Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs

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For the last post in the 2021 October Ghost Stories Series, we head south of Joplin, to the pretty town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Tucked into the Ozark Mountains, this small community offers Victorian charm, an artsy attitude and incredibly interesting energy!

Although I typically offer five haunted locations from the cities I write about, I’m only featuring two in this post. Both of these spots have such a density of hauntings that I could write multiple posts documenting them.

Grab a cup of tea and curl up under a cozy blanket and read ghost stories from Eureka Springs.

Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs title meme

Eureka Springs Arkansas

Located in northwest Arkansas, Eureka Springs is home to about 2,300 people. The town clings to the mountains…in Arkansas, these are more like big rocky hills…earning it the nickname of Little Switzerland.

Native American legends told of the Great Healing Springs in the area. Indigenous peoples long visited the springs and considered them sacred. When European settlers arrived, they found the springs restorative as well.

Eureka Springs incorporated as a city in 1880 and by 1881 became the fourth largest town in Arkansas. Within a few years, the city attracted thousands of people who built Victorian style homes and established commercial enterprises.

The city continues as a tourist town, offering unique shops, cafes, arts and crafts. It’s a mecca for artists, writers and those who appreciate a creative, diverse lifestyle. Check out more of the town’s history HERE.

Perhaps because of all the springs…at least 62 of them…and the limestone in the area, it presents strong, unusual energy. Additionally, Eureka Springs lays claim to the most haunted hotels in the US.

Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs downtown
Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs – historic downtown

The Basin Park Hotel

Located next to Basin Park, in historic downtown Eureka Springs, this hotel was constructed in 1905, on the site of the former Perry House. That first structure burned to the ground in 1890.

The current lodging contains 100 rooms and a top floor ball room. It is considered the second most haunted hotel in Eureka Springs! Ghost tours are offered daily in the hotel, beginning at 10:30 PM.

Some of the spirits that checked into the hotel…and never checked out.

A six foot tall cowboy occupies room 309. Guests report waking up and seeing him at the foot of the bed, dressed in boots, spurs and a long duster.

Guests in room 321 report sharing that space with a man wearing a brown suit. He’s known to enter the room…but not through the door!

A young girl with pigtails, wearing a yellow dress, skips through the lobby. Visitors also encounter a blonde-haired woman, in turn of the century clothing, drifting along on the third floor. Although smiling, the translucent spirit stares at those who see her with penetrating icy blue eyes, leaving them feeling unsettled.

Another ghostly woman, with curly red hair, frequently drinks milk and eats cookies in the coffeehouse. Or you might encounter the woman in white wandering the hallways.

And wait…there are more ghosts!

A tall thin man sporting a long brown beard, tan suit and hat appears in two places, the upstairs ballroom and room 519. And a friendlier spirit pops into room 408.

Other Paranormal Activity in the Basin Park Hotel

Besides apparitions, staff and visitors report orbs floating by, footsteps that follow you, disembodied voices, doors that slam close on their own and the sensation of being watched.

Guests also experience objects moving about in their rooms. Or items falling off tables, shelves and counters. And perhaps because of the fire in 1890 that destroyed the former hotel, people sometimes capture what looks like flames in photos.

Shadow figures lurk in the ballroom and faces appear in windows…on the top floor. Staff and guests pass through inexplicable cold spots. And one paranormal investigator claims invisible hands chocked him while in the ballroom.

The hotel maintains a log of spooky experiences and encourages guests to report any paranormal encounters.

Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs basin park hotel
Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs – Basin Park Hotel, as seen from the other side of the park.

The Crescent Hotel

History

This building carries the distinction of being one of the most haunted hotels in the US. Built in 1886, the Crescent opened as a luxurious resort. It sits majestically on West Mountain, overlooking the town below.

Due to slow business during the winter months, Crescent College opened in the building, providing education to young women until 1934. In 1937 Norman Baker bought the former hotel and college, remodeling it into the Baker Cancer Clinic.

This charlatan claimed to have a cure for cancer. His spurious treatments and practices did not heal patients. Rather, they suffered, worsened and died. In the morgue set up in the basement, bodies were hidden away and eventually secretly removed from the “hospital”. At least 44 people died in the Crescent, during the 20 months that Baker ran his clinic. However, according to a tour guide, 300 patients who checked into the hospital were never accounted for afterward. Baker was arrested on mail fraud charges in 1939, for defrauding his victims out of nearly 4 million dollars.

In the years following, the Crescent changed hands frequently, until a couple bought it and the Basin Park Hotel in 1997 and restored them.

This hotel also conducts nightly ghost tours. Check out info HERE.

The Crescent Hotel Ghosts

Numerous spirits roam the Crescent. Some of the most frequently spotted ghosts include the following.

During construction of the hotel, an Irish stone mason fell to his death, landing in what is now room 218. This is the most paranormally active location in the hotel. Guests report hands poking out of the bathroom mirror, a man’s cries coming from the ceiling, orbs and distortions in the room and a door that opens and slams shut on its own. The staff refer to the entity as Michael.

In the hotel dining room, staff and guests report spirits in Victorian dress. Objects move around in this space, typically overnight while the dining room is closed. A Victorian couple, looking at each other as if in a wedding, appear and disappear. Others see a man sitting by the window, waiting for someone, while others come across ghosts dancing around the room, in the wee hours of the night.

As might be expected, several ghosts from Norman Baker’s time in the building haunt the Crescent, including the fake “doctor” himself. He appears in the hotel lobby wearing his favorite lavender shirt. A nurse pushing a gurney rattles down the hallways and former cancer patient Theodora haunts room 419. In the basement where the morgue once existed, washers and dryers sometimes turn on by themselves…all of them at once.

There’s the ghost of the college student, who jumped to her death from a balcony. And another spirit of a young girl lingers around the stairs. She fell to her death from the fourth floor railing soon after the hotel opened.

Other Paranormal Activity in the Crescent Hotel

In the kitchen pots and pans fly off shelves. And a little ghost boy wearing glasses plays in that room.

The smell of pipe smoke emanates from room 212, once the office of the legit on-site hotel physician, who loved to smoke cherry tobacco in his pipe.

Staff and guests report cold spots, orbs and misty shapes captured in photos. People feel touches from invisible hands. Cameras and recording devices lose their battery charges in the former basement morgue. And some feel nauseated in that space.

Others, while on the nightly ghost tour, faint at the same location on the third floor. That exact spot is where an annex was added, when the hotel served as Baker’s hospital.

There’s even a cat ghost, Morris, who likes to lay in a chair in the lobby.

Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs crescent hotel
Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs – The Crescent Hotel

My Experiences in Eureka Springs

I tell you truthfully, that as much as I love exploring this beautiful little town, I cannot spend the night within the city limits. The energy there is that strong for me. When I stay overnight, I choose lodging outside of town.

I’ve been in the Basin Park Hotel lobby, without difficulty. I hoped to attempt an overnight in the hotel this month and experience their ghost tour. A minor accident prevented me from carrying out my plans, due to pain and swelling in my left foot. Staying in the Basin is a future adventure.

I pick up on pools of tragedy in Eureka Springs, and no where as intensely as the Crescent. When I’m within a mile of that hotel, I feel it as discomfort across my back and scalp. At the Crescent, my chest feels heavy and I eventually get a headache and feel ill.

After attending a wedding there, I returned to my hotel room outside of town, unable to sleep due to hearing screams and cries in my head all night long. It was after that experience 12 years ago that I looked up the history of the hotel and learned it served as a hospital for cancer patients under Norman Baker. I feel despair there, and the hopelessness of those who suffered.

Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs crescent at night
Look at that orb of light over the hotel.

Crescent Hotel Ghost Tour

In 2010, my family gathered in Eureka Springs, to scatter my father’s ashes. He loved riding his motorcycle in this hilly town. While family members all stayed at lodging outside of town, my sisters and I, and our children visited the Crescent one evening, for the ghost tour.

What an incredible experience we had. We saw orbs and caught images in digital photos. And in the famous room 218, haunted by the Irishman Michael, I felt so dizzy and disoriented. I caught bizarre light distortions in that room with my camera.

Heading downward, into the morgue area, we all checked our phones and cameras, to make sure batteries remained fully charged. Within minutes of entering that dark space, all batteries were drained. I felt like I couldn’t breathe down in the basement. It was past time for me to leave the building.

Sadly, all the photos I took at the Crescent disappeared forever when the computer they were stored on crashed a couple of years later. However, I have one left from that night, emailed to me from my niece Ashley who captured something in the dark. It’s posted below, an enlargement of the orb in the photo above

Do you want to see what a ghost looks like? There it is, hovering above the hotel.

While I intend to attempt an overnight in the Basin next year, I do not think I can ever spend the night at the Crescent.

Could you? Would you?

Ghost Stories from Eureka Springs ghost
Is that a ghost above the Crescent?

The Rest of the 2021 Ghost Stories from Posts

The end of October means the end of the ghost stories, for this year! Thank you for reading along. Are you a believer yet? Have you had paranormal experiences of your own? Share them with me in the comments below.

