Sleep Paralysis

June 2009

I have heard of this but never really knew what it was. The other night my daughter’s friend was visiting and we were listening to some of her paranormal experiences she had since she was three years old. (I will be blogging some of those stories in a series of articles.) She said that some of her experiences could be the results of sleep paralysis for which her sister suffers from as well. Many nights they would wake up to the feeling like they were being choked and someone was pressing down on their chest. They also experienced seeing shadow figures or apparitions near them and were too paralyzed with fear to scream. She remembers one time when they were sharing an apartment that her sister experienced a terrifying night of seeing an apparition of a man standing at the end of her bed. This man appeared to be getting closer as she tried so desperately to scream April’s name. April was in her room sleeping and heard her name being called very faintly. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming but decided to check on her sister anyway. She went in and woke her sister up who was so devastated by the frightening incident. Was she dreaming or did she experience an apparition appearing to her in her room?

Sleep Paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from the REM (rapid eye movement) state, but the body paralysis persists. This will leave a person fully conscious, but unable to move. The paralysis can last anywhere from several seconds to several minutes for which a person can experience panic symptoms. The paralysis state may be accompanied by vivid hallucinations and could interpret the experience as a dream. There are a few scientists that feel those suffering from this condition could explain some stories of alien abduction and ghostly encounters. Very little is known about the functioning of sleep paralysis. Some feel it could be linked to the post-synaptic inhibition of motor neuron in the pons region of the brain. There are studies being conducted on what actually causes the paralysis and how to deal with it. Most people will experience sleep paralysis at least once or twice in their lifetime.

I had an incident that happened several years ago while I was still living at my parent’s house. I just got back from a date with my now hubby and went right to bed. I fell asleep right away but woke up hours later. I was on my back, a position I don’t normally sleep on. I opened my eyes and saw an old man looking down on me. As he appeared to be moving closer, I tried to scream but was too frightened. Finally I was able to get a scream out and my parents came running. My Dad checked over the room and found no one there. They said I was probably dreaming, but to me it seemed real. I have told this story in a couple of post but now think that experience could have been sleep paralysis.

Congratulations On 500, Mo!

June 2009

Mariano Rivera has recorded save number 500 tonight against the Mets.

That amazing feat has only been accomplished by just one other closer in Major League Baseball history-- Trevor Hoffman (and that was in the NL).

"Definitely, it's good," Rivera said. "I won't tell you it's not meaningful. It's a blessing."

In addition to his 500th save, Mariano also recorded his first ever RBI after being walked with the bases loaded by none other than Fransisco Rodriguez.

Congratulations, Mo. You have been a vital part of the Yankees over the years and your services have definitely not gone unnoticed.

Part Four: "It Was A Dark & Quiet Night..."

June 2009

Chapter Four

How It Came To Be

The newly acquainted group of five sat on the carpet of the second floor loft for a half an hour. John was sitting with his legs straight out and his back against the wall. His eyes were closed, but he had not been sleeping. John had wanted to keep his ears on alert. Mark and Elizabeth sat on the steps of the staircase that led to the third floor. Elizabeth had her head propped on Mark's shoulder. A hand held camera was on Mark's lap, turned off. Paul and Rachel sat opposite of John in the middle of the room. They both sat Indian style and Paul was leaning back on his hands. They all sat in quiet for the past few minutes. One of them had just experienced something that may or may not have been the sole reason for their reason of being in this place.

John explained his story of the footsteps and the shadow moving to the rest of them, and none of them had any reason to doubt him. His experience is the reason why Mark and his wife had come armed with cameras. Mark had heard about the hotel and it's history a few years back and became fascinated with the building. At the time he heard the stories, he and Elizabeth were in film school. His dream was to always be a documentarian. Mark wanted to invest his time to bring real life stories to the world's eyes. Stories that no one knew existed.

