a picture of a man. She picked it up and asked her other aunt (the woman’s sister) “Who is this?”
“Oh, that’s Irving Riggs,” she replied, “our grandfather. He loved children.”
The woman was shocked. Could this be the same Irving - Cherie's son’s imaginary friend? When she spoke to Cheri, she found out the imaginary friend was definitely Irving Riggs.
The woman brought the photo over to the Chapman’s house. Cheri was amazed. During all these years, the house had been haunted by Irving, but the man had never even lived there. Was it possible that the close proximity of the cemetery had caused him to come and visit her son, because he loved children? It seemed impossible, yet there were too many coincidences.
Cheri and her friend sat over tea and talked about it for awhile. The friend left the photo with Cheri, who pinned it to the bulletin board next to the phone in the kitchen. A few hours later her son, who was now about seventeen years old, arrived home. He called out, "One minute, Mom, I just have to make a phone call.”
With that, Cheri, who had been sitting in the living room, heard the phone drop to the floor. She went into the kitchen to find her son standing there with the photograph.
“Where did you get this picture?” he asked.
“Why?” Cheri replied.
“Do you remember my imaginary friend, Irving? Well…this is him.”
Cheri and her family had moved into a house in Huntington sometime between 1966 and 1967. The house, which was built in 1940, was within walking distance to the Huntington Rural Cemetery, located on a quiet street. The Chapman’s began fixing up their new home when strange things started to occur. They had a lot of problems with the plumbing and with the electricity. Water would run for no reason, lights would go on and off, or flicker. She had plumbers and electricians in, and nobody could figure out what was causing these things to happen.
At the same time, her young son, who was four or five, started talking about his imaginary friend. Cheri and her husband didn’t think anything of it. All children have imaginary friends at some point. They had just moved and maybe it was a big adjustment for him. They were also so busy fixing up the house, that maybe the son was bored and just needed a friend.
Whatever the reason, the young boy said he did all kinds of things with his friend. One day he told his mother about some things he had seen in the attic. One of the items was a birthday present he had asked for. It was a truck, which had been hidden in the attic. Startled, Cheri asked how he could possibly know this. Her son replied, “I go up there with my friend." Cheri stopped for a moment, and started to reconsider this “imaginary friend." “What is his name?” she asked her son.
“His name is Irving,” the boy replied.
As time went on the relationship between the boy and Irving continued. So did the strange activity in the house. Still, the Chapman’s never put two and two together. The boy talked about Irving all the time, and how Irving talked to him, and played with him. Cheri became concerned when her son told her about the trips they took.
“Where do you go?” she asked.
“We float out of the attic, and we go to where he lives…in the ground.”
“What?” Cheri was stunned. What was her son talking about? “What do you see?” she asked.
“I see the bones and the dirt.” he said. “At first I was a little scared, but Irving talks to me and tells me it’s okay.”
She began to worry that her son might be going crazy.
Memorial Day weekend came around and Cheri and her family decided to attend Huntington’s annual parade. Because their house was so close to the cemetery which connects with New York Avenue, the Chapman’s cut through the cemetery on the Oakwood Road side to get to the parade route on New York Avenue. Halfway through the cemetery, Cheri’s son yelled, “Wait, that’s where Irving lives!” The boy pointed to a grave up on the hill.
At that point, her son and his imaginary friend had Cheri's full attention.
“Where?” she asked. “Show me.”
The young boy led his mother up to a tombstone. “Here,” he said. “This is where he takes me.”
Cheri looked at the tombstone, and to her astonishment it read, RIGGS, ROSE and IRVING.
How could this be possible? she thought. She had never taken her son into the cemetery. Nor did he know how to read. It was the first time she and her husband ever considered the fact that Irving could be a ghost.
The boy got older, and things continued to happen in the house. The Chapmans raised five children there. Cheri recalled a time when she was cleaning out the basement, and thought one of her children had come home.
“I heard the front door open, and from the basement I could hear someone walking around upstairs. I ran up to check and nobody was there. I thought it was one of the kids but it wasn’t. ‘My children would say to me, don’t worry, it’s only Irving.’”
Cheri had always confided in a friend she worked with about her son’s imaginary friend Irving. One day her friend was cleaning out the house of an aunt who had recently died. There were several boxes in the aunt’s attic, many of them containing photographs. As the woman was descending the stairs, a photo slipped out of the box. It was a picture of a man. She picked it up and asked her other aunt (the woman’s sister) “Who is this?”
“Oh, that’s Irving Riggs,” she replied, “our grandfather. He loved children.”
The woman was shocked. Could this be the same Irving - Cherie's son’s imaginary friend? When she spoke to Cheri, she found out the imaginary friend was definitely Irving Riggs.
