Cup Winner

I've won another cup.

O.k. it's a coffee mug really. This is me looking smug with my mug.

Those nice people at Words with Jam have sent me this prize for being one of the winners in their October Comp Corner.

Other news:

I found out last week that my latest story for Take a Break was not wanted for Fiction Feast. It had already been published in their Autumn Special. A quick dash down to the Co-op and I got myself a copy. I was shocked to find that the photo they have used looks a lot like me. Creepy.

Also last week I managed to track down a copy of The Weekly News from last November which had one of my stories in it. First time I'd seen it.

Waiting to receive the manuscripts for another competition I've got to judge. A ghost story set in or around Nottingham. Looking forward to some scary reads.

No. 14 Laperal

It has been urban legend or just plain curiosity that make the locals and tourists alike flock to # 14 Laperal, or famously know as the "White House" in Baguio City.

Many TV shows and films have capitalized on its notoriety as being haunted.

But what really boggles the mind is the mystery surrounding the history of the house. Many stories have come up about the fate of the Laperal family. No one really knows what happened inside the white structure. Even the relatives of the original owners are mum about it.

The paints are fading. But the popularity of the house just keeps on growing because of the interests of the people in the paranormal.

Who are the ghosts that haunt the Laperal White House? Do they have stories to tell?

I-Witness dared to find out when Jay Taruc and a group of psychics locked themselves inside the house to just feel their "presence."

What the cameras captured were extraordinary sounds and images that will stir the senses.

The Video

Click Here to watch this video in youtube.com

I watched this documentary of Jay Taruc in the middle of the night alone in my room ... This scared me very much, especially of that part where a ghost talked in the CCTV Camera saying, Nandito kame ... (We're hear ...) Till now, I can't forget that ...

Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty9_VjYy7Ek

Ghost

Halloween is very near! So first question, Have you ever ask someone how to see and hear ghost? Well, actually its my first time to ask myself (not anyone) how to see and hear them. I asked first myself if I'll be interested with it, and it seemed I am. Its a very big question mark to me. I often hear tips in TV, but it seemed almost all of them are not effective. I admit I haven't tried to do one yet. I'm scared? Not sure of it. But to see a bloody, ugly and nasty-looking ghost, of course I will be freaked out.

Have you ever tried to play an Ouija board with your friends? Spirit of the glass... and Spirit of the coin... Me, no... And I'm not interested. There are rumors that whenever you play with it and you didn't finish the game, the ghost will always follow you, will often appear abruptly beside, over and under you, and vanish in a blink of an eye. Playing Ouija Board is one way of how to see and hear them, but this may become dangerous especially, like what I had said, if you didn't finish it, by saying farewell to the ghost you called.

How about trying to talk to the mirror in the middle of the night handling only a candle? Just like the Bloody Mary thing. Some versions I read is instead of seeing you future partner, you'll see a true ghost playing on you. They will pretend to be your future partner. And some version is worst, the person you'll see is the devil itself.

What is a ghost?

[en.wikipedia.org:] Definition

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance.

The belief in manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to appease the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary essences that haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life, though stories of phantom armies, ghost trains, phantom ships, and even ghost animals have also been recounted.

Can I see Ghost?

[www.legendsofamerica.com:] Questions

I found a questions testing you if you Can see ghost:

1. Have you ever known the phone was going to ring before it rang?
Yes___ No___

2. Have you ever felt a sudden chill in a room, when there was no apparent reason?
Yes___ No___

3. Have you ever seen anything that could not be explained by science and logic?
Yes___ No___

4. Have you ever felt you were being watched when you were alone?
Yes___ No___

5. Have you ever had a vision or a dream that came true?
Yes___ No___

6. Have you ever had a successful session with a Ouija Board?
Yes___ No___

7. Do you have an open mind about the supernatural?
Yes___ No___

8. Would you refuse to spend the night in a "haunted” house?
Yes___ No___

9. Do you meditate?
Yes___ No___

10. Have you retained the childlike ability, simply to "accept” new experiences without distorting preconceptions?
Yes___ No___

11. Are you more likely to make decisions using your "gut feeling” than your "thinking logic?”
Yes___ No___

12. Have you ever been told that psychic ability runs in your family?
Yes___ No___

13. Do you wear black 90% (or more) of the time?
Yes___ No___


Click here to see your score.

How to hear Ghost?

[paranormal.about.com:]

For decades, paranormal researchers have been recording enigmatic voices on audiotape. Called electronic voice phenomena - or EVP - these strange-sounding voices have been captured using ordinary tape recorders and cassette tapes. Often these researchers venture out into cemeteries or allegedly haunted houses. Sometimes the voices seem to respond to questions asked by the researchers, but often they are unprompted. In every case, however, the voices are not heard at the time they are recorded. Oddly, it is not until later when the researchers play the tape back - often with amplification or filtering - that the voices can be distinguished.