And if you missed any of the earlier post from this month, they are listed below:

Charleston

Glasgow

Carthage

Rome

Peace, Love and Eureka Springs Arkansas tee. Click picture to order.

 

 

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Tapping Into the Power of Imagination

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As a child, I often heard the words, “What an imagination you have!” It wasn’t always a compliment. It’s true, however. My imagination helped me to deal with my nighttime fears. Creating my own world and escaping into it every night allowed me to fall asleep.

My imagination grew stronger and more powerful, as I grew older. After I faced down my fears and moved beyond them, as an adult, I recognized the connection between my re-emerging creativity and shifting reality and the imagination I’d long nurtured.

Because there’s a connection as well between imagination and manifestation. Every human creation and invention began in someone’s imagination. It’s not just an inventor’s special gift though. Tapping into the power of imagination is available to all of us.

Tapping Into the Power of Imagination title meme

 

What Is Imagination?

First of all, what is imagination?

Imagination uses our experiences and knowledge of the world and combines them with the unknown to create something new. Using imagination we create an image…or a whole world…in our mind and interact with it there.

Imagination allows us freedom to explore new thoughts and ideas that lie beyond the physical world, launching us into the dream realm where anything is possible and creativity is strongest.

Science suggests that engaging in imagination fires up large areas of the brain while creating a powerful, interconnecting neural network.

Why Is Imagination Important?

Albert Einstein famously said:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Children instinctively engage their imaginations. Watch any child at play and you’ll see them pretend and create. Imagining is how children learn and grow, explore and discover. However, somewhere between youth and adulthood, we disconnect from imagination, dismissing it as fanciful or a waste of time.

Imagination is a powerful tool for living an expansive, creative, joy filled life. And it does more than shift mindset. It helps to create reality, for what we think about and focus on…good or bad…shows up in our world. As I often share, our outer worlds are mirrors of our inner thoughts and our imaginations.

We can develop our imaginations, even if it’s been many years since we’ve actively engaged them. And if our imagining tends toward the negative…we call that worrying…we can shift those thoughts to the positive. And we want to, because a negative imagination creates a negative reality to dwell in.

Tapping Into the Power of Imagination giraffesf Imagination
Tapping Into the Power of Imagination – bronze giraffes at Mercy Park spark my imagination

Tapping Into the Power of Imagination

These 10 tips revitalize imagination, opening up creativity and shifting awareness. Think of these exercises as ways to reconnect with your inner child, who always knows how to imagine in big ways.

Write

Free writing daily allows thoughts to flow from the brain to paper. It’s important to not overthink or edit the words. Just let them appear on the paper and keep writing for 10 – 15 minutes.

Set a timer on your phone and write. Many agree that writing first thing in the morning is the best time to wake up the brain and tap into creativity. You don’t need to choose a topic or craft a story. Instead, jot down whatever comes to mind. A few days in to free writing, you might find long buried ideas surfacing or fresh thoughts providing fodder for creative projects. Don’t judge what you write. Capture your thoughts and move on.

Color

A few years ago, the adult coloring craze launched a host of coloring books covering a variety of interests. I wholeheartedly embraced the trend.

And art therapy is more than a trend actually. It helps reduce anxiety and stress. I find it a satisfying way to express creativity and tap into my imagination. Plus the act of laying color down on paper is a form of meditation.

Best of all, no one is grading your coloring ability. Feel free to literally color outside the lines, make the sky purple or try out different shading techniques.

Grab a coloring book and colored pencils and see where your imagination takes you.

Tapping Into the Power of Imagination coloring
Tapping Into the Power of Imagination – coloring is a great way to open imagination

Nurture Empathy

Imagination and empathy share the ability to imagine ourselves in another’s situation. The greater the imagination, the more empathy we can show.

It follows, therefore, that nurturing empathy towards others helps broaden imagination. Practice becoming more aware of the feelings and emotions of others. Think about how you’d feel, in the same situation. Imagine what you’d do and the impact the situation would have on you.

Allow the resulting feelings and insights to guide you in gaining a better understanding of others, of the world, of experiences that are different from yours.

Often, when something challenging happens to someone, we respond with the words, “I just can’t imagine…” I discovered recently that to those who are hurting, those words come across as “What you are experiencing is so awful, I can’t even imagine it.” That’s not helpful at all, even though we might mean well.

Imagine it. Put yourself in her place. And feel with her and for her as your empathy guides actions.

Visualize Goals

Ready to make changes in your life? Start with imagining a goal…and the steps needed to accomplish it.

Using imagination in this way stimulates the brain in the same way that actually performing the task does. Athletes improve their skills and abilities by visualizing their performances. You can do this too. It’s as simple as closing your eyes and imaging each step needed to reach your goal.

Another helpful practice is to create a vision board. Include goals, dreams and hopes. Look at the vision board every day and imagine both the accomplishments and how you feel.

Visualization nudges the brain into looking for ways to bring those goals into reality. Stay open and aware of opportunities.

Tapping Into the Power of Imagination visualize
Tapping Into the Power of Imagination – visualize

Keep a Dream Journal

When the subconscious and imagination meet, we dream. Many people report that they do not remember their dreams. However, keeping a journal and learning to unpack dreams opens the mind to truths about ourselves.

We work out problems in our dreams, revisit the past and create for the future there as well. It’s worth taking a few minutes every morning to jot down dreams.

I’m a lucid dreamer, aware that what I’m experiencing is a dream. I find great insights when I examine my dreams, especially the ones that don’t seem to make sense while they are unfolding.

Recently I dreamed of a river next to my house. In the dream I said aloud that I knew I was dreaming because I live in a city, with no water in sight. I decided to enjoy the dream while it lasted. As I sat next to the flowing river, a large turtle climbed out of the water and rested next to me, allowing me to pet him while he nuzzled against my leg.

I felt so happy about that turtle when I woke up. Unpacking the dream, I looked up turtle energy. When the turtle shows up it symbolizes longevity, perseverance, steadfastness, healing, tranquility and transformation, all qualities I’m happy to embrace in my life.

Learn to look for the symbols imagination plants in your dreams. Don’t try to make sense of them. Rather, allow them to speak to you about the deep recesses of your mind, heart and soul.

Rearrange the Familiar into Something New

Decluttering a room or the whole house and rearranging living spaces is an excellent way to ramp up imagination. Move furniture around. Get rid of excess. Uncluttered spaces allow for a better flow of energy which positively affects imagination and creativity.

Get creative with decor. Do you always decorate for the holidays using the same items, in the same places? Switch things up.

I love to lay out all of my decorations on the bed, and then find new ways to use them. It’s a fun form of imaginative play to rearrange the familiar and create something fresh and new.

Tapping Into the Power of Imagination rearrange
Tapping Into the Power of Imagination – rearrange the familiar into something new

Get Into Nature

Spending time in nature, walking in the woods, sitting near water all revitalize the body and free the mind to imagine. Engage your senses. Listen to the sounds of nature, feel the breeze, watch insects flitting by. Breathe deeply and relax. And allow the mind to wander, flitting like the insects from idea to idea.

Frequent walks outdoors boosts creativity and imagination by giving the mind a break, which allows ideas to flow. Check out other benefits from being in nature HERE.

Play

Play is necessary, for cultivating a creative, imaginative life. Children naturally engage in play as a way of learning and figuring out how things work.

For adults, play helps us find joy in life, allows us to figure out who we truly are, rather than who others want us to be, and sparks creativity born from an active imagination.

Even routines become fun when interjecting play. Dance and make up a song while cleaning the kitchen. Make a game out of folding laundry, pulling weeds or painting the porch.

Let go of outcomes, enter into the flow of playfulness and watch your imagination ignite.

Need inspiration? Engage with children and let them show you how to play again. Forget rules. Just play, pretend and have fun.

Tapping Into the Power of Imagination play
Tapping Into the Power of Imagination – play, as a child plays

Open to Positive Possibilities

Worry is praying for things you don’t want to happen. Imagination works whether we think about positive things…or negative ones. Rather than imagining the bad things that can happen, learn to stop that train of thought and imagine positive outcomes, happy events and joyful activities.

Say the word STOP and change your thoughts. Keep changing them as often as necessary.

When I travel, rather than worrying about what can go wrong, I learned to imagine the trip in wonderfully rich detail. Where would I walk? What would I wear? Engaging my imagination in this way led to a totally different way of preparing for trips.

I study maps of the area I’m staying in, learn the streets and where the sites are that I want to visit. Then, weeks or months even before the trip, I walk those streets, visit those locations, feel the sun on my face, hear the sounds around me….all in my imagination. It’s become an extraordinary way to anticipate a trip and it greatly reduces any anxiety I might have. When I arrive at my destination, there’s a sense of familiarity, even though the experiences are new.

I am creating my reality and then stepping into it in very positive ways.

