good site on emf meters

http://nevadaghosthuntingsupplies.com/articleghosthunt.html

a really good ORB site.....

http://www.rense. com/general69/ orbs.htm

Ghost adventures.....

Has anyone seen Ghost adventures with Zak Bagans yet? What do you think about the footage of the things being thrown? Debbie

Hi Bill

Hi Bll,
Great to hear from you I was worried a malevolent spirit sucked you up. We had a great time at the Belleview Biltmore when a few of us went in the beginning of December. I had even gotton scratched by something. Which I felt you couldn't do better then that for proof something was there. I was no where near a wall and the scratch left a noticeable mark. We also go unusual EMF and at the same time got EVPs. It was very exciting and I suggest it to anyone who has not been there. I also have registered with Tapscon for the July event along with Debbie and Denise.
I am excited to see what the coming events are and if you need any help just give me a call.
Anna Marie

Back Among the Living, almost.

Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the delay, but this is my busiest time of the year and month. As you know I am the Publisher of a monthly newspaper and of numerous websites. The holiday season requires me at numerous events, as many as 6 in an evening, 7 days a week. But as the actual holiday gets closer, my schedule is starting to get a little more free. Unfortunately, January will not be a lot better as I break out my pirate gear for Gasparilla.

Here is the key news, as reported below, TAPS is planning a conference at the Belleview Biltmore in July. I have registered and suggest if you are interested to register ASAP.
The best deal is the VIP registration that includes a room for two nights. They have blocked the hotel, and their seems to be no other way to get rooms at this time. Get the details in the post below or go to the Taps website.

I plan for us to conduct 3 investigations between Christmas and Jan . 13. Watch for emails concerning those soon.

Lots of you have indicated company for the holidays, so
OUR NEXT OFFICIAL MEETING WILL BE SUNDAY, JAN 6 at 7 PM at our offices in Tampa.

We previously asked for volunteers to Committees. Here are the initial assignments:

1. LOCATIONS - objective is to research potential locations and to make initial recommendations as to investigaiton potential - Julie E., Jose Suarez, Rick and Joan Del Rio, Debbie Eskew

2. INVESTIGATION STRUCTURE AND PROCESSES - create interview procedures and make recommendations as to investigation potential - Claire Castillo, Marie Dumont, Jeanine Torres, Lori Pablo, Linda & Mike Burton

3. INVESTIGATION TEAM - Teams Coordinator - Marie Dumon - Various Number of Teams - Limited number of members per team. EVERY TampaGhostWatchers member will be a member of the Investigations Team.

4. OUTREACH - responsible for assisting in communcating with other parnormal teams and keeping our team aware of related events and news. Work to establish web and other links with other organizations. - Tom and Denise Drudy,

5. EVENT TEAM - responsible for assisting in the holding of our own events and seminars. Julie E., Anna Marie Maguire

Again, every member will be a member of the Investigations Team. Watch for investigations teams to be announced soon.

If your name is not listed, please let me know ASAP as to which team you would like to be on.

I expect to announce several key seminar/investigation events for next year. Exact dates are still being determined but the locations are: Early April -Cedar Key, May - Ocala National Forest Settlement, Early June - Niagara Falls/ Niagara on the Lake, Late August - Key West, Oct. - St. Augustine. Let me know if you have an interest in any one or more of these. (Or any other locations that you might suggest)

AND of course, SP is holding his event at Cassadaga on Feb. 8-10. Details on our website under special events.

We will have a more active schedule of events for 2008.

Your thoughts and input is always more than welcome. Have a Great New Year !

Dangerous Computer Virus

Hi All, We've checked with Norton Antivirus and they are gearing up for this virus so I believe this is real. We've checked snopes.com and this is for real. Get this sent around to your contacts ASAP, because we do not need this spreading around.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS: You should be alert during the next days. Do not open any message with an attached filed called 'Invitation' regardless of who sent it. It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your E-mail address in his or her contact list, that is why you should send this E-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it. If you receive an E-mail called 'Invitation', even if it was sent by a friend, do not open it, and shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN, and it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. McAfee discovered this virus yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.

