GHOSTVILLAGE.COM NEWSLETTER #89 - January 15, 2009

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Who Is Haunting the White House? by Jeff Belanger
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/Jan15_09.htm
Dear Ghostvillagers,

“Welcome to my nightmare / I think you’re gonna like it,” so begins Alice Cooper’s hit song, and so begins this month’s new Ghostvillage.com theme. We spend a third of our lives sleeping, with much of the night filled with dreams. Peculiarly vivid, disturbing dreams leave behind impressions that are hard to dismiss. Sometimes we wake up and wonder, Was that more than just a dream? Some believe we are vulnerable during sleep, and are prone to spectral attacks from old hags and other monsters. Or maybe these witnesses are just experiencing temporary sleep paralysis?

I recall one dream I had about six years ago. In the dream I was standing in the kitchen of my parents’ house and my two grandfathers were standing in the room with me. Both my grandfathers had passed away by this point, but there they were, looking just as I remembered them. They both smiled at me. Just smiled. Nothing more, but the feeling was so warm. I woke up right after the dream and was overcome with emotion. I know I was sleeping. I know I was in a dream state, but that experience felt like something more than “just a dream.” Obviously this was more than just a dream because I still remember the details six years later. There are very few dreams I’ve had in my life where I can still recall the details years later. This encounter with my grandfathers still means something to me.

Our dreams do have meaning – even the boring ones – but especially the nightmares. If we pay attention and apply the imagery to our own lives, there is much to learn about how we are dealing with issues. I wrote a book about nightmares back in 2006 (we’re giving a copy away this month), and I won’t forget the research I did for the book and the hellish visions relayed to me by some very scared dreamers. This month we’re going to dive in to the dark side of sleep.

In keeping with this month’s theme, Ghostvillage.com’s news editor, Chris Balzano, will go inside a new documentary film from Soul Smack Productions entitled, Your Worst Nightmare: Supernatural Assault. The documentary is a look at sleep paralysis, night terrors, and the paranormal assaults that offers medical reasons for everything victims experience while leaving the door open for darker, more supernatural forces to potentially be at work.

I’ve added several new speaking engagements to my own calendar this month, including a trip to Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. I’ll be adding more events and lectures in the coming weeks. If you’re in the region, please do come by and say hello. It’s an honor to meet other Ghostvillagers.

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter below!

Sweet dreams!

Jeff Belanger
Mayor of Ghostvillage.com

MySpace: www.myspace.com/ghostvillager


Monthly Contest
Congratulations to William Stuckey of Oxford, Pennsylvania, who was last month's winner of an autographed copy of Lee Prosser's new book, Missouri Hauntings, 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 (January 15, 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.

On which deck was Richard Senate’s room located on his latest stay aboard the haunted Queen Mary?

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: We're giving away an autographed copy of Jeff Belanger's book, The Nightmare Encyclopedia, 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
“In the countries most heavily affected, HIV has reduced life expectancy by more than 20 years, slowed economic growth, and deepened household poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, the epidemic has orphaned1 nearly 12 million children aged under 18 years. The natural age distribution in many national populations in sub-Saharan Africa has been dramatically skewed by HIV, with potentially perilous consequences for the transfer of knowledge and values from one generation to the next. In Asia, where infection rates are much lower than in Africa, HIV causes a greater loss of productivity than any other disease, and is likely to push an additional 6 million households into poverty by 2015 unless national responses are strengthened.” (Commission on AIDS in Asia, 2008)

AIDS Research Alliance is a non-profit, community-based research organization whose mission is to find better treatments for HIV disease, new HIV prevention methods, and, ultimately, a cure for AIDS.

They have held over 80 clinical and preclinical studies, ranging from therapies that take a holistic approach to HIV management to the first-ever in-human HIV vaccine trial, and nearly 50% of all existing anti-HIV treatments arrived to market because of their work.

$0.85 of every dollar given goes toward meaningful HIV research.

To donate money online, click here

Other ways to help the Alliance:

1. Donate your vehicle. Turn your car, boat, or motorcycle into AIDS research! ARA’s Vehicle Donation program accepts your used vehicle donation, and you’ll receive a tax deduction! New or old, working or not – the ARA offers hassle-free pick-up. There is absolutely no charge to you when you donate your vehicle. Learn more here

2. Shop on eBay. Click here for any current eBay auctions to see the list of items supporting ARA. You might find just what you’re looking for, and a portion of your purchase will go directly to AIDS Research Alliance.

3. Volunteer your time. Volunteering for ARA is an incredibly rewarding experience. You’ll increase your knowledge, make new friends, and be appreciated for your efforts. Plus, you’ll be on the forefront of HIV/AIDS research development, helping to advance the search for a cure. If you live in the Los Angeles area and can travel to the ARA’s headquarters downtown, please call the ARA at 310.358.2423 to set up a mutual evaluation. If you live in another part of the country, you can visit Volunteer Match to find other volunteer opportunities at sister organizations who are fighting HIV/AIDS.


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!

January 16: Save Fort Mifflin Write In
January 17: Jeff Belanger Guest Co-Hosting Spooky Southcoast
January 23: Save Fort Mifflin Write In
January 25: Jeff Belanger on Behind the Paranormal Radio
January 28: A Weird MA Evening with Jeff Belanger- Norwood, MA
January 31: Joliet's Haunted Mansion with Beyond The Veil
February 6: Save Fort Mifflin Write In
February 8: Jeff Belanger on NorCal Ghost Talk Radio
February 19: Jeff Belanger on Paranormal Radio w/ Captain Jack
February 28: Le Festival d'Esprits - Louisiana Paranormal Conv.



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, January 28, 2009

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

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.

>>leonie<< - member since June 8, 2005

What is your name?
Leonie Briggs

How old are you?
18

Where do you live?
West Yorkshire, England.

What do you do for a living?
I'm currently unemployed, but I'm looking to work with children, possibly branching off into psychology some day.

What got you interested in the paranormal? Have you had a personal experience?
Wow, I put some thought into this one and realized many aspects sparked my interest. I was always an odd child with random tall tales to tell and forming mock ghost hunts. I remember being amazed by my Mum and Grandma's stories of living in a haunted house, I also used to have frequent nightmares up until we moved from the house I was brought up in, the sudden stop interested me and I guess that and other "paranormal" experiences have added more fuel to my interest in the paranormal.

Do you believe it’s possible to have a spirit visitation during a dream state?
Yes, but I don't think it is something that can be proved, as a 'visitation' could just be a dream created by our own mind or something as simple as sleep paralysis.

What’s your favorite warm-winter treat?
My favorite warm winter treat would be something as simple as putting on my slippers, wrapping up in a quilt, drinking some mulled wine, and watching a film.


Last Month's Theme - Featured Content
Our last month's theme was Holiday Spirits. Here's what you missed if you haven't checked in since last month:

Song: "I Think My Christmas Tree is Haunted" - A new Holiday song by the Ghostvillage Memorial Choir
Library: Pagan Christmas by Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Ebeling
Encounters: Visiting Christmas Mist
Features: Christmas Ghosts By Lee Prosser
Features: Spirits of Christmas and Holidays Past By Edward Shanahan


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:

The Strange Case of William Mumler Spirit Photographer by Louis Kaplan
Magic and the Power of the Goddess by Garthe Knight
Workplace Spells by Marla Brooks
Shamanic Witch by Gail Wood


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:

A Pre-Death Visit - Merrick, New York
Six Knocks - Brisbane, Australia
The Rocking Chair - Bushnell, Illinois
Hiding From a Ghost - Strongsville, Ohio
A Relentless Ghost - Littleton, Colorado
Ghost in the Cheney Mansion Mirror - Jerseyville, Illinois [PIC]
Accidental Automatic Writing - Pickerington, Ohio
Ghosts in Our House - Clintonville, Wisconsin [PIC]
The Old Woman Who Passed Through a Car - Lakewood Ranch, Florida


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.

From the Desk of Christopher Balzano, Ghostvillage.com News Editor:
The great poet Marshall Mathers once asked, “How much damage can you do with a pen?” So much of modern day communication comes from nimble fingers on keyboards, and the question has to be reshaped to fit our times. As sources of information, are Web sites responsible for the content they post, or more importantly to our community, are paranormal Web sites responsible for the accuracy of their reporting and for actions of viewers who commit crimes? If there is no legal accountability, are they are least morally obligated?

If 2008 was the year of exorcisms in the courts, 2009 is already proving to be the year of the ghostly trespassing charge. There have been cases in Florida, New York, and Texas where investigators have been arrested after breaking into a supposed haunted location. Most cases involve nothing more than fines, but the mark they burn in the public’s perception molds opinions. When reports of vandalism and grave desecration come to light, the police and the public look to the ghost hunters first.

It’s not all bad. Even though one group’s efforts to explore a location in haunted Salem, Massachusetts, met with resistance, two more groups this week came out at town meetings to ask for permission to get into areas of activity. Buckeye State Paranormal and Haunting Investigators in Ohio and North American Paranormal Research Society in Alabama both went about getting into a location the right way.

The question still lingers. There may be disclaimers on sites, but according to Dave Juliano of the Shadowlands, more people still visit his haunted sites section than the Ghost Hunting 101 area that talks about how to be a responsible investigator. His site is one of the most copied paranormal Web sites, and police inquiries into trespassing often end with a call or e-mail to his office. Later this month, Ghostvillage News will sit down with Dave and explore just where the finger should be pointed and what sites like his and Ghostvillage have done to discourage these misdeeds.


The rest of this month’s headlines are below:

Caffeine Linked To Seeing Ghosts Sky News Durham, England - January 13, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Paranormal Forensics Topic of Public Lecture January 21st
Apparition Brings Traffic to a Halt
ShortNews.com - Coalisland, Ireland - January 5, 2009
[EXTERNAL NEWS]
Why Obama's Hotel Is Haunted Live Science Washington, D.C. - January 5, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Fundraiser for maker of paranormal documentaries to be held in Ontario Contra Costa Times Ontario, Canada - January 2, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Foundation probes brain's secrets: Founder sought scientific basis for the paranormal San Antonio Express News San Antonio, Texas - December 28, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
U.S. Supreme Court asked to hear Texas exorcism case LegalNewsline.com Washington, D.C. - December 28, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Teens accused of breaking into paranormal research center The Democrat and Chronicle Bethany, New York-December 29, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Teenage ghost busters caught roaming Fort Worth middle school The Dallas Morning News Fort Worth, Texas - December 29, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Michelle Williams: Heath's ghostly visit Monsters and Critics Los Angeles, California - December 27, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Former Hotel, Possibly Haunted, For Sale in San Francisco The Wall Street Journal San Francisco, California - December 23, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Photo captures image of an angel in hospital hallway The Charlotte Observer Charlotte, North Carolina - December 23, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Ghost hunters busted by game officer The Panama City News Herald Panama City, Florida - December 22, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Salem's Witch House slams the door on ghost hunters SalemNews.com Salem, Massachusetts - December 19, 2008 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Soul Smack Productions Releases New Documentary
Meet the man eager to get to the bottom of the ghost mysteries Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh, Scotland - December 17, 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.


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:

Missouri Hauntings By Lee Prosser
January 12, 2009
[COLUMN]
A Night on the Queen Mary By Richard Senate - January 6, 2009
How Do You Know You're Psychic? By Tiffany Johnson - January 1, 2009 [COLUMN]
Spirits of Christmas and Holidays Past By Edward Shanahan - December 19, 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:

Do Angels Exist?
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26165
Ghosts in the news.

The Grudge 3
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26225
Paranormal movies.

Haunted Land
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=18216
Gold Camp Road/Helen Hunt Falls in Colorado Springs.

Haunted Dwellings
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=13491
West Virginia Mental Asylum; Weston, West Virginia.

Personal Encounters
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26264
Some strange things on my current investigation.

Cause of Flickering Still Picture
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26246
Can energy be transferred to a still photo?

EVP
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26247
EVP killer.

Spirit Videos
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26263
New video from WPRG.

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

Cryptids
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=25408
Mothman discussion.

The Ovilus I
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=25288
This machine claims to create words from the environment, but what do you think?


Board of the Month -- Night Terror
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showforum=27
From bad dreams to old hags, discuss your nocturnal visitations.


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:
280,388 Posts in the Town Square Message Boards
23,449 Members in the Town Square
840 "Personal Encounters" published on Ghostvillage.com
1,177 Paranormal Web sites in the Ghost Links directory
27,241 Subscribers to this newsletter
5,198,004 Total Web site "hits" for Ghostvillage.com in December


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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