Next year, I’m taking this technique farther, imagining trips long before I actually book them.

Follow Curiosity

One of the best ways to explode imagination is to follow curiosity. See where that trail leads.

Read a book or watch a video, to learn more about anything that grabs your interest. Google to answer a question. Take the road less traveled, to see where it goes. Pursue the “what ifs”. Stare down fear and walk into new territory and try new experiences. Create a daydreaming space. Spend time in your dream space and allow your imagination to take the lead. Follow it to see where it goes.

Read more about developing a curiosity mindset HERE.

Tapping Into the Power of Imagination curiosity
Tapping Into the Power of Imagination – curiosity. I’m excited to follow mine with The Adventure Challenge next year.

What Can You Imagine?

How is your imagination? Is it healthy, powerful and helping you manifest the reality you desire to live in?

If not, may these exercises help you connect to the imagination of your childhood. Imagine what is possible…and make possible what you imagine.

Imagine what's possible

 

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Ghost Stories from Rome

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Ah, Rome…the ancient capital city of Italy. Founded in 753 BC, this city features stunning architecture such as the Colosseum, Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. It was the center of a vast empire that ruled the European continent for centuries.

In Rome, spirits abound. How could they not, with its long and oft times turbulent history.

For the fourth installment in the October series, here are ghost stories from Rome.

Ghost Stories from Rome title meme

Ghost Stories from Rome

This collection of stories represent the old city well. Like many big cities, Rome never sleeps. People enjoy themselves well into the night.

Be in the right place at the right time, after dark, and you might experience one of Rome’s famous hauntings.

Beatrice Cenci

Perhaps the most famous of Rome’s ghost, Beatrice…born in 1577…belonged to one of the city’s leading families. Her tragic story inspired painters, poets and novelists.

The noblewoman’s father, Francesco, was controlling and abusive. After years of enduring his violence, Beatrice reported him. Her requests for help ignored, the young woman, her brothers and stepmother decided to kill Francesco.

Driven by despair, the man’s family gave him opium to make him sleep and then beat him with a rolling pin and hammer. They threw his body off a balustrade, to simulate an accident.

Authorities were not fooled. After eventually receiving full confessions from the family members, they were sentenced to death by beheading and executed at dawn on September 11, 1599, on Ponte Sant’Angelo. According to her last wishes, Beatrice was buried in an anonymous tomb in the cemetery of San Pietro in Montorio.

Every year, on the night of September 10, Beatrice’s ghost walks back and forth across Ponte Sant’Angelo…the bridge leading to Castel Sant’Angelo…cradling her severed head in her hands.

Ghost Stories from Rome beatrice centi
Ghost Stories from Rome – Beatrice Cenci haunts the Ponte Sant’Angelo

The Executioner of Rome

Beatrice’s ghost isn’t the only one wandering near the castel.

Mastro Titta (1779 – 1869) put 514 people to death, during his 70 years as Rome’s official executioner. Mastro lived on the other side of the Tiber River, because executioners were not allowed to dwell within the city walls. He only crossed over the river on the Ponte Sant’Angelo at dawn on the day of an execution.

His methods of execution included hanging, beating and beheading. To calm the condemned, Mastro offered them a pinch of snuff.

Just before sunrise, Mastro appears near Castel Sant’Angelo, wrapped in a red cloak. He supposedly loves to walk near the places of his executions. And he still offers the unsuspecting a pinch of snuff. If you meet this cloaked ghost and he offers you snuff…run.

Ghost Stories from Rome castel sant'angelo
Ghost Stories from Rome – Mastro Titta roams near Castel Sant’Angelo

Costanza Conti De Cupis

This interesting ghost tale originated in the 17th century. Noblewoman Costanza Conti De Cupis haunts the family palace overlooking Piazza Navona.

Beautiful Costanza possessed the most perfect hands in the city. Artist Bastiano even made a plaster cast of one of Costanza’s hands and displayed it in his workshop for the citizens of Rome to admire.

One day a stranger…some say a friar of San Pietro…saw the plaster cast and prophesied that the woman would soon lose her hand. When Costanza heard the dire news, she withdrew into her home and refused to leave it, hoping to avoid the prediction.

However, while embroidering she pricked her finger with a needle. The small wound became infected. And then gangrene set in, causing her to lose her hand through amputation. Septicemia spread through her body and Costanza died a few days later.

It’s said when the moon shines on the windows of Costanza’s palace, which is now a luxury hotel, the woman’s ghostly hand…just her hand…appears at a window.

Ghost Stories from Rome hand
Ghost Stories from Rome – Costanza’s perfect hand

Nero’s Ghost

After Nero’s death in 68 AD, the eccentric emperor was buried in Piazza del Popolo. A walnut tree marked the site.

It’s said the negative energy from Nero’s bones attracted evil spirits and demons that took the form of black crows. They terrorized the residents in the area around the piazza, along with Nero’s ghost who wandered about as well. In 1099, the people appealed to Pope Pasquale II for help.

After receiving instructions in a vision, Pope Pasquale cut down the walnut tree, dug up Nero’s bones, burned them and scattered them in the Tiber River. Nero and the spirits disappeared and residents built a chapel where the tree once grew.

In 1472 Pope Sixtus V built the current Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo on the spot. Inside, above the main alter, an arch depicts the act of cutting down the tree.

Ghost Stories from Rome piazza del popolo
Ghost Stories from Rome – Nero’s bones beneath Piazza del Popolo

Ghosts of the Colosseum

The Colosseum is easily Rome’s most recognizable structure. Construction on the huge stadium began in 72 AD and finished eight years later. Intended for entertainment, the Colosseum served as the site for public executions and battles to the death between gladiators. Historians speculate that between 500,000 and 1,000,000 deaths occurred within those stone walls.

It’s easy to see why the Colosseum reigns as the most haunted place in Rome…and perhaps the world.

Many staff members and visitors report paranormal experiences here. A lone Roman soldier stands guard at night, when the structure is closed to visitors. Others see ghostly crowds in the Colosseum that suddenly disappear and hear the sounds of gladiator battles.  Moans, screams and cries of pain echo through the subterranean passageways. Visitors report drops in temperature, floating orbs of light and the growls of invisible captive animals as well.

Julius Caesar’s ghost roams near the Colosseum. Legend has it that Caesar’s ashes were interred in a lead ball in what is now Cairo. When the sphere moved to Vatican City in 1585, Pope Sixtus V opened it to see if the ashes remained, releasing Caesar’s ghost to wander.

Ghost Stories from Rome colosseum
Ghost Stories from Rome – Colosseum

Exploring Rome

My daughter, grandson and I visited Italy in 2017. Our explorations began in Rome and ended there 12 days later.

Although the city possesses incredible energy, I did not experience any paranormal activities there. I could, however, feel the heaviness within the Colosseum. With it’s complex history, I think most everyone does. Perhaps if I visited the stadium at night, with the throngs of people absent, I might catch sight of a Roman soldier or hear the cries of the gladiators. Maybe next time…

Have you visited The Eternal City?

Ghost Stories from Rome trip
Standing in the Colosseum in 2017

October Ghost Stories Series 2021

Charleston, South Carolina

Glasgow, Scotland

Carthage, Missouri

 

 


 

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What I’m Reading Currently and Why

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October is National Book Month, giving readers everywhere the perfect excuse to curl up with a good book…or two or five! There’s something about the coziness of fall that invites a cup of hot tea and a good book, right?

Reading is one of the best things you can do to boost mental health. It stimulates the brain and reduces stress. Plus reading regularly improves vocabulary, spelling and memory. It’s a way to explore, without leaving your home, and a gateway to new places and ideas. Reading opens the heart and mind, educates and inspires. And finally, reading is a fun form of entertainment.

For National Book Month, here’s what I’m reading currently and why.

What I'm Reading Currently and Why title meme

What I’m Reading Currently and Why

I have five books on the table next to my chair. One I’ve taken my time reading this year. Another I’m reading for the second time. The hefty volume from Anthony William is an excellent resource for health. I completed Steve’s book for writers  this month, however it’s such a great read that I’m keeping it nearby. And the last one in the stack I received in the mail over the weekend. I just started reading it.

Four of this month’s books are nonfiction while one is fictional, set in Charleston, South Carolina.

Below is a brief synopsis of each book…and why it’s on my Currently Reading List.

Women Who Run With the Wolves

This deeply spiritual book, written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, is a must for any woman who wants to connect more profoundly with herself.

Within every woman lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity and ageless knowing. She is the Wild Woman who represents the instinctual nature of women.

Dr. Estes combines intercultural myths, fairy tales and stories to help women connect with the fierce, healthy, visionary aspects of self.

Why I’m Reading Women Who Run With the Wolves

This is my Year of the Wild Woman and what a great book to accompany me through 2021. It’s a deep read, stirring many thoughts and emotions in me, thus the slow journey through the book. I underline passages and take notes. I’m learning to unleash my inner wild woman and Clarissa’s book is the perfect guide for that desire.

