In this age of paranormal superstars and back-to-back episodes of ghost hunting reality shows, much of the quiet reality of academic paranormal research goes unnoticed. For the most part, hobby or amateur ghost hunters have distanced themselves from the intellectual realm of parapsychology. Some are aware that, for generations, parapsychologists had no use for them. In fact, parapsychology sought to filter out the "spontaneous phenomena" that ghost hunters crave--ghosts, hauntings, poltergeists, and others-- favoring those human psi abilities that could be studied in a proper laboratory. Today, scientists and amateurs are increasingly aware--and needful--of each other. Ghost hunters seek validation via technology more fervently every day; scientists seek to find their principles in action: in "haunted" houses, prisons and hospitals, as viewed by millions of eager fans every night on t.v.
A unique conference this fall on "Parapsychology and Consciousness" is an invitation to all with an interest in parapsychology--and the human mind that is common to all psi experience. Along with numerous stars of the world of academic parapsychology, ghost hunters will be delighted to find such presenters as Loyd Auerbach, who will present his findings from an investigation of the USS Hornet.
Following is an excerpt from conference organizer Nancy Zingrone's blog. A Chicago-area native, Nancy and her husband, Carlos Alvarado, have been working and teaching in parapsychology their whole lives--and championing the cause to the ends of the earth. For ghost hunters used to gathering at informal conventions around the nation, there may be a bit of sticker shock on this one, but I promise you: it will be the best conference you've ever attended. If you've never been to an academic conference, I daresay it will change your life. I'm just going for the hotel, situated right on the beach ;) and to get a look at amazing Atlantic University, which is working on offering a Masters in Parapsychology in the not-so-distant future. Hope to see you there!
_________________________________________________
Monday, May 16, 2011 11:41 PM
Atlantic University is a small online graduate school in Virginia Beach, Virigina offering a Masters of Arts in Transpersonal Studies. Last year (a year and 13 days ago), Carlos S. Alvarado and I were hired by AU and started an entirely new phase of our lives.
We've been working on a number of things this year, but one of the most important is the inauguration of a new series of annual conferences to highlight various aspects of the work and interests of Atlantic University. Since 1985, when Atlantic University was a residential school, Doug Richards (known to a lot of PA members) has been teaching a course called 'Principles of Parapsychology." This year, between October 14th and October 16th, 2011, Doug, Carlos and I, and other Atlantic University faculty members Henry Reed, Bob Van de Castle, Loyd Auerbach and Christine Simmonds-Moore are taking part in our conference, "Parapsychology and Consciousness." David McMillan of the Meridian Institute and Kevin Todeschi, the CEO of both Edgar Cayce's A.R.E. and Atlantic University will also be taking part.
We're really excited about all of the folks who will be joining us to give papers: Julie Beischel of The Windbridge Institute, Dean Radin of IONs, Ed May from Laboratories for Fundamental Research, Roger Nelson of the Global Consciousness Project, Steve Braude of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, John Palmer of the Rhine Research Center, Jim Carpenter in private practice in Chapel Hill, Frank Pasciuti in private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Ginette Nachman of Durham, NC. The topics range from "Biomedical Aspects of Psi" (Nachman) to "How Do the Synesthesias Relate to Anomalous Experiences" (Simmonds-Moore) and "Before the Tipping Point: Reconsidering the Nature of Consciousness" (Radin), among many others.
The conference starts at noon on Friday October 14th and continues through 6pm on Sunday October 16th. Of course we think "Parapsychology and Consciousness" brings together a unique and unprecedented mixture of some of the best speakers in the field, as well as some of the most interesting aspects of the varied research in scientific parapsychology.
The Visitor's Center at Edgar Cayce's A.R.E., where the conference will be held, has a great large auditorium and a number of function rooms we'll be using as well, plus a bookstore, a top floor meditation room with a view of the ocean and tons of parking. The campus of the A.R.E. is very unique. It's a block from the Atlantic Ocean (the reason for the great view from the meditation room). The campus also includes a meditation garden, a meditation labyrinth modeled on the one at Chartres, and the A.R.E. Heath Center and Spa. The spa is on the ground floor of the "Headquarters" Building which also houses the Cayce/Reilly School of Massotherapy, Atlantic University, and a variety of units of the A.R.E. Two other buildings complete the campus, and by the time of the conference, construction will have started on the new Educational Building. The campus backs up to First Landing State Park. (Virginia Beach is a very interesting place and we have fallen completely in love with it. More on that in another blog.)
The conference hotel, the Wyndham Oceanfront, is 10 blocks away from the "Parapsychology and Consciousness" conference venue, south of the A.R.E. on Atlantic Avenue. We have rooms blocked off for the conference there. The hotel has a great restaurant, the Surf Grille, with beautiful views of the oceanfront. The Wyndham runs a shuttle to the A.R.E. We also have rooms blocked off for the conference at the Holiday Inn Express, another oceanfront hotel down in the "strip", an area full of hotels and restaurants. The Holiday Inn Express doesn't have a shuttle but the HRT bus is close by, and if you're coming in by car, it's a quick trip up Atlantic Avenue to the A.R.E. The closest airport is Norfolk International Airport. Carlos and I love this airport (having been in a ton of airports over the years); small, easy to get around, with a shuttle.