The woman brought the photo over to the Chapman’s house. Cheri was amazed. During all these years, the house had been haunted by Irving, but the man had never even lived there. Was it possible that the close proximity of the cemetery had caused him to come and visit her son, because he loved children? It seemed impossible, yet there were too many coincidences.
Cheri and her friend sat over tea and talked about it for awhile. The friend left the photo with Cheri, who pinned it to the bulletin board next to the phone in the kitchen. A few hours later her son, who was now about seventeen years old, arrived home. He called out, "One minute, Mom, I just have to make a phone call.”
With that, Cheri, who had been sitting in the living room, heard the phone drop to the floor. She went into the kitchen to find her son standing there with the photograph.
“Where did you get this picture?” he asked.
“Why?” Cheri replied.
“Do you remember my imaginary friend, Irving? Well…this is him.”
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Ghosts from the Whaling Days
Having investigated over sixty presumably haunted locales over the past several years, it's nice every once in awhile to go back and revisit some of these wonderful ghost stories. The very first place I had written about appeared in one of my earlier books on Huntington's history, and later, I re-investigated it for my book Ghosts of Long Island; Stories of the Paranormal. It was the story of three ghosts who haunted an old inn in Cold Spring Harbor, and it remains a fascinating tale filled with history, ghosts and intrigue.
Way back when in the 1980's and early 1990's, it was known as the Old Whaler, and it had been converted into a pub-style restaurant. It was a fun place to visit, and I recall being there one night for dinner when I ran into Davey Johnson, manager of the '86 Mets. I was a huge Mets fan back then, so it was a thrilling experience to meet him and get his autograph. During other visits to the Old Whaler, I overheard conversations about ghosts. Could it actually be haunted? Who would have thought that years later I would be there ghost hunting with a paranormal investigator!
During my first interview at the Old Whaler, I was primarily interested in the building's history, since the Ghost of Long Island books weren't even a thought in my mind yet. Still, I couldn't help but ask about the rumors I had heard about the ghosts. Once I was told the stories, I was hooked! I decided to write about its history and the ghosts and it turned out to be a huge success; something I would pursue with other places years later. So it was the Old Whaler that started this whole ghostly quest of mine.
Located across from the picturesque seashore along Route 25A, the Old Whaler has changed hands many times, and I've had the opportunity to interview the various owners throughout the years. Currently, the upscale restaurant is known as Harbor Mist, and is owned by a delightfully friendly couple, Michelle and Barman. Although the names and owners have changed, the ghosts have most certainly remained.
It all began back in the mid-1800's. Cold Spring Harbor was a bustling whaling port, and a man by the name of George Van Ausdall purchased a tavern and inn from Oliver Jones for $2100. Shortly thereafter the name was changed to the Van Ausdall Hotel, and whalers from around the world would visit the inn when they were in port. Throughout its history, many have claimed the hotel was also used as a brothel. Several women from the town would work there because their husbands were away at sea for long periods of time and they were lonely, and they needed money.
On one occasion, a tired whaler came back from his long voyage a little earlier than expected, and decided to have a drink at the tavern before going home. Well, to his surprise, he found out his wife was working at the inn! Before anyone could stop him, the whaler ran upstairs and killed both the wife and the seaman she was with. The seaman's name was Van Whether, and he became the first ghost to haunt the place. The wife is believed to possibly be the second.
A strange story surrounds the third ghost. Through my research, I uncovered a newspaper article which spoke of a terrible accident that took place in the building in 1960. The article indicated that "a woman slipped in the ladies room and cut her throat on the ragged edge of a soap dish". That sounds very odd indeed. Perhaps it was a suicide, but in any case, the woman died in the bathroom before the ambulance arrived. This woman's presence, as well as the ghosts of the two who were killed there, have been strongly felt by many psychics over the years.
All sorts of phenomena has been reported. Doors would open and close, lights would turn on and off, faucets would run on their own, and a stereo would play music when no one had turned it on. This type of phenomena, on occasion, still occurs today.
Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go back to Harbor Mist with clairaudient medium and paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto, and well known Long Island medium Richard Schoeller. This was Richard's first time at the "inn" and we were interested in what he'd pick up. Without any prior knowledge about the resident ghosts, Richard spoke about the types of ghosts who haunt the place, as well as the possible locations of where certain events took place, including the ladies bathroom!
Twenty years have gone by since I did my first interview there when it was the Old Whaler. Although much has changed over the years, one thing is for certain. Harbor Mist remains a hot spot for not only good food, but for the spirits who have haunted it since Cold Spring Harbor's infamous whaling days.
For more information on this story and others, visit www.ghostsoflongisland.com.