Purchase Women Who Run With the Wolves HERE.

What I'm Reading Currently and Why wolves
What I’m Reading Currently and Why – Women Who Run With the Wolves

Write Like You Mean It

Author Steve Gamel offers keys to achieving writing success. Subtitled Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word, Steve shares stories from his own long writing career along with trade secrets, techniques and writing lessons for stronger content.

This incredibly helpful book covers the entire writing process, from the desire to write to organization to editing and publishing. Write Like You Mean It is perfect for aspiring or experienced writers, in all genres including blogging.

Read a more in depth review of the book HERE.

Why I Read Write Like You Mean It

This book was gifted to me by the publishers. However, I am asked daily to review books. I turn most of those requests down because I just don’t have time to do that many reviews. Occasionally though, a book so catches my interest that I agree. I am so grateful that I did for this book.

I love Steve’s conversational writing style. And his experiences in writing inspire me to keep improving what I create, day by day. This is a book I’ll re-read and refer to frequently.

Purchase Write Like You Mean It HERE.

What I'm Reading Currently and Why mean it
What I’m Reading Currently and Why – Write Like You Mean It

The House on Tradd Street

Author Karen White creates a thrilling…and spooky…mystery in this first book in a series of seven. Set in Charleston, South Carolina, the story follows an intriguing cast of characters, including Melanie Middleton, a realtor who sees ghosts.

Melanie specializes in the sale of historic homes. However, those old homes contain spirits that only she can see and hear. When an elderly man dies, and leaves Melanie his historic Tradd Street house, she discovers resident ghosts with secrets to reveal. With the help of writer Jack Trenholm, Melanie unravels a mystery of passion, heartbreak and murder.

Why I am Re-Reading The House on Tradd Street

The Tradd Street series inspired me to visit Charleston, to see the places that Karen so beautifully describes in the books. Since my return, I’m enjoying reading back through book one. It’s fun to recognize places such as Broad Street and the City Market and to clearly imagine Tradd Street after walking down that narrow lane several times.

The final book in the series, The Attic on Queen Street, releases in a couple of weeks. I’m excited to visit Charleston again, through this continuing story. After I finish book seven, I’ll write a review of the series.

Additionally, I relate to the character Melanie. She’s a psychic realtor who, in spite of her abilities, shows old houses and pushes beyond the fear. Sound familiar?

Order The House on Tradd Street HERE.

What I'm Reading Currently and Why tradd street
What I’m Reading Currently and Why – The House on Tradd Street

Cleanse to Heal

This health book in the Medical Medium series, written by Anthony William, offers a wealth of healing information. Pathogens and toxins are the cause of so many of our present day illnesses. Cleansing is a powerful way to nurture and protect the body while eliminating those troublemakers.

Anthony’s guide includes several different types of cleanses, 200 symptoms and conditions and precise supplement dosages to aid in your cleanse. And the oversized book features more than 75 delicious, health boosting recipes and sample menus.

Why I am Reading Cleanse to Heal

Fall is a great time to cleanse the body and boost the immune system. I’m doing the Anti-Bug Cleanse these last two weeks of October. The basics of this cleanse include drinking celery juice every morning, drinking at least 32 ounces of water a day, focusing on fruits and vegetables and avoiding certain foods.

I’m already plant based. During this cleanse I’m strictly avoiding salt, sugar, fats and oils plus vinegar, fermented foods and all grains except gluten free oats. Avoiding these foods while upping my nutritional level allows toxins to leave my blood and starves viruses and bacteria. I intend to enter the winter season, with its greater risk of bugs, as healthy as possible.

Purchase Cleanse to Heal HERE. And check out a more complete review of the book through this link.

What I'm Reading Currently and Why cleanse
What I’m Reading Currently and Why – Cleanse to Heal

The Happy Inbox

This little gem in The Empowered Productivity series, written by Maura Nevel Thomas, comes with the subtitle: How to Have a Stress-Free Relationship with Your Email and Overcome Your Communication Clutter. Did you know that a cluttered inbox creates low level anxiety? That feeling arises from the backlog of emails, that continues to grow, and all those notifications on your apps.

Making peace with the inbox gets rid of the anxiety, increases the ability to retrieve info quickly and allows you to spend less time managing communication and more time working toward goals.

Why I Am Diving in to The Happy Inbox

The request asking me to review this book dropped into my email at the right time! I feel overwhelmed by the daily deluge of communications coming into my inbox. And talk about a backlog of emails. I currently have more than 20,000.

I said Yes! to reading and offering a review of this book. Plus I feel excited to learn management techniques to get my inbox under control, once and for all. I’ve only begun to read and love this book already. Watch for a full review in a couple of weeks.

Order The Happy Inbox HERE.

What I'm Reading Currently and Why happy inbox
What I’m Reading Currently and Why – The Happy Inbox

Celebrate National Book Month

Fun ways to celebrate this month long event include:

  • read a new book
  • re-read a favorite book
  • visit your local library
  • listen to an audible book
  • write a book review
  • send a letter or an email to a favorite author
  • read out loud to a child or an elderly person
  • organize a book swap
  • start a book club

And share with me what you are currently reading…and why…in the comments below!

 

What I'm Reading Currently and Why stack

 

Cindy Goes Beyond is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate program provides a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, all at no extra cost to you.

Ghost Stories from Carthage

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure Policy for details.

For the third installment in this year’s spooky series, I feature a town close to home. Located 15 miles northeast of Joplin, Carthage, Missouri is the county seat of Jasper County.

This charming town offers stately Victorian homes, an annual Maple Leaf Festival and Parade and a magnificent 126 year old courthouse that dominates the downtown square.

While Joplin has strong roots in the mining industry, Carthage is deeply connected to the Civil War. The first major battle of that war between the states took place in Carthage. Subsequent skirmishes severely impacted the community and ultimately, most of the town was burned to the ground.

Perhaps that’s why this community is home to so many restless spirits. These are five of the ghost stories from Carthage.

Ghost Stories from Carthage title meme

A Divided Community

Carthage, named after the ancient Phoenician city, became the county seat in 1841. The federal government bought the land that formed Jasper County from the Osage Tribe 33 years earlier. Gradually settlers arrived and the community grew around a public square. By 1851 a two story brick courthouse occupied the center of that square. Businesses opened up around the perimeter, providing goods and services to the citizens of the growing town.

Civil War

By the time of the Civil War, Carthage claimed about 500 residents. The area divided over the issue of slavery. Many of Carthage’s early settlers arrived from the south. Others participated in the Underground Railroad movement.

Missouri, a border state, did not secede from the union. To the north lay Union states and to the south, the Confederate states. Missouri contained both pro-Confederate and pro-Union governments. Southwest Missouri additionally experienced violent skirmishes due to guerilla warfare along the Kansas border.

On July 5, 1861, 16 days before the Battle of Bull Run, armies of the North and South clashed in Carthage. The Second Battle of Carthage occurred in October of 1863. Multiple battles and skirmishes in the area resulted in the burning of the town, including the brick courthouse, by pro-Confederate guerrillas in September 1864.

After the war the community built back and thrived. Businesses reopened and Victorian style houses rose along wide streets. Nearby limestone quarries contributed to the prosperity of the community. And Route 66 brought travelers and tourists.

That energy from the Civil War still lingers in Carthage. Stories abound about people hearing cannons booming, where none now exist, and the cries of soldiers in battle, long after the war ended. These are the ghost stories from Carthage.

Ghost Stories from Carthage battle
Ghost Stories from Carthage – battle marker

Kendrick House

On the northern edge of Carthage sits the oldest surviving house in Jasper County. The Kendrick house, completed in 1856, is one of only three area houses that did not burn during the Civil War.

William and Elizabeth Kendrick finished the big house on the prairie, that another owner began in 1849. They planted crops and orchards on the land and operated successful blacksmith and gunsmith shops for many years. The Kendrick Family descendants occupied the house for 130 years until Victorian Carthage bought the property in the 1980s.

During the Civil War both Union and Confederate troops used the house as a hospital. The Kendrick’s enslaved woman was tortured and hung in the orchard by Confederate guerrillas who thought she hid a Union soldier.

And the Kendricks experienced tragedy in the house. Three of their sons died during the war years. William died in 1868, followed four years later by his wife. A granddaughter and her husband raised their family in the home and lost their young daughter Pauline there. The last person to die in the house was Carol Sue, the great granddaughter of William and Elizabeth, who passed away from polio just shy of her third birthday.

The Ghosts of Kendrick House

A great deal of paranormal activity occurs in this house. Locally owned Paranormal Science Lab conducted research during Haunted History tours of Kendrick House.

Among the evidence collected:

  • EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) all over the house, many of which refer to local Civil War battles and generals. In total, EVPs captured 12 distinct voices.
  • shadow people caught on camera and seen visually
  • orbs, bright balls of light that move
  • apparitions in the house and yard, including a man in a war uniform and a young girl in a plaid dress that often walks to a neighboring house and passes through the back door
  • cold spots and hot spots
  • objects that move on their own, especially curtains in upstairs windows that are frequently disturbed even when no on is in the house
  • the sounds of children laughing and playing upstairs
  • the ghosts of Pauline and Carol Sue, the young girls who died in the house
  • footsteps going up and down the stairs, when no one living is walking there
  • a black mass that appears at the top of the stairs
Ghost Stories from Carthage kendrick house
Ghost Stories from Carthage – Kendrick House

Jasper County Courthouse

The massive courthouse presiding over the square is impressive. Built in 1895 from Carthage stone mined in the nearby quarries, the turrets, towers and arches give the Romanesque Revival building the look of a fortified medieval castle. It took the place of the brick courthouse that burned during the war. Two workmen supposedly died during the construction. One fell from the clock tower. Another died from a fall while installing the elevator.

Besides battles fought on the grounds, public executions took place on the courthouse lawn and many, many dramas played out within the formidable walls. It’s no wonder that ghosts appear on this property.

Apparitions flit across the lawn. Footsteps are heard in the attic and bell tower, when no one is up there. Shadow figures appear there as well. When paranormal investigators set up equipment in the courthouse, batteries quickly drained and filming and audio interruptions occurred. It’s believed that ghosts pull energy from such devices, to strengthen their own presence.

The most activity occurs on the third floor, occupied by the courtrooms and court offices. Disembodied voices are heard and a shadowy figure frequents the women’s restroom on the third floor. I find this interesting. While in the women’s restroom in the Charleston Courthouse, I experienced the shadowy figure of a man standing in the corner. He faded away as I watched him.

Ghost Stories from Carthage courthouse
Ghost Stories from Carthage – Courthouse

Burlingame and Chaffee Opera House

Across the street from the courthouse stands the Burlingame and Chaffee Opera House building. It occupies the footprint of two former buildings, destroyed during the Carthage battles. Francis Chaffee constructed the current building in 1878, opening a hardware store on the lower level while the opera house took up the entire second floor. For years the people of Carthage enjoyed a variety of entertainment in the opera house. Then tragedy marred the space.

John McCrillis, who had purchased the lower level hardware store, found love letters written to his wife, from another man. After inviting the offending man to breakfast, the two ended up in the hardware store, where McCrillis shot him. The man died outside in the street.

Over the years, the building changed hands frequently, housing a variety of businesses. Then it sat empty until a couple from California bought it, with the intention of living on the upper floor while running a business from the lower level. During renovations the couple encountered numerous strange experiences including unexplainable noises and footsteps in the dark building during the night. They abandoned the building after hearing what sounded like cannon fire in the middle of the night.

Opera Ghosts

The current owner operates McBride’s Antiques on the main level. The most common paranormal activities include:

  • hearing footsteps upstairs, in the empty opera house
  • being followed around the shop by an unseen presence
  • apparitions of a grandmotherly woman and young boy seen and heard on the main level
  • disembodied voices
  • the sound of a cash register ringing and coins falling in the old opera house upstairs…where no cash register exists anymore
  • a dark, heavy presence on the backstairs leading up to the opera house
  • a shadow figure captured on film, standing at an upstairs window
  • at 3:00 pm most days, the sound of someone falling down the backstairs
  • the sound of a piano playing in the basement, where a saloon once was
  • cannon fire, musket fire and a woman crying, all in the basement as well
  • the ghost of a young girl seen walking through the basement, and interestingly, in the basements of other buildings around the square
Ghost Stories from Carthage opera house
Ghost Stories from Carthage – Opera House

Grand Avenue Bed and Breakfast

Built in 1893, this Queen Anne Victorian features stained glass windows, hardwood moldings and a grand staircase. For the past 23 years this beautiful “painted lady” functioned as a bed and breakfast offering guests a peek into the past with Victorian wallpapered rooms and antique furnishings.

One resident seems reluctant to leave this cozy space. No smoking is allowed in the house. However, guests report the strong and inexplicable scent of a cigar on the main level, in the parlor and dining room, when an unseen presence is around.

The smoking ghost is believed to be a former owner, Albert Carmean, who died in 1933.

Sadly, Grand Avenue Bed and Breakfast closed due to COVID. Visit their website though, for photos of the interior. You might understand why Albert chooses to stay.

Ghost Stories from Carthage - Grand House
Ghost Stories from Carthage – Grand Avenue Bed and Breakfast

Historic Phelps House

Also located on Grand Avenue, the Phelps House, built in 1895 from Carthage stone, is a whimsical mix of Beaux Arts, Classical Revival and Romanesque styles.

Colonel William Phelps built the home. An attorney, he became prominent in state politics and was actively involved in Carthage businesses. He knew tragedy however.

His first wife died in St. Louis in 1894, in a runaway carriage accident. She never got to live in the house. One of William’s daughters died at the age of 29, from tuberculosis. And a young son from William’s second marriage died while riding his bicycle in front of the house, after a car struck him.

The colonel’s second wife Bridgey sold the house to St. Ann’s Catholic Church Parish. Nuns who taught at St. Ann’s School occupied the house and used rooms on all three floors plus the basement as classrooms.

The Carthage Historic Preservation bought the deteriorating house in 1988 and restored it to its former grandeur. Today the property hosts weddings and events.

The ghosts at the Phelps House are benevolent. They turn off lights. Their footsteps are heard on the stairs. And unexplainable breezes spring up in closed rooms.

I include this haunting primarily because of my experience there. See my story about the Phelps House in the next section!

Ghost Stories from Carthage Phelps House
Ghost Stories from Carthage – Phelps House

My Experiences in Carthage

I love this charming community. My son and daughter in law and their family live in Carthage, so I visit this town often. And I’ve had several paranormal experiences there, including one while shooting photos in town earlier in the week. I wrote a post in 2015 about my experience in the old opera house. Read it HERE.

Kendrick House

Twice I’ve explored the Kendrick House, with the Paranormal Science Lab. It is fascinating, watching them use their meters and sensing tools and even more interesting observing the results. During my first visit a humorous thing happened to me. Sitting in the parlor, listening to Lisa with PSL speak, I became distracted by the sound of another voice. I could hear a woman speaking quietly, behind me, even though I sat in a corner against the wall. I even peered outside, through the window, but didn’t see anyone. So I mentally asked, “Who are you?” Immediately, the song Elvira began playing in my head. Just as I thought “that’s weird”, I tuned in to Lisa talking about one of the Kendricks…Joshua’s wife ELVIRA. Her ghost often makes itself known…in the parlor where we sat.

Phelps House

I first attended an event in the Phelps House with my mother in the early 2000s. A photographer captured our photo and then we explored the house with a large group and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner. I told my mother that I felt like spirits were following me around throughout the house. As we prepared to leave, we stopped by the photographer’s table to collect our photos. He apologized, explaining he didn’t know what happened. Distortions appeared in our photo and apparently, no other photographs except ours were affected. I’ve included that photograph at the end of this post. I’ll let you decide what’s going on!

Civil War Battlefield

And Wednesday, as I traveled around Carthage snapping photos for this post, I stopped by one of the battlefields, for the first time. Truthfully, much of the city classifies as a battlefield. This one, marked with a stone, is now a park with playgrounds and a soccer field. I felt strangely disappointed at how modern it all looked. Then I drove through the park. My scalp began to tingle, which is a signal to me that spirit energy is present. When I parked my car and walked over to read the engraved stone, my chest felt heavy and ached, an even stronger sign that negative energy is present. Finally, as I returned to my car, I could “hear”, in my mind, the sounds of battle and the cries of wounded men.

Do you believe in ghosts? As my tour guide John said, in Charleston, I’m not here to try and convince you. I’m sharing stories, mixed with history, and letting YOU decide. Next week, we are off to Rome, Italy.

Ghost Stories from Carthage spirits
What do you see in this photo from the Phelps House?

October Ghost Stories Series 2021

Ghost Stories from Charleston

Ghost Stories from Glasgow

Check out this book from Lisa, with Paranormal Science Lab:

 

 

Cindy Goes Beyond is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate program provides a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, all at no extra cost to you.

Write Like You Mean It

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure Policy for details.

Thank you to Brown Books Publishing for sending me a copy of Write Like You Mean It for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

If author Steve Gamel and I met, I feel like we’d instantly become friends. What would we talk about? Our conversation, peppered with laughter, would highlight the stories of our writing paths and the creative passion that fuels our journeys.

Instead of a chat over a cup of hot tea or coffee, however, what I have is a conversational style book that allows me a peek into Steve’s long and successful career as a writer. Filled with stories, lessons, strategies and tools, Write Like You Mean It is the perfect handbook for the beginner or the experienced writer.

Write Like You Mean It title meme

Meet Steve Gamel

Steve entered college intent on receiving a degree in broadcast journalism. After a professor criticized an article he wrote, with the scathing words, “Have you ever read a newspaper before?”, Steve dedicated himself to mastering the craft of writing.

