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	<title>Halloween Experts &#187; haunted</title>
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		<title>Creepiest Place on the Planet</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/10/07/creepiest-place-on-the-planet/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/10/07/creepiest-place-on-the-planet/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Oct 2010 01:15:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creepiest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creepy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Island of the Dolls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Las Isla de Las Munecas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Most Haunted]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=833</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just south of Mexico City, between the urban sprawl and the farming region known as Xochimilco (pronounced so-chee-meel-koh and meaning ‘place of flowers’) lie an ancient lake and canals. A semi-popular tourist attraction, the only way to travel through the canals is by trajinera, a wide, flat boat propelled by a pole, like the gondolas [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/trajineras-300x245.jpg" alt="The trajineras are the only way to travel the canals." title="The trajineras are the only way to travel the canals." width="200" height="161" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />Just south of Mexico City, between the urban sprawl and the farming region known as Xochimilco (pronounced so-chee-meel-koh and meaning ‘place of flowers’) lie an ancient lake and canals.  A semi-popular tourist attraction, the only way to travel through the canals is by trajinera, a wide, flat boat propelled by a pole, like the gondolas of Venice.  There is much to be seen on a trip through the canals:  swamps, islands covered with exotic plants and trees, and wildlife.  There is one place on the canals, however, that is not on the regular route of the trajinera.  You can hire one to take you there for about $100.  It might be more affordable if you could find a group to travel with you, since the boat holds about 10 passengers,  but you may not find others brave enough to travel to this particular destination. </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/island_dolls.jpg" alt="Hundreds of dolls are nailed and lashed to the trees" title="Hundreds of dolls are nailed and lashed to the trees" width="284" height="300" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />There is a small, isolated island in the vast, complicated maze of the canals.  As your boat approaches the island, across the deathly still water, you cannot help but feel a sense of dread.  Twisted, old trees with gnarled branches line the shore, but there is something very sinister about them.  As you move closer, you notice that there are faces&#8230;hundreds of faces among the branches, staring back at you with dead eyes.  Closer, and you see that they are children&#8217;s faces, infants with missing limbs, blistered faces, covered in cobwebs, nailed or lashed to the trees with rusted wire.  Welcome to La Isla de Las Munecas:  The Island of the Dolls.</p>
<p>The Island was created by Don Julian Santana, who, for reasons known only to himself, left his wife and family and lived alone on the island for over 50 years.  <img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/island-of-the-dolls-1-150x150.jpg" alt="Island of the Dolls, Mexico" title="Island of the Dolls, Mexico" width="150" height="150" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />Some say he was mad, fishing dolls out of the canals, thinking they were real children he could bring back to life.  The real story is, that shortly after he chose the life of a hermit on this tiny island, he came to believe that it was haunted by the spirit of a poor little girl who had drowned in the canals.  When he saw a lost doll floating by, he took it and put it up on a tree, to make the dead girl happy.  One doll wasn&#8217;t enough.  Soon Don Julian had turned the island into a shrine to the little girl.  For decades he collected dolls he found in the canal and added them to his growing collection.  <img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/islanddolls3-300x225.jpg" alt="Dolls are nailed, lashed or jammed into trees" title="Dolls are nailed, lashed or jammed into trees" width="300" height="225" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />Soon he would venture into the dumps and rubbish heaps of the city, scavenging lost and abandoned dolls.  He brought them all back to his island for display.  In his later years, local residents would trade old, unwanted or broken dolls for the fresh fruits and vegetables that Don Julian grew on the island.  </p>
<p>Some of the dolls have decomposed over time.  Damage from the sun has left many covered in blotches and blisters.  The wind and rain have eroded any painted surfaces, and left their hair in ragged tufts.  Many are missing limbs, or have been given limbs that are not their own.  Some are headless.  Some are only heads.  Some have become the home to spiders and insects that inhabit the island.  <img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/islanddolls51-246x300.jpg" alt="Some of the dolls have decomposed naturally." title="Some of the dolls have decomposed naturally." width="200" height="242" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />They are nailed to trees, wired to branches, hung from clothes lines, and jammed into knotholes and between branches.  Some of them have smiles, melted by the tropical heat, into grimaces.  Some have lost their eyes, or, even more disturbing, have eyes that flutter open in the breeze.</p>
<p>Some days there are visitors to the island, an average of about 20 per day.  Some days there are none.  All are greeted by one of the relatives of Don Julian, who act as caretakers of the island.  There are some, however, who are convinced that the dolls themselves come to life at night to take care of their island home, since Don Julian passed away in 2001.  Some even believe that Don Julian has joined the little drowned girl as a permanent resident of the island.  Whatever they say, and whatever you believe, it&#8217;s hard not to agree with those who claim that La Isla de Las Munecas, The Island of the Dolls, is the Creepiest Place on the Planet.</p>