Anyhow as time goes on, I'll write some more about the details. We're putting together the best experience possible and really looking forward to having all these great speakers in town. If you go to Atlantic University's home page -- http://www.atlanticuniv.edu -- you can find a link to the conference description, and to biographies and abstracts, plus a page for registration (there's an early bird price at the moment) as well as reservation pages for the two conference hotels.
Carlos and I have been involved in a lot of great conferences over the years, but we're really looking forward to this one and hope you'll all be able to join us this October 14th to 16th in Virginia Beach!
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Friday, July 08, 2011
From Garbage to "Ghostbusters": The Strange Case of Streeterville
In urban areas around the world, architecture’s brilliant progress has been checked by many faults. For every successful design there are ten that fail--aesthetically, financially, or environmentally. Most troublesome have been the so-called “sick buildings” that have caused everything from nausea and headaches to brain tumors and cancer, due to difficulties with exhaust and ventilation systems, mold growth and other quirks. In Chicago, one of the most controversial buildings in this birthplace of skyscrapers is believed by Chicago paranormal experts to have a much more malicious quality. Since its completion in 1968, the John Hancock Center has been the site of multiple murders, suicides and deadly “accidents.” Why? Windy City occultists are convinced that it is the very design of the place that causes its residents and workers to often take a turn for the worst.
The John Hancock Center was designed as a trapezoidal structure by its chief architect, Bruce Graham, under the counsel of Fazlur Khan, a structural engineer at the esteemed Chicago firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Khan proposed the shape as an economical way to combine larger office spaces on the lower floors with smaller apartment units on the upper levels. But it wasn’t long before some Chicagoans began to question the “innocent” trapezoidal design as a poor one. Was the building’s form, in fact, the shape of things to come?
A little over three years after the Hancock’s completion, a 29-year-old Chicago woman named Lorraine Kowalski fell to her death from her boyfriend’s 90th-floor Hancock Center apartment. To this day, detectives are dumbfounded by the event; the building’s windows are capable of withstanding more than 200 pounds of pressure per square foot and winds of more than 150 miles per hour, yet Kowalski actually broke through the glass. Four years later, a transmitter technician for a local radio station plunged to his death from the 97th floor offices of his television station. Just three months later, a 27-year old tenant “fell” from his 91st-floor apartment while studying for an exam at breakfast. In 1978, a 31-year old woman shot a man to death in his home on the Hancock’s 65th floor, and in 1998, beloved comedian Chris Farley was found dead in the entrance hall of his 60th-floor apartment. Most recently, in March of 2002, a 25-foot aluminum scaffold fell from the building’s 43rd floor, crushing three cars, killing three women and injuring 8 others. All of these incidents were called “baffling,” “inexplicable” and seemingly unmotivated by detectives and journalists.
Many years before construction on the Hancock began, the area it would occupy was part of the most luxurious residential district in the city--the Gold Coast--, and this neighborhood, still known as Streeterville--was already thought to be a cursed tract of land. Cap Streeter was a ragtag former sea captain who made a living ferrying passengers between Chicago and Milwaukee on a beat up old schooner he owned with his wife. After the vessel literally washed up on the Chicago shore during a storm, Cap decided to settle down in the city for good. He staked claim to the very parcel of land on which he had run ashore: prime lakefront property much in demand by Chicago‘s first families. Cap found the land so lovely that he decided to share the beauty. He set up shop in the old Tremont Hotel, selling tracts of “his“ land to willing buyers. Soon a legion of squatters peppered the lakefront, angering Chicago‘s elite and the city council that served them. But when the city tried repeatedly to run off the trespassers, Cap and company responded with shotguns, batons and all manner of homemade weapons . When Cap ran out of land to sell, he quickly made more by inviting residents and contractors to dump their garbage on his land for free . . . creating one of the most desirable garbage dumps in history, the soon-to-be "Gold Coast" of Chicago.
The battle over “Cap’s” land--which he called Streeterville--raged until the man’s dying hour--and beyond. On his deathbed, Cap cursed “his” land and swore that no one would ever be happy on it again. Then is the “Curse of Cap Streeter” the source of the Hancock’s problem?
Not likely. But it can’t help.
In 1930, a baby boy was born in his family’s posh home in the 800 block of Chicago’s North Michigan Boulevard, the same block as the Hancock would someday occupy. Musically gifted, Anton Szandor LaVey grew to enjoy a colorful career with many facets, playing in nightclubs and even taming lions for a time. On a spring night in the 1960s, LaVey brought some like-minded friends together, ceremoniously shaved his head, and founded what he called the “Church of Satan,” an institution that was part religion, part philosophy, and all based on his own extensive ideas about love, hate, pleasure and will.