In the years after college, Steve regularly wrote for such publications as the Dallas Morning News, Allen Publishing, Murray Media Group and his local paper, the Denton Record-Chronicle. Steve continually honed his skills by reading EVERYTHING and writing outside of the sports news genre. If there was a story to tell, any kind of story, he told it. Along the way he collected national, state and local writing awards.

In 2014 Steve founded a writing and editing service called Edit This. With his debut book, Steve desires to connect with other writers and share what he’s learned. The conversations in the book revolve around writing, writers and how we can all master our passion for the written word.

“Write Like You Mean It means putting all your heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into your passion for writing. Our words are our stock in trade. We are craftsmen. We are artists. Furthermore, our audience deserves to see and feel each word we put on a page. I want writers to realize that whatever they’ve written deserves to see the light of day rather than being tucked away on a dusty bedroom shelf somewhere. They need to believe in themselves, and they need to believe in their writing. I think the tools, tips, life hacks, resources, and
examples in this book will help writers from all walks of life write like they mean it.” Steve Gamel

Write Like You Mean It steve
Write Like You Mean It author Steve Gamel

Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word

The book offers a wealth of information, tips and actionable steps, gathered from Steve’s years of experience as a writer. It’s broken into three sections.

Start Writing

This opening section begins at the beginning! With chapters on overcoming fear, developing a writer’s checklist, active voice, tools for the trade and writer’s block, Steve helps us get out of our own way by moving beyond the fear and into the mechanics.

Steve supplies examples of work, illustrating his points, and tips for improving skills. These are helpful for all writers.

Writing to a Purpose

The middle section moves deeper into the world of writing and includes chapters on active listening, research and organization, nonfiction, fiction, storytelling for all styles of writing and freelancing.

I learned early in my journey that purpose connects strongly to my writing. Without purpose, I flounder. This section in the book fired up my heart and challenged me to continue to develop my craft.

Write Like You Mean It to Be Read

The final section of the book includes the important editing process, how to market what you’ve poured your heart and soul into and the different ways of publishing work.

Steve concludes with the perfect list of takeaways from his book:

  • move beyond fears
  • master the active voice and basic mechanics of writing
  • recognize that writer’s block is a teacher
  • stay organized and keep your audience in mind
  • tell stories
  • stay open to feedback and develop a writing community
  • read, read, read
  • write each sentence better than yesterday
  • market yourself and your work
  • celebrate every opportunity for publishing work
Write Like You Mean It computer
Write Like You Mean It – my writing tools. I always have a stack of notebooks nearby.

My Thoughts on Write Like You Mean It

I deeply appreciate this book. Reading it reminded me of my own writing journey.

I knew by the age of eight that I wanted to write. My mom bought me a little typewriter and off I went, crafting stories. My path meandered through toying with a novel, writing children’s stories, creating homeschool curriculum to use with my kids and finally, blogging.

At the end of 2013, I connected a strong purpose to my desire to write…and created my blog, Going Beyond. See my first, makes-me-cringe-now post HERE.

During the last nine years I worked on finding my voice and narrowing my niche. I invested in myself and learned about SEO, finding my audience, improving my writing and marketing through social media. And I moved the blog to a site I can monetize and changed the name slightly. While I still have a toe in real estate…my heart and soul light up when I write. The passion to write burns within me and I not only welcome it, I fan it.

Write Like You Mean It empowers me to become the best writer possible and to focus, really focus, on the nonfiction book I’m “writing on the side”.

Write Like You Mean It cindy
Write Like You Mean It – queen of my writing kingdom

Who Can Benefit from Write Like You Mean It?

Whatever your genre…fiction, poetry, a blog, magazine articles or nonfiction…this book is for you. Aspiring writers, struggling writers and professional writers all benefit from Steve’s expert knowledge, tips and practices.

Plus, he delivers the keys to success in a friendly, down-to-earth style that resonates with the writer within and encourages a higher level of skill.

When you finish the book, you too might feel like you’ve just enjoyed a lively and enlightening conversation with a friend, a writer friend, who wants the very best for you.

How does that sound to you?

Pick up your copy of Write Like You Mean It by clicking this Amazon LINK. Grab a cup of coffee or a hot tea, open the book, and join the conversation.

 

Write Like You Mean It flatlay

 

Cindy Goes Beyond is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate program provides a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, all at no extra cost to you.

 

Ghost Stories from Glasgow

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure Policy for details.

It’s the second Friday in October and time for the next post in the ghost story series. Last week the spooky tales hailed from Charleston.

This week we cross the sea to the ancient city of Glasgow, in Scotland. Founded in the 6th century, on the River Clyde, the burgh grew to become Scotland’s capital city.  Today it features amazing architecture, a bustling art community and a thriving night life. Young adults hitting the pubs aren’t the only ones active at night. Check out these ghost stories from Glasgow for a peek into the city’s dark side.

Ghost Stories from Glasgow title meme

World’s Friendliest City

Voted the World’s Friendliest City, Glasgow is indeed a fun, inviting city. I’ve visited twice. While there I love listening to the locals and chatting with them about their city.

Due to its age and long history, the city doesn’t lack ghostly locations with things that go bump in the night.

The Necropolis

Called the “city of the dead”, the Necropolis is a sprawling Victorian cemetery located behind Glasgow Cathedral. It is the final resting place for more than 50,000 people. Wandering among the creepy statues, gothic tombs and elaborate mausoleums, it’s not difficult to imagine all manner of ghosts hiding here.

The Woman in White floats among the tombstones in the wee hours of the night, just before darkness gives way to morning light. People claim to see her and hear her murmurs as she passes by.

In addition to a low lying mist that often appears at night, visitors also report disembodied whispers coming from graves and mausoleums. Professional ghost hunters caught the apparition of a child next to a grave when they live streamed their visit to the Necropolis online. And some claim to witness statues in the cemetery changing their facial expressions. Don’t blink! (Doctor Who reference)

Ghost Stories from Glasgow necropolis
Ghost Stories from Glasgow – the Necropolis

Cathedral House Hotel

Across from the Necropolis sits the Cathedral House Hotel. Built in 1887 as a hostel for inmates, it housed prisoners released from nearby Duke Street Penitentiary, where some of Scotland’s worst criminals were incarcerated.

Today the building is a boutique hotel and considered one of the most haunted places in Glasgow.

Duke Street Penitentiary executed many of its inmates. It’s believed that some of those restless spirits haunt Cathedral House Hotel, including the last women hanged at the prison in 1923, Susan Newell.

Visitors report a presence on the stairs that brushes up against them and a mischievous boy who disappears into the wall in the pub downstairs. Others hear ghost children running and playing in the attic. One story suggests that a woman released from prison was reunited with her two children. Distraught and fearful, the woman supposedly drowned her children in one of the hostel’s bathtubs. It may be her children who haunt the top floor.

Furniture and other items in the hotel appear to move on their own.

Ghost Stories from Glasgow cathedral house hotel
Ghost Stories from Glasgow – Cathedral house Hotel

Glasgow Royal Infirmary

This hospital has continuously cared for the sick and dying in Glasgow for 227 years. Most hospitals contain spirits. The Royal Infirmary is no exception. Even the doctors and nurses can’t explain away the supernatural occurrences there.

The most documented stories from the infirmary include the following:

The Floating Sister at first appears as a staff member making her rounds…until one realizes she’s only visible from the knees up. It’s thought the ghost is walking along on an older floor that has since been removed.

Archie the Whisperer haunts ward 27 at the infirmary. He appears at the bedside of dying patients, an elderly man wearing a hair bun.

The Grey Lady walks silently down hallways and disappears through doors.

And a very recent story tells of a doctor responding to a call to help a man who suffered a heart attack. As the doctor approached the patient’s room, a man asked him for directions on how to exit the hospital. The doctor pointed him in the right direction and continued to the patient’s room. There he discovered the patient already dead…and that he was the same man the doctor had just given directions to.

Ghost Stories from Glasgow infirmary
Ghost Stories from Glasgow – Royal Infirmary

Provan Hall

Provan Hall, in Glasgow’s east end, is one of the city’s most paranormally active locations. Built in the 15th century as a hunting lodge for the bishops of Glasgow, the hall hosted historical guests including Mary Queen of Scots and King James V. It houses some well documented ghosts as well.

The Man with the Dagger haunts the main bedroom in the hall. In the 19th century this man returned home after two years at war to find his wife had given birth to a child. In a rage, he killed both and continues to angrily stalk the room.

Reston Mather is the last private owner of the house. He most commonly lurks on the staircase, sporting a white beard and wearing a black bowler hat and dark clothes. He died of breathing difficulties and paranormal investigators report feeling breathless on the stairs.

The upper floor of Provan Hall is haunted by the ghosts of a woman and a young boy who died there. People report seeing them peering from the upstairs windows as they walk by.

