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Christopher Balzano's new book, Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting: Step-by-Step Instruction for Exploring Haunts and Finding Spirits, Spooks, and Specters is now available! The book comes with a 90-minute instructional DVD that takes you inside an investigation like never before. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1598634984/ghostvillagecom
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View this newsletter online at: http://www.ghostvillage.com/newsletters/Aug15_08.htm
Dear Ghostvillagers,
Exorcism -- often a last resort when people are tormented by unseen forces. It's a subject that floats around the paranormal because often it's the only hope when a person or family is struggling to the point of breaking. Exorcism exists very much in the realm of belief -- it's a religious rite intended to help break an entity away from a living person.
The subject has also been in the news lately. Earlier this year, the Vatican announced plans to train more priests in exorcism in an effort to "fight the Devil head-on." Within the last two months, exorcism was even in the courtroom. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that emotional and physical injuries suffered by a 17-year-old girl during an exorcism weren't subject to the court's jurisdiction because the subject entangled church and state.
Recently, I attended my first exorcism. The rite took place at a private residence in Rhode Island. The family claims they have been tormented by multiple entities since they moved into the house several years ago. I personally know some of the investigators who have looked into this case, and they have experienced objects being thrown at them and can attest to the presence of something. There have been multiple clearings and exorcisms performed at the property, but so far, the owner claims she has had no relief. With the paranormal, there is rarely a quick solution to any problem, but that doesn't mean it's not worth the effort to fight for sanity and normalcy with all we can. This month on Ghostvillage.com, we're going to dive in to the subject of exorcism. We'll hear from exorcists, and we'll talk about the various religious solutions to combat dark, unseen forces. If you have something to share, please do jump in to the conversation.
I'd like to welcome author Christopher Balzano to the Ghostvillage.com editorial board. Chris is our news editor. In addition to maintaining our news section and RSS feed, Chris will also be bringing you insight into what's happening in the world of paranormal research and media coverage. Be sure to read Chris's first monthly update below.
Another addition to the newsletter is a new section called "It Takes a Village." Each month we're going to support a "charity of the month." My wife, Megan, will be telling you about a different charitable organization each month and explain some of the innovative ways you can help (besides just donating money). There are more than 26,000 subscribers to this newsletter, and if we all do a little bit we can make a big difference in the world. "It Takes a Village" is intended to get you thinking about ways to help.
Finally, I'd like to remind you about the research project going on. Dr. Barry E. Taff, Jack Rourke, Pat Wheelock, and Dr. Andrew Nichols have put together a survey regarding paranormal experiences. Ghostvillage.com is proud to host this survey and help collect this important data. If you haven't done so already, I'm hoping you'll take a few minutes to fill out the online questionnaire and help with this project.
http://www.ghostvillage.com/psisurvey/survey.php (a special thank you to Randy Gill, a Ghostvillager who volunteered to write the script that processes the survey).
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter below!
Supernaturally yours,
Jeff Belanger
Mayor of Ghostvillage.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/ghostvillager
Congratulations to Angela Miller of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was last month's winner of an autographed copy of
Jeff Belanger's book, Our Haunted Lives, a Ghostvillage.com window sticker, and a Ghostvillage.com t-shirt!
This month, we're doing the contest again, but we ask that you first click this link:
http://www.ghostvillage.com/index.shtml#winner.
If it says, "The search is on" then we don't have a winner yet and go ahead and send in your answer. If you see today's date
and "We have a winner!" that means you weren't the first to email us. Sorry, please try again next month.
On to this month's question: This question can be answered by reading a page on Ghostvillage.com. The first
person to reply to this email with the correct answer will win this month's prize.
In what location did writer Jack Roth experience the "Oz Factor"?
Once we have our winner, we will announce them on our home page as soon
as possible. Good luck! (Only Ghostvillagers who have not won a prize from us in the last year are eligible.)
This month's prize:
We're giving away an autographed copy of Christopher Balzano's new book, Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting, a Ghostvillage.com window sticker, and a Ghostvillage.com t-shirt!
Didn't win? Want to buy a copy? Click on the graphic.
| It Takes a Village - Charity of the Month |
The American Red Cross has been the country's premier emergency response organization since 1881. In addition to domestic disaster relief, the Red Cross also offers community services that help the needy; support for military members and their families; the collection, processing, and distribution of blood and blood products; educational programs that promote health and safety; and international relief and development programs.
An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested into humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
To donate money, click here
To find a blood drive in your area, click here
Strapped for cash? Squeamish about needles? There are other ways to help:
1. Donate your old cell phones. The Red Cross has partnered with Recellular, Inc., the global leader in wireless recycling. For every phone collected and sold until October 31, 2008, ReCellular will donate $1 to the American Red Cross, with a minimum commitment of $50,000.
Learn more here
2. Donate your unused hotel points, credit card points, and airline miles. Do you have dribs and drabs of reward points that you’ll probably never use? Major hotel partners, credit card companies, and airlines offer the opportunity for their loyalty program members to exchange their membership points for cash or in-kind donations to the American Red Cross. Learn more about how
you can help here
3. Shop! Visit the Red Cross Store
and purchase items like family first-aid kits, infant care products, and more. Between 2-5% of the retail price will support the American Red Cross.
The Supernatural Calendar is the place where thousands will learn about your events of interest to the supernatural world. The service is only available to registered members of the message boards, and it's free!
Ghostvillage.com now syndicates our calendar of events so other Web sites can also display these supernatural happenings at no charge! To learn more about
installing our calendar of events RSS feed, please visit our syndication
page. Adding your own local events to our calendar is more important than ever!
August 23: Beyond
Reality Event: The Mt. Washington Hotel, NH
August 29: 2008
West Virginia Ghost and Paranormal Conference
September 9: Jeff
Belanger on Asylumcam Radio
September 11: UNIV-CON
SEVEN - College Park, Pennsylvania
September 12: The
ScareFest
September 17: Jeff
Belanger at the Hopedale, MA library
September 24: Jeff
Belanger on P.I.S.A. Paranormal Radio
September 26: 7th
Annual Mid-South Paranormal Convention - KY
September 30: Jeff
Belanger on Tuesday After Twilight
October 10: 2008
Valley Paranormal Seminar - Oakhurst, CA, 2008
Valley Paranormal Seminar
October 13: Jeff
Belanger on Catacomb Paranormal Radio
| Who's Who in the Village? |
Get to know some of your fellow Ghostvillagers.
>>Señor Hugo<< - member since January 13, 2008
What is your name?
Byron Econ
How old are you?
24
Where do you live?
Fort Wayne, Indiana
What do you do for a living?
College student.
What got you interest in the paranormal? Did you have an experience of your own?
My dad got me started in the paranormal when he had me watch
Ghostbusters when it first came out on VHS. Ever since then, I have been
hooked. I got every book from the library I could during elementary
school involving everything ranging from ghosts, to UFO's, to Bigfoot,
Champ, Loch Ness, Demons, Skinwalker Ranch, literally everything the
school had involving the paranormal I rented out multiple times. I
never had a paranormal experience until I moved to Fort Wayne from
Michigan. In my first real encounter, I saw what could only be described as
an imp or a gnome. I was watching TV late one night back in 2006. It
was about 2 AM when I looked over and to my left, behind the wall
separating two rooms was a two-foot-tall brownish bipedal creature
peeking out and looking at me. When I looked, it disappeared behind the
wall, but soon peeked out again a couple of seconds later. This little
game of "peek-a-boo" went on for a good 10 minutes before he
disappeared entirely. This led me to believe that there was more than
just ghosts out there, but unfortunately I never saw the little guy
again after that.
Do you believe exorcisms can work for someone tormented by something unseen?
Yes, I believe that exorcisms can work for someone tormented by
something that we can't see. Just like the body can expel something
unhealthy from it, a person can be exorcised of something supernatural
that is causing them pain or harm. It all depends on the methods used
and the strength of whatever is plaguing them. It may only take one
shot to rid a person or a house of something, or it may take several
tries.
What's your all-time favorite musical group?
Don't have one. I like songs from multiple bands and genres --
everyone has their good songs and bad songs. But if I had to choose
I'd say something like Powerman 5000 or Breaking Benjamin.
| Last Month's Theme - Featured Content |
Our last month's theme was Talking Boards. Here's what you missed if you haven't checked in since last month:
Ghost Chronicles: Episode 15: The Mystery of the Ouija Board
Encounters: The Thing From the Ouija Board
News: Obsessed Ouija Board Collector Builds Virtual Shrine to Those Responsible for Its Invention
Encounters: Angry Ouija Board
Encounter: Louden Road Ouija Board
Features: Ouija Boards - Just a Game?
| Shopping at Ghostvillage.com |
Have you checked out our Ghost-Mart and Ghostvillage U.?
Ghostvillage U.: "Professor Paranormal" Loyd Auerbach and the HCH Institute's Distance Learning Certificate Course on Parapsychological Studies is
now available through Ghostvillage.com. Ready to take paranormal investigation to the next level? Check out the online courses.
Ghost-Mart:
Digital Voice Recorders: Going for EVP? Think DVR.
Paranormal
Books: Ghost-Mart has many of the leading paranormal titles.