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		<title>The Tale of the Haunted Honky-Tonk</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/09/19/the-tale-of-the-haunted-honky-tonk/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/09/19/the-tale-of-the-haunted-honky-tonk/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:05:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bobby Mackey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bobby Mackey's Music World]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hell's Gate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Johanna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Most Haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pearl Bryan]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=803</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Wilder, Kentucky is one of those small rural communities where everyone knows your name. With a population of less than 3,000, one would expect a strong family feeling among its residents. Its proximity to Cincinnati, Ohio, about 2 miles away, makes entertainment and adventure easily accessible. Wilder, however, boasts it&#8217;s own nightclub and tavern that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/bobby-mackeys-300x183.jpg" alt="Bobby Mackey&#039;s Music World" title="Bobby Mackey&#039;s Music World" width="300" height="183" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />Wilder, Kentucky is one of those small rural communities where everyone knows your name.  With a population of less than 3,000, one would expect a strong family feeling among its residents.  Its proximity to Cincinnati, Ohio, about 2 miles away, makes entertainment and adventure easily accessible.  Wilder, however, boasts it&#8217;s own nightclub and tavern that is visited by thrill seekers from all over the world.  What makes them all flock to this sleepy little Kentucky town?  Wilder is the home of Bobby Mackey&#8217;s Music World:  arguably one of the most sinister and haunted places in the world.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Pearl.jpg" alt="Pearl Bryan" title="Pearl Bryan" width="194" height="193" style="float:left; padding: 10px 10px 5px 0px" />The site where Bobby Mackey&#8217;s Music world is located, was first developed in the 1850&#8242;s as a slaughterhouse.  In it&#8217;s heyday, it was one of the largest meat packing facilities in the Cincinnati area.  Business soon outgrew the facility, however, and in the 1890&#8242;s it was closed and the building was abandoned.  In the basement of the building was a well.  It was into this well that the blood and refuse from the slaughterhouse was drained.  Evidence suggests that this was one of the features that attracted a local group of occultists to the abandoned building.  The well was used to dispose of the evidence of their satanic rituals and animal sacrifices.  It is believed that, among these occultists, were one Scott Jackson, a dental surgery student from Cincinnati, and his roommate, Alonzo Walling.  Jackson was from a wealthy family, and he became the suitor of Pearl Bryan, the lovely and popular daughter of a well-to-do family from Greencastle, Indiana.  When Pearl confided to him that she was pregnant, he convinced her that allowing him to perform an abortion, to preserve their reputations, was the wisest course of action.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/jackson.bmp" alt="Scott Jackson, hanged for the murder of Pearl Bryan" title="Scott Jackson, hanged for the murder of Pearl Bryan" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />On February 1, 1896, Pearl told her family that she was going to visit friends in Indianapolis.  Instead, she met Jackson and Walling in Cincinnati.  She was 5 months pregnant.  After a botched attempt at an abortion using dental tools borrowed from school, Jackson had a hysterical and seriously wounded young woman on his hands.  At this point, Jackson and Walling took Pearl into Northern Kentucky.  When and why their mission became a macabre and vicious murder plan is unknown.  Pearl&#8217;s body was found less than 2 miles from the slaughterhouse.  Her head had been severed and was nowhere to be found.  Walling would later testify that Jackson took the head because &#8220;he had plans for it&#8221;.  The young men were soon arrested, and during the ensuing trial, they refused to reveal what had become of Pearl&#8217;s head.  Investigators did discover Pearl&#8217;s beautiful blonde hair in a suitcase in Jackson&#8217;s rooms. Prosecutors even offered to commute the death sentence to life in prison for the location of her head, but Jackson refused.  It is widely believed that Pearl&#8217;s head was used in a satanic ritual at the old slaughterhouse and then disposed of in the well.  Revealing this would have exposed other occultists in the secret society.  </p>
<p>After the trial, the slaughterhouse was again abandoned and eventually torn down.  On its foundations, a roadhouse was built in the 1930&#8242;s.  The tavern was frequented by gangland figures and was the scene of several shootings.  It reopened again in the 1950&#8242;s as a nightclub.  The owner&#8217;s daughter, Johanna, fell in love with one of the singers in the club.  Her father, enraged, had the young man killed.  In revenge, Johanna tried, unsuccessfully, to poison her father, and then, committed suicide&#8230;in the now infamous basement of the building.  Johanna was 5 months pregnant at the time. In the 1970&#8242;s, the bar opened again, but was eventually shut down by the authorities after fatal shootings there.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/BobbyMackeycdcover.jpg" alt="Bobby Mackey" title="Bobby Mackey" width="295" height="294" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />Bobby Mackey, a well known country singer in Northern Kentucky, and his wife Janet, bought the building in 1978 to turn it into a country bar.  It was successful from the start, attracting guests from all over the area.  Bobby and Janet hired Carl Lawson as a caretaker and maintenance man, providing him with living quarters upstairs.  Carl soon began to have strange experiences there.  Lawson told author Doug Hensley, &#8220;I’d double check at the end of the night and make sure that everything was turned off. Then I’d come back down hours later and the bar lights would be on. The front doors would be unlocked, when I knew that I’d locked them. The jukebox would be playing the ‘Anniversary Waltz’ even though I’d unplugged it and the power was turned off.&#8221; </p>
<p>Lawson&#8217;s experiences went from strange to frightening, though, when he met the spirit who called herself &#8220;Johanna&#8221;.  She was often accompanied by the scent of roses.  She would converse with Lawson, sometimes, even when others were present.  Local residents began to think Lawson was crazy, and talking to himself.  Before long, other spirits began to reveal themselves to Carl: dark sinister men behind the bar, and odd noises and scents in the basement, near an old sealed up well.  Lawson had heard the stories about the well, and in an effort to bring some relief from the restless spirits, decided, one night, to sprinkle it with holy water.  Instead of calming them, this seemed to provoke the spirits, because soon other employees and guests began to have the same kind of strange experiences that had plagued Lawson.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/mackeystairs-300x225.jpg" alt="Basement stairs at Bobby Mackey&#039;s" title="Basement stairs at Bobby Mackey&#039;s" width="300" height="225" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />Bobby Mackey, himself, did not believe in the &#8220;ghost stories&#8221;, and worried that the rumors would affect his business.  He instructed Carl to keep quiet about his experiences.  His wife, Janet had been silent, until this time, but finally admitted to him that she, too, had seen the ghosts, heard the noises and even smelled the scent of Johanna&#8217;s signature rose perfume.  One night, Janet went to the basement to check on something.  While she was there, she suddenly smelled a strong scent of roses, and felt something unseen move past her.  She was suddenly grabbed by the waist and thrown down the stairs.  She struggled and got away from the force holding her there, and ran up the stairs.  