Read Haunted Objects: Stories of Ghosts on Your Shelf Online
Authors: Christopher Balzano,Tim Weisberg
Haunted Objects: Stories of Ghosts on Your Shelf (29 page)
Poltergeist
: A mischievous spirit energy that exists solely to plague people. A newer theory is that they are caused through unconscious mental abilities manifesting in a prepubescent child.
Psychic
: A person who uses empathetic feelings to tap into non-physical forces.
Psychometry
: A type of extra sensory perception in which touching and holding an object can reveal its history through psychic means.
Residual haunting
: A spirit that is trapped in a continuous emotional loop.
Séance
: A gathering of people to receive messages from the spirit world; often conducted by a medium or psychic.
Shadow people
: supernatural, shadow-like figures that can be seen flickering on walls and ceilings.
Spirit
: An electromagnetic entity in the form of an orb, mist, vortex, or shadow that is the signature of a once-living person who has returned to a specific location.
Spirit attachmen
t: The ability of a spirit to imprint energy on people, places, or things.
Spirit world
: The place spirits go after death.
Supernatural
: Anything beyond the accepted definitions of the natural world. Something supernatural is not necessarily ghostly.
Trigger object
: A physical item, music, language or dialect used to communicate with a spirit.
Urban legend
: Any story told as having happened to a friend of a friend. Many reported hauntings are recycled urban legends.
Online Resources
The following websites are just a sampling of the many you can find online that are useful resources if you want to discover more about the various aspects of paranormal activity or read more ghost stories. You can also make a specific search for any groups in your state. Keep in mind that the opinions and theories expressed on these sites are those of the individual or groups who created the site and aren’t necessarily based on scientific evidence.
The Atlantic Paranormal Society
www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com
The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) was founded in 1990 by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, of the Syfy TV show
Ghost Hunters
, with the sole purpose of helping those experiencing paranormal activity by investigating its claims in a professional and confidential matter using the latest in paranormal research equipment and techniques. TAPS brings decades of experience in investigating with its pioneering equipment and techniques that has changed the field of paranormal investigating.
Ghost
Village.com
This is the best and most complete site on the Internet for people interested in the paranormal.
Ghostvillage.com
is dedicated to providing ghost research, evidence, and discussion from around the world. The site welcomes and explores all viewpoints, from the skeptical to the religious, and from the scientific to the metaphysical. It is also the main site for Jeff Belanger, one of the leading authors in the paranormal field and his books can be purchased on the site.
Haunted Objects
author Christopher Balzano runs the paranormal news here.
Ghosts of the Prairie
Troy Taylor lives in Decatur, Illinois and is the founder of the American Ghost Society. He is the author of more than 80 books on hauntings and unexplained phenomena. The American Ghost Society is a national network of ghost hunters and psychical researchers who conduct investigations into the paranormal in a non-metaphysical manner. One of its main goals is to seek out allegedly haunted locations and to assist those who are experiencing problems with the paranormal.
Also at the website is a haunted museum, a collection of exhibits on the history of the supernatural, spiritualism and ghost research. Just a few of these objects include: a haunted tintype photograph from the Civil War, a brick from the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and a haunted doll said to bring death to those who own it.
Haunted Places Directory
This website is a directory of haunted sites around the world and is devoted to tracking current paranormal activity and investigations. There are three main components to the site: current paranormal activity, where you can submit a case or search your area; investigations and support, if you need help or want to be certified as an investigator; and resources and research, where you can find more resources or order books or equipment.
International Ghost Hunters Society
This a large site with thousands of members and photographs. The site features an online store where you can buy videos, books, and pamphlets. You need to be a member to view most of the photographs, but there are many free features on the site such as a catalog of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and ghost tales.
Massachusetts Paranormal Crossroads
Haunted Objects
author Christopher Balzano is the founder and director of Massachusetts Paranormal Crossroads, an online collection of legends and ghost stories from Massachusetts and the surrounding states.
New England Society for Psychic Research
The New England Society for Psychic Research was founded in 1952 by Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are considered America’s preeminent experts on spirits and demonology. The society is dedicated to researching and investigating paranormal activities and its website offers summaries of investigations, photographs of the paranormal, and links to additional information. The society also offers membership and the site can be used as a reference for investigations in Connecticut and other states.
