Belitionlee: Spiritual / Paranormal Activity News: Haunted London Bridge, Salem's Psychic Deluge and Spirit Rescue International Case Updates

Interest in Lake Havasu City's London Bridge paranormal activity heats up

pr-usa - If Lake Havasu City's London Bridge -- the signature attraction relocated there stone by stone in 1971 -- isn't haunted, then nothing is. How do we know the bridge is haunted? Apparently, EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) and abnormalities in photos and videos have been captured for years. EVPs are believed by paranormal researchers to be voice recordings of spirits. There is also evidence of so-called residual energy in slate and iron nails.

One man has studied paranormal activity on the bridge for eight years. Professional photographer and paranormal investigator Gary Asberry, 53, is about to resurrect his popular London Bridge Ghost Tours in time for the 40th anniversary of the bridge dedication planned in fall 2011. Tours begin Friday the 13th of May 2011 (golakehavasu.com).

For years, amateur photos and videos of the bridge have shown strange orbs of light, where none existed to the naked eye. Asberry has a file of thousands of these himself, all unexplainable, all emanating from what his 2,000 hours of study leads him to believe is the most haunted bridge in the world.

Over 100,000 people are said to have committed suicide on the bridge when it spanned the River Thames since its completion in 1831, not to mention the bodies of executed criminals and pirates that were displayed on the span. Asberry believes corpses were stored inside and famed serial murderer Jack the Ripper even used the bridge as his escape route.

"Thousands of people have talked to me over the years from all over the world about their experiences with ghosts and paranormal activity on the bridge," said Asberry, who recorded his first EVP in a deserted graveyard when he was 17 years old.

Asberry says every tour results in something interesting. From guests who capture spirit energy in the form of "orbs" or "ecto" on their cameras, to others who feel spirits rushing by, he says many skeptics have turned believer by the end of his tour, especially when they know that the orbs appearing on their own digital images couldn't possibly have been Photoshopped.

Interest in paranormal activity is expected to increase as Lake Havasu City organizers plan an elaborate celebration in October 2011 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of what has become the city's signature attraction, considered the "world's largest antique" by Guinness World Records

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Food and 'Spirits' at Michigan Tavern

fenton.patch - Fenton, Michigan - When Christopher Bailey talks about visiting the Fenton Hotel Tavern & Grille, he comments on the "wonderful food” and how renovations that the restaurant’s owners, Nick and Peggy Sorise, completed in 2006 have given the building an upscale, modern feel.

Then, he’ll tell you about the ghosts.

Bailey is the research director of Grimstone, a scientifically based paranormal research organization with main offices in Warren and Lansing. Since Grimstone originated 15 years ago, it has conducted investigations across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. The organization has undertaken three investigations at the Fenton Hotel Tavern & Grille as well as supported fundraisers for the establishment by leading haunted tours of the property.

“There wasn’t a time we were there that something didn’t happen,” said Bailey.

He said on one occasion, there were 64 guests touring the building and 47 people reported seeing, hearing or feeling something. Eight of them reported (at different times throughout the event) having their hair pulled in the same spot of a particular room.

"We’ve also had equipment jerked out of our hands, seen objects move by themselves and witnessed the apparition of a young woman," Bailey said.

Bailey added that after one of the visits, an investigator reported seeing an apparition of a black cat at his house that he had never seen before. For a week or so, it would leap up onto the counter, bat coins around and then disappear.

"We didn’t think it was linked to our investigation in Fenton until a few weeks later when we talked to a college student who was gathering information about the hotel for a paper," Bailey said. "During her research, she had come across numerous reports of the apparition of a black cat reported on the premises.”

While Bailey was preparing for another fundraiser at the restaurant, one of his investigators reported a problem on the third floor. He walked down the hallway to check things out and came across a section of the floor where he described feeling “as though he were walking on a water bed.” He left the area for about 15 minutes. When he returned, the floor was back to normal.

