Dark Destinations

Pursuing the Lady in White: Part One

2010-10-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

For this Halloween season I decided to visit destinations tied with the production of the movie Lady in White (1988) and the legend which inspired the movie. Despite having lived in the Rochester, New York area for most of my current life and having been a Lady in White fan since the late 1980s, I had never gone to the towns that were used in the making of the movie despite them being only an hour's drive away. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I finally visited Durand-Eastman Park, right here in my very own city, where the legend of the White Lady stems from. This October, I decided it was about time I finally took an in-depth look at these local dark destinations.

I decided to begin with the source of the legend, Durand-Eastman Park. The park was created in the early 20th Century on land donated by Kodak founder George Eastman and Doctor Henry Durand. The park borders Lake Ontario and contains a pair of smaller lakes. The spot where the three lakes come the closest to each other is generally the focal point for the legend of the White Lady ghost of Rochester. A picnic area known as the 3-Lakes Pavilion is claimed to be site of the former home of Eelissa, the Lady in White. The pavilion is a hill with a cobblestone wall built into the side that faces Lake Ontario.

The legend states that a vengeful feminine wraith cloaked entirely in white stalks the park in the vicinity, searching for male victims. The reasons for White Lady's wrath and where exactly in the park she manifests vary from story to story. Often, the legends have the ghost motivated by a tragedy involving her daughter and a pre-existing distrust/dislike for men on the part of Eelissa. In this semi-sympathetic version of the story, the ghost is searching for her long-lost daughter and may attack any mortal men who have the misfortune to interrupt her search.

In some tales the White Lady is a woman who was driven to madness and murder by the actions of an unfaithful husband. Still blinded by her jealous rage, she is said to stalk the roads of the park, mistaking unfortunate young lovers in cars for her husband and his mistress whom she seeks to slay again and again, doomed to re-enact her crime with fresh victims over the centuries.

My recent visit to the park was on an over-cast and gloomy afternoon, the next best thing to visiting the park at night. The stretch of beach along Lake Ontario was my first stop. The first stories I had heard of the White Lady had her prowling this rocky beach with a pair of spectral dogs that she would sic on any man unfortunate enough to choose the wrong evening for a nighttime stroll.

I then moved on to the 3-Lakes Pavilion and the two smaller lakes across the street from Lake Ontario. The cobblestone wall of what some legends refer to as the “White Lady's Castle” has long cracks running through a few spots, but has held up otherwise well over the nearly 100-years since it was built. The view from the pavilion was wonderful, though there was a disquieting silence in the area. The only sign of wildlife I spotted were some swans quietly skimming through the water of Durand Lake when I wandered deeper into the park and away from the pavilion. Some legends claim that the White Lady forms from the mists of that very lake.

Overall, it was a nice fall hike with a with a slightly spooky ambiance. It made me want to return again during evening hours and take a stroll... hopefully not on a night when Eelissa is on the hunt.

My next journey was to Lyons, New York and a number of locations used in the filming of Frank LaLoggia's nostalgic supernatural mystery Lady in White. I will write about this in a future second installment.

In the meantime, you can click here to read our full article on Durand-Eastman Park for further details about the legend and photos I took during my last visit.

-Tom G

Fright Rags: We Belong Alive

2010-10-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

It is little off from our usual topics, but I wanted to call attention to the wonderful work being done by the Fright Rags horror T-shirt company. They recently released this limited edition breast cancer awareness T-shirt featuring the Bride of Frankenstein (and the Frankenstein Monster's hands) in a pose very similar to one Janet Jackson did back in 1993 for the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. The shirt's name "We Belong Alive" makes an ironic play off of the Bride's famous line "We belong dead." The first printing of the shirt sold out in a just a few hours. Fright Rags is taking pre-orders for one more printing and then this shirt design will be retired. If you would like a shirt, there are only a few days left to order, so move quick!

The We Belong Alive shirt can be ordered through the following link: http://www.fright-rags.com/we-belong-alive-p-392.html

The proceeds from the shirt sale goes to help a young mother without medical insurance who is currently battling advanced breast cancer. So far Fright Rags has raised close to $4,000 toward this cause. You can learn more at the link posted above. Please spread the word along.

-Tom G

The Black Dog of Lake Erie

2010-05-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

A week from tomorrow will be 119 years since the sinking of the Thomas Hume. The schooner was returning to its home port in Muskegon, Michigan when it vanished on May 21, 1891. Many rumors were caused by the ship's disappearance and the lack of any witnessed wreckage washing ashore following its disappearance. Some even theorized that the schooner's captain had stolen the vessel for himself, disguising it with a new paint job. However, the wreck of the Thomas Hume was discovered at the Southern end of Lake Michigan in 2005.

The Thomas Hume is one of a number of vessels at the bottom of the Great Lakes that are said to have fallen victim to the supernatural beast known as the Black Dog of Lake Erie. Legend has it that the Black Dog was the result of an incident that occurred in the Welland Canal. The story goes that a Newfoundland dog that served as a ship's mascot fell overboard while travelling through the canal. In some versions of the tale the sailors mocked the dog as it swam, desperately trying to catch up with its ship. The poor animal was crushed to death when one of the canal lock gates came down. It had the effect of trapping the ship inside the lock as the gate could not completely close. Once the sailors were able to free the large furry corpse from the gate mechanism, they were able to continue on their way. However, the story goes, they found themselves haunted by the vengeful spirit of the dead Newfie. They had begun a curse that would result in the sinking of many ships in the Great Lakes. It is said that on occasion a large black dog will appear on one side of a ship, run across the deck and leap from the other side. Soon after, the ship will run into trouble. When the Issac G. Jenkins sank in Lake Ontario on November of 1875, a farmer claimed to have witnessed a large black dog swim to shore and drag itself onto land, vanishing into the darkness.

Click here to learn more about the Black Dog, the legend of Jenny Greenteeth and the monster of Lake Erie.

-Tom G

Odd Tales of the Lincoln Assassination

2010-04-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday will be the 145th anniversary of the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was shot in the head by actor John Wilkes Booth as the President and his wife sat in a balcony at Ford's Theatre, watching a production of Our American Cousin. Booth escaped, but was tracked by the US Army who caught up with him twelve days later. Despite orders to capture the assassin, a soldier named Boston Corbett shot Booth dead. Corbett, a former prisoner of war who had served time in the Confederacy's Andersonville Prison (see Andersonville National Historic Site) claimed that God himself gave the soldier the order to kill Booth.

The same night as the assassination of Lincoln, a fellow conspirator, Lewis Powell attempted to murder Secretary of State William Seward. Powell attempted to stab the man to death as he lay in bed, recuperating from injuries sustained from a carriage accident. Ironically, the very injuries that had him bedridden may have also saved Seward's life; a brace the secretary wore for a neck injury prevented the assassin from cutting Seward's throat and the Secretary's children managed to fend off the killer, driving him from their home.

As the conspirators were rounded up by the authorities, a case of mistaken identity led them to arrest Francis Tumblety, a con man who posed as a doctor to sell odd concoctions he claimed cured various ills. Francis, who was using one of his aliases, was incarcerated for three weeks until he was cleared of charges and set free. Years later, Tumblety would become one of many suspected to be the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper (see Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester, NY).

It is said that President Lincoln had a prophetic dream about his own assassination days before it occurred. There are also numerous ghost tales associated with the assassination. Witnesses have claimed to have to seen the ghost of Lincoln at the White House, his grave in Illinois and the Peterson House (where Lincoln actually died of his injury sustained at the theatre). The ghosts of John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln are claimed by some to haunt Ford's Theatre (See Ford's Theatre National Historic Site). Even the route traveled by Abraham Lincoln's funeral train is said to be haunted by a spectral train.

Part of Abraham Lincoln's skull is on display at the National Museum of Health in Medicine in Washington, D.C. (see the National Museum of Health and Science). Part of his blood-stained collar can be seen at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania along with part of the thorax of John Wilkes Booth (see the Mutter Museum).

These are just some of the strange stories surrounding the first assassination of a United States President.

-Tom G

Happy Birthday, Frozen Dead Guy!

2010-02-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

Today would have been the 110th birthday of Bredo Morstoel. “Grandpa Bredo”, as he is now known to locals in Nederland, Colorado, passed away on November 6, 1989 at the age of 89, but his story didn't end there. Bredo's corpse became the subject of his grandson's home-brewed cryonic experiments. Though his relatives were deported Grandpa Bredo has remained behind, lying frozen inside of a shed in Colorado. His postmortem predicament led to support from locals and finally a festival that began eight years back. The ninth annual Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival will be held next weekend (March 5-7, 2010).

This joyously macabre winter festival features frozen turkey bowling, frozen salmon tossing, tours of Grandpa's shed, live music, ice carvings, a hearse parade, and much more. The festival also has a coffin race, though their coffin race is much different than the one held during the Emma Crawford Festival and Memorial Coffin Race in the relatively nearby Manitou Springs (see Emma Crawford Festival and Memorial Coffin Race). This year's festival is being covered by a crew from a Japanese reality show. Considering the crazy Japanese reality shows I've seen, that is a pretty strong sign that this festival is a wacky one to attend.

Wish Grandpa Bredo Happy Birthday and read more about his strange tale and the unusual festival that centers around his frozen remains.

-Tom G

Honoring the Man in Black

2010-02-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks 78 years since the birth of Johnny Cash. His final album, American VI: Ain't No Grave, came out this past Tuesday, more than six years after the iconic musician passed away. Johnny Cash's relatives and the record company that released the final album are encouraging fans to celebrate his birthday by wearing all black on Friday. They are running a Facebook event for that day with free prizes being awarded to some of those who post photos of themselves wearing black.

During the 1970s, Johnny Cash made his tendency toward wearing black clothing into a trademark, releasing the album Man in Black. In the title song from the album, Cash explains why he wore black so often.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

Considering how much of my own wardrobe is black, it is likely that I would have been wearing all black tomorrow anyhow. So, I will honor Johnny Cash's birthday instead by choosing the birthplace of Johnny Cash and his hometown as the Dark Destinations for this week.

Visit Kingsland, Arkansas, the birthplace of Johnny Cash.

Or

Visit Dyess, Arkansas, his hometown.

-Tom G

The Haunting of the Hotel del Cornado

2010-02-15T07:54:00.001-08:00

This coming Friday will mark 122 years since the Hotel del Coronado opened for business. The hotel was possibly an inspiration for description of the Emerald City in some of author Frank L. Baum's Land of Oz books. It has also been used as a filming location for a number of films (including Some Like It Hot and Wicked, Wicked). The Hotel del Coronado is also reputed to be haunted due to a tragedy that occurred when the hotel had only been open a mere four years. It is a tale of love gone wrong; a chilling Valentine for our dark travelers.

On November 24, 1892, a young woman, using an alias, checked into the hotel's room 302. Five days later the woman was dead. Her corpse was discovered, the apparent victim of a suicide, outside the hotel on the steps leading up from the beach. It wasn't until after her death that her identity was discovered; she was Kate Morgan, a con artist who assisted her card shark husband at bilking unsuspecting men out of their money during poker games. Her husband had left her after discovering that she was pregnant and wished for them to settle down. She apparently took her own life after days of fruitlessly waiting for him to return to her.

The hotel has changed the room number twice since the incident, but the rumors of haunting persist and it remains the most requested room in the hotel. Some have claimed to witness the ghost of Kate Morgan looking from the room's window or wandering the halls of the hotel. It has been theorized that Kate may not have taken her own life: rather she had been the victim of a murder staged to look as though it had been suicide. The truth may never be known. Perhaps if you stay at the Hotel del Coronado, the long dead Kate Morgan will whisper her story into your ear as you sleep.

Check in to the Hotel del Coronado to read more about the hotel, the current number of Kate Morgan's room, the other haunted room and learn what horror television show regularly used the hotel as a shooting location.

-Tom G

Own Bill Murray's Mansion!

2010-02-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's not really Bill Murray's mansion; it's the house in Georgia that was used as the fictional home of Bill Murray in the film Zombieland (2009). I should also mention that you will need at least a few million dollars for your down payment on this very large home. The actual owner of the mansion, Lee Najjar, has put the house on the market with an asking price of 25 million dollars.

In Zombieland, the main characters (portrayed by actors Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin) spend a memorable night in the mansion just prior to the climax of the film at Pacific Playland amusement park. The scenes for Pacific Playland were actually shot at Wild Adventures Water & Theme Park in Georgia, nearly four hours away from where the mansion scenes were filmed (see Wild Adventures Water and Theme Park).

Click here to learn more about the mansion used in the film Zombieland and to see it in Google Streetview.

-Tom G

Elastic Park

2010-02-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Larry Moss, the artist behind the Balloon Manor Halloween attraction (see Balloon Manor), is at it again. His newest project is called Elastic Park; it is an interactive dinosaur-themed exhibit featuring Airigami balloon artistry. The exhibit, which will be both fun and educational, is intended to be a travelling exhibit that will be featured at numerous museums (click here to view Elastic Park Web site).

Larry needs your help to make this exhibit a reality. Pepsi Cola is running a contest called the Pepsi Refresh Project. Various organizations are competing for a $50,000 grant to fund their projects. The winner will be determined through online voting. Currently, Elastic Park is in 13th place in the contest. Voters are allowed to vote once per day and voting ends February 28. Please take a moment to visit the Elastic Park page at the contest web site and vote.

Click here to vote for Elastic Park!

-Tom G

Top 20 Dark Destinations for Month of January 2010

2010-01-31T08:09:00.000-08:00

Typically when we blog one of our top 20, 25 or 50 lists, Casey or I will post the top locations on the site based on the hits each article has gotten since its creation. We thought we'd do something a little different this month and show you what has been getting the most attention over the course of the past month. Some of the same locations are on both lists, but there are a few that have gained in recent popularity that have made the Monthly list. Take a peek.

1. The Sylvia Likens House
2. The Haunting in Connecticut House
3. Twilight (2008): Thunderbird and Whale
4. The Sharon Tate House
5. Twilight Saga: The Cullen House
6. Emma Crawford Festival and Memorial Coffin Race
7. Amityville Horror House
8. West Virginia Penitentiary
9. The Body Farm, Knoxville, TN
10. Twilight Saga: The Swan House
11. Sylvia Likens Memorial
12. Twilight (2008): The Swan House
13. The Empire State Building
14. La Push, Washington
15. Twilight (2008): Kalama High School
16. Missouri State Penitentiary
17. Old Alexian Brothers Hospital
18. Twilight (2008): Bloated Toad
19. Twilight (2008): The Cullen House
20. The Saint Louis Exorcist House

If you would like to see the current Top 20 of all time list click here.

-Tom G

The Poe Toaster Nevermore?

2010-01-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

For sixty years, the mysterious black-clad figure known as the Poe Toaster would make an appearance at the Old Westminster Burial Ground on the anniversary of author/poet Edgar Allan Poe's birthday. The unknown individual (who is assumed to be male) pays a yearly tribute to Poe by laying three red roses and half-empty bottle of Martell Cognac upon the author's gravestone. The gift is occasionally accompanied by a note from the mysterious mourner. Last year, for the two-hundredth birthday of Edgar Allan Poe, the Toaster failed to leave a note. This year, on January 19, 2010, the Poe Toaster failed to show up at all.

A crowd of around fifty people stood vigil throughout the night (a larger crowd than had been present for the year prior), keeping an eye out for the Poe Toaster and occasionally singing Happy Birthday to Edgar Allan Poe. They were disappointed when the Toaster did not arrive with his annual tribute. It has led to speculation on what may have happened.

Some have wondered whether the Poe Toaster may have died or was in ill health. A week earlier, David Fanks, a local poet and performance artist known for his pranks passed away, leading some to speculate that the Poe Toaster had been him. Others have speculated that the tradition may have just ended at the sixty year mark, on the two-hundredth birthday of Poe. ESPN reporter Cam Martin even suggested that the Poe Toaster may have failed to show because he was upset about the Indianapolis Colts beating the Baltimore Ravens in a football game on the Saturday prior to Poe's birthday.

Whatever the reason for the Poe Toaster's absence this year, Jeff Jerome, curator for the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum (see Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum), has said that he will continue to watch for the Poe Toaster until 2012. If the Toaster fails to return by January 19, 2012, Jerome will give up the vigil he has kept since the 1970s.

Pay a visit to the Old Westminter Burial Ground to learn more.

-Tom G

The Graveyard of the Pacific

2010-01-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

The winter months are truly treacherous ones for those who sail the waters of the "Graveyard of the Pacific"; a section of the Pacific Ocean that runs along the western coast of North America. The turbulent waters have claimed thousands of ships and many lives. This week alone marks the separate anniversaries of two different sinkings in that section of the "Graveyard" that is the mouth of the Columbia River, with more later this month and over the next two.

The most infamous of the sinkings took place 49 years ago this coming Thursday. On January 14, 1961, The Mermaid, a crab boat with two crewman aboard, ran into trouble when it lost its rudder in violent weather conditions. The Coast Guard came to the ship's rescue. Unfortunately, the rescue attempt failed and led to the sinking of The Mermaid as well as causing three Coast Guard vessels to capsize in the process. The Mermaid's crew was lost as well as five members of the Coast Guard who were aboard the rescue boat Triumph. The names of the lost Coast Guard members were added to the memorial in Maritime Memorial Park in Astoria, Oregon (see Maritime Memorial Park, Astoria, OR).

Unsuprisingly, the area has also been the location of claimed ghost ship sightings and other paranormal activity. It has also reportedly been home to one or more sea monsters.

Click here to brave the treacherous waters along the Mouth of the Columbia River to learn more about its shipwrecks and supernatural lore.

- Tom G

The Inspiration for the Song Jeremy

2010-01-06T06:48:00.000-08:00

This Friday will mark 19 years since the suicide of Jeremy Wade Delle. Delle, a student at Richardson High School in Richardson, Texas, took his own life in front of his fellow students in their English class on the morning of January 8, 1991. The 15-year-old had recently relocated to Richardson from Dallas and had apparently been in counseling at the time.

Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder happened upon a news story about the incident which inspired him to write the lyrics for the song Jeremy. The song wound up being one of three hit singles from the band's debut album Ten. When interviewed by [title]Rockline[/title] in 1993, Vedder said the following about the song and its controversial music video:

"It came from a small paragraph in a paper which means you kill yourself and you make a big old sacrifice and try to get your revenge. That all you're gonna end up with is a paragraph in a newspaper. Sixty-three degrees and cloudy in a suburban neighborhood. That's the beginning of the video and that's the same thing is that in the end, it does nothing... nothing changes. The world goes on and you're gone. The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself. Be stronger than those people. And then you can come back."

Two different music videos were made for the song, with the second one being the one shown on Mtv, though in a censored version which caused some confusion and further controversy.

Click here to read more about the school, Jeremy Delle and the song that was inspired by his suicide.

- Tom G

Amityville: 35 Years SInce the DeFeo Murders

2009-11-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

This coming Friday the 13th will mark the 35th anniversary of the infamous night that 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. stumbled into a bar near his home asking for help and stating that he thought his parents had been shot. He assembled a small group of people and led them back to his family's house. A horrific scene awaited them -- not only had his parents been shot, Ronald's four young brothers and sisters (ranging in age from 18 to 9) had been murdered as well. All of the family members had been shot as they lay sleeping in their beds. Ron DeFeo suggested that the murders were mob related, but confessed to the murders the following day when details in his story unraveled.

Oddly, all six members of the family were slain while laying face down in their beds, with no signs of any of them waking up from the sound of a rifle going off. Neighbors also did not report hearing the sound of the rifle despite evidence that a silencer wasn't used. Toxicology reports on the slain family failed to reveal the presence of any sedatives that could have kept the family asleep during the murders. Ronald Defeo's ever-changing claims about the murders have at times included accounts in which he had accomplices -- including his own 18-year-old sister (herself one of the victims), but there has never been solid evidence to show that anyone else but Ronald had been involved. Some believe that this strange aspect of the DeFeo murders points to Ronald having assistance in his crimes from a supernatural force.

Indeed, a little over a year later the Lutz family moved into the murder house and lasted only a mere 28 days in the home before fleeing it. Their tales of demonic haunting in the home led to the book The Amityville Horror (which in turn led to a book and film franchise), increasing the infamy of the former DeFeo house.

Ronald Defeo was convicted on all six counts of second degree murder and given six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life. He is incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Beekman, New York. DeFeo has been eligable for parole for nearly a decade, but has been turned down for it each time he has applied. His family was buried in nearby Saint Charles Cemetery (see Saint Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY).

Did DeFeo have accomplices in murdering his family? Are there people wandering free who helped him shoot his parents and younger siblings? Or was Ronald's accomplice something even more sinister and intangeable in nature?

Visit the Amityville Horror House and learn more about the controversies surrounding the home. You can also use Street View on our map to see the house as it appears today.

-Tom G

Attack of the Bunny Man

2009-10-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

While some versions of the Bunny Man legend have his story extending back more than a century, the oldest recorded account of the Bunny Man appearing dates back to October 1970. On October 18, 1970, a Virginia couple had their vehicle attacked but what appeared to be a man in bunny suit with a hatchet (see Bunny Man: First Encounter at Guinea Road). Less than two weeks later the mysterious man in a bunny suit would once again appear, vandalizing property and menacing a security guard with an axe (see Bunny Man: Second Encounter at Guinea Road). If this indeed is the genesis of the Bunny Man legend, then the legend turns 40-years-old next year.

The legends of the Bunny Man vary from a mentally ill young man hacking up his family at Easter to a malevolent spirit that has haunted a Fairfax County culvert for nearly a century and likes to kill victims at the stroke of midnight on Halloween. Whatever the story, it is always bad news for those who see the Bunny Man.

Pay a visit to Bunny Man Bridge to learn more about the legends, but should you spot a rabbit... Run away! Run away!

-Tom GPS: Feel free to let loose with the Monty Python quotes.

Investigators Needed for Possibly Haunted Theatre

2009-10-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

I was recently approached by The Little Theatre, an art house movie theater in Western New York, about writing an article about their Halloween film festival. In the process of gathering information about the place, I found that some employees of the 80-year-old movie theater had experienced some possible paranormal activity over the years. Theater workers have witnessed doors opening and closing with no apparent physical cause and a voice that calls out the name "Anne."

While I was writing my article, one of my relatives came by and asked what I was writing. When I told him I was writing about The Little Theatre, he told me that he had been hired to install a pair of stained glass windows there. The windows were originally from the Powers Building. I instantly had an odd sensation and a vague memory about the Powers Building. I zipped over to my bookshelf and pulled out a couple of books about hauntings in Rochester, NY. Sure enough, there it was... the Powers Building and the attached Powers Hotel with their stories of haunted elevators that sometimes kill... and the first elevator victim back in the 1890s was a woman named "Annie."

I passed this information along to my contact at The Little Theatre and she asked if I could possibly find a group of paranormal investigators who might be interested in performing an investigation of the historic theater. I told her I would pass the word along. If you represent a group who is interested in conducting an investigation of The Little, you can contact their management through the contact information on their Web site. Ask for Beth.

If you'd like to learn more about The Little Theatre, it's possible haunting, and their upcoming Halloween event click here.

-Tom G

The Haunt of Moundsville Penitentiary

2009-10-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

By now, most everyone is familiar with the infamous West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia. The facility (and its "Sugar Shack") left a rather impressionable mark as the setting of the debut episode of the MTV reality series, Fear, and kept the momentum going with recent appearances in the likes of Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. Well, today marks a rather notorious date in the facility's history. 110 years ago to this day, October 10, 1899, inmate Shep Caldwell was executed for murdering his mistress. His death marked the first execution in West Virginia Penitentiary and there would be 93 more before the prison closed in 1995.

Today, the facility is open to the general public as a living museum where guests can see what life was like behind bars for the inmates of the Moundsville prison. In addition, it also offers ghost tours/hunts for the would-be ghost hunters to hone their skills and attempt to shine some light on the facility's mysterious happenings. It is run by the Moundsville Economic Development Council who takes advantage of this time of year to turn the prison into the Halloween haunted attraction, Dungeon of Horrors. Intended to raise funds for the general upkeep of the prison and keep it open to the general public, the haunt has become one of the more popular Halloween attractions in the United States - drawing around 10,000 visitors each year.

This week, a minor controversy erupted in Wilmington, North Carolina over a similar fundraising haunted attraction that transforms the USS North Carolina into the annual Ghost Ship. Local area news reported on a veteran of the ship's objections that the Halloween haunted attraction was not respectful of those that served and died on the vessel. The staff that run the haunt defended the attraction by saying that the ship did not receive state or federal funding to keep the memorial open and that the group relied on dollars raised from the haunt (and other events throughout the year) to keep the ship open to the general public.

So a question for you all - Do you believe it is disrespectful to run a Halloween haunted attraction at a facility where lives were lost - be it a prison, military vessel, or similar public venue? Does the money raised that help keeps the facility open to the general public justify the means?

For more information on West Virginia Penitentiary and Dungeon of Horrors, check out our articles on Dark Destinations:

West Virginia Penitentiary
Dungeon of Horrors

-Casey H.

Crazy Bet

2009-09-25T03:47:00.000-07:00

As of today, it has been 109 years since the death of American Civil War Spy Elizabeth “Crazy Bet” Van Lew. During the war, Elizabeth was a young lady living in what had become the capitol city of the Confederate States of America (also known as the Confederacy). She garnered a reputation for being “hysterical” due to her very outspoken support of the Union both before and during the war. Her blatant support for the other side led others to believe her insane – something that Elizabeth Van Lew picked up on and used to her advantage. She purposely let her hair go scraggly and wore unkempt clothing to further the misconception that she was mentally ill, leading to her nickname “Crazy Bet.” Elizabeth wasn't insane, but she was crazy like a fox as they say.

Due to her falsely perceived insanity and the social status of her family, Van Lew was allowed access to Union soldiers captured and imprisoned nearby. She would bring them care packages and books – allowing secret messages to be slipped back and forth by using pins to mark under letters on pages of the books, spelling out information beneficial to the Union. The Confederacy's arrogance in underestimating the intelligence of both African Americans and women added significantly to their downfall. Van Lew's servants (former slaves she'd freed who chose to work for her) were included in her spy ring. Elizabeth even managed to place one servant spy, Mary Bowser, directly into the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. There, Mary risked her life as one of at least two spies posing as slaves in the Davis home (the other was a man named William Jackson). Jefferson Davis so underestimated the intelligence of African American slaves that he left important classified papers laying about and conducted military planning discussions right front of slaves in his household. Davis assumed the slaves were all dull and illiterate. Not only could Mary Bowser read, it was stated in some accounts by those she relayed information to that Mary possessed a photographic memory, enabling her to retain every word in the documents without having to worry about being caught transcribing.

Elizabeth Van Lew and her servants were the first to proudly fly the United States flag once again in Richmond, Virginia when the Union retook the city from the Confederacy.

Pay your respects at Shockhoe Hill Cemetery to learn more about Elizabeth Van Lew and others who are buried there.

-Tom G

Stephen King's Birthday

2009-09-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Prolific horror author Stephen King turns 62-years-old today. In honor of his birthday today's Dark Destination is the Stanley Hotel. The hotel was part of the inspiration for Stephen King's 1977 horror novel, The Shining. King was inspired after staying at the hotel with his wife on October 30, 1974. It was the night before the hotel closed down for the season and the author and his wife were the only guests. The empty halls and ballroom along with ghost stories about the place caused King to resurrect a story he'd never finished and change the setting from a carnival to a hotel called The Overlook.

Over two decades later, the hotel became the primary shooting location for the television mini-series adaption of the novel, directed by Mick Garris. Dark Destination's own Casey Hopkins was actually on set during part of that shoot, and had the chance to chat with King and others after being invited by the director following an interview for the site. Perhaps he'll share his story with all of you sometime. The mini-series followed King's novel closer than Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaption, leading to fans being polarized in opinion over the two adaptions. It is rare to find a fan who enjoys both adaptions equally.

Which adaption do you prefer?

Stay the night in the haunted rooms of the Stanley Hotel if you dare.

-Tom G

The Torture Tree

2009-09-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

The month of September holds a number of dates associated with the historical tale of the Boyd-Parker Ambush – today is one of the few that actually has a positive note to it. On September 17, 1927, the Livingston County Historical Society dedicated the Boyd and Parker Wayside Shrine. The event drew a large crowd and brought attention to a place of historical significance that had largely been forgotten for decades. The creation of the shrine eventually led to what is now Boyd & Parker Memorial Park.

The story of what happened to Lt. Thomas Boyd and Sgt. Michael Parker is one of the most gruesome tales to come out of the American Revolutionary War. I can recall my seventh grade history teacher, Mr. Dumas, telling my fellow classmates and I the gory details of the tortures visited upon these two men who had the misfortune of being captured by Chief Little Beard's Seneca tribe. It was so extreme, that I thought he was embellishing the story. I found out decades later that he hadn't embellished a bit. I was also surprised to find out that the story didn't end with their agonizingly prolonged deaths, but continued with with tales of grave robbery, conspiracy accusations, and human remains dug up and denied proper burial for more than two decades (and even once finally buried, were dug up yet again).

A large bur oak (pictured in the background of the photo above) that still stands in the park is believed to be the tree which played an incredibly sickening role in the final moments of Boyd and Parker back in 1779. Estimated at over 240-years-old, it is known as the Torture Tree. It looms over the park, an ancient reminder of the horrors of war and the painful sacrifice that likely prevented an ambush of General Sullivan's army by British Loyalists and their Native American allies.

Pay a visit to Boyd & Parker Memorial Park – though be cautioned, the stories there are very bloody and aren't for the faint of heart.

-Tom G

Rediscovery of a Legend

2009-09-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

24 years ago on this day, a joint American-French expedition located the wreckage of the famed-ship, the R.M.S. Titanic. The expedition was led by Dr. Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel and was funded by the United State Navy with the understanding that Ballard would first lead secret missions to survey the wreckage of the naval nuclear submarines, Thresher and Scorpion. The knowledge and experience he learned from the two missions aided him greatly in his search for the famous Titanic. In fact, it was his new understanding of underwater debris field which led him directly to the famous wreckage. On September 1, 1985, the team's lifelong dreams were fulfilled and the Titanic was found. The ship had sunk during its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912 and took an estimated 1,520 lives with it - a tragedy that left the world shaken and installed the name "Titanic" forever in popular culture.

Read more about the famed ship at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

Halloween and the Economy

2009-08-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

In past years of economic difficulties, Halloween still managed to bolster retail sales figures as people purchased candy, costumes and decorations despite financial woes. Last year, despite the recession, Halloween resulted in between five to six billion dollars in sales for the retail sector. This year, however, as I look about my hometown of Rochester, NY, I'm seeing less costume shops and Halloween supplies available than I did at this time last year.

Last year one of the most popular local haunted attractions, Fear at Frontier (see Frontier Field/Fear at Frontier), chose to skip the season. It now appears that they have chosen not to reopen for 2009 as well. I was then saddened to learn from artist Larry Moss that due to lack of donations his Balloon Manor Halloween event (see Balloon Manor) was also going to have to skip this year. It has left me wondering what other haunted attractions are keeping their doors closed this year, or have possibly had to change venues due to the economy. It also has me wondering about the impact on ghost tours. Casey mentioned to me that a ghost tour local to him is skipping the 2009 season. I had actually been wondering if haunted attractions being closed might drive further business toward guided ghost walks and spooky-themed bus tours. Tours require far less staff and materials than a haunted attraction and despite the economy there are bound to be a large number of folks who will be in search of creepy Halloween thrills.

What is happening with the haunts and tours near you? Have you noticed any changes this year in your local retailers gearing up for the Halloween season? Do you plan on laying low this Halloween? Or are you going all out to spread and enjoy the Halloween spirit?

If you are a haunted attraction owner or an operator of a macabre-themed tour that is running this year, please give us a shout. We'll make sure to plug your business on our Web site.

-Tom G

The Haunting of Malco Theatre

2009-08-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

The Malco Theatre is a celebrated landmark in the tourist city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Although the current building dates back only to 1935, the Central Avenue location has hosted theatrical venues since the 1880s. Previous incarnations were torn down for one reason or another (one after it was gutted by fire), but perhaps something was left behind. In addition to reports of paranormal activity, the Malco Theatre is home to a rather unusual tale. From 1996 until very recently, the theater was also host to Maxwell Blade's Theatre of Magic and while researching the venue's history, he reportedly stumbled across an interesting legend.

The date was August 28, 1888 and a German magician was performing at an early incarnation of the theater when he asked a woman in the audience to join him on stage to assist with his final illusion. The woman was Clara B. Sutherland and a red silk sheet was placed over her. When the magician pulled it away, she had vanished - a fairly normal routine. What was not normal was that when the magician ordered the woman to reappear, she didn't. According to the legend, the woman had simply vanished and could not be summoned back despite the magician's best efforts. She was never seen again. While some might dismiss the tale as being just part of Maxwell Blade's former act, there are several who believe that there is a connection between it and the reports of an apparition of a woman that has been spotted in the venue's basement.

Read more about the Malco Theatre at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

Introducing Edgar, Allan, and Poe

2009-08-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

With the NFL preseason off and running and college football set to kick off in just under two weeks, we figured it okay to take a slight diversion today and look at how the dark side can penetrate popular culture. In 1996, the city of Baltimore, Maryland was thirsting to host their own NFL team (after losing the Colts to Indianapolis in 1983) and the prospects tempted Cleveland Browns owner, Art Modell, to bring his team there. Cleveland did not let go without a fight and a deal was struck between the parties and the NFL to keep the team name and history of the Browns in Cleveland, while designating Modell's team as an “expansion team" or new franchise, despite keeping many of the former Browns players on the roster. Confusing, no? Well, the gist is that the former-Browns were now a new NFL franchise that was in need of a name and the city of Baltimore turned to their citizens for a vote. At long last, the city decided to name the team after the famous poem, The Raven by author Edgar Allan Poe, whose body was laid to rest inside the city limits (see Old Westminster Burial Ground).

For the first two years, the newly-formed Baltimore Ravens played in the city's Memorial Stadium, while a more permanent location was built. They finally took the field in what-is-now M&T Bank Stadium (formerly known as Ravens Stadium and PSINet Stadium) two years later. The final piece of the puzzle was put into place that year when on August 24, 1998, the team's new mascots “hatched" on the field during a preseason game with the Philadelphia Eagles (perhaps starting the ongoing feud between Philadelphia and Baltimore as the one true home of Edgar Allan Poe). The mascots were aptly named Edgar, Allan, and Poe - although apparently only the latter is still with the team to this day (are Edgar and Allan victims of the down economy?). In one more twist to the tale, the infamous Poe Toaster of Old Westminster Burial Ground shocked the city in 2001 when they left a note during their traditional visit to the author's grave that more than strongly put their support behind the New York Giants in the upcoming Super Bowl game with the Ravens. As it would turn out, they must have been sorely disappointed as the Ravens walked away with the game and the crown of Super Bowl champs with a dominating 34-7 victory.