Ghost Stories from Glasgow provan hall
Ghost Stories from Glasgow – Provan Hall

Theatre Royal

Theatre Royal on Hope Street is the oldest theatre in Glasgow. It originally opened as the Royal Colosseum and Opera House in 1867 and shortly after, renamed itself the Theatre Royal Glasgow. Although burned in the fire of 1875, the building was restored.

Nora, a cleaning woman and would be actress, is the theatre’s most famous ghost. After begging for an audition from the theatre manager, Nora failed to realize her dream. In fact, they laughed her off the stage. She jumped to her death from an upper balcony in the theatre . People report hearing moaning, crying and doors banging shut from the upper circle and sensing a presence up there. Objects move about. A lone workman suffered a hit to the head from a hammer while working in the roof area in 2006.

Another oft sighted ghost is that of a fireman who died in an electrical fire at the theatre in 1969. He appears wearing his dated uniform, staring at musicians in the orchestra pit. The fireman ghost stirs up activity in the basement also, tormenting workers there and moving tools.

Ghost Stories from Glasgow theatre
Ghost Stories from Glasgow – Theatre Royal

The October Ghost Series

Although I’ve visited Glasgow twice, spending several nights there the first time and one night the second, I do not have any paranormal experiences of my own to share. I do sense interesting, watchful energy in the Necropolis. You won’t find me wandering there in the dark of night! Perhaps on my next visit, I’ll spend a night at the Cathedral House Hotel.

Have you visited Glasgow, Scotland? Did you experience any hauntings?

Check back each Friday in October, for a new set of ghost stories from different cities.

Necropolis grave
Not a sight you want to see in the Necropolis!

Glasgow Finds from Amazon:

 

 


 

 

Cindy Goes Beyond is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate program provides a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, all at no extra cost to you.

Creating a Strong Sense of Self

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure Policy for details.

A sense of self means that you know, without a doubt, who you are and what is meaningful in life for you. It’s the answer to the question that most of us have, “Who am I?”

Creating a strong sense of self is important for several reasons. Knowing who you are and what’s important to you allows you to set specific goals, dream your own dreams, set boundaries with others and become aware of your own strengths and unique qualities. A strong sense of self helps with decision making, protects well being and even reduces stress.

Holistic  psychotherapist, Sonia Fregoso, says, “Having a sense of self is vital to mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. It becomes our inner compass for every interaction with others. Your sense of self tells you what boundaries you need to place with others and how to make decisions that will serve you. It also enables you to reflect on the things that don’t serve you and evolves to help you survive, adapt and ultimately thrive.”

That’s how important creating a strong sense of self is. Following are eight ways to develop your own sense of self.

Creating a Strong Sense of Self title meme

Know Yourself

The place to start, in creating a strong sense of self, is to KNOW yourself. You must know your convictions, beliefs, values, dreams, ambitions, passions and truths. You must learn what is most important to you in life.

Grab a notebook or journal and ask yourself these questions:

  1. What do I enjoy doing?
  2. And what do I dislike doing?
  3. In others, what behaviors and actions send alarm signals to me?
  4. And what behaviors and actions melt my heart?
  5. In life, what is most important to me?
  6. What makes me feel stuck? Small? Invisible?
  7. And what makes me feel expansive? Living big? Compassionate?
  8. What goals and dreams do I have?
  9. What do I stand strongly for?
  10. If I could do ANYTHING, without money being a concern, what would I do?

Take your time answering the questions. Sit with them for a time. Allow the answers to rise to the surface of your consciousness.

If nothing comes to mind, back up to self acceptance and self gratitude, which are the beginning of self love and vital to sense of self. Learning who we are is a process. Often we have to undo training that attempts to mold us into who we are not. Be gentle and patient with yourself. Lose the fear of fitting in.

And, as you grow, who you are deepens. You discover more truths about yourself, uncover dreams and passions you didn’t know you had. I keep a little mascot, Absolem the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, on my writing table with his famous words nearby: “Who are you?”. His presence reminds me to ask that question often.

Creating a Strong Sense of Self who are you
Creating a Strong Sense of Self – who are you?

Make Decisions That Are Best for You

Do you make decisions that are in alignment with who you are? Or do you make decisions to please other people, avoid conflicts or to live up to the expectations of others?

A strong sense of self allows you to weigh decisions against what you know to be true, in your heart and soul. You develop that sense of deep knowing that guides you. A decision that goes against who you are pulls you out of alignment with yourself. You’ll feel that as an “out of sorts” feeling. You feel out of sorts because you are pulled out of who you are.

A good question to ask when considering decisions is this one: “What would I decide, if I was alone?”

Should we ever make decisions that compromise who we are? No, however we make decisions that meet others where they are, with who we are. Part of creating a strong sense of self means we stand our ground, on things that are important to us and allow others to do the same. We can still be in relationships with others. And we can make decisions that benefit others, as long as we do not give up pieces of who we are, to keep imagined peace.

Do What Nourishes Your Soul

Creating a strong sense of self allows us to explore the things we enjoy doing, on a deep level. And we find ways to do those things, even if we do them alone. Nourishing the soul is vital and carving out the time to do those things, just as vital.

What activities make you feel joyful, satisfied and energized? Do more of those things.

I enjoy watching movies. They speak to me on a level that goes beyond entertainment. As a young adult, I wanted people to go with me to the movie theater and to see films as I saw them. I’d feel disappointed that others didn’t see the deeper truths in the films or shrugged off the movie as a waste of time. I learned to go to the movie theater alone, if no one else wanted to go. And now I mostly go alone and enjoy the experience very much. Movie watching nourishes my soul as does gardening, creating beautiful spaces in my home, traveling and writing.

What nourishes yours?

Creating a Strong Sense of Self fall
Creating a Strong Sense of Self – do what you love, to nourish your soul

Express Yourself and Set Firm Boundaries

Learning to express yourself, in a calm and meaningful way, flows from your sense of self. And to express yourself, you have to know what you believe in, what you stand for and what stirs your compassion or fires up your perception of right and wrong. Having a strong sense of self allows you to express your beliefs without forcing others to agree with you.

It also allows you to set healthy boundaries with others, who are not allowed to force YOU to agree with them. Without a strong sense of self, it is easy to fall into people pleasing and overaccommodation and just as easy to lose yourself. Setting boundaries limits anything and anyone wanting to consume your time and energy.

Without the sense of self to anchor you, you may feel anxious, lost, depressed, hopeless or worthless when confronted with the beliefs of others who may argue them strongly. Feeling those emotions alerts you that your boundaries have been crossed. Setting firm boundaries lets you to distinguish your feelings and beliefs from someone else’s feelings and beliefs and limit their impact.

A few suggestions:

  • set boundaries early in a relationship, so each person knows where the other stands in beliefs
  • be consistent about your boundaries otherwise it encourages others to trample them
  • communicate honestly and openly, especially if someone routinely oversteps your boundaries

Keep Growing as a Person

This is an ongoing journey, discovering sense of self. Keep learning about yourself. Spend time alone. It’s the only way you will deepen your awareness of who you are and who you are becoming.

Try new experiences, to see what you like or dislike. Develop ideas. Dream dreams and then set goals, even baby step goals, to realize those hopes. Take classes on subjects you want to learn more about. Read widely.

And travel, whether you explore your own community, do road trips across your home country or experience a totally different culture across the sea. Go alone or with others. Travel moves you beyond your comfort zone, which brings new opportunities, and expands your perspectives.

Creating a Strong Sense of Self travel
Creating a Strong Sense of Self – travel to keep growing

Adapt to Change

Adapting to change requires a mindset shift. Although many don’t like this fact, change is inevitable.

I adopted an “open to everything, attached to nothing” mindset about 15 years ago and it shifted my ability to flow with change. When something happens that I’m not expecting, I am able see it as what’s supposed to be. How do I know? Because it happened. Detaching from outcomes prevents bitterness and disappointment and actually builds trust.

Refusal to accept change creates rigidity and ultimately leads to feeling frustrated, stuck or stagnant. Embracing change, when it happens, creates opportunities to grow, adapt and learn flexibility and creativity.

Tune in to Your Emotions

This has been a biggie for me. I spent many years of my life refusing to feel what I considered negative emotions such as anger and sadness. That caused a  fracture in my soul and I divided myself into what I considered a “normal” self and a hidden “weird” self…or a light and dark side.

To be absolutely who we are, we need all of ourselves present…the normal and the weird, the light and the dark, the positive emotions and the negative emotions. I’m a stronger person, embracing my whole self. Plus my self acceptance and self love grew from uniting all my separate parts into a whole being.

To tune in to your emotions, spend time in solitude, meditate, pray, journal your feelings…all of them…practice positive self talk and write out affirmations that begin with “I am…”.

Create a Personal Manifesto

A manifesto is a statement of intentions and ideals. Think of it as a mission statement or a declaration of beliefs, desires and values.

A personal manifesto helps us to evaluate where we are in life, and provides clarity on where we want to go. It can provoke change, encourage shifts and inspire forward momentum.