PLEASE COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS, AND REMEMBER IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

TAPS CONFERENCE (The Atlantic Paranormal Society)

Taps is holding a two day conference at the Belleview Biltmore in Clearwater, July 19th.(Saturday) through July 20th 2008 (Sunday). This event is being billed as TAPs Con and Jason, Grant, Steve, our own Dusty, and most of the TAPS crew is scheduled to lecture. The tickets are on sale now but are going fast. The VIP Package includes all the lectures, two night stay at the hotel,access to all activities and the opportunity to investigate the Belleview Biltmore with renowned paranormal investigators. This is a true educational event for seekers of ghosts, demonology, and professional investigations.
Please go to the TAPs web site for more info.

Bill is still among the living

I spoke to Bill by phone today(12-13-07) and he apologizes for not being in contact with the group. He is really slammed at work and has dead lines he must make and client meetings he can't miss. Look forward to a message from him shortly for the next Ghost Watchers meeting and info on TAPS conference in Clearwater, in July 2008.

Where's Bill?

Has anyone heard from Bill lately? I've had a few calls from other members wondering when our next meeting is going to be.

Jose

free audio editor....

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Paranormal Book Store...

http://www.hauntedlives.com/HLStore.html

Top 10 Ghost Tours in America

http://www.americasbestonline.net/ghost.htm

Good article....

The Haunted Skyway Bridge in Florida
With Hundreds of Sightings, Could Ghost Be Real? The Skyway bridge, a beautiful sight in itself. From the top you can see countless miles of open water, and experience the peace, that nature has to offer. It is unfortunate the bridge is also associated with suicidal jumpers. Throughout the years several people have taken their life by jumping from the Skyway bridge. Is it possible some they never left the place, where they chose to leave it all behind? Fishermen of the Skyway pier tell countless stories of seeing "ghost". What is now the Skyway pier used to be the old Skyway Bridge where the stories of the jumper, and the hitchhiker will live forever.

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's scores of motorists using the Sunshine Skyway Bridge claimed to see a young blonde lady dressed in a tight T-shirt in an off-white or tan outfit poised to jump off of one of the main spans. She was reported during both day and night, many times when the structures were shrouded in fog. When Sheriff's Deputies would investigate, no trace of the young lady could be found, either at the top of the bridge, or in the waters below. By the end of the 1970's reports of a lady of similar appearance filtered in to toll collectors and local Sheriff's Deputies, only this time she was hitchhiking. Several motorists would pick her up.

She explained in a nervous tone that she had to get to the other side of the bridge. She would become more notably agitated the closer to the top of the bridge that the motorists went. When the drivers of the cars would turn around to reassure her that everything was all right she had simply vanished. These incidents involved many out of state drivers not familiar with these stories! Once the old southbound Skyway span was destroyed in May 1980 by the freighter "Summit Venture", the spectral Skyway lady was never seen again. Was she the spirit of a young lady who unbeknownst to others jumped to her death from the Skyway in the 1960's, or was she a harbinger of the death and terror that would occur on the old south span on that fateful May day in 1980? Another legend or haunting of the Skyway involves a Greyhound bus and it's 22 passengers. Now known as the "ghost bus". On the morning of May 9, 1980, a storm born in Texas several days earlier slammed into the Tampa Bay area, pelting it with heavy rains and winds. At 6:20 A.M. that morning, Harbor Pilot John Lerro climbed the pilot's ladder in order to navigate the empty 606' long phosphate freighter, the "Summit Venture" from the mouth of Tampa Bay to port of Tampa. As the ship continued to head east in the channel not far from Egmont Key, visibility became near zero.

The storm became so intense that Lerro lost his bearings by 800' and the result was that the bow of the ship struck the southbound span's support pier at 7:34 A.M., resulting in a horrendous collapse of the main span. Six automobiles, one pick up truck, and one Greyhound bus bound for Miami plummeted almost 200' down at an estimated speed of 67 miles per hour into the waters of Tampa Bay-only one person survived-the pick up truck landed first onto the ship itself, then into the Bay-the driver of the pick up truck was recovered from the water, hospitalized and later released.