Read more about the Ravens/Poe connection at M&T Bank Stadium.

-Casey H.

The Original Hollywood Celebrity Death

2009-08-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

In a year where celebrity deaths have garnered their fair share of the headlines – most notably with Michael Jackson but also including Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Walter Cronkite, David Carradine, Karl Malden, Dom DeLuise, Patrick McGoohan, John Hughes, and many more – it is worth taking a look back at the fascination and phenomenon of celebrity deaths. Before there ever was a Michael Jackson (and a CNN that still devotes quite a bit of coverage to his death) or an Elvis Presley, there was an Italian actor known as the "Latin Lover," Rudolph Valentino.

The death of Valentino at the young age of 31 following complications of appendicitis was a devastating blow to the film industry and his countless fans. It has been said that there was a growing false sense of security that actors that graced the silver screen were somehow invincible and larger than life. That illusion came crashing down on August 23, 1926 when Valentino passed away in a hospital in New York. His subsequent funeral in that state drew over 100,000 mourners, which caught the organizers completely off guard and unprepared. While the Los Angeles Times ran with the headline, "Scores in Battle to See Valentino Body," the Chicago Tribune perhaps described it best with their headline, "Riot to See Dead Valentino." The NYPD was forced to deploy a large show of force to disrupt the unruly crowds who were unsatisfied with a two-second glimpse at the dead icon.

Things ran smoother when Valentino's body was returned to Los Angeles, California and he was laid to rest in the then-Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery (now known as Hollywood Forever Cemetery). Another crowd of 80,000 mourners witnessed his casket being carried into the Cathedral Mausoleum where he was ultimately interred. The story of Valentino's legacy did not end there though. In fact, the crypt was only meant to be a temporary home, but the plans went awry. Within years, stories of a woman mourner dressed entirely in black making annual visits to his tomb caught on with the press and began the mystery of the "Lady in Black." In fact, the mystery even served as an inspiration to the famous folk tune, The Long Black Veil, which has been popularized by such names as Johnny Cash and The Band.

Read about it and other stories of Hollywood Forever at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

The Siriraj Museum

2009-08-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Today marks five years since the multiple medical museums of the Siriraj Hospital in Thailand were combined into a single large museum. The individual museums that compose the Siriraj Medical Museum, include one dealing with parasitology as well as one specializing in forensic science. The Siriraj's forensics exhibits include a number of macabre items on display; including a severed head that has been cross-sectioned to show the path of a bullet that was fired into it. The most infamous display in the museum is the corpse of See Uey Sae Ung. See Uey was a cannibalistic serial child murderer during the 1940s. The killer, whose crimes have turned him into a legendary bogeyman for the children of Thailand, stands in a state of mummification inside a glass display cabinet, with his face pressed grotesquely right against the glass.

The museum's staff is so dedicated that a few of them continue to work there even in death. The founder of the forensic museum, Songkran Niyomsane, continues to teach medical students in this manner; his skeleton presides over the museum from its own display. Thai medical students who study at the museum often leave gifts at displays containing human remains as form of gratitude for being provided the opportunity to learn. It is common practice for the students to refer to the remains on display respectfully as “Head-Master.”

Pay a visit to the Siriraj Museum to learn more from the “Head-Masters” in residence.

-Tom G

The Missing Colony

2009-08-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

On August 18, 1590, John White returned from three years away overseas to discover that his colony in America, including his family, were all missing from the island of Roanoke. White, who had been elected governor of the colony years earlier, had returned to Europe to bring back supplies for the Roanoke colony. Thanks to a war between Spain and England, his return to the colony was delayed greatly, and he returned to find the colony abandoned and a mystery that still remains officially unsolved more than 400 years later.

What happened to the people of Roanoke Island?

-Tom G

Montana's Nessie

2009-08-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

The months of May through August in the United States see their share of folks hitting the water to escape the heat and/or for a little recreational activity. With so many eyes on the water, it is not surprising that the four months also see a spike of reported sightings of strange objects in the water - especially in places filled with local legends of monsters swimming the deep. Flathead Lake in Northwest Montana is no exception. Sightings of a monster living in the lake date back to 1889 and number around 79 separate reports for the next century - with still more reported in recent years. Tomorrow is the anniversary of one such sighting.

On August 18, 1998, an angler was startled to see something large just below the surface that was closely tailing a lake trout he had hooked and was reeling in. While the report is open to all sorts of speculation, other detailed reports of a monster with a snake-like head and the body of an eel (that some estimates put as large as 40-feet long) are a bit harder to explain. It is these reports of the so-called Flathead Lake Monster that have made the tranquil setting a spot of interest for curious travelers who hope to get a glimpse of the cryptid that has been dubbed Montana's Nessie.

Read the history of the Flathead Lake Monster at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

Fire That Swept the Halloween Capitol of the World

2009-08-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today marks 125 years since a great fire swept through the streets of Anoka, Minnesota and destroyed a total of 86 buildings. The fire, which took place 53 years prior to the city being declared the Halloween Capitol of the World by Congress (see Dark Destinations entry on Anoka), began in a local ice rink and quickly spread to other buildings the night of August 16, 1884. One of the buildings to survive the fire, though heavily damaged, was the Jackson Hotel. The hotel, which had only existed for seven years at the time of the fire, underwent extensive repairs and re-opened nearly a year later. Later renamed Billy's Bar and Grill, the hotel has since been the scene of a murder and a reported haunting - though the haunting does not appear to be connected to either the fire or the murder. Who haunts the former Jackson Hotel?

Pay a visit to Billy's Bar and Grill and see for yourself.

-Tom G

They Went Out, but They Didn't Come Back

2009-08-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Maritime Memorial Park in Astoria, Oregon was consecrated on this date (August 14, 1993) to pay tribute to the local lives that spent their careers at sea - some of which, never came home. Located directly under the Astoria-Megler Bridge (featured in such films as The Goonies, Free Willy, Kindergarten Cop, and The Ring Two), the wall of remembrance is chalked full of stories of the dangerous and sometimes interesting life of sailors and crews that work the open water. Among those featured are the crew of the U.S.S. Astoria (lost in World War II), the coast guard and merchants that were lost where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean (see Mouth of the Columbia River), and a captain of a halibut fishing vessel who freely spoke of his encounters with a large sea monster (nicknamed Colossal Claude locally, but known worldwide as Cadborosaurus or Caddy). The memorial was a filming location for the upcoming horror film, Crimps, by local filmmaker Mick Alderman.

Read about their accounts at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

Exploring The Cabinet

2009-08-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

(TheCabinet painting by Alan M. Clark)

As those of you who have directly visited Dark Destinations may have noticed, the travel guide is actually just one aspect of a larger Web site, TheCabinet.com. Originally founded in 1994, it is one the oldest Internet sites in existence dedicated to the horror genre. While Dark Destinations fits in on the Halloween-side of things, as well as the movie and literary locations, it is our firm belief that the history and mythology found in many of our destinations played an indirect role (if not directly in some cases) in influencing the genre today. That is why many of our locations feature a section dedicated to the location's influence on popular culture - with a heavy emphasis on the darker side of pop culture. As such, we explore the history, legends, and roots of the horror genre in its various mediums on the site and not just in movies.

The literature section has the works of Edgar Allan Poe, the Grimm Brothers and many other classic tales of horror. The movies section has the tongue-in-cheek survival guides for both villains and regular characters in horror films. The music section displays horror-related music on Rhapsody. There are also sections for television, theater and radio. Almost all of TheCabinet.com's departments contain a section for perusing or contributing famous (of infamous) quotes associated with it. Most sections also have discussion forums for fans to discuss horror in its many forms as well.

Pay a visit to TheCabinet.com and check it out!

-Tom G

The Manson Murders on Cielo Drive: 40 Years Later

2009-08-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 40th Anniversary for one of the world's most notorious crimes in the Benedict Canyon area of Beverly Hills, California. On August 9, 1969, housekeeper Winifred Chapman arrived to work at 10050 Cielo Drive and discovered the bodies of Sharon Tate (actress and wife of director Roman Polanski), Jay Sebring (famed hairstylist to the stars), Abigail Folger (heiress to the Folger coffee fortune), Voytek Frykowski (writer and boyfriend of Folger's), and Steven Parent (a local teenager who was in the wrong place at the wrong time) brutally massacred. The murders, coupled with a similarly savage slaying the following evening resulted in a massive paranoia that took over much of Hollywood and the Los Angeles-area and a months-long investigation to find the killers. When the suspects were apprehended, the case only got stranger. The world was introduced to Charles Manson and his band of followers, known as the Family, and their apocalyptic vision of "Helter Skelter."

The murders were conducted that evening by Manson Family members, Charles "Tex" Watson, Susan "Sadie Mae Glutz" Atkins, Patricia "Katie" Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian. The grisly crime propelled 10050 Cielo Drive into the collective memory of the world and made it one of the most infamous properties in the Los Angeles area – A property that continues to see curious onlookers 40 years later. While it may seem rather strange to some that a "crime scene" would continue to attract that kind of interest, there's more to 10050 (later changed to 10066) Cielo Drive than meets the eye. I've recently updated our article on the property and looked at its history from its early days through the crime and beyond and it is easy to see why the site remains one of the most popular stops for out-of-town tourists. As a matter of fact, Tom and I are in the process of expanding all of our Manson Family coverage – from locations we currently cover to countless additional stops associated to the Family and their horrific crime spree.

Read up on 10050 Cielo Drive where the world was introduced to the Manson Family.

-Casey H.

The Plane that Struck the Empire State Building

2009-07-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Given the hustle and bustle of New York City, it is not surprising to find a few stories have slipped out of the collective consciousness and been relegated to a few paragraphs in the trivia section of travel books. However, some forgotten events become somewhat inexplicable when viewed with modern perceptions and fears. Such is the case of a B-25 bomber that crashed into the upper floors of the Empire State Building on this date 64 years ago.

On the morning of July 28, 1945, the so-called "Billy Mitchell" bomber got lost over a deep fog that enveloped the city en route to Newark, New Jersey. Pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Smith, attempted to get his bearings by descending to 1,000 feet, but found he strayed into the heart of the city. He quickly maneuvered his plane to avoid hitting the skyscrapers, but his new course of direction put him directly in line with the Empire State Building. At 9:49 A.M., the plane crashed into the building on 79th floor at a rate of approximately 200 miles per hour. At the time, the nation was nearing the end of World War II and fears immediately resonated throughout the city that it was under attack - an eerie foreshadow of events years later.

Amazingly, the tragedy was not as bad as it could have been as only 14 lives were lost in the crash, including the three-member crew of the B-25, despite a crowd of over 60 people on the observation deck at the time. The reason for this was actually quite simple. It happened on a Saturday and the typically full offices were relatively empty for the weekend. In the middle of destruction, there were also stories of survival and hope – including the tale of a woman that survived a 1,000-foot plunge in one of the building's elevators.

Read more about this and other tales of the Empire State Building.

-Casey H.

30th Anniversary of The Amityville Horror

2009-07-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1979, the first film in a popular haunted house franchise hit screens. On July 27, The Amityville Horror was unleashed and became a box-office success worldwide. The film starred James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger and was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by author Jay Anson. Of course, the film told of the alleged real-life haunting of the Lutz Family in a house located at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York (see Amityville Horror House).

The residence that doubled as that infamous house for the film was actually located in nearby Toms River, New Jersey, as Amityville officials turned down the studio's request to film there – reportedly already fed up with the exposure from the alleged haunting. The success of The Amityville Horror was spawned into countless sequels and even a remake in 2005 (see Amityville Horror Movie House (2005)) and reinvigorated the haunted house sub-genre of horror films. In fact, as this film celebrates its 30th Anniversary, another film based on an reputed haunting tore up screens earlier this year and is currently on top of the DVD rental charts - The Haunting in Connecticut (see The Haunting in Connecticut House).

Celebrate 30 years with a trip to Tom's River.

-Casey H.

Balloon Manor Canceled for 2009

2009-07-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Balloon Manor is a haunted attraction created entirely from balloons that pops up each year in the Rochester, New York area. The story behind Balloon Manor is a romantic one. Artist Larry Moss's wife, Judy, fell into a coma in 2003 due to complications from cancer treatments. Larry would talk to her in the hopes he could bring her out of her unconscious state. One day he promised her that if she would please wake up and return to him, he would celebrate their Halloween wedding anniversary by building her a haunted castle out of balloons. When Judy finally came out of her coma, the one thing she remembered was Larry making that promise to her. In October of 2004, Larry and a team of volunteers fulfilled his romantic promise to his wife and built a 10,000 square foot haunted castle completely out of latex balloons. Everything, including the walls, furniture and monsters were made from balloons: an undertaking that took six and half days and over 100,000 balloons to make. One hundred percent of the profits for Balloon Manor went to cancer charities (and still do). Balloon Manor became a yearly tradition, with the exception of 2005 which was skipped.

Sadly, due to the current state of the economy and a lack of sponsorship this year, there will not be a Balloon Manor in 2009. There has been news coverage of Larry's struggles to drum up the support necessary for creating Balloon Manor, and while it brought in new volunteers and donations, it just wasn't enough to make Balloon Manor 2009 a reality. Larry informed me through email that he was going to make a public announcement about the cancellation later this week. He gave me the go ahead to break the news in advance through Dark Destinations since I was already in the process of updating our entry on Balloon Manor (see Balloon Manor). This is not the end of Balloon Manor, which Larry intends to bring back in the future. This also doesn't mean that Larry Moss doesn't have some other magic up his sleeve; he will also be announcing new upcoming projects that he has in development. To receive the official announcement (as well as future Balloon Manor announcements) you can sign up through http://balloonmanor.com/ or by following Balloon Manor on Twitter. Also, should you wish and are able, you can make monetary donations towards next year's Balloon Manor or even volunteer to help in its creation through the Balloon Manor Web site.

Click here to learn more about Balloon Manor and to view photos from past Balloon Manors.

-Tom G

On the Trail of the Lizard Man

2009-07-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

1988 will forever be known as the "Year of the Lizard Man" in South Carolina. That summer, sightings of a large, unknown cryptid flooded into the police office in Bishopville (see Bishopville, South Carolina) and tensions rose in the small community. A June sighting by a local teenager named Chris Davis set the tone. He reported seeing a bipedal creature that stood seven-to-eight-feet tall with reptilian skin, glowing red eyes, and long, black claws extended from the three fingers on each hand near Scape Ore Swamp. Other reports followed and it was not long before the small South Carolina community was overrun by media from around the world.

Another incident would occur on July 24 that would further provide fuel to the fire. Teenagers, Rodney Nolf and Shane Stokes, were near near Scape Ore Swamp when a large figure quickly ran across the road some 20-feet in front of their car. Coupled with secondary reports of strange howling in the same area, the police were sent out to investigate. What they found were the remains of three 40-gallon cardboard drums scattered about the road and the tops of nearby trees severely damaged some eight feet from the ground. Even more interesting was the trail of three-toed tracks that measured 14 inches long and seven inches wide. The officers were apparently able to follow the tracks 300 yards into Scape Ore Swamp and returned the next day to take castings of three of the prints.

The castings were never submitted for analysis reportedly because they were assured that no possible match to an existing animal would be found. Still other accounts have wildlife officials outright dismissing the prints as outright fakes. For the most part, the reports of an eight-foot reptilian cryptid died off, although there have been a scattering of recent reports in the area that hint that something still lurks in the area. On a sad side-note, Davis was shot to death in his home earlier this year at the young age of 37 in an unrelated incident. While his passing may deprive future investigators of a firsthand account that was considered the most credible and descriptive by local officials, theories are still being thrown around. In fact, one of the more commonly accepted theories of what is lurking in Scape Ore Swamp recalls another legendary cryptid from the area.

Click here to read that theory and even more on the famed Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp.

-Casey H.

The Hawthorne Hotel of Salem, Massachusetts

2009-07-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

The Hawthorne Hotel opened on July 23, 1925 (84 years ago today) in the infamous city of Salem, Massachusetts. The hotel, then known as just The Hawthorne, was named after one of Salem's most accomplished residents, Nathaniel Hawthorne. The name "Hawthorne" actually has an ironic connotation for the city of Salem. While it pays tribute to the famed author, it is also an unintentional reference to the city's dark past. Nathaniel Hawthorne's great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was one of the judges during the Salem Witch Trials, earning him the moniker of "The Witch Hanging Judge," and the only one to refuse to repent for his actions during the time. Out of great shame of his family's legacy, Nathaniel later legally changed his name by adding the "w" to Hawthorne.

Perhaps it is only fitting that a hotel named after an author well known for employing the supernatural in his fiction and whose own past is tied to one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in the United States is itself rumored to be haunted. In fact, there is a legend that the hotel is built on the former apple orchard of Bridget Bishop, the first person to be executed during the infamous trials. According to reports, guests and staff alike encounter the phantom smell of apples throughout the hotel to this very day. Of course, that is just one of the many ghostly legends tied to the hotel. In fact, if the stories are to be believed, the hotel is one of the most haunted locations not only in the state of Massachusetts, but in the entire country.

