Yesterday, I was reminded why I’m still a ghost hunter. (Note: That’s the pursuit and study of ghosts, not the TV show.)
Lately, it’s been too easy to get caught up in the drama of the entertainment and income sides of ghost hunting. Obviously, I’ve been concerned about that as the pursuit of fame and fortune has tarnished the research side of the ghost hunting field.
However, yesterday was a refreshing step back into why I became a ghost hunter in the first place. It also reminded me of what I’ve accomplished.
First, at the office where I pick up my mail, a box had arrived. As I opened it and took out my personal copies of Weird Encounters — a book which includes four of my stories, including one about Gilson Road Cemetery — the woman behind the counter said she’d heard about Gilson Road Cemetery.
I blinked. See, I was the first one to write about Gilson Road Cemetery as a haunted location, over ten years ago. When someone has heard about Gilson or visits it to find ghosts, I regard it as an accomplishment, whether they heard about Gilson from this website or someone else’s.
It’s something good that I contributed to the knowledge base of this field. That’s one of my main goals. To hear that I’m doing anything to help ghost hunting… that’s tremendously satisfying. I don’t want fame in this field; I want to contribute something useful.
After that, we went to Gilson Road Cemetery to meet Sean Paradis, who began as a student of mine many years ago, and is now a respected professional who is exploring fascinating, new, low-tech approaches to ghost hunting.
Seeing the results in his photographs at Gilson last night… that was also very satisfying. (His pictures were truly eerie, including an orange-ish orb that we haven’t seen at Gilson before. )
During the evening, I met two wonderful women who were exploring Gilson Road Cemetery as part of casual ghost hunting. Talking with them, and sharing “ghost stories” from the area, was delightful fun.
After that, another group of people arrived, looking for anything ghostly at Gilson Road Cemetery. They were in the “just curious” category, but I could see that one of them was especially interested in the possibility of paranormal phenomena.
(Unfortunately it was one of Gilson’s less active evenings. However, I was able to share a few stories and pointers anyway.)
All of this was a tremendous counterpoint to what’s been going on in the entertainment side of ghost hunting. Since I most often spend time with who began as researchers and have become stars of TV shows, it’s easy to forget why I got into this work in the first place.
However, seeing the spark of interest in people new to ghost research… the curiosity that may lead to new, important discoveries that explain what’s really going on at “haunted” places… that renewed my enthusiasm for this work.
Also, seeing how professional Sean is and how he balances enthusiasm, curiosity and hard-nosed debunking skills… that’s also a reminder of the importance of sharing what we’re learning.
So, to the woman at my mail office, the two ladies of Nashua, the group that was at Gilson — mostly for fun, I think — and also to Sean: Thank you!
Some time ago, I had a physcal fight, with what I was later learned was incubus. I defeated it and rid it from my home. Something made me look at websites today and I’ve been drawn to your website more than once. If somehow I can help you or someone else affiliated with you, please let me know me.
Venus
[email address noted, and removed for privacy]
Venus,
Thanks for your offer and also for sharing your experience with us. I’ll definitely keep you in mind for future research.
From now through 2011, I’m probably focusing on my writing, including more free courses for this site as well as books with more specialized and in-depth information.
I’m glad you’re drawn to this site, and I hope you’ll continue visiting.
Thanks again!
Cheerfully,
Fiona
Hi Fiona,
I am a UT journalism grad student, who is writing a piece for the University magazine. I am putting together a piece on the link between Austin and Jack the Ripper. I happened to come accross on the web, an extract from a book of yours, which was bursting with newspaper reportings about the connection. I was hoping I could ask you some questions, as I am trying to verify the attributions. If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated.
I look forward to hopefully hearing from you,
Regards,
James Jeffrey
Hi James,
That’s great about your writing. I’ve lived in SLC and in Centerville, so I’m very familiar with the U. It’s a great time of year to be there!
My Austin book lists several resources in the bibliography, but I’m not sure how many of them directly referred to the Austin/Ripper connection. Unfortunately, as I’m checking some of my resources, several are no longer online; I’m not sure if the Wayback Machine will help, either; one better site was AmericanTerror.com, and the page was http://americanterror.com/info.cfm?id=56&state=TX
Steven Saylor’s novel, “A Twist at the End: A Novel of O. Henry” may have additional references; many public libraries have it, but it’s fairly gory so the main SLC library or the U’s library are your best bets.
Casebook.org may also have useful resources.
Generally, you’re looking for contemporary articles about the “servant girl annihilator” and any mention of the “Malay cook.” If you use an online newspaper search — or a really old Periodical Guide — those phrases may be helpful: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/
And, if you’re comfortable using the genealogical library downtown, they may have some helpful records, at least on microfilm. Some of their records include old newspapers, so you may find useful articles in the Austin paper from the weeks after each killing. There were also stories in the London (England) papers that provided part of the story; Saylor’s book may give you better reference dates for that search.
That kind of research could be tedious, but it could also be pure gold if you stumble onto reports that I couldn’t access easily from TX and NH.
I hope that helps.
Cheerfully,
Fiona