#Kent Paranormal Weekend

[jess-the-reckless]

Hype time. I have an e-book free at the moment to get people in the mood for the one I’m currently working on, which is a sequel to this peculiar little baby of mine. Well, I say little, but it’s a 100k+ chonker, which is hefty for me. I usually aim for about 80k to get the thing done, but I was having so much fun with Ghosted that it ran long. It gave me the opportunity to tell some ghost stories, and I love, love, love telling ghost stories.

Writing Good Omens made me thirsty for more supernatural silliness, so I cooked this up to satisfy that need. It was also a reaction to a really, really bad book that will remain nameless, because while I loved its premise (romance about paranormal investigators hooking up) it sucked so lamentably that I felt the need to take the premise and do it my way. I think there’s still a line in Ghosted that references one of my objections, which is that the paranormal investigators all went to bed at 11pm. You don’t need to be an expert in the paranormal to know that this is not remotely how ghosts work.  They work nights. They keep long, unsociable hours that leave investigators sitting up – usually bored out of their brains while waiting for something spooky to happen. Plenty of time on those tedious ghost vigils to have deep, probing conversations, and maybe contemplate sucking each other’s dicks.

The book starts out in the ghost-factory of a city that is New Orleans, but swiftly gets roadtrippy due to my desire to include the things about Supernatural that I liked. I make no apologies for my workaday exorcist Jason Kent being extremely Dean Winchester coded. He’s got the shitty father, the trunk full of esoteric weapons, the haunted sibling, and all of the attendant angst that goes along with that. I really loved the whole all-in-a-day’s work vibe of Supernatural, where you rattle from one crappy motel to another doing paranormal grunt work, although (full-disclosure) I dropped out somewhere in S6 because everything after the apocalypse felt like an anti-climax to me. The only episode I really remember from S6 was Weekend at Bobby’s, which was a masterpiece on a par with the one with the haunted lucky rabbit’s foot.

I did enjoy the angel, though, which is why he gets a shoutout in the name of the other lead – Ange. His name is French for angel, and short for Desanges – of the angels. It seemed an appropriately no-we’re-totally-Catholic-honest handle for a Haitian-American baby boy born on the second of October, the official Catholic feast day of the Guardian Angels. Although it doesn’t come up that much in Ghosted it did give me the opportunity to fold in some of that delicious voudou research I did for Code Noir, and close readers might spot a connecting thread there between Ange and Gabrielle from the latter book. I’m way too fascinated by syncretic religions, and the second book will dip into Ange’s palo inheritance on his Puerto Rican mother’s side.

But that’s to come. The big deal with Ange in Ghosted is that he’s my favourite kind of character to write – a fast-talking grifter whose head is permanently a-swivel for the next big opportunity. He’s Oda Mae Browning it up in an influencer’s haunted mansion in New Orleans when he meets Jason, who is there to exorcise a kitchen-centric ghost who is really shitting on the owner’s dreams of launching a cookbook. It’s lust at first sight on Ange’s part, but because Jason is a lonely weirdo who prefers anonymous sex at truck stops he ghosts Ange afterwards.

And that’s when Ange finds out he’s been ghosted in more ways than one. That exorcism in New Orleans? Yeah. It didn’t take. The ghost just…relocated, and now Ange really needs the services of an exorcist. I had an absurd amount of fun with this book. It’s stupid, spooky, and full of lots and lots of creepy little things that got my blood pumping as a storyteller, like the twin aunts who turned into Collyer Brothers-level hoarders in their New Orleans mansion, or the nuclear scientist obsessed with Glenn Miller. And then there’s Melissa, the most Californian ghost of all time, who started out as a plot point and a pair of rainbow sneakers, and then morphed into a character so fun that she’s absolutely coming back for the sequel. Same with cat-lady researcher Celine, who I plan to bring back for book three. And oh yes, there’s going to be a book three. No need to stop when you’re enjoying yourself, right?  

[moorheadthanyoucanhandle]

MANSE MACABRE

Opening this weekend:

Haunted Mansion--Bereaved, bitter and a staunch nonbeliever in ghosts: These are perhaps not the optimum character traits for a tour guide of supposedly haunted houses in New Orleans. But before Ben (LaKeith Stanfield) unhappily landed in that job, he was a scientist who invented a camera intended to detect ghostly presences.

Thus Ben is drawn into a team of paranormal misfits, along with shady exorcist Father Kent (Owen Wilson), shady medium Harriet (Tiffany Haddish) and Bruce (Danny DeVito), a rumpled history professor, to help a young single mother (Rosario Dawson) and her son (Chase W. Dillon) who have moved into the title Louisiana domicile. The place isn't just a little bit haunted; this mansion is teeming with nearly a thousand unquiet spirits, tyrannically presided over by the "Hatbox Ghost" (Jared Leto).

After my visit in 1972, if you had asked my ten-year-old self which was my favorite ride at Disney World in Florida, I would probably have told you that it was the Nautilus submarine ride from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (long since retired). But the close second place would have gone to The Haunted Mansion, on which this extravagant Disney feature is based. I vividly remember riding past the mirrors and seeing a greenish spectral figure sitting between me and my sister in the car. The movie brought back other flourishes from the ride: the talking busts, the stretching portraits, the dueling ghosts.

There was an earlier film based on the ride in 2003, The Haunted Mansion (the new version's title dispenses with the definite article), starring Eddie Murphy. The current movie, directed by Justin Simien from a script by Katie Dippold, seems better to me than that forgettable effort, but unfortunately only a little better. Simien and Dippold and the actors try for a little depth of feeling along with the comedy, but the film feels poky and unfocused, and doesn't pick up much momentum until the reasonably exciting last twenty minutes or so.

Still, it's a good-hearted movie, with an engaging cast. Stanfield, chillingly haunted in Get Out, makes a sympathetic leading man here. Haddish's hoarse, hammy inflections as the soothsayer are funny, as are DeVito's blunt line readings as the prof; Dawson and young Dillon are pleasant as the hapless householders. As Madame Leota, the disembodied head in the crystal ball, Jamie Lee Curtis proves, if you'll pardon me saying so, spirited.

Mild as this Haunted Mansion is--I can't imagine it being truly scary to any but the littlest moviegoers--I was a bit startled, and amused, by its subtext. When we finally get some backstory on the Hatbox Ghost, there are striking paralells to another power-hungry figure who stubbornly refuses to depart from the contemporary American psyche. It could be that our nation's most perniciously haunted mansion these days is Mar-A-Lago.

[astonishinglegends]

Ep 107: EVPs at the KPW

Cathi Webber, while conducting an "EVP" recording session at the Kent Stage on Saturday night, April 28, 2018 asks, "If Merle is present, Merle, did you like a Dark Roast on your coffee or did you like something a little lighter?”  Merle Mollenkopf, poet, long-time Kent Stage volunteer, Ghost Tour guide, and coffee aficionado, who passed away on February 27, 2013, responded, "Dark Roast." 

Location:

The Kent Stage in Kent, OH.  This historic theater, constructed in 1927, first presented "Talkies" or motion pictures that had the newly added feature of dialog & sound, as well as occasional vaudeville acts.  Today it hosts everything from musical acts to films and the Kent Paranormal Weekend, which features noted authors, researchers and presenters in the Paranormal field, and includes Ghost Walks and a Ghost Hunt because the theater is also notoriously haunted!

Background:

One of the highlights of our appearance at the Kent Paranormal Weekend was participating in our very first Ghost Hunt!  The event took place at the Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio which was first built in 1927 and since then has continued to host concerts, films, and various performances.  The theater is also host to a cast of characters who were once somehow connected to this historic theater and whose spirits remain there.  We explored the most haunted areas of the theater and tried our hand at documenting spirit activity, guided by experienced paranormal investigators Theresa Argie & Cathi Weber, known as The Haunted Housewives, Ray "Gooz" Goosby, Jeff and Susie from the North Canton Paranormal Detectives team, and theater owner Richelle Charlton. One of the techniques we tried is trying to capture an "EVP" or an instance of Electronic Voice Phenomenon, which some claim could be evidence of communication with the spirit world. Electronic Voice Phenomena are said to occur when a question is asked aloud in a haunted location, or even unprompted, and what sounds like a reply is heard in an audio recording.  This hunt captured something we're convinced, believe what you may, and that when you call out into the void, you might get an answer. 

Reference Links:

The Kent Stage in Kent, OH

Electronic Voice Phenomenon 

"We don't hear with our ears, we hear with our brain."

