News, Views, & Interviews

Yesterday history was made in an exciting and emotional election here in the United States. American voters came out in record numbers to elect the country’s first black president. It’s a time of renewed hope that truly anything is possible, and it’s a time to look ahead to a new era in the political landscape. It’s also time for President-elect Obama and his family to start thinking about what it’s going to feel like to live in a haunted house. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., the address of a very famous and very haunted house, better known as the White House. It’s where the President lives and works while serving in the executive branch of government. This majestic building holds the Presidents’ family, pets, and a large staff of butlers, chefs, security, and other workers. About 100 people work to keep the White House running — people who are employed by the government and have a job to do regardless of which political party’s candidate is President. The White House has room for parties, meetings, important government events, and, according to many reports… it also has room for ghosts. A few weeks ago, my new book, Who’s Haunting the White House?: The President’s Mansion and the Ghosts Who Live There was published. My first book for younger readers (ages 10 and up), the book explores the haunted history of one of America’s most famous buildings. President-elect Obama will be joining a long and prestigious list of Presidents who have lived and worked in this incredible and haunted building. Will the ghost of President Lincoln pay Obama a visit? Will some of the many other historic ghostly figures from Abigail Adams to Andrew Jackson make some kind of appearance during the next administration? Time will surely tell. I’m sure, like other Presidents, President Obama will take some comfort knowing the spirits from the past are still around to keep an eye on the country they loved so dearly. Congratulations to President-elect Obama. If you need any help with the ghosts who still lurk in your new home, call me!

I was the writer and researcher for the Ghost Adventures series on the Travel Channel. It was a fun project for me to work on and a great production team. The production company for the show hired me to do what I’ve been doing for years: research the haunts, and find the witnesses who would be willing to tell their stories. I pass on my research and findings, and the cast and crew take it from there. Though they incorporate investigation techniques different from anything I use, I think what Zak, Nick, and Aaron do is a part of the greater paranormal discussion. Some will love it, some will hate it, and that’s something we run into with just about every paranormal group out there. Hopefully this show will add to the debate and discussion, and at the very least, be some entertaining television! Working for the visual medium of television was a new undertaking for me, and I learned quite a bit during the process. I wish the cast and crew the best of luck with the new show! If you haven’t seen Ghost Adventures, you can tune in Friday nights at 9:00 PM on the Travel Channel.

Recently the Web site, Haunted America Tours released some of their Top-10 Lists for 2008. I’m honored to be included on two of those lists: Top Ten Most Haunted Authors 2008 And my Web site, Ghostvillage.com, earned a spot on: Top Ten Most Haunted Web Sites 2008 It’s a thrill to be included in a list with a lot of other distinguished paranormal people and Web destinations!

Recently Ghostvillage.com launched a brand-new section of the Web site: http://kids.Ghostvillage.com. This is a first — an Internet resource specifically designed for kids, parents, and educators on how to broach the subject of ghosts. The site offers a guide to Junior Ghost Hunters, a section to help parents who may be dealing with a haunting and small children under the same roof, and a section for educators who want to incorporate ghosts in the classroom as a learning tool. I hope you’ll take a minute to check out the new Web site and share your own experiences. As with everything on Ghostvillage.com, the Kids’ section will grow and expand as we move forward. I know this topic is a bit controversial, which is why our advisory board includes children’s book authors, and psychologists who work exclusively with children. It’s a starting point to help families and kids who have questions. Like almost every other adult paranormal investigator I know, my interest in this subject began when I was very young. http://Kids.Ghostvillage.com will include resources I wish I had when I was ten years old, and offer the perspectives of investigators, parents, and kids who are in the field today. Take a moment to click around. We welcome your input!

I wrote an article that appeared in today’s Boston Globe called “This could only happen in Massachusetts, believe it or not.” The article is based on my recent book, Weird Massachusetts. The Travel Editor asked me to give a whirlwind tour of Bay State oddities. I made one goof in the printed version of the article (the online version has since been fixed). In discussing the Quabbin Reservoir I wrote that five towns were displaced. It was actually four: Dana, Greenwich, Enfield, and Prescott. Though if you count all the named villages in and around these towns, it’s over a dozen: North Dana, North Prescott, Atkinson Hollow, Greenwich Village, Packardville, Nichewaug, Millington, Bobbinville, Coolyville, Smith’s Village, and Doubleday. I got the facts right in my book (which includes an interview with a former resident), but messed up on the number in the article. I’m sorry for the mistake. Also, to all those people who wrote in saying they thought the translation of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg was actually, “You fish on your side of the lake, I fish on my side, and no one fishes in the middle,” that’s what the bumper stickers say, and that’s in the spirit of the meaning, however the most literal translation is: “Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishing place at the boundary.” Stay weird. -Jeff

