My Vacation Pick of the Year: A Haunted Cruise

Haunt Jaunts, run by the fabulous Courtney Mroch, has been one of my favorite blogs since I started writing about ghosts.  Her blog and her writing has inspired me from the beginning.  Not only is she an amazing writer, but she is an interesting and charismatic person that I have been lucky enough to ghost hunt with, so when I found out that Courtney would be hosting a haunted cruise I was beyond thrilled.  If I can, I'll be taking this cruise into the paranormal.  This cruise through the Bermuda Triangle will feature haunted destinations and ghost hunting presentations.  It will be everything the paranormal enthusiast could ever possibly want.  Below you will find the information I gathered on the cruise from a press release:

Haunt Jaunts, Courtney's travel blog for restless spirits, is expanding its reach into the paranormal tourism industry. In addition to covering the best places to take a haunted vacation, it’s now offering a way to experience them, via a cruise into Bermuda Triangle territory during Halloween week 2012.


“We’re really excited about our first ever group event,” Courtney Mroch, Director of Paranormal Tourism for Haunt Jaunts, says. “I love cruising and have long been wanting to branch out into group events. When Tracey Steslow from A Suite Cruise of Cruise Planners contacted me about doing a paranormal theme cruise, I was immediately on board with the idea. Pun intended.”

Mroch and Steslow researched cruises and decided Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas sailing out of Miami on October 29, 2012 was the one for them.

“It was pretty much a no-brainer,” Mroch says. “We’d be on a ship at Halloween. We’d be in the Bermuda Triangle on Halloween. That’s exactly the sort of thing Haunt Jaunts is all about. On top of it all, Key West, one of the cities that’s touted among the most haunted in the nation, was one of the ports. Even the prices were fantastic. It was the perfect cruise for us to offer.”

And that’s how the Haunt Jaunts Halloween in the Bermuda Triangle Cruise with special guest investigators Ghost Eyes Paranormal was born.

“I am excited to be a part of this,” Steve Vaughn, founder of Ghost Eyes Paranormal, says. “How can you say no to being in the Bermuda Triangle for Halloween? It is a true honor to have been asked to speak at this event. I look forward to meeting everyone and sharing what I know throughout the cruise. Halloween cannot get here fast enough.”

Mroch will be conducting a “Bermuda Triangle: Legends and Lore” presentation while aboard ship. Vaughn will be conducting a discussion about all things paranormal investigation, including techniques and equipment.
And as far as the prices Mroch mentioned? They really are reasonable. They start from $400.53 per person double occupancy, or $801.06 per cabin, for an inside cabin. That includes room, all onboard meals, as well as all onboard entertainment, Haunt Jaunts events, gratuities, taxes, and even a $25 per stateroom ($12.50 per person) onboard credit to spend however the cruiser wishes. (Photos, drinks, merchandise, etc.)

Ports of call part of the four-night roundtrip from Miami cruise include Nassau, Bahamas; Coco Cay, Bahamas (Royal Caribbean’s private island); and Key West, Florida. More information can be found on the Haunt Jaunts site, www.hauntjaunts.net, on the Halloween Cruise 2012 page, www.hauntjaunts.net/halloween-cruise-2012.

The Riverhaven Cabin

Most ghost stories are creepy. They hint at some unhappy soul lurking just beyond reality waiting to do us harm. The Riverhaven cabin is haunted, but the ghosts there seem pleasant and inviting.

Riverhaven is a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN. It is described by the reality company as pleasant and comfortable. This historic log home is an antique Chestnut log approx. 200 years old built in 1800. It has unique wormy Chestnut paneling inside. The cabin was constructed in the National Park and was moved in the 1930's to its current location in downtown Gatlinburg. The Realtors website shows many pretty pictures of the cabin and if you rent it, when you enter you'll be pleasantly surprised by its comfort and warmth.

Every cabin in Gatlinburg has a log or journal for visitors to share their experiences in. Typically, these logs are filled with stories of family vacations. Every page has the same bland pleasantries. It is as if they came from a script. Guests tell about their family, what they did, and the great time they had in the cabin. Riverhaven's journal is different. Each guest tells about flickering lights, moving objects, vanishing items, and odd noises. Not every resident there concludes the cabin is haunted, but every page indicated there is something odd about this pleasant cabin nestled by the river.

I only stayed at Riverhaven for three nights and for the most part it was quiet. I stayed with my family and we complained to each other about the lack of linens in the cabin. We searched it from top to bottom, pulling it apart in a futile quest for a table cloth or anything to cover the splintery, ancient dining table. Finally, on the first night we gave up and ate on our laps. We went to bed and dead bolted the door and locked the door with the sliding lock that even someone with a key couldn't open. In the morning, we awoke to find every table set with table cloths and silverware. The cabin was clean and pretty and we certainly hadn't left it that way when we went to sleep. We often laugh about this cabin as we flounder to explain our experiences there, but when I think of the strange journal there and the consistency of all the stories, I have to assume it was haunted by ghosts that liked us.

