Tag: ghosts

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A FEW DEFINITIONS

Arlene

APPARITION      Visible form of a ghost.

CHANNELER           Channeling is the process of receiving and relaying information from an                                 outside entity while in an altered state of consciousness. 

CLAIRAUDIENCE      Psychic ability to hear voices and other auditory phenomena.

CLAIRAUDIENT     Also Supranormal, hearing/receiving messages from those  passed over.

CLAIRVOYANCE   Knowledge accessed without the use of physical senses.

COWRIE SHELLS    Porcelain-like sea snail shells considered having mystical powers..

EMF                         Electronic magnetic frequencies that detect disruptions in the area.

ESP                          Extra-sensory perception, beyond physical senses.   

EVP                          Electronic voice phenomena.

GHOST HUNTER     A person investigates ghostly activity usually with electronic equipment.

HOT SPOT                 An area within a haunted place that contains high activity.

K-II                            Reports

EMF                          Measurements in ranges.

MEDIUM                   One who communicates with entities in the spirit world.

ORBS                         Spheres caught by camera that show entities left behind.

PASSED AWAY        Used in place of died because the spirit, or soul, doesn’t die.

PLANCHETTE          A device used to receive messages from a spirit.      

PRECOGNITION      Foresight; intuition.

PHENOMENA          Events that contradict physical laws..

PSYCHOKINESIS    Ability to move an object by thinking about it.

SMUDGING              An age-old tribal tradition used to create cleansing, harmony, and peace                

SYNCHRONICITY  Meaningful, seemingly coincidental events that are life-altering.

TAROT CARDS        Used as playing cards in 1400s Italy; identified as Egyptian “Book of Thoth”

TELEPATHY             Picking up another person’s thoughts.

VEIL                       A layer of skin over the face at birth; indicates psychic perception.  

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Living with Ghosts. . . .true stories

Arlene
Bordentown & Burlington (NJ) Hauntings

Most of my adult life I read books on life after life, life before life, and living with ghostly spirits. They fascinated me, even more so after I began having paranormal moments from time time myself. I never expected to have these experiences. They just happened. I wanted to learn more and to understand what these moments were all about.

            The story in this book of a Bordentown, (NJ) haunting began with Audrey more than 60 years ago. It continued with my, and my mother’s, “moments” and later with Veronica and her children’s experiences. It’s proved to be an interesting lineage.

            I loved that house and living in it from 1972 to 1982. It’s also where I experienced my first peek into the afterlife with the form of a little girl. It was a very sweet, reassuring moment. Here is a small excerpt from Veronica’s teenage daughter Morgan: One morning at 3 a.m., I woke to hear my Ipod blasting! It nearly freaked me out! That has never happened to me before. Someone has to actually press play for it to turn on. It isn’t something that would slip on easily or without actual intent. Another time at 3 a.m.. a man was coughing and making noises like he was right here next to me. I have a cell phone with pictures-mostly black-taken during the night that I didn’t take!

hauntings

The Ghosts of the Somerville-Graham House

Arlene

Rose gave me a tour of her home, the Somerville-Graham House, that has seen much history. It is still being replayed over and over, in Warrenton, NC. She filled me in on her weird experiences along the way.

A heavenly white Christmas tree stands in the corner near the fireplace of this front bedroom. It is adorned with white angels, doves and other ornaments all exuding the feeling of peace and joy. It’s breathtaking to look at any time of year. A life-size young girl mannequin stands next to it, as if she is in the middle of trimming the tree. She is as graceful as a sculptured work of art. The scene casts an aura on the room bringing life to it.

Rose said, “I came into this room to clean it one afternoon after guests of ours left. I was in a bit of a hurry. I rushed in then stopped. A vapor was right near the tree. It seemed to be hovering. Maybe it was looking it over, I don’t know. It moved as if it noticed me. It turned toward me, moved again and stopped. Then it moved all the way across the room. I just stood there stunned. All of a sudden I just chuckled and said aloud, ‘Helen is that you? How do you like the tree?’ Then I left it to do whatever I was doing.”