Theresa Argie & Cathi Weber, "The Haunted Housewives" 

Cathi Weber's website 

Cathi Weber's Willoughby Ghost Walk 

Ray "The Gooz" Goosby and Dark Alley Paranormal Investigations, Northeast Ohio Chapter

Jeff & Susie, founders of North Canton Paranormal Detectives 

Seth Breedlove and his Small Town Monsters documentary production company 

Greg Lawson, the Paranormal Detective 

Clinical Therapist and Parapsychologist Brandon Massullo and his hauntedtheories.com 

Colin Schneider, The Crypto Kid 

The Strange and Spooky World of James A. Willis 

"Scientific Evidence Of The Paranormal w/Todd Schelat & Jacqueline Davieau" on the Kev Baker Show

Nellie Kampmann, author, ghostologist, and reincarnation researcher

Follow paranormal investigator Adam Bonnett on Twitter

Roger and Jill Pingleton's Streamside Software featuring paranormal themed apps for mobile

Checkout:

Roger and Jill Pingleton, listeners and new friends we met at the KPW and Ghost Hunt, have created some fun & fascinating paranormal-themed apps for mobile devices at their company, Streamside Studios!  Titles include Spirit Story Box and Paranormal Elements for Ghost Hunting and games like Cthulhu vs. Your Mom Gold, Cthulhu Beat, and Cthulhu emoji stickers!  Check 'em out here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/developer/streamside-software-llc/id654856411

Related Books:

Suggested Listening:

Listen to Jim Harold's Live Show from the Kent Paranormal Weekend, Campfire #350, featuring spooky stories told by audience members, and a brief interview with our Paranormal Podfather, Jim!  Find it here: https://jimharold.com/campfire-live-kent-ohio-campfire-350/   While there, you can also listen to other episodes of his Campfire show in which you'll hear some of the scariest and most fascinating stories from real people, plus hundreds of interviews with all of the biggest names in the field of paranormal research on his Paranormal Podcast!  And if you're still looking for more, subscribe to Jim's Paranormal Plus Club for genre-specific shows, like True Crime, UFOs, the Afterlife, Conspiracies, Cryptids, Ancient Mysteries, and so much more!

You Can Help:

The Starkey Hearing Foundation has partnered with our podcast platform provider audioBoom to launch the LISTEN IN Campaign, and they need your help!  The Starkey Hearing Foundation is a Human Services organization that provides complimentary hearing aids and hearing­ related healthcare to the hearing impaired in poor communities in the U.S., Canada, and around the world.  Since 1984, they’ve been able to help over 1.1 million people in over 100 countries. The charity’s been rated 4 out of 4 stars by Charity Navigator, the highest score an organization can receive from the trusted Charity Evaluator.  Disabling hearing loss is a global problem with an estimated ­432 million adults and 34 million children­ experiencing this detriment to the quality of life, but the good news is that you can do something that will actually help!  To give the gift of hearing, donate to the LISTEN IN Campaign today and help the Starkey Hearing Foundation reach their $25,000 goal.  Click this link: ListenInCampaign.org for more information.  

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 Blue Apron – Now through May 21, 2018, Blue Apron is teaming up with Airbnb to bring you the best home cooking from around the world!  During this time, Blue Apron’s menu will feature a recipe developed in collaboration with an “Airbnb Experiences” host who will share their favorite meals from their home country!  So check out this week's menu and get your first three meals FREE by going to BlueApron.com/astonishing! 

The Dark Myths Collective  

http://darkmyths.org/

CREDITS:

Episode 107: EVPs at the KPW.  Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2018 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

treat yo’self

Updated as of 11/5/2024

I genuinely love promoting other writers’ works, because they’re freaking awesome, but today? Today I’m gonna hype myself. Because I can.

It’s a long holiday weekend for those of us in the US. Maybe you want to indulge. Maybe you have family you want to avoid. Maybe you have no plans and are looking for a way to fill the time. Maybe you’re on retail or restaurant duty and need a pocket of escape. Maybe you’re not in the US and just want some standard weekend fun.

Let me present to you ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*My Fics*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Marvel Fic

The only way I can reconcile Steve’s choice in Endgame. Bucky POV set just after CATWS.

Morgan and Peter talk, post-Endgame, pre-FFH

Voicemails from Tony to Peter, from 2018-2023

DC Fic

Mind the tags on this little Dick and Damian fic

Dick really needs his dad and Bruce delivers

For once, the author writes a fic about Dev and he’s not the whumpee (except emotionally)

Post-League Bruce is back in Gotham with a new mission (and Alfred is there to catch him)

Dick needs a rescue

Dick trying to be a good big brother to Jason

Clark is freaking out and needs Bruce to tell him it’s okay

An unexpected reunion in the family

A long-anticipated death in the family

Selina and Bruce’s wedding

How the first three BatKids learned to deal with nightmares

Recovery is a journey and Jason’s path has speed bumps. Good thing Tim is a good brother!

Tim gets hit with fear toxin, Jason is there to rescue him, and it does not go well

Something Very Bad happens and Superman needs a minute to process

EVEN MORE self-indulgent Jason and Bruce

Family is messy sometimes, ft. Jason, Tim, and Cass

Something is wrong with Bruce, but no one knows what

Dev has a VERY bad night

Bruce and Tim at two different points in their relationship

Cassandra sickfic, ft. the best dad

The BatFam as seen by Jim Gordon

TFW you watch Tenet for the first time and have SuperBros emotions

VERY self-indulgent Bruce and Jason fluff

Jason has a bad night. Tim is there to help

Tim is sick and not-exactly-friendly Red Hood is kinder than expected

I use Jason Todd to make everyone cry (including myself)

Sadboy Tim Drake takes care of a very sick Jason

Damian is kidnapped. Dick has a bad time.

Dev has a Very Bad Night (good thing he has a Bruce)

Dick and Jason are stranded on a desert island. There’s magic(?) and lots of regret

New butler-dad Alfred has taken a fright

The light of my life is given his due love and affection (aka I nearly kill Dev and the Fam takes it poorly)

Jason Paranormal AU

Filling in the gaps of what might have happened (relationally speaking) immediately after Bruce comes back from the “dead”

Hand holding. Lots of hand holding by Bruce and for Bruce.

Bruce is hurt and Damian is worried and it’s very sweet

Absolutely unjustifiable fluff in which Dick goes to camp

The rules of surviving as a Rogue in Gotham, as explained by Oswald Cobblepot (ft. BAMF Alfred Pennyworth)

Alfred is sick and Bruce is worried and I drown you in fluff.

I fix a gap in the “Bruce Wayne lost in time” storyline. With knuckle kisses.

Bruce gets a call about his kid, has a slight heart attack.

Totally plotless GoodDad!Bruce fluff with cuddles, kisses, and sweet pet names

Tim is afraid of being forgotten.

Dick and Jason try to be brothers. Twice.

Jason gets a cat. Or rather, a cat gets a Jason.

Jason, Bruce, and the stars above.

Dick is a bad patient but so are the rest of the family.

Bruce Wayne adopts each of his children.

Bruce Wayne has depression.

Damian&Dick whump from Damian’s (pt 1) and Tim’s (pt 2) POV.

Jason&Bruce hurt/comfort, centering around Ethiopia and post-reunion.

Pure BatKids fluff from Clark Kent’s POV.

What I call my Sad, Sad Tim Drake fic (for all you middle children out there.)

A Stranger Things/Batman crossover that literally no one expected or asked for

Damian&Jason coming to an understanding as wary siblings

Pre-Robin Tim is a nervous lil bean with bad timing

I spit on the idea of Ric but have the Fam react to the haircut

Jason learns about something that happened while he was dead and it’s traumatic for everyone (including me)

A selection of Jason’s Christmases, from Catherine to post-Ethiopia

Alfred goes on vacation and NewDad!Bruce has a sort-of emergency

New-to-Gotham Damian and Dick start to understand each other

Canonically, Tim’s mom died on Christmas Eve, so here’s a look at that

5+1 of the times Jason saved his siblings and the time they saved him

Bruce Wayne adds one last child to his hoard

Tim, Jason, and Bruce are offered the chance to go back in time and stop Jason’s death from happening. With a catch.