All in all 35 people died that morning. The Greyhound bus, a 1975 MC-B Crusader, had one driver and 22 passengers onboard. The bus was sheared by the impact so severely that the entire top 2/3rds of it was shorn off "like a pop top". More then 20 people have reported seeing the shadow image of a Greyhound driving down what is now the fishing pier, as if on the main road. The driver has the looking straight ahead, with both hands on the wheel, as if nothing was wrong. Some say a lady wearing black is looking out the back of the bus, smiling, and waving at those who are staring. The the bus the just disappears off the end of the pier. Others say every now, and then you can feel a strong breeze, and smell gas, as if a bus just drove past you.

Does the stories just make for good fisherman tales, perhaps they are just stories. It makes for a good spooky tale whether you believe it or not. The Sunshine Skyway bridge connects Tampa / St. Petersburg to Sarasota. The Skyway pier is great for night fishing, so grab a pole, and let me know if you see any ghost. By Pen
Published May 08, 2007
Ccopy and paste to contact me
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/65230/pen.html

Great site...

Check it out......Debbie http://www.floridaghost.com/#

Real Haunted Houses in Florida...

Check this out....Debbie http://www.realhaunts.com/haunted-houses/united-states/florida/

Still more Haunts....

Another site......Debbie http://www.hollowhill.com/fl/fl.htm

more haunted Florida

Here's more...Debbie http://www.hauntedflorida.com/haunted.htm

Haunted Florida...

Check out this site of haunted places in Florida.....Debbie http://www.floridaghost.com/hauntedindex.htm

EVP site

Good EVP site........http://www.aaevp.com/examples/examples_voice.htm Enjoy! Debbie

Interesting EVP site.....

Found this a while ago....thought you all may be interested.. .....
http://paranormal. about.com/ library/blevps10 .htm Enjoy, Debbie

Haunted Places

Hello Bill and all, Scroll down a bit on this page and you'll see a list of
the states...... Florida has bunches of possible places to "play"
Enjoy....... .Debbie
http://theshadowlan ds.net/places/

Tampa Theater

What do you think about this photo......Dust or Orb?

Claire's Video

Tampa Theater Anna Marie's EVPs

I got these strange squeaks on my tape. They always seemed to be around the time I am looking for a response. But being the proverbial kid that has to know why, I tried taping on the rest of the tape. I have never gotten a noise like this before but I was trying to see if it could be a recorder machine noise. I used the same tape and the same batteries. I taped for about an hour. I didn't and could reproduce the noise. I even snorted into the machine. I have had this stuffy nose thing going on so I wanted to see if the noise could be recreated by any abnormal breathing pattern. But I have not after three hours of trying been able to recreate the noise. I got about ten of them on the tape at the Tampa Theater. Anyone wishing to hear these please e-mail me at Pandooora@aol.com and I will be happy to send them to you.
Anna Marie

EVP

I couldn't upload EVPs. So I turned this into a movie....lol I was alone on the stage with the closest member 20ft from me.

Tampa Theater

I had noticed something moving around the stage area. It seemed to be going in and out of the door so I tried to get it to come out on video. Unfortunately it came out where I wasn't focusing...lol Look at the left hand side of the curtain when watching this video.

Tampa Theater

Here is a picture of 4 shots of the projectionist window. If you notice in the first shot there is nothing in the window. In the second shot it seems to have someone looking out. I assumed when first looking that the person was one of the group. Until I realized that the last two pictures had the same person looking out the same window and they were taken 20 minutes after.

Tampa Theater

We had a great time at the Tampa Theater. I would like to thank Bill for setting it up and thank the theater for accomadating our group. There was a point in time that someone in the crowd said "did you guys hear that?" He had heard a noise from the back of the theater. Debbie and I being towards the back of the group immediatly turned at took a picture. I put both of those shots together in one picture so that the group could see it.