Read more on the ghosts and legends of the Hawthorne Hotel.

-Casey H.

The Mad Dog Killers of Mansfield Reformatory

2009-07-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio might be better known by its unofficial name, Mansfield Reformatory. The former reformatory is renowned for its paranormal activity and spooky appearance, which has led many to dub the facility, "Dracula's Castle." Today, it is known in the paranormal field as something of an ideal training grounds for would-be ghost hunters to learn the tools of the trade. After all, the prison is steeped in legends of past inmate violence and other notorious goings-on. In fact, sometimes it is quite difficult to separate the legend from reality, For example, it is not uncommon to hear that the Ohio State Reformatory housed the worst of the worst in the state of Ohio. In reality, it was an intermediate facility whose inmates were those too old to serve in a juvenile detention center, yet too young for the hard life awaiting them at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus. That's not say that the facility did not have its bad apples and bloodshed. In fact, today is the anniversary of one of the reformatory's most notorious crimes.

July 21, 1948 marked the start of a two-week crime spree that would take the lives of six innocent civilians and spread fear throughout the community. Interestingly, the crimes were sparked not by inmates then serving time, but rather two men who had recently been paroled. On this day 61 years ago, Robert Daniels and John West returned to Ohio State Reformatory to enact revenge on an employee of the prison. When that individual could not be located, the two men went to the home of the prison's farm superintendent and kidnapped the man, his wife and his daughter. They took the three souls to a nearby cornfield and executed them in cold blood. As it turned out, the crime spree had only just begun and it would last for two weeks longer until it ended in a shootout with West dead and Daniels in handcuffs. Robert Daniels would ultimately be executed for the crimes, for which the press dubbed the men the "Mad Dog Killers."

Read more of the history and the stories of ghostly activity at the Ohio State Reformatory.

-Casey H.

She Cries by the Light of the Moon

2009-07-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 touching down on the lunar surface, we thought we would throw together our own little tribute to the Moon.

Our first stop is on the Earth's surface and at just one of many legends that the Moon is said to play a role. The story behind the lake and a small falls at Creve Coeur County Park in Missouri (just outside St. Louis) involves a Native American princess whose love of a French fur trader went unrequited. With a shattered heart, she took her own life by jumping from the cliff near the lake and her agony was suddenly reflected by the lake itself, which morphed to resemble a broken heart, while a small spring began to run over the cliff to represent her tears. Today, the ghost of the young maiden is said to be seen crying at the top of the cliff on Dripping Springs, but only by the light of the full Moon. On other nights, she is seen and heard in other ways.

Read more about the Native American Princess at Creve Coeur County Park.

We'll leave our own atmosphere for our next stop. As many of you are aware, Dark Destinations incorporates Google Maps into our site to make navigating your travels all the more easier. While Google Maps, and its offshoot Google Earth, are extremely popular, not everyone is aware that Google's reach extends beyond our own planet. In fact, Google has launched similar service that maps out and give you a satellite's view of the Moon (a similar interface is also available for the planet Mars). On Google Moon, they have even added an interface that allows you to see the landing spots of the Apollo missions and learn even more about what each mission entailed. Unfortunately, some features like Street View are not yet an option for obvious reasons. However, it probably won't be long knowing Google. Why else do you think NASA has future plans to send unmanned craft back to the lunar surface?

We do not yet have any Dark Destinations on the Moon, but maybe someday. After all, as Pink Floyd put it, “There is no dark side of the Moon, really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark."

-Casey H.

The Sun Rises on Day of the Dead

2009-07-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

Following the cult-like status of his previous zombie films (Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead), George A. Romero set out in 1984 to make the third film in the original trilogy. Although it had a limited release just weeks earlier, Day of the Dead zombie-walked into a much wider release on this day in 1985. Romero had originally intended to make a high budget zombie film and he had arranged around seven million in financing. However, the budget was sliced in half after a dispute arose between the financiers and Romero when the latter insisted that the film be released unrated, rather than submit it to the Motion Pictures Association of America and receive a probable 'X' rating.

Although the film utilized locations in both Pennsylvania (the ol' stomping grounds in former Romero zombie films) and Florida, the major set piece of Day of the Dead was an underground military facility where the humans could live in safety from the zombie apocalypse outside. In reality, the base was a former limestone mine (known as the Wampum Mine in Wampum, Pennsylvania) that had been converted into an underground storage facility shortly after World War II. Today, the facility still serves in that capacity and is now known as the Gateway Commerce Center. While the inside may be locked off to tourists interested in its zombie-lore past, it still manages to hold a special place in the pantheons of the Romero's Dead films.

Read more on the Wampum Mine.

-Casey H.

Escape from Fort Delaware

2009-07-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

In the early days of the American Civil War, the Union-run prisoner of war camp, Fort Delaware, still had a relatively low inmate population (still over half of what it would become only a year later) and few problems. It was run by Captain Augustus Gibson, whose general philosophy was to show the same respect and treatment to the captured Confederate troops that he would hope to be shown if he was in their shoes. While the attitude won him respect from the very prisoners he was in charge of guarding, it also raised suspicions about his loyalty to the Union by some of his troops and nearby residents. He remained confident of his approach however and that confidence proved to be his undoing.

After a general had visited the camp and had expressed a specific concern regarding the lack of gunboat patrols around the island that could keep a lookout for escape attempts, Captain Gibson assured his general that he had things completely under control. Only a few weeks later, this would prove to be a big mistake. 143 years ago to this day, 19 inmates at Fort Delaware constructed a makeshift raft and managed to navigate it across the Delaware River to the shore of Delaware, where local residents aided in their escape. For the high command it was obvious that Gibson's overconfidence (and suspect allegiance) was a detriment to his command and he was removed.

Things changed drastically after Gibson had left the camp. The population continued to swell and the treatment of the inmates went from bad to worse. In total, the Union estimates put the total of successful escape attempts at 273, although Confederate estimates nearly double, if not quadruple, the number. Escapes from the island were fraught with danger. Those that tried faced everything from drowning in the swift currents to patrol boats to sentries to sharks. It is unclear about how many perished by attempting to escape, which might account for some of the paranormal activity reported on the grounds of the former prison to this day. During the second week of June, these escape attempts are recreated with the annual Escape from Fort Delaware Triathlon, which attracts around 400 athletes per year.

Read more tales of Fort Delaware.

-Casey H.

The Myths and Legends of the Hollywood Sign

2009-07-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

Now a world-famous landmark, the Hollywood Sign was originally erected in 1923 to advertise real estate above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. It was officially dedicated on July 13 and each letter on the sign originally measured 30 feet wide and 50 feet high (it has since been resized) and adorned with light bulbs - 4,000 in total. While the real estate deal didn't work out, the sign was unofficially adopted by the burgeoning film industry as a symbolic marquee of the very industry itself.

Today, the sign is maintained by the Hollywood Sign Trust and has countless imitators around the world. While the sign is an iconic image for Hollywood, it is also the subject of countless of stories. Aside from the various urban legends about the sign, the various pranks throughout the years, its regular appearance (and typically destruction in film and television), the sign was also the site of a tragic suicide of a young starlet within a decade of its dedication. Following her death, the sign has also become the source for countless tales of paranormal activity and apparitions that are said to haunt the sign to this day.

Read all of the stories of the Hollywood Sign.

-Casey H.

100 Years of Ghosts and Monsters at Oregon Caves

2009-07-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 100th Anniversary of President William Howard Taft declaring a 480-acre plot of land in Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains as the Oregon Caves National Monument. The massive marble cave in the mountain has since been open to tour groups and expansion into further caverns has expanded the tour to 90 minutes today. 25 years later, the Oregon Caves Chateau was built directly adjacent the caves entrance to serve overnight guests to the park. In the years since, both have gained a reputation for some rather strange experiences.

Deep in the caves is an appropriately-named Ghost Room, which is said to be haunted by formal guide who was known for his pranks. Recently in 2000, an Oregon psychologist was walking with his family on the trails outside the cave when he reported seeing large upright figure that he described as fitting the descriptions of the famous Bigfoot. In the Chateau, guests on the third floor (and Room 310 in particular) have reported strange activity that staff have attributed to the ghost of Elizabeth - An early guest that was said to take her life on her honeymoon after finding her husband in another woman's arms.

From Tom and I here at Dark Destinations, a very happy 100 years to the Oregon Cave National Monument and all of its stories! Here's hoping that the next 100 bring even more interesting stories to light.

Read more stories about the Oregon Caves National Monument.

Or pay a visit to Elizabeth and Room 310 at the Oregon Caves Chateau.

-Casey H.

The Bell Witch in Mississippi

2009-07-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

The stories of the Bell Witch haunting and tormenting the Bell family in Adams, Tennessee are well known and documented (see The Bell Witch Historical Marker). However, there is another part of the story that is seldom told. Following the death of John Bell (some say at the hands of the entity), the life of the other focus of the spirit's taunting, Elizabeth “Betsy" Bell, was not much better. Though the “haunting" had seemingly finished for the time being, Betsy continued to suffer a variety of hardships and tragedies. She would live to see the death of five of her children (four at a young age, the fifth died fighting in the Civil War). Her husband, Richard Powell, would suffer a stroke and Betsy (now Elizabeth Powell) would spend 11 years caring for him before his death.

The story of the Bell Witch haunted Betsy for the rest of her life. In 1849, she was forced to threaten a lawsuit against the Saturday Evening Post who had recounted the legend of the entity, but alleged that the paranormal accounts were fiction and that Betsy was actually responsible for the events themselves. The magazine recanted the article and publicly apologized to Betsy.

In her later years, she moved to Mississippi to be closer to her children. She died there July 11, 1888 and was laid to rest at the Long Branch Cemetery in Water Valley. However, the story was not quite done. There are many that allege that the Bell Witch's torment of Betsy Bell continued until the day she died. In fact, there are many that report strange activity in and around Long Branch Cemetery to this day and that whatever taunted Betsy Bell in life has stayed around her even in death.

Visit the Long Branch Cemetery in Water Valley, Mississippi.

-Casey H.

The Death of a Los Angeles Icon

2009-07-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

90 years ago today, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith passed away at the age of 69. Griffith's name will forever be connected to the city of Los Angeles, California for the famous Griffith Park or Griffith Observatory, which were donated to the city by the eccentric industrialist. The park has long been connected with the so-called “Griffith Park Curse," though its roots extend back before his ownership. The legend states that a curse was placed on the land over a real estate dispute following the ownership of Don Antonio Feliz. The reported curse ravaged the finances of subsequent owners and even resulted in some of their untimely ends. Griffith's time was no different as similar misfortunes continued and he even reported seeing ghostly specters haunting the property at night. Reportedly hoping to escape the curse, Griffith donated the land to the city in 1896.

Some allege that it did little good, as Griffith's eccentricities were only exacerbated during his ownership of the property. Only seven years after his donation, Griffith accused his wife Christina of conspiring with the Pope to poison him and shot her in the head. She survived the attack, but Griffith's lawyers were able to use his stature in the community to secure him a short two-year prison sentence. Following his incarceration, Griffith tried to repair his name by donating money for the observatory, an amphitheater, and more at the park, but he was turned down by the city who did not want to associate with a known felon. Only after his death in 1919 did the city relent and accept Griffith's final gifts to the city. Griffith J. Griffith was laid to rest at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Click here to read about more personalities at Hollywood Forever.

-Casey H.

A Change of Ownership at the Bates Motel

2009-07-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1987, the NBC network debuted the two-hour TV movie, Bates Motel, which picked up on the legacy of the Psycho series. In the film, an inmate by the name of Alex West (Bud Cort) is cell mate with the notorious Norman Bates (Kurt Paul). Near death, Bates encourages the soon-to-be-released West to take over ownership of his infamous hotel and bring it back to respectability. West is aided by a runaway named Willie (Lori Petty) in his new venture, but strange things begin to happen.

Marketed at the time as a thriller/comedy, Bates Motel was originally conceptualized as the pilot to a potential new series. As it turned out, it had a respectful debut and placed number one in programming against reruns on other networks. Regardless, studio executives decided against continuing the storyline in series format and the idea was shelved. Today, copies of Bates Motel are hard to come by, as the TV movie has had no known official DVD release. Naturally, the infamous Bates Motel and Psycho House on the Universal back lot were used for the new take on the Psycho mythos, as they were for the films (with one exception). While they are easily recognizable from those works, it is not generally known that the motel and house have also made quite a few appearances in other unrelated works as well.

Read more on the history of the famous set pieces - Psycho House and Bates Motel.

-Casey H.

The Basin Park Hotel of Eureka Springs

2009-07-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Although often overshadowed by its often better known sister-hotel, Crescent Hotel (see Crescent Hotel & Spa), the Basin Park Hotel offers more stories for ghost enthusiasts to explore in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The hotel opened on this date in 1905 and at one-time hosted unsavory Chicago mobsters because of the hotel's owners outright ignoring of city laws that banned alcohol and slot machines. Today, the site plays host to ghost tours that explore not only the hotel itself, but downtown Eureka Springs. Like the Crescent, multiple spirits are said the haunt the halls of Basin Park Hotel and guests and staff alike still report strange encounters to this day.

Read the history and stories of the Basin Park Hotel.

-Casey H.

The First Days of the Haunting in Connecticut

2009-06-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

On June 30, 1986, the Snedeker family (formerly of New York) relocated to the city of Southington, Connecticut to be closer to the hospital where their son was receiving treatment for cancer. They rented the downstairs portion of a home on Meriden Avenue that had recently been converted to serve multiple tenants. Before then, the building had been the home of the Hallahan Funeral Home. Over the next two and a half years, the family would report an assortment of paranormal activity that they claimed grew increasingly violent towards them and ultimately resulted in an exorcism. Their accounts of their stay in the home have been debated to this day by skeptics and believers alike and are the source of a book, television docudrama, and most recently a feature film titled The Haunting in Connecticut. The film's DVD release is slated for July 14 and is sure to renew interest in the story.

Read the accounts, controversy, and adaptations of the reported haunting at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

The Takeover of Cashtown Inn

2009-06-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

The small community of Cashtown, Pennsylvania flirted with the events of the United States Civil War in late-1862 when a Confederate calvary briefly occupied the town, but it was short lived. It is possible that the citizens thought a similar scenario was underway when on this date in 1863, Confederate Major General A.P. Hill arrived in town and immediately set up headquarters in the town's Cashtown Inn. However, this time was different. A few days later, General Henry Heth would lead his men to a town seven miles away in search of supplies and encounter forces of the Union Army. A fight would erupt. The nearby city was Gettysburg and a battle was underway that would cause mass casualties on both sides and be a pivotal engagement in the war and the history of the United States.

Aside from forever becoming intra-linked with the infamous Battle of Gettysburg, the small community, and Cashtown Inn in particular, would find reminders in another way. Today, the inn is well known for its ghost stories and tales of paranormal encounters. In recent years, its stories have been featured and investigated by the likes of Ghost Hunters and the Travel Channel's Mysterious Journeys, as well as countless books that explore the ghosts of the Civil War.

Read more about the ghosts of the Civil War at Cashtown Inn.

-Casey H.

The Sentencing of Chante Mallard

2009-06-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

On June 27, 2003 former nurse's aid Chante Mallard was sentenced to fifty years in prison for the death of Gregory Biggs. The case for which she had been tried is infamously known as the Windshield Murder. On October 26, 2001, Mallard struck Biggs with her vehicle. The unfortunate victim became lodged in the winshield of her car. Under the influence of alchohol and possibly other substances, Mallard decided not to report the accident and drove home. Mallard then apparently left the poor injured man trapped in her garage where he finally died.

The tale of Gregory Bigg's miserable death quickly circulated among the public, however with many false details and even led to a film in 2007 (Stuck) that is loosely based on the rumors surrounding the case. These tales excentuate the cruelty of Mallard by having Biggs lingering for days in her garage as Mallard coldly alternates between ignoring the man and plotting how to dispose of him. This is known to be false, in that Gregory Biggs was revealed through forensics and testimony to have died within hours of the accident.

Accomplices of Mallard's dumped the corpse of Gregory Biggs in nearby Cobb Park. The park has been the scene of many crimes and has been a dumping ground for murder and rape victims on multiple occasions. Many of the crimes remain unsolved. Luckily in the case of the murder of Gregory Biggs, the people responsible were put on trial and are facing the punishment meted out by the court system.

Click here to learn more details about the Windshield Murder case and other crimes associated with Cobb Park.

-Tom G

The Desecration of a General's Grave

2009-06-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Today marks nine years since it was discovered that someone had desecrated the remains of Civil War General Elisha G. Marshall at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY. The dead man's bones were discovered scattered around his place of interment. His skull wasn't discovered among the littered remains and still has not been recovered all these years later. Was the act a misguided and sick prank or was it part of one of a dark ritual; one of the ones said to take place within the confines of the large cemetery from time to time? Odds are that someone out there knows the truth... and the current whereabouts of the missing skull.

The crime isn't the only one to occur inside the cemetery's gates. Wander to the Mt. Hope Cemetery to discover what horrible thing happened there on Halloween night last year.

