Ghosts of Aunt Belle's February Visit

I promised a more light-hearted blog this week, and Aunt Belle's visit gave me the opportunity to keep that pledge, since my paranormal residents also enjoy her visits. They seem to know whenever she's scheduled to show up. It's too important to forget, so I don't always write it on my calendar. I assume they listen in on our phone conversations to get their information. There are often strange noises during our long-distance chats, sounds we never hear when talking to anyone else. At least two or three times in each conversation, one of us will say, "Did you hear that?" Yep, we both did.

Therefore, no matter how quiet it has been, a few days before she arrives, things start to liven up paranormal-wise here at the house. The first thing this week was when I walked into the Molly-Belle Suite bathroom to check things out and make sure it had towels and everything else Aunt Belle needed for her stay. We named the guest bedroom and bath the Molly-Belle Suite, and no other room in my home has a name. We christened this one in honor of Aunt Belle and Miss Molly, my cat who appears in the Dead Man Mysteries. We both adore the cat and the mysteries.

Just inside the bathroom door, I halted. I'd been hearing a noise but couldn't track it down. I'd found it. The commode had just finished filling up and as I stood there, it shut off! No one had flushed it … no one living. I put my hands on my hips and had a talk with Teddy, the bathroom ghost.

"They just raised our water rates, Teddy. So keep your darn hands off the commode."

He didn't. The next day, I went in and the commode was running as though trying to fill up again. I called hub in. He lifted the lid and found that little chain thingie caught beneath that little rubber thingie. Well, someone had to flush it to make that happen. I had another talk with Teddy, this time with threats, and it hasn't happened again … so far.

Aunt Belle arrived, and we went to a birthday party for one of her grandkids. Then we came home to homemade soup and put in a dvd. Hub joined us, and we also "invited" our new toy, a Raggedy Ann trigger object I'd ordered from the Ghost Hunter Store. The doll has an embedded KII meter, and if paranormal energy gets close enough, the hands and/or face will light up.

Raggedy Ann sat quietly, never blipping all during the movie. After it was over, hub headed off to bed. I was sitting on the couch, our Dobie, Bonnie, curled up beside me. The darn couch started vibrating, just like Bonnie was itching a flea.

"Quit it, Bonnie," I said. "Lie still."

Aunt Belle glanced over at the dog. "She's not moving."

"Huh? Well, the darn couch is!" I got up, sat back down. It kept vibrating. Aunt Belle started laughing at me.

"You think it's so funny, you come over here and sit," I demanded.

She did, and after a few seconds, shook her head. "You're imagining things. It's not—" Her eyes got wide. "Yes, it's moving! It feels like something's trapped under it, trying to get out."

I turned to check behind the couch, and a dark gray shadow raced off toward my office door. It was about a foot or so tall and looked like a big fat house cat, but you could see through it. I gasped and told Aunt Belle about it. But the couch was still vibrating!

We checked and couldn’t find anything under that couch. Bonnie stayed curled up, not moving. I went to get hub, and he sat down.

"Nothing," he said. "I don't feel a thing." He wandered off back to bed.

I sat. The couch vibrated!

"Put Raggedy Ann over there," Aunt Belle said.

I propped the doll against the couch arm, and we watched her closely while I sat there on the vibrating couch. Every once in a while, the light in her chest would brighten, but just for a split second. Finally, she grew quiet, and so did the couch.

Aunt Belle and I gazed at each other with a laugh and that look we share: Another one of those things that happen to us when we're together.

We had a trip planned the next night to try out Raggedy Ann some more. That night turned out to be cold! Still, we were determined to go. We dressed warm to take "Annie" out to Dry Creek Cemetery, only Aunt Belle, me, and hub to drive us. We got a late start, and it was well after dark when we arrived. We had to use our flashlights in order not to stumble over low-lying stones, since the moon was just beginning to wane and there were clouds. We took a blanket to set the doll on, and laid the flashlight I use to communicate with ghosts and spirits beside her. Hub set up the video camera on the tripod. It was turned to night vision, so we could film Annie and the flashlight without any problem.