When occultists like LaVey saw the plans for the Hancock revealed, they were devastated. The problem? Not necessarily one for the city itself, but for the residents and workers of the Hancock structure.
LaVey wrote many essays during his time as the Satanic Church’s leader, including fascinating analyses of the problems of modern architecture. LaVey knew--as most occultists do--that the trapezoidal shape holds significant power for arcane forces: traditionally, the shape is believed to serve as a doorway or “portal” for occult--or even diabolical--forces. As a young man, LaVey was fascinated with the thought of H.P. Lovecraft, whose horror novels often feature characters grappling with the dangers of “strange angles,” and it was Lovecraft’s work which led LaVey to first pursue his study of modern architecture’s sometimes deadly capabilities.
The Hancock center offers both apartments and offices, and all of the apartments are on the outer edge of the structure, wrapping around the outside as in any other such building. Unfortunately, in the Hancock, every one of these apartments has, due to the trapezoidal structure of the building, an outer wall that is “off-kilter” because it does not rise at 90 degrees. Many--LaVey among them--have believed that these “strange angles” have caused residents of the Hancock to behave in strange and deadly ways, and that the superhuman strength of those who have forced themselves or others through the building’s seemingly impenetrable windows were calling on a ready supply of supernatural energy in the Hancock itself: energy coming through the “portal” of its trapezoidal structure.
Students of popular culture will want to note three intriguing facts about the Hancock. First, the structure’s legend inspired Harold Ramis’s Hollywood dream of a diabolical building: the centerpiece of his film, “Ghostbusters.” Second, the late, little Heather O’Rourke, myth-shrouded star of the “Poltergeist“ films, took a turn for the worst after a final publicity plug . . . held in one of the Hancock’s studios. Third, a number of controversial or distressed personalities have called the Hancock home; among them, talk show host Jerry Springer, Catholic priest and novelist Andrew Greeley, and--as mentioned--comedian Farley, whose time in the building was riddled with drug and alcohol abuse, the eventual cause of his death.
(For more quick looks at the ghosts of Chicago, visit www.chicagohauntings.com. Chicago magazine called us one of "the most important web sites for local history!)
Thursday, July 07, 2011
New Book Now Available for Pre-order!
Exposed, Uncovered, and Declassified: Ghosts, Spirits, & Hauntings
Am I Being Haunted?
By Michael Pye and Kirsten Dalley, with original Essays From Loyd Auerbach, Michelle Belanger, Ursula Bielski, Raymond Buckland, Dr. Bob Curran, John Lerma, Nick Refern, Joshua P. Warren, and Many More
“Behind every man now alive stand 30 ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living.”
—Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey
What are ghosts, spirits, and other apparitions?
Why do they visit, and what do they want from us?
Are OBEs, NDEs, and PDEs real?
"Exposed, Uncovered, and Declassified: Ghosts, Spirits, & Hauntings" tackles these questions and more, as some of the world’s best-known paranormal experts come together in a tour de force of investigative journalism. Ghosts have been an integral part of the folklore of almost every culture; indeed, extant references to them stretch as far back as the ancient civilization of Babylon. And the evidence for their existence is mounting.
Professor of parapsychology Loyd Auerbach tells us what every ghost hunter should know about parapsychology. Noted expert on paranormal research Joshua P. Warren carefully examines some startling photographic evidence of ghosts.
Andrew Nichols, PhD, director of the American Institute of Parapsychology, discusses his theory of haunted houses, which posits hauntings as manifestations of ESP and/or psychological projection. Raymond Buckland (Buckland’s Book of Spirit Communications) looks at ghosts as spirits and gives a take on how to talk to ghosts . . . and get a response.
Folklorist Dr. Bob Curran delves into the connection between poltergeists and human origins, and regales us with three classic cases of poltergeist activity. Journalist Nick Redfern examines cases of ancient animal ghost apparitions.
Noted folklorist Ursula Bielski gives a spooky and detailed account of the “Vanishing Hitchhiker” phenomenon.
Evidence of ghosts is everywhere—if you know what to look for. Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, "Exposed, Uncovered, and Declassified: Ghosts, Spirits, & Hauntings" is sure to entertain and educate.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Hello Again!
After a long absence, our blog is back. I hope to share with you regularly news, events, and musings from the Chicago paranormal world. I hope that you will subscribe to Haunting Chicago--and that you will enjoy what we share here. We begin with one of my favorite topics: the graveyards of Chicago.