-Tom G

When Japan Struck the U.S. Mainland in WWII

2009-06-21T13:08:00.001-07:00

On this date in 1942, a Japanese I-25 submarine surfaced just miles from the Northwest Oregon coastline using night as its cover and the soldiers inside ran to their battle stations. Their target was an area of land on the northwest corner of the state where they believed a U.S. Naval Station, complete with submarines and destroyers, was stationed. Their goal was to strike back at the U.S. Mainland, after being caught off guard by the U.S. Doolittle Raid on Japan, and divert further military resources to shoring up the protection of the mainland. An earlier shelling of the Ellwood oil production facilities near Santa Barbara, California had caused no casualties and only $500-1,000 worth of damage.

In reality, a Naval Station had been approved, but was not yet under construction. However, it was home to the American military installation, Fort Stevens, that served to protect the mouth of the Columbia River. It was home to 2,500 soldiers who immediately ran to their stations when the first shell was fired. Because the Japanese were cautiously keeping their gun sight free in case of American reinforcements from the air, they fired at nothing in particular, attempting to draw return fire to hone in on their target. However, orders were quickly dispersed at Fort Stevens not to return fire (either because they were concerned about giving away their positions or that the submarine was out of range of their cannons). In total, 17 shells rained down on the Oregon coastline before the Japanese submarine re-submerged and escaped into the night.

The only reported casualty of the shelling was a baseball diamond backstop. The closest the shells came to a military post was about 300 yards in front of Battery Russell. The concrete artillery battery dated back to the early 1900s and it would be decommissioned before the end of the war. Today it is a popular tourist destination in the park, and home to a ghostly night watchman according to some. Another shell that reportedly landed nearby is marked today by a historical landmark that relates the seldom reported attack. While the attacks were less than successful in causing major casualties and/or damage, it did create widespread panic up and down the West Coast of America and helped reinforce the need to “relocate” Americans of Japanese ancestry into internment camps for the duration of the war.

Check out the historical landmark and read more stories of Battery Russell.

-Casey H.

The Salem Saga

2009-06-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

On June 20, 1970, the cast and crew of the popular television situation comedy Bewitched moved their production to the city of Salem, Massachusetts. The decision to suddenly shoot a series of episodes on location was necessitated by a fire that damaged and destroyed some of the Bewitched sets in the studio that normally housed the production. The writers rapidly set to work, crafting a series of episodes that would have the characters visiting both Salem and Gloucester, Massachusetts.

The on-location shoots brought an expected temporary burst of business to Salem, which had been financially suffering as its shipping business decreased over the years. It also had an unexpected long term effect in that the episodes, once aired, caused tourism interest among some television viewers. The initial boost in tourism turned into escalating waves of tourists, until Salem was transformed into the city full of museums, tourist shops, psychics, and haunted attractions it is today.

The episodes which where shot on location in Massachusetts are collectively referred to as The Salem Saga. Among the episodes are two that deal with an enchanted bed warmer that chases Samantha following her visit to Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables.

Venture to the House of Seven Gables and see what follows you home.

-Tom G

A Tribute to the Lake Erie Monster

2009-06-19T02:05:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day 2005 (June 19th), Dale and Gerard Schofield debuted their own personal tribute to their recently deceased father, Thomas. In 1994, Thomas decided to pay tribute to an area's local legend by building a full-scale replica. Sightings of the Lake Erie Monster, also known as South Bay Bessie or just Bessie, date back to 1793 and have continued sporadically in recent years (see Lake Erie). A flurry of sightings in the late-1980s/early-1990s inspired one bordering town to capitalize on the marketing potential. In 1990, the town of Huron, Ohio passed a proclamation that declared the town was the “National Live Capture and Control Center for the Lake Erie Monster.” To further their cause, the local businesses joined efforts to raise $102,700 for the live capture of the creature, as well as built a containment pen where Bessie would be relocated if captured.

Schofield joined in on the fun in 1994 and released his 35-foot replica of Bessie in a marshy area near the Huron River and in full-view of passing motorists on SR-2. The sculpture was firmly embraced by the local community and remained in place until 2004 when it mysteriously disappeared following Schofield's death. The marsh area would remain empty for one more year until Schofield's sons stepped up. On Father's Day, the two men payed tribute to their father by building their own sculpture and even gave it its own “baby monster” to keep it company. At last word, the sculpture had been damaged, but no word on if it has been repaired or whether it has managed to stay around this time. As for Huron, Ohio – No lake monster (alive or dead) has ever been turned in for the reward, but the reward is still out there.

Read more tales of Bessie and Huron.

-Casey H.

The Haunted Old West Ghost Town

2009-06-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1863, the town of Virginia City, Montana was officially registered, although the townspeople originally opted for the name, Varina - a name that did not sit well with Union officials during the American Civil War. Varina happened to be the first name of Confederate President Jefferson Davis's wife, Varina Howell Davis, and its selection was no accident. At the time, the overwhelming population of "Varina" happened to be Confederate sympathizers, despite being in the heart of the Idaho Territory, which was in the Union. Rather than accept the townspeople's choice of a name, Union officials recorded the registration as Virginia City. The name snub by the officials was one thing, but there are some that wonder if those same officials were not responsible for a terror that was yet to come.

At the time, Virginia City was a booming gold-rush town with no law protection. Crime was rampant in the town until the arrival of a force of men known as the Vigilance Commission. These vigilantes took matters into their own hands, serving as judge, jury, and executioner and their methods were brutal. According to some, some of their "criminals" did nothing wrong outside being sympathetic to the Confederate movement. It is also said that much of the gold that was found in the town played a major role in funding the Union Army during the Civil War.

Virginia City, Montana still hosts a population around 100 today, although the structures and ambience are really frozen in the time of its glory days. Aside from being a popular tourist stop as a living "ghost town," it has also gained a reputation of another sorts. Today, the community is considered the most haunted town in the state of Montana - probably due, in no small measure, to its violent past. A popular tourist stop in town is with the Virginia City Ghost Walks, who pass along the paranormal legends that hide in the shadows.

Take a walk through Virginia City, Montana.

-Casey H.

The Incarceration of a Wild Bunch Member

2009-06-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

112 years ago on this date, Henry "Bub" Meeks was arrested in Fort Bridget, Wyoming. While initially charged with a robbery charge, the authorities were more interested in Meeks for a crime that had been committed in the state of Idaho. Just under a year before his arrest, it was alleged that Meeks, together with Wild Bunch gang members Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay, had held up a bank in Montpelier, Idaho. Unfortunately for Meeks, he had been designated lookout on the heist and as such, did not wear a bandana over his face. Since Cassidy and Lay both entered the bank and held it up, they did although it was generally well acknowledged that the bank had been hit by the "famous" Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch.

Due to the easy identification, Meeks was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to serve time at the Old Idaho Penitentiary in Boise. During his stay, Meeks made two failed escape attempts. For his efforts in his last attempt, he received a bullet in the leg that later required amputation. Now severely handicapped, he turned to attempting suicide to escape the prison's walls. In one of the cases, he managed to climb a 35-foot wall and made a dramatic leap to his supposed demise. He received only minor injuries. The story of Meeks did not end there and he is only one of many stories of the Old Idaho Penitentiary.

Click here to read more.

-Casey H.

The Mystery of the Stars and Stripes

2009-06-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1777, the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the original 13-star version of the United States Flag. Not surprisingly, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 that officially declared today as Flag Day, although not technically an official Federal holiday. The state of Pennsylvania, however, decided to declare it a legal, state holiday in 1937. Of course, the Stars and Stripes and Pennsylvania are forever intertwined as the flag's origins date back to the state itself. As popular legend goes, the Philadelphia seamstress, Betsy Ross, is credited with sewing the first flag.

This brings us to yet another anniversary. On this date in 1937, in conjunction with the declaration of Flag Day as a state holiday in Pennsylvania, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia opened its doors to the general public. Today, the house is still welcoming tourists from around the world, although it has a few mysteries of its own. Aside from reports of paranormal encounters, the restless burials (plural) of Ross herself, there are now questions of the role the woman, now called America's Seamstress, played in the creation of the American Flag. Did someone else design the flag or is Ross the victim of conspiracy theories?

Pay a visit to her house and decide for yourself.

-Casey H.

30 Years Since Darla Left Us

2009-06-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

On today's date in 1979, actress/singer Darla Hood unexpectedly passed away at the age of 47 years. Hood, who was primarily known for work she had done as a child actor in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) series of film shorts, had been attempting to organize a reunion of Our Gang actors to take place during the following year. Sadly, her plans and life itself were interrupted when she contracted a fatal hepatitis infection during an apparently routine medical procedure.

Of the child actors who appeared in the Our Gang shorts, one committed suicide, two (including Darla) died at early ages due to medical problems, two died in accidents and three were the victims of homicide. These deaths, along with other cases of misfortune involving the former child stars has led some to believe that there is a curse upon the cast of producer/director Hal Roach's comedy series. There are others who say that statistically the numbers are not extreme for the small sample of the population that the Our Gang actors represent. Either way, there are definitely some dark and tragic tales among the life stories of the Little Rascals.

Pay a visit to Hollywood Forever, where Darla Hood and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer are interred.

-Tom G

The Other Tragedy at Ford's Theatre

2009-06-09T13:44:00.001-07:00

Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. has a long and storied history. Originally built as the home to the First Baptist Church of Washington in 1833, it was converted to the theater, Ford's Athenaeum in 1861 after being purchased by John T. Ford. After a fire necessitated a rebuild, it reopened as the infamous Ford's Theatre. It served in this capacity when its place in history would be forever cemented with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 as he attended a play inside the theater.

While most people know Ford's Theatre as the site of Lincoln's assassination, few know of another tragedy that struck the building years later. After serving as the site of various government-related offices over the years, Ford's Theatre had become the clerk's office for the War Department by 1893. On June 9th of that year, tragedy would once again rear its head at Ford's Theatre. On that day, the front of the building collapsed and 22 people lost their lives, while another 68 were gravely injured. Given the amount of lives that were lost, including the high profile assassination of Abraham Lincoln, gossip began to circulate that the theater was forever cursed and the superstitions necessitated its transformation into a government warehouse.

Ford's Theater has avoided any further tragedies to this date and has since been re-opened as a theater and museum to the life (and death) of Lincoln. While the talks of a curse seem to have subsided, there are still rumors of ghosts and paranormal activity haunting the facility to this day. In fact, stories persist that Lincoln's assassination still plays out in paranormal form from time to time inside the historic building.

Read more stories of the historic Ford's Theatre.

-Casey H.

No Justice in the Death of George Wythe

2009-06-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1806, the so-called "Father of American Jurisprudence" passed away from arsenic poisoning. Wythe earned that moniker as the first professor of law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, but he has other historical accomplishments as well. In addition to being one of the Virginia delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence, he was also one of three to draw up the rules and procedures for the Constitutional Convention.

Later in his life, Wythe became an abolitionist and followed through by freeing his slaves. Taken his new viewpoint one step further, Wythe amended his will to provide for his former slaves, Lydia Broadnax and her son, Michael Brown - today there is speculation that she was his lover and the boy was his son. The news did not set well with his grandnephew, George Wythe Sweeney, and other heir to his fortune, who decided to take the matter into his own hands and devised a plan to poison them with arsenic. Wythe and Brown received a fatal dosage of arsenic, while Broadnax survived. Due to bigoted laws that forbade testimony of blacks against whites, Sweeney was acquitted of the crime. However, Wythe had survived the poisoning long enough to write his grandnephew completely out of his will - administering the only justice they would receive.

Wythe is buried in the cemetery at the St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia - the historical site of Patrick Henry's famous "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech. Wythe is one of many historical figures buried there, including the mother of famed horror author, Edgar Allan Poe.

Read more stories of the Richmond St. John's Episcopal Church.

-Casey H.

The Active Month of the Haunted Highway

2009-06-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

Stories of haunted highways and phantom hitchhikers are known around the world. While there are variations to the tales depending on the locale, there are often similarities. The story of Highway 365 in Arkansas is no exception with the familiar tale of concerned drivers stopping to give a ride to a teenage girl; often wearing a torn and bloodied prom dress. After following the directions to her house, the driver arrives to find that the girl has mysteriously disappeared from the backseat of the car.

Interestingly, this particular account is tied to an accident that is said to occurred in the 1950s where a young woman and her date die in a car accident on the way to their prom. The tie to the prom might explain why this particular girl is often said to be most often cited in the month of June on or around a bridge on Highway 365 (formerly known as Highway 65).

This tale is also tied to Dark Destinations interestingly enough. You may or may not have noticed our unofficial logo (or one of the many variations) of the dark road. The road is none other than Highway 365 that was taken when else, but in the month of June 2007. Sadly, the hitchhiker did not make an appearance that night, but one never knows if and when she might be popping up this year.

-Casey H.

Vampire Proms and Ghosts at the View Point Inn

2009-06-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1925, the now world-famous View Point Inn opened its doors and offered its guests a spectacular view of the Columbia River Gorge in Corbett, Oregon. Although originally opened as the Palmer House, the inn underwent various name changes with consecutive owners until current owner Geoff Thompson reopened the facility in 2007.

Since its purchase and reopening, staff and guests alike have reported unexplained ghostly phenomenon. Among the wide-range of activity cited (credited to not one but two ghosts) are cigar smoke that appears from nowhere, disembodied footsteps, doors that open and close on their own, drapes that jump off their supports, the sounds of a child giggling, and more. Although its paranormal stories are only now coming to light, the View Point Inn is perhaps more famous for its recent appearance in the 2008 hit vampire film, Twilight. In the film, the inn played host to the famous prom sequence, which appears at the end of the movie. Not missing an opportunity when it lands on their laps, the View Point Inn continues to host Twilight-themed parties and events to this day.

Read more on the View Point Inn.

-Casey H.

Spooky Legends of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

2009-06-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Recognized today as one of the more luxurious hotels in the world, the famous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel has a rather twisted and dark history. Opened originally as the Banff Springs Hotel (the Fairmont name was added in 2000 when it joined the hotel chain) on June 1, 1888, the Canadian hotel got off to a rather odd start when it was discovered one year into the construction that the structure had been inexplicably built backwards from the original plans. Adding to the mystery and quirkiness, a design flaw would result in one room being constructed with a lack of any windows and doors - essentially being walled off and forgotten until years later.

Over its history, the hotel has endured a fire that necessitated a rebuilding, as well as countless ghost tales and legends. Among its reputed otherworldly inhabitants are a bellhop that refused to leave after his death, a ghostly bride that is sometimes seen covered in flames, an ever-helpful unseen bartender, and a missing room rumored to have been the site of a tragic murder and where fingerprints of a young victim are said to be impossible to remove from the room's mirror. While some account these tales to the fanciful imagination (and early marketing ideas) of a former manager, others insist that something strange is afoot in the grand old hotel.

Hear the ghostly tales of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

-Casey H.

Tornadoes and Zombies in Pennsylvania

2009-05-31T06:23:00.000-07:00

In July 1967, a group of filmmakers descended on a cemetery in rural Pennsylvania to film the opening scene of their small independent horror film. The film involved a group of survivors trying to find refuge as the dead inexplicably became reanimated and sought to devour living human flesh. The small film was George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and it is considered one of the greatest (and most important) horror films of all time. Its success and cult following has also transformed Evans City Cemetery into a must-see tourism spot for fans interested in seeing where it all began.

In the fictional world, the cemetery in essence ushered in a zombie apocalypse that resulted in several sequels and countless imitations – spawning the flesh-devouring sub-genre of zombie horror films. Evans City Cemetery is still overly recognizable as that virtual “ground zero” of the dead rising from the grave… mostly. Some visitors to the grounds might not know that the cemetery was the site of true chaos and destruction a couple of decades following the film’s release – courtesy of Mother Nature. On May 31, 1985, a tornado touched down on the cemetery grounds and wiped out trees, shrubbery, a mausoleum, and displaced 361 gravestones. It was only one of many tornadoes that struck the state of Pennsylvania (and surrounding states) that day, which caused mass destruction and took the lives of 69 people.

Pay a visit to Evans City Cemetery.

-Casey H.

He Hangs Upside Down and Backwards

2009-05-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

If you were to visit the city of Salem, Massachusetts, one sight you'd be unlikely to see would be the Salem Marine Society's meeting place. It is hidden from the public, way up high on the roof of the Hawthorne Hotel. The society has long met at that location (though once at a lower elevation), even prior to the construction of the hotel itself. The meeting place of the Salem Marine Society is closed to the general public, though it would probably make a fine tourist attraction. The small building that sits atop the Hawthorne was actually constructed to look like the cabin of an old sailing ship known as the Taria Topan. Within the meeting room are relics of Salem's marine past, a time when the shipping industry was the life's blood of Salem's economy rather than tourism.

Among the old items to be found in the Salem Marine Society's headquarters are a pair of portraits with an unusual tale behind them. Both portraits are of the same man, Lt. Matthew Fontaine Maury; only one of the portraits is hung upside down and facing the wall. It has hung in that manner for 148 years as of today. On May 30, 1861, the Salem Marine Society voted to so dishonor Maury (who had been named an honorary member due to his great naval achievements, particularly in the field of navigation) due to his efforts in the Confederate Navy. The same talents that had allowed Maury to benefit mariners in general had made him a deadly foe that had cost the Union dearly in the lives of their own Navy. It was decided that his portrait would hang in dishonor rather than be entirely removed from the meeting place.