Book offered on Amazon.com

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LIVING WITH GHOSTS True Stories of New Jersey

Arlene
Excerpt from:
A VISITOR STOPS BY
Under the Moon Café’
Estela and Santiago were so successful in their separate businesses that a much larger location was needed for each.  They decided to merge their talents into one location. Under the Moon Café was relocated in the much larger space in the former, long-time location of the Miller-Magowan Men’s Clothing Store on Farnsworth Avenue.
          
Remodeling is often the first thing to do when buying a building to rearrange it to suit your business. It is also the very thing that wakens sleeping spirits and gets them moving around in an old space. That is what happened in the new location for Under the Moon Café.    
     Santiago’s creative juices started flowing with ideas on remodeling to give the building a totally Under the Moon Café look.
 
Charlie soon made his first appearance to Estela.
    
 Estela said,  “There is an old man dressed in all black. He wears a tall hat and a long coat.  I call him Charlie. He plays with the coffee machine. Turn it on. Turn it off. Turn it on. Turn it off. At first I didn’t know it was Charlie. I called the company about the machine. ‘It turns on and off by itself,’ I told them.  They came out to check the machine.
     They said the machine works perfectly fine. Then I knew it was Charlie. I said, ‘Charlie, if you want to play, you can play.’ He played with the cups and the Chimichanga glasses. Not like he drops them, he places them gently. I see them fly through the air but not like being thrown; he does it gently.
     Often when Santiago goes into the basement to bring up supplies, somebody will tap him on the shoulder. He will look over his shoulder.  Nobody is there. At times a strong smell, not unpleasant, will permeate the air. Other times, voices are heard. Employees remark that they, too, experience the same things when they go down there!”  Full story in Living with Ghosts at Amazon.com
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Ghosts Along the Border, from the afterlife

Arlene

WHO SAID IT’S ABOUT TIME?

Look for the Ghostly Spirit in the Mirror

Yes, spirits woke me at 3 a.m. and said, “C’mon, get up and write the story!” I ran into friends who said, “Is the book finished yet?” So, I’m announcing now, “YES, the latest book on ghostly experiences from our neck of the woods (Warren Co.NC & Southside VA) is ready for you!

            This time the book expands to share stories with you about messages from those who have passed away into the afterlife and sent signs back to the loved ones they left behind. What a joy! To know that your mom, dad, friend, family member, etc. is doing fine in a place you don’t know about yet.

American History, hauntings, living with ghosts, paranormal, psychic phenomena

STEPPING INTO HAUNTED HOUSES

Arlene

I rather bumped into writing about the true experiences people have with ghosts many years ago. It began when word got out that I had witnessed a happening with a little girl ghost. Others, curious, wanting to talk about their own experiences but afraid they would be laughed at, came into my bookshop and quietly began to reveal their stories to me.
This led to my conducting a Ghost Walk as a fund raiser for my business group in Bordentown, New Jersey. When I moved to North Carolina in 2005, I was telling Don Arnold at Oakley Hall Antiques about my ghost. He said, “You need to be writing about Warren County’s ghosts. We have lots of them!” With that said he invited me to his and Ernie Fleming’s home at Oakley Hall (former plantation) in Ridgeway.
This opened the door to forming a great friendship between us. It also began my collecting stories about local hauntings that are as varied as there are people. It seemed that wherever I went, still as a newcomer at the time, someone had a story for me or a name of someone I needed to speak with. A lady sat next to me at a Christmas party. I knew no one other than the hosts. The conversation came around to ghosts. She just happened to have a story.
A woman called to me while I was sitting on a picnic table on the Lake Gaston Estates beach. It was 8 a.m. on a weekday morning. Her dog was lost and she was hoping I had seen it. I hadn’t, but an hour or two later, I had a phone call telling me where the dog was. It wasn’t long before I learned that she had an experience to relate to me. We also shared some of our life stories and became friends.
I served on jury duty in Warrenton. When the jury was sent to the little room while the attorneys discussed a point in the case, a juror asked if I really wrote ghost stories as it had been revealed during the jury selection. “Yes” I replied. Three people there had stories to tell me. Two of them are in the Ghostly Spirits in Warren County & Beyond book. Who would think I’d meet someone with a haunting sequestered in a jury room? Ya gotta luv it!
Now I’m collecting stories for my second NC/VA book. If you have one or happen to know someone . . . .please send a message to me.

ezine

PurpleStone Press December Ezine

Arlene

A Monthly Newsletter to keep readers informed on news in the book world, about moments not easily explained, stretching out to other genres, a personal story, events going on, comments from readers and more. Readers are welcome to comment or add their thoughts to the next newsletter.
In This Issue December 2012
Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me at asbice@aol.com if you would like to receive the monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers.

Happenings & News Mucho thanks to Oakley Hall Antiques for hosting a wonderful “Meet the Author & Book Signing” last month. It was fabulous and I met some new people as well as greeting friends I know. There will definitely be a Volume II Warren County Ghost Book. Thanks for your words and your support to all who attended. It wasn’t so long ago when I was hosting book signings for others, now I’m the one signing. How cool is that! The stuffed dates I brought to the signing was a recipe that was brought to a book signing I hosted at my shop many years ago for Rose J. Radel who wrote: The Miniature Pinscher: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.
What’s Goin’ On? December 4, Tuesday… . TASTE N TELL at the WCM Library sponsored by Warrenton Woman’s Club. Christmas recipes from the Recipes & Remembrances Cookbook will be offered to taste, cooks will tell their stories and the cookbook will be available for sale at $15. Recipes in the cookbook were submitted by Warren County folks and their friends and family from all across the nation. Also included are some favorites of past Presidential wives such as Martha Custis Washington. Think great Christmas and Holiday gifts.
To all my Christian friends=Merry Christmas and to all my friends who have chosen a different path=Happy Holidays, no matter which one you choose to celebrate or how you like to offer the greeting. It is the goodwill that matters.

Stories…The Mount; The Haunted Home of Edith Wharton.
Edith Wharton, author of The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome and so much more, designed her home in the Berkshires over a hundred years ago. It was not exactly a happy marriage that she shared with husband Teddy and she eventually divorced him. The Mount is now a National Trust and open to visitors. It is the docents and visitors who tell of …..footsteps walking down a hallway and fading-when no one could be seen; doors slamming for no obvious reason, voices heard but no one seen. Ghost Hunters have visited and found ghostly activities. The house was sold to become a girls school. Those staying in the servant quarters and main house both reported odd goings on. Shakespeare & Co. came into the building in 1976 with the same reports of voices with no bodies, ghosts in old-fashioned clothing peeking around corners, voices inquiring “what are you doing here?”

Edith herself was sensitive to ghosts following her in childhood remaining skittish of them as a married woman. Yet now she is a ghost seen, seated and reading. Teddy has also been spotted striding through the house and Edith’s lover has been noticed in a tuxedo with pocket watch in hand. A servant girl is seen on the third floor in the room she called her own. Photo from Wikipedia website.

Letters, I Get Letters…. As much as I love North Carolina and the (still) newness of exploring and learning new customs, there is an unhappy part, too. In moving to a new place to live, I have lost the casual contact with some people who have been important in my life. This means I just learned now, a year after the fact that Julianne MacNicoll passed away. She and long-time-husband Ed (Past President of the NAIFA) worked side-by-side in their office in Hamilton Township (NJ) doing residential and commercial real estate appraisals. And they were side-by-side in all aspects of their lives. Ed also taught and did a million other things. I remember Julie as being the sunniest person, always happy, positive and encouraging, especially to a newcomer to the business that I loved so much, me. I can still see her smiling face.