Elizabeth had fallen in love with his sense of adventure, and she too had the same passions. She had always been a paranormal buff and it was her that finally convinced Mark to make this hotel his next project. She had done months of research and was able to locate some relatives of the the victims from the great tragedy. Elizabeth had put the thought into play that maybe if some blood relatives came back to this hotel, perhaps it would spark up some of the activity. The building already had a history of supposed haunts. Legends of ghosts and things that go bump in the night began to surface only a few years after the original event happened. Teenagers would break into the building and dare each other to stay overnight. The stories have it that no one has ever made it through a full night. Odd things would happen, and even the bravest of teenage boys would run out screaming, never to return again. When so much death happens in one building, something is bound to stay behind. Mark and Elizabeth had been in the building a few times before, but only to scout it out, and board up windows and prepare it for this very night. In those times, they had seen no other worldly beings or heard no mysterious noises.

Their goal was to film a documentary about a building that had become lifeless. They wanted to tell the story through the words of the relatives. In some way, it would have been a kind of redemption tale. The main goal was to capture proof of the existence of these ghostly beings. Elizabeth grew up in a strict Christian home. Her mother always told her that to believe in ghosts was to be a follower of Satan, but she never once believed that. Elizabeth went to church every Sunday, and she loved God. She had begun to realize over the years that perhaps some of the things she read in the bible had been a little outdated. She applied the things in her life that needed to be applied, mainly love. Her belief in ghosts had never turned her away from loving God or anyone else. In some sense, she wanted to do this to prove her mother wrong, but she knew even if she came back with proof, her mother may be more dissapointed in her. She will probably accuse of her of some kind of witchcraft.

As they all sat around in the quiet, Mark finally decided it was probably time to film everyone's testimonials. He thought this would be the best time, before all the real action started to happen. He went around to each person and they essentially gave their story, and how it came to be that they all were here together.

The two film makers didn't have much trouble convincing Paul and Rachel to join in on the documentary. Paul jumped at the option. He had been living on his own for close to eight years. He was once the popular guy in school, but once high school ended, he realized who his true friends were and there weren't many. Paul learned that people attached themselves to him because he had a face that everyone knew, after all he was on the football team. There's always that myth that if you are on the high school football team, you have to be a mean, ruthless jock who only hangs out with the cool kids. Paul never wanted to be that person, he just loved playing football and he was good at it. One graduation ended, people went their separate ways and Paul somehow got lost in the mix. He had spent the next ten years trying to rebuild himself into the person he wanted to always be. He wanted a family, he wanted a good career. That's what he worked for in high school, but everyone wanted him to be that star.

His parents were killed a year after he graduated and so he had to make a life for himself. He's worked several different jobs and was never able to go to any college classes. Any dreams he had of becoming a successful family man seemed a lifetime away for him. A few months prior, something amazing happened to him. He was approached by a documentary director and was asked to be in a film. Elizabeth had uncovered that Paul was the grandson of the town mayor that was slaughtered years before. Paul's parents never relayed this information to him, but since they had passed on, he would never get to know why. For the first time, Paul felt he was needed for something, that someone wanted him. That moment was a breath of fresh life for Paul.

Rachel grew up thinking that her father left her mom when Rachel was just a baby. When she was a teenager, she started hearing the legends of this hotel and town. She knew the story, everyone did. It wasn't until she was in her late twenties that her mother finally told her that her father was the sheriff that was killed that night. Her mother told her this as she was dying from cancer, and she wanted to lift some of the regrets off of her before she passed. She told Rachel that she didn't want her to feel connected to such a horrific event. A mother who simply wanted her child to live a normal life and not have to deal with kids adding her to the stories and legends.

Rachel never really knew the details behind what really went on however, only what she had heard through the numerous tales. Rachel had hate in her heart for her mom. For more than twenty years she thought her father was a dead beat and running free in the world without a care in the world that he has a daughter. A man she grew up hating, now is a man she has deep sorrow for. Her intentions of coming to this place were a bit selfish. She wanted in some way, to meet her the father she never knew. She wanted to have a connection with him, not matter how brief or out of this world it may be. Rachel had hoped that by going to that hotel, her father may be there as well.

John had lived a troubled life. His parents both passed when he was a young boy, and he lived with his uncle for close to fifteen years before he too passed away. John was home schooled most of his life because his uncle was always moving. John's father and uncle were the two children of Adam Jacobs, the man who destroyed a whole town. When Jacob's killed his wife, the two kids were sent away to live with relatives. John was well aware of the story in it's entirety, because his father told him when he was five years old.