If Bruce had reacted to Jason’s return the way he should have screw you DC

Dick gets the flu and it’s bad but Bruce is there

Time travel shenanigans where Bruce finally gets to hold one of his children as a baby

My ongoing fic where Bruce gets deaged and his children experience him at different points in his life

Damian and Cass go on an unplanned hike

My Whumptober 2019 fic prompts, which include:

Jason&Bruce deal with some of the practical emotional fallout from the fact that Jason is canonically a serial killer

Jason races to save a sibling as a bomb counts down

The sibling’s POV for the above fic, plus a resolution

Bruce really loves his butler dad, okay? Like a lot.

Home invasion fic starring audreycritter’s Dr. Dev, plus Bruce

Clark deals with a Bruce emergency and is partially based off that one post that upset people 😁 (also part of SuperBros, below)

Post-Ethiopia Bruce panics over Tim, then panics over panicking because he doesn’t want to father

Follow-up of the above, where Bruce is still panicking

Cass is, as one commenter put it, a BAMF (but also loves her family very much)

Robin!Dick and Uncle Clark have a sleepover but Clark is still a clueless 20-something bachelor who has no idea how to Adult

BatFam Week 2018 prompts, which include:

Dick/Babs whump, open-ended

Jason&Bruce are buried alive and it’s as traumatic as you might think

AU where tiny Jason refuses to stay with Bruce for Reasons

Time travel shenanigans with BrandNew!Batman Bruce

Tim&Dick hurt/comfort set during Bruce’s “death”

100% BatFam family night fluff

My ongoing collection of Bruce&Clark Superbros fic, which include:

Clark is so powerful it freaks Bruce out, set during Robin!Dick years

Clark catches a cold and Bruce is definitively the Dad Friend of the JLA

Clark deals with a Bruce emergency and is partially based off that one post that upset people 😁 (also part of Whumptober, above)

Bruce has a nightmare and Clark appears (and Clark’s POV)

Clark and Bruce are dying, but at least they’re together

Clark has the hiccups then uh-oh, things get serious (plus Bruce’s POV of the same series of events)

My ongoing collection of Tumblr prompt fic, which include (listed by chapter):

Pukey Jason, mama-henning Dick

Dick gives CPR to a sibling

Damian has a flashback, Tim gets the brunt of it

Tim and Jason, post-fear toxin

Jason and Dick work themselves to exhaustion with expected consequences

Tim and Damian get kidnapped

Sniffly Jason, mama-henning Dick

Steph and Duke bond

Tim, Cass, and Damian have a movie day

A brief scene with Robin!Jason and Bruce

Tim and RedHood!Jason have a heart-to-heart

Dick is laid up but he has a nice time with Cass and Tim regardless

Damian is ill but tries to sneak out on patrol anyways

Damian taking care of Bruce for the first time

“Get help” but with the Fam instead of Thor and Loki

Duke wiggles his eyebrows for Reasons

A very tired Tim

Alfred is loved (Alfred is mortal)

Jason needs attention

Violence as a love language, ft. Damian and Jason

My ongoing collection of headcanon/fic mishmashes, which include (listed by chapter):

Four Dick Grayson headcanons (traveling, sleepwalking, an unshakeable truth, and not a cop)

Four Jason Todd headcanons (self-love, squicks, Dick, kiddos)

Four Cassandra Cain headcanons (crying, singing, family, favorite superhero)

Four Wally&Dick headcanons (Batman, favorite story, sit still, Enrique)

Four Damian Wayne headcanons (hugging, jumpscare, anger, #1 bros)

Four more Jason Todd headcanons (glasses, patrol games, Robin, kitty cat)

Four Tim Drake headcanons (noise, nails, crying, Bruce)

Four Clark Kent headcanons (Kryptonian, scruff, plan, Dick)

Three more Tim Drake headcanons (school, sleep, home)

Four Alfred Pennyworth headcanons (cards, bingo, the end, ripped)

Jason and zombies

Damian’s eyebrow

Can Bruce cook?

Is Damian a vegetarian?

My worst BatFam head canon of all time

BatFam voices

Jason Todd and the local library

Dick and Jason’s relationship as adults

Tim’s role at Wayne Enterprises

Jason’s tattoos

Jason, Damian, and Talia

Damian’s taste in music

Alfred’s initial reaction to Damian

The truth about Jason and Catherine

Steph’s place in the BatFam

Damian’s feelings regarding Selina Kyle

Dick and Tim’s relationship before the other kids arrived

Bruce’s favorite child

How Tim really feels about Jack leaving on so many trips

BatFam weird takes

Bruce sharing memories of his parents with his kids

How the BatFam hugs

A word on Dick and Bruce’s relationship

Mental health medication

Each BatKid’s favorite song from Six: The Musical

Four more Jason Todd headcanons (Cass, the bet, Bruce, naming)

Cassandra’s fears and phobias

What flusters Bruce

Dick, Bruce, and their tickle spots

Tim’s humiliating memories

What makes Dick cry

Alfred’s grudges and vendettas

Dick’s emotional/moral weak spots

A what-if/AU for Dick

Alfred’s vices

Damian’s habits

Things Tim will never admit

Damian’s bad habits

BROTP: Bruce & Clark

BROTP: Cass & Steph

BROTP: Tim & Steph

[terrordave1]

I’ve never attended a horror event that was being protested before but this would be the first. I’m not talking Kent State level protesting of course but rather just a few religious people screaming at everyone who was trying to enter. Personally, protesting doesn’t bother me as the right to do so helps make our country what it is. However, being in close proximity to somebody screaming at the top of their lungs is irritating no matter what the cause. Unfortunately, that’s what we had here with a couple guys holding a sign while another yelled about choosing Jesus over the Satan. Instead of just ignoring them, some guy felt the need to go up and start an argument. On the one hand, I was irritated by his feeding into their nonsense while on the other grateful his distraction provided me safe passage inside. 

Ready to take on the Devil!

A battle of beliefs

Regardless of the shenanigans outside, the Paranormal Convention in Bridgeview was already underway. I paid my entrance fee and was delighted to see they had MeTV’s national horror host, Svengoolie, on the ticket. My daughter, Leia, had just put together three shadow boxes of my Sven memorabilia and now I had something new to add to it.

This was my 99th Svengoolie appearance since rediscovering him on TV in 2003 and during that time I’ve picked up a few friends along the way. Three of them were already in line – Ron and Angela Urban (a.k.a. “Don and Bunny”) whom I last saw during Flashback Weekend and Chicago politico, Brian Bernardoni. Brian was instrumental in getting Svengoolie Day passed in Illinois five years ago and does an amazing yard haunt in his native Justice, Illinois. This year he’s helped facilitate another honor for the horror host with an official Resolution from Chicago’s City Council. That event will be part of Sven’s 40th Anniversary festivities at the Museum of Broadcast Communications on October 26th.

Brian Bernardoni – A true Champion!

When I reached my friends Brian was bedazzling Bunny with his Chicago Cubs Championship ring. The two are both huge Cubs fans and Brian even gives tours of Wrigley Field. For my Grandma Francesconi’s 90th birthday he arranged for the team to send her a birthday card (she just celebrated her 95th btw). He’s a great guy and has done wonderful things in the world of Svendom.

Baseball Bling!

The line for Sven stretched the entire perimeter, above the convention.

I didn’t know it until I arrived, but the event was being emceed by Count Gregula. The Count and Countess Gregula had joined me on a few adventures during the earlier days of this site but it’s been years since I’d seen them. They used to make a labor-of-love horror host show but have since joined forces with Chicago NOW; covering local events like the big Auto Show in February as well as porn conventions. The Gregulas were fashionably late for this event and I watched them mingle from my bird’s eye vantage point. Later, the Count took to the stage and welcomed everyone to the event. Unfortunately, between the gymnasium acoustics and microphone, it was unintelligible from where I was standing. Suddenly he looked up to the rafters and welcomed Svengoolie as he arrived.

Svengoolie and company arrive

A headless Gregula welcomes Sven

I had Svengoolie sign my latest issue of Scary Monsters Magazine which features an article I did on his 40th Anniversary.

Wanting to take full advantage of us all being together, we asked Jim to capture the moment.

We made our way back downstairs to see the Gregulas taking a break by the food area. Gregula was telling me about a Vampire convention that was supposed to be happening in Chicago but fell through. Apparently, the organizer was writing rubber checks and an all-around shyster. Talking to the Gregulas, I forgot how fun they could be. Under the limelight of Svengoolie are some quirky, yet amusing, horror folks roving the Windy City.

Many of the vendors I’ve seen at other events such as the recent Oddities one.