Each person’s manifesto is uniquely his or her own, reflecting journeys, beliefs, desires and wisdom. And it is an ideal way to clarify your sense of self.

Manifestos can and will change as you grow. I’ve created two…in the last two years. You can read my latest manifesto HERE and gain insight on how to create your own.

Place your manifesto in an easy to access place, so you can read it often.

Creating a Strong Sense of Self be me
Being me

Do You Have a Strong Sense of Self?

Who are you? Do you have a strong sense of self that keeps you centered, protected and free from the expectations of others?

The best part, perhaps, of creating a strong sense of self is that it allows others the freedom to do the same. When I’m strong and secure in who I am, I can appreciate others strengths more, even if we don’t agree on all of our beliefs. And if I am pulled off center, I can easily right myself and return to center again. Sense of self keeps me from placing expectations on others and gives me the incredible freedom to pursue my interests and passions while those I care about pursue theirs.

I’m still learning new things about myself and growing, on this journey called life.

Where are you on your journey? May this post help serve as a compass for you, as you explore your inner self.

Compass

 

Roadmaps for the journey, from Amazon:

Women Who Run with the Wolves

Untamed

 

Cindy Goes Beyond is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate program provides a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, all at no extra cost to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ghost Stories from Charleston

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It’s October! And that means every Friday this month is a Ghost Stories from…post. I started this series last October and it was so fun to write. Readers enjoyed the posts as well, encouraging me to feature a new series of ghost stories this year. (Check out the first post in last year’s series HERE.)

I’m excited to lead off this year with Ghost Stories from Charleston.

Charleston, South Carolina, with its long history spanning 350+ years, possesses its share of ghost stories. I just recently returned from a fun trip to this beautiful city. Those stories are fresh on my mind!

Ghost Stories from Charleston title meme

A City Full of Energy

Through the centuries, Charleston experienced battles, sieges, fires, malaria, pirates, hurricanes and earthquakes. It was also a major hub for the trading of enslaved peoples. The citizens of Charleston continue to learn and grow as a result of their complicated history. And specific sites in the city continue to carry energy from those past situations and circumstances.

That swirl of energy that impacts a place is typically called a haunting.

I collected a number of ghost stories while in Charleston and had a few paranormal experiences myself while there. After much deliberation, I narrowed the stories down to five for this post. Here are the Ghost Stories from Charleston.

Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

Located at 122 East Bay Street in Charleston, the Old Exchange’s story is intertwined with all the eras of the city’s history. Today the Old Exchange and the dungeons below are a museum, offering daily tours.

Built in the late 1700s, the Exchange stood on land previously occupied by the Half Moon Battery and the Court of Guard. The dungeons below received its first pirate captives in 1718.

That summer the pirate Blackbeard blockaded Charleston Harbor, holding local citizens captive until the city agreed to provide medicine for the pirate’s crew. Stede Bonnet, known as the “gentleman pirate”, joined Blackbeard in pillaging the city. Eventually Captain Rhett of Charleston captured Bonnet and  his crew and imprisoned them in the damp, dark dungeon where they remained until their deaths by the noose. Other prisoners were left chained to die in the dungeon, sometimes by drowning when water flooded the underground rooms.

Unsurprisingly, there are many accounts of ghostly activity in the dungeon. Visitors report hearing cries, screams and moans. Old chains swing by themselves, people step into inexplicably cold spots and they capture orbs darting about. Some people even report being pushed, choked or scratched.

Upstairs in the Exchange visitors sometimes see men dressed in Revolution style clothing. These specters disappear when approached.

Ghosts Stories from Charleston provost dungeon
Ghost Stories from Charleston – Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

White Point Garden

This park at the tip of the Charleston peninsula offers the shade of beautiful live oak trees and spectacular views of Charleston Harbor. However, before the park opened as a public space in 1837, it was the city’s execution site for criminals and pirates.

Stede Bonnet and his pirate crew imprisoned in the dungeon? This is where they were hanged, in the oak trees at White Point.

After a guilty verdict for Bonnet and 30 members of his crew, the pirates were hung in the trees, their bodies left there for weeks as a grim warning to other pirates. Eventually their decomposed bodies ended up in the nearby marsh.

Those pirate souls haunt the park and the surrounding area, especially at night. Reports include floating apparitions, screams and the sight of swaying bodies hanging from the trees. The story goes that if you stand on Water Street and look down, you can see the faces of the executed pirates staring up from the water’s surface.

Ghost Stories from Charleston white point garden
Ghost Stories from Charleston – White Point Garden

Poogan’s Porch

Charleston is famous for its Lowcountry cuisine. Foodies from around the world travel to the city to experience award winning restaurants.

This famous restaurant at 72 Queen Street, Poogan’s Porch, offers fine southern food and one of the city’s friendliest ghosts.

Poogan was a small stray dog that roamed the neighborhood. When the restaurant was still a residence, the pup stopped by often for food, water and a chance to rest on the covered front porch. When the house transitioned into a restaurant, Poogan became a regular there, greeting diners on the porch and weaving among the tables inside, looking for scraps of food on the floor.

Poogan died in 1979, at a ripe old age. He’s buried in the front yard of the restaurant. However, diners claim the little dog’s spirit still roams the restaurant. They feel him brush against their legs under the tables, while eating.

And there are reports of another ghost wandering about in Poogan’s Porch. A former resident of the old house, Zoe, walks around the restaurant, searching for her sister who died many years ago. This ghost supposedly knocks over water glasses, slams doors and calls out her sister’s name.

Ghost Stories from Charleston poogans porch
Ghost Stories from Charleston – Poogan’s Porch

Dock Street Theatre

On this site at 135 Church Street, the historic Dock Street Theatre was built in 1735. (Read more about its history HERE.) The original theatre burned to the ground in the Charleston Fire of 1740. Another theatre took its place and then in 1809, the building became the Planter’s Hotel.

After the Civil War, the once luxurious hotel fell victim to neglect and later suffered damage during the 1886 earthquake that rocked the city. For 50 years the grand building sat vacant before renovations brought it back to life in the 1930s and 40s as a theatre again.

After another round of major renovations in the 2000s, the theatre serves as a cultural hub for the city. It also serves as home to numerous ghosts.

Theatre guests report seeing ghosts in the rafters and apparitions on the stage. While many sightings occur all over the building, two spirits are seen more often than others.

Junius Booth

Junius Booth, who performed at the former hotel with his troupe, appears frequently. He is the father of presidential assassin, John Wilkes Booth. It’s rumored that he once got into an argument with the hotel manager and tried to kill him. He is seen walking around on stage and wandering the hallways.

Nettie Dickerson

The spirit most often spotted at Dock Street Theatre is Nettie, a beautiful prostitute who visited the Planter’s Hotel during the 1840s. The story goes that Nettie, angry at Charleston high society and her station in life, stepped out onto the second story balcony during a storm. Wearing her best red dress, she shouted out her frustrations. A bolt of lightning struck Nettie, killing her.

People claim to see Nettie, wandering around the theatre, still wearing her vibrant red dress, although it appears tattered now. They say the woman no longer appears beautiful but more zombie like.

Ghost Stories from Charleston dock street theatre
Ghost Stories from Charleston – Dock Street Theatre

St Philip’s Church and Graveyard

Originally built in 1681, this church burned in the Fire of 1835. They rebuilt the current church in 1838 with the steeple added in 1850. A graveyard surrounds the structure and a cemetery sits across the street.

Many notable people rest in the graveyard and cemetery including signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Not all of those buried are at rest though, which is why this church is known for its ghosts.

The most famous of the St Philip’s ghosts is Sue Howard.

Sue, who attended church at St Philip’s, gave birth to a stillborn baby on June 10, 1888. She died six days later, from complications from the delivery. The grieving mother cannot rest as she mourns for her child. Sue’s ghost was captured in a famous photo, taken in 1987, kneeling over the grave of her child. Other visitors claim to hear the sound of a crying baby in the cemetery.

Ghost Stories from Charleston
Ghost Stories from Charleston – St Philip’s Church and cemetery

The October Ghost Series

I’m sharing ghost stories from five different cities this month. Check back every Friday, for a new post.

There are many more ghost stories associated with Charleston. Perhaps I’ll share more stories soon or include a Ghost Stories from Charleston 2 next year. I highly recommend Ghost City Tours, when you visit Charleston, for a wonderfully entertaining and informative nighttime tour.

While exploring this gorgeous city I had a few experiences of my own, including feeling dark, heavy energy in White Point Garden and near the Old Exchange. And I saw several spirits in different locations. I’m an intuitive though, who has seen ghosts since early childhood. Most people don’t see or hear the spirits that are, actually, all around us. They sense them though, on a subconscious level, more than they realize.

Do you believe in ghosts? By the end of this month, you just might!

Ghost Stories from Charleston dock street theatre
Ghost Stories from Charleston – interior of Dock Street Theatre

 

Charleston Finds from Amazon:


 

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