He finally found himself in an actual high school starting his junior year, but he never made friends. In fact, he was bullied almost every day by kids higher up on the high school food chain. They tripped him, threw things at him, the works. John could never figure out why, because he had done nothing to deserve it. But he soon learned that all it takes to be ridiculed at school is simply to be a person people classify as a loner. John started ditching school and failing classes, but his uncle never seemed to care or even notice. He would hang out by himself someplace secluded and wish he were someone else.

He realized that he felt more unhappiness on a day to day basis that any iota of true happiness. No matter how hard he tried, he could not make himself happy. John would get angry for no reason, he would lash out at people trying to help. When he was eighteen he tried taking his own life, but failed. This is when all the treatment began, and he had to see numerous therapists. He ended up being diagnosed with a manic depressive disorder and had to down several pills a day to balance his life. His life became dependent on medication.

When he was twenty he did his own research into the massacre that destroyed his family as well. He learned that his grandfather showed signs of the same disorder he had. He had discovered that his grand dad was put in an institution when he was a teenager for killing a dog in a brutal way and his only excuse was that he was bored. There was a report that mentioned that Adam Jacob's claimed his mind was taken over by the Devil's manipulation. He said that Satan had taken control of him and it was the devil that killed that dog and his wife many years later but everyone thought he was crazy. John had started to piece together that maybe his grandfather had passed something on to him.

For the past year, John had become a member of his local church. He had found a saving grace. He at least knew that there was one person out there that had nothing but love for him, and that was God. The town he had lived in was well aware of the massacre, and it didn't take long for the people to realize who John really was. They all knew he was that loner kid who no one liked. People in his own congregation would tell him to leave because only the devil lives in his blood. John had never experienced anyone truly loving him and seeing him for the person he was. He so desperately wanted people to look at him and get to know him and really know that he is a good person. He wanted them to know that he was not his grand father.

Once the knowledge became widespread in the town he lived in that he was related to the madman Adam Jacobs, people would torment him. People from his own church would leave threatening letters on his door telling him to leave. There was no one in his life to protect him. No one other than God. He prayed every night for it to get better. He could not understand why people in this day and age would act like this towards him. Why would no one give him a chance? It came to a point where had to bring his uncles gun with him where ever he went to protect himself.

He had decided to finally move on with his life and get out of that dreadful town. Not a day passed, and he was found by Mark and Elizabeth. He rejected their offer a few times, but they were adamant. They finally offered to pay him a large sum of money, and he finally accepted only because it was help make his move much easier. The whole drive up, he kept debating whether or not he should even do it. He wanted nothing more than to move on from the lingering dread that this place brought him. He almost turned around several times but eventually did not. John had finally come to the conclusion that maybe confronting this place would bring him some form of closure. This was a demon he had to face, one last time.

Mark had finally finished recording everyone testimonials. "These will all of course be edited in throughout the movie when it is completed, but I wanted to get them out of the way," he said. He had done them all privately, he knew it could be difficult for some of them to share their stories in front of the others. He set his camera down and began to address the group. "OK everyone, I think what were are going to do is split up into groups and each group will have a camera. I think what we will do is have me, John and Paul in a group and the girls will be the other one." He stated.

Elizabeth looked a little thrown off, "You are going to make the ladies be on their own?" She said almost jokingly.

"You can handle yourself sweets," Mark said back. "So the guys will do the third floor, and I do have the key," he pulled out the key and showed them, "and gentle-ladies, would you like to do the kitchen and dining areas?"

Rachel shot him a sarcastic "screw yourself" look. Elizabeth interjected, "As much as I would like to say he's being a sexist ass, that would be a good place for us to start, 'sposed to be a lotta stuff goin' on down there," she explained to Rachel. Rachel just nodded her head. Mark handed them their camera and showed Rachel how it worked. He gave them the military salute, and they went on their way.

"Alright sirs, let us venture upstairs into the great ghostly unknown," Mark said to them. And with that, the three guys walked up the stairs, and the loft was left in an eeire and quiet darkness.

...TO BE CONTINUED.