I’ve posted this ghost story before and interestingly  I was contacted by the new owners of this lovely little cabin to tell us more about it. They loved the blog and invited us to return to the cabin, which they have completely renovated and made even more lovely. Sadly, we couldn’t return to the cabin because it isn’t pet friendly, but it was nice to hear the cabin is being loved and is even nicer. I’m sure the ghosts are happy to see the improvements

Visiting The Haunted Ohio State Reformatory

The Ohio State Reformatory is one of the most haunted places I have ever traveled to. It is considered to be one of the most haunted places in the nation. Even as you walk up to this old building, the cold seeps out of it and chills you to the bone. Inside the castle like structure, it was so cold I had to put my coat on. Outside it was lovely. This cold seems to come from more than the old stone. It seems to drift from the very core of the building where haunting and terrible histories clog the structure with sorrow and ghosts.

The Ohio State Reformatory is a thing of rare beauty. In the states, structures of such epic beauty are as uncommon as snow in the South. The reformatory was designed by architect Levi Tucker Scofield. His work was visionary. He had designed insane asylums and orphanages and penitentiaries all with the belief that beauty could bring peace to lost souls and help heal them. The original reformatory was build on progressive ideals. The philosophy was that by separating young men from hardened criminal and giving them the opportunity to grow while in prison they could become better people and would be less likely to continue in a life of crime upon their release. This idea actually worked for a time. Recidivism rates for those leaving reformatory were amazingly low. Almost 90% of those leaving never committed another crime. Later figures show recidivism as close to 60% returning to a life of crime, but when the Reformatory was built in 1896 it was a shinning ideal and a monument to the beauty of progressive philosophy.

As with many such things I have written about in the United States, these lovely turn of the century progressive ideals eroded with time. Finances became more important than people and The Ohio State Reformatory slowly became nothing more than a prison. Horror stories drifted out of the prison and became part of its mortar. Guards were murdered in solitary. One story told of a man who was put in solitary confinement with another man and killed him and hid him under the bed. Men were accidentally pushed over the five story cell block guard rail to their deaths. Men hung themselves. In 1933, overcrowding created more and more problems in the reformatory by 1986 The Council of Human dignity was in the process of completing a lawsuit to shut the reformatory down because of the “brutalizing and inhumane” conditions found in the walls of the once idealic reformatory.

I can’t even begin to describe all the hauntings and horrors that have been seen in the Ohio State Reformatory here. I was in the reformatory for a brief period of time and I could feel the history seeping out of the walls. Those that work in the reformatory embrace its history and believe that the building is made more beautiful by it. It whispers secrets and calls to others to come explore them. The beauty and uniqueness of the structure has called to many since its closing. The Shawshank Redemption, Airforce One, Tango and Cash, and many other movies have been filmed there. People come from all over to tour the facility. Tours run daily. Famous ghost hunting teams from all the big televisions shows have locked themselves in the reformatory to see its ghosts and they are not disappointed. The ghosts in the reformatory are thick.

My guide said that paranormal occurrences are common in the reformatory in almost ever section of the structure. Objects fly about on their own. Doors open and close and lights flickers. Strange shadows creep up on you from quiet corners. The stories from the reformatory are numerous. A Guard named Frank Hanger was injured and later died during an escape attempt from solitary. It is said that his ghost and the ghosts of those hung for his murder still linger in solitary. Clear EVPs from this section of the prison have captured the voices of all these men. The Warden’s quarters where the warden and his family used to live is said to be haunted by the ghost of a warden and his wife who were both mortally injured in the warden’s quarters. One employee described seeing four phantoms walk straight towards her and then vanish in the warden‘s quarters. Another saw an orb moving in the shadows in the warden’s quarters. Full body apparitions have been seen in the administration wing, the wardens quarters, and the east cell block.. People have described being punched, pushed and hit. The list goes on and on. There are so many ghost stories that Sherri Brake was able to fill an entire book with stories just from The Ohio State Reformatory. I won’t try to tell them all here, but I will say that if you are ever in Ohio the reformatory is worth the visit. Its ghostly beauty will stay with me for a long time and its ghosts have made believers out of the most hardened skeptics.

The Haunted Bissman Building

The Bissman Building is an impressive structure. It looms over downtown Mansfield, Ohio with historic grace. Its façade is slightly chipped, but the beauty of the building remains unmarred by the scars of time and weather. These scars only add to the haunting beauty of the building. Inside, the building is equally as impressive. The two front rooms are paneled in a rare style. Eastlake paneling is testaments to the unique style of the original builders of the building as is are the engravings around the fireplace.

The owner of the building is one of a long line of Bissmans who have owned this historic building. His people came over from Germany over a century ago and founded a wholesale grocery in his family building. Now, Mr. Bissman runs a successful printing company out of the structure. Mr. Bissman is a friendly man who is happy to talk about all aspects of his family business and history. He is happy to talk about the paintings of his ancestors that line the walls and he is happy to talk about the roll he and the building played in the filming of the movie The Shawshank Redemption. He is also happy to talk about the darker history of the Bissman Building.

