It's Ghost Hunting Wednesday!

I'm taking a break from my food and political blogging to bring you Ghost Hunting Wednesday. I like doing this. It's lots of fun. Everyone knows I'm a skeptic, but I like ghost stories. I have liked them since I was a child. They appeal to the folklorist in me. I like the history that comes out in a lot of ghost stories. Plus, I think that ghost stories, especially ghost stories revolving around urban legends, reveal a lot about what makes people tick.

I'm watching "Ghost Hunters" on Sci-Fi. The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) is going to investigate another haunted lighthouse - Ledge Light. They investigated one during the first season. Lighthouse keepers would hear noises on the second floor of the lighthouse that they couldn't explain. The story is that a lighthouse keeper haunts the lighthouse after throwing himself off of the top of it. Two of the guys found a cold spot in "Ernie's Room", but it's hard to tell exactly what it could be. Some Japanese students claim to have had objects thrown at them in "Ernie's Room", but Jason (one of the TAPS leader) noted that no one else has reported anything remotely close to that, so he wondered if the story was a hoax. Jason thinks the lighthouse is more lore than fact. I agree with him.

Next, the TAPS folks went to the Merchant's House Museum in New York City. The house was built in 1832. There were seven funerals in the house. Some have reported hearing the piano playing when no one was sitting at it. A chandelier and a cast-iron stove shake. A figure of a woman in 19th century garb has been seen at the end of the hall on the second floor. She may have been Gertude Elizabeth Tredwell. Cold spots. A reporter was pushed from behind.

Oh, my God! The guys were robbed right on the street! Some guy ran off with a case of their equipment. The guy dropped the case and kept on running. At least the guys got their case back, which was what mattered.

Welcome to New York.

It turns out that the chandelier moving could have been caused by someone walking on the floor above. They didn't detect anything else on their equipment. The two investigations this time were a bust, but it was still enjoyable watching the show.

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Here are some fun links:

Did you think that only houses were haunted? Here are some chilling tales from a haunted airplane.

Due to the success of summer shows "Lost" and "Medium", there will be a lot of spooky new shows on TV this fall. I'll probably check out all of them, but "Threshold" sounds like it will appeal to me the most. I've seen some ads for it, and it caught my attention.

Last week, I posted a picture of the ghost on the Tulip Staircase. This week, I'm posting another one of my favorite purported ghost photographs - the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall. I've known about this one since I was a kid.

Here is the Brown Lady: