Jeff Belanger's book, Who's Haunting the White House? The President's Mansion and the Ghosts Who Live There is now available! For ages 9 and up, take a ghostly tour through America's most haunted and historic haunt! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1402738226/ghostvillagecom

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View this newsletter online at: http://www.ghostvillage.com/newsletters/Feb16_09.htm

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Dear Ghostvillagers,

Luck is a tricky subject. Some will tell you “luck” is simply the intersection of hard work and opportunity; others will claim it’s a mystical force that is sprinkled randomly on the populous. Though I stand more in the “hard work” camp, I can’t deny that I have my own superstitions in regard to the subject.

In my wallet I carry an object (two of them, actually) that I hope will offer supernatural influence on my life. For many years I’ve kept two playing cards in my billfold: the Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Spades. I’m not overly prone to gambling, nor am I a poker junkie; however, every poker player knows with two Aces in the hole, you’re bound to walk away from the table with something. The cards are there to remind me to take risks; they’re a metaphor for what’s already inside me. The two playing cards are my own talisman, complete with symbols and meaning.

This month we’re going to explore talismans on Ghostvillage.com. These are the physical objects we use to ward off evil, bring good luck, or keep us spiritually secure. From a lucky rabbit’s foot to a bag of gris gris, from religious medallions to a piece of your baby blanket, the objects have power when we put our belief and faith behind them.

During these troubling economic times, many of us find ourselves looking for some kind of outside influence to help our situation. If we have a job, we want to keep it; if we lost our means of income, we want to find a new source. So rub your rabbit’s foot if it helps, but never forget to believe in yourself. Remember, Dumbo’s feather had no magic inside -- the ability was always in the elephant with the big ears. But still, if I were Dumbo, I’d like to keep that feather in my wallet as a reminder of what I already know, because there will always be times of self-doubt.

There is magic. The talisman just serves to remind us.

I’m hard at work at several new projects that I’ll be shopping around in the coming weeks. I’ll be pulling out those Aces in my wallet for sure in the hopes that these great ideas will turn into reality. And my 2009 calendar is filling up with many new conferences, events, and lectures. To those of you who are picking up my books, attending my lectures, or just reading this newsletter each month, thank you for the job. It’s honor to work for you.

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter below!

Jeff Belanger
Mayor of Ghostvillage.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/ghostvillager

Monthly Contest

Congratulations to Rosanne Barsamia of Lowell, Massachusetts, who was last month's winner of an autographed copy of Jeff Belanger's book, The Nightmare Encyclopedia, a Ghostvillage.com window sticker, and a Ghostvillage.com t-shirt!

How to win: Entries will be accepted up until 5:00 PM (eastern time) today (February 16, 2009). At 5:00 PM, we will draw a winner at random from the correct entries that have been received. You no longer have to be the first, but you only have until 5:00 PM to get your answer in. If you click on this link: http://www.ghostvillage.com/index.shtml#winner, you see today's date, and "We have a winner!" that means the contest has ended. Sorry, please try again next month. To submit your entry, simply reply to this email with the correct answer.

On to this month's question: This question can be answered by reading a page on Ghostvillage.com. Remember, reply by 5:00 PM today to be eligible to win.

According to psychic Tiffany Johnson, what's the best way to work with your spirit guides?

At 5:00 PM, we will announce the winner on our home page. Good luck! (Only Ghostvillagers who have not won a prize from us in the last year are eligible.)

This month's prize (in honor of President's Day): We're giving away an autographed copy of Jeff Belanger's latest book, Who's Haunting the White House?, 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

Money is tight for most of us in today’s economic times, so consider giving your time instead. The time that you spend mentoring a child, delivering medicine to the elderly, or feeding the hungry can be positively priceless.

VolunteerMatch makes it easier for good people and good causes to connect. They have become the preferred internet recruiting tool for more than 62,000 nonprofit organizations. And it couldn’t be easier to get started:

1. Visit the Search page and enter your ZIP code. 

2. Find a listing that interests you and click on its title for additional details. Next, click “I want to help.”

3. Register as a VolunteerMatch member and an automatic email will be sent to the volunteer organization notifying them of your interest. 

Find something that you’re passionate about and that works with your schedule and interests, and you may just be volunteering for an experience that you will carry with you for a lifetime. 

Supernatural Calendar

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!

