I helped edit this little book, and gave her some illustrations for it, including my ley line map for the Tilton (NH) area. The book includes Northfield, Franklin, and — of course — Tilton.  I know of at least a half-dozen haunted places on or next to that line.

Northeast, that line seems to extend into Laconia, and probably beyond.  I haven’t followed it in the southwest direction.  Anyway, that may be useful for you, though the scale — for Kindle — is a little small.  (To draw it yourself, connect the Lochmere archaeological site to Webster place.)  The line could be 1/2 mile wide.  Most of the time, the line is about four blocks wide.

If you’re ghost hunting in that area (about 25 minutes north of Concord, NH, along Rte. 93), this Kindle book may be useful.  Mostly, it’s photos and descriptions of haunted places — including public places like cemeteries and parks, and a few private sites like the 1875 Inn — and the book is about 15 pages long.

(On the book cover, at right: I think that’s the (maybe) haunted train museum in Tilton-Northfield, and the other photos is inside the Tilton Arch “mystery tunnel.”)

After the three free days this week, Ghost Hunting in Tilton, NH will be 99 cents.

Meanwhile, I’m reorganizing some of my ghost-related websites.   None of them are active sites or very large, and it’s time to update them.  So, for a few days, some of those websites may reach a 404 (page not found) while the updates are in progress.   Hollow Hill may move to a separate server, soon, but not this week.

The post Free Book, Site Changes appeared first on Hollow Hill.

The cover of the book is new, but the interior is the same, for now.  Later this year, I may update it, but only slightly.  The information in it is fairly timeless.

My 2013 projects include updating my books with new covers, and reformatting them for Kindle and other digital formats. I’m starting with my most popular books, and the haunted cemeteries book is among them.

Two weeks ago, the freshly edited and updated edition of 101 Ghost Hunting Questions -  Answered was released with a new cover, in Kindle and in print, as well as a large-print edition.

I’m not sure what will be completed next.  I’d like to get my podcasts back on schedule, add more fresh content to Hollow Hill, finish the redesign of Ghosts 101, and I have some other ideas in progress.

This week, I’ll be exploring a slightly different research direction with author Sean Paradis.  It’s logical, but I’m not sure anyone else has actually tried this very much… yet.

Stay tuned for updates!

The post Haunted Cemeteries Book – New Cover, Same Interior appeared first on Hollow Hill.

Well, I can’t argue with a skeptical critic.  He or she has already made up his or her mind.  The skeptical critic is usually a bottomless well of explanations, no matter how extreme or preposterous.  (But, to be fair: Anyone absolutely, positively determined to interpret everything as ghostly… he or she can be equally defensive.)

I think skeptical critics feel a little more secure in their uncertainties, if they think they have a nice, normal reason for everything.  (Since they simply want to argue with people like me, I’m not sure why they’re involved in ghost hunting.)

However, I’m not convinced that yesterday’s critics meant what they said.  I think they meant that orbs aren’t ghosts.

THE DEFINITION OF PARANORMAL

“Paranormal” does not mean “ghostly.”

Para-, the prefix, comes from the Greek.  It means beside (not part of) or beyond.  So, “paranormal” is something beyond what’s normal.

The Free Dictionary defines paranormal as, “Beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation.”

Dictionary.com says it’s “of or pertaining to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation.”

Merriam-Webster says paranormal means, “not scientifically explainable.”

Most definitions refer to supernatural phenomena as an example, but the basic definition comes down to:

• Para = Beyond or outside.
• Normal = Standard, not deviating from the norm, or average.

New Orleans on a foggy night, after rain, with lots of lights & reflections. No orbs.

So, avoid using “paranormal” when you mean “ghostly.”

A photo of an orb can be paranormal. So can a photo of a flower, a cat, or your shoe.  It all depends on what’s normal, and what can’t be explained within the range of normal.

NORMAL AND PARANORMAL ORBS

An orb I can identify as pollen artifact is normal.  

An orb that I can’t reproduce by normal means (setting up the lighting, dust, moisture, etc., in a certain way) is paranormal.