So far, Bailey has not experienced anything “personally disturbing” at the Fenton Hotel, even though he describes much of the activity as “kinetic,” or the moving, changing or touching of people or objects.

Grimstone posted an online report about the investigations of the property which lists the following: glasses flying off bar shelves, crying of a child in the sealed upper stories, voices caught on EVP (recorded electronic voice phenomenon), traveling cold spots moving through rooms and halls, tactile contact to individuals (stroking, pinching and hair pulling) and “spooklights” traveling the hallways.

“The hotel was a stop along the train route to Flint; there were a lot of transient people coming in and out of it, so it’s difficult to determine why the hotel is haunted or who’s doing the haunting,” said Bailey. “We’re not exactly sure who the female apparition is. But during our research, we came across reports indicating that years ago a female staff member who worked at the hotel became pregnant by a male salesperson staying there. She ended up committing suicide.”

Bailey believes that renovations over the past few years could be connected to the recent increase in activity.

"Renovations and remodeling can sometimes stirs things up,” said Bailey, "especially if spirits feel that you’re switching around their home without their consent.”

With the recent slew of paranormal investigation programs such as Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures and Paranormal State, there seems to be a heightened interest in haunted locations.

Peggy Sorise receives at least one call every two weeks from people asking to investigate the Fenton Hotel Tavern & Grille. For that reason, the owners have moved away from promoting the restaurant’s supernatural reputation.

“This is an old building with 155 years of rich history,” she said. “Over the years we’ve had a number of people come in and get certain feelings. But we’re a family-run business. Fortunately, business has been good, but sometimes we’re overwhelmed by how busy we are. … Investigators often ask to check out the third floor, but we have offices up there and can’t afford to give up the time and space. There’s also the issue of insurance and liability.”

The Fenton Hotel Tavern & Grille is located on the corner of Grange Hall (Main Street) and Leroy Street.

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Spirit Rescue International Case Updates

Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales Haunting

Irene and I finally conducted a remote view on the Llanelli location on Thursday evening. Irene had been 'under the weather' so the session was postponed until then.

I cannot go into much detail right now...Irene needs to meet with the client this week. The UK on-site team will be investigating points brought up during the RV.

Overall it was a very productive session...lots of helpful information and verification of some evidence collected (and kept from me) during the initial probe.

Two SRI team members were present and listened in. I invite other SRI team members to tune in to future RV sessions in order to get a sense of how we conduct the RV and how we use the information. Thanks to Allswell for an excellent synopsis of the session. Stay tuned....go to Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales Haunting and keep track of this case.

Birmingham, Alabama 'High Strangeness' Case

I called this case 'high strangeness' and that is exactly what we have here. Frankly, I have no way of classifying it any other way...at least for now.

The client has been experiencing a plethora of anomalous activity that cannot (currently) be categorized as paranormal. I can say that there are several factors involved...but it will require extensive research. As well, I expect that several remote view sessions may be needed...unless we can initially determine what we're dealing with.

I hope many SRI team members can be present in the conference call on Tuesday. This one is going to be a challenge. The progress of this case can be followed at Birmingham, Alabama 'High Strangeness' Case

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Malevolent Haunting

We're going to start researching and assessing this situation while we continue to go forward on two current cases (posted above). This will also be discussed in detail on Tuesday during the SRI team conference call.

The client has been living at the location for almost a decade and has made attempts to have the location cleared but without success. Lots of noises and odd activity, including attacks on the client as well as a steady deterioration of the client's health and overall quality of life. In fact, the client has spent the past two weeks in and out of the hospital.

I will update as soon as other information becomes available at Hunterdon County, New Jersey Malevolent Haunting

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Too Many Psychics in 'Witch City'?

foxnews - Salem, Massachusetts is famous for its modern witches and history of witch persecution. The city's unique past supports a thriving menagerie of businesses selling everything from magical charms to fortunes, but some fear the number of psychics flocking to the community north of Boston could be too many.