Are they ghosts? Voices from another dimension? Something else? What they are exactly is a matter of debate, but there's little denying that they are there - and completely unexplained.

How to see Ghost?

[paranormal.about.com:]

Hearing what might be a ghost's voice isn't good enough for you? You actually want to see one? The Internet just might make that possible. Many webcams have been set up in "haunted" locations around the world where ghosts have previously been seen. All you have to do is open the web page and watch.

What is the Scientific Explanation of Ghost encounters?

[zidbits.com:] Scientific Explanation

Infrasound is an extremely low frequency between between .1 -20Hz. It is so low, that humans cannot hear it. But we can feel it. A good portion of the population is also thought to be hypersensitive to these low frequencies. Infrasound can cause bizarre effects, including nausea, extreme fear or awe, anxiety and chills. Researchers also believe it affects vision by causing vibrations of the eyeball. These vibrations can cause you to ‘see’ ghosts.

Infrasound can be produced by many different phenomena, like storms, strong seasonal winds, weather patterns and some types of earthquakes. Animals such as elephants also use infrasound to communicate over long distances or as defense against threats.

In April 1998, the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research published a paper called ‘The Ghost in the Machine’ by Coventry University lecturer Vic Tandy. It described Tandy’s experiences with infrasound while working in a medical lab.

His coworkers complained of spooky feelings and chills in his lab. A cleaning lady resigned after “seeing something.” Working alone in the lab one night, Tandy suddenly had the feeling he was being watched. He claimed shadowy figure appeared at the edge of his vision. When Tandy turned to face it, the figure vanished.

The next day, Tandy brought a fencing foil to the lab for repairs. When he clamped one end of the blade in a vise, it started vibrating wildly. Curious, Tandy began moving the blade around the room. It vibrated strongly in the center of his lab, but completely stopped at the edges of the room.

Tandy discovered a 19Hz standing wave in his laboratory. The walls of the lab had caused the sound wave to double back on itself, producing an area of maximum energy in the center of the room- enough energy to vibrate his sword.

The source of this wave was a newly installed fan at one end of the lab. When it was turned off, the wave, and all phenomena associated with it, disappeared.

It seems there will be no need to call the ghostbusters.

I enumerated here few of the questions innocent individual often ask about ghost, and the answers I found in internet.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost/
http://zidbits.com/2010/11/a-scientific-explanation-for-ghosts/
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/gh-seeghosts.html

American Horror Story and Waverly Hills Sanitorium

American Horror Story is one of my favorite television shows.  This is probably no surprise.  I have been waiting all year for the new season and it hasn't disappointed.  This year;s American Horror Story moves out of the haunted house and into the haunted asylum.  Haunted Asylums are my absolute favorite.  My own horror novel, Circe, is set in the haunted Searcy State Hospital in Southern Alabama.  As a psychologist, the hauntings that happen in such places of healing are particularly tragic and terrifying to me.

Interestingly, the asylum in American Horror Story reminds me of one of the best known haunted locations in this nation.  It bares a striking resemblance to Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Of course, Waverly Hills was never an asylum.  However, the hospital in American Horror story was once a tuberculosis hospital.   According to the first episode,  the asylum used to be a tuberculosis hospital where over  40,000 people died.  When it was a tuberculosis hospital, there was a tunnel beneath the hospital where the bodied were pulled out of the hospital for disposal.  They call it the death shoot. Waverly Hills also had a long tunnel beneath it.   In this tunnel, motorized carts were used to pull the bodies from the hospital to be disposed of outside of the hospital.  According to some rumors, as many as 100,000 people died in Waverly Hills.    Waverly Hills was opened in 1910 and is located outside of Louisville, Kentucky.  It has become a popular paranormal location and is considered by some to be the most haunted place in The United States.  I have to wonder if  the inspiration for this season's American Horror Story wasn't drawn from this amazing real life haunted location. 

Legal job prospects really aren't looking so good

....which is why I made a chart about it, rather than crying some more while on the phone with a fellow unemployed friend sitting here moping about it.

As you can see, I'm on anger, although it swings wildly between rage and depression. I got rejected twice in the past 24 hours for two jobs I really wanted.

(Bastards.)

Comfort Foods....A Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipe

I follow Centsational Girl's blog because I envy her craftiness and know I will never be capable of doing anything she is able to achieve with a can of paint and some old furniture. Today, however, she featured a link-up for favorite comfort food recipes, which is something I can TOTALLY do. I do NOT have any pictures, but the recipe I do have is one that will make your taste buds want to praise the little baby Lord Jesus, and is something I've been working on perfecting for a couple of years. Introducing:

Makes approximately 4-6 HEARTY servings. 