• It’s not necessarily a ghost.
• It’s not necessarily energy.
• It’s not necessarily an angel, your great-granny, or the Tooth Fairy.

It’s just an orb that — at the present time — can’t be explained, and can’t be reproduced using similar photographic staging.

I may apply other descriptions to that orb, but they relate to the experience at the time the photo was taken. I’m looking for other phenomena, what investigators were sensing at the time, EVP, EMF spikes, sensory phenomena, and so on.

The orb photo itself… it doesn’t prove anything.  All by itself, it’s supporting evidence, at best.

Here’s my story:

For years, I was guilty of insisting that most orbs are dust, pollen, moisture, reflections, insects, and so on.  And, fed up with saying that to people who just wouldn’t believe me, I decided to prove it.

I planned to create some great, convincing-looking, fake orb photos.  Frankly, I didn’t think it would be very difficult.

I set up my cameras — multiple film and digital cameras — and used things like:

• Ragweed (pollen).
• My Swiffer (dust).
• Flour (denser dust).
• Very fine, powdery sand and dirt from unpaved roads (more dust).
• Spray bottles (moisture).
• Mirrors, shiny glass, and chandeliers (reflections).
• Stop signs, traffic cones, other street signs (reflections).

I trekked to swampy areas with wall-to-wall mosquitoes.  I walked down dirt roads at night, and waited for a car or truck to drive by, stirring up the dust.

I visited damp locations on humid and foggy nights.  I even went to New Orleans shortly after Katrina, when everything was pretty soggy.

Flash photo of shiny glass, lights and a traffic cone in New Orleans’ French Quarter… on a damp evening. No orbs.

Sure, I got photos that included orbs. The problem was, they didn’t look like the orbs I photograph at haunted locations.  They weren’t convincing orbs.

A beginner might be fooled by them… but not me.  Not after all these years in ghost hunting, after tens of thousands of photos.

But, after spending years insisting (with no proof) that most orbs were the product of the environment, I wasn’t going to eat crow quite yet.

In fact, I spent six years trying to stage photos that would produce orbs identical to the orbs photographed at haunted and spiritual sites.

The one and only thing that produced convincing orbs — orbs that looked like “ghost orbs” — was breathing (or talking with a lot of exhaling) while taking the photos.  And even then, I couldn’t get real-looking orbs in more than half my photos.  Most of them still looked fake.

A street corner in New Orleans at night. Bright lights. No orbs.

Some researchers claim that all orbs — even those with logical explanations that you can see — are evidence of spirits.

I’m not one of those researchers.  Sure, maybe a ghost floated that particular fleck of pollen in front of my camera exactly when I was taking the picture. Maybe he did that just to get my attention.  I can accept that as a possibility.

However, I’m not going to state, categorically, that any orb represents a ghost.

It’s just something paranormal… and it seems to happen most often at “haunted” sites.  That’s all I can state with confidence.

That and the fact that believable orbs are amazingly difficult to fake.

Having been a skeptical critic of “ghost orbs” for many years, I’m regretting that — as the author of some of the earliest ghost hunting articles online — I led people to believe that most orbs can be explained by dust, pollen, reflections, and so on.

Sure, I can still spot an orb that doesn’t look right.  I know that, either inside the frame of the photo or just outside it, there’s a likely explanation.  If the photographer revisits the site, he or she will usually see what caused the lens flare or refraction.

But, there’s a different quality to the orbs we usually can’t explain.  And, to replicate those… well, except for breathing while taking a flash photo — and even that isn’t a “sure thing” — I can’t seem to create convincing-looking orbs with staging.

Fake-looking orbs are easy.  Real-looking ones… no.

But, my point in this article isn’t about orbs.  It’s about how people misuse the word “paranormal.”

If you mean “ghostly,” say so. 

If you just mean something that — at this time — can’t be explained by anything normal in that setting, at that time… that’s paranormal.

There is a difference, and it’s an important one when we’re discussing research techniques and results.

The post What Is ‘Paranormal’? appeared first on Hollow Hill.

