Horror/Scary: August 03, 2005 Issue [#533]
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Horror/Scary


 This week:
  Edited by: schipperke
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Your host this week is schipperke. Do YOU believe in ghosts?


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

** Image ID #826320 Unavailable **


I am addicted to a television show called Ghost Hunters on the SciFi Network.http://www.scifi.com/ghosthunters I can’t wait to watch the professional plumbers by day, ghost hunters at night, investigate their next case of supposed hauntings across the USA. A mixture of reality show/documentary with a dash of humor, I look forward to their antics. Plus, I believe in ghosts.

I admit it, I do. I lived in a haunted house for four years (see "Invalid Item"  Open in new Window. by A Guest Visitor for details) and I am convinced they exist. The plumbers on Ghost Hunters do too, since they each experienced a ghostly exchange prior to starting TAPS, The Atlantic Paranoramal Society. Once you have any sort of ghostly experience, your mind opens up to the possibility to the idea of ghosts and spirits.

As billwilcox mentioned in his last Horror/Scary newsletter, the things that are the most scary are those that are ordinary, but out of proportion. Real hauntings are frightening because ordinary objects or places behave in ways that are out of the ordinary. In one episode of Ghost Hunters, the plumbers are investigating a supposed haunted lighthouse. They don’t see anything or hear anything untoward, but after reviewing the footage their cameras took while they were not in the rooms, they saw something creepy. After the men left a room, a chair moved slowly across the floor, BY ITSELF. Only the camera was in the room at the time. I can hear the skeptics now… “They probably had a man in the corner with a string on the chair and they dragged it.”

If you watch the show, you will understand the premise of TAPS is to debunk supposed hauntings, not prove them. The investigators will review the tapes and discredit anything that can be explained by normal means. They will go back to the scene and try to recreate any strange activity caught on tape to prove it could be done by live forces. They pride themselves on being scientific, because they really want to prove that ghosts exist. As someone who has experienced ghostly encounters myself, I find it hard to prove my experiences were real to anyone who wasn’t experiencing them with me.

Many US states have groups that explore hauntings in their areas. I found a myriad of groups on the web. My own state has http://www.virginiaghosts.com, the UK has {link: http://www.ghosts-uk.net/modules/helpdesk/faq.php?faqid=90}, Cape Cod has {link: http://www.caiprs.com/} and there are many more. I bet you can find one in your area, if you are interested.

How could you use this information for your writing? True life ghost stories are wonderful sources of inspiration. Put an ad in the paper in your home town stating you want to learn about local ghost stories and bring your tape recorder and camera. People love to talk about what has happened to them. If you look on Amazon, you will see whole books consisting of collections of ghost stories from around the world such as http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1575872013/ref=pd_sim_b_3/103-8258... or http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812564367/ref=pd_sim_b_5/103-8258.... Are you inspired to collect and edit your own hometown’s ghostly encounters?

I hope this newsletter will encourage some lively debate, although no matter how much someone argues against the existence of ghosts, I know what I lived through in my haunted house. *Bigsmile*



Editor's Picks

*Shock*schipperke's Picks of the Week

 The Hookman Series Open in new Window. (18+)
The story of Hookman's Grave is a real urban legend that inspired this series.
#995903 by Brandon Johnson Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#985562 by Not Available.

Another Elizabeth Open in new Window. (18+)
A man in a hospital hears weird things on an ordinary phone and isn't sure of reality.
#985171 by Fletch Author IconMail Icon

 Ricky's Mommy Open in new Window. (13+)
Jonesy gets two visitors.
#961278 by The Ragpicker - 8 yo relic Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#957413 by Not Available.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#929791 by Not Available.

Image Protector
STATIC
The Tire Swing Open in new Window. (13+)
Push me all day, everyday.
#911631 by W.D.Wilcox Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#896335 by Not Available.


 
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Amazon's Price: $ 12.99


Ask & Answer

schipperke's Feedback


shadowdawn
Hi! I just read your NL on nightmares, in particular about your teeth falling out. I completely understand to horror of that thought. I have reoccuring nightmares about my teeth and dental work falling out/off. *shudders* I hate those!
Thanks for the great NL!
ShadowDawn
How about nightmares about dentists??

Nikola~Asked Santa for a Pony! Author IconMail Icon
This could be a really go use for my nighttime frights of fancy. Thanks for a great, informative NL! ~Nikola
You are welcome. Kid's dreams are great sources of inspiration too!

A thinker never sleeps Author IconMail Icon
My nightmare is usually a large spider waiting to pound, flesh-eating insects, ghosts, possession or serial-killer and evil etc. I think it's mostly a fear of being overtaken or overwhelmed being that it's usually always an attack or a loss of control.
I agree. Many people dream of being chased also.

Diane Author IconMail Icon
Hey Schip. Nice wishing nightmares on all your readers. Mine are generally about spiders. They scare me in dreams more than when awake. I always dream that one is coming from the ceiling and about to land on my face. I wake before it does, but it takes a while to turn on the lights and search the room for bungee jumping arachnids before I can rest again. If I dream about spiders tonight I'm coming over to your place so you can keep me company all night!
You are welcome to come to my house and meet some real spiders! I have huge huntsmen spiders in my basement.....

roobear1
Well, I don't want to rant about this so I'll keep it short. I don't have nightmares very much, but I do use them for creative purposes, though usually they are so inconsistent that I can't just write it down and have a story - it needs work. I used to have a lot of nightmares when I was five or six, but they never really affected me or scared me after I woke up. The worse kind of dreams I have are stressful dreams, but worse is, I am awake the whole night, half-asleep, trying to do or figure out something... I end up getting no sleep over something that doesn't exist.
All kinds of dreams can be used as sources of great stories, scary or otherwise!



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