The only thing I was tempted to buy was some Halloween cookies that almost looked too good to eat. It was a not so subtle reminder that I was famished and I left with the Urbans who invited me out for a meal. And fortunately, by that time, those perky protesters were long gone.   

Sven’s “Goolies” Haunt the Bridgeview Paranormal Convention! I've never attended a horror event that was being protested before but this would be the first.

[theultimatefan]

‘Smallville,’ ‘Charmed’ Q&A’s, Cosplay, Creative Panels Head Programming At Wizard World Cleveland; Most Included With Any Admission

Q&A sessions with the stars of “Smallville” and “Charmed,” plus Richard Rankin (“Outlander”), Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings, “Stranger Things 2”), Matt Ryan (“Constantine”), Kevin Conroy (“Batman: The Animated Series,” “Justice League”) and Chad Michael Murray (“One Tree Hill,” “Gilmore Girls”), and workshops, cosplayer and comics creator sessions, adult and kids costume contests, speed dating and more highlight the programming offerings at Wizard World Cleveland, Friday through Sunday at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. Most programming is included as part of the standard event admission and is in addition to the live entertainment options (dancing, music, etc.) all weekend. Some highlights of the more than 80 hours of panels scheduled to date include: · Group sessions with the casts of “Smallville” (Tom Welling (Clark Kent), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor), Laura Vandervoort (Kara / Supergirl), John Glover (Lionel Luthor) and Alaina Huffman (Dinah Lance / Black Canary); Saturday, 4 p.m.); and “Charmed” (Holly Marie Combs, Brian Krause and Drew Fuller; Saturday, 1 p.m.) · Sessions with Rankin (Sunday 11:30 a.m.), Ryan (Saturday, noon), Conroy (Saturday 3 p.m.), Astin (Saturday, 2 p.m.) and Murray (Saturday, 3 p.m.) · Disney Trivia panel with Walt Before Mickey star Thomas Ian Nicholas (Rookie of the Year), moderated by Handbook for Mortals author Lani Sarem (Saturday, 2 p.m.) · Creator sessions with industry superstars Joe Wos, Stuart Sayger, Gavin Smith, Mostafa Moussa, Jeremy Clark, Shawn Coss, Mark Kistler, Mike Watson and more · Action Comedy Nerd Show comedy act (Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m.) · Immersive, high-intensity interactive workshops on such topics as Cosplay Foam Fabrication, Acting, Worbla, Wiz-Art, Posing and Photography (these workshops have an additional fee, and are limited availability) · Fan- and industry-based panels on subjects ranging from wig care, YouTube 101, Paranormal, self-promotion, NASA and the science of Superman, diversity, Ghostbusters, indie comics, filming fight sequences, Haunted Ohio, animation, Pokemon and more · Kids programming all three days, including story time, face painting, puppet shows, dance parties, magic, learn to draw, (and Kids 10 and under are free every day with paid adult) · Attend a recording session of the Game Fix Podcast (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.), with many giveaways; and the 3 Geeks Podcast (Sunday, noon) · World-famous Wizard World Adult Costume Contest, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Kids Costume Contests on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. · Super Sonic Speed Dating (Friday 7:30 p.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m.(LGBTQIA+), 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. (LGBTQIA+), 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 60 minute sessions · Cosplay with special guests SuperKayce, Knightmage, Galaxy Amethyst, Meerami, Missy Mayhem, Christina Dark, Rubber City Cosplay and more, throughout the weekend · Drink & Draw hosted by Joe Wos, for pros and amateurs alike… weirdness, drinks, drawing, and prizes (at WXYZ Bar, inside the ALoft Cleveland Downtown, 1111 W. 10th St., Cleveland; Friday, 9-11 p.m., FREE admission with Wizard World wristband) · Cosplay and Industry Workshops (Social Media/Branding/Content Creation, Wiz-Art, Resin Casting, Intro to Sculpting), require additional ticket Unless noted, programming events take place in the designated General Programming Rooms or show floor stages at the convention center. VIP tickets or additional costs may apply to ensure access to select activities, as noted. A full list of Wizard World Cleveland programming is available at http://wizardworld.com/programming-entertainment/cleveland (subjects, guests, times and rooms subject to change). Wizard World events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture: movies, television, gaming, live entertainment, comics, sci-fi, graphic novels, toys, original art, collectibles, contests and more. The third event scheduled on the 2019 Wizard World calendar, Cleveland show hours are Friday, March 8, 4-9 p.m.; Saturday, March 9, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, March 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Kids 10 and under are admitted free with paid adult. Wizard World Cleveland is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor and participate in the famed Wizard World Costume Contest on Saturday evening. For more on the 2019 Wizard World Cleveland, visit http://wizd.me/ClevelandPR.

[uapro]

Today in Strangeness:

On this date in 1981, Nature published part of the longest scientific name in history. With 16,569 nucleotides, the systematic name for human mitochondrial DNA is said to be 207,000 letters long. Makes a word like antidisestablishmentarianism seem positively puny in comparison! Speaking of large, Australia unveiled a massive chocolate easter egg on this day in 1992. It weighed 10,482 lbs. and stood over 23 feet tall.

Next Week's Schedule:

Lisa Garr kicks off the weekend on Friday night, talking to Dr. Bruce Lipton about improving your immune system by not giving in to fear. On Saturday, Jimmy Church speaks with longtime UFO researcher Dr. Steven Greer about his new film on contact with ETs as well as Deep Prasad, speaking about UFO tech and physics. On Sunday evening, Ian Punnett (Twitter) speaks with professor Brian Crim about the hidden history of intelligence agencies. During the week, George's guests include Peter Ward, Kent Heckenlively, Dr. Judy Mikovits E.A. Koetting, Barbara Hand Clow, and James Paris. View the full schedule here.

[cassiejade]

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words. Simply answer the following questions:

What did you recently finish reading?

What are you currently reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

I really enjoyed this and I’m super happy that I read it in December, there’s no better way to read it really. Wait until it gets cold, make some tea, snuggle in a blanket, and then dive into this book. The atmosphere this book creates is amazing, you can feel the cold settling into you. The writing is beautiful, I did have some struggles adapting to the Icelandic language, there’s a guide that shows you how to pronounce some of the names and places, that took a while for me to adjust to, there was a lot of flipping back and forth. I would have loved to listen to the audiobook.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Wow. Just wow. This was, I don’t have words. This was so much darker than I was expecting, I knew it was about a girls search for her sister’s murderer, but I would have never expected some of the layers this story added.

What are you currently reading?

The Wise Mans Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

I am currently on page 666, I had to say it lol just because. But I am loving this so much, I don’t even have words. I was starting to think that I was getting tired of the University aspect but as soon as Kvothe left the University I was fully on board. Omg, I read an epic scene last night that just left me speechless.

Josh and Hazels Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Since Sadie was so dark, I decided to pick up something funny and lighthearted to help balance me out, I’ve heard good things about this and I’m excited to read more.

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

This will be my next physical book after Josh and Hazels Guide to Not Dating, I am so stoked to pick this up.

The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter

I plan on starting this audiobook after I finish up with The Wise Man’s Fear, I already started this but I wasn’t in the mood for it so I’m going to give it another chance. I also have a feeling that a paranormal romance will be a pick book for after the WMF

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

It’s finally here! I feel like I’ve been waiting for this for years instead of, well, just the one year… This book is how I’m going to be spending the weekend and that’s it lol. I may squeeze in some cookie baking but for the most part, I’m going to sit on the couch or in my bed and read this beauty like my life depends on it.

What are you reading this week?

WWW Wednesday 12/5 WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words…

[hellofastestnewsfan]

The biggest name in horror filmmaking is indisputably the producer Jason Blum. That’s a fact only reinforced by the staggering opening weekend of his newest movie, Halloween, which made $77.5 million in its first three days—a record for the 40-year-old franchise. Blum’s company, Blumhouse Productions, finances small-budget genre films and gives directors full creative control; it has been behind Oscar winners like Get Out and Whiplash, as well as extremely profitable franchises like The Conjuring, Insidious, and Paranormal Activity. Working with Blum can provide a solid path to mainstream success, which makes it particularly dispiriting that a female director has never made a theatrical horror film for Blumhouse.

In an interview with Polygon published last week, Blum gave an unoriginal and facile explanation for that gender disparity. “We’ve always been trying [to hire female directors],” he said. “There are not a lot of female directors period, and even less who are inclined to do horror.” It’s a common Hollywood lament—that women just aren’t interested in making a certain kind of movie. It’s what the Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow said in 2015 about women getting chances to make blockbusters. In 2016, the Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy suggested that female directors largely lacked the experience necessary to make a Star Wars movie.

In virtually every case, these sorts of statements quickly get walked back. Blum apologized for his “dumb comments” to Polygon, saying in a statement, “I spoke too quickly about a serious issue … We have not done a good enough job working with female directors and it is not because they don’t exist.” But such comments belie institutional laziness in an industry where women directed only 11 percent of the top 250 movies in 2017.

Blumhouse has worked with female filmmakers on a few non-horror projects, including Veena Sud’s upcoming thriller, The Lie. Blum noted in the interview that he had reached out to Jennifer Kent (The Babadook) multiple times for projects and that she had turned him down; he also said that Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon) was a woman he had tried to hire but that their plans had been stymied by scheduling concerns (something Janiak confirmed). Still, Blumhouse has produced dozens of horror movies in the past 10 years, spurred by the massive success of Paranormal Activity in 2009, and all of them were directed by men.

[Read: Why isn’t Hollywood making more inexpensive, yet highly profitable, horror movies?]

The new Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green, is a perfect example of the kind of high-profile opportunity Blum can offer a filmmaker. The movie was produced for not much money (its $10 million budget is on the high end for Blumhouse), and made a colossal profit on opening weekend. It’s a sequel in a long-running franchise, but comes from an art-house director who has mostly been given free rein. And the movie puts its star, Jamie Lee Curtis, front and center (she is credited as an executive producer), a fact that Blum stressed was important to him.

“I really believe in the way our company makes movies,” Blum told Polygon, and he’s right to, considering Blumhouse’s financial track record, coupled with critical hits like Get Out and this year’s BlacKkKlansman. “I believe in our low budgets. I believe in using directors who aren’t necessarily from horror, like Jordan Peele or David Gordon Green.” But in saying that, Blum is demonstrating exactly how he can take chances on promising new talent, as he did with the actor Joel Edgerton (who made his feature directorial debut with 2015’s The Gift) or the Georgian filmmaker Levan Gabriadze (who made the huge hit Unfriended having directed only a Russian-language comedy).

For many directors, simply getting the opportunity to make one major feature can act as a crucial springboard to even bigger projects. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who directed Paranormal Activity 3 after their documentary Catfish was an indie hit, were just hired by Fox to helm a Mega Man movie. Scott Derrickson went from 2012’s Sinister to Marvel’s Doctor Strange. Mike Flanagan, who made Oculus, Hush, and Ouija: Origin of Evil for Blumhouse, created The Haunting of Hill House for Netflix and is now adapting Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep for Warner Bros. Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to Whiplash was La La Land, for which he won a Best Director Oscar. And M. Night Shyamalan, a major figure coming off a string of failures, revitalized his career at Blumhouse with The Visit and Split.

Blum and other mega-producers can help open these sorts of transformative career paths to new filmmakers—and to female storytellers in horror, of which there are many beyond Kent. Julia Ducournau, of France, shocked audiences in 2017 with the brilliantly visceral coming-of-age cannibalism movie Raw. Coralie Fargeat, another French director, released the intense and subversive film Revenge this year. Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body and The Invitation are two of the most exciting twists on the genre in the past decade. And there are plenty more artists still waiting to make their first theatrical feature whom producers should be actively scouting and looking to cultivate.

Blum himself didn’t have an easy road to success, struggling to produce his own movies for years before breaking out with Paranormal Activity. But he’s well acquainted with the perils of industry gatekeeping: As he was coming up in Hollywood, Blum worked at Harvey Weinstein’s company, Miramax, from 1996 to 2000, an experience he has reflected on ruefully after public accusations of rape and assault against Weinstein broke last year.

Blum said Weinstein relied on “the stick, not the carrot,” and was verbally abusive to all his employees, though Blum said he knew nothing of Weinstein’s predatory behavior. Weinstein, who is being sued by Ashley Judd for intentionally damaging her career, allegedly used his influence like a cudgel, closing doors to those who didn’t play by his rules. As the industry, however unevenly, seeks to push out notorious bullies like Weinstein, Hollywood’s most powerful members—including Blum and other major producers—should try to do the opposite, opening doors wherever they can.

from The Atlantic https://ift.tt/2An60ME

[bookaliciousjourney]

Het begin van een nieuwe maand betekent ook dat er weer een maand vol met nieuwe boeken. Ook in november komen er weer een hoop leuke boeken uit, wat natuurlijk helemaal niet goed is voor onze portemonnee.

Wonderland – Dutch Venture Publishing

3 november 2017

Dikke sneeuwvlokken, cadeautjes onder de boom, overal lichtjes en knusse kerststalletjes: het is weer tijd voor de gezelligste maand van het jaar. In navolging van internationale bestsellers ‘Let it snow’ en ‘My True Love Gave To Me’ hebben tien young adultauteurs uit Nederland en België een bundel vol romantische kerstverhalen geschreven die je hart sneller zullen doen kloppen. Van fantasy tot contemporary en van thriller tot paranormal: ‘Wonderland’ bevat voor ieder wat wils met verhalen waarin ware liefde en de kerstgedachte centraal staan. Met deze collectie heb je tien goede redenen in handen om lekker bij de open haard te kruipen en weg te dromen tijdens de decembermaand.

Nimmernacht – Jay Kristoff – Luitingh-Sijthoff

10 november 2017

Nimmernacht is het eerste deel van Jay Kristoffs trilogie over Mia Corvere, een van de dodelijkste leerlingen op een school voor huurmoordenaars. Ze is voorbestemd om koninkrijken te vernietigen, en toch is Mia Corvere nog maar tien jaar oud als ze noodgedwongen, na het verlies van haar familie, haar eerste les in de dood krijgt. Zes jaar later zet het kind dat is opgegroeid in de schaduwen haar eerste stappen in de buitenwereld om een belofte waar te maken – de belofte die ze zichzelf deed op de dag dat ze alles verloor. Maar Mia’s vijanden zijn machtige figuren, en de kans dat ze bij hen in de buurt kan komen is erg klein. Dus als ze wraak wil nemen, moet Mia zelf een wapen worden dat haar gelijke niet kent. Ze moet zichzelf bewijzen tussen de dodelijkste jongens en meisjes van haar opleiding aan de Rode Kerk. Een school waar moordenaars, leugenaars en demonen de dienst uitmaken, en zelfs de leraren het op je voorzien hebben. Gelukkig is Mia niet zomaar een student. De schaduwen houden van haar… en ze nemen al haar angsten weg.

Als het waar is – Tara Altebrando – Young & Awesome

15 november 2017

Overal waar Kaylee komt, gebeuren vreemde dingen: de bitch van de klas die struikelt, precies wanneer Kaylee dat wenst. Een glas water spat kapot als ze boos is. Toeval? Dan ontdekt Kaylee dat haar biologische moeder, die als tiener het nieuws haalde vanwege haar vermeende telekinetische gaven, tot levenslang is veroordeeld voor moord. Tot op de dag van vandaag ontkent haar moeder alle schuld. Kaylee besluit dat het tijd is om de waarheid te achterhalen – over haar moeder en over zichzelf.

Library Kiss – Kasie West – Young & Awesome

15 november 2017

Autumn raakt per ongeluk ingesloten in een bibliotheek. Ze verwacht dat haar vriendinnen of haar bijna-vriendje haar wel komen redden. Als dat niet gebeurt, dringt de realiteit zich op: hoe moet ze een lang weekend overleven in de bibliotheek? Dan blijkt dat ze niet alleen is: Dax, een jongen van school, heeft zich bewust laten insluiten in het gebouw…

Wonderland lijkt mij het perfecte verhalenbundel om in december te lezen, vooral heel leuk dat alle auteurs van deze verhalen Nederlands of Vlaams zijn. Nimmernacht en Als het waar is lijken mij hele interessante fantasy verhalen. Vooral Nimmernacht klinkt erg interessant. Library kiss daarentegen is een contemporary boek en hoewel ik nog nooit een boek van Kasie West heb gelezen, schrijft zij volgens mij altijd hele romantische verhalen. De omschrijving van dit boek maakt me meteen nieuwsgierig en ook de cover met al die boeken er op nodigt heel erg uit om dit boek te gaan lezen als boekenliefhebber.