Jason’s talk and Q&A session were wonderful, as always.  His honesty and humor are a breath of fresh air in a field that’s often overloaded with people who want to impress audiences with hyped-up stories.

For me, two things stood out in Jason’s comments:

• He reminded people that there’s more to fear from the living than the dead, when you’re investigating ghosts.
• He talked about something I’ve also speculated about, in recent years:  The possibility that some “ghosts” are actually people alive and well in their own times, but — somehow — their times or realities are overlapping ours.  That’s quantum, of course, but I really liked hearing it from another researcher with a couple of decades’ research experience.

It had been about two years since I’d investigated at the Spalding, and things have changed.

My own experiences at the event:

• The upper floor of the Spalding Inn’s carriage house seemed to be just as strange, but more focused.  That is, many of us (including me) didn’t encounter the usual off-the-wall weird energy there.  However, some investigators experienced profound encounters and confirmations.  Those seemed to be very quirky experiences, with a lot more personality than the generalized activity I’d experienced, especially in and near rooms 15 and 17.
• The spirits (ghosts, energy, whatever) at the main level (ground floor) of the Spalding Inn’s carriage house were a lot more responsive to the various electronic devices in use.
• Jason Hawes’ wife, Kris, shared a lot of stories.  They were fascinating, because she was describing encounters that complemented mine from as far back as 2008 (before the hotel was officially opened).  However, it’s like the ghosts are learning and their responses are more specific, more consistent, and involve more senses so this has become a more useful research location.
• In the main building, the dining room feels like more of a “safe haven” from intrusive ghosts — for those who want to get away from them — but the perimeter is a little more odd.
• The extended corridor (where the sleeping rooms are) is far more active than it had been.  Previously, I’d categorized most of the activity there as fae and perhaps Native American.  Now, several ghosts seem to have increased their presence there. (I’m not sure what words to use for that, because I’m not sure if those ghosts were there all along, but fairly silent… or if they’ve migrated to that part of the hotel, since they have a bigger audience.)

As of last night, the hotel had not sold yet, though there is interest.

Frankly, from what I heard and experienced last night, I’m hoping that they don’t sell the hotel, after all.  It’s becoming an increasingly more useful research site.

For last night’s event, I created a special information sheet that features some of the ley lines at and near the Spalding Inn, and northern New Hampshire in general.

If you’re interested in ley lines, you can compare the NH info with a similar sheet I’ve updated from my Guest appearances at Dragon*Con.

Here are the links:

Using Ley Lines to Find Haunts around the Spalding Inn… and beyond

Using Paranormal Patterns to Predict Anomalies (Atlanta map)

(Since the NH information sheet was written in 2013 and the Atlanta one was merely updated from the 2010 version, there will be some discrepancies in the technique I describe.  It’s an evolving study.  Details in the newer material may be more accurate.  Earlier information was more general, and still valid… just not as complete.)

Please share these information sheets!

These information sheets are copyrighted, but licensed for your use under a Creative Commons – Attribution – No Derivatives license.  In other words, you can upload these files to your own website and share them with your own team, friends, fans, and visitors. (In fact, I encourage you to!)  However, you can’t alter the information sheets in any way, or pretend you created them.

You can also use the complete contents of these sheets in commercial work, like books.  (However, if you use the maps or any portion of the sheets, you’ll need to use all the information… not just part of it.)

This work by Fiona Broome is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

For other use, distribution, or licensing, use the Contact form to ask me.

The post Spalding Inn, Ley Lines (NH, GA) appeared first on Hollow Hill.

101 Ghost Hunting Questions -  Answered

This morning, I submitted new printed updates of “101 Ghost Hunting Questions -  Answered” to the publisher, and I’m pretty sure they’ll show up at Amazon in the next few days.   One is the regular 6″ x 9″ size book.  The other is a large-print book and the pages are 8.5″ x 11″.

All of these editions — printed and in Kindle — have the same content.  Look for the new book cover (shown on the right), to be sure you have the newest printing.  (Besides the new cover, this latest printing corrects some typos and grammar errors.  The questions and answers are still the same… or nearly the same.)