I was recently asked some questions that really had me thinking hard. "What cemetery in Chicago hold the most historical significance?" was the first question. A doozie, right? I had to seriously ponder this one, and this is what I came up with:
This is a very difficult question to answer. Each cemetery in Chicago has a unique place in Chicago's history, so it's quite hard to choose. Pressed, I have to pick the burial ground of St. James Church at Sag Bridge. The oldest cemetery in Cook County, it was founded in the 1830s but had a long history as a sacred site even before this. The Native Americans are said to have used the area as a sacred ground along this ancient Indian Road (Archer Avenue). Even today, burial mounds dot the area just over the existing woods. During the time of French exploration of the interior, the land hosted a French signal fort, and this is when the first Catholic church stood on the site. Some of the first burials here were of the vanquished workers on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, one of the most important engineering projects in American history The canal workers were mostly Irish immigrants who built the canal up from their Bridgeport neighborhood, and who perished from starvation, thirst, disease and violence along the ill-funded canal-building route.
"What is the most striking piece of architecture you have encountered at a Chicago cemetery?" was the second question. Here's my long-pondered answer:
Another very difficult question. There are so many incredible monuments and mausoleums. When I was a girl I was astonished by the striking and varied family mausoleums at Graceland Cemetery, near my childhood home: the Getty Tomb, with gates designed by architect Louis Sullivan (also buried at Graceland); the Goodman crypt, whose roof is a terrace which overlooks Lake Willowmere; the towering Pullman monument at the pinnacle of a lakeside embankment; the underground tomb of Ludwig Wolf. Today, however, I continue to be astounded by the community mausoleum at Rosehill Cemetery, which houses tens of thousands of crypts on four levels, in a neoclassical fortress. Along with countless individual crypts, the mausoleum also has scores of "family rooms," the final resting places of some of Chicago's most familiar families, including the John G. Shedds. The Shedd room is the centerpiece of a beautiful skylit chapel in the center of the building. The chapel is completel with chairs decorated with marine-inspired ironwork depicting seahorses and shells: tributes to Shedd, who loved the sea and dedicated his namesake Aquarium to the city he loved. The Shedd room is illuminated by a breathtaking window created by Louis Comfort Tiffany. At dusk, the setting sun shines through, making the room look as if it were underwater. In fact, the comunity mausoleum is home to the largest secular collection of Tiffany glass. Many of the family rooms contain one of a kind commissions of stained glass, depicting gentle streams, flowers, sunsets and other Paradisal images. It's a truly awe-inspiring, moving place.
Lastly, I was asked the following: "Overall, Chicago is home to some exquisite places of rest, and their aesthetic ranges from the creepy to serene. What do you tell people who are frightened of these locations?"
This is something I've been trying to answer for most of my life, as I was one of those "odd children" who enjoyed spending time in cemeteries from my earliest years. Drawing others into an appreciation of cemeteries has not been easy. The stigma has, however, been greatly worn down in recent years . . . for most. But for those truly afraid of death, the old reassurance that "death is a part of life" does not offer much comfort, but it's true. And just as death is a part of life, so cemeteries are a part of our culture, our history and our city. Truth be told, cemeteries have always been constructed as much for the living as the dead: as places of beauty and peace and comfort. I would say to please give one of these places a try, perhaps on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon. Truth be told, cemeteries have always been constructed as much for the living as the dead: as places of beauty and peace and comfort.
(If you are interested in learning more about the cemeteries of Chicago, check out the book I wrote with Matt Hucke: Graveyards of Chicago. Lake Claremont Press, 1999.)
I was recently asked some questions that really had me thinking hard. "What cemetery in Chicago hold the most historical significance?" was the first question. A doozie, right? I had to seriously ponder this one, and this is what I came up with:
This is a very difficult question to answer. Each cemetery in Chicago has a unique place in Chicago's history, so it's quite hard to choose. Pressed, I have to pick the burial ground of St. James Church at Sag Bridge. The oldest cemetery in Cook County, it was founded in the 1830s but had a long history as a sacred site even before this. The Native Americans are said to have used the area as a sacred ground along this ancient Indian Road (Archer Avenue). Even today, burial mounds dot the area just over the existing woods. During the time of French exploration of the interior, the land hosted a French signal fort, and this is when the first Catholic church stood on the site. Some of the first burials here were of the vanquished workers on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, one of the most important engineering projects in American history The canal workers were mostly Irish immigrants who built the canal up from their Bridgeport neighborhood, and who perished from starvation, thirst, disease and violence along the ill-funded canal-building route.