When she had nearly reached the top, she felt a presence pushing her back down.  She looked up toward the doorway and heard a voice from behind her screaming &#8220;Get out!  Get out!&#8221;  She escaped, and refused to set foot in the bar for nearly 3 decades.  Just like Pearl, and Johanna before her, Janet was 5 months pregnant at the time of the incident.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/mackeysign-300x224.jpg" alt="Sign posted at Bobby Mackey&#039;s Music World" title="Sign posted at Bobby Mackey&#039;s Music World" width="300" height="224" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />Once Janet came forward with her story, many others admitted to paranormal experiences at the nightclub.  An exorcism in 1994 seems to have failed miserably, because the incidents continue to this day.  The bar has been investigated by many &#8220;ghost hunting&#8221; groups like &#8220;Ghost Hunters&#8221;, &#8220;Ghost Adventures&#8221; and it is part of the Haunted Cincinnati tours.  Bobby Mackey still says that he doesn&#8217;t believe in ghosts, but there are thousands who have visted the site and have become convinced.  Want to find out for yourself?  Visit Bobby Mackey&#8217;s &#8220;Wake the Dead&#8221; Halloween Party on October 31, and experience what has been called one of the most haunted places in the world.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Whaley House: Most Haunted House in America</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/09/06/whaley-house-most-haunted-house-in-america/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/09/06/whaley-house-most-haunted-house-in-america/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:38:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween News & Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted house]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Most Haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paranormal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whaley House]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=769</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Yankee Jim&#8221; Robinson had a dream. It wasn&#8217;t really such an unusual dream, and it was one shared by many a young boy. Jim wanted to be a pirate. He had tried other illegal activities, but was largely unsuccessful at making a life out of crime. There weren&#8217;t many pirates about in San Diego in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/yankeejim.jpg" alt="&quot;Yankee Jim&quot; Robinson" title="&quot;Yankee Jim&quot; Robinson" width="120" height="150" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />&#8220;Yankee Jim&#8221; Robinson had a dream.  It wasn&#8217;t really such an unusual dream, and it was one shared by many a young boy.  Jim wanted to be a pirate.  He had tried other illegal activities, but was largely unsuccessful at making a life out of crime.  There weren&#8217;t many pirates about in San Diego in 1852, and Jim decided the time was right to embark upon his chosen career.  Given the circumstances of his unfortunate end, one has to suspect that Jim didn&#8217;t have both oars in the water.  His first act of piracy was the attempt to steal a rowboat, an attempt that earned the big man a serious blow to the head and the death sentence from an unsympathetic jury.  He was hanged, before he ever recovered from his head wound.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/whaleyfull-300x147.jpg" alt="Whaley House today" title="Whaley House today" width="300" height="147" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />The hanging was a public spectacle, attended by one Thomas Whaley, local businessman.  He had come to San Diego in 1849 with the Gold Rush, and set up a business selling hardware, woodworking, and mining equipment.  His business flourished quickly, but, it&#8217;s not quite clear, in 1855, when he decided to buy property to build a family home and new location for his business, why he chose the very spot where he watched Big Jim die.  This is, in fact, what happened, and he built a single story granary and adjacent 2-story Greek Revival style, brick home.  From almost the moment the family moved in, they began to hear ghostly footsteps, and feel a choking sensation in the area of an archway over the stairs to the 2nd floor.  It was in this spot that Yankee Jim was hanged.  Thomas became convinced that Yankee Jim Robinson haunted his residence.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/family-300x231.jpg" alt="Thomas and Anna Whaley and Family" title="Thomas and Anna Whaley and Family" width="300" height="231" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />In 1868, a theater troup operated out of the front upstairs bedroom, and the San Diego County Courthouse rented the former granary.  Thomas ran a general store from the 1st floor of the house.  In March, 1871, while Thomas was out of town, county officers raided the Whaley property and removed all court records and documents, abandoning the property and refusing to pay any rent owed.  Thomas tried to sue the county for back rent.  He lost, and remained bitter about it for the rest of his life. </p>
<p>Thomas Whaley and his wife, Anna, had six children.  One of his daughters, Violet, either committed suicide or was murdered on the property in 1885.  The youngest of their children, Lillian, lived in the house until her death in 1953.  <img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/whaleyhouse-300x185.jpg" alt="&quot;Ghost photo&quot; Whaley House" title="&quot;Ghost photo&quot; Whaley House" width="300" height="185" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />She was convinced that Yankee Jim haunted the house.  Other guests and staff members at the Whaley house have encountered the ghosts of Thomas, himself, his wife Anna, who frequents the rose garden, their pet terrier, Dolly Varden, and a small, swarthy woman in calico who seems to live in the courthouse.  Besides the ghostly footsteps, the sounds of activity in the former courtroom, guests have witnessed the apparition of a young girl, supposedly a playmate of the Whaley children, in the dining room.  The frequency of these purported paranormal activities and the large number of people who have witnessed them have caused the government of the state of California to officially recognize The Whaley House as a haunted location.  It is one of only 2 such locations in the state.  The San Diego Paranormal Society conducts a monthly, night time &#8220;ghost hunt&#8221; at Whaley House, and offers special tours during October for Halloween season.</p>
<p>Every day, people come to tour Whaley House as an historic landmark.  It was the first 2 story brick building in San Diego, housed the first commercial theater, served as a county courthouse and general store.  How many of the visitors are there for the history isn&#8217;t clear.  What is known is that of the 100,000 visitors per year, a large portion of them come to witness something extraordinary, something that will prove The Whaley House&#8217;s reputation as the most haunted house in America.</p>
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		<title>Grey Lady of Willard Library</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/07/26/grey-lady-of-willard-library/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/07/26/grey-lady-of-willard-library/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:28:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ghost cam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ghost hunt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ghost hunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunt]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[paranormal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=609</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There have been photographs taken of ghosts. Their barely audible voices have been recorded on special “EVP“ recorders. You can see all of this supposed proof of these alleged restless spirits on one of several ghost-hunting reality shows on television. You can see them posted at some credible websites, and some not so credible. According [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/willard-library-300x210.jpg" alt="Willard Library, Evansville, IN" title="Willard Library, Evansville, IN" width="300" height="210" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />There have been photographs taken of ghosts.  Their barely audible voices have been recorded on special “EVP“ recorders.  You can see all of this supposed proof of these alleged restless spirits on one of several ghost-hunting reality shows on television.  You can see them posted at some credible websites, and some not so credible.  According to a CBS News poll, 48% of Americans believe in ghosts and 23% believe that they have witnessed paranormal activity for themselves.  What would it take to prove the existence of ghosts to YOU?  Would you have to see it with your own eyes?  Would you take the opportunity to witness paranormal activity, if it were available to you?</p>
<p>In 1870, Willard Carpenter dreamed of seeing a library built in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana.  He purchased the land and financed the construction of a Victorian Gothic style building to house it.  In 1883, Willard died after suffering a paralyzing stroke, before seeing the library completed.  He left most of his wealth and property to the Library Board for the ongoing project.  In March of 1885, The Willard Library opened its doors to the public.  </p>
<p>In 1937, the night janitor trudged to the library at 3 AM to stoke the coal furnace.  Upon entering the basement, he was startled to see what he described as an “all grey lady”, dressed all in grey, from face veil to shoes.  He was so shocked that he dropped his flashlight as the apparition faded before his eyes.  The night janitor resigned his position shortly thereafter.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ladyingray1.gif" alt="Willard&#039;s Grey Lady?" title="Willard&#039;s Grey Lady?" width="124" height="126" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />The Willard Library’s Grey Lady roams the building in silence.  Some say she is the ghost of Louise Carpenter, Willard’s daughter, who was snubbed by her father in his will.  Others say not, because there is nothing malevolent about this apparition, as they assume Louise would be.  The current library employees consider the Grey Lady as a member of the staff, and know that, every so often, they will see her.  And they do see her…often!  Hundreds, perhaps thousands of incidences of ghostly activity have been reported.  She has been seen among the bookshelves, perusing titles. She moves books and lights, rearranges furniture, turns on water faucets, leaves strange objects.  Her presence is sometimes announced by the strong scent of an old-fashioned, musky perfume. Who is she?  No one knows for sure, but she may not be the only spirit connected with the library.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/library1.jpg" alt="Image from Research Room Ghost Cam" title="Image from Research Room Ghost Cam" width="300" height="297" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 5px" />So, are you ready to see for yourself?  The Willard library provides live “ghost cams” positioned in rooms of the building where the apparitions are frequently spotted.  They are available online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you do spot something you think is unusual, just click the screen to save it and submit it to the library for their gallery.  They are always looking for new ghost watchers, so pay them a visit at www.WillardGhost.com or www.LibraryGhost.com and check out the cams and image galleries.  In October, the library hosts &#8220;ghost hunts&#8221; on the property, so if you are in the area, visit them. Then, let us know if you are one of the 48% of Americans who believe!</p>
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		<title>The Haunting of Mammoth Cave</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/07/16/the-haunting-of-mammoth-cave/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/07/16/the-haunting-of-mammoth-cave/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:20:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crystal Cave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Floyd Collins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mammoth Cave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Most Haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paranormal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=585</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The state of Kentucky boasts many natural, and, some say, supernatural wonders. One of the most famous and most visited sites in Kentucky is Mammoth Cave. Believed to be the largest cave in the world, evidence suggests that man has been visiting the cave for 12,000 years. Over the centuries, some of the visitors, it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The state of Kentucky boasts many natural, and, some say, supernatural wonders.  One of the most famous and most visited sites in Kentucky is Mammoth Cave.  Believed to be the largest cave in the world, evidence suggests that man has been visiting the cave for 12,000 years.  Over the centuries, some of the visitors, it seems, never left.  This has given Mammoth Cave a reputation as one of the most haunted locations in the world.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/frozen-niagra-300x225.jpg" alt="Frozen Niagra formation" title="Frozen Niagra formation" width="300" height="225" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 15px" />Ghostly tales have been told about Mammoth cave almost since the first guides began leading visitors through the underground rooms and passages by lantern light.  Early man used the site as a burial ground, probably because they considered it the entrance to the underworld.  Native American tribes used the area as a hunting ground, and shelter.  European explorers and frontiersmen wandered through the subterranean tunnels, sometimes losing their way, and their life.  Because of the minerals found in the cave, and because of the constant temperature underground, Mammoth Cave preserved some of these unfortunate visitors as mummies, which have been discovered over the years.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/floyd.jpg" alt="Floyd Collins, cave explorer" title="Floyd Collins, cave explorer" width="150" height="178" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />Many sightings of apparitions of men in period dress from the 1800&#8242;s have been reported.  Some of the descriptions indicate that these spirits might have been former guides, or visitors.  A woman&#8217;s voice, calling to a lost companion has been heard along the Echo River, a waterway that flows through the cave.  This voice has been heard by both guides and visitors alike.  One of the most famous ghosts, said to be heard and felt in the passages where he died, is that of Floyd Collins, a former owner of the area known as the Crystal Cave.  While exploring the underground tunnels leading to and from the Crystal Cave, Collins became trapped by falling rock.  After weeks of various unsuccessful attempts to rescue him, he died of exposure and exhaustion. The next owner of the cave displayed Floyd&#8217;s body there in a glass-covered bronze coffin for some time before he was eventually buried in the local churchyard.  Some claim that his voice can still be heard calling for help along the path where he was trapped.</p>
<p>Is Mammoth Cave haunted?  If two centuries worth of sightings and reports from guides and visitors are not evidence enough,  perhaps the grudging testimony of scientists and skeptics, who have had strange and unexplainable experiences, might be.  Even if there was no evidence of supernatural activity, the mystery, history and legends of Mammoth Cave are more than enough to make it a perfect Halloween Haunt!</p>
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		<title>The Haunting of Gettysburg</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/07/09/the-haunting-of-gettysburg/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/07/09/the-haunting-of-gettysburg/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:29:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[America's most haunted location]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[battlefield]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gettysburg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Most Haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[most haunted location]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=558</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the summer of 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was like hundreds of other sleepy little northern communities. It boasted a thriving carriage industry, and supported two colleges. It&#8217;s population of 2,400 was far enough removed from the battles being waged in the south to feel safe from the Civil War. Gettysburg was not the goal. Gettysburg [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the summer of 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was like hundreds of other sleepy little northern communities.  It boasted a thriving carriage industry, and supported two colleges.  It&#8217;s population of 2,400 was far enough removed from the battles being waged in the south to feel safe from the Civil War.  Gettysburg was not the goal.  Gettysburg was an unhappy accident.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/lee.jpg" alt="General Robert E. Lee" title="General Robert E. Lee" width="175" height="259" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />Robert E. Lee, commanding the Confederate forces, was heartened by recent victories and  convinced President Jefferson Davis that it was time to take the pressure off the south, and take the war to the north.  Moving in secret, and using the mountains as a shield, he marched his troops into the Shenandoah Valley.  Skirmishes happened along the way, but the Confederate army was undaunted.  In the meantime, the Union army, which had been concentrated in Virginia, under the leadership of General George Meade, became aware that Confederate troops were on the move, and they turned their attention back to the north.  On June 28th, the Confederates crossed into Union territory, and although still widely scattered, were moving to converge on the Pennsylvania capital at Harrisburg.  Although General Lee was informed that the Federal army was wise to his plan, neither army had any idea of the location of the other.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/fieldhospital-300x215.jpg" alt="Civil War field hospital" title="Civil War field hospital" width="300" height="215" style="float:left; padding: 2px 10px 5px 0px" />On June 30, the Federal cavalry under the command of General John Buford, rode into Gettysburg and set up a picket line to guard approaches from the west.  On that same day, a unit of the Confederate infantry, commanded by General John Pettigrew, was sent to scout the same area.  With two large armies in such close proximity, they were bound to bump into each other somewhere.  Gettysburg was the somewhere.  The battle raged for three days, in the fields, on the hills, through the woods, and even into the streets of the town.  By the end of the third day, the battle was over.  It was the bloodiest battle of the war, claiming fully one third of the men who fought in it.  The dead lined the streets and littered the fields.  The wounded filled the homes to overflowing.  The Confederacy alone had lost 28,000 men.  Lee retreated.  General Meade, against the urgings from Washington, did not pursue.  There had been enough death in Gettysburg.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/devilsden-300x267.jpg" alt="The &quot;Devil&#039;s Den&quot; at Gettysburg" title="The &quot;Devil&#039;s Den&quot; at Gettysburg" width="300" height="267" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px" />If you should visit Gettysburg today, and go into any local business and ask where the battlefield is located, don&#8217;t be surprised if you are told that you are standing in it.  No part of the town or it&#8217;s surroundings were untouched by death during those three days.  Many believe that spirits of the dead still walk the hills and fields.  The streets of Gettysburg are still, often said to smell of peppermint or vanilla.  Ladies of the area complained, in the days after the battle, that with the thousands of dead lying in the streets, decaying, the only way to relieve the stench was to hold a scented hanky to one&#8217;s nose and mouth.  </p>
<p>There are hundreds of reports by reliable witnesses to supernatural events occurring in the town and across the battlefield.  Marching soldiers, agitated sentries trying to signal for help, footsteps, the wails and groans of the wounded and dying are all common stories told by people who live in or visit the area.  The battlefield at Gettysburg is now under the protection and direction of the National Park system, and tours are offered daily.  Additional tours through the town are available as well, including a late night flashlight tour in certain locations.  </p>
<p>Is Gettysburg the most haunted place in America?  Judging simply by the massive number of claims of paranormal activity witnessed there, one might believe this to be true.  As a place of profound American history, it is a remarkable destination.  As a hub of supernatural occurences, it is, reportedly, the most actively haunted location in the United States.</p>
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		<title>How To Create a Backyard Haunted House</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/05/21/how-to-create-a-backyard-haunted-house/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/05/21/how-to-create-a-backyard-haunted-house/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 18:22:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween Decorations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween party]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted house]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=343</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Whether you are planning a Halloween party, or providing entertainment for your neighborhood trick or treaters, the holiday would not be complete without a haunted house. Providing a scary place with surprises around every corner will attract more kids than a bag of goodies you could hand out. There are a few things to consider [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Backyard-plan1-300x300.jpg" alt="Make your Plan!" title="Make your Plan!" width="300" height="300" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 15px" />Whether you are planning a Halloween party, or providing entertainment for your neighborhood trick or treaters, the holiday would not be complete without a haunted house.  Providing a scary place with surprises around every corner will attract more kids than a bag of goodies you could hand out.  There are a few things to consider when planning your haunted space, and we have listed some here, along with suggestions on how to achieve spooky on a budget!</p>
<p>Choose a theme.  This should include consideration of the age of the children who will be touring your haunted space.  Younger children may be frightened of some effects that will delight older children.  There are three kinds of haunted house attractions to include:  the kind that startle, the kind that set a scary atmosphere, and the kind that just gross everyone out.  The path should include many sharp turns, and your attractions should be positioned just around the corners for maximum effect.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/hauntedhouse1-300x225.jpg" alt="Haunted Yard" title="Haunted Yard" width="300" height="225" style="float:left; padding: 2px 15px 5px 0px" />Fences, porch and large trees in the backyard will supply the base for the walls for your haunted space.  Sturdy clothesline can be strung between the house and these elements, with poles for support every six feet.  Old sheets, pinned to the clothesline, that reach to the ground will make great corridors.  You can purchase these at second hand stores very inexpensively.  The sheets can be spray painted in dark, spooky colors and patterns, to add to the atmosphere.  Provide lighting by using strings of Halloween lights, usually available in purple and orange, to cast an eerie glow.  Black lights and strobe lights will also help set the mood, and still give enough light to safely navigate your haunted maze.  Make sure that you include an open area, partway through, both as a feature, and to provide an “escape” for kids who might become too frightened to continue.  This open area is the perfect place to build your haunted graveyard.  Using plastic headstones and body-sized patches of potting soil, make “fresh” graves.  Use plenty of fake spider webs on all your outdoor elements to add to the creepiness.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/hauntedhanging-300x225.jpg" alt="Haunted Hanging Props" title="Haunted Hanging Props" width="300" height="225" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 15px" />Scary props can be purchased, rented, or homemade.  Stuff clothing to make dead bodies.  Stuff a cloth bag to make a head and add a scary mask for personality.  Alternate these with the occasional volunteer, dressed as zombies or vampires, who can reach out and startle your visitors.  Use Halloween sound effects, or music CD’s to add to the mood.  A well-placed fog machine will help create that perfect haunted atmosphere, and will also disguise some of the normal, everyday things that might remind your guests that they are just in your backyard, not the haunted grounds of Dracula’s castle.</p>
<p>Some things to remember:</p>
<p>1.  Encourage visitors to stay on the marked path, both for safety and to keep them from pulling down your walls &#038; props.</p>
<p>2.  If using dry ice, instead of a fog machine, make sure it is only handled by adults, since exposure to skin can cause injury.</p>
<p>3.  Have volunteers positioned along the path who can help children “escape” if they become too frightened to continue.</p>
<p>4.  Place old pieces of carpet over extension cords, to prevent tripping.</p>
<p>5.  Remember to keep your scary scenes dimly lit to add to the fright.</p>
<p>6.  If using jack o’lanterns as decorations or lighting, use battery operated lighting in them, to reduce the chance of a fire hazard.</p>
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		<title>Salem Witch Trials, Part 3: The Aftermath &amp; Salem Today</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/05/11/salem-witch-trials-part-3-the-aftermath-salem-today/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/05/11/salem-witch-trials-part-3-the-aftermath-salem-today/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 May 2010 19:46:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[witch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[witch hunt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[witch trial]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[During the dark months of February though September, 1692, hysteria swept through New England, centered around the increasingly unbelievable accusations of witchcraft in Salem Village, Massachusetts. Even Puritan ministers, Cotton Mather, whose writings on witchcraft had helped to fuel the flames, and his father, Increase Mather, became skeptical of the kinds of evidence the Salem [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/salem-witch-hanging.jpg" alt="Hanging a witch at Gallows Hill" title="Hanging a witch at Gallows Hill" width="300" height="261" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 15px" />During the dark months of February though September, 1692, hysteria swept through New England, centered around the increasingly unbelievable accusations of witchcraft in Salem Village, Massachusetts.  Even Puritan ministers, Cotton Mather, whose writings on witchcraft had helped to fuel the flames, and his father, Increase Mather, became skeptical of the kinds of evidence the Salem court was using to convict accused witches.  The testimony of afflicted young people, who claimed to have been visited by the spirits of the accused, and by the ghosts of their victims was referred to as “spectral evidence”.  They questioned the credibility of the afflicted girls, the forced confessions of witches, and the court’s reliance on spectral evidence.  When heads began to clear a little from the initial hysteria, some people began to question the veracity of the afflicted.  The girls, then accused anyone who voiced doubt in their testimony.  In all, about 200 people faced accusations of witchcraft.  Nineteen men and women were hanged on Gallows Hill that summer.  An 81 year old man was pressed to death for not entering a plea in his case.  As many as 17 people died in prison, awaiting trial.  The nightmare ended when powerful people, including the wife of the governor of Massachusetts, publicly denounced the proceedings, and were then accused of witchcraft themselves.  Governor Phipps ordered the Salem court dissolved.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/salemreadingcircle-300x225.jpg" alt="The Parris House Reading Circle" title="The Parris House Reading Circle" width="300" height="225" style="float:left; padding: 2px 15px 5px 0px" />Salem was not through the dark times yet, however.  Because the area was so consumed with the witch hunt, trials and executions, fields lay fallow.  Very little harvest was reaped that year, leaving the town facing a long hard winter.  Some relief came from the generosity of a wealthy villager who had fled Salem after being accused of witchcraft.  Upon hearing of the town’s plight, he sent a shipload of corn to ease their suffering.  The feud between the farming community and townspeople that contributed to the unrest had taken its toll, when people finally recognized that many of the accused were rivals or enemies of the powerful Putnam family, whose daughter, Ann, was the most dramatic of the afflicted.  In 1697, it was Ann who became the only one of the afflicted girls to ever offer an apology or admit any culpability in the horror that gripped the area.  She stood before her church while her apology was read, which stated: “ I desire to be humbled before God. It was a great delusion of Satan that deceived me in that sad time.”  It is believed that Ann may have been as much a victim as those she accused, being manipulated by her parents and elders to achieve their own goals.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/salemstreetfair-300x219.jpg" alt="Halloween Street Fair, Salem, MA" title="Halloween Street Fair, Salem, MA" width="300" height="219" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 15px" />Salem, Massachusetts has had over 300 years to recover from the scars of these infamous injustices.  How have they fared?  Salem became one of the most significant seaports of early American history.  It was given the very first to designation by Congress as a National Historic Site.  Today, Salem is a thriving community of about 40,000 people, whose major industry is tourism.  The city is a mixture of important historic sites, New Age and Wiccan boutiques, and Halloween and witch-themed attractions.  In October, they host a month long Halloween festival.  Touted as the “Ultimate Halloween Experience”, it will include, this year, a psychic fair, tours of haunted places in the city, featuring the “Witch House” and the House of Seven Gables, a Haunted Happenings Parade, a street fair, and the annual Halloween Ball.  The popularity of the festival, and the history of the area, have inspired Salem to boast that they are the “Halloween Capital of the World”.</p>
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		<title>Waverly Hills: World&#8217;s Most Haunted Hospital?</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/04/20/waverly-hills-worlds-most-haunted-hospital/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/04/20/waverly-hills-worlds-most-haunted-hospital/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:28:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paranormal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waverly Hills]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=219</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In 1883, Major Thomas Hays had a one room school house built for his daughters’ education, in the rolling hills of Kentucky, near Louisville. The teacher he hired, loved the peaceful setting so much, she named it Waverly School, after her favorite novel by Sir Walter Scott. Major Hays approved, and named his entire property [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Waverly1-225x300.jpg" alt="Waverly Hills Sanatorium" title="Waverly Hills Sanatorium" width="225" height="300" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 15px" />In 1883, Major Thomas Hays had a one room school house built for his daughters’ education, in the rolling hills of Kentucky, near Louisville.  The teacher he hired, loved the peaceful setting so much, she named it Waverly School, after her favorite novel by Sir Walter Scott.  Major Hays approved, and named his entire property Waverly Hill.  In 1908, when the property was purchased by the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital, they kept the name.  </p>
<p>Tuberculosis is a very serious disease, and, before the discovery of antibiotics, a very contagious one.  The treatment included seclusion from the rest of the population, rest and fresh air.  Many Sanatoriums, as tuberculosis hospitals were called, were built on hills in rural, wooded settings, believing that the peaceful surroundings would be beneficial to the patients.  Waverly Hills Sanatorium opened in 1910, and was built on top of a hill, to safely accommodate 40-50 patients.  In the years following it’s opening, tuberculosis reached epidemic proportions in the area, and in 1926, a new, larger structure was opened, that could house 400 patients.  It served as a tuberculosis hospital until 1961, when it was closed, renovated and reopened in 1962 as a geriatric care facility called Woodhaven Medical Services.  This facility was closed by the state in 1981.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Waverly3-300x196.jpg" alt="Waverly patients on the Solarium" title="Waverly patients on the Solarium" width="300" height="196" style="float:left; padding: 2px 15px 5px 0px" />Waverly Hills has been called one of the most haunted places in the world, one of the top ten most haunted places in America, and the world’s most haunted hospital.  Over it’s long history, Waverly Hills treated thousands of patients.  Most did not survive the “White Plague”, as tuberculosis was called, prior to the use of antibiotic treatments.  It is estimated that, in its 50 year history as a tuberculosis hospital, somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000 deaths occurred there.  In addition to the spirits of the many patients that are said to haunt the site, Room 502 has it’s own ghost.  Legend has it that a nurse on the hospital staff learned that she had contracted the disease.  Knowing the lengthy, futile battle she was facing, she chose instead to hang herself in room 502.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Waverlytunnel-300x225.jpg" alt="The Body Chute" title="The Body Chute" width="300" height="225" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 15px" />At the height of the epidemic, many patients died every day.  To keep patient morale up, the hospital administration needed a discreet way to remove the dead.  A tunnel, used also to receive deliveries of supplies and as a walkway for employees coming up or going down the hills to work in the winter months, was used to transport bodies from the hospital to hearses and trains waiting below the hill.  The tunnel, called the Body Chute, or Death Tunnel was built before electricity was available, so, after descending about 30 feet, there is total darkness, except for whatever sunlight filters through the small circular vents that are spaced every 100 feet.  Despite popular legend, bodies were not “dumped” into the Body Chute and allowed to bounce and roll down the hill to be disposed of at the bottom.  Gurneys on rails were used to lower the bodies down the 500 foot tunnel.  Paranormal investigators claim to have encountered many spirits on the long, dark walk.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Waverly502-300x200.jpg" alt="Room 502" title="Room 502" width="300" height="200" style="float:left; padding: 2px 15px 5px 0px" />The hospital has been featured on SyFy channel&#8217;s &#8220;Ghost Hunters&#8221; during their regular season, and they returned to Waverly for their Halloween live special in 2007.  The movies &#8220;Death Tunnel&#8221; and &#8220;Spooked&#8221; were both filmed there.  The French comic book series &#8220;Pandemonium&#8221; is based on the paranormal legends of Waverly Hills.  Both French and British television Halloween specials have featured the Sanatorium and its history.</p>
<p>Waverly Hills is now privately owned, and public tours, both historical and paranormal, are offered daily.  Arrangements can even be made for amateur ghost hunting nights.  Special events are held at Halloween.  Proceeds from the tours and other donations are used in the ongoing restoration of this historic site.</p>
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		<title>The Haunted Queen Mary</title>
		<link>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/04/11/the-haunted-queen-mary/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halloweenexperts.com/2010/04/11/the-haunted-queen-mary/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:27:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Annie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Halloween Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halloween Hauntings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghost Ship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[halloween]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[haunted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Most Haunted]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halloweenexperts.com/?p=178</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[She was bigger, faster and more powerful than the Titanic. She was the undisputed Queen of the luxurious North Atlantic cruise ships. The Queen Mary was launched, and made her maiden voyage in 1936, and for the next three years, she hosted the wealthy and famous on their travels from New York to England and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/queenmary1-300x201.jpg" alt="The Queen Mary at Sea" title="The Queen Mary at Sea" width="300" height="201" style="float:left; padding: 2px 15px 5px 0px" />She was bigger, faster and more powerful than the Titanic.  She was the undisputed Queen of the luxurious North Atlantic cruise ships.  The Queen Mary was launched, and made her maiden voyage in 1936, and for the next three years, she hosted the wealthy and famous on their travels from New York to England and Europe.  Considered by the upper class as the only civilized way to travel, The Queen Mary’s passenger list, in those first years, included the likes of Sir Winston Churchill, Clark Gable, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.  She was beautifully appointed, and she held the record for the fastest North Atlantic crossing.  It’s no wonder that some of her guests just didn’t want to leave her decks, even in the after life.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/queenmarytroops.jpg" alt="&quot;The Grey Ghost&quot; filled with troops" title="&quot;The Grey Ghost&quot; filled with troops" width="300" height="215" style="float:right; padding: 2px 0px 5px 15px" />When World War II broke out, in 1939, all luxury travel ceased.  The Queen Mary was refitted, painted grey, and pressed into service as a troop ship.  The “Grey Ghost”, as she became known, carried more than 800,000 troops across the Atlantic, and was part of almost every major campaign of the war, including the D-Day invasion.  She was originally fitted to carry about 2400 passengers, but her refit increased her capacity to 5500.  She holds the record for carrying the largest number of people ever on a floating vessel, when she carried 16,683 troops.  She carried the wounded home, and she served as a transport  for thousands of German prisoners of war.  In 1942, while carrying 11,000 Allied troops, The Queen Mary collided with one of her escort cruisers, the Curacao. She was under orders not to stop, and was unable to save any of the 338 men who lost their lives.</p>
<p>After the war, in 1946, The Queen Mary made thirteen voyages to transport war brides and their children to be reunited with their GI husbands in the United States and Canada.  These were nicknamed the “Bride and Baby Voyages”.  </p>
<p><img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/queenmaryposter-187x300.jpg" alt="Queen Mary Travel Poster" title="Queen Mary Travel Poster" width="187" height="300" style="float:left; padding: 2px 15px 5px 0px" />In 1947, she was refurbished and returned to service as a luxury cruise ship with weekly service from New York to Southampton and Cherbourg.  In the 1960’s, transatlantic cruises lost popularity, as air travel became more affordable.  The Queen Mary began occasional cruises to the Canary Islands and the Bahamas, however, she had no central air conditioning, and no outdoor pools, which made her ill-suited to this route.  Finally, in 1967, she was withdrawn from service.  In that same year, she was sold for $3.45 million to the city of Long Beach, California, where she has become a floating museum and hotel.</p>
<p>Alleged paranormal activity aboard the ocean liner began almost immediately from the time she docked at Long Beach.  To date, staff and guests have reported hundreds of encounters with ghosts and other unearthly experiences, making the Queen Mary one of the most haunted locations in the world.  The psychic hotspots on the ship seem to include the now-unused swimming pools, where ladies in 1930’s swimming costumes still leave wet foot prints from the empty pool to across the deck.  The most active spirit of all the hundreds attributed to the Queen Mary, is Jackie, the spirit of a 6 year old girl who reportedly hugs visitors, plucks at their clothing and pockets, and who sometimes speaks, or sings audibly in the 1st class swimming pool area.  A young woman in a beautiful white evening gown is often seen dancing alone in the dark corners of the Queen’s Salon.  A young sailor who was crushed during the test of the watertight doors, is sometimes seen below decks, and many of the staterooms have their own permanent ghostly visitors. <img src="http://www.halloweenexperts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Queen_Maryhaunted.jpg" alt="The Haunted Queen Mary" title="The Haunted Queen Mary" width="250" height="250" style="float:right; padding:5px 0px 5px 15px" />The voices of German prisoners, the cries of spectral infants and ghostly lights and orbs are common reports of both guests and staff on the ship.  The staff offers a “Ghosts and Legends” tour of the ship daily, and a special paranormal tour on Friday nights.  </p>
<p>At Halloween, the Queen Mary, and it’s immediate surroundings, host  a series of haunted mazes and attractions, each with it’s own theme, from pirates to crazy clowns and a vampire village.  The Shipwreck, as the Halloween attraction is called, advises that the mazes will each take 8-20 minutes to go through, depending on if you’re walking…or running!  The haunted attractions run for 15 days of terror during the month of October and are attended by hundreds of visitors every year.  </p>
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