Folks, recently I’ve been alerted to a scam going around involving a group that calls itself “Sci-Fi Productions.” The implication is that they are with the Sci-Fi Channel — they are not. My friend Brendan Skeen, who runs Ghost-Mart (Ghostvillage.com is a partner site to Ghost-Mart) has been receiving calls from people who want to place some very big orders for various investigation equipment. While we’re grateful for the orders, we don’t want to see anybody get ripped off. Here’s how the scam works: Your ghost investigation group receives an email from someone claiming they’re with Sci-Fi Productions. The email says they are casting for a new ghost show and they’re interested in you. They may ask you for some headshots of yourself, or they may be looking for some more information about your group. Next, they offer you a phone number based out of California. You call the number and they answer it, “Sci-Fi Productions.” They will tell you they work in a cut-throat business and tell you that you can’t tell anyone you’re talking to them or it might jeopardize your chances at starring in their new show. Then they’ll ask you what kind of investigation equipment you have. They may ask you to get some more if you’re serious and want to be on the show. The scam ends when they ask you to ship your investigation equipment to them so they can check it out before they schedule the filming of the pilot. (In some cases people are shipping them thousands of dollars worth of equipment.) Once you send in your stuff, the contact stops and you don’t hear back. The number (which is likely a pay-as-you-go cell phone) gets disconnected, and you’re out all of your equipment. Our best guess is that the scammer then sells your stuff on eBay for hundreds of dollars. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a few television production companies on various projects and I can tell you, they would never ask you to ship them your equipment for any reason. They may ask for headshots, they may ask for sample video of you in action, but they simply won’t have any interest in your EMF meters. If they are for real, and do have a budget for a show, they’ll buy you all the necessary equipment when they start filming. This group is preying on people who want to be famous and have their own ghost show. Television is still hungry for the paranormal, but please think before you send all of your equipment away to some stranger. Warn others!

This past weekend I went to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the Beyond Reality Conference at the Mt. Washington Hotel. I decided to go up a day early to test my mettle on Mt. Washington. As my alarm went off at 5 AM on Friday morning, I questioned whether this was really a good idea. Considering I already blogged about going, I figured there was no turning back now. I got to the base of the mountain around 9:45 in the morning. Looking around, I saw that this might easily have been the finest hiking weather I had ever encountered. There were no clouds, the air was dry and warm, and my hiking boots still fit. Here’s how it went: 9:50 – I started up the Tuckerman’s Ravine trail.9:54 – I remembered just how rocky the trail was.9:56 – I realized from the amount of sweat pouring off of me that I may not be in as good of shape as I had previously thought.9:59 – Breathing heavy now, but still climbing… 9:59 (and a-half) – Taking a break (I’ve earned it). My legs burned, my lungs ached, and the views were incredible as I climbed up past the tree line, onto the boulder-filled slope below the summit. The last half-mile took about 40 minutes of climbing, slipping, breathing, and pulling myself up to higher rocks, but dammit, I made it in just under three hours. I ate lunch at the cafeteria at the summit — the clam chowder never tasted so good. As my legs began to tighten from the rest, I thought about the 4.2-mile downhill walk I still had ahead of me. I wanted to get to the Mt. Washington Hotel by dinner time because I was meeting friends before the conference. So I began the long hump down. On more than a couple of steps I felt my ankle give out, but it didn’t twist. I remember thinking, “If I did sprain an ankle, how the heck would I get down? It’s not like there’s a road anywhere near here.” I pressed on. For anyone who has never hiked a steep slope, the walk down is often more difficult because it’s all impact. I was making great time, and once I was back below the tree line, I was getting more sore and eager to get back to the hotel and have a beer (or twelve). I was more than half-way down when I saw a small group of guys standing around a stretcher on the side of the trail. When I got next to them I saw there was a dog strapped in. “What happened?” I asked. “His legs gave out just past the Lion’s Head trail,” one of the men replied. I already knew the answer that would follow my next question. I was tired, and my knees were shaky, but if I didn’t offer I’d feel much worse than sore. “Do you need some help?” I said. “Yeah, we really do,” he said. Six of us carried the 80-pound dog down the rest of the way to the base. Even with six carrying the stretcher, we stopped often to rest and switch arms. I gave up on breaking any speed records down. I was just trying not to drop the dog or blow out my own legs. By 4:15 we lowered the stretcher to the parking lot where the dogs owner could get him into his truck and go to find help. With my good deed done, I drove 45 minutes around the mountain to the Mt. Washington Hotel. After a well-deserved (and practically required by the hotel staff) shower, I met up with some of my friends who organized the conference. What followed the rest of the weekend was one of the best paranormal conferences I’ve ever attended (and I’ve been to a lot). I saw a lot of old friends, made some new ones, and had some great conversations with people who were there to explore the ghosts and legends of the Mt. Washington Hotel. I appreciate everyone who said hello, picked up one of my books, or shared a story with me. I gave two different lectures this weekend, and heard some good feedback from the audience. It was also refreshing to find that many of the speakers had some differing views on the paranormal. Though we disagreed on the hows and whys, the mood was always respectful and friendly — so refreshing in a field that often doesn’t take kindly to good debates. We had a lot of laughs, we investigated some of the hot spots of the hotel, and we got to unwind near some of the most majestic views in New England. On the last day of the conference I was thrilled to learn that I’ll also be speaking at the next Mt. Washington event April 24-26, 2009. You should definitely go because we will rock that mountain to he ground (making it significantly easier for me to climb next time).

This weekend I’ll be speaking at the Beyond Reality event at the Mt. Washington Hotel. I’m heading up early Friday morning to hike Mt. Washington (the highest peak east of the Mississippi) for the third time in my life. I haven’t made the climb in four years, but I’m so ready to rock that mountain. However, if my mind is more willing than my body, and I die on the mountain, I promise to come back and haunt the hell out of the conference — you’ll find my ghost near the bar. If I do survive, I’ll take pictures from the top.

Recently Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer from Georgia have hijacked and held the headlines with their claim of a 500-pound, 7-foot 7-inch Bigfoot body in a freezer at an undisclosed location — almost to the point where Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps was going to have to swim in a Bigfoot costume to turn the world’s attention back to where it belongs. When I first saw the photo, I admit, I said, “Wow! What if?” I’d love to believe that these two guys did in fact stumble upon this elusive creature. The photo made me want to believe it even more. There have been many Bigfoot claims in the past. Eyewitness accounts, some photos, and the most famous case involving the Patterson film from 1967 showing an ape-like creature lurking through the woods — but that was just film. Many have argued the authenticity of that film, both sides have made good points. But Whitton and Dyer claim to have a body — and here’s the picture to prove it! It’s been almost a week since the photo and story have been released, and so far we have learned very little — and therein lies the problem. I can understand keeping this amazing find in an undisclosed location. I can even understand hiring a publicist to manage the dissemination of information, however, something smells fishy here. Why do we only have one or two grainy photos of this body? And now there’s Tom Biscardi, the “Real Bigfoot Hunter” involved with the case. If he is a real researcher, he should have been able to better advise Whitton and Dyer. Step one: bring in a professional photographer to take about 1000 high-resolution images. Every moment is precious after the death of any creature. Decay begins in minutes, and if we’re going to learn something, time is of the essence. Next, take hours of high-resolution video of the creature from every angle. Allow the photos and videos to be viewed by both the media and scientific community immediately. Next, call one or two media outlets and show them what you have. Allow an independent (and hopefully impartial) eye to review your finding and present it for you — then go hide the body for safety. If Whitton and Dyer had taken these steps from the start, they would have a long line of legitimate scientists and researchers outside of their door who had seen the high-resolution images volunteering to study the creature and reach a conclusion. If (and that’s a big “if”) Whitton and Dyer do indeed have a body, they are undermining their own claim with the way the information is being released. Whitton, Dyer, and now Biscardi have done a wonderful job at plugging their Internet radio show and Web sites, but not in gaining credibility. From wearing baseball caps at their press conference to drawing out the release of information, each day that goes by makes this discovery less important and more likely to be a hoax. I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon hear an announcement from this trio that the Bigfoot body has somehow disappeared or been stolen. There are already cries of, “Put up or shut up,” echoing from the public, which leaves only three options: 1. Produce the body; 2. Admit the fraud; 3. “Lose” the “body.”

Last week USA Today ran an article called “10 great haunts for seekers of the paranormal.” The reporter interviewed me and asked me to pick out the locations. My objective was to pick sites across the United States (’cause the paper is called “USA” Today), and choose diverse paranormal phenomena found in those locations (ghosts, Bigfoot, UFOs, crop circles, etc.). I made a goof in my segment on Roswell, New Mexico. I mentioned in the original interview that that Roswell was known for an alleged UFO crash that took place there in July of 1947. I also mentioned that the famed “Area 51” was nearby Roswell. It’s not. The top-secret base is actually located several hundred miles away near Groom Lake in southern Nevada. My bad. I’m new to UFOs and obviously still have plenty more to learn. Thanks to all those alert readers who called me out on this fact. It’s nice to have a job where I have so much “backup.” -Jeff