Way back when in the 1980's and early 1990's, it was known as the Old Whaler, and it had been converted into a pub-style restaurant. It was a fun place to visit, and I recall being there one night for dinner when I ran into Davey Johnson, manager of the '86 Mets. I was a huge Mets fan back then, so it was a thrilling experience to meet him and get his autograph. During other visits to the Old Whaler, I overheard conversations about ghosts. Could it actually be haunted? Who would have thought that years later I would be there ghost hunting with a paranormal investigator!
During my first interview at the Old Whaler, I was primarily interested in the building's history, since the Ghost of Long Island books weren't even a thought in my mind yet. Still, I couldn't help but ask about the rumors I had heard about the ghosts. Once I was told the stories, I was hooked! I decided to write about its history and the ghosts and it turned out to be a huge success; something I would pursue with other places years later. So it was the Old Whaler that started this whole ghostly quest of mine.
Located across from the picturesque seashore along Route 25A, the Old Whaler has changed hands many times, and I've had the opportunity to interview the various owners throughout the years. Currently, the upscale restaurant is known as Harbor Mist, and is owned by a delightfully friendly couple, Michelle and Barman. Although the names and owners have changed, the ghosts have most certainly remained.
It all began back in the mid-1800's. Cold Spring Harbor was a bustling whaling port, and a man by the name of George Van Ausdall purchased a tavern and inn from Oliver Jones for $2100. Shortly thereafter the name was changed to the Van Ausdall Hotel, and whalers from around the world would visit the inn when they were in port. Throughout its history, many have claimed the hotel was also used as a brothel. Several women from the town would work there because their husbands were away at sea for long periods of time and they were lonely, and they needed money.
On one occasion, a tired whaler came back from his long voyage a little earlier than expected, and decided to have a drink at the tavern before going home. Well, to his surprise, he found out his wife was working at the inn! Before anyone could stop him, the whaler ran upstairs and killed both the wife and the seaman she was with. The seaman's name was Van Whether, and he became the first ghost to haunt the place. The wife is believed to possibly be the second.
A strange story surrounds the third ghost. Through my research, I uncovered a newspaper article which spoke of a terrible accident that took place in the building in 1960. The article indicated that "a woman slipped in the ladies room and cut her throat on the ragged edge of a soap dish". That sounds very odd indeed. Perhaps it was a suicide, but in any case, the woman died in the bathroom before the ambulance arrived. This woman's presence, as well as the ghosts of the two who were killed there, have been strongly felt by many psychics over the years.
All sorts of phenomena has been reported. Doors would open and close, lights would turn on and off, faucets would run on their own, and a stereo would play music when no one had turned it on. This type of phenomena, on occasion, still occurs today.
Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go back to Harbor Mist with clairaudient medium and paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto, and well known Long Island medium Richard Schoeller. This was Richard's first time at the "inn" and we were interested in what he'd pick up. Without any prior knowledge about the resident ghosts, Richard spoke about the types of ghosts who haunt the place, as well as the possible locations of where certain events took place, including the ladies bathroom!
Twenty years have gone by since I did my first interview there when it was the Old Whaler. Although much has changed over the years, one thing is for certain. Harbor Mist remains a hot spot for not only good food, but for the spirits who have haunted it since Cold Spring Harbor's infamous whaling days.
For more information on this story and others, visit www.ghostsoflongisland.com.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Apparitions
Throughout my ghost investigating years I've covered over sixty haunted locales. One of the first questions people ask me is if I've seen an apparition. For non-ghost investigators I can understand why this particular question comes to mind almost immediately. After all, it's ghostly apparitions which appear in movies, TV and books, so people assume that seeing apparitions is a common occurrence when actually it is really quite rare.
So if you are wondering if I've seen one, the answer is no. At least not yet anyway. It is when I wake up in the middle of the night and walk through the darkness to get myself a glass of water that I worry it will be the first time I happen to see one. In all honesty, I don't know how I would react, and I've been studying ghosts for years. If you've read my books you know that both myself and paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto have captured apparitions on film. For me, my favorite is the photo I took of the ghost of a little girl at Ketcham Inn in Center Moriches. It is so blatantly clear it is amazing, yet I could not see her with the naked eye.
Joe has always told me that it takes a great deal of energy for an apparition to form; that is why capturing orbs is more common. It takes less energy for a spirit to form an orb apparently, than a full-blown apparition. I have interviewed many people who have claimed to see apparitions however, and will even swear to their existence. Interestingly enough, it tends to happen more to skeptics than to believers.