Prep:

Cube 2 chicken breasts

Slice your carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and any additional veggies you want to add to the mix. (Some people may just want to throw in Veg-All to save themselves some time. Phooey to this, I say....but really, you can.)

Cooking instructions:

In a soup pot, slowly melt 6 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Add ½ cup of flour, and stir continually for 1.5 minutes still over low heat. Add in 1 box of chicken broth, and half a can of cream of chicken* and stir vigorously over medium heat. (*I throw in the COC because it makes it super thick, which I like; but it’s totally not necessary*) Allow to simmer for about three minutes, until suitably thickened. Lower heat and add ¼ cup of milk. Stir and continue to let it simmer. (You don’t ever want to do this over high heat, since it will curdle. Add seasonings to taste—I recommend ½ teaspoon of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder (and a pinch of Tony Chacheres, but that’s a Louisiana thing).

Now, add your cubed chicken, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and any other veggies (a frozen bag of Veg-All works in a pinch too, although I’d suggest defrosting it first) to this mixture. Bring to medium heat, and keep at this temperature for about five minutes, or until you’re reasonably sure the chicken is cooked. Turn the heat to low, cover it, and allow it to simmer about 20 minutes, or until your veggies are soft.

For the crust:

I recommend either Pillsbury pie crust mixture or Jiffy pie mix (highly recommend Jiffy, but it’s not always easy to find). Make the whole box, because the crust is the best part. Roll it out on a cookie sheet, slice it into 2x2 pieces with a pizza cutter, and broil (making sure to watch them closely!) until they are brown on top. These are added to your soup when you feel like eating it…and it never gets soggy that way.

Additional:

You may want to pre-heat your chicken broth and cream of chicken so it goes into the mixture of butter/flour better. (I’m lazy and usually don’t.)

Watch your flour/butter combination closely—it will burn if you do not continually stir it.

Do not ever boil your mixture, because it can curdle due to the milk content.

Five Historic Halloween Traditions to Bring Back

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while might remember this post. As I hang spiders and mummies for this year's Halloween party, I thought it might be nice to reuse my favorite Halloween post from last year. Halloween is my favorite Holiday. It has a very long history that is often forgotten. Although Halloween's roots can be traced back to pagan practices, it's name came from Christians. Halloween was the time of year when the ancient Celts believed that the veil between this world and the "otherworld" became thin allowing for spirits to have more access to our world. This was, naturally, quite terrifying to the Celts. In order to protect themselves from the spirits, people built enormous bonfires and cast bones into them to scare the spirits away. They also dressed up as terrifying spirits to confuse wicked spirits into believing they were spirits themselves. The Celts called Halloween Samhain. It was the Catholics that came up with the name Halloween. The early Christians were masters at taking local pagan holidays and integrating into their own Christian days. Even Christmas was stolen from Saturnalia. Catholics took Samhain and made it All Saints day, a day to celebrate the spirits of all the deceased saint. All Hallow's Eve was the night before All Saints day. The term All Hallow's Eve was eventually shortened to Halloween.

Through Halloween's long history there have been many traditions that have been simply left behind. This saddens me. So here are some I think we should bring back.

1.Colcannon: This is an Irish dish made with cabbage, kale, and potatoes. Small coins and prizes are usually hidden in this dish making it a little treasure hunt. I admit, this dish sounds repugnant, however, if altered slightly to regular potatoes the treasure hunt in dinner form is great fun for kids and adults. Just don't swallow the pennies.

2. Barmbrack: This is another food tradition. It is a tradition Irish fruitcake baked into a ring. Items are placed within the cake that for tell the future. For example, if you find the wedding ring, you'll be married soon. Finding coins predicts great wealth.

3. Tricking: Back in the old days the trick in trick or treating had meaning. People would hit the streets causing mayhem and playing tricks on people in their costumes and the only way to avoid the "tricking" was to give out treats. What happened to the tricks? Not saying you should set your neighbor's lawn on fire or anything, but if stingy old Ms. Brown isn't giving out candy this year, some fake poo on her porch might be perfect.

4. Bonfires: Why not scare bad spirits away with fires? Fires are fun. I'm building a fire in my fire pit this Halloween.

5. Fortune Telling: There are many types of fortune telling done on Halloween night, but one's fortune was always believe to be most easily predicted on Halloween. Whether you were reading tea leaves, apple peals, or gazing into mirrors to see your future, a prediction made on Halloween was always accurate.