Upcoming Events, Lectures, and Books!

Wow. August was definitely a month I have no desire to repeat. I'm not one for giving credit to Mercury in retrograde, but there was no question that tragedy seemed to come out of the woodwork. Now that some of those fires are dying down, I'm ready to get back on track - starting with catching you all up on recent developments!

A quick update on what's new:

If you haven't checked out the free mini-issue of Haunted Times, you need to get moving! (No need to download anything - you can read this beauty on the web.) Our first FULL ISSUE will be released in just a few weeks. It's already stuffed with Halloween goodness, fall conference and event information, real life paranormal encounters, investigation tips, exclusive interviews, and more. Check back soon for subscription information and other news.

And then there's what's coming: 

My first published work of fiction is set for release on October 1, 2011 in a book titled Richmond Macabre: Nightmares From the River City. Something else cool about this - 100% of the publisher's profits are being returned to the community as charitable donations to area non-profits who support historic preservation and the arts.

The book is currently available for pre-order at a super price, but if you're a local and can wait a couple of weeks, join me at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum on Sunday, October 2, 2011 (2-4 PM) for the most rockin' book launch party EVER! Catch readings from contributing authors, live interactive music, museum exhibits, and refreshments. Pick up a signed, limited edition printing of Richmond Macabre or a handmade art print of the book's cover (designed by Skull-a-Day creator Noah Scalin) for only $20. Look for me all around Richmond during the month of October promoting this new title! Events details can be found at www.RichmondMacabre.com

You won't want to miss these lectures:

Because of the October 1st book release, I'm sticking close to home for a while. Come out and enjoy one of these free lectures and chat with me in person!

1. Poe Museum, Richmond, VA - Remembrance of Poe's Death - October 6 @ 6:00 PM "Richmond Macabre"
2. Henrico Library, Henrico, VA - Fairfield Branch - October 20 @ 7:00 PM "Haunted Henrico"
3. Henrico Library, Henrico, VA - Glen Allen Branch - October 22 @ 1:00 PM "Haunted Henrico"
4. Appomattox Regional Library, Dinwiddie, VA - Dinwiddie Branch - October 28 @ 5:00 PM "Civil War Haunts"
5. Shirley Plantation, Charles City, VA - October 29 @ 1:00 PM "Ghosts of Shirley Plantation"

And then: 

Holy cow! Beth Brown in Wisconsin??

Yep, I'll be joining the folks at BY/OG (Bring Your Own Ghost) again this year for a fun and educational weekend of lectures, gallery readings, and awesome investigations from November 4th through 6th. Check out all of the event details here.

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)

Everyday Haunts

Living in a city that was pummeled by war means that many of the places you pass by every day have a past that's not so pretty. One such building has been on my radar since about 1993 when the true revitalization of the Tobacco District was in full swing, and that is the Pohlig Box Building.

This industrial spot held the record until very recently as being the longest continuously operational commercial building in the US. Built in 1853, the box company kept up operations even when more than half of the structure was commandeered by the Confederate Army to house wounded or extremely sick troops from Alabama. Instead of crates and packaging being produced under its roof, the Pohlig building saw surgeries, amputation, and death.

As with any place having a shadow on its past such as this one, stories of unearthly happenings emerged very soon after the end of the war. These stories, however, really exploded when the Pohlig Box Company moved to a larger and more modern facility and the historic building at the corner of 25th and Franklin Streets was converted into apartments.

I had some very interesting interviews last week about what goes on inside of these walls, particularly in one unit that is difficult to rent. I'm working more on that this week and hope to wrap up the chapter with some stories that are going to surprise everyone!
 

No Rest for the Wicked

The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least! A marathon of events and appearances is finally slowing down for the season and I am really looking forward to a little R&R.

Halloween weekend went off with a bang thanks to the 200+ people who turned out to Shirley Plantation for their annual cemetery walk and book-signing. A costumed interpreter portrayed Virginia's most unusual ghost, Aunt Pratt, and led visitors through time at the 400-year old historic site. Pratt, whose portrait is said to cause quite a disturbance when moved, will definitely be back for another year of haunting!

Again, I am incredibly grateful for all of the open-minded and receptive people I've had a chance to meet and work with this year, especially those at Shirley Plantation. If you have a chance to pay them a visit soon, please tell them I sent you!

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

That's right, it's finally here! Wicked Richmond is hot-off-the-presses and makes its local debut this weekend, October 9th & 10th, at the Richmond Folk Festival. Come by Tredegar Ironworks (at the heart of the festival) between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM on either Saturday or Sunday and say hello and pick up an autographed copy for yourself or a friend!