The Paranormal Network
This is the website of famous paranormal investigator Loyd Auerbach. The site includes information about Auerbach’s work with the paranormal, the Office of Paranormal Investigations, and links to additional information.
The Paranormal Society
The Paranormal Society, wholly owned by Mystic Media Group, is a paranormal social networking community and media site designed to bring together those interested in the paranormal. It is the largest online paranormal social network, with a community of more than 8,000 members. At the site, you can watch paranormal shows, all fully licensed. The social community network includes personal photo and video galleries, public and private groups, events, friend system, profile wall posts, status updates, comments and more.
Paranormal X
This website is dedicated to all aspects of the paranormal. The strangest of the stories from around the internet and elsewhere make their way to the paranormal network. This site is for entertainment only and should be viewed as such.
The Shadowlands
Since 1994, The Shadowlands has been dedicated to informing and enlightening visitors on such topics as ghosts and hauntings, mysterious creatures including Bigfoot and sea serpents, UFOs and aliens, and many other unsolved mysteries. More than 16,700 real ghost experiences have also been shared at the site by visitors.
Spooky Southcoast
SpookySouthcoast.com
is the home of one of the world’s top-rated paranormal talk shows. Delve into the world of the strange and unusual each week with
Haunted Objects
author Tim Weisberg, who is the host, and “The Silent Assassin” Matt Costa, Science Adviser Matt Moniz and Content Director Chris Balzano. Ghosts, hauntings, UFOs, alien beings, cryptid creatures…nothing is too taboo with the Spooky Crew.
About the Authors
Christopher Balzano
is the founder and director of Massachusetts Paranormal Crossroads, an online collection of legends and ghost stories from Massachusetts and the surrounding states. He has been a contributor to Jeff Belanger’s
Encyclopedia of Haunted Places
and
Weird Massachusetts
and was one of the writers behind
Weird Hauntings
. He has appeared in more than a dozen other books, often called in to offer insight into the paranormal perspective of certain cases. His writing has been featured in
Haunted Times
and
Mystery Magazine
and has been covered by
The Boston Globe
,
The Boston Herald
, T
he Standard Times
,
Worcester Magazine
, and many other print and online publications.
Christopher is the author of several books about regional hauntings, including
Dark Woods: Cults, Crime, and Paranormal in the Freetown State Forest
and
Ghosts of the Bridgewater Triangle
, as well as the collection of true ghosts stories,
Ghostly Adventures
, and the how-to paranormal books,
Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting
and
Picture Yourself Capturing Ghosts on Film
.
He has appeared on radio stations in New England and Florida and throughout the Internet, as well as being called upon by television shows to comment on ghosts and urban legends, including the British television series,
Conversations with a Serial Killer
. He has been a guest on Coast to Coast AM and been asked in as a consultant on televisions shows like
Paranormal State
and
Ghost Adventures
. He now runs the paranormal news from
Ghostvillage.com
, one of the oldest and largest websites dedicated to the paranormal and is the content director for the popular paranormal radio show, “Spooky Southcoast.”
Tim Weisberg
is the host of “Spooky Southcoast,” one of the world’s most popular radio programs dealing with the subject of the paranormal (
www.spookysouthcoast.com
), and is one of the foremost authorities on the hauntings at the world-famous Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Tim has appeared on
MonsterQuest
on the History Channel,
Ghost Adventures
and
Most Terrifying Places in America
, both on the Travel Channel,
My Ghost Story
on the BIO Channel,
LIVING TV
in the UK, and “30 Odd Minutes.” He has also co-founded Legend Trips, a paranormal events company.
He has been featured in publications such as
FATE Magazine
,
SoCo Magazine
and
SouthCoast Insider
. A sportswriter by trade, Tim covers the Boston Celtics and the New England Patriots for T
he Standard-Times
of New Bedford, Massachusetts. He is also the author of
Ghosts of the SouthCoast
, published by History Press.
Copyright ©2012 Christopher Balzano and Tim Weisberg
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a critical article or review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper, or electronically transmitted on radio, television, or the Internet.
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ISBN-13: 978-1-4402-2991-6
ISBN-10: 1-4402-2991-0
Cover Design by Sharon Bartsch
Designed by Jana Tappa
Edited by Kristine Manty
Printed in USA