The Bissman Building does have a dark and tragic history. That history is the history of a little girl named Ruthie. Little Ruthie’s photograph still sits on the mantle of the building She is photographed with her family. The poor little girl was murdered in the building and stuffed in a pickle barrel in the basement. She was raped and killed with particular cruelty and her ghost still wanders the building looking for the justice. One interesting story I was told in the building says her ghost found justice in the building. Apparently, one of the employees of the building was suspected of committing the crimes against little Ruthie. He was asked to leave and as he was saying goodbye from the elevator it malfunctioned and he was decapitated by the elevator. It is said that Ruthie had her revenge at that moment. She killed the man that killed her, but she also left another ghost behind, an angry dark ghost that ghost hunters and explorers have come to fear.

The Bissman Building has been featured on many ghost hunting shows and been explored by many paranormal investigators. My Ghost Stories on biography is the most recent to feature the building. I watched this show on Saturday night and listened to two ghost hunters tell their terrifying experiences in the building. One of the women was possessed by a malevolent spirit while in the building and showed angry red marks where this spirit had attacked her. The Bissman building’s haunting has produced numerous pictures and EVPs. The Bissman Building website has these photographs and recordings available for everyone to see at http://www.bissmanbuilding.com/ .

  

The Shawshank Trail: A Photographic Journey

If I had to explain why I first began to travel seeking ghosts and ghost stories,  the answer would be wrapped up in my passion for beautiful places with tragic histories and interesting stories.  It would speak of my love for strange, old buildings and history that people only whisper about in shadowy corners.   It would speak of my love of horror stories and old movies that draw me into worlds I have never lived in.  The Shawshank Trail offered me all of these things this week.   Slowly,  I'm going to go over the history of each building I visited this week and their haunting histories.   Most of the places I visited had amazing ghost stories and I will do a post on all of them.  But for today, here is a brief overview of everything I saw in pictures.   The picture above is a photograph of the shattered remains of the tree Red found his money at.   

The Haunted Bissman Building.  In The Shawshank Redemption, this was where Brooks ended his life.  In real life, the building is filled with lonely ghosts.  It should be featured on My Ghost Story tonight.

The Wyandot County Courthouse where all the court scenes from The Shawshank Redemption were shot.  This building was so beautiful it took my breath away.

The town got together and reinacted the scene from The Shawshank Redemption in which Red was mesmerized by a Mozart aria for us.  It was beautiful.

 

 The haunted and beautiful Ohio Reformatory was amazing.   This was the primary location for The Shawshank Redemption.

I caught an interesting orb in this photograph of the room in which the parole board sat.

We went to several eateries which had Shawshank related food items for us to try.  

 

 The Renaissance Theater is where The Shawshank Redemption premiered.  It also houses its own dark and ghostly histories.

The Pugh Cabin where Andy dreamt of killing his wife.

To learn more about The Shawshank Trail,  you can go to their wonderful website at http://www.shawshanktrail.com/

Ghosts in the Towers- Spain's Legendary Paradores

Looming proudly atop a selection of Spain’s hills and mountains are some of the country’s finest hotels:  The spooky Paradores hotels. These were founded in 1928 by King Alfonso VIII, in his bid to make Spain more attractive to tourists, and are magnificent conversions of some of Spain's oldest and most majestic historic buildings into luxury hotels. Yet taking a vacation at one of these hotels isn’t always just a tale of majesty and repose. Deep within the Paradores’ weather-beaten walls are stories of the tragic deaths of pilgrims, monks, Dukes and Kings who have inhabited them.

The Alhambra is perhaps the most magnificent of the Spanish historic buildings. Once a Moorish palace, it is here that the famous writer Washington Irving was once a bohemian squatter, recording the history of these sweeping buildings and gardens perched high on the hilltop overlooking once-Islamic Granada in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. It is here that the Moorish sultan discovered an affair between his favourite concubine and one of his courtiers. The lovers were parted and the courtier (along with his entire family) were executed. Some guests of the Parador have sworn they hear the ghost of the love-struck courtier still roaming the palace and grounds on still, moonlit nights.

Forbidden love is a powerful theme in the ghost stories of the Paradores. Perhaps the most well known is daughter of an 11th century Viscount. Although promised to a nobleman, she fell in love with a lowly governor (who was also a Moor – a double sin!). Her father locked her in one of the castle's tower (in the now Parador de Cardona), promising to release her when she consented to an 'acceptable' marriage. A woman of her convictions, she refused, and lived a long and lonely life locked away from her lover and the world. Her ghost is said to still inhabit the tower, some 900 years after she died there, and her desperately sad presence is often felt in room 712.

Photographs of mysterious spirits have been captured at the Parador de Jaen, a thirteenth century Arab fortress that was refurbished and opened to tourists in the late 1960s. Although no-one can figure out who these hapless souls are, or why their spirits still roam the halls, the haunted house in Belmez consistently records the impressions of women's faces on the walls and floors. Even when chipped away (as Maria Gomez found out more than 30 years ago), the faces return, with company.

Guest post by Escapio.com