"What is the most striking piece of architecture you have encountered at a Chicago cemetery?" was the second question. Here's my long-pondered answer:
Another very difficult question. There are so many incredible monuments and mausoleums. When I was a girl I was astonished by the striking and varied family mausoleums at Graceland Cemetery, near my childhood home: the Getty Tomb, with gates designed by architect Louis Sullivan (also buried at Graceland); the Goodman crypt, whose roof is a terrace which overlooks Lake Willowmere; the towering Pullman monument at the pinnacle of a lakeside embankment; the underground tomb of Ludwig Wolf. Today, however, I continue to be astounded by the community mausoleum at Rosehill Cemetery, which houses tens of thousands of crypts on four levels, in a neoclassical fortress. Along with countless individual crypts, the mausoleum also has scores of "family rooms," the final resting places of some of Chicago's most familiar families, including the John G. Shedds. The Shedd room is the centerpiece of a beautiful skylit chapel in the center of the building. The chapel is completel with chairs decorated with marine-inspired ironwork depicting seahorses and shells: tributes to Shedd, who loved the sea and dedicated his namesake Aquarium to the city he loved. The Shedd room is illuminated by a breathtaking window created by Louis Comfort Tiffany. At dusk, the setting sun shines through, making the room look as if it were underwater. In fact, the comunity mausoleum is home to the largest secular collection of Tiffany glass. Many of the family rooms contain one of a kind commissions of stained glass, depicting gentle streams, flowers, sunsets and other Paradisal images. It's a truly awe-inspiring, moving place.
Lastly, I was asked the following: "Overall, Chicago is home to some exquisite places of rest, and their aesthetic ranges from the creepy to serene. What do you tell people who are frightened of these locations?"
This is something I've been trying to answer for most of my life, as I was one of those "odd children" who enjoyed spending time in cemeteries from my earliest years. Drawing others into an appreciation of cemeteries has not been easy. The stigma has, however, been greatly worn down in recent years . . . for most. But for those truly afraid of death, the old reassurance that "death is a part of life" does not offer much comfort, but it's true. And just as death is a part of life, so cemeteries are a part of our culture, our history and our city. Truth be told, cemeteries have always been constructed as much for the living as the dead: as places of beauty and peace and comfort. I would say to please give one of these places a try, perhaps on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon. Truth be told, cemeteries have always been constructed as much for the living as the dead: as places of beauty and peace and comfort.
(If you are interested in learning more about the cemeteries of Chicago, check out the book I wrote with Matt Hucke: Graveyards of Chicago. Lake Claremont Press, 1999.)
Monday, October 05, 2009
Tales from the Chicago Ghost Conference
On behalf of co-host Mike McDowell and conference organizer Wanda Spudic, I want to thank, this Monday morning, all of the wonderful friends--old and new--who joined us this weekend for the second Chicago Ghost Conference at the Portage Theater. Dennis Wolciewicz's beautiful venue was the perfect spot for this event, and so many people commented on this, as well as on how untiring and friendly the entire staff was. Indeed, all in the Portage family seemed completely at our service the entire time, whether we needed more chairs, a special cord for a radio broadcast, or more popcorn and beer!
I think all were impressed by the turnout; we were pleased to welcome nearly three hundred attendees over the two-day conference, along with nearly a dozen speakers from around the country, all of whom did an incredible job in presenting their range of perspectives on the world of the paranormal.
I want to especially thank my dear friend, Jeff Belanger, for being with us this weekend. It has been an honor and a priviledge to know him these past years, and we were delighted to have him speaking for our own event. Of course, I cannot thank enough Lorraine Warren, who traveled such a distance to spend some time with us, and who was so gracious and friendly to all. I would also like to thank Dave Schrader of Darkness Radio for helping us out in so many ways before and during the conference. When we needed to replace a speaker or two, he stepped right in to help us find a replacement right away, including securing an appearance by Chicago Paranormal Detectives, from the upcoming A&E show, "Paranormal Cops."
Scott Jackson, once again, was a pleasure to have with us. His generous "sneak preview" of his acclaimed Halloween Art Exhibit impressed all of us, and his conference poster/t-shirt design stunned us all. What a warm, positive person--and a dear friend to our conference.
A special thanks to the ghost hunting groups who set up temporary headquarters with us this weekend. This awesome "encampment" included some of the most devoted groups around, including P.R.I.S.M., Chicago Paranormal Investigators and the Indiana Ghost Trackers, and we were so pleased that Ghostly Talk was willing to make the grueling trip to record our speakers and attendees for the archives of their hugely popular radio broadcast.
Thank you to our tour guides for beautifully executing a difficult tour on Friday: one hundred and forty people boarding three buses in the rain at 8:30pm! I heard so many compliments on the tour, making the effort more than worthwhile. And thank you, Wendy Weaver, the pilot of the famous Ghost Bus, for safely shuttling our precious speakers and friends between the hotel and the theater, whenever necessary, and for filling in as a helper whenever she was needed--and even letting me cry on her shoulder when something went wrong!
Thanks to all of you who attended and promoted this event for so many months. I said before and will say again: We plan every speaker, the careful timing of their talks, where each vendor will set up, when to begin and end, what hotel to choose, when to have the lunch break. What we don't plan is how it feels. Every conference has a different level of "conferring," as it were, among the attendees. I think everyone was blown away by the fervent and easy exchange of ideas and theories, methods and directions this weekend. As Lorraine Warren herself exclaimed: "What a wonderful group of people!" I fully agree.
Thank you, all.
Wanda would like to add . . .