If you're not in the Richmond area but would still like to check out the salacious stories and scandals of the city's past, you can grab a copy now at Amazon or add it to your holiday Wish-List.

Tick, Tock!

Great news - Wicked Richmond is currently going through the editorial steps and is rapidly approaching publication! I feel like a kid at Christmas, too excited to sleep and waiting for the news of the book's official release date.

To keep you in as much suspense as I am, here are a few of the juicy bits of history included in the final cut:

• William Byrd III and his Lottery
• The fall of the Randolph Family
• Pirates at the Penitentiary
• The Espionage of Elizabeth Van Lew
• Richmond's Boy Gangs
• The Murder of Lillian Madison
• Henry Beattie and Beulah Binford
• The Tri-State Gang Takes Richmond
• MORE!

You can be certain that I'll keep you posted on any and all release information as I receive it. The publisher is already hard at work putting together the marketing schedule for Wicked Richmond and tour dates for signings and author appearances. If you'd like me to present a talk about the city's scandalous history somewhere near you, please request a visit at BookTour.com so that I may try and accommodate it!

Balancing Act

I'm really starting to get into having two books to work on at the same time. If I hit a lull with one, I can still feel like I'm accomplishing something by working on the other. In fact, I'll be doing that very thing today.

The photos I'd hoped to bring home yesterday didn't happen, but there's a pretty funny story attached to why. I plotted my route, starting with the farthest location from my 4:30 appointment and working towards it. All of my photo gear was packed in the car, but I realized before I left that I needed a bundle of new batteries to get through all of the stops. No worries, I thought, there's a store about a half-mile from my first location - I'll just pop in and get some there.

I drove 40 minutes, stopped at the store and grabbed batteries and a drink. When I got to the register to pay, I realized I'd forgotten my wallet. By the time I drove all the way home and collected my necessities, I had about 20 minutes to go buy batteries to use TODAY and then get to my 4:30.

See what happens when I try and "schedule" this stuff? I'm much better at going with the flow than making rigid plans!

Pirates!

Ahoy!

Yesterday was fantastically productive when it came to research. I'm going to keep that momentum going today by turning over more stones involving the case of three pirates that were tried and ultimately executed here in Richmond. That's right - pirates.

No, Richmond isn't really near the coast (2-hours drive in moderate traffic) but we are the seat of the Federal Court for this district. The band of pirates in question sailed from Havana to New York and left a slew of bodies and carnage in their wake. How they ended up here is a story just begging to be told - but not here! Come on now, I can't reveal everything before the book's release.

So, that's today. I might even make it out later to photograph a couple of sites that have refused paranormal investigations, but whose stories are far too good to omit, for the upcoming ghost book. If I do, I'll be sure to share!

Murder Most Foul

19 blows to the head. Ouch.

I'm spending today reviewing the trial documentation of a particularly grisly murder case that dates back to 1852. The defendants were swiftly tried and executed for the hatchet killings of a couple and their 9-month old child, their motives still unknown.

This sort of work really wears me down emotionally (hmm, can't imagine why?) and makes the writing stage very difficult. Don't get me wrong, the research is like watching a historical episode of "Law and Order", but the gravity of it hits when you stop and digest the fact that none of the grisly details are fiction.

Maybe next time I'll propose a book on carnivals or amazing stories of survival instead!

I Guess I Should Cherish This Time, Right?

John Marshall - via Wikipedia

It looks as though I may be stuck at home again today because of snow. I have a few books on hand that I need to read for research and a couple of paintings in mind that I'd like to get to work on. Yes, I'm an avid artist and painter, too.

I've been digging up dirt from Richmond's past for the last six months or so (for the upcoming "Wicked Richmond" from History Press - sorry, no ghosts) and have discovered some really shocking things. One that I'm eager to get down to the State Library and comb through more involves the Randolph family and a soap-opera-like scandal from the 1700's that occurred at their plantation appropriately named Bizarre. These folks are the relatives of John Marshall, former US Chief Justice, and the crazy stuff that went on behind closed doors is truly stranger than fiction. The book about this scandal should definitely be a quick read.

It's tough for me to study the history of a site and NOT be able to jump up and go immediately after. I get really fueled up by all of the details and the itch to explore is insatiable. I'm going to limit my reading on local landmarks for a few days for this very reason! Weather permitting, I'll be at Fort Jackson on Sunday (braving the cold for certain) to try and capture EVP while the place is quiet.