The flashlight lit up periodically as we chatted with some of the regulars at this cemetery: Billy the Cowboy, Mr. Jim, Walter, Isabella, and someone new, Esther. But that doll just sat there, the only light showing the one in her chest, which indicated she was turned on. We begged and pleaded with those gathered around to light her up, but they would not. Even when Rebecca, the little girl out there, came by from the spirit world, she wouldn't move close enough to Annie to light even one hand. After about half an hour in that cold, we finally gave up, took the camera down and picked up the doll and flashlight. Just as we started back across the cemetery, a car pulled in behind ours.

Outside the gate, we met five very nice young teenage guys who were extremely polite and interested in our ghost hunting. When they found out our names, one said, "Don't you have a video on YouTube about this cemetery?"

"Yes, we do," I replied.

"We've watched it," he said. "It's cool."

And suddenly, Raggedy Ann decided to flirt! Her lights lit up and lit up and lit up. The guys were fascinated with her.

"Well," Aunt Belle said. "Annie didn't want to cooperate with us old fogeys, but she sure likes you kids!"

We set the camera back up and filmed a bit of this, and it's some of the most fun stuff we've gotten. Hopefully, I can get a couple of my SRT members to edit it so we can post it different places.

We chatted for a while with these nice kids. All except one had been to this cemetery a few times previously, and their attitudes indicated a respect for the paranormal. We told them a few things they didn't know, and Aunt Belle took them out to show them where the portal is. I wandered off with Raggedy Ann by myself, over beneath Billy's tree, but the doll wouldn't light up at all. So I walked toward the group around Aunt Belle.

When I got there, I frowned and looked down at Raggedy Ann. "Someone turned her off!" I said. "She was on when I walked out from under that tree."

"I know," one of the guys said. "I was watching you walk over here. She was on, then her light went off."

"Huh," I said. "I sure didn't turn her off."

I flipped her switch back on, and around the guys again, she glowed and glowed and glowed. Flirty doll. J

The teenagers shared our White Light ceremony and left just ahead of us. Then we had to deal with another one of "those incidents." We'd forgotten to take Billy a cigarette, and though we apologized and promised him two the next trip, maybe he was a bit disgruntled. Even though we'd done the White Light, we had a problem.

"The kids forgot to shut the gate," hub said. "Can you get out and close it?"

"Sure," I said. I tried the car door, but it was locked. It was dark inside the car, so I couldn't find the button on my side to disengage the lock. "Unlock the door for me," I told hub.

He hit the control panel button on his side. It didn't even click. He tried again. Nada. We were locked in the car! Hub pressed the key chain unlock button, the one you have to hit twice to open the door. Nada. The doors remained locked.

We were sort of giggling and enjoying it. We kept promising Billy his two cigarettes, but Aunt Belle said, "He wants matches, too."

"He knows I won't give him matches," I said with a laugh.

After several tries on that key ring button, we finally heard the double click of the locks disengaging. Shaking my head, I got out and closed the gate. "Everyone stay here, and we'll come back and see you again," I repeated, although I'd said that during the White Light. "And quit the tricks, Billy, or you won't even get one cigarette next time."

Nobody answered me. But the cemetery was pretty with that nearly full moon shining down, so I enjoyed a few moments of the scene before I returned to the car.