I would really like to thank Leslie Adkins from the Post Tribune for her advertising efforts not only with her paper but also many of the Chicago papers, along with my very good friend, Troy Wilkey, for the creation and upkeep of the conference 'my space' page! Once again, I'd like to thank my wonderful husband Mike for giving up so much of his time to help out and listen to me ramble about plans and details every day for almost 10 months! I'd also like to thank my business partner and very good friends, Danielle Garrison, and her husband Ron, who changed their plans at the last minute and came out to help us! We could not have pulled this off without their behind the scenes help!(Ron even helped Dave work to repair the ghost bus and got a cab for Ursula's mom and her kids in the rain on Friday night!) I have to reiterate Ursula's remarks about Jeff Belanger and Dave Schrader...they will be invited to every conference we do from here on out; they did so much for us, again, behind the scenes that no one knows about! Last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank my very close friends, Phil Holman, Tammy Weaver, and JC Rositas for all of their help dj'ing, running the sound, decorating, and for all of their emotional support!
Until next year....
Warm Regards,
Wanda
I think all were impressed by the turnout; we were pleased to welcome nearly three hundred attendees over the two-day conference, along with nearly a dozen speakers from around the country, all of whom did an incredible job in presenting their range of perspectives on the world of the paranormal.
I want to especially thank my dear friend, Jeff Belanger, for being with us this weekend. It has been an honor and a priviledge to know him these past years, and we were delighted to have him speaking for our own event. Of course, I cannot thank enough Lorraine Warren, who traveled such a distance to spend some time with us, and who was so gracious and friendly to all. I would also like to thank Dave Schrader of Darkness Radio for helping us out in so many ways before and during the conference. When we needed to replace a speaker or two, he stepped right in to help us find a replacement right away, including securing an appearance by Chicago Paranormal Detectives, from the upcoming A&E show, "Paranormal Cops."
Scott Jackson, once again, was a pleasure to have with us. His generous "sneak preview" of his acclaimed Halloween Art Exhibit impressed all of us, and his conference poster/t-shirt design stunned us all. What a warm, positive person--and a dear friend to our conference.
A special thanks to the ghost hunting groups who set up temporary headquarters with us this weekend. This awesome "encampment" included some of the most devoted groups around, including P.R.I.S.M., Chicago Paranormal Investigators and the Indiana Ghost Trackers, and we were so pleased that Ghostly Talk was willing to make the grueling trip to record our speakers and attendees for the archives of their hugely popular radio broadcast.
Thank you to our tour guides for beautifully executing a difficult tour on Friday: one hundred and forty people boarding three buses in the rain at 8:30pm! I heard so many compliments on the tour, making the effort more than worthwhile. And thank you, Wendy Weaver, the pilot of the famous Ghost Bus, for safely shuttling our precious speakers and friends between the hotel and the theater, whenever necessary, and for filling in as a helper whenever she was needed--and even letting me cry on her shoulder when something went wrong!
Thanks to all of you who attended and promoted this event for so many months. I said before and will say again: We plan every speaker, the careful timing of their talks, where each vendor will set up, when to begin and end, what hotel to choose, when to have the lunch break. What we don't plan is how it feels. Every conference has a different level of "conferring," as it were, among the attendees. I think everyone was blown away by the fervent and easy exchange of ideas and theories, methods and directions this weekend. As Lorraine Warren herself exclaimed: "What a wonderful group of people!" I fully agree.
Thank you, all.
Wanda would like to add . . .
I would really like to thank Leslie Adkins from the Post Tribune for her advertising efforts not only with her paper but also many of the Chicago papers, along with my very good friend, Troy Wilkey, for the creation and upkeep of the conference 'my space' page! Once again, I'd like to thank my wonderful husband Mike for giving up so much of his time to help out and listen to me ramble about plans and details every day for almost 10 months! I'd also like to thank my business partner and very good friends, Danielle Garrison, and her husband Ron, who changed their plans at the last minute and came out to help us! We could not have pulled this off without their behind the scenes help!(Ron even helped Dave work to repair the ghost bus and got a cab for Ursula's mom and her kids in the rain on Friday night!) I have to reiterate Ursula's remarks about Jeff Belanger and Dave Schrader...they will be invited to every conference we do from here on out; they did so much for us, again, behind the scenes that no one knows about! Last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank my very close friends, Phil Holman, Tammy Weaver, and JC Rositas for all of their help dj'ing, running the sound, decorating, and for all of their emotional support!
Until next year....
Warm Regards,
Wanda
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Online
Most of my life has changed since I met Mark Macy on October 27th at the first Chicago Ghost Conference. Since then, I've read Mark's books to the dog-eared stage and begun my own program of ITC research. ITC is the umbrella under which thrives every kind of electronically-assisted communication with the spirit world, including EVP, the darling of 21st-century ghost hunters around the world. But ITC isnt' really about going into haunted places to communicate with the troubled souls there. It's about connecting to the brightest minds of the next world to work on healing troubled souls before they pass over. It's a difference that has, again, changed my life these past few weeks.