De eliminatie – Daniëlle Bakhuis – Best of YA

15 november 2017

Over de hele breedte van de muur zijn gifgroene letters opgelicht. Met elke tel zwelt het groen feller aan totdat het een zachte gloed de ruimte in werpt en nalaat op op onze gezichten. Ik lees de woorden op de muur één, tien, honderd keer, maar ze krijgen geen betekenis in mijn hoofd.

ELIMINEER DE HELFT OM DE ANDEREN TE LATEN LEVEN.

Ik kijk naar de andere personen en voel mijn huid in een harnas veranderen. Ik kan niet dood. Ik mag niet dood. Ik heb nauwelijks geleefd. Wanneer de zestienjarige Chleo van Doren wakker wordt in een vochtige garage weet ze meteen dat het mis is. Ze is opgesloten met negen anderen, waaronder een junk, een oude man in een rolstoel en een baby. Elimineer de helft om de anderen te laten leven, luidt de boodschap. Maar hoe overtuig je anderen ervan dat je de moeite waard bent, als je dat zelf eigenlijk niet vindt?

In het diepe – Estelle Maskame – Uitgeverij Moon

22 november 2017

Een jaar geleden viel MacKenzie als een blok voor de scheve glimlach van Jaden. Maar nu is alles anders. Een tragisch ongeluk heeft Jadens familie verwoest. En ondanks haar gevoelens kan Kenzie het niet aan om nog een familietragedie te doorstaan met Jaden. Dus loopt ze van hem weg. Maar als ze hem na een jaar toevallig weer tegenkomt, realiseert ze zich dat ze haar gevoelens voor hem niet langer kan negeren. Maar zal MacKenzie de sprong in het diepe durven te wagen?

De overlevenden (The Darkest Minds #1) – Alexandra Bracken – Karakter Uitgevers

30 november 2017

Als Ruby op haar tiende verjaardag wakker wordt, is iets in haar anders dan de dag ervoor. De verandering is voor haar ouders alarmerend genoeg om haar in de garage op te sluiten en de politie te bellen. De verandering zorgt ervoor dat Ruby naar Thurmond, een zwaar bewaakt heropvoedingskamp, wordt gestuurd. Ze heeft weliswaar de mysterieuze ziekte overleefd die als een epidemie onder de jongeren van Amerika rondwaarde, maar ze heeft er iets angstaanjagends voor in de plaats gekregen: bovennatuurlijke krachten die oncontroleerbaar zijn.

De eliminatie klinkt als een heel spannend boek, het lijkt me vooral interessant om te lezen over de dynamiek tussen de tien mensen die samen opgesloten zijn en hoe ze uiteindelijk besluiten wie er geëlimineerd moeten worden en vooral waarom er voor wie gekozen wordt. Het nieuwe boek van Estelle Maskame wil ik ook sowieso gaan lezen. De DIMILY-serie vond ik hoewel ik de boeken niet geweldig vond, wel leuk om te lezen. De overlevenden klinkt als een heel interessant fantasy boek, waar ik zeker ook heel benieuwd naar wordt als ik de omschrijving lees.

Naar welk boek dat in november uitkomt, kijk jij uit?

Te verschijnen boeken|November Het begin van een nieuwe maand betekent ook dat er weer een maand vol met nieuwe boeken.

[moviemorning003-blog]

The Complete Detail Of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) Name Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) Storyline The Ghost Dimension, follows a new family, The Fleeges - father Ryan (Chris J. Murray), mother Emily (Brit Shaw) and their young daughter Leila (Ivy George) - Who move into a house and discover a video camera and a box of tapes in the garage. When they look through the camera's lens, they begin to see the paranormal activity happening around them - including the re-emergence of young Kristi and Katie. Detail Of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) Director Gregory Plotkin Writer

Jason Pagan (screenplay) (as Jason Harry Pagan) &

Andrew Deutschman (screenplay) and

Adam Robitel (screenplay) &

Gavin Heffernan (screenplay)

Brantley Aufill (story) and

Jason Pagan (story) (as Jason Harry Pagan) &

Andrew Deutschman (story)

Oren Peli (based on the film "Paranormal Activity")

Produced by

Jason Blum -- producer

Steven R. Molen -- executive producer

Oren Peli -- producer

Steven Schneider -- executive producer

Stars & Cast

Chris J. Murray -- Ryan

Brit Shaw -- Emily

Ivy George -- Leila

Dan Gill -- Mike

Olivia Taylor Dudley -- Skyler

Chloe Csengery -- Katie

Jessica Tyler Brown -- Kristi (as Jessica Brown)

Don McManus -- Kent

Michael Krawic -- Father Todd

Hallie Foote -- Grandma Lois

Aiden Lovekamp -- Hunter Rey

Cara Pifko -- Laura

Mark Steger -- Tobi

Music by N/A Genres Horror Country USA Language English | German | Ukrainian Release Date

USA -- 23 October 2015

UK -- 21 October 2015

Ireland -- 21 October 2015

Filming Locations N/A Certificate N/A Box Office Of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) Budget $10,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend $8,070,493 (USA) (23 October 2015) Gross $18,247,445 (USA) (20 November 2015) Technical Specs of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) Runtime 88 min | 97 min (unrated) | 95 min (alternate cut) Sound Mix Dolby Digital Company Credits of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) Production Company

Blumhouse Productions

Paramount Pictures

White Noise Factory (Music)

This Movie Detail Written By  www.moviemorning.com

[tykewriter]

Shop talk with authors at the UK Indie Lit Fest

The UK Indie Lit Fest 2017 offered authors and readers alike a forum where they could get together for a chat about literature – and even sell a few books. Mark Cantrell went along for a natter with some of the attending authors…

COME on in and meet the authors. That wasn’t the strapline for the UK Indie Lit Fest when it opened its doors last month, but it would have been fitting as it introduced Bradford’s bookworms to a delightfully diverse collection of writers and their works.

The event was held for the first time in July 2016, went down a storm by all accounts, and returned bigger and buzzier for another day-long celebration of indie publishing on 26 August 2017. It was held at a fitting venue, the Kala Sangam Arts Centre on Forster Square, Bradford.

The UK Indie Lit Fest proved very much a showcase for the talent and diversity of the indie scene; a place for the reading public to discover new voices that otherwise they may not encounter in a retail environment geared towards big publishers and celebrity names. All told, the event presented 40 authors from across the UK, with an international contingent skyping in to talk to visitors about their works and the writing life.

Local authors joined those from elsewhere in Britain; newbies rubbed shoulders with experienced hands; different genres intermingled, poets walked alongside novelists, and everybody enjoyed a natter about their mutual affection – literature.

Local lad Ian Woodhead is a prolific author, but the UK Indie Lit Fest was his first time at a literature festival. He confessed to being nervous.

“I've wanted to do this for a number of years, but I've never had the courage to do it. Because it's in Bradford it gives the correct incentive to actually get my arse in gear,” he said. “It's weird being here because I am introverted. I'm sure most writers here are exactly the same, so a lot of people do their best to show themselves as less introverted than they actually are.”

Despite having dabbled with writing for over 20 years, it's only something he has pushed seriously – that is seeking publication – for the last five or six years. He began by self-publishing his début title 'The Unwashed Dead', a gritty and uncompromising horror that transposed the zombie apocalypse trope onto an unsuspecting (but fictionalised) Bradford housing estate.

Ian continues to self-publish his works in digital formats, but many of his works are now available in paperback and digital editions through Severed Press.

Horror is a strong feature of Ian's work. He started out writing psychological horror and then moved onto extreme horror – think Hostel or the Saw franchises – but he's now moving back to his “true love” of science fiction.

Writing is a kind of “therapy” but he enjoys the world building. “It stops me getting depressed,” he added.

Irene Lofthouse is another local author, but unlike Ian, she is well versed in the festival scene. Asking her what she writes, however, isn't so straightforward – it's a bit like asking “which day of the week it is”. Suffice to say, history and heritage is a strong theme.

“I do a lot of children's writing,” she said, although she has found that her collections of Strange Tales has appeal among 'children' of all ages, and not just within the age bracket she had in mind when she penned the books.

'Strange Tales in Bradford Dale' and 'Strange Tales in the Dales' is soon to be followed up with 'Strange Tales in Calderdale'; all three are retellings of myths and legends from the areas, re-imagining the Yorkshire landscape for a young audience.

“I do a lot of heritage work in schools, looking at history, because that's my background – I love history,” Irene said. “How can you tell where you are going if you don't know where you've come from, that kind of thing. But I realised that a lot of youngsters have no idea about the cultural traditions and the myths, so I have re-invented them with protagonists that are their age. They are much more believable for them, so they can get into the books.”