--Mike--

Disneyland: The Happiest Haunted Place on Earth

June 2009

Thousands of people visit Disneyland every year. It’s a place where adults can be kids again and kids can let their imaginations run wild. You can walk down Main Street and run into one of your favorite Disney characters, or ride to adventures through small worlds, down Splash Mountains, attacked by pirates, or abdominal snowmen on the Matterhorn Mountain, run through Tom Sawyer’s Island, and are totally scared by ghosts in the Haunted Mansion. You can spend a day or two forgetting your troubles and just have fun, lots of fun!

Disneyland is located in Anaheim, California and is known as an American theme park. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company and opened it’s doors on July 18, 1955. The park has seen more than 515 million guests walk through its gates since it opened. With all the fun that Disneyland provides, no wonder it is called, “The happiest place on Earth.” Is this place, which has seen its share of royalty, presidents and other heads of state visit its adventures and rides, haunted as well? According to the many reports of sightings of ghosts and other paranormal activity, it would be a resounding “yes”. The following is some of the stories I found during my research:

The Haunted Mansion:There are many urban legends of deaths that have occurred in the Haunted Mansion. The Imagineers have done a great job of creating a spooky environment for all to enjoy and have a scary adventure through an old New Orleans style house. Some of the stories of “real” ghost haunting the place have been circulating for some time but are they all true. One of the stories is that an elderly man died of a heart attack because the ride was supposedly too scary. This happened before the ride was officially opened. They re-designed the ride and it was finally opened in 1969. His ghost has been seen by some wandering around the place. Another urban legend is of a 1940’s man who died in a park nearby where Disneyland would later be constructed. He was piloting a small plane and crashed in a lake. Some of the employees have seen his spirit late at night and refer to him as “the man with a cane”. Also in the area where the passengers disembark, a man in a tuxedo has been seen. One day an employee working in that area kept seeing a shadow in a mirror she uses to see the rides coming up. Every time she turned around, no one was there. The figure appeared to be wearing a tuxedo. She then experienced a chill and an unseen hand on her shoulder. Shortly afterwards, she ran out of there and quit her job. Another story is about a woman who wanted to scatter her son’s ashes inside the Haunted Mansion but was not allowed. She snuck in and scattered them anyway. Shortly afterwards some people have seen the apparition of a small boy crying and sitting near the exit. And still there is another story of a teenage boy, who stepped out of the Doombuggy to get a better look at the “Séance Circle”, fell to his through a gap in the walkway and died by breaking his neck. That area has seen its share of strange phenomenon like ghosts and strange music with no explainable source to where it was coming from. The next time you are riding around in the “Doombuggy” of the Haunted Mansion, the ghost sharing the ride just might be “real”. Muhahahaha!

The Haunted Mansion is not the only place that has had reports of unseen happenings; there are many other rides and buildings that are haunted as well.
The Fire Station on Main Street has reports of strange footsteps and lights turning themselves on, and a voice telling an employee, “Don’t forget, I am still here”, all on the second floor.
The storeroom behind the magic shop on Main Street had reports of cold spots and a creepy feeling while in the room.
The Disney Gallery above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is said to be haunted by Walt Disney, his wife and another woman named Mary. Walt’s ghost has been seen in many places around the park.
Pirates of the Caribbean ride has also had story of the mother who wanted to scattered her son’s ashes on the ride. Basically it’s the same deal, she snuck in and scattered them anyway. Sometimes at night the ride operators have seen a lone boy riding in one of the boats on the video monitors. After checking it out, they found no one there. Is this boy at the Haunted Mansion or riding a boat on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride? I suppose it depends on who is telling the story.
Matterhorn Mountain is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman named Dolly. The story is told that she unhooked her belt to check on her children riding behind her. The ride hit a steep incline, she fell out and was hit and killed by the sled behind her.
Space Mountain has a ghost of a man who died on the ride in the 1970’s. Witnesses have described him as a large man with reddish hair and a red face. His apparition has been seen getting in a car of a lone rider but disappearing before the end of the ride.
It’s a Small World can be a Pupaphobic’s worst nightmare at night. Lights have been reported turning themselves on and off, while the figures were reported moving on their own after the power has been shut down.
Tom Sawyers Island is being haunted by a couple of ghosts that might be the grad students that drowned in the Rivers of America. Also, many employees have reported seeing children running around the island. After boating over to the island to check it out, they never found them.
Tomorrow Land has had reports of a menacing spirit along with cold spots where the spirit has been seen. The People Mover Ride, which used to run through Tomorrow Land, has the ghost of a teenager who apparently jump from the car as it moved along the tracks, and was dragged to his death. They say the he reached up grabbing desperately to his girlfriend’s long blonde hair but couldn’t hang on. He will usually manifest himself to girls with long blonde hair and will tug on it.

