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/Mar16_09.htm

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Dear Ghostvillagers,

Around mid-March, we can’t help but think of the Irish. The green clovers, the music, the luck-of-the-Irish, and of course the beer. Those of us who study lore and beliefs can’t help but also be reminded of the Celtic legends: Leprechauns, Willow-o-the-wisps, and the fey folk, or faeries. The Celts believed in magic, and creatures that were neither human nor animal. They believed these elementals could enter our world, meddle in our affairs, and be called upon for favors and deeds if you went about it just the right way.

Of all the Celtic legends, the leprechaun has always fascinated me the most. From that cartoon creature staring at me from the front of my childhood breakfast cereal, to the folktales, and even the cheesy Hollywood movie depiction, these vertically-challenged faeries are intriguing. They become even more interesting when you learn that there are similar legends around the world regarding small, human-like creatures with magical abilities. The Inuit of northwestern North America believe in a creature they simply called “Little People,” ancient Hawaiians called theirs “Menehune,” and the Wampanoag of eastern Massachusetts called their version “Pukwudgies.” There are many other tales of little magic creatures that come from all over the world -- the legends grew independent of each other, and during a time when there was little-to-no contact between continents. If these creatures weren’t real, then we still need to study how their myth could grow on a global scale so many centuries ago.

Myths and legends should never be summarily dismissed. They’re part of who we are, where we came from, and are a direct link to our ancestors… and if you believe, they hold a kind of magic in and of themselves. This month we’re going to explore the Celtic creatures and elementals on Ghostvillage.com. Have you had a sighting? A story passed down through your family? If so, we want to hear it.

Here at the Ghostvillage.com world headquarters, March is slowing giving way to Spring. It’s been a long winter, and the warmer weather is welcomed. It’s time to go outside again, breathe the fresh air, and take a good look around as nature shakes off the white dust, revealing what couldn’t survive winter’s fury. We only get a brief glimpse before the world starts filling in green again, and hiding what lies beneath. These in-between times are magic, full of anticipation. It’s a good time to look sharp, you may just spot a little creature hiding by a rotting tree trunk.

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter below!

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

Monthly Contest

Congratulations to J.M. Cornwell of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who was last month's winner of an autographed copy of Jeff Belanger's book, Who's Haunting the White House?, 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 (March 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.

While visiting the La Purisima Mission, what ghosts did author Richard Senate encounter inside the church?

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

One of the most haunted historic spots in America needs your help.

Located on the scenic Delaware River, Fort Mifflin was first built by the British in 1771. The largest bombardment the North American continent has ever witnessed took place here at Fort Mifflin. In 1777, during the American Revolution, a valiant five-week battle took place when the British Navy attacked the fort on Mud Island. The British had the battalion of approximately 400 Continental soldiers surrounded from three sides. Attempting to open the supply line for the British Army already in the Rebel capital of Philadelphia, the British shot over 10,000 cannonballs at the Fort, causing the garrison to eventually evacuate. Over 150 Continental soldiers died as a result of the battle.

An active military post until the Korean War, this made the Fort one of the longest continually used military posts in the nation up until that time. The Fort has played many roles in the security of our Nation in its 237 years of existence; garrisoned in the War of 1812, a Confederate prison during the Civil War and a munitions depot in World Wars I & II.

However, Fort Mifflin was recently forced to drastically decrease their workforce and now faces other financial difficulties. Schools are not visiting the Fort for Field Trips. Foundations are unable to offer support as they have in the past. They need your help in keeping the Fort open to the public so that more can share in its history.

We need to save the fort that saved America. Write your elected representatives, contribute what you can, and tell those you know about the importance of preserving such an important piece of our nation. Support the fort!

To donate, visit this link and click on the “make donation” button at the top of the page. http://www.fortmifflin.us/

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!

March 18: Jeff Belanger on Paranormal Radio w/ Captain Jack
March 20: Equinox Weekend, Jeff Belanger at North East Paranormal -Albany, NY
March 25: Phenomenology 101 Gettysburg
March 27: Jeff Belanger at Cape Cod Community College
March 31: A Weird Massachusetts event - East Bridgewater, MA
April 11: The Magical Faery Festival & Parade
April 16: Ghostock 7 - Salem, Massachusetts
April 17: Mount Washington Hotel Conference - Bretton Woods
April 18: Armley Mill Ghost Walk
April 21: A Weird Massachusetts event - Tewksbury, MA
April 24: Mount Washington Hotel Conference - Bretton Woods
May 8: Mary King's Ghost Fest 2009
May 10: Waverly Hills Conference - Louisville, KY

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:

Ghosts and Hauntings with Jeff Belanger - North East Paranormal - Albany, New York - 7:00 PM, March 20, 2009

Spirit Communication: A Brief History of Contact with Jeff Belanger at Cape Cod Community College - West Barnstable, Massachusetts - 7:00 PM, March 27, 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

A Weird (Massachusetts) Event at the Bellingham Public Library - Bellingham, Massachusetts - 7:00 PM, May 7, 2009

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

Moon Fest '09 at Rolling Hills - Bethany, New York - June 11-14, 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

Last Month's Theme - Featured Content

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

Discussion: My Talismans Rocks
Features: Talismans By Lee Prosser
Books: Tarot Talismans

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:

Do Dead People Walk Their Dogs? by Concetta Bertoldi

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:

Columbus, Georgia - 2000 to Present
The Voice Outside My Window - Niles, Ohio
My Protective Ghost Friend - Logansport, Indiana
The Friend in Our House - Simpsonville, South Carolina
The Witch on My Wall - Charleston, South Carolina
Contacting My Spirits - Colchester, Essex, England
Dark, Smoky Wisps - Troy, New York
Nana's Grip - England
Stock Room Ghost - Winter Haven, 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 Chris Balzano, New Editor:
It has been a busy news month, but perhaps the most telling report never made it to the Ghostvillage page. It was a story of a police officer who was indicted for beating a suspect and charged with assault, tampering with a witness, filing a false report, and other crimes which may force this officer, who is also a friend of mine, to serve jail time. At the least he may lose his right to do his job and the pension that comes with it. The accused officer is also a paranormal investigator, and the only reason I know about the indictment is that a local reporter writing the story included it. My friend may have done what he is charged with, but I stand by my decision not to run the story. His ghost hunting has nothing to do with what he is charged with, and as far as the paranormal community goes, the story is not news.

There were stories that flirted with the law this month. A man in upstate New York committed arson because he was trying to rid his home of the ghosts and demons that were plaguing him. A paranormal group in El Paso was holding an investigation to raise money for a cemetery people had vandalized. There were more reports of sham exorcists getting arrested for fraud.

In all of these there was a direct connection to the paranormal, and it made sense to include them. The connection in the case of the police officer was not relevant, and to include his paranormal hobby seemed to be motivated by another reason. When contacted, the writer claimed he only mentioned his paranormal team because his papers had covered their activities, and he felt he owed it to his readers to identify him to avoid confusion. The newspapers he was referring to had also covered the officer in relation to several other associations, perhaps deemed more respectable, and they were not included.

The fact is the mainstream still views looking for ghosts as deviant behavior. It is okay to have an experience, but only people who are off somehow go looking for them. In the same way, it is okay to have faith and for your religion to believe in the Devil, but it is not to okay to battle Satan. In this way my friend shares something with Bobby Jindal. This month the governor, considered by many to be the Republican nominee for president in 2012, had to answer for an exorcism he conducted while in college during his religious conversion to Christianity.

Don’t assume the public is open-minded. Belief does not equal tolerance, and a good old-fashioned trip through the mud can still be accomplished by mentioning an activity one does that people do not understand. My friend may be guilty. The courts will determine what the truth is and the punishment for it. The court of public opinion will then have their turn. That is the way justice plays out. Unfortunately for the officer, his search for truth with one job may taint the truth in his other.

This month’s headlines are below:

NorthEastern Paranormal Brings Phenomenology 101 to Gettysburg
Workers in Jordan strike to demand exorcism M&C Amman, Jordon -March 8, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Ghosts Can’t Tap Taps.com Domain Name Domain Name Wire.com March 6, 2009 [EXTERNAL NEWS]
Will Revelations About Bobby Jindal's Weird Secret Past Destroy His Political Career? The Daily Beast via AlterNet Washington, D.C.-February 25, 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:

Return of the Haunted Dibbuk Box - Ghost Chronicles - March 11, 2009 [PODCAST]
Talismans By Lee Prosser - March 6, 2009 [COLUMN]
A Haunting at the Inn on Washington Square - Ghost Chronicles
March 4, 2009 [PODCAST]
Manifestation By Tiffany Johnson - March 2, 2009 [COLUMN]
Jane Doherty Investigates - Ghost Chronicles - February 25, 2009 [PODCAST]
Retrocognition at Mission La Purisima Concepcion By Richard Senate
Interview with Brian "The Monk" - Ghost Chronicles - February 18, 2009 [PODCAST]

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:

Ghosts in the News
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26627
Ghostbanisters, Boy captures alleged ghost on film.

Paranormal Movies
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26701
The Last House On The Left.

Paranormal TV
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26607
A Haunting

Paranormal Web Sites and other Paranormal
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26779
leslie_dragonlvr on Blogtalk Radio.

Regional Haunts
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=16363
Haunted funeral home in Connecticut.

Haunted Land
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=12765
Haunted places in Massachusetts.

Haunted Dwellings
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26737
110-year-old house.

EMF
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26816
Limitations of the KII EMF Reader.

Old Wives Tales
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26767
Old myths or true wisdom?

Communicating With the Other Side
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26742
How to Communicate and Understand what they want?

Spiritography
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26839
Sachs Bridge in Gettysburg

EVP
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26822
A nice EVP capture.

Sleep Paralysis
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=26853
Or demonic spirit?


Board of the Month -- Celtic Legends
http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showforum=27
Faeries, Leprechauns, Druids, we’ll touch on all of it.

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:

286,588 Posts in the Town Square Message Boards
23,976 Members in the Town Square
860 "Personal Encounters" published on Ghostvillage.com
1,198 Paranormal Web sites in the Ghost Links directory
27,746 Subscribers to this newsletter
5,886,165 Total Web site "hits" for Ghostvillage.com in February

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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