As soon as Amazon lets me know the books are available, I’ll reduce the price as much as I can, for three days. (The savings won’t be huge. I already price my books low, to keep them affordable.)

I’ll post that info here, and at Facebook and Twitter.

Join me at the Spalding Inn, April 20th

As I mentioned last month, the Spalding Inn is for sale. (As far as I know, it hasn’t sold yet… but I won’t be sure until this weekend.)

On Saturday evening, April 20th, you can be part of a ghost hunt at the hotel. This may be your last chance to investigate the hotel with Jason Hawes (of the Ghost Hunters TV series).

I will be there, too.  Say hello!  I’ll be happy to share additional information about the hotel… things I haven’t said online, because I never want any hotel to seem too haunted.  (That said, I’ve stayed at the Spalding, and always have a very restful, uninterrupted night’s sleep.  However, I don’t recommend leaving your room during the night, unless you’re ready to risk a ghostly encounter.)

On Saturday evening, if you want me to share some ghost hunting tips, explain any weird phenomena, or talk about ley lines at the hotel (and how it used to be an important Native American site), just ask me.   I’ll also be happy to autograph books, if you bring them with you.  (For free, personalized, digital autographs of my Kindle books, visit Authorgraph.com)

The Spalding Inn is the hotel featured in my video about haunted stairways:

I’m looking forward to Saturday’s investigation.  I’ve learned a lot more about the ley lines around the hotel, and I’m eager to check a few “hot spots” to see the results. (Some of the locations are outdoors.  All are close to the hotel or on the property.)

I hope to see you there!

Click here to register for the event. I’m not sure how many tickets are still available, and this may be your last chance to investigate this hotel with Jason Hawes.

The post 101 Questions Update, and Spalding Inn Event appeared first on Hollow Hill.

Last night, I completed the revisions. Kindle approved the changes this morning. Look for the new cover to be sure it’s the latest edition.  (That’s the new cover, illustrated on the left.)

Most of the content is the same as the earlier version.

The biggest changes are the cover, as well as several typo corrections. (The original book had been dictated with voice-recognition software.  Sometimes, sound-alike typos — like “do” instead of “due” — got past my proofreader. Fingers crossed, most of them are fixed now.)

I also improved some grammar, and rearranged a few questions so the book flows more logically.

I organized the questions into groups, so the Table of Contents isn’t five or seven screens long.  Now, it’s just one or two (depending on your ebook reader).

And, I added a link to a free, digital autograph for your book. All autographs are personalized and signed by me.

If you’ve already bought this Kindle book, the update should be available, soon, and it will be free.

I’ve asked Amazon/Kindle to be sure the revised edition will automatically upload to your reader when you check for updates.

(Amazon advises me that it may take a few weeks for this to show up as an option in your Kindle reader. Have patience, but let me know if you don’t see the update by mid-May 2013.)

Kindle edition: 101 Ghost Hunting Questions – Answered: Amazon.com link – Amazon.co.uk link

There will be a new printed edition, too…

Later today, when I’m back at home, I’m beginning similar revisions to the printed edition. (This past week, I’ve been visiting a cousin.)

As soon as the new printed edition is ready, I’ll let you know. I’m planning to offer a discount code for people who’d already bought the book, so you’re able to get the updated version at cost. That discount will only be available for a few days. I’ll announce it here at HollowHill.com , Facebook, and Twitter.

The post 101 Ghost Hunting Questions – Kindle Re-release appeared first on Hollow Hill.

• One American headline is Mother and daughter terrified by haunted house.  Others are more skeptical, with good reason.
• The UK headline is Woman demands new council house after old home gets ‘possessed by a ghost named Nigel’.

If I believe the media reports, the story seems to be:

1. A woman named Stacey McGill noticed issues with her lights turning on and off, and a similar problem with her microwave or other appliances.  One news story mentioned scary noises, too.
2. She called Dave Vickers, a medium.
3. He used automatic writing to identify the ghost as a learning-disabled 30-year-old man named Nigel.
4. The woman and her young daughter are frightened and demand new housing.