Next Meeting - Sunday, Nov. 11 - 7 PM

The Next Meeting of the Tampa Ghost Watchers will be on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 7 PM at the offices of the Tampa Marketing Company at 1906 N. Armenia Ave. #207, Tampa, FL

Phone number is 813-283-0760.

Our offices are in one of Tampa's original cigar factory buildings built in 1904, located at the corner of Spruce Street and N. Armenia, 4 blocks North of i-275.

Guests and Members are welcome to attend.

Tampa Theatre Ghosts

Special thanks to Mike Burton for providing us with the following:

The Tampa Theatre Ghosts

Foster Finley

The Tamp Theater was opened in 1926 at 711 N. Franklin Street in the heart of downtown Tampa.
Foster Finley (nickname Fink) became the projectionist from 1930 until his death from a heart attack in 1965.
Although the theater did not open until 1300 hours daily, Foster would arrive by bus every day at 0800 hours, dressed in a suit and tie.
It is reported that Foster was a smoker and “a cigarette was a permanent feature of the corner of his mouth”.
He had a wife and family however seemed to dedicate him self to the theater.
After his death, both moviegoers and theater staff reported seeing an apparition float across the screen during films. Projectionist reported “pranks,” as if someone was holding the projection booth door open as they tried to close it. Some employees reported seeing doors within the theater open and close by themselves, with no one around.
A figure dressed in light colors has been seen setting in the theater when it has been closed and empty.
One worker reported being repeatedly tapped on the shoulder as he mopped the floor. The same worker reported repeatedly turning off a shower on the third floor, which again and again turns back on as he left from just turning it off.
There have been reports of manifestations and objects move from one place to another.
One projectionist carried a knife in his belt and it came up missing from where he laid it within the projection booth. After repeated searching, the knife could not be found. Another employee suggested he just ask “Fink” to return it and the projectionist did.
The knife was immediately found in the projection booth where everyone had looked prior.

The Lady in White or the Lady in Waiting
(Investigation conducted by SPIRIT of St)
(Petersburg in 2005)
.
A lady ghost dressed in a long white dress has been seen at the second floor balcony and is believed to be waiting on her fiancé’. In 2005 a team of ghost hunters investigated the theater and a psychic communicated with her. It is believed that her name is Jezebel or Jesse and she was killed in the dirt street prior to the theater being built on the spot. Through psychic interview Jesse told the medium that she died while on her way to meet her fiancé after being run over by a horse and buggy. Prior investigation and sightings report the smell of perfume when Jesse is present.

Man in Uniform
Physic and paranormal investigators have reported the presence of a male figure dressed in and older style military uniform, possible civil war era.

Tampa Theatre Investigation Planned for Sunday, Nov 4

One of Tampa's supposedly most haunted locations is Tampa Theatre.

TampaGhostWatchers will be conducting an investigation at this historic landmark on Sunday, Nov 4 from 9-11 AM - that is correct - AM. Remember this is the day the time changes so turn your clock BACK, (so for Cynthia, that means the little hand moves from 9 to 8, so you actually get an extra hour of sleep).

The investigation is limited to TampaGhostWatcher members and cost to attend is $10, all of which goes to the Tampa Theatre. Yes, bring appropriate equipment and meet at 8:45 AM at the Box Office on North Franklin Street. If you have never been to Tampa Theatre before you are in for a real historic treat.

The investigation will be followed by a lunch gathering at Cafe Hey on Franklin Street, immediately North of I-275. This location was built in 1904 and recently became Cafe Hey.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend to bill@tampaghostwatchers.com.

Alice - St. Augustine

This is the picture of Alice that was taken when several of us went with SP on Saturday evening.

This is a cropped version of Alice. Notice the energy radiating from the orb on the outer edges.

Please note: It was not raining and there was nothing on the porch that was reflective where this orb was taken. Approximately 15 people were able to witness this photo immediately after it was taken. Additionally, Alice was setting off the EMF meter. Had it not been for this seminar, I would not have been able to capture such an incredible phenomena. This photo also made a believer out of several skeptics.

St. Aughostine

I had a fantastic time and enjoