Archive for the ‘Paranormal’ Category

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Would you live in a haunted house, whether it was actually documented as haunted or just known for having played one on TV?  Many actors in horror films later state in interviews that they felt a haunting presence around them when they were doing a paranormal movie and that strange things would occur while filming. If this is the case, what might occur to a home where a paranormal horror series was filmed?

American Horror Story might be the darkest and scariest show ever to play on television. Based on a haunted house that has seen horror after horror over multiple decades, each person who meets their demise in the home becomes trapped there as a ghost in a paranormal energetic grid which traps them indefinitely.  Lurking behind it all is a “big bad” invisible entity in the home with a hidden agenda that seems to prod and encourage the ghosts to do more dirty work while it seeks to manifest in full form.

It’s hard to imagine what’s to come in Season Two to bring the heat to compete with the non stop creepy action of Season One. Props to the actors including  Jessica Lange (Constance), who just received the SAG award for female actor in a drama series for the show, which airs on FX.

The six bedroom house perhaps is the unrecognized actor in the show, listed as a historic landmark with vintage decor and Tiffany glass windows completing the perfect setting for a haunted home. This home is not just a set, but an actual mansion known as the Alfred Rosenheim home and according to CBS, the Daily Mail , Huff Po and other sources, it’s going up for sale.

From what I’ve heard, the pilot of the series was filmed in the house and once it was picked up, later episodes were shot in a replica set at another location. Still, most anyone who has seen the show, would get a case of the tingles if they were able to tour the home, especially the basement…

My budgetary restrictions aside, it’s priced at a cool 4.5 million, after seeing the show, I’m not keen on living in this particular home, but if the Adams Family Mansion is on the market, I’d like to take a look.

Regardless, it is a gorgeous home and the slide show available on Huff Po displays over 25 photos of the beautiful dark wood paneling and other distinctive features of the home. See the photos here.  How about you, would you live in this house?

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Located in the peaceful landscape of the Piedmont area of North Carolina lies the town of Kernersville in the area known as the Triad.  The Triad area consists of three major cities, which include Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point.  Kernersville is a beautiful small town that is actively restoring and renovating its historic downtown area.  It is also the location of one of the strangest homes in the world, built in 1880.  It’s called Korner’s Folly and if I had to compare it to other strange homes, I would say that it is a miniature version of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. It also shares another similarity with the Winchester House, as they’re both reported to be haunted.

The original owner of Korner’s Folly was Jule Gilmer Korner. He named the home “Korner’s Folly” after a cousin, or possibly a neighbor, declared the home to be Korner’s folly. Korner was so amused by the comment that he made it the official name of the home, even going so far as to hang a plaque with that name outside the house.   Korner was a painter and interior designer and is best known for painting signs for the Bull Durham Bulls across the South. A talented artist, Korner wanted the house to be a showplace for his work, both artistically in size and scale in order to give prospective clients an idea of the various types of interior design that he could create in their homes and buildings. The house has twenty-two rooms and there’s no easy way to describe them. Each room is unique; some fit for royalty, palatial in scale. There are trap doors, over fifteen different styles of fireplaces, cubbyholes to tuck away in, murals, and a library.

I love Korner’s Folly. It reminds me of playing dress up when I was young, how one day I wanted to be a princess, another day the queen, and I’d rotate from the Victorian age, the Roaring Twenties, to holding court in the Middle Ages. Living in Korner’s Folly would have been like a living in a dollhouse to play every dress- up game I could imagine. How much fun the children must have had growing up here!  While I was immediately entranced with the whimsical parts of the home, I must also say that it has elegant touches; murals, a striking reception room, and a wonderful little theatre named Cupid’s Park.  Korner’s Folly grabbed me at the front door; it’s simply enchanting.

None of the twenty-two rooms look the same in any way.  There are three floors and seven levels to the home, some with ceilings as low as six feet while other ceilings reach heights of over twenty-five feet.  Hallways have different sizes; some are quite narrow and the effect can be striking as you follow a passageway into a new room, some with doorways over ten feet tall. Extensively detailed woodwork is displayed in every room.  A winding staircase takes you from floor to floor and on the fourth floor is the first private children’s little theater in the United States. The effect of it all is stunning. Jule Korner was definitely talented and had a wonderful artistic eye.  The architecture and antique furniture that he designed is visible throughout the home.   Korner’s paintings are on display in the home.

The home has been wonderfully preserved. Several locals in the area told me that the house once served as an antique store and also a funeral home in the past. The spirits are very active at the house and paranormal investigators continue to find evidence of ghostly activity. While I visited Korner’s Folly, it was decorated for the Christmas holidays. I felt ghostly activity and energy around the Christmas decorations and detected them moving slightly back and forth on several occasions. Perhaps the ghost children were at play, looking to see if Christmas presents would soon be on display for them. During your visit to Korner’s Folly, expect to be charmed and enchanted by the beauty, the whimsy and the playful spirits. For more about my visit to Korner’s Folly, check out my new book, Ghosthunting North Carolina.

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Commissioned in 1941, the USS North Carolina was considered to be one of the world’s most formidable ships.  During WWII, the North Carolina participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific, earning fifteen battle stars, and was known as the protector of aircraft carriers, including saving the USS Enterprise in 1942.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor using 353 Japanese fighters and torpedo planes.  Four battleships were sunk and four others damaged. Two destroyers and three cruisers were sunk and almost three hundred and fifty aircrafts were destroyed or severely damaged.  Over 2,400 men were killed and more than 1,200 injured. The overwhelming devastation was a huge shock to the nation.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, almost all of the Pacific fleet was destroyed. The first wave Japanese attack inflicted most of the damage and the second wave returned to demolish anything left standing. Japan and the U.S. were in peace talks at the time, so the attack came as a surprise, as no declaration of war had been delivered before the attack. With this act, the U.S. then declared war and entered World War II.

The surviving sailors in Hawaii were in a state of despair; they had lost many of their friends along with their ships and they were isolated on an island far away from the mainland. The attack had been swift. Reinforcements and supplies were going to take months to arrive in Hawaii. Feeling alone and grieving, the men waited for seven long months for reinforcements to arrive.

Then one day, the first naval ship arrived in Hawaii. It was the USS North Carolina and she was greeted in a mass celebration by an overwhelming crowd of soldiers, sailors, marines and air force pilots, hailing her presence from the beaches with cheers and delight.  Upon her arrival in Hawaii, many sailors were quoted as saying that she was “the most beautiful thing they had ever seen.”  

In my experience as a psychic and paranormal investigator, I have found that powerful emotional experiences of the most positive and the most negative nature leave an energy imprint on the object of the attention. Energy imprints are also left on objects surrounding the area as well.  I believe that the USS North Carolina battleship soaked up all of that energy that day upon her arrival in Pearl Harbor. In the water and in the air, she felt the pain and loss of the destruction which had occurred, while at the same time, she was greeted and filled with joy by sailors, pilots and marines who saw her as a saving grace and point of hope.  This, I believe, buoyed the battleship, giving her great luck and fierce determination in battle.

During the War, the Japanese reported on their radio six different times that they had sunk the North Carolina battleship, all of which proved to be false.  The Japanese did manage to hit the ship once with a torpedo, which cost five crewmen their lives. Five other men died aboard the ship from other circumstances and by some accounts some of them still remain on board and in active duty on the ship to this day.

The USS North Carolina battleship is now anchored in Wilmington, North Carolina where thousands visit her each year.  Many of those who visit and work on the ship have shared a number of ghost stories and other paranormal activity they experienced while onboard.

From the night watchman who sleeps aboard the ship each night, to daily tourists and visitors, the reports of the ship being haunted continue to grow.  Some of the ghosts are harmless, though they do catch people off guard, giving them a fright. Mostly, they are seen involved in their daily activities aboard the ship, looking for lunch from the kitchen, preparing for bed in their bunks and performing maintenance around the ship. The sounds of their banging as they work on parts of the ship can often be heard throughout the night.  These ghosts are hard workers; they bang with their tools, knock on walls, open and close hatches, yell at each other, have heated and animated discussions, and enjoy turning televisions and lights on and off.

In my new book, Ghosthunting North Carolina, I share what happened when I visited the haunted battleship to see what ghosts were ready to speak with me. Check it out and explore the haunted battleship with me.

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Witches Corner at Korner's Folly in Kernersville, NC

Unlike the Winchester Mystery Mansion in San Jose, California, the Korner’s Folly home in Kernersville, North Carolina was deliberately designed with style in mind. At the Winchester House, Sarah Winchester, upon the advice of a psychic, had carpenters build new rooms in her house twenty-four hours a day until her death. This ongoing construction was supposed to confuse and trick the angry spirits who had been killed by Winchester rifles from locating Sarah Winchester in her home and haunting her.  Inside the Winchester home, doors open to several- story drops below and staircases lead to the ceiling, going nowhere. The entire house winds around like a maze and by the time you’ve walked through it, you’ve walked over a mile. The effect is eerie, confusing and at times maddening.  While Korner’s Folly also has a variety of unique rooms and twists and turns, the effect feels very different; it’s charming and each rooms pulls you into an experience for the senses.

Jule created Korner’s Folly for an entirely different reason and ghosts were the furthest things from his mind.  A talented artist, Korner wanted the house to be a showplace for his work, both artistically in size and scale and to give prospective clients an idea of the various types of interior design that he could create in their homes and buildings.    The house has twenty-two rooms and there’s no easy way to describe them. Each room is unique; some fit for royalty, palatial in scale. There are trap doors, over fifteen different styles of fireplaces, cubbyholes to tuck away in, murals, and a library.

The home has been wonderfully preserved, despite having served as an antique store and also a funeral home. Ring, ring says my psychic warning bell!  What a perfect combination to create a haunted building!  Antiques carry the emotional energies of their owners, and the grief is thick in a funeral home where the dead come to attend their own funeral; Together, it’s a psychic’s perfect storm.

Want to know more about what I found while investigating the haunted history of Korner’s Folly? Read about this story and others in my new book,  Ghosthunting North Carolina.

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Enchanting Ways to Celebrate the Spirit of Halloween

The spirit of Halloween has a tradition for everyone to enjoy including spending some quality time with family and friends, while keeping it budget friendly this year. The economy is hitting everyone hard these days and it might not be the year to throw your most extravagant over the top Halloween party.

No worries, there are as many ways to celebrate Halloween as there are days in the year.

In the spirit of the season, I offer ten tradition-filled ways to celebrate and embrace the magic of the season including:

1.    Find love with a magic apple.
If you’re single, select a juicy red apple and peel the skin in one long piece. Hold the peel of the apple in your hand and say aloud, ‘As I fling this apple peel, my true love’s name will be revealed’. Fling the apple peel over your head and turn around to look at the shape that the peel forms on the ground. It is said that the apple peel will form into the first initial of your true love’s name.

2.    Dancing under the moonlight.
It’s a Crescent Moon Halloween, but Lady Luna will still be working her magic. Let your hair down, put on some music and dance in the moonlight.  Need I say more? Let your inner wild child come out and play!

3.    Celebrate the ‘Day of the Dead’ – Mexico style.
Honor friends and family who have passed on to the other side. Host a special dinner and set a place for departed loved ones at the table. Light a candle at their seated place of honor and include framed photos of them at the table. During dinner, share stories about all of the wonderful memories of your deceased loved ones.

4. Have a ‘Come As You Were’ costume party.
Take a step back in time and explore who you were in your past lives. Invite guests to come to your party dressed in a costume representing who they were in a past life. The conversations will be endless as each person shares who they were in a past life and how they lived.

5. Volunteer to help others enjoy the holiday.
Nursing homes appreciate volunteers to help out with holiday festivities, as do hospitals and charities with fund raising events. Spend Halloween spreading the spirit of the season with others and make a difference in your community.

6. Have a seed planting celebration.
Many cultures celebrate Halloween as the end of the year and November 1st as the New Year. Invite friends to celebrate on Halloween by making resolutions for the new year. Hand out packages of seeds to each of your guests and invite them to plant new seeds of thought this Fall which will manifest and bloom with new dreams in the Spring. Don’t forget to plant your carved pumpkins in the ground with your seeds, they make great compost.

7. Dim the lights and scare yourself silly by reading some good books including:

• The World’s Creepiest Places by Dr. Bob Curran
• Ghosthunting North Carolina by Kala Ambrose
• Weiser Field Guide to Witches by Judika Illes
• Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters and Beasts from the Dark Side by Brad Steiger
• The Real Men in Black by Nick Redfern

8. Enlighten others on the history of Halloween and help end harmful and baseless superstitions.
Help debunk a superstition that is based on fear, like the one that says black cats are bad luck. In Ancient Egypt, black cats were revered in honor of the goddess Bast. Many cultures find black cats to be the luckiest color of all. Read WikiAnswers for more information on how black cats have been revered throughout the ages by many cultures. Share how Halloween is celebrated in various customs around the world. This website has some beautiful photos showcasing how the holiday is celebrated in different countries.

9. Have a horror movie trivia competition and film festival.
Rent several classic horror movies and invite friends over to engage in a movie trivia competition followed up by watching the films. Read my article on Best Paranormal Movies of All Time to find a great selection to rent.

10. Listen to supernatural interviews on the Explore Your Spirit show with Mary Ann Winkowski the Ghost Whisperer (on whom the tv show Ghost Whisperer is based on) along with Werewolves with Dr. Bob Curran, Vampires with Brad Steiger and in October, watch Explore Your Spirit TV with psychic Gary Spivey.

Most all, enjoy yourself and the spirit of Halloween! Happy Haunting!

Enjoyed this article? Kala welcomes your comments and reads them all. For more articles by Kala Ambrose, visit her main page at National Haunted History Examiner.

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Want to know more about paranormal research including tips on what to do and what not to do when ghosthunting? Enjoy this 20 minute video course, Sensing the Spirit World: Adventures in Ghosthunting, with author Kala Ambrose on the Learning Annex, available to watch no matter where you live, from the comfort of your home. Explore where the ghosts of Blackbeard and his pirates still roam as you join Kala Ambrose, a psychic/medium, paranormal researcher, and host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show, as she shares her adventures in ghost hunting and visits with the spirit world. Learn about the most actively haunted capitol in the US, and venture west into the Blue Ridge Mountains where the pink lady awaits your presence. Kala Ambrose takes you behind the scenes to each haunted location she visited in search for ghosts, and offers ghost hunting tips for those brave enough to explore.  Click here to see the video on the Learning Annex. 

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The Werewolf Book by Brad Steiger

It’s not enough for me that Brad Steiger has delighted, entertained and kept me up many nights with his tales of the sinister, the haunted and the macabre. I just can’t stop, I’m back for more.  Brad has been my guest on Explore Your Spirit Radio many times since the show began in 2006.  We’ve discussed Real Vampires, Revelations, Real Aliens, Shadow World and Strange Guests and I hope to have Brad on the show for many more discussions about the supernatural. After all, he’s written over 170 books and the man eats, breathes and has ventured into the paranormal world throughout most of his life.  His latest book, The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings is out and available now to serve as your guide to what is wandering out there under the full moon.

Kala Ambrose, author, wisdom teacher, talk show host and columnist

I’ve always loved wolves and thought that their stories, like many other mythologies were skewed by the fears of people at the time. Wolves are loyal to their pack, mate for life and there are too many reports and legends of shamans shape-shifting into wolves to ignore the possibility, so this little red riding hood has traveled the forests many times in search of the not so big bad wolf. Of course, this wise woman wouldn’t go looking for tigers by hanging meat around her arm and calling “Here Kitty, Kitty”, so nor do I venture unsafely through the woods without proper protection.  What I have ventured into with my work is to debunk some myths and explain and teach about the ancient ways and traditions. The poor wolf has been so maligned through the ages that like many other noble creatures including witches, they have been given a bad name by bullies from the past. The time has come to stop the bullying and condemnation and enter into the light of education and understanding.

The history of werewolves has always been slanted to the sinister, but new fictional tales seem to be releasing updated ideas about werewolves, including Charlaine Harris’s werewolf character in her series, The Adventures of Sookie Stackhouse and the HBO adaption of True Blood. If you’ve read the books or watched the series, the character of Alcide certainly warms your blood towards werewolves and shape-shifting Sam Merlotte is the friend that everyone wishes they had.

In his Werewolf book Steiger shares the legends of werewolves and how they have been portrayed in movies and television. He also chronicles the legends, the mythologies and the shamanistic tales of the werewolf as reported through thousands of years. The book is the go-to guide to understanding not just the evolution of the werewolf, but the evolution of the fears and consciousness level of humanity.

Legendary author and paranormal researcher Brad Steiger

Steiger’s The Werewolf Book is going into my library and will shared with students for years to come as we discuss the shape-shifting of human thought and consciousness.

Another classic for the ages, Brad Steiger continues to educate and entertain. I eagerly await his next book to come. Want more Brad Steiger? Listen to my interviews here with him in the archives of Explore Your Spirit Radio and he’s just released a YouTube video where he reads a story from his book, watch it here.

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Are the Men in Black real? If so, are they aliens, fairies or something entirely different? I interviewed author Nick Redfern about his book The Real Men in Black to find out what he has uncovered about these mysterious beings. The result can be found here this week on The Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show, as Nick Redfern returns to EYS to speak about his new book, The Real Men in Black: Evidence, Famous Cases and True Stories of These Mysterious Men and their Connection to UFO Phenomena.

The Men in Black were elevated to superstar status in 1997 in the hit movie of the same name. Although the Hollywood blockbuster was fiction, the real Men in Black have consistently attempted to silence the witnesses of UFO and paranormal phenomena since the 1950s. In The Real Men in Black, author Nick Redfern delves deep into the mysterious world of these mysterious operatives. He reveals their origins and discusses classic cases, previously unknown reports, secret government files, and the many theories that have been presented to explain the mystery. Highlights of The Real Men in Black include: The story of Albert Bender, the first man to claim an encounter with the Men in Black, The involvement of the MIB in the Mothman saga that dominated the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia in the 1960s, Encounters with the MIB at the site of one of the world’s most famous monsters: Loch Ness and exclusive interviews with leading researchers of the MIB phenomenon.

Nick Redfern is a full-time author and journalist specializing in a wide range of unsolved mysteries, including Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, UFO sightings, government conspiracies, alien abductions and paranormal phenomena. He writes regularly for the London Daily Express newspaper, Fortean Times, Fate, and UFO Magazine. His previous books include Three Men Seeking Monsters, Strange Secrets, Cosmic Crashes, and The FBI Files. Among his many exploits, Redfern has investigated reports of lake monsters in Scotland, vampires in Puerto Rico, werewolves in England, aliens in Mexico, and sea serpents in the United States. Redfern travels and lectures extensively around the world.

Listen to the interview on Explore Your Spirit Radio

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