Apparitions have been around since the beginning of time. It can be described as a way in which a ghost manifests itself by appearing as a partial or full figure. Although an apparition can sometimes appear to be solid, it is more commonly transparent. Early apparitions have been those of religious figures including saints, angels and Jesus Christ. Apparitions have also been found in folklore and in literature. Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is a great example of a well-known fictitious story which tells how apparitions appeared to poor Ebenezer Scrooge. Just like in the story, sometimes apparitions appear to us to give us information, to warn us or to even help us along our journey. It's just a matter of being able to interpret it correctly.
In my first Ghost book I wrote about Peter Underwood's "Ten Types of Ghosts". From London England, Peter Underwood is one of the most experienced ghost hunters in the world, and he describes many different types of apparitions. Probably the most common type of ghost or apparition is that of historical ghosts. These are usually the ghosts that haunt old houses and historical locations. The apparition is often seen wearing period clothing, and oftentimes they have suffered in some way or died of trauma. They sometimes cannot pass on to the other side, or they simply refuse to move on because they are attached to the place in which they haunt. That would make them "place-centered" or basically stuck in one location. One of the more famous places to see this type of apparition is in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the old battlefields. More locally, at the Country House Restaurant in Stony Brook, Long Island, the ghost of Annette Williamson has been seen by the restaurant's owner, waiters and customers. Annette died in the house tragically during the American Revolutionary War, and her spirit lives on in the house today.
Another type of apparition is that of the modern ghost. These are ghosts of the recently dead. People are more likely to see the ghost of a recently dead person than any other type of ghost, although most people will not realize it is a ghost until it has disappeared. Very similar is the crisis apparition which are the ghosts of the recently dead that appear for a limited time, usually not more than four days. Often it is the spirit of a loved one coming to say goodbye or to give a final message. Thousands of examples of crisis apparitions were reported during both World Wars.
If you believe that you have seen an apparition I would love for you to share your story. It is perhaps, one of the most unbelievable paranormal occurrences you can experience, and it one you most definitely will never forget.
So if you are wondering if I've seen one, the answer is no. At least not yet anyway. It is when I wake up in the middle of the night and walk through the darkness to get myself a glass of water that I worry it will be the first time I happen to see one. In all honesty, I don't know how I would react, and I've been studying ghosts for years. If you've read my books you know that both myself and paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto have captured apparitions on film. For me, my favorite is the photo I took of the ghost of a little girl at Ketcham Inn in Center Moriches. It is so blatantly clear it is amazing, yet I could not see her with the naked eye.
Joe has always told me that it takes a great deal of energy for an apparition to form; that is why capturing orbs is more common. It takes less energy for a spirit to form an orb apparently, than a full-blown apparition. I have interviewed many people who have claimed to see apparitions however, and will even swear to their existence. Interestingly enough, it tends to happen more to skeptics than to believers.
Apparitions have been around since the beginning of time. It can be described as a way in which a ghost manifests itself by appearing as a partial or full figure. Although an apparition can sometimes appear to be solid, it is more commonly transparent. Early apparitions have been those of religious figures including saints, angels and Jesus Christ. Apparitions have also been found in folklore and in literature. Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is a great example of a well-known fictitious story which tells how apparitions appeared to poor Ebenezer Scrooge. Just like in the story, sometimes apparitions appear to us to give us information, to warn us or to even help us along our journey. It's just a matter of being able to interpret it correctly.
In my first Ghost book I wrote about Peter Underwood's "Ten Types of Ghosts". From London England, Peter Underwood is one of the most experienced ghost hunters in the world, and he describes many different types of apparitions. Probably the most common type of ghost or apparition is that of historical ghosts. These are usually the ghosts that haunt old houses and historical locations. The apparition is often seen wearing period clothing, and oftentimes they have suffered in some way or died of trauma. They sometimes cannot pass on to the other side, or they simply refuse to move on because they are attached to the place in which they haunt. That would make them "place-centered" or basically stuck in one location. One of the more famous places to see this type of apparition is in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the old battlefields. More locally, at the Country House Restaurant in Stony Brook, Long Island, the ghost of Annette Williamson has been seen by the restaurant's owner, waiters and customers. Annette died in the house tragically during the American Revolutionary War, and her spirit lives on in the house today.
Another type of apparition is that of the modern ghost. These are ghosts of the recently dead. People are more likely to see the ghost of a recently dead person than any other type of ghost, although most people will not realize it is a ghost until it has disappeared. Very similar is the crisis apparition which are the ghosts of the recently dead that appear for a limited time, usually not more than four days. Often it is the spirit of a loved one coming to say goodbye or to give a final message. Thousands of examples of crisis apparitions were reported during both World Wars.
If you believe that you have seen an apparition I would love for you to share your story. It is perhaps, one of the most unbelievable paranormal occurrences you can experience, and it one you most definitely will never forget.
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