Irene was at the first Indie Lit Fest held in July last year, drawn back by the buzz of that début gathering, but she also said she wanted to offer support to an event that is doing its bit to promote authors and independent literature alike.

“It is very difficult for people to get published, by the big publishers or by the small, independent presses, because there's such hoops to jump through these days,” she said. “Of course, they're all looking for the big blockbusters, for a series of different things, so this is a way to network with people, to see what they are doing, and to see books that I wouldn't normally see in a bookshop that I can go 'actually, I really like that'... We've just had the Bradford Literature Festival, but that didn't include any independent presses at all, as far as I am aware. So this is a parallel, which I think is great – more power to that Indie Army.”

Unlike Ian and Irene, Joshua Sutton was anything but local. He made the trip to Bradford all the way from Whitstable, Kent;an arduous journey with a stock of books in tow for sure but “worth it” he felt.

“I was here last year [at the first Indie Lit Fest] and it was a fantastic event with a lot of fantastic people, so this year was really a no-brainer,” he said. “We all sort of know each other; a lot of new authors, a lot of fantastic books on display, and really no better way for a book nerd to spend a weekend, really.”

The paranormal is where Joshua's work fits. Essentially, the genre presents a dark fantasy setting and often invokes demons, aspects of folk culture, and deals with themes as heaven and hell and the afterlife. As such, some people may take it for a form of horror fiction.

“Some people do mistake it for horror, but it is a completely different genre,” Joshua said. “If you think of a darker version of the Harry Potter books you'd be more on top of what paranormal tends to be. It doesn't tend to be scary although that can be a factor.”

So what was he looking to get out of the Indie Lit Fest? “Obviously I hope to sell books, but if I don't I don't,” he said. “For me it's more about meeting authors, finding books I like, and developing more friendships, really. It's not just about the selling; it's also about the other side of it, the meeting people.”

Events such as the Indie Lit Fest aren't just about helping authors to meet readers – or indeed each other – but also help to promote a reading culture. We don't do enough reading, in Joshua's view, so we need to encourage the habit of diving between the sheets (of paper).

“A lot of people I see don't read, or say they haven't read since school,” he said. “For me, I don't understand why that is: why are we so focused on our phone, or on anything else like that, [that] we don't sit down and take the time to read a book?”

Artist and writer Razwan Ul-Haq is the author of Sultan vs Dracula and his work is perhaps just as hard to define as Irene's, albeit for different reasons. “I write what I might call spiritual fiction. Some people call it Sufism, some call it mysticism, but I think sometimes the labels find it difficult to describe what it is,” he said.

One of the joys of the indie literature scene is doubtless the freedom it grants authors from strict definitions of genres. The scene may not be entirely 'box-averse' – many are entirely happy to write themselves into one or other genre category – but it means they don't need to constrain themselves to the expectations (or the pruning) of a marketing department. Instead, they can let their hair down and express themselves.

Razwan was at the event for some “inspiration” and “some friendly chat”. He added: “I came along to just meet other authors and other publishers and just talk and see what's going on, really.”

This isn't necessarily quite so easy at more commercially focused festivals, where the opportunity to spend some quality time with authors may not be so readily available – if you even get to meet the authors at all.

“The difference between [the Indie Lit Fest] and another one is sometimes it's not the authors you are meeting; sometimes it's not the publishers – it's often a rep of someone else,” he said. “Often, you only meet authors at festivals or other events and you don't get much time with them, so here there's a density of authors in one hall and I have already managed to speak to so many different people.”

Events such as the Indie Lit Fest are “critical” in Razwan's view; not just in terms of meeting and chatting with fallow authors, but also in terms of helping independent authors make their voice heard a little more. In a sense, it helps to challenge the monoculture of corporate publishing.

“I think it is very important because if we just leave things to companies or corporations, who are doing things for a profit, then we are only going to have a very narrow set of views that people can read,” Razwan said.

“As less well-known authors and storytellers, I think we often put ourselves down a bit without actually realising that we are contributing to human society, [adding] something new, and I am sure in this room there will be stuff that's written that will at some time become mainstream. That's how it starts. Everything that is in the marketplace, like Harry Potter and many others, [began] on the periphery.”

Dawn Singh, festival director, and her team created the Indie Lit Fest precisely to carve out some space where indie authors and small presses could meet potential readers and make themselves heard in a publishing eco-system dominated by the big corporate publishers.

“A lot of the literature festivals are very exclusive, and the ones that aren't cost a fortune for authors to come along,” she said. “I applied for one and got accepted and they wanted £70 for a table. Now, to travel to another part of England, pay money for travel, probably stay overnight, and to pay £70 for a table when you are an indie author and you don't have much money – it's ridiculous, really. So we wanted a festival that was going to be affordable for indie authors and that was going to be free for the public.”

If the Indie Lit Fest was offering support for indie authors, it was also serving to encourage would-be authors too with its programme of workshops, or just simply through the chance to talk with writers about their work and how they got started. After all, every author, from the best known to most obscure – be they J K Rowling, Neil Gaiman, or Joe Bloggs Nobody –started out as wannabes dreaming the dream.

“We've got a lot of people here today who are in creative writing groups, who want to be published, or want to find out how to be published, or want to independently publish, and they don't have the information. They want to ask people who have been there, who have been through the process, to show them the pitfalls,” Dawn said.

It's also “exposing” Bradford to some “really excellent writers”, she added.

Suffice to say; Dawn felt the day was a great success. “It' gone really well,” she said. “I'm really happy with how it's gone. We had hundreds of tickets reserved and we've had a steady flow of people all day. There's never been a lull. Everyone's sold plenty of books. There's been plenty of people in the workshops. It's just been a really nice atmosphere for people.

“Everybody has had a good time; everyone has been smiling. The people that have come in visiting have said they enjoyed it. The authors have liked it. So we've done what we set out to do. We'll be back next year and we'll be bigger – it'll be brilliant.”

MC

For more information on some of the attending authors, click HERE or visit Indie Book Banter. Find more of Mark’s writing on his website: www.markcantrell.co.uk.

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Kent gets paranormal

Kent gets paranormal Jess Gray, criminology major from Capital University, was inspired to come to the Paranormal Weekend after seeing Lyn present at a previous event. fromPsychic Readings in CaliforniaFiled under: Psychic Readings in California Tagged: Psychic Readings in California https://californiapsychicreadings.wordpress.com/2017/04/30/kent-gets-paranormal/

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World news briefs — compiled April 30 Ghost stories haunt the crowd at Kent Stage’s Paranormal Weekend - 10:17 PM In front of a crowd of about 50 people at the Kent Stage, Ed Wiland played audio on his phone that he captured while in the woods one day. Among crickets chirping, a faint ...

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GHOSTVILLAGE.COM NEWSLETTER #179 - February 17, 2017

Buy Books by Jeff Belanger | Jeff Belanger's Official Web site | Visit UFOvillage.com | Like us on Facebook | Paranormal for Kids | Meet the Staff | Advertise with Ghostvillage.com 30,761 Subscribers to this newsletter! Be sure to forward this on to your friends who are interested in the supernatural!

Jeff Belanger brings the paranormal to life for conferences, colleges and universities, libraries, corporations, and other functions. Book him today! http://www.jeffbelanger.com/lectures.php

You are receiving this email because you or a friend signed you up at http://www.ghostvillage.com. If you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please see the instructions at the bottom. View this newsletter online at: http://www.ghostvillage.com/newsletters/Feb17_17 .htm

Dear Ghostvillagers,

You may have heard a term kicked around lately that we’re living in a “post-truth society.” I’m not going to get political here, not to worry, that isn’t my area of expertise. But if like me you can’t escape the news, basically everyone is calling everyone else a liar to the point where many people don’t even know what to believe anymore. Say two plus two equals four, and you’re a liar. Say two plus two equals seven, and you’re a liar. This is a shame. Because I believe truth is the most valuable commodity we have, and we should hold everyone to the truth. Opinions aren’t truth. They’re just opinions, even if they sound right to some people, it’s still very different than truth.

The role of the media in our society can’t be understated. Not just television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and Web sites, but social media like Facebook and Twitter. We have the ability to spread news (whether true or made up) and opinion at light speed. A role that used to belong to seasoned reporters and editors is now left in the hands of the masses. This isn’t always a good thing. We should all be diligent when passing along information.

Being a paranormal guy, I’m especially interested when the media puts out a story on a paranormal topic, whether a UFO sighting, ghost caught on camera, or some legendary beast who was spotted. Last month, this “demon” photo made the rounds on social media first, then regular media. The photo was originally posted to Facebook by Richard Christianson with the caption “What the hell do you see in this picture for reals??? Anybody?”

The photo was taken in Arizona and started an online debate about whether this was a captured image of the Angel of Death, or a capture of a palm tree at just the right angle in just the right light, making it look like some dark, winged demon. If you look to the left of the picture, you can see there appears to be another palm tree planted in the same section of the street. Here’s a link to one of the many news sites that covered the picture: http://myfox8.com/2017/01/04/chilling-demon-photo-goes-viral/

Over the years I’ve been interviewed by various reporters asking for my comment on some of these stories. I choose my words carefully because I recognize I’m often speaking for more than just myself. Some folks will judge all paranormal investigators based on what I say. But I have been working in media for more than 20 years. I got my start as a newspaper reporter writing feature stories. When I started writing about the paranormal, I brought that same objective and critical eye to this subject. I believe it’s what has set me apart from many others over the decades. I don’t pretend to have the answers, but I feel we can learn a lot from the pursuit of the unexplained and from the stories.

The media most often treats these paranormal stories as features and fillers. The reporter may scoff at it, like some assignment they had to take, but one they doubt. Others give it at least a neutral shake, allowing the video clip or eye witness to speak for itself. While I see a benefit in any kind of coverage, because at least the clip might further promote the discussion, we should still be diligent when publishing and sharing evidence and stories.

There is more noise in the media than ever before, because so many more people are taking part. It used to be that a tiny percentage of reporters offered news, while most people consumed it. Now everyone is a news influencer and amateur reporter. If a YouTube video gets enough views, it makes it to prime time television. If a link is shared enough, public officials have to confirm or deny its veracity. So much noise, it’s no wonder there’s an abundance of confusion and division in the world today. No one knows what to believe, so they choose to only believe news that already agrees with their viewpoint, and any other news must be lies. Believe that image is a demon, and anyone who says otherwise obviously doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Say it’s a palm tree, and you obviously don’t know evil when you see it.

Wouldn’t it be great if a reporter went to the exact spot where the photo was taken, reproduced the angle, and clicked a picture in the daytime? If we see a brightly lit palm tree roughly the same shape and size, we have our answer. If clearly there is no sign of a tree there, then things get more interesting, don’t they? Sadly, no one does that, because solving the mystery isn’t as interesting. Better to leave it as click-bait and let folks argue about it.

Every time someone shares a clip, photo, or some other piece of paranormal evidence, if it goes viral, it speaks to the credibility of all of us, and all of the evidence out there. One bad piece of evidence can make people doubt the rest. It’s so important we try to debunk our own evidence first.

We have to count on each other when it comes to the pursuit of truth. We shouldn’t wait for it to come down from an elected official or from various news outlets. It must start with us. We’re chasing the unexplained, we’re already held up to ridicule. Let’s become the example we wish our elected officials and news media would follow.

In my own life, I’m now mainly focused on climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro next month. I’ve been training, I’ve been writing a memoir about the entire experience, and raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. With your help, I’ve been able to raise almost $13,000 to fight blood cancer, but I don’t want to stop there. If you haven’t donated yet, please consider making a tax-deductible donation here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/mtklmjr16/JBelanger I can’t tell you how much each donation means to me. I don’t want to let any of you down. Though you’ll hear from me in one more newsletter before I go, please know you’re helping me focus my workouts and my training hikes. Once I’m on the mountain, the long list of people who have helped this great cause will be at the forefront of my mind. You’ll help carry me to the top!

Until next time, please keep seeking truth, my friends. Truth in everything you do.

Supernaturally yours, Jeff Belanger Mayor of Ghostvillage.com Twitter: @THEJeffBelanger Facebook: Jeff Belanger YouTube: www.youtube.com/legendtripping

Jeff Belanger's Upcoming  Events

This is the place to find out where author and Ghostvillage.com founder Jeff Belanger will be speaking on the subject of the paranormal. If you're interested in booking Jeff for a conference or other event, please visit: http://www.jeffbelanger.com/lectures.php for more information. Events Scheduled: Kent Paranormal Weekend - Kent, Ohio - April 29-30, 2017 A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Sharon Public Library - Sharon, Massachusetts - June 7, 2017 7:30PM MIPARACON 8 - Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan - August 24-26, 2017 Chicago Ghost Con 9 - Chicago, Illinois - October 6-8, 2017 A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Milford Public Library - Milford, Massachusetts - September 12, 2017 7:00PM Dark Journeys and Urban Legends with Jeff Belanger - Forbush Memorial Library - Westminster, Massachusetts - September 21, 2017 7:00PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Bancroft Memorial Library - Hopedale, Massachusetts - October 4, 2017 6:30PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Melrose Public Library - Melrose, Massachusetts - October 11, 2017 7:00PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Trumbull Library System - Trumbull, Connecticut - October 12, 2017 6:30PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - North Hampton Public Library - North Hampton, New Hampshire - October 17, 2017 7:00PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Middleborough Public Library - Middleborough, Massachusetts - October 18, 2017 6:30PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Wallingford Public Library - Wallingford, Connecticut - October 19, 2017 6:30PM An Evening of Ghost Stories and New England Legends (stage show) - Westborough Public Library - Westborough, Massachusetts - October 20, 2017 6:30PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Milton Public Library - Milton, Massachusetts - October 24, 2017 7:00PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Hyannis Public Library - Hyannis, Massachusetts - October 25, 2017 6:00PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Warren Public Library - Warren, Massachusetts - October 26, 2017 6:00PM A Supernatural Evening with Jeff Belanger - Merriam-Gilbert Public Library - West Brookfield, Massachusetts - November 2, 2017 6:30PM A Creepy Christmas Carol with Jeff Belanger and Dustin Pari - Boyden Library - Foxborough, Massachusetts - December 7, 2017 6:30PM

Monthly Contest

Congratulations to Jennifer Bain of Trussville, Alabama, who was last month's winner! How to win: Entries will be accepted up until 5:00 PM (eastern time) tomorrow (February 18, 2017). At 5:00 PM, we will draw a winner at random from the correct entries that have been received. You only have until 5:00 PM to get your answer in. The winner will be announced in next month's newsletter. To submit your entry, simply reply to this email with the correct answer. This question can be answered by reading a page on Ghostvillage.com. Remember, reply by 5:00 PM tomorrow to be eligible to win. About how old was Josh Collins when he met the woman at the funeral? Only Ghostvillagers who have not won a prize from us in the last year are eligible. Good luck! This month's prize: We're giving away a three-pack of Jeff Belanger's New England Legends DVD series! Didn't win? Want to buy a copy? Click on the graphic.

Ghostvillage.com  Advertising Opportunities

Each month Ghostvillage.com reaches tens of thousands of people interested in the paranormal. We offer the most effective and best-valued advertising and sponsorship packages of any paranormal media outlet. Please visit: http://www.ghostvillage.com/advertising.htm for details. If you're ready to put Ghostvillage.com to work for your company or organization, send us an email to get started.

Ghostvillage.com  Quick Stats:

334,676 Posts in the Town Square Message Boards 30,756 Members in the Town Square 1,219 "Personal Encounters" published on Ghostvillage.com 30,761 Subscribers to this newsletter

Support  Ghostvillage.com

Ghostvillage.com is the Web's largest supernatural community, the central place where people come to share their experiences, thoughts, and research. Please help us continue to grow by buying a copy of The World's Most Haunted Places, Communicating With the Dead, The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places, The Nightmare Encyclopedia, Our Haunted Lives, Ghosts of War, The Ghost Files, Weird Massachusetts, Who's Haunting the White House?, The Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, Picture Yourself Legend Tripping, Chasing Spirits. Every little bit helps run our servers and helps the site get bigger and better! Please also click on our banner ads and support our advertisers -- when you do business with someone who advertises with Ghostvillage.com, let them know you saw their ad with us and thank them for the support. Please email us anytime at info@ghostvillage.com. Your comments, questions, and feedback are always welcomed.

All material is © 2017 Ghostvillage.com

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Kent gets paranormal

Kent gets paranormal Jess Gray, criminology major from Capital University, was inspired to come to the Paranormal Weekend after seeing Lyn present at a previous event. fromPsychic Readings in California https://californiapsychicreadings.wordpress.com/2017/04/30/kent-gets-paranormal