In 2007, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities provided the Salem Mariner's Society with a new portrait of Maury and a sign detailing his accomplishments. The Society hung the new portrait and sign in a proper manner next to the disgraced portrait. While the Salem Mariner's Society now honors Maury with the newer portrait, there is no plan to change the state of the old portrait which continues to hang upside down and backwards due to the side he chose in the war.

This is one of the many stories behind the Hawthorne Hotel. Pay a visit to the Hawthorne to read other tales associated with the hotel.

-Tom G

Dark Destinations Top 50 for Spring 2009

2009-05-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of the current top 50 location articles at Dark Destinations. The popularity of the articles is determined by the number of hits each has gotten since they premiered on the Web site. Some of the articles found on this list have been on Dark Destinations for years at this point, others (such as our current number three on the list) have been featured on the site for only a few months. Our first number one location (Waverly Hills Sanatorium) has slid to the number five spot over the past year. The location currently in the number one spot (The Sylvia Likens House) was recently demolished. While it has a large lead, it wouldn't be entirely surprising to see The Haunting in Connecticut House give it a run for its money when The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) hits DVD later this year. Fans of the Twilight books and movie will be pleased to see that locations associated with both are featured multiple times on the list.

We will once again post a top locations list in October. We already have some ideas what may be rising up the list, based on the aforementioned DVD release as well as an upcoming 40th anniversary of an infamous crime that already has multiple locations associated with it listed at Dark Destinations. Of course, Casey and I have at times been surprised by a location rising up the chart faster than we could have predicted or by an unpredictable event in the news that drives new readers to read one of our articles. We can make educated guesses, but we can't predict the future. It will be interesting to see how things will change over the next five months. Click on any of the fifty links below to read the article in question.

-Tom G

1. The Sylvia Likens House
2. Twilight (2008): Thunderbird and Whale
3. The Haunting in Connecticut House
4. Twilight Saga: The Cullen House
5. Waverly Hills Sanatorium
6. Amityville Horror House
7. La Push, Washington
8. Sylvia Likens Memorial
9. The Simpson/Goldman House
10. The Oregon Vortex
11. The Sharon Tate House
12. Twilight (2008): Kalama High School
13. Twilight (2008): The Swan House
14. Old Tennessee State Prison
15. Twilight Saga: The Swan House
16. The Body Farm, Knoxville, TN
17. The Saint Louis Exorcist House
18. Fort Garry Hotel
19. Oak Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, IN
20. Spahn Ranch
21. West Virginia Penitentiary
22. Forks, Washington
23. Twilight (2008): Bloated Toad
24. Old Alexian Brothers Hospital
25. Forks Chamber of Commerce Twilight Tours
26. Eastern State Penitentiary
27. Hammond Castle
28. Frontier Field / Fear at Frontier
29. The Haunted World
30. Amityville Horror Movie House (2005)
31. The Lemp Mansion
32. Lake Erie
33. The Museum of Death
34. The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
35. Twilight Saga: Forks High School
36. Leeds Point, New Jersey
37. Twilight (2008): The Port Angeles Alley
38. Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses
39. Mekong River, Thailand
40. The Dent School House
41. First Beach, La Push, WA
42. Sleepy Hollow, New York
43. Johnny Cash's Childhood Hometown
44. Lake Compounce Amusement Park
45. Twilight (2008): The Stone Cliff Inn
46. Madison High School, Portland, OR
47. Amityville Horror Movie House (1979)
48. Hollywood Forever Cemetery
49. The Empire State Building
50. Missouri State Penitentiary

The Police Station from A Nightmare on Elm Street

2009-05-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

Although set it an unnamed Midwestern town (it would not be until the sequel that the city name of Springwood was unveiled and the later television series that established the state as Ohio), Wes Craven's classic 1984 horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, was shot in-and-around Los Angeles, California, as were many of its sequels. Today, we are focusing in on the location that doubled as the "5th Precinct" police station where the main character, Nancy Thompson's (Heather Langenkamp) father (John Saxon) worked. It was also the site where Nancy's friend, Rod (Nick Corri), meets his demise by getting strung up in his sleep by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund).

In reality, the 5th Precinct Police Station is actually the Cahuenga Branch Library that has been serving the area since 1916 and is one of the few surviving libraries in Los Angeles that was funded by a grant from Andrew Carnegie. In fact, the Cahuenga Branch Library is celebrating an anniversary of sorts today. On May 19, 1987, it had the honor of joining a few other libraries in the city in being added to the National Register of Historic Places. Although it has had some recent remodeling, the library is still easily identifiable from its role in the film - including the window next to the right entrance where Nancy checked in on Rod.

Read more about the library or read up on other locations from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

-Casey H.

P.T. Barnum vs. the Brooklyn Bridge

2009-05-17T13:03:00.001-07:00

Today marks the 125th Anniversary of a rather strange event on the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, New York. On May 17, 1884, famed showman P.T. Barnum decided to unleash a public spectacle by leading a menagerie of his circus animals across the still relatively young landmark. The train of animals included seven camels, ten one-humped Arabian camels, and 21 elephants, including the world famous Jumbo - a large African bush elephant that stood at an estimated 11-13 feet. The event was naturally well publicized and a massive crowd was said to have roared in applause as the convoy made its way across the bridge.

So why the need for such a spectacle? The Brooklyn Bridge had only opened one year earlier and questions about the bridge's stability started almost immediately. Tragically, those fears led to tragedy less than a week after its opening. On May 30, 1883, the bridge was loaded with people when a rumor went through the crowd that the bridge was about to collapse. The frightened crowd immediately made way for either side of the bridge and a stampede occurred. Officials were finally able to restore order over fifteen minutes later, but the damage had already been done. 12 people had either been trampled to death or died after being pushed into the river below, while another 35 were injured. Just short of one year later and "...in the interest of the dear public," P.T. Barnum and his circus arrived to prove once and for all that the bridge was safe. The stunt worked and the questions about the stability of the structure were silenced.

Read more tales about the Brooklyn Bridge.

-Casey H.

A Rather Unusual Obelisk

2009-05-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

Those that take a leisurely stroll through the Little Rock Arsenal in Little Rock, Arkansas might stumble across a very odd dedication. Some distance behind the famed Tower Building in the park area stands an obelisk that was erected on this date in 1927 by the Arkansas Medical Society. The white obelisk commemorates the first human dissection in the state of Arkansas, which apparently was done on the very spot the obelisk now stands in 1874. A human dissection obelisk is but one of the intriguing stories of the Little Rock Arsenal. It is also well known as the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur, hosted first the Confederate Army and later, the Union Army (who incarcerated the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy" here before his execution), in the midst of the Civil War, and is believed to be haunted by guests and staff alike to this day.

Read more about the Little Rock Arsenal.

On a completely unrelated note, today is also the anniversary of a fictional milestone as well. On May 12, 1984, a T-800 cyborg assassin arrived from the future with the intent of executing a waitress by the name of Sarah Connor. Fortunately for her, a human resistance fighter named Kyle Reese was also sent back who successfully thwarted the machine's plans. Ironically, 25 years later, the character of Sarah Connor is facing a "termination" of a different sort as executives at the Fox Network debate bringing the television show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, back for another season despite struggling ratings.

-Casey H.

The Siamese Twins of the Mutter Museum

2009-05-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1811, the world-famous conjoined twins, Chang and Eng, were born in Siam (now known as Thailand). At the ages of 18, Scottish merchant, Robert Hunter, hired the young men and introduced them into the world of show business. They began to travel the world and were billed the "Siamese Twins" in reference to their country of origin. Their legacy would become so strong that the name "Siamese Twins" is still incorrectly used as a reference for conjoined twins to this day.

A month after their death in 1874, the wives of the two men agreed to let their corpses be examined by the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A full autopsy followed that ultimately delivered some very grim news. Chang had died of natural causes, but Eng's death was attributed to either the extreme fright of being attached to a then-dead twin or sepsis from his brother's dead blood traveling through his own body. Although medicine was not advanced enough to determine if the brothers could be separated safely in life, the autopsy more or less confirmed that they probably could have led separate, healthy lives. Ligaments, skin, and a portion of their livers were all that conjoined the two men.

For a short time, their body was exhibited to medical professionals at the now-famous Mutter Museum in Philadelphia before being returned to their families in North Carolina (see White Plains Baptist Church Cemetery, Mt. Airy, NC). However, before the bodies left the museum, a death cast was made for future studies and the conjoined liver was removed. Both are still on display at the Mutter Museum to this day and are only a tiny part of the vast collections of medical oddities, specimens, and antique medical equipment - making it one of the more bizarre, but vastly popular tourist stops in Philadelphia.

Read about more exhibits at the Mutter Museum.

-Casey H.

Cursed Videotapes in Astoria

2009-05-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Five years ago today, filmmakers behind the horror sequel, The Ring Two, held an open casting call in Astoria, Oregon looking for extras to appear in the new film. The event was held at the Astoria Middle School, which ironically also managed to land its own role in the film as the school of Aidan Keller (David Dorfman), the son (and later vessel of the evil spirit) of the main character, Rachel (Naomi Watts). Following the box office success of the first film (which itself was a remake of the Japanese horror film, Ringu), a sequel was quickly given the green light.

The action shifted from Seattle, Washington from the first film to this small port city on the northwest corner of Oregon. Rachel and Aidan fled to Astoria (also playing itself in the film) to escape from the evil force known as Samara, who kills anyone who happens to watch her cursed videotape. The middle school was not the only local setting to make an appearance in the film, as production took place at various spots around the community. The area might be familiar to moviegoers for its appearances in other films as well. Aside from The Ring Two, Astoria has also been utilized for such films as The Goonies (and we have a few of those locations as well), Kindergarten Cop, Short Circuit, Free Willy, and many more.

Most recently, Astoria appeared in the Lovecraft-inspired film, Cthulhu, and I have already personally visited many of the locations seen in that film. Keep an eye on the site over the next few weeks as they are added to the list as well. In the meantime, check out the various locations we have assembled that appeared in the 2005 horror sequel, The Ring Two:

Astoria Middle School (Aidan's school)
The City Park (opening scene)
Crossover Road (deer attack)
The Daily Astorian (Rachel's employer)
The Keller House (the home of the main characters)

-Casey H.

Calling on Haunted Attractions

2009-05-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

We're looking for any haunted attractions (Halloween or otherwise) that are not currently listed on Dark Destinations, but interested in participating. Last year, we were thrilled when we finally reached listing the 100 Halloween haunts across the United States milestone, including at least one in each of the fifty states. This year, we want to expand out even more and provide more options for our users in their local areas.

Since I know that building and running a haunt is very time consuming as it is, I am more than willing to write the article on your haunt for you. All you need to do is contact me and I'll send you a list of questions (and possible follow-ups) for me to work off of. Last Halloween, we were inundated with folks looking for more information of haunts near them and we expect even more traffic this year. It is a great way to get word out and raise interest on your own haunt well in advance of the coming Halloween season.

The offer is also open to haunts that are currently listed on the site, but are interested in updating their articles with new information. Similarly, if you run any special events (conventions, ghost tours, film festivals, etc.), feel free to contact us as well. We will do our very best to get you listed as quickly as we can.

For example of our work, please take a look at the following haunts:
Terror Behind the Walls
Haunted Theatre, Wenatchee, WA
Forest of Fright, Philo, OH
The Haunted Forest, Williston, VT

Interested parties can contact us through this blog or via TheCabinet.com.

Look forward to hearing from you!
-Casey H.

How Sad Was the Career, How Dark the Fate...

2009-05-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

On today's date in 1885, the Actors Guild of New York a monument to Edgar Allan Poe that the guild had commissioned years prior. The ceremony was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where the monument was originally displayed. The ceremony to honor the deceased poet and author featured multiple speeches and music performances. Perhaps the greatest speech given at the event was very long and thoughtful observation on the life of Poe by the Reverend William Rounseville Alger. The following is a small excerpt from the speech (which is 21 pages in length in its entirety):

"How sad was the career, how dark the fate, of the proud dazzling, ill-starred unspeakably afflicted genius we are this day commemorating - overwhelmed with poverty, unappreciated by his contemporaries, beset with calamity, the lights of paradise and the flames of perdition contending in his breast. He was not a bad man in the proper sense of the term; that is, one who willfully preys on others. According to all the evidence, he has been a constant victim of misinterpretation, now ignorantly abused, now unfairly caricatured, now wantonly belied. He had many qualities which compel admiration, and many traits which are worthy of love - his extraordinary intellectuality, his imaginative worship of beauty, his ideal enthusiasm for literary art, his ineffaceable memory of the dead, his unfailing devotion to his wife and mother. He was not in any sense or in any approach a man of deliberate depravity. The worst that can be justly said against him is that he was stained with vicious wickedness - was variously defective and sinful; while his life was a series of trials, griefs, disappointments and tortures which in their intense and fearful array appeal irresistibly for the compassion of every chivalrous nature and the charitable judgments of mankind. Terribly indeed did he atone for his faults such as they were. For more than ten years he gave the world the dread sight of his genius, a kinglier Laocoön, constricted and strangling in the coils of the crueler serpents, pride, appetite, and neglect. And he was deeply and darkly conscious of it, impotently struggling against it, til the divine torch, lighted at first in the sky, went out at last in the gutter."

Reverend Alger's speech was the second to last given at the ceremony. The first speech was delivered by the brother of an infamous assassin.

Pay a visit to The Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia (where the monument now stands) and learn the identity of the opening orator that day long ago.

-Tom G

The Town that Dreaded Sundown

2009-05-03T10:48:00.001-07:00

In 1972, director Charles B. Pierce made a splash with the surprise success of the low budget film, The Legend of Boggy Creek. The movie was presented in a docudrama format and detailed the legend of the so-called Fouke Monster in Boggy Creek just outside Fouke, Arkansas (see Boggy Creek, Arkansas). Pierce lived nearby in Texarkana, Texas and had formerly worked as an advertising salesman before his venture into filmmaking. The Legend of Boggy Creek grossed around $20 million and its gritty documentary-style approach unnerved theatergoers in drive-ins around the country.

In early-1977, Pierce would again return to the docudrama format for the horror film, The Town that Dreaded Sundown. Like The Legend of Boggy Creek, the new film played off another local legend in the area - The Moonlight Murders. The story dated back to early-1946 when the so-called Phantom Killer tormented the city of Texarkana, Texas over a period of a couple months. It started on February 22 with an attack that left two young adults injured but alive. Over the next two months (see March 24 and April 14), four more people were killed at the hands of the unknown assailant and police were desperate for leads. The Phantom Killer struck one more time (this time just across the border in Arkansas) on May 3 that left one victim dead and another in serious condition. The killer was never caught.

The events of 1946 were framed as a pseudo-documentary for The Town that Dreaded Sundown and followed a Texas Ranger as he attempted to crack the case. Much like the realness of The Legend of Boggy Creek caught viewers off-guard, the docudrama approach (complete with a narrator) chilled viewers across the world for Pierce's take on the infamous murders of Texarkana. Today, The Town that Dreaded Sundown is considered a minor cult classic.

-Casey H.

Dark Tourism Surveys

2009-04-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

We recently received an email from Philip Stone, the editor of dark-tourism.org.uk/. Philip's department at the University of Central Lancashire studies the psychology and cultural impact of dark tourism/grief tourism/thanotourism. The department is currently running a series of surveys gathering input from people who have visited specific locations and travelling exhibits that fit within the scope of their research.

If you have visited any of the following in the past five years, please take a moment to help out Philip's research and fill-out the appropriate survey: Ground Zero, Auschwitz- Birkenau (see The Auschwitz- Birkenau Musuem), The Dungeon attractions (see London Dungeon, Edinburgh Dungeon, Hamburg Dungeon, and Amsterdam Dungeon) and the Body Worlds exhibits (see Body Worlds, Body Worlds 2, Body Worlds 3 and Body Worlds 4). Filling out a survey qualifies you to possibly win a DVD of the documentary "Turning Points of History: Dark Tourism." The data gathered from the surveys will be used as part of the upcoming book "Consuming Dark Tourism in Contemporary Society."

The surveys are available on the main page of Philip's web site. Click here to pay a visit to dark-tourism.org.uk/.

-Tom G

The Demolition of the Sylvia Likens House

2009-04-23T22:23:00.001-07:00

We just received notice that the house in Indiana where Sylvia Likens was slain (see The Sylvia Likens House) is currently being demolished. The demolition which started on April 23rd, is going to allow a local church to build a parking lot in its place. The change has come as a relief to some in the neighborhood, both because the house had become a site of recent illegal activity and because it served as a painful reminder of the horrifying abuse that happened there in the 1960s. The murder case had re-emerged into the national consciousness in recent years thanks to the films An American Crime (2007) and Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door (2007), reminding people of the horrible things that can happen when people who witness abuse fail to report it to authorities and instead allow it to escalate.

The city of Indianapolis erected a memorial to Sylvia Likens in 2001. The back of the memorial bears a message about how the death of Sylvia Likens caused a change in laws in an attempt to prevent the same thing from happening again. It also bears a promise of vigilance by the Indianapolis Police Department in matters of child protection. The memorial stands in a peaceful clearing in a local park where visitors can reflect on the incident and the lessons learned from it.

Pay your respects at the Sylvia Likens Memorial.