It’s a “haunted… or not?” story, and — as reported — a ridiculous one.

There may be more to the story.  I hope there is.  I’m relying on newspaper stories, and… well, you probably know how little I trust media reports.  As I’m reading this, the story seems irresponsible on many levels.  And, if I were taking it at face value (I’m not), here’s what I’d say to Ms. McGill or anyone in her situation:

Electrical issues come first.

First, if lights are turning on and off — and especially if a cooker, microwave or stove turn on and off — call an electrician right away.  Loose wiring is a fire hazard.

If the electrician can’t visit you the same day, say with friends until you know the home is safe for you and your family.  Fires can spread more quickly than many people realize.  When a family is killed in a house fire, someone always comments, “Wow.  The flames spread far faster than we expected.”

If the electrician can’t find the issue, get a second opinion… from another, more thorough electrician.

Be sure paranormal investigators are experienced and businesslike.

If there’s still no explanation, and there are other reasons to suspect a haunting, invite an experienced paranormal team to look into the issues.

Important: Even before visiting you, if they don’t ask if your home was already examined by at least one electrician, call another team.  Well-meaning people can get so excited about investigating a genuinely haunted house, they forget to put safety — and normal explanations — first.

If the team don’t start by double-checking normal causes for the problem, take their opinions with a grain of salt.  Then, get a second opinion from a different, experienced team.

All of this is covered in my free book and checklist, Is Your House Haunted?

In this news story, the investigator was Dave Vickers.  I did a cursory check of his background.  He seems to be a nice man, committed to helping others with his psychic gifts.  Nothing indicates that he’s an attention-seeker.  I suspect that a large part of his investigation was omitted from the news reports.  (I’m sympathetic.  Being featured in this kind of news story… it’s embarrassing.)

If the answer seems to be a ghost, look for supporting evidence.

From the Ocean-Born Mary story to New Orleans’ “Haunted Mansion” (LaLaurie Mansion) tale, I keep hearing fiction presented as fact.  (Ocean-Born Mary never lived in the NH house she supposedly haunts.  Madame LaLaurie never forced a little girl out the third-floor window of the French Quarter home.)

First, see if any tragedy is connected with the history of the home.  Police, the council, the public library, neighbors, and the local media are all resources for this kind of information.

In the Loughborough, England case, I’d also look for the “Nigel” name.  I’d want to see council records. I’d conduct a title search if the house had previous owners.  I’d also talk with some of the older neighbors. If no one named Nigel turns up anywhere in the history of the house, I’d look for other answers to the haunting.

My “gut feeling” says the home isn’t truly haunted.

As silly and woo-woo as this might sound, my “gut feeling” is usually pretty good.  After visiting hundreds of haunted sites, and studying thousands of “ghost photos,” my guesses seem to be fairly accurate. I can usually tell if a site is worth investigating.

I’m not saying that a spirit named Nigel didn’t wander in, when Mr. Vickers was there.  (Remember the movie, “Ghost,” where the Whoopi Goldberg character was inundated with spirits, once they found out she could share messages with the living?  It’s like that.  I’d bet that Mr. Vickers has the same problem.)

That doesn’t mean the house is actually haunted.

If I were Ms. McGill, I’d stay with friends until the home (and the affected appliances) had been examined very closely by electricians, and the problems repaired.  The most likely explanation is loose wiring or a prank.

The post Haunted House? Please, Read the Free Book & Checklist appeared first on Hollow Hill.

They’re called “authorgraphs,” and each book is personally inscribed… by me.  You can view the autograph in most readers that display Kindle ebooks.

You can request a specific inscription if you’d like.   (There are limits.  I’m not likely to sign a book “To the ghost hunter who taught me everything I know,” or, “To a respected ghost hunter who deserves his own TV series,” or anything that’s not office-safe.)

Or, you can trust me to sign something sincere and specifically for you.

Do you use a pen name or nickname when you’re ghost hunting?  I can use that name when I autograph your book… just ask when you place your request.

All of my Kindle books can be autographed.  Autographs are also nice additions if you’re giving someone a Kindle book as a gift.

If you’d like to give one of my Kindle books as a gift to a friend or team member, he or she can have a free autograph, too.  I’ve created the following printable gift cards and notes. You can present one to your friend, with your gift, or tuck it into a birthday card, or something like that.

First, there’s the old-looking, “treasure map” style card.  It’s designed to print as a 3″ x 5″ gift card.

JPG — PDF

You may prefer something more contemporary.  This one is also ready to print as a 3″ x 5″ card.

JPG — PDF

If you’d like something to print, larger, you have two options.  First, I’ve created an ornate, black-and-white gift announcement.

PDF

The other design is more contemporary and colorful.  It’s designed to print, landscape-style, on any paper that’s at least 8.5″ x 11″

PDF

The post Autographed Kindle Books now available appeared first on Hollow Hill.

Working on that rewrite, I was knee-deep in library research.  Then, I stumbled onto something interesting and orb-related.

You probably know that I used to be a raving skeptic about most orb photos. (Some of my older articles reflect that. No pun intended.)

Then, I spent several years trying to create convincing fake orbs with dust, pollen, reflected light, insects, and so on.

I thought it would be easy.  In fact, I thought that project would take me a week or two at the very most.

Well, I failed, miserably.  That gave me a new respect for orbs… whether they’re actually “ghost orbs” or not. (I’m not convinced they are the ghosts, but a sign that paranormal energy is active.)

So, anyway…

In my research, I found a 1913 description that took me by surprise.  This was long before digital cameras, and all the excuses people have for why an orb can’t be “real.”

Here’s what someone said about ghost research in 1913:

“… the ghost or spirit appears as an immense glistening soap bubble, full of all the colors of the rainbow. These colors are constantly changing according to the thoughts and emotions of the man to whom the soul belongs.”

Wow. I’m not sure that the interpretation of the colors is accurate, but the description fits an orb.  In fact, it’s one of the best summaries I’ve read.

I’m including that quote in my book, as I’m rewriting it.

And, speaking of rewrites: If you want the printed book with the original cover design, snag a copy in the next few days.  As soon as this rewrite is completed, the first edition of the printed book won’t be available.  The rewrite will be a second edition and have a different cover. (If you bought the book in Kindle format, the rewritten version will overwrite the file at Amazon.  So, you’ll be able to download the update, free.)

I need to spend more time reviewing past ghost hunting discoveries… long past.  There’s probably a lot of interesting and useful information back there.

That 1913 quote may be the tip of the iceberg.

The post Ghost Orbs Described in 1913 appeared first on Hollow Hill.

And, it’s been the featured site for a chilling investigation on the Ghost Hunters TV series.

Yes, the Spalding Inn — owned by Ghost Hunters’ Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson and their families — is for sale.  The asking price isn’t cheap, but for what you’re getting… it’s a steal.

I’m enormously disappointed that they’re selling, because I’ve loved going up there and getting away from… well, everything.  It’s a quiet location (but close to skiing and hiking) with fresh air, nice people, and amazing landscapes.

But, since I’m readjusting my business based on how things have changed in recent years — not just in ghost hunting, but in general  — I can hardly act surprised when my friends do the same.

If I was interested in buying a business, or wanted to retire to a lovely area and still have income, I’d leap at this opportunity.  Tourism has been improving lately, and this hotel is perfect for small conferences, family reunions, weddings, and — of course — ghost-related events.

Here’s the page describing the offer: http://www.nnerenmls.com/nne/maildoc/gru0888_1362692583-Mar-07-2013-4_43_03pm.html

And, if you do buy The Spalding Inn, let me know.  I’ll happily give you a personal tour of the rooms that gave me the chills, and point out the spots where I’ve seen apparitions, even in full daylight.  There are things I haven’t talked about at this website or in my podcasts, because I never wanted to make the hotel sound too scary.  But, in confidence, I’m happy to tell you more.

The post Buy a Haunted Hotel appeared first on Hollow Hill.