February 19: Jeff Belanger on Paranormal Radio w/ Captain Jack
February 20: Save Fort Mifflin Write In
February 24: A Weird MA Evening with Jeff Belanger- Norwood, MA
February 28: Le Festival d'Esprits - Louisiana Paranormal Conv.
March 6: Save Fort Mifflin Write In
March 11: Jeff Belanger on Psychic Wisdom with David James
March 14: Circle of Life Expo - Pensacola, FL
March 20: Equinox Weekend
March 25: Phenomenology 101 Gettysburg
March 31: A Weird Massachusetts event - East Bridgewater, MA
April 11: The Magical Faery Festival & Parade
Arpil 16: Ghostock 7 - Salem, Massachusetts

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:

A Weird (Massachusetts) Event at the Morrill Memorial Library - Norwood, Massachusetts - 7:30 PM, February 24, 2009

A Weird (Massachusetts) Event at the East Bridgewater Public Library - East Bridgewater, Massachusetts - 7:00 PM, March 31, 2009

Beyond Reality Events: The Mount Washington Hotel Conference - Bretton Woods, New Hampshire - April 17-20, 2009

A Weird (Massachusetts) Event at the Tewksbury Public Library - Tewksbury, Massachusetts - 6:30 PM, April 21, 2009

Beyond Reality Events: The Mount Washington Hotel Conference - Bretton Woods, New Hampshire - April 24-26, 2009

Darkness Radio Events: Waverly Hills Sanitorium - Louisville, Kentucky - May 10-13, 2009

East Central Indiana Paranormal Conference - Muncie, Indiana - July 9-11, 2009

2009 Chicago Ghost Conference - Chicago, Illinois - October 2-3, 2009

A Weird (Massachusetts) Event at the Sutton Historical Society - Sutton, Massachusetts - 7:00 PM, October 6, 2009

MASS Monster Mash - Watertown, Massachusetts - 6:00 PM, October 17, 2009

Who's Who in the Village?

Get to know some of your fellow Ghostvillagers.

>>CaveRat<< - member since April 20, 2008

What is your name?
Jim Brown

How old are you?
58, soon to be 59 years.

Where do you live?
I reside in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. That's about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. The closest town is Smithfield, although I am out in the country away from the city lights.

What do you do for a living?
I am in the electronics field. I do specialized design work as well as maintain computer systems for West Virginia University. I have been in this line of work for almost 40 years and have seen the advancement from tubes and transistors to integrated circuits, to microprocesor technology. Next step after 40 years is going to be retirement! That will leave time for things I have been putting off, including research into the paranormal!

What got you interested in the paranormal? Have you had a personal experience?
I have always had an interest in the paranormal. Growing up, I had an interest in science fiction stories and movies. When UFO activity peaked in the early 1970s, I began to take a serious interest in what was going on and started seeking answers to what people were seeing. Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, I actually started investigating local reports of anything that didn't fit into what people would call the normal. UFOs, unexplained events, out of place animals, even a few ghost claims. About 10 years ago I expanded my research to include hauntings and ghost cases because I noticed a similarity between some reports of aliens and those of ghosts and spirits some reported. Could they be the same phenomena, only a matter of how the witness interpreted it? Thus my tying the two together. Currently I do investigations into all types of phenomena. Most cases are local, however in some instances I will go nationwide if a case warrants it.

I am an independent researcher, one of the Independent Research Associates. This is not a group as most recognize groups. Rather it is an association of independent researchers who have pooled our resources. Each is an expert in some specific field of endeavor and when that particular skill is required, any of us may call on each other to assist in our own investigations.

I am also a coordinator (U.S.) for the International Paranormal Investigators. That is a world-wide group of individuals and research groups dedicated to cooperation between those involved in the paranormal field. It is open to all who adhere to its policies of sharing and advancing the field of paranormal research. (s1.zetaboards.com/IPI/index/)

Do you have any talismans or good-luck charms?
No talismans or good-luck charms. I approach my research from a purely scientific point of view and as such believe in many cases we control our own destiny by our actions. With regards to those things we can't control, I believe how we respond will dictate the ultimate outcome rather than any charms or symbols.

What music is in your CD player/iPod right now?
Right now I have on a compilation recording of rock from late 70s and 80s: Motley Crue, ACDC, Sammy Hagar, etc. Depending on my mood, though, it can range from rock to alternative, to modern country and even a little Irish Folk. No rap, though...