-Tom G

Loch Ness: Surgeon's Photo

2009-04-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

On today's date in 1934, The Daily Mail ran a photo that allegedly shows a creature swimming about in the body of water known as Loch Ness in Scotland. While it wasn't the first reported photograph of the monster, it quickly became more popular than the photo that preceded it. In 1994 a story came out that the famous photo had actually been a hoax, though some details of the story didn't add up, leading some to believe that the story of it being a hoax was the actual hoax.

Pay a visit to Loch Ness and learn more.

-Tom G

St. Louis Exorcism: 60 Years Later

2009-04-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today marks 60 years since the third and final exorcism of a young boy from Washington D.C. The exorcism of this unnamed child would later serve as the inspiration for William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist which in turn led to the 1973 movie starring Linda Blair. The real life exorcism case had three separate key locations where events took place; the boy's house (see The Saint Louis Exorcist House), a rectory in St. Louis (see The Old Rectory at St. Louis Xavier College Church) and the hospital where the final exorcism took place (see Old Alexian Brothers Hospital). While the final location was torn down in the 1970s, the pavement of the parking lot that took its place is said to constantly crack in the spot where the exorcism took place.

Pay a visit to the site of the Old Alexian Brothers Hospital.

-Tom G

Anniversary of Two Monster Sightings

2009-04-13T09:42:00.001-07:00

This day in history is marked by two different alleged lake/river monster sightings that were separated by only six years, though thousands of miles apart. On April 13, 1933, the owners of the famous Drumnadrochit Hotel on the banks of Loch Ness, Scotland reported seeing an animal as large as 15-feet in length surface in the murky waters of the Loch, roll, and then plunge back into the depths. The husband and wife initially kept silent about the sighting out of concern of being accused of attempting to drum up business. Instead, the couple went to the local water bailiff to report what they saw. Much to their surprise, the bailiff told their story to a reporter who published their account in the local paper on May 2. That report is often credited as sparking the worldwide interest in the so-called "Loch Ness Monster" (or "Nessie" for short). Today, the Drumnadrochit Hotel is home to the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre (see The Loch Ness Exhibition Centre) - one of many such exhibits dedicated to the possibility of an unknown cryptid in the water of Loch Ness.

Six years later on April 13, 1939, a halibut fishing ship near the mouth of the Columbia River (see photo above) between Oregon and Washington (see Mouth of the Columbia River) in the United States encountered a similarly strange beast. According to the accounts from the crew of the Argo, a large animal reared up over ten-feet into the air at almost equal distance from the boat and looked at the crew as it stole a 20-pound halibut from one of their lines. Captain Chris Anderson later told an Oregon reporter that the head was similar to that of a camel with coarse and gray fur. The sighting was one of many such sightings in the area of the creature that locals dubbed, "Colossal Claude." While given the nickname by residents of Oregon (and reportedly connected to later sightings of "Marvin the Monster"), similar sightings had been reported up and down the coastline from as far south as San Francisco Bay in California to British Columbia. Some suggest that "Colossal Claude" might be better known as "Caddy" (or "Cadborosaurus") from Cadboro Bay in Victoria, B.C. On a side note, Argo Captain Chris Anderson is one of many local mariners remembered by a plaque at the nearby Maritime Memorial Park in Astoria, Oregon (see Maritime Memorial Park).

-Casey H.

This is the House... Come On In...

2009-04-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

On April 11, 2003, the debut horror film from musician Rob Zombie, House of 1,000 Corpses, finally hit screens in the United States - almost three years after filming had wrapped. The delay was initiated after the production studio, Universal Pictures, screened the film and had second thoughts about distributing it. Several months earlier, the studio was one of many Hollywood production firms involved in Senate hearings in Washington D.C. that explored the marketing of violent entertainment to children on the heels of the Columbine School Massacre. After stating that Zombie's House of 1,000 Corpses was "far more intense" than the studio anticipated, Universal Pictures Chairman Stacey Snider announced that they had released the film rights back to Zombie, so that he could find a new distributor. Three years later, the movie finally found a release at the hands of Lionsgate Entertainment who was interested in dipping their toes in the horror genre.

In honor of the film's release, we bring you the home that doubled as the infamous House of 1,000 Corpses and the home to the Firefly clan. It is officially known as "Building #14" on the Universal back lot, but is colloquially referred to as "The Chicken Ranch" in tribute of its original use in the 1982 film, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Unlike other buildings on the Universal back lot, like the infamous Psycho House (see Universal Hollywood: Psycho House and Bates Motel, which once stood at the same spot now occupied by the Chicken Ranch), the structure is a full-functioning set piece - meaning that both the interiors and exteriors can be utilized for productions. It is also one of many sights typically seen on the popular Studio Tour tram. The building's use in House of 1,000 Corpses is also not its only foray into the horror genre.

Find out more about the Chicken Ranch on the Universal back lot.

-Casey H.

Invitation to Love and Twin Peaks

2009-04-08T09:19:00.001-07:00

On this date in 1990, David Lynch's quirky serial drama Twin Peaks debuted on ABC. While the action and odd events played out in the Pacific Northwest, a fictional soap opera was also unraveling on the television screens seen in the background of the series. That show-within-a-show was called Invitation to Love and its plot and action eerily mirrored the action that was taking place in Twin Peaks. Invitation to Love only appeared during the first season of Twin Peaks, but it carries the distinction of being one of only a few "shows" to actually film inside Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Ennis House in Los Angeles, California.

Originally built in 1924, the unique house is built completely of 16-inch concrete blocks and is modeled slightly after ancient Mayan temples. Over the years, the house has been featured in such works as House on Haunted Hill, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blade Runner, Predator 2, and many more. Today, the house is undergoing major renovations to save the historical landmark and preserve it for future interested tourists, as well as presumably for future TV and movie productions as well.

Read more on the Ennis House.

-Casey H.

The Haunted Battleground of Shiloh

2009-04-06T00:53:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1862, Confederate forces launched a surprise assault on Union troops near the Shiloh Meeting House in Tennessee. The resulting battle lasted two days and killed thousands of men and left many more wounded. Even the Confederate general who planned the attack was a fatality of the fight. While it was the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War up until that point, it would be surpassed by even bloodier battles that followed. Many years later the battlefield became a national park.

Like a number of locations associated with death and suffering resulting from the war, there are tales of haunting at the battlefield of Shiloh. Phantoms sounds are said to puncture the stillness of late night hours at times. An apparition of a woman in white is said to wander about Shiloh National Military Park, searching for those in need of help. There is also a pond that legend has it, has been known to turn red with the blood of soldiers who bled into the water so many years ago.

Venture to Shiloh National Military Park and learn more about the battle and the tales of haunting.

-Tom G

Murder in a Haunted Mansion

2009-04-05T01:53:00.000-07:00

Three years ago today, the FBI searched the Charles Kreischer House for evidence of a murder committed on the property. The historical mansion has long been the site of reported paranormal activity. Mysterious disembodied sounds are said to be heard echoing through the Kreischer mansion's halls in the darkest hours of the night. People have reported seeing apparitions of both a man and a woman in 19^th century clothing wandering about the largely unoccupied rooms of the old manse. These days the house serves as home only to a caretaker, charged with maintaining the home which once belonged to a prominent local family. It is because of a former caretaker with mafia ties that the FBI came to pay a visit upon the Charles Kreischer House.

Joseph Young, the caretaker in question, lured a fellow mob associate to the mansion where Young and his cohorts lay in ambush. The victim, Robert McKelvey, had made the mistakes of owing money to the wrong person and talking a bit too loosely about his exploits with the Bonnano crime family. In spring of 2005, McKelvey paid for his mistakes with his life. He didn't readily accept his fate, fighting until the last; McKelvey was beaten, stabbed, strangled and drowned before he finally expired... and then crime got even more gruesome as Young and his accomplices set about the grisly task of disposing of McKelvey's remains within the mansion. Recently, on March 13, 2009 (a Friday the 13^th), Joseph Young was sentenced to life in prison for multiple crimes, including the murder of Robert McKelvey.

Some have wondered if the murder of Mckelvey added yet another lingering spirit to the dusty old corridors of the Charles Kreischer House.

Pay a visit to the Charles Kreischer House and learn about two other deaths connected with the mansion (one of them was less than a year ago).

-Tom G

The Exorcist and the Academy Awards

2009-04-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1974, the William Friedkin film, The Exorcist, entered the 46th Academy Awards with an impressive 10 nominations, including such heavies as Best Picture, Director (William Friedkin), Actress (Ellen Burstyn), Supporting Actress (Linda Blair), Supporting Actor (Jason Miller), Adapted Screenplay (William Peter Blatty), and more. It was a notable and remarkable feat, as the Academy has long been accused of looking down on "genre" films, with only a few exceptions (most notably, The Silence of the Lambs years later). By the time the night was over (marked by the infamous streaker that did little to unsettle David Niven), The Exorcist had made only two trips to the podium, watching instead as The Sting took most of the major awards and the actors and actresses awards being spread among other more conventional films. Despite this, The Exorcist still managed to grab the Oscar for Best Sound and, even more impressively, an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for William Peter Blatty who adapted his own novel to screen.

In honor of the film's achievement 35 years ago, we thought it would be a good opportunity to pay a visit to two of those infamous locations seen in The Exorcist. The first stop is the "MacNeil House" in Washington D.C.'s Georgetown (see The Exorcist (1973): The MacNeil House) - where so much fog was used to mark the arrival of the character of Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) that nearby-Virginia firefighters rushed to the scene, mistakenly believing that the neighborhood was on fire. Right next to the home used is the infamous staircase where Father Karras took his self-sacrificing leap to save the day (see The Exorcist Steps) - a popular stop for tourists to the area today. The horror genre's moments in Oscar recognition have been few and far between, but here's hoping that a few more gems are on the horizon that even the Academy cannot ignore.

-Casey H.

Tragedy on the S.S. Governor

2009-04-01T09:52:00.001-07:00

The Admiralty Inlet near Puget Sound, Washington was the site of a tragic shipwreck on April 1, 1921. Despite clear weather, the pilot of the S.S. Governor confused the running lights of the S.S. West Hartland as the fixed lights of nearby Marrowstone Point and preceded forward. It turned out to be a fatal mistake as the West Hartland rammed the Governor at the center of its onboard side, ripping a 10-foot gash into its side that immediately began to take on water.

Onboard the Governor was the Washbourne family who were asleep in their room with the father and mother (Harry and Lucy) on one-side of the cabin and their two daughters on the other. Their cabin was located at the site of impact and the bow of the S.S. Hartland sliced through the walls and divided the room, separating the family. Harry was severely injured, but Lucy was able to seek aid. Rescuers quickly descended and freed Harry from the wreckage, but the two young girls were completely trapped and there was no way to free them. The crew had little choice but to leave them and forcefully removed their now-hysterical mother. Once the crew had the injured husband and grieving mother topside, they moved immediately to transfer Harry over to the West Hartland with the rest of the passengers fleeing the sinking ship. As they were distracted, Lucy broke free from her rescuers and ran back into the ship to be with her children. She was never seen again.

The S.S. Governor sunk within 20 minutes of impact, taking only eight lives with it - including Lucy Washbourne and her two children. In close proximity to the wreckage is the Point Wilson Lighthouse, whose keeper that night witnessed the tragic accident. Today, members of the United States Coast Guard have reported seeing the apparition of a woman wearing a nightgown wandering the property as if searching for something before entering the lighthouse itself and completely disappearing. It is presumed the alleged spirit is that of Lucy Washbourne, still seeking her children all these years later. It is also only one of the many stories of paranormal encounters at the Point Wilson Lighthouse.

Read more on the history and encounters of the Point Wilson Lighthouse.

-Casey H.

The Mysteries of Miramont Castle

2009-03-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

This Victorian-style castle dates back to 1896 in Manitou Springs, Colorado and was initially constructed by the Catholic priest, Father Jean Baptiste Francoln, to serve as his residence. He had recently donated his first home on the same property to the Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy to serve as a sanitarium for non-acute cases of tuberculosis. By 1900, Father Francoln had moved on and a fire at the nearby sanitarium necessitated moving the patients to Miramont Castle, which was renamed Montcalme. It served in this capacity for over 20 years before becoming a retreat for the Sisters and later an apartment complex.

Today, it is known once again as Miramont Castle and serves as a historical symbol and museum in Manitou Springs. It also plays a prominent role in the city's annual festival named after one of their better known residents when it hosts a mock "wake" for Emma Crawford (see Emma Crawford Festival and Memorial Coffin Race). According to the tales, it is also home to a plethora of spirits. Apparitions of men, women (including one account of a ghost with no head and one that appears in a mirror), and even the spirit of a little girl said to be clutching a doll in the castle's Christmas Room have been sighted by staff and visitors alike.

Read more on the history and accounts of Miramont Castle.

-Casey H.

The Ghost Children of the Jantzen Beach Carousel

2009-03-29T11:11:00.001-07:00

Today, Hayden Island just north of Portland, Oregon, is home to the shopping mall, Jantzen Beach SuperCenter. However, from the late 1920s to 1970 it was home to the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park; a sprawling 123-acre amusement park that was called "Coney Island of the West." Though initially a popular tourist stop, that popularity began to fade over the decades with the onset of movies and television. In addition, a flood that destroyed a nearby town, construction on an interstate bridge that connected Oregon with Washington right next to the park, the inclement weather of the Pacific Northwest, a fatality on one of its roller coasters, and a major fire all played a role in the park's demise. In fact, it was on this date in 1960 when that fire wiped out a couple of buildings on the West Promenade of the park.

Ironically, as its attendance decreased, the property values soared due to its convenient location between the cities of Portland and Vancouver, Washington. The end came on Labor Day 1970 when the park officially closed its door for good and the crews began the task of disassembling the park. Two years later, the area reopened as the Jantzen Beach SuperCenter and the sole reminder of the former amusement park was a 1921 C.W. Parker Carousel (see photo above) that had been saved and still operated inside the mall.

The mall remains today, as does the carousel that has become something of an iconic image for the residents of Portland. While it does have some other interesting stories to tell, perhaps none are as intriguing or creepy as the sightings of two small children dressed in circa 1920s clothing playing in the center of the machine. Oddly, most of the sightings are reported by children that ride the machine and have even been said to speak to the spirits, although there have been a few sightings from adults as well.

Read more on the reportedly haunted carousel of the Jantzen Beach SuperCenter.

-Casey H.

A Dark Traveler is Born

2009-03-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that I just heard from Tom and he and his wife, Kristy, just welcomed a new addition to their family in the form of a healthy baby boy. Before you know, Elijah will be joining his father and older sister on Zombie Walks in a town near you.

Congrats Tom and Kristy!

-Casey H.

The Black Mailbox on the Extraterrestrial Highway

2009-03-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today is a milestone of sorts for the Extraterrestrial Highway near the infamous Area 51 in Nevada. On March 27, 1996, a white, locking, bulletproof box replaced a local rancher's mailbox that was formerly black and unmarked, leading UFO buffs to quite appropriately dub it the "Black Mailbox." The replacement was necessitated after overeager UFO watchers had been found to be sorting through the rancher's mail (reportedly confusing it as the actual mailbox of nearby Area 51) and/or playing target practice with the box, filling both it and his mail full of bullet holes.

The rancher has the unfortunate distinction of having his mail delivered on a road that intersects with the infamous Groom Lake Road that leads to Area 51. The area around the box has been turned into a stopping point for those interested in keeping an eye on skies over the area for strange objects and has quickly grown the reputation as being the best spot for sightings. It has been reported that it is not unusual to find folks camping out near the mailbox for this sole purpose.

The rancher apparently has taken it all in stride. Armed with the knowledge that his mailbox had become a landmark on the famous Extraterrestrial Highway whether he liked it or not, he decided to auction off the former "black mailbox" to UFO enthusiasts to help curb the costs of its replacement. He reportedly netted $1,000 for it. Of course, the now-white box, which still bears the name of its former incarnation, needs a fresh paint job now and then due to the graffiti that is often left behind by visitors - presumably of the human being variety.

Read about other landmarks on the Extraterrestrial Highway.

-Casey H.

The Haunting in Connecticut House

2009-03-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

With the feature film adaptation set for release tomorrow, and also personally being a fan of the 2002 Discovery Channel docudrama adaptation of the same story, Tom and I have been working diligently to look into the past of the actual "Haunting in Connecticut" in Southington, Connecticut. As many know, the house was formerly used as a funeral home and a family's experiences there in the years after are today known as the "Southington Funeral Home Case" in the world of the paranormal.

The article actually represents one of the first times that Tom and I tag-teamed on a new article and both took turns looking into the stories and adding to the account. As is typical with articles we write, we found that the alleged reports of a haunting were only part of the story and that the rest could be as equally (if not more so) fascinating. So we did our best to compile the history, the family's encounters, the alleged exorcism, the press and the controversies, the skeptics, the many media adaptations, and the current status of the home and members of the family - Far too much to summarize here. Somehow, we even managed to sort-of work in politicians as bookends to the entire piece. The article went live last Friday and we have been completely overwhelmed by the response, as it easily has been one of our most popular new articles ever. So before you head out to see the film tomorrow, find out what we were able to dig up about the history and reported details of the case.

Read the history of the Haunting in Connecticut House.

-Casey H.