This Month……Since I now have Ghostly Spirits of Warren County, North Carolina & Beyond on the shelves, I’m back to completing New Jersey true ghost tales that I have been collecting for the last few years in between the NC ones. If you know of anyone who would like to tell me their story, please put them in touch with me at: asbice@aol.com or 252-257-4838.

The Latest……. Ghostly Spirits of Warren County NC & Beyond (Soft Cover-2012 PurpleStone Press) $18.95 A candle in the window, a man who walks through walls, a woman from long ago…..peek into the personal stories of hauntings from those who wish to remain in their place on earth instead of going forward into the after-life. Warren County was a wealthy, thriving place during the antebellum years. Warrenton was the hub of activity, a destination on market days where friends gathered. These imprints were left and remain today.

Also Available…. Ghosts Of Bordentown (NJ) $14.95 True paranormal stories told by those who lived them Haunted Bordentown … (NJ) $14.95 More true paranormal tales
Life & Labyrinth …$17.95 Memoir & Poetry Major Fraser’s A House & Its History $19.95 Images of America Series -Bordentown, A picture book of Bordentown history – New Egypt & Plumsted Township, A picture book of the center of New Jersey -Bordentown Revisited, More pictures and history of Bordentown and surrounding area.

Subscribe: Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me if you would like to receive a monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers

Keep your mind open. Keep reading. Be kind. Be gentle.

PurpleStone Press asbice@aol.com, http://purplestoneblog.com/

Arlene S. Bice writer-lecturer-artist P O Box 348 Macon, NC 27551

book review, paranormal

New Newsletter; PurpleStone Press Ezine

Arlene

PurpleStone Press Ezine

A Monthly Newsletter to keep readers informed on news in the book world, about moments not easily explained, stretching out to other genres, a personal story, events going on, comments from readers and more. Readers are welcome to comment or add their thoughts to the next newsletter.

In This Issue  November 2012

Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me at asbice@aol.com if you would like to receive a monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers.

Happenings  & News   I attended E. Jane Ball-Groom’s Book Signing for her “The Salad Pickers Journey South” memoir on Saturday, Nov 3 to my delight. It is her story of a New York girl (her) and her husband and children emigrating south to Manson, North Carolina to help build Attorney McKissick’s dream of creating Soul City in the late 1960s. These were turbulent times in our country and a brave journey for this family to make at that time. I met Jane at a writing workshop two or three years ago and thoroughly enjoyed reading her story in print.

What’s Goin’ On?   November 10, Saturday… .Meet the Author & Book Signing at Oakley Hall Antiques,  119 N. Main St. Warrenton from 1 pm to 3 pm. Refreshments served. Hope to see you there…………………..ALSO a Taste ‘n Tell on Tues. the 4th Dec. at the WCM Library sponsored by Warrenton Woman’s Club. Christmas recipes from the Recipes & Remembrances Cookbook will be offered to taste, cooks will tell their stories and the cookbook will be available for sale at $15. Think great Holiday gifts.

Letters, I Get Letters….As an inquisitive person and avid writer, I get invitations from other writers and publishers. One note received was an invitation from Jyoti Wind to submit a piece on “why I write” and has resulted in the newly released book: The Creative Arc: An Anthology on Writing now available for $15.99. It can be ordered at: jyotiwind@gmail.com. The book will prove to be very interesting I’m sure, learning all the many different reasons on why one person absolutely must write while others could care less about it.

This Month……Since I now have Ghostly Spirits of Warren County,North Carolina & Beyond on the shelves, I’m back to completing New Jersey hauntings and true ghost tales I have been collecting for the last few years in between the NC ones. If you know of anyone who would like to tell me their story, please put them in touch with me at: asbice@aol.com or 252-257-4838.

Stories……Here is one that did not get into the newest book.