It's wonderful to see some considerate young teens showing a respectful interest in the paranormal. I hope there are lots more of these type kids coming after us.

~~~

On the writing end, I have three stories just about ready for the new Volume V of  my diaries. Still at least three more stories need written up, and then a couple other tidbits for the end.

I also dropped the price of Dead Man Talking on Amazon to $.99. I'd like to do that on the other sites, but it will have to wait 90 days. Amazon demands an exclusive in order to take advantage of some of their promotion tools and get the book noticed a bit more out there. Soon, though. Time passes quickly.

Kindle:      http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055UJD44

Some trees are leafing out and flowers blooming here in our end of Texas. I can't wait for the azaleas and bluebonnets. In the meantime, the rest of y'all living in those cold place stay warm.

Boo!

T. M

Difference Between "Ghost Hunters" and Paranormal Investigators

Even as we grow and age, we carry a few hot buttons with us, ones which refuse to respond to tolerance. One of mine is people who hog the fast lane on the freeway, especially if they have, as Sis says, a phone growing out of their ear. Nine out of ten of those are swerving back and forth, and driving about 50 mph on a 75 mph freeway. That's me behind you honking my horn and flashing my lights to try to get you to move your sorry butt over where it belongs. Driving in that lane other than to pass is against the law in every state that I know about. Don't some people read the signs along the freeway? Naw, they're too busy chatting on their phone when they should be paying attention to the ton-plus vehicle they're supposed to be piloting without harming others. O.K., that's two hot buttons: hogging the fast lane and talking on the phone behind the wheel.

I've found that our hot buttons sometimes disappear; I guess we grow a tad more tolerant over the years, especially if it's a trait in people that we can't change. But new hot buttons do pop up now and then, depending on what I deal with. Recently, my hot button has been watching newbie so-called ghost hunters tout themselves as paranormal investigators.

"Got a ghost?" they advertise. "Call us and we'll come running."

Yeah, "come running" and do what? Have they done any reading or research on paranormal entities? Have they studied under experienced researchers — legitimate paranormal investigators who have sometimes spent their lives seriously exploring the other dimension around us and the inhabitants there? Do they understand that some of these entities are souls, once real, living people with emotions? That they carry those emotions over into death? Or that some of those other entities they encounter are things they should be afraid to go near, at dire risk to their physical and emotional well-being?

Don't get me wrong. Once in a while a newer group shows signs of turning into a viable, serious band of true investigators. But most of these newbies have no idea what they are dealing with. All they know is what they've seen on TV. And folks, I hate to bust your bubble, but what you see there has been edited and geared towards getting you to tune in each week to keep their ratings up.

I get requests now and then. Sometimes another group will contact me about going with them on an investigation. I do have some extremely good friends in the paranormal investigative world, people who understand and respect the supernatural. The other requests come from people who grabbed up a few pieces of equipment and called themselves ghost hunters or, worse, paranormal investigators. Guess which requests I turn down?

Other requests are from people who want me to "let them actually see a ghost." Once in a while, I'll even go so far as to meet the person and determine what their purpose is, why they have an interest in the paranormal. Even less frequently, I'll take someone who has never been on an investigation with me, but they need to pass my own muster first. For one thing, they have to acknowledge that it's not Dial-a-Ghost and we have had trips where absolutely, totally nothing happens.

The reason this hot button came to the forefront is the result of some recent activity I've encountered. The entities are getting braver. They're not responding to discipline with the tried and true protective or banishment measures. And it's not just me. I've had contacts lately from others dealing with the same problem. And those of us who have been involved seriously in the paranormal for many years have come to a conclusion: there are newbie so-called ghost hunters out there messing around and opening doors into things they have no ability to deal with. The entities allowed through those doors are feeding on this ignorance and growing stronger on it.

So when you hear a story about someone worried that something followed me home, you probably should believe it. Something, -one, no doubt did. It's going to continue to wreak havoc, hopefully only on that one person, and whoever allowed this thing to materialize probably deserves every bit of that. However, there are others like me who will have to deal with this fallout, also. So that's why you don't see a lot of sympathy or pity for these "so-calleds" here in my blog today.

I'll try to have a more-fun blog next week. I'm waiting for my new doll trigger object to show up from the Ghosthunter Store. Plus Aunt Belle will be here Thursday, and my friend Katrina on Friday. The three of us are going to slip off alone and see what we can get into in the paranormal; see if the KII in the doll will light up for us. I've also got a couple more new toys I want to try out. Yes, we'll probably have a lot of fun. At the bottom of it, however, will be total seriousness and a need to be with other sensitives on our same experience level and with like attitudes and values. To re-fill our well of gifts without distraction. I am so looking forward to it.

I did have a neat experience this past week (Thursday). Sis moved back home to Minnesota a couple weeks ago, so there's no one in my guest room. And no one uses the guest bath unless hub has the master bath tied up. I was checking things out, to make sure the bathroom had plenty of towels and things for when Aunt Belle gets here. I walked in and … heard the commode cease flushing! You know that sound: when the water tank finishes filling up and shuts off.

I stopped dead still and stared at the commode. No, the handle wasn't stuck and it didn't move as I watched it. I was alone in the house at the moment … except for my paranormal residents, of course.

I stuck my hand on my hip and said to Teddy, my master bath ghost, "Quit that! Don't be running up my water bill! It's already high enough, since they raised our rates!"

Teddy didn't answer, but I sensed his embarrassment. He'd meant that as a joke and to let me know he was still around. But I'd rather he appear than run up a utility bill.