Last Month's Theme - Featured Content

Our last month's theme was Night Terrors. Here's what you missed if you haven't checked in since last month:

Discussion: Nightmares of the Future, or Possible Symbolic Dreams
Books: The Nightmare Encyclopedia
Discussion: My Nightmares
Feature: Old Hag Syndrome By Jeff Belanger

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.

Supernatural Library

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:

Ghosts of Hollywood III by Marla Brooks

Recent Encounters

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:

Stock Room Ghost - Winter Haven, Florida
A Sign From Mum - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Evil Drawings in a Drawer - Valle Vista, California
A Disappearing Kitten - Suburbs of Dallas, Texas
A Crying Baby and Evil House - Salt Lake City, Utah
My Daughter's Energy - Sylacauga, Alabama [PIC]
The Kissing Ghost - Fresno, California
A Seven-Foot Shadow Figure - Trenton, New Jersey
The Grey-White Man - British Columbia, Canada
The Tall Man in Robes - Huntly, New Zealand
The Spirits of Edisto Presbyterian Church - Edisto Island, South Carolina

News

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.

This month’s headlines are below:

GhoStock Paranormal Convention to be held in Salem Massachusetts
My Spooky Valentine in Rhode Island
Rob Conover Looks to Help Save the Bowen
Investigators petition for care facility access The Newton Daily News Jasper County, Iowa -January 22, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Ghostly tales wanted for radio show The Maidenhead Advertiser Marlow, England -January 20, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Paranormal Activity Explored In Northern Kentucky WCPO, ABC Affiliate Wilder, Kentucky -January 20, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Real Ghostbusting 101 starts Thursday at DSC The Daily Citizen Dalton, Georgia -January 17, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Ghosts haunted pub long before car crashed into it Tewkesbury AdMag Tewkesbury, England -January 15, 2009 [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.

Features

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:

In Search of Edgar Allan Poe Part 2 - Ghost Chronicles - February 11, 2009 [PODCAST]
Pacific Northwest Ghosts By Lee Prosser - February 9, 2009 [COLUMN]
In Search of Edgar Allan Poe Part 1 - Ghost Chronicles - February 4, 2009 [PODCAST]
Decompression By Tiffany Johnson - February 1, 2009 [COLUMN]
David Wells - Ghost Chronicles - January 28, 2009 [PODCAST]
Live at the Circles of Wisdom - Ghost Chronicles - January 21, 2009 [PODCAST]
The Painting By Maurice DesJardins - January 19, 2009

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:

Haunted Land
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=22419
Happy Valley information.

Regional Haunts
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=25544
Waco, Texas.

Haunted Water
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=23038
Bermuda.

Hypothetics
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26413
"What if?" for thought provocation.

Light As a Feather
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26375
Stiff as a board.

Investigation Equipment
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26584
What equipment should I have in my basic arsenal?

Madam Pele?
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=961
Is this a manifestation of The Hawaiian Goddess of Fire?

Ghost in the Mirror?
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26379
Ghost appears in a mirror as it exits a closet.

Ghosts and Spirits
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26113
Is a difference between a "ghost" and a "spirit"?

EVP: Contact With Janet
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26508
Tried to contact Janet and asked her if she would like to say anything.


Board of the Month -- Talismans
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showforum=27
Discuss your good luck charms and symbols.

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.

Ghostvillage.com Quick Stats:

284,770 Posts in the Town Square Message Boards
23,710 Members in the Town Square
851 "Personal Encounters" published on Ghostvillage.com
1,194 Paranormal Web sites in the Ghost Links directory
27,540 Subscribers to this newsletter
6,261,787 Total Web site "hits" for Ghostvillage.com in January

Support Ghostvillage.com

Ghostvillage.com is the Web's largest supernatural community, the central place where people come to share their experiences, thoughts, and research. Please help us continue to grow by buying a copy of The World's Most Haunted Places, Communicating With the Dead, The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places, The Nightmare Encyclopedia, Our Haunted Lives, Ghosts of War, The Ghost Files, Weird Massachusetts, Who's Haunting the White House?, or shopping in Ghost-Mart. Every little bit helps run our servers and helps the site get bigger and better! Please also click on our banner ads and support our advertisers -- when you do business with someone who advertises with Ghostvillage.com, let them know you saw their ad with us and thank them for the support.

Please email us anytime at info@ghostvillage.com. Your comments, questions, and feedback are always welcomed.

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