In 2007, the city lifted a cap on the number of psychics allowed to operate and now some believe the 'Witch City' is getting overrun.

Barbara Szafranski is a long-time psychic license holder who conducts readings at her downtown shop Angelica of the Angels. She needed no crystal ball to tell her business would take a hit when more fortunetellers hit the scene.

"It affected me 75%. I lost business because many stores opened up that were not in this field. They just opened up because they wanted to get the money from the readings," said Szafranski.

"It just becomes a bunch of gypsies. Maybe I shouldn't say that word because they might be upset by it but those people are not necessarily always qualified."

She says Salem city leaders need to do a better job controlling the number of fortunetellers and preventing charlatans from operating.

"I'm in favor of putting the cap on because there are so many psychics in the city now. When I first opened up my business 25 years ago I was just about the only one in this area and, of course, as you're seeing since then it's grown and grown and grown," said Szafranski.

Before the cap was lifted just a handful of stores offered psychic readings. Today roughly 70 people hold psychic licenses and while some license holders lament the increase others believe it's a boon for the economy and a matter of fairness.

Christian Day is a Salem warlock who owns two shops in the city, Omen and Hex. He employs psychic readers at both businesses and runs a psychic fair each year. He helped push the Salem city council to lift the cap on psychics and thinks the change offers a positive revenue stream for the area.

"I feel like it creates this sort of sparkle effect where everybody's sort of raising the bar on one another and making everything more exciting," said Day.

"As a person who believes in the power of the free market, I believe that the free market should decide whether or not there are too many psychics. If we have too many, they won't make any money and they leave. It's just like anything else," argues Day.

Laurie "Lorelei" Stathopoulos owns Crow Haven Corner, a business dubbed "Salem's first witch shop." She conducts readings in a cozy back room and believes the city council needs to keep a close eye on the growing number of psychics.

"I agree with Christian as far as the free trade but I also was one of the biggest advocates of keeping Salem quaint and small and magical and the more people we let in could hurt that name," said Stathopoulos. "Just like having a Chanel bag, you want the real thing. You don't want the run-of-the-mill or a knock off bag."

The Licensing Board requires a one year residency and a $50 fee before issuing a psychic license. It's a way to ensure commitment to the community.

City Councilor Joan Lovely says the city lifted the cap because the city solicitor wasn't sure that keeping it in place was constitutional. Since then, handling the influx of people seeking psychic licenses has proven to be time-consuming.

"I guess the board is just concerned about the number since we opened it up and they just want to make sure that it's workable, that it's manageable for them," said Lovely.

Day believes the revenue raised by the fee and the new businesses outweighs any administrative burden and says competition is good for the industry.

"What we want to encourage is that quality people come and in my opinion the free market encourages quality. If you cap the number of licenses and keep those people with licenses protected you essentially guarantee that people with lesser talent are protected," argues Day.

"It is rather interesting to me that people expect government to protect their business. Your ingenuity should protect your business. Your talent should protect your business. Your aggressiveness to succeed will protect your business," said Day.

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THIS WEEK'S SPIRITUAL / PARANORMAL ACTIVITY LINKS

Claims of local torture cult got this editor’s attention

My Husband’s Ghost In My Bed

Ghosts keep things lively at The Brentwood Restaurant

Ghost of the Old Havana Club

Ghost at Meadow Hill

Seventy metal books found in cave in Jordan could change our view of Biblical history

Relatively Haunted: It's a family affair

Dean Mansion: Haunted 1891 Mississippi plantation home

Exclusive Interview with Chicago’s Own Resurrection Mary

Vision of mum sparked my book of ghostly tales

Does education fuel paranormal beliefs?

'I see dead people'

Ham House: London's royal haunting

Astral Perceptions - Discussing ultraterrestrial and multidimensional phenomena and the proficiency of remote viewing

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