EMF Meters: Check out our line of EMF meters from cell sensors to tri-field.
Closed Circuit TV: From inexpensive to the high end, we have them all.
Ghostvillage.com's book reviewer, Lee
Prosser and the staff have brought you several new book reviews and author interviews since our last newsletter.
This past month's Library additions:
Lessons from the Light by Kenneth Ring and Evelyn Elsaesser Valarino
Ghost Hunter's Guide to Seattle and Puget Sound by Jeff Dwyer
The Reiki Touch by William Lee Rand
The Spiritual Technology of Ancient Egypt by Edward F. Malkowski
| Ghostvillage.com Advertising Opportunities |
Each month Ghostvillage.com reaches tens of thousands of people interested in the paranormal. We offer the most effective and best-valued
advertising and sponsorship packages of any paranormal media outlet. Please visit: http://www.ghostvillage.com/advertising.htm for details.
If you're ready to put Ghostvillage.com to work for your company or organization, send us an
email to get started.
We receive personal encounters from all over the world. Many are scary, some are touching, but they are always profound. If you would like
to share your own experience, please click >>here<<. Since our last newsletter, we added the following new encounters:
A Glowing Cigarette - Phoenix, Arizona
Black-Hooded Entities - Kentucky
A Civil War Soldier - Gladstone, Virginia
Ghost Boy and Girls - Chicago, Illinois
The Man in Blue - Rock Rapids, Iowa
My Son's Spirit - [location withheld]
A Misty Oval - Los Chavez, New Mexico
An Unruly Customer - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pirate Ghosts - Milton, Florida [PIC]
This is the place to find news items on paranormal happenings around the world. If you have a news item you'd like to submit, please see our
guidelines.
From the Desk of Christopher Balzano, Ghostvillage.com News Editor:
Pets and the paranormal have always gone hand in hand, and lately they’ve been dominating the headlines. There is a natural connection between the animal world and the world of the unexplained. Cryptozoologist, and ghost hunters often find themselves walking on the same path, investigating the same phenomena with different ideas on what is going on. People have reported making contact with their dearly departed pets, and everyone knows when the dog starts barking and there is no one there, it is time to think ghosts. We are intrigued by the ability our animals have to see what we cannot or the idea that Fluffy might have a soul.
These days people are taking those connections to whole new levels. Aside from the avalanche of paranormal pet books that have been released in the past few years, folks are finding other ways to get their animals involved. There have been several events and conferences that have donated their profits to local human societies. The
2008 Valley Paranormal Seminar in Oakhurst, California,
promises to donate their money to the Animal Rescue of Fresno or A.R.F. This weekend in Burien, Washington, Leslie Rule will be the headliner of an
ice cream social featuring psychics Skip and Sharon Leingang. The proceeds will go to an organization Rule founded with her famous mother, Angels for Animals, which looks to find new families for homeless pets.
In one of the most bizarre and interesting twists, a ghost tour in Naperville,
Illinois, has found a new angle to make the ordinary haunted walk more appealing to the community. They are offering a haunted stroll through the town with your dog in tow. This is your chance to hunt for the paranormal while bringing your, “non-aggressive, leashed pets” with you. The tour promises to be “Fido-friendly,” although it is unclear what that means. If the events are successful, more cities will find their ghost tours encouraging patrons to bring cameras and leashes.
No longer are we only left wondering why Spike seems to play ball with an imaginary owner or what those glowing red eyes in the dark might be. Animals have a new role to play. Pets have become the focus of our paranormal philanthropy and sidekicks on our ghostly adventures. It is not hard to understand why. People’s connection to their companions finds a way to seep into every aspect of their lives, so it was not long before it found its way into their haunted lives. Just watch the new fall lineup on television. Right now someone is pitching a reality show about supernatural pets.
The rest of this month’s headlines are below:
Ghost Tails Dog Walk To Benefit Humane Society
Hey ghosts, take a hike ... in New Hampshire - Seacostonline.com -Portsmouth, New Hampshire- August 8, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Developer has big plans for former TB hospital
WAVE Channel 3, NBC Affiliate -Louisville, Kentucky- August 7, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Ghost Hunters: Ashland landmark searched for paranormal activity - The MetroWest Daily News -Ashland, Massachusetts- August 6, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Have you captured paranormal activity? - The Northampton Chronicle and Echo -Northampton, England- August 1, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
2008 Valley Paranormal Seminar
Lockport man says he’s a paranormal magnet - The Daily Comet -Thibodaux, Louisiana- July 30, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Bangladesh cracks down on genie-powered godmen - AFP via Canada.com -Paris, France/Ontario, Canada - July 30, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
David Wells Is Dining in New England
Spirits possess Tublay students - Sun.Star Baguio -Tublay, Benguet, Philippines - July 28, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
A Face to Meet the Faces That You Meet
10 great haunts for seekers of the paranormal - USA Today -McLean, Virginia - July 24, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Spooky broadcast to feature live theater and more - The Standard-Times/SouthCoast Today -New Bedford, Massachusetts- July 25, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Beware: Haunting plans await
The Peoria Journal Star -Peoria, Illinois - July 23, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Haunted Waverly Hills Gets National Attention from Paranormal Groups
Ghostly goings-on at Leeds museum - Yorkshire Evening Post - Yorkshire, England - July 19, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Amy Winehouse's dad speaks out on Blake, touring and ghostly gran - New Musical Express - London, England - July 12, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
English Civil War ghost captured on film by paranormal enthusiasts - The Telegraph - Northhamptonshire, England - July 13, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
WANT THESE HEADLINES ON YOUR SITE FOR FREE? Syndicate our news! If you have a Web site or
blog, you can syndicate our news feeds to your site for free. Join the growing list of Web sites who carry our news by visiting our
syndication page.
Our "Features" section is a place for editorials, research articles, open letters to our readers, and other content of interest to
Ghostvillagers. If you have a topic on your mind, agree or disagree with something you read
recently, we want to hear from you! For guidelines, click
here.
New features added since our last newsletter:
The Ghost of Cameron Mitchell at Branson, Missouri - by Lee Prosser
August 8, 2008 [COLUMN]
Confessions of a Grief Councilor - Ghost Chronicles - August 6, 2008 [PODCAST]
The Residual "Jiggle" by Jack Roth - July 31, 2008
Farwell to Chris Balzano - Ghost Chronicles - July 23, 2008 [PODCAST]
A Matter of Respect by Patrick Burke - July 21, 2008
| Jeff Belanger's Upcoming Events |
This is the place to find out where author and Ghostvillage.com founder Jeff Belanger will be speaking on the subject of the
supernatural. If you're interested in booking Jeff for a conference or other event, please
email us for more information.
Events Scheduled:
Beyond Reality Events: The Mount Washington Hotel Conference - Bretton Woods, New Hampshire - August 23-26, 2008
A Haunted Evening with Jeff Belanger at the Bancroft Memorial Library - Hopedale, Massachusetts - 7:00 PM - September 17, 2008
A Weird (Massachusetts) Evening with Jeff Belanger at the Pollard Memorial Library - Lowell, Massachusetts - 7:00 PM - October 16, 2008
MASS Monster Mash - Watertown, Massachusetts - October 18, 2008
A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger at the Tewksbury Public Library - Tewksbury, Massachusetts - 6:30 PM - October 27, 2008
A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger at the Bellingham Public Library - Bellingham, Massachusetts - 7:00 PM - October 28, 2008
A Weird (Massachusetts) Evening with Jeff Belanger at the Millbury Historical Society - Millbury, Massachusetts - 7:00 PM - October 29, 2008
Stanley Hotel Paranormal Retreat - Estes Park, Colorado - November 9-12, 2008
Queen Mary Conference - Long Beach, California - December 7-10, 2008
| Hot Threads and the Ghostvillage.com Community |
In the past month, hundreds of new people registered for free to join our supernatural discussion! Have you?
If you have registered for our message boards but haven't validated your account yet, it's simple to do! Look for the email
that was automatically sent to you when you registered and click on the account activation link in the email (note:
some bulkmail filters may block this email, so you'll need to check your bulkmail folder if the validation email didn't
immediately come through). There are always great discussions going on in our huge
message board community. We hope you'll get involved. It's free to register if you're not already a member. Here are some of
the hot topics this month:
Digital Infrared Thermometers
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=24235
What should I look for in a digital infrared thermometer?
Haunted Dwellings
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=17394
Gold Camp Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Haunted New House
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=24692
A family experiences strange noises and other phenomena while renovating/moving into their new home
The Montauk Monster
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=24670
What in the world washed up on the beach?
Shamanism for Athiests
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=24198
Can spirituality be possible without worship?
Gettysburg Capture
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=24547
Is that a spirit caught in the picture?
EVP
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=24319
What does it say?
Spirit Videos
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=24765
What is caught in this footage?
Poll: Weather and Activity?
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=24695
Do you think the weather affects paranormal activity?
Communicating with Spirits
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=8979
What's the best way to communicate?
Board of the Month -- Exorcism
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showforum=27
Exorcism - a last resort or good practice? What's your experience?
| Ghostvillage.com Quick Stats: |
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26,880 Subscribers to this newsletter
7,238,223 Total Web site "hits" for Ghostvillage.com in July
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