The Biltmore House, America’s Castle

I confess, on the few times I’ve visited the Biltmore Estate I have not seen or felt any ghosts hanging around. But the scoop is that George Washington Vanderbilt who built it because he loved the area so much as a child visiting, has been heard speaking after he died in 1914 from complications with an appendectomy. Edith, his wife of sixteen years and now a young widow was known to sit in front of one of the fireplaces on the lower level and talk to him. And the servants heard him talk back!

There is also rumor of an orange cat running around without his head. Supposedly a cook chopped off his head in a fit of rage at the cat coming into the kitchen too often. And he was a favorite of his master George. That one is a little hard to believe.

But sounds of guests enjoying themselves swimming in the basement pool continue. The fact that the pool has been empty of water for many years doesn’t seem to deter them at all!

 The Latest…….

Ghostly Spirits of Warren County NC & Beyond (Soft Cover-2012 PurpleStone Press) $18.95                    A candle in the window, a man who walks through walls,  a woman from long ago…..peek into the personal stories of hauntings from those who wish to remain in their place on earth instead of going forward into the after-life. Warren County was a wealthy, thriving place during the antebellum years. Warrenton was the hub of activity, a destination on market days where friends gathered. These imprints were left and remain today.

Stories brought to Lake Gaston come to life as events are unveiled by those who have the gift of seeing what others cannot see.  Added is the historical background that will endear you to place and time, to personal experiences for your compassion and understanding. As time progresses and changes are made, some spirits remain as they were forever.

 Also Available….  Ghosts Of Bordentown (NJ) (Soft Cover-2005 guy arlen pub.) $14.00  True paranormal stories told by those who lived them.

Haunted Bordentown … (NJ) (Soft Cover – Schiffer Pub. 2008)  $14.98 True paranormal tales

Life & Labyrinth … (Soft Cover– 2010 PurpleStone Press) $16.95  Memoir & Poetry

Major Fraser’s…….A House & History (Soft Cover –2011 PurpleStone Press) $19.95

Bordentown, Images of America…..Arcadia Publ. (Soft Cover Nov 11, 2002) A picture book of Bordentown history.

New Egypt & Plumsted Township, Images of America…..Arcadia Publ. (Soft Cover 2003) A picture book of the very center of New Jersey.

Bordentown Revisited, Images of America… Arcadia Publ. (Soft Cover 2005) More pictures and history of Bordentown and surrounding area.

 Subscribe: Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me if you would like to receive a monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers

Keep your mind open. Keep reading. Be kind. Be gentle.

PurpleStone Press

asbice@aol.com

http://purplestoneblog.com/

paranormal

Standing Stones

Arlene

Standing Stones

It was the standing stones that drew me to Avebury, England, the tiniest of villages. This is the center of a circle of standing stones ala Stonehenge, whose residents live daily with the magic of prehistoric mystery. But visitors are not blocked off by a fence as at Stonehenge. During my last visit there I stayed overnight at the Red Lion Inn which is haunted by Florrie and a few other ghosts.

Excitement rumbled through me as I checked into the Inn, securing my room reservation. I could barely wait to go across the road, to feel the stones with my hands. I ignored the sheep droppings as much as possible in this meadow they called home.

The stones are massive. I backed up against one, snuggled in tightly so the magic of this rough stone would enter my body, closing my eyes to feel the full sensation.

 

 I Wait 

The mist hovers

between mammoth boulders of Avebury

like time between my past loves

now turned to stone.

 

The sheep graze

around me as freely as the thoughts

circling around in my head,

but with more peace.

 

I travel this magical area

of England, my last beloved, missed,

seeking solace of him,

the finest of them all.

 

The mist remains

softening the earth, cushioning the path,

shadows forming

like vague memories.

 

The mystic Merlin

comes toward me out of the distance

arms outstretched

exuding welcome.

 

I raise my arms

in answer, relieved, ready to follow,

to unite again

on the other side.

 

Then he quietly

begins to fade

the echo reaches my ears.

Not yet.  .  .  .  not yet.

© Arlene S. Bice, 2008