The Legacy of Peter Lorre

2009-03-23T08:36:00.001-07:00

45 years ago on this date, actor Peter Lorre died of a stroke in his apartment in West Hollywood, California. Lorre was often typecast into the role of the villain, a role that he appeared to be built for with his distinctively creepy, yet often soft, voice and bulging eyes, which he described as "two soft-boiled eggs." Lorre catapulted on to the scene in 1931 in the role of a child killer with a knack for whistling "The Hall of the Mountain King" from the Peer Gynt Suite in the classic Fritz Lang thriller, M. In 1934, he was cast as a criminal ringleader by Alfred Hitchcock in The Man Who Knew Too Much and delivered his lines phonetically, not yet able to speak the English language.

He made his Hollywood debut in the 1935 horror film, Mad Love and his tenure in the genre was secured. Aside from appearing in such horror films as Beast with Five Fingers (1946), Tales of Terror (1962), The Raven (1963), Lorre is also well known for playing the Japanese detective, Mr. Moto, in a series of films. In addition, Lorre had memorable roles in such Hollywood classics as The Maltese Falcoln (1941) and Casablanca (1942). He even managed the distinct honor of being the first actor to portray a James Bond villain with his appearance as Le Chiffre in the television adaptation of Casino Royale for an episode of the CBS series, Climax!.

In his later years, Lorre's health had been declining due to a combination of weight problems, diabetes, and an addiction to morphine. His body was cremated and his ashes interred at what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery. He was 59 at the time of his death.

Read more of the many stories of Hollywood Forever.

-Casey H.

The Haunted Tales of the S.S. Yongala

2009-03-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

In 1923, two men were out fishing near Holbourne Island in Queensland, Australia. To their surprise, a ship emerged from a distance that was on course to pass the island. They described it as a passenger steamship that was covered in barnacles and rust. When it passed the island, the men waited for the steamship to emerge from the other side, but it never did. They immediately went looking for it, but found that it had completely vanished. Unnerved, they returned to dock and told others of what they had seen. They apparently had little doubt that the ship they had seen was the S.S. Yongala. The problem was that the S.S. Yongala had disappeared without a trace 12 years earlier.

The S.S. Yongala would eventually be discovered to the north of Holbourne Island in 1958. The general consensus is that the ship encountered a cyclone on or close to March 23, 1911 while carrying over 120 people. All of the passengers and crew are believed to have gone down with the ship. Today, the wreck of the S.S. Yongala is a popular scuba diving and is protected as a recognized artificial reef. As it turned out, the 1923 encounter is not the only reported supernatural claim associated with the ship (see the link below). Nor was it the last time the ship would be in the news.

Most recently, the shipwreck has been in the news after the scuba diving death of American Tina Watson at the site on her honeymoon in October 2003. Just last year, Australian officials issued an arrest warrant and request to extradite her husband, Gabe Watson, who they believe played a role in her drowning. To date, Watson and his attorney have fought the extradition and Watson failed to show at the start of the trial in February of this year. Australian authorities are now planning their next move.

Read the stories of the Wreck of the S.S. Yongala.

-Casey H.

The "Two" Execution(s) of Orville Paul Adkins

2009-03-21T10:42:00.001-07:00

On this date in 1938, the state of West Virginia carried out the execution of kidnapper/murderer, Orville (sometimes spelled Arvil) Paul Adkins, at the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville. He was led to the gallows inside a building known as North Wagon Gate and the trapdoor was sprung... not once, but twice.

Adkins received this ultimate punishment following his role in the kidnapping of one Dr. James I. Seden in Hunnington, an evangelical minister and missionary to Japan. After his abduction, Adkins and two other men led Seden to an abandoned mine, left him, and sent a ransom note to his family. Seden was later discovered alive, but suffering from pneumonia and partial paralysis from which he would later die in the hospital. All three men quickly confessed to the crime and were sentenced to death. The sentence on all three would be carried out on March 21, 1938 at the prison.

While the other two executions went smoothly, something went amiss when Adkins was led on to the trapdoor. Before the noose could be securely placed around his neck, the trapdoor was sprung and Adkins fell headfirst onto the concrete floor below. Prison officials, still stung by a hanging only seven years earlier that resulted in the accidental decapitation of a prisoner, acted quickly. Guards loaded the severely injured Adkins on to a stretcher, carried him back up the stairs, and he was again placed on the trapdoor. With the noose securely around his neck, the trapdoor was sprung for a second time. Today, many claim that Adkins is one of the many ghosts that are said to haunt North Wagon Gate in the former prison that is notorious for its alleged haunting.

Read more stories of the supernatural at West Virginia Penitentiary.

-Casey H.

The Twilight Movie Location Travel Guide

2009-03-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight at midnight, retailers around the United States are staying open late for an early-morning release of the much-anticipated two-disc DVD set of Twilight. The film hit theaters back in November and became a smash-hit, raking in just under $200 million in domestic box-office receipts alone. The film was based on the first novel of an equally popular series of books from author Stephenie Meyer that involves the relationship between a teenager and a century-old vampire.

The books are set in and around the small, yet very real, city of Forks, Washington (see Forks, Washington), which has seen over a 50% increase in tourism from fans of the series. The popularity and interest in seeing the locations in the book firsthand completely caught the city off-guard, but they have firmly embraced the interest and the fans - With the Chamber of Commerce going so far as to create a driving tour of the various locales (see Forks Chamber of Commerce Twilight Tours).

The filmmakers behind the big screen adaptation of Twilight were interested in filming in the real Forks (and La Push and Port Townsend), but found that the cities were too small to accommodate the cast and crew of a major motion picture production. In addition, the state of Oregon to the south of Washington stepped up to the plate and offered similar settings and a major incentive to lure the production to the state. Filming commenced in northern Oregon (with some filming in southern Washington) and included such Oregon cities as St. Helens, Vernonia, Portland, Oregon City, Carver and more. Needless to say, the locations used in the film have seen a similar growth in tourism to the area.

Filming is already underway on the next entry in the series, New Moon, but the state of Oregon was unable to match the incentives offered in first film and the production has again relocated - this time to Vancouver, British Columbia with a few extra weeks of filming in Italy. However, in anticipation of the DVD's release, we figured we would revisit its time in Oregon and include the list of that actual locations used in the production of Twilight; including both locations seen in the theatrical version, as well as a few that will most likely emerge on the DVD's deleted scenes.

Twilight Film Locations:

Forks Police Station (Where Bella and Edward discover the death of Charlie's friend)
Forks High Exteriors (In reality, Kalama High School)
Forks High Interiors (In reality, Madison High School)
Petite Jolie (The dress shop)
Courthouse (Seen outside the dress shop and in possible deleted scenes)
Bloated Toad (The restaurant)
Thunderbird and Whale (The bookstore)
The Alley and Parking Lot (Where Edward comes to Bella's rescue)
The View Point Inn (The dance)
The Carver Cafe (Where Charlie and Bella spend time)
First Beach (Where Jacob tells Bella about Edward)
Oxbow Park (Part of the meadow scene)
Stone Cliff Inn (Part of the meadow scene)
The Greenhouses (The school fieldtrip)
The Marina (Where Waylon is attacked)
Industrial Factory (Where the night watchman is attacked)
Multnomah Falls (Seen in the baseball scene and a major deleted scene)
Silver Falls State Park (Scenes in the trees and opening deer sequence)

If those are not enough for you, we also offer the individual Washington locations in Forks, La Push, and Port Townsend from the books that are considered the "must-stops" for fans of the series. We are still hard at work and tracking down more locations from the books, as well as starting the preliminary scouting of locations used in the upcoming sequel, New Moon. Stay tuned!

-Casey H.

The Last Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

2009-03-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Since March 18, 1944, Italy's Mount Vesuvius has sat quiet - the longest quiet stage for the volcano in the last 500 years. While there are no immediate concerns of an impending eruption, officials remain on alert due to the high concentrations of human population (around three million people) around the volcano and its tendency for sudden and violent eruptions. The 1944 eruption caught many off guard and is blamed for 26 deaths and the destruction of 88 planes from a group of United States B-52 bombers that had recently arrived in the midst of World War II. Of course, the event is fairly minor in comparison with the mountain's most famous eruption.

The eruption in question actually came in two stages on August 24th and 25th, 79 AD. As with today, there was a high population in and around the volcano and casualties were high. The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed and an estimated 10,000 to 25,000 lives were lost. In the city of Pompeii, the ash deposits that smothered the life from the citizens also formed casts that preserved the shapes of their bodies. Today, those casts are still on display as a reminder of the power of Mother Nature.

Read more on Pompeii.

-Casey H.

The Curse of the Grand Ole Opry

2009-03-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

35 years ago on this date, the famous Grand Ole Opry country music radio program relocated from its home of over 30 years, the Ryman Auditorium, to the recently constructed Opryland USA theme park. It appeared to be the end of the Nashville, Tennessee landmark as it was left vacant and not maintained. Interest in restoring the Ryman's glory emerged in the 1990s and in 1994 it was reopened as a performance hall and museum.

Given that the auditorium dates back to 1892, the Ryman Auditorium has many fascinating stories, but perhaps one of its more intriguing legends is tied back to that famous radio show. The legend is known as the "Curse of the Grand Ole Opry" and it emerged following the untimely (often violent) deaths of several people that performed in its halls. Among its reputed victims are such names as Patsy Cline, Ira Louvin, and Jim Reeves. Death has come in the form of plane and automobile accidents, drugs/alcohol, murder, fire, and more. In fact, there are names like Hank Williams Jr. and Jack Greene that have suffered near-fatal accidents but survived - though the accidents are still attributed to the "Opry Curse." Apparently, the supposed curse continued despite the move from the Ryman. It has been reported that 14 people died in a three-year period at Opryland following the move and the deaths just fed the stories of the curse.

The so-called "Curse of the Grand Ole Opry" may have moved on to other grounds, but that is not to say that all of its stories have. In addition to its past ties to the reputed curse, the Ryman reportedly continues to be haunted by no less than three ghosts that still to make their presences known. Among them are the building's original owner, a spirit simply known as the "Gray Man," and a country music legend.

Read more tales about the historic Ryman Auditorium.

-Casey H.

The Jack Bauer of the American Revolution

2009-03-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

March 15 is known as Peter Francisco Day in the states of Virginia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Who is Peter Francisco, you ask? Have you ever heard that joke that emerged following the popularity 24, that goes something like - "Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas when he goes to bed"? Well, if half of the stories of Francisco are true, both of those icons might want to rethink their nightly attire. A basic checklist of Francisco's accomplishments might look something like this:

Arrive in America in a shroud of mystery and be taken in by an affluent family - Check.

Attend Patrick Henry's famous "Give me Liberty or give me Death!" speech - Check.

Join the Colonial Army and fight battles in Brandywine, Germantown, Fort Mifflin, and Monmouth - Check.

Be injured multiple times in above battles and bounce right back - Check.

Survive the harsh winter at Valley Forge - Check.

Get surrounded by the British militia at the Battle of Camden, spear a British soldier, steal his horse, break through enemy lines, give said horse to his injured commanding officer, and carry an 1,100 pound cannon on his shoulders to assure it did not fall in enemy hands - Check.

Encounter nine to eleven British soldiers in a Virginia tavern and single-handily fight them off in what is now known as "Francisco's Fight" - Check.

Witness the British surrender at Yorktown - Check.

Be called a "One-Man-Army" by General George Washington - Check.

Of course, Bauer and Superman are fictional heroes, while Francisco was the real-deal, as is witnessed by his tombstone at Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia - After finally being struck down of appendicitis while in his 70s. The above are only a few of the miraculous accounts of the heroics of Peter Francisco, which few historians have attempted to shoot down. It is enough to make one wonder why Hollywood hasn't turned his life story into a feature film just yet. With that in mind, read more of the stories of Francisco's feats at the link below and feel free to play a casting agent here and let us know who should play Francisco on the big screen when the time comes.

Pay a visit to Francisco's grave at Shockoe Hill Cemetery.

-Casey H.

The Return of the Immortal Six Hundred

2009-03-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

On this date in 1865, a large group of Confederate soldiers were returned to Fort Delaware or Pea Patch Island on the Delaware River. Most had been incarcerated in the prison the previous year and had been taken south as a strategic military ploy. In June 1864, a Union commander leading a barrage of cannon fire on Charleston, South Carolina had received word from his Confederate counterpart that fifty Union generals and field officers were inside city limits and in range of the firing. Whether the note was a considerate warning or a threat is not entirely known. What is known is that the Union reaction suggests that they believed it to be the latter.

Fifty inmates from Fort Delaware were assembled and loaded on boats to be used as human shields in retaliation of the Confederates apparently doing the same. By the time they arrived however, a deal had been struck and the prisoners were instead exchanged. Buoyed by the rise in their ranks, the Confederate Army immediately brought another 600 Union soldiers to the city in hopes of another exchange. Word trickled back to Fort Delaware that another exchange was imminent and the men were elated when 600 of their own numbers were loaded on boats and sent south.

This time, however, there was no exchange as Union officials immediately shot down the idea. Instead, the men would be used as human shields at Fort Sumter against Confederate fire under the guard of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry; an all-black unit that had just received acclaim and lost many of their own during an assault on Fort Wagner - The events of which were depicted in the movie, Glory, years later. In addition, the Confederate prisoners were issued limited rations in an apparent retaliation of reports of how Union prisoners were being treated in Andersonville (see Andersonville National Historic Site).

As they were returned to Fort Delaware a year later, the inmates that swarmed to greet them were shocked and disgusted at the emaciated condition the men were in. Of the initial six hundred, over twenty did not return - succumbing to the horrid conditions they had been forced into. Yet another 25 would not recover and died at Fort Delaware. However, their refusal to take the Union's "Oath of Allegiance" and tenacity for survival in the most horrid of all conditions elevated them in stature and earned them the nickname of "The Immortal Six Hundred" throughout the south. Of the numbers they lost, none died by friendly fire.

Read more of the many stories of Fort Delaware.

-Casey H.

The Mysterious Afterlife of Betsy Ross

2009-03-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight on the Sci-Fi Channel, Ghost Hunters returns with an investigation of the Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reports of paranormal activity inside the home have been reported by staff and visitors alike and vary from the overwhelming sensation of being watched when no one is around to hearing disembodied voices. The activity has been attributed to the spirits of Betsy Ross and Charles Weisgerber - a duo forever connected to the story of the making of the America's Stars and Stripes. Ross is widely credited as the maker, due in a large part because of Weisgerber's painting, Birth of Our Nation's Flag.

Today, there are some that question whether Ross was the creator of the American flag. They argue that the first time she was connected to it was almost 100 years after it was first created when her grandson, William J. Canby, related an account she had told him. Canby's account later served as the inspiration for Weisgerber's painting. As it turns out, it is not the only mystery surrounding Betsy Ross. While Weisgerber most definitely lived in the "Betsy Ross House" some 60 years after Ross's death, there is some question of whether Ross ever did or that she actually lived in a house next door that had since been demolished. Even the final resting place of "America's Seamstress" is cause for speculation. Although her grave is now at the site of the Betsy Ross House, it is her third such burial plot, having been exhumed and reinterred twice before. During the last move during America's Bicentennial in 1976, the crews were surprised to find no remains underneath her grave. The body that was laid to rest at the house was remains that were located elsewhere in her family plot that was assumed to be hers.

So before the Ghost Hunters go "lights out" tonight and probe the paranormal stories of the Betsy Ross House, read up on the tales themselves; as well as all the other mysteries and controversies of the afterlife of Betsy Ross.

Pay a visit to the Betsy Ross House.

-Casey H.

Earthquakes, Vampires, and Slayers in Torrance

2009-03-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Two unconnected but lasting milestones on this date in history are shared by a high school in Torrance, California. On March 10, 1933, Torrance High School was heavily damaged by the Long Beach Earthquake, which jolted the area with a magnitude of 6.4. Over 115 lives were lost throughout the area and the damage was quite severe. At the high school, the top of the main administration and the school's auditorium completely collapsed. Fortunately, school was out of session and no lives were lost inside the school, but the quake left behind a large sinkhole that the students quickly nicknamed, "Sunken Gardens."

64 years later to the day - On March 10, 1997, the fledgling network, The WB, launched a spin-off television series from a 1992 film and mind of writer/creator Joss Whedon. The show was called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and right off the bat, featured front and center as a set piece, was Torrance High School, which doubled as Sunnydale High in the series. The show quickly grew a cult following, basked in critical acclaim, and continued for seven successful seasons. The high school only went along for part of the ride, as Buffy and the Scooby Gang sacrificed it (i.e. blew it up) at the end of season three in order to take out the infamous Mayor. Of course, its explosive ending had to wait until two months after the season had officially wrapped in the United States, as nervous network executives yanked the finale from the schedule. Just a month before it was set to air, the Columbine School massacre shook the nation and the thought of airing an episode that depicts high school students blowing up their high school on the heels of the tragedy was too much for those executives. The episode finally aired later that summer.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is hardly the only production to make use of the school. In its celluloid life, the school has been known as a variety of names, including the ironic John Hughes High in the teen film-parody, Not Another Teen Movie. Its various appearances include an appearance in a Wes Craven horror film and countless other movies and series. Those appearances are only part of the story though, as the high school is also notable for many of its famous alumni that include entertainers, sports figures, and World War II heroes. Back in the entertainment world however, it is also known quite famously as West Beverly High School from the Fox series, Beverly Hills 90210, and again these days in the CW spin-off, 90210. Finally, it has also reportedly been featured in recent episodes of the NBC series, Medium, where as irony would have, last night's episode started off with an earthquake.

Take a trip to the building that formerly sat on the Hellmouth.

-Casey H.