Saturday, April 16, 2011

Rising to the "Paranormal Challenge"

Okay, the secret is out... I have the honor of appearing as a judge on the premiere episode of Travel Channel's latest adventure - Paranormal Challenge!

Filming took serious strength and stamina!
The show is hosted by Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures, but it certainly should not be considered merely a spinoff of that hit series. Paranormal Challenge puts two investigative teams to the test by sending them out into reportedly haunted locations and then rating their use of historical knowledge, technology, and teamwork during the investigation. The concept is not a race to find ghosts, but a competition of investigative know-how. Talk about a refreshing twist put on paranormal reality programming!

A typical view in Pennhust State School today.
I traveled to the notorious Pennhurst State School near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to work with an amazing crew and a cast that also included Dave Schrader from Darkness Radio and Jeff Belanger of Ghostvillage.com. While my companions were a ton of fun, the location is probably one of the darkest and most sinister that I've ever explored.  A few minutes of reading through the site's history will tell you right away what kind of energy this place still holds.

It was an amazing experience at an even more amazing place! I hope you will all tune in and get a glimpse of what happened inside of those cold and damp walls on Friday, June 17th at 9:00 PM ET/PT, 8:00 PM CT on Travel Channel.

Be sure to check back soon for a few more surprises! I have lots more exciting news to share as soon as I get the green light.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Book Review: The Dead Travel Fast by Eric Nuzum

It came to me the other day in a flash of clarity - I read at least two, sometimes more, paranormal-themed books in a week, and I should really be sharing some information about them. As a way of keeping in touch with you delightful readers, I've decided to make book reviews a regular addition to the Paranormal Paradigm. Suggestions for titles you'd like to learn more about or have yourself enjoyed are always welcome and I will do my best to accommodate them!

"The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires From Nosferatu to Count Chocula" by Eric Nuzum

While I don't really consider myself a fan of the vampire genre, I do feel I am pretty well-versed when it comes to the myths and legends surrounding this iconic "monster." At least I did before Eric Nuzum schooled me. After reading his quirky adventure into analyzing vampire lore and its effects on pop culture, I realized that what I knew before had barely scratched the surface of the mysterious bundle of facts and misunderstandings that surround these creatures who we love to hate.

Nuzum is by no means an armchair investigator. His research led him from seedy New York clubs brimming with "lifestylers", people who choose to live the vampire life - including drinking human blood, to a desolate island monastery in Transylvania where the remains of Vlad Dracul are said to rest. Nuzum even decides to take a giant step towards better understanding the motivations of the vampire by drinking a bit of his own blood, an experiment that goes gruesomely awry. While this may sound very serious at first, Nuzum's first-person journalistic writing style coats everything with a healthy layer of humor and more than a hint of sarcasm. 

The author's trek through vampire lore leads readers on a fact-filled historical journey through Bram Stoker's classic tale and all of the post-publication drama that accompanied it, the evolution of the vampire in the 20th Century from mysterious Count to B-Movie icon, and even an analysis of the cult favorite "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" series. Nuzum certainly leaves no stone unturned in his quest to discover why the vampire has humanity so caught up in his spell.

I admit, I laughed out loud (often at inappropriate times) throughout the book. My only complaint about "The Dead Travel Fast" is one that the author could not help, one that was purely a result of fate - the book was published before the "Twilight" craze turned vampire genre into some sort of Hindenburg spectacle. I can only imagine what sort of hilarity could have emerged!

Overall, I give this book two thumbs up. I give it a thrifty point bonus, too, because you can now pick up a copy at deep discount (only $5.58 each) from Amazon. You can learn more about Eric and his upcoming projects at his personal website.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Lectures, Workshops, and Discussions, oh my!

Poltergeists - Not Just Hollywood Hype
It's that time of year again. No, not tax time - Summer and Fall event planning time! While I am still sticking to my "less is more" philosophy that I discussed earlier in the year, I will be visiting a select few libraries, museums, schools, and conventions later in 2011. Because these appearances are decidedly few and far between, I've beefed up all of my talks to deliver quality over quantity. Each is a fun, informative, multi-media presentation that gets people talking, but more importantly - gets them thinking.