Here's my setup:
-two radios, each turned to foreign-language broadcasts
-a white noise machine
-my television set, "tuned" to a static-y channel, with VCR tape running
-an old school audio recorder, with headphones.
To begin, I say an Our Father and then welcome any spririts who want human beings to move closer to God and each other.
I record for ten minutes each day, at eleven o'clock in the morning.
Anyone who knows me will be shocked by this new program of mine. I am, or should I say was terrifed of spirits in the past. When colleagues spoke of collecting EVP in their homes, such practices chilled me to the core. Now, I find only peace and hope in this pursuit.
Mark Macy assures me that it may take months to receive my first "voices." No problem, I think, I've been crouching in the dark corners of so-called haunted houses for twenty years with the tiniest rewards to keep me on the path: a whisper here, a swinging door there.
Contact--real, repeated contact--with the next world, offering hope to change our own world: I can wait a long time for that.
For more information about the quietly growing field of ITC, visit Mark and friends at www.worlditc.com
Here's my setup:
-two radios, each turned to foreign-language broadcasts
-a white noise machine
-my television set, "tuned" to a static-y channel, with VCR tape running
-an old school audio recorder, with headphones.
To begin, I say an Our Father and then welcome any spririts who want human beings to move closer to God and each other.
I record for ten minutes each day, at eleven o'clock in the morning.
Anyone who knows me will be shocked by this new program of mine. I am, or should I say was terrifed of spirits in the past. When colleagues spoke of collecting EVP in their homes, such practices chilled me to the core. Now, I find only peace and hope in this pursuit.
Mark Macy assures me that it may take months to receive my first "voices." No problem, I think, I've been crouching in the dark corners of so-called haunted houses for twenty years with the tiniest rewards to keep me on the path: a whisper here, a swinging door there.
Contact--real, repeated contact--with the next world, offering hope to change our own world: I can wait a long time for that.
For more information about the quietly growing field of ITC, visit Mark and friends at www.worlditc.com
Monday, October 29, 2007
Haunted Monday
The First Annual Chicago Ghost Conference is, unbelieveably, now just a memory. But what a memory . . .
I had a lot of ideas in my head this past year about what this past weekend would be look like and sound like, but I didn't think for one moment what it would feel like. So when that feeling came, it was a startling, wonder-ful thing. So many beautiful things happened this weekend, but here are some of the things I'm thinking about:
. . . being together all weekend with Mike McDowell and the Indiana Ghost Trackers, some of the nicest people I've ever met. . . meeting my dear friend Brian Leffler for the first time in person, and becoming friends with the other members of NMPI . . . seeing Anney again from P.R.I.S.M. and meeting the lovely and accomplished members of her team . . . being totally disarmed by down-to-earth icon Sally Rhine Feather (and her charming husband, Bill); meeting for the first time dedicated Pete Crapia of the increasingly successful Bachelors Grove Restoration Project . . . watching the Halloween Art Exhibit gallery actually come to fruition, and making future plans with wonderful organizer and artist Scott Jackson . . . seeing terrific author and friend John Kachuba again and finally meeting his wife, Mary . . . having our own Elizabeth Rintoul at the podium, dazzling a whole new audience with her charming personality . . . giving Greg Myers a big hug in person after way too many emails . . . watching the reaction of the audience to the intriguing photographs of Nate Larson . . . having the great folks from Ghostly Talk set up and recording in my own beloved city . . . seeing my pal Ed Shanahan as busy as could be with a steady stream of successful readings . . . hanging out all day with my lifelong friend, Sharon Woodhouse of Lake Claremont Press . . . seeing our attendees intrigued by the Twilight Tales booth, making plans to attend future readings . . . being mesmerized by the peaceful and intriguing ways of Mark Macy, and hearing his legendary ITC evidence playing in our own conference room . . . having the great people of Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group (SWPRG) exhibiting their incredible research and evidence . . . seeing Mike Esposito again and hearing his fascinating recordings . . . watching even the hotel security and housekeeping staffs drifting in and out through the day, intrigued by what we were up to.
When I think about this weekend, I think about all these images and many more, but most of all I think about the miracles that happened in the course of it all: Mike McDowell, who said "yes" to co-hosting with us: Without the Indiana Ghost Trackers, the conference wouldn't have happened; the College of DuPage chaper of the PCMA, who fell from Heaven and offered endless assistance to us when all seemed overwhelming, and who were with us, smiling and supportive, from the first to the last minute; Scott Jackson, whose Halloween Art Exhibit--and kind, generous way--brought a marvelous dimension to our event; Ghostly Talk, who patiently and perfectly recorded every minute of the conference for our friends around the world, as they tirelessly do a dozen times a year at conferences around the nation; Scott Markus, who worked around the clock in record time to produce--with Mary Czerwinski--the rich film clips for the conference spotlight and the evening screening session(and who valiantly assumed the undesirable post of man-in-charge of our hair-raising A-V situation!); artist Mary Gutfleisch, whose breathtaking conference poster and program appeared like magic from her talented brush--and the goodness of her heart.
I think about our after-hours events and our longtime Chicago friends who thought the conference idea was "so cool" and who supported us with their talents, spaces, and friendship: Neil Tobin and the Excalibur nightclub, Denny our seeminly tireless Chicago Hauntings driver, the good folks at Chet's Melody Lounge (who always make us feel like we're coming home for Christmas, and who extended that hospitality to all our new friends, and Lawrence at the National Pastime Theater, for letting us meet his own ghosts (even when our bus was really, really late!).
Mostly, I think constantly and with wonder about all the attendees and exhibitors and speakers who put their lives on hold for three days to be together in Chicago with us. I wasn't expecting the feeling that came from that; I don't think anyone was. And I think the Congress Hotel--whose ghosts were felt and seen by many attendees-- woke up today just a little more haunted, too . . . by the memory of that feeling. I know I am. I know I always will be.
Thank you, everyone. See you next year!
I had a lot of ideas in my head this past year about what this past weekend would be look like and sound like, but I didn't think for one moment what it would feel like. So when that feeling came, it was a startling, wonder-ful thing. So many beautiful things happened this weekend, but here are some of the things I'm thinking about:
. . . being together all weekend with Mike McDowell and the Indiana Ghost Trackers, some of the nicest people I've ever met. . . meeting my dear friend Brian Leffler for the first time in person, and becoming friends with the other members of NMPI . . . seeing Anney again from P.R.I.S.M. and meeting the lovely and accomplished members of her team . . . being totally disarmed by down-to-earth icon Sally Rhine Feather (and her charming husband, Bill); meeting for the first time dedicated Pete Crapia of the increasingly successful Bachelors Grove Restoration Project . . . watching the Halloween Art Exhibit gallery actually come to fruition, and making future plans with wonderful organizer and artist Scott Jackson . . . seeing terrific author and friend John Kachuba again and finally meeting his wife, Mary . . . having our own Elizabeth Rintoul at the podium, dazzling a whole new audience with her charming personality . . . giving Greg Myers a big hug in person after way too many emails . . . watching the reaction of the audience to the intriguing photographs of Nate Larson . . . having the great folks from Ghostly Talk set up and recording in my own beloved city . . . seeing my pal Ed Shanahan as busy as could be with a steady stream of successful readings . . . hanging out all day with my lifelong friend, Sharon Woodhouse of Lake Claremont Press . . . seeing our attendees intrigued by the Twilight Tales booth, making plans to attend future readings . . . being mesmerized by the peaceful and intriguing ways of Mark Macy, and hearing his legendary ITC evidence playing in our own conference room . . . having the great people of Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group (SWPRG) exhibiting their incredible research and evidence . . . seeing Mike Esposito again and hearing his fascinating recordings . . . watching even the hotel security and housekeeping staffs drifting in and out through the day, intrigued by what we were up to.
When I think about this weekend, I think about all these images and many more, but most of all I think about the miracles that happened in the course of it all: Mike McDowell, who said "yes" to co-hosting with us: Without the Indiana Ghost Trackers, the conference wouldn't have happened; the College of DuPage chaper of the PCMA, who fell from Heaven and offered endless assistance to us when all seemed overwhelming, and who were with us, smiling and supportive, from the first to the last minute; Scott Jackson, whose Halloween Art Exhibit--and kind, generous way--brought a marvelous dimension to our event; Ghostly Talk, who patiently and perfectly recorded every minute of the conference for our friends around the world, as they tirelessly do a dozen times a year at conferences around the nation; Scott Markus, who worked around the clock in record time to produce--with Mary Czerwinski--the rich film clips for the conference spotlight and the evening screening session(and who valiantly assumed the undesirable post of man-in-charge of our hair-raising A-V situation!); artist Mary Gutfleisch, whose breathtaking conference poster and program appeared like magic from her talented brush--and the goodness of her heart.
I think about our after-hours events and our longtime Chicago friends who thought the conference idea was "so cool" and who supported us with their talents, spaces, and friendship: Neil Tobin and the Excalibur nightclub, Denny our seeminly tireless Chicago Hauntings driver, the good folks at Chet's Melody Lounge (who always make us feel like we're coming home for Christmas, and who extended that hospitality to all our new friends, and Lawrence at the National Pastime Theater, for letting us meet his own ghosts (even when our bus was really, really late!).
Mostly, I think constantly and with wonder about all the attendees and exhibitors and speakers who put their lives on hold for three days to be together in Chicago with us. I wasn't expecting the feeling that came from that; I don't think anyone was. And I think the Congress Hotel--whose ghosts were felt and seen by many attendees-- woke up today just a little more haunted, too . . . by the memory of that feeling. I know I am. I know I always will be.
Thank you, everyone. See you next year!
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