Appear? When I was alone in the house? Uh … well, sometimes I do get a bit of a shock when one of my residents materializes without warning. I've never actually seen Teddy, although Aunt Belle and a couple others have. Maybe he would have startled me into a scream? I doubt it, since the man I saw over by the TV later that night when I was alone didn't make me screech.

You never know how you will react until you really see a ghost, though. Even a long-time paranormal investigator like me. 

Boo!

T. M.

It's Different "Over There"

Whew, what a busy week. I really needed to regroup from a hectic, involved house cleansing last Saturday, yet that didn't happen. Then yesterday I ended up adding two more things to my already-crowded next week calendar. Every day has at least one must-do, and some have two. None three (so far). In addition to several personal appointments, Angela and I need to shop and replenish some of our supplies for cleansings, and we'll also re-visit her mother's house and do a "touch-up." The following week's crowded days include a visit from Aunt Belle. Yippee! She will come up for a few days, and we will go out with a Wicca friend who will be here to re-consecrate all our protection items to try out our new Raggedy Ann trigger object. Fun! I'll get some writing in somehow.

And you thought authors just laid around raking in our royalties and dictating our new stories to our assistants as we eat bonbons. Ha! Well, we did pass a Cracker Barrel one day this week, and they do have those yummy old-fashioned bonbons. We did stop, and a couple boxes of bonbons ended up in my carry-out sack…. J

But back to my blog, which I am typing myself, not dictating. J

What prompted today's title was another one of those musing/reflection periods I have periodically. Something will generate a memory, and at times it will relate back to one of the paranormal experiences I've had. I actually don't recall at the moment what sparked this memory, but I keep a list near my computer where I can jot down ideas of things to share with y'all here. This one says: "You don't always get an answer Over There. They don't worry about the same things we do."

One day a couple years ago, I got a call from Timmy, my paranormal equipment tech. "I've got a friend whose son was murdered," he said. "She'd like you to come over and see if you can contact him."

"Does she want to know who killed him?" I asked perceptively.

"Yeah," Timmy admitted. "If you happen to get any message like that."

Normally, I would turn something like this down. I'm not a medium, and when a ghost tries to channel through me (fairly often), I ward it off. It's not something I feel comfortable doing, although I admire others who are able to handle that wonderful gift. I will pass on messages I happen to receive, if the recipient wants to hear them. But since this was my friend Timmy asking, I agreed to see what I could find out … without allowing anything to channel through me.

Billy, Lucy and I ended up picking up Timmy and all of us going to the woman's house. I won't mention her name or where she lives or anything that can disturb her privacy and grief. It was one of those different type experiences, which taught both Billy and me some things, reinforced other beliefs I have.

The woman actually had the shirt her son had died in. She pleaded with me to see if I could pick up anything from it. I agreed, but there was just nothing there.

One other thing that came out of this was that Billy started realizing he, also, could pick up on some things from the other dimension. As we sat there, he brought up several things he received telepathically, and had those confirmed by the woman and her husband. However, although we both picked up on parts of the actual murder, we didn't get any clues as to the identities of the killers. The mother started to become somewhat agitated with our lack of what she expected from us.

"Can you sit down and let me explain something to you?" I asked her.

She did, and I went on, "I'm not sure if you can understand this or not. One thing should help you, though. Your son did not remain here as a ghost. He's crossed over into The Light, and he's very content over there."

That didn't seem to help her at all. "Then ask him who murdered him so we can have them punished!" she demanded.

I was already wishing I'd never agreed to this. I felt as though I were intruding on the woman's grief rather than offering her any comfort. She just wasn't ready to give up her passionate thirst for revenge. I didn't blame her one bit. I felt a deep well of sympathy for her, but I needed to explain as best I could:

I took her hand. "When someone dies and crosses into The Light, onto the other side where they belong and where there are loved ones waiting for them, they also undergo a change of mind about things. Some things that we care about in our lives aren't important to them any longer. Revenge is one of them. I'm not saying you have to forgive the people who murdered your son. I know I would have a terrible time even contemplating that. But you might have to accept that the killers won't be brought to justice by your son revealing who they are. He just isn't going to do that."

We soon left, since she just did not want to discuss anything else with us unless we were able to reveal who killed her son. I'm fairly certain she realized she couldn't go to the police with anything we told her, but perhaps she was hoping we would uncover a physical clue that would end up with those horrible men being arrested. But it just wasn't there in the house for us to discover. The only time I even felt any presence was when I stood up to leave. A faint paranormal energy enveloped me. I believe it was the son in spirit. However, it didn't last long and it was more or less a feeling of him saying goodbye and thanking me for attempting to help his mother understand.

It's hard for any of us to comprehend the lesson here. But I am totally certain it's true. In addition to the first facet, that those on the other side have different mindsets than we do about matters such as revenge, I believe there is another aspect to this area of the supernatural and afterlife. I think there are set guidelines to our lives which are not supposed to vary. Perhaps, as Sylvia Brown writes, we set out life path before we come back here. Perhaps another higher being aligns our paths in life. Or maybe there is another reason we won't understand until we experience our own afterlife. Whichever, or if it's something I haven't thought of, there are things that will not be revealed to us, for reasons we don't understand. We can demand and plead, but if it's not to be, it won't be, and no medium or psychic will be able to help. It's one of the factors of the paranormal that fascinate me, and I love learning about. It doesn't help those grief-stricken, but I firmly believe these things are true.