I have a handful of openings left in the late summer and a couple of dates still available in October. If you know of an organization or event looking for an awesome presentation, send them my way!

Talks for 2011 include:

PARANORMAL 

Civil War Ghosts - Learn about battlefield haunts of the Southeast, including many lesser-known but intense paranormal hotspots. Find out how to investigate these locations safely and legally while capturing great results. (1 hour)

Poltergeists - This lecture provides a comprehensive look back at the history and study of poltergeist activity. A special focus on the Enfield Poltergeist and the tragic case of Tina Resch offer attendees examples of ongoing scientific research of kinetic haunts. (1 hour)

Capturing and Analyzing EVP - Discover the methods used to elicit messages from the spirit world and how to capture those messages with various audio recording devices. Identify false positives, learn the varying classifications of electronic voice phenomena, and hear real examples of EVP from paranormal field investigations. The workshop demonstrates use of the software program Audacity and its value to the researcher in analyzing recorded audio data. (1 hour)

Haunted Henrico - (see HISTORY below)

SPIRITUALITY

Rootwork in America - This lecture illustrates the history and practice of Hoodoo, a folk religion unique to the United States. Learn how Hoodoo differs from Voodoo and why the two are often confused. A spotlight on rootwork in pop culture offers attendees a glimpse of how this mysterious tradition has influenced and infiltrated American life. (45 minutes)

HISTORY

Elizabeth Van Lew : The Witch of Church Hill - A discussion of the life of Elizabeth Van Lew, the Richmond woman whose clever espionage helped to end the American Civil War. Learn how Van Lew was socially ahead of her time and why her prominent family was forever ostracized by Virginia society. (45 minutes)

Unruly Women of Virginia - Virginia women have been going against the grain and making history for four centuries. This lecture highlights the historic contributions of Lady Anne Skipwith, the Randolph women, the Carter women, Elizabeth Van Lew, Maggie L. Walker, and more. (1 hour)

Haunted Henrico - To celebrate Henrico's 400th Anniversary, this lecture presents the history and haunts of several of the county's most notable locations including battlefields, taverns, homes, and more. (1 hour)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Virginia ParaQuest - Voted "Best Drama-Free Paranormal Conference" by Attendees

A nighttime view of Lynchburg, Virginia's Kemp...Image via WikipediaThis past weekend, I was honored with an opportunity to speak at the Virginia ParaQuest conference in Lynchburg. Let's be honest - I'm not exactly honored to participate in every event that comes along. In fact, the majority of paranormal conferences fall somewhere between the categories of awkward and embarrassing. For a refreshing change, this event was quite the opposite.

Two local paranormal teams, Bedford Paranormal and Seven Hills Paranormal, partnered to plan and execute the events of the weekend. It's not everyday that you see teams in the same geographic area cooperating on anything, and that's a true shame. Territorial squabbles saturate the field of paranormal investigation, but I saw no sign of that during the two days of lectures, forums, and fun!

These teams performed as true professionals and put together an amazing array of speakers that included representatives from MUFON, Rhine Research Center, The Monroe Institute, and Sasquatch Watch of Virginia, as well as independent authors, teachers, and technical experts. The lecture and workshop schedule contained a feast of information for both the new and experienced paranormal enthusiast. Best of all, everyone there was completely open to sharing information and ideas and to discussing those ideas in a mature manner. I did not hear a single voice complaining about ANYTHING - everyone was raving about how much they were learning and how much fun they were having. I challenge you to find that at any other paranormal convention this year!

I do hope that the planners of Virginia ParaQuest know of the positive impact that their first conference had on both its attendees and participants. I'm sure that they've learned many things about the behind-the-scenes steps of constructing and event such as this, and that can only make planning for a future conference easier.

If you're tired of lackluster paranormal events that charge big bucks for a weekend of dull presentations, you should show your support for the ParaQuest teams and urge them to put together an encore event for next year! Drop them a line at the email links found at www.vaparaquest.com