Disneyland is truly the “Happiest haunted place on Earth” especially for those of us who love all the ghost stories. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get locked inside for the night and see for ourselves if the place is really haunted?

--Julie--

Wally the Green Monster Boston Red Sox Pictures

June 2009

Funny image of Wally the Green Monster of the Boston Red Sox, stepping out from the green monster

Picture of best team mascot Wally the Green Monster

Photo of awesome baseball mascot Wally the Green Monster of the Boston Red Sox

The Bird Baltimore Orioles Mascot Pictures

June 2009

Funny image of The Bird mascot of the Baltimore Orioles giving the hand to Screech

Picture of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team mascot, The Bird

Photo of The Bird mascot with happy fan

T. C Bear Minnesota Twins Mascot Pictures

June 2009

Cute image of T. C. Bear mascot of the Minnesota Twins posing with young girl

Funny picture of T. C. Bear walking on the sidewalk

Photo of T. C. Bear of the Minnesota Twins baseball team

Swinging Friar San Diego Padres

June 2009

Image of Swinging Friar team mascot of the San Diego Padres baseball team

Picture of Swinging Friar mascot with camera

Funny photo of Swinging Friar of the San Diego Padres on the field of play

Stomper Oakland Athletics Mascot Pictures

June 2009

Image of Stomper the Oakland Athletics team mascot posing with kids in the crowd

Picture of Stomper mascot

Photo of Stomper mascot of the Oakland Athletics posing with four pretty ladies

Southpaw Chicago White Sox Pictures

June 2009

Image of Southpaw the Chicago White Sox mascot posing with kid fans

Picture of cool team mascot of the Chicago White Sox baseball team

Funny photo of Southpaw the Chicago White Sox team mascot

Sluggerrr Kansas City Royals Mascot Pictures

June 2009

Image of Sluggerrr the Kansas City Royals baseball team mascot

Picture of Sluggerrr mascot posing with little girl

Funny photo of Sluggerrr mascot of the Kansas City Royals baseball team

Slider Cleveland Indians Mascot Pictures

June 2009

Image of Slider of the Cleveland Indians baseball team

Picture of Cleveland Indians mascot Slider joking around

Funny photo of Slider the Cleveland Indians baseball team with hot dog girl

Screech Washington Nationals Mascot Pictures

June 2009

Image of Screech the Washington Nationals team mascot covered in dirt

Cute picture of Screech posing with kids

Photo of Washington Nationals team baseball mascot Screech on the playing field

Raymond Tampa Bay Rays Mascot Pictures

June 2009

Image of strange mascot of the Tampa Bay Rays, Raymond

Picture of baseball team mascot Raymond of the Tampa Bay Rays

Raymond Tampa Bay Rays Mascot

Rangers Captain Texas Rangers Pictures

June 2009

Image of the Texas Rangers mascot, the Rangers Captain Horse

Funny picture of Rangers Captain at a football event

Close up photo of Texas Rangers team mascot Rangers Captain

Phillie Phanatic Philadelphia Phillies Pictures

June 2009

Image of the Phillie Phanatic of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team

Funny picture of the Phillie Phanatic wearing boxing gloves

Cool photo of the Philadelphia Phillies mascot, the Phillie Phanatic

Paws Detroit Tigers Mascot Pictures

June 2009

Image of Paws the Detroit Tigers mascot getting the crowd on they're feet

Picture of Paws the tiger waving a white towel

Great close up photo of Paws the Detroit Tigers baseball team mascot