~~~

One thing I've mentioned before is the new group my fellow investigators and I formed: Supernatural Researchers of Texas. We have plans for a blog for our group, and we discussed it a bit this past week. We hope to get it up soon, and we'll put more on it than I've had time to do on my own blog. That's because we will share the work, members rotating the posts each week and adding things we think you will enjoy. There are some really savvy computer folks in SRT, much more proficient than I am. They, too, have full schedules, but we'll get things accomplished as soon as we can. We're hoping for some videos and photos, and we'll definitely have tales with slants on our investigations from their own experiences rather than only mine.

As far as my writing world, I'm still working on the stories for Ghost Hunting Diary Volume V. Maybe I'll get it done by the first of March. Fingers crossed! But I did find time to update some of the information in one of my romances, Montana Surrender. It's a hot, steamy, sexy tale with … a ghost. Maybe. Or maybe not! O.K., not really, but I think you'll like it if you like historical western romances. And guess what! I put it on sale pre-Valentine's Day for $.99. So far, I've got the price dropped on Kindle, but I hope to do Nook and elsewhere tomorrow. It's here:

http://tiny.cc/3elcd

My friend and fellow investigator Angela (whom Alan, the ghost, lives with) did that gorgeous cover for me. I so love it! It's the second book I sold, and as special now as when I wrote it. Hope y'all enjoy it. Even the guys might like this cool western.

 Take care and until next week ….

Boo!

T. M.

Don't Call Me

I had two investigations scheduled this week, both the type where we plan to do a house cleansing after we decide what we are dealing with. That doesn't seem too important, huh? Read on. Both were calls I received due to troublesome ghosts … or possibly something more evil. One seems certain to be the latter, although a minor entity; one I haven't examined yet. The first investigation got cancelled due to the homeowner's illness. My group and I will be heading out Saturday on the other one.

These calls, as well as the blog I did on the Accidental Crossing Over last week, made me reflect on happenings over the years.

Don't call me if you only want me to come confirm you have a ghost so you can brag to all your friends, "I've got a haunting!" I'll tell you to find someone else.

To be honest, those types of calls to me are infrequent. But I have had a few. Periodically, I get both calls and emails requesting help. Some of the email pleas are from too far away for me to go in person. However, I've had some success directing these people how to find local help or even helping them help themselves with the ghosts. Within a couple hours drive, I'll usually go see what I can do. And no, I don't charge. I have a gift, and it gives me a lot of gratification to use it for good.

Years ago, when I first started out as a ghost hunter, I'd eagerly race off to anywhere I thought I might find a ghost. In the beginning, I did this under the guidance of Aunt Belle or the first psychic I studied under. Later, I felt confident enough to go alone, if I had to. During the past few years, I've ended up with a solid group of friends and fellow investigators, and we formed Supernatural Researchers of Texas. They're always there for me — and the ghosts — if at all possible. They've made changes in their schedules when we're needed.

We've also run into some entities that have scared the crap out of the people who call us in to help, as well as us. We're learned there are entities out there we need to handle carefully and with power. We have to respect these evil beings, even as we stand up to them. We can't ever underestimate them. I've done a lot of research into the protections we use when dealing with these things, and we never go into a nasty situation without meditation, physical shields and safeguards.

Recently, though, I had a request to investigate a place here in town where I live. Our group made plans, only to find out that the owner didn't want a serious investigation. He just wanted us to "drop by and confirm a haunting." Then he could use that for publicity and increased business. As I mention, his wasn't the first request I'd received like this, and it was one that I turned down. I'm not about to teach my group that something like this is acceptable.

Folks, these aren't just ghosts that haunt you. They were once living people. There were people who loved them. It's not just adults. There are plenty of children involved. For various reasons, these lost souls didn't go into The Light when they died. And that is where they belong: over there with their loved ones and those who love them.

We'll do the cleansing for Angela's mother, the homeowner who fell ill, as soon as we can reschedule. This is actually going to be the second session Angela and I have had at her mother's house. Evidently, we missed something there the first time, which happens once in a while. I know why this happened, and we'll correct what we overlooked on this second trip. I've had to do repeat cleansings before, due to things that we'll go into in another blog. If you've followed the stories of Alan and Angela's own home, you'll already know one of the reasons.

As to the other one, I received a call from a good friend about the home where her elderly mother lives alone. Seems there might be a shadow person there, and it's getting not only troublesome, but aggressive. I guided them through a preliminary cleansing to see if they could do this on their own. It sounds like more than one entity was there, and some may have left and crossed over during their own cleansing session. However, the one somewhat nasty thing is still there and becoming even more disruptive and disturbing. A ghost? Something else? I'll know Saturday. SRT members who were able to rearranged their own plans in order to be with me on the Saturday investigation. Our equipment tech, Timmy, drove over an hour to spend the night with me and help out tomorrow.

Will we go in there and just say: "Yep, you've got something here. Goodbye." Hell, no. With the help of my team, I'll cross it over, if it's a ghost, and if it will go. If it's a ghost and won't cross, I'll banish it from the home. If it's something else, there's no choice: banishment.

This isn't child's play. It's serious, and takes serious commitment and emotional fortitude to accomplish what needs done. It also takes sincere study and research to know what to do. I firmly believe a lot of the power we receive to make our gifts work has to do with our mindset and beliefs, as well as the assistance of our guides. That we are capable of handling these situations and doing the right thing because we maintain respect and sincerity.

Ever see reports of paranormal groups getting into trouble? Getting hurt? Many times that's a result of their lack of respect for what they are dealing with. Don't call me if that's part of your attitude about a troublesome haunting. I won't be there for you.

And I'll climb down off my soapbox now. My sister and brother left this morning. But before Sis left, she and I sat down with my Bible I use on investigations. She highlighted passages I might need during investigations such as I've been involved in the past few years. I'll miss her, but she left me a gift of her own. I'll have more time to write now, without the distractions of: "Hey, let's go shopping or to some 'garbage' sales." No, those weren't distractions Sis instigated; I did!

Those of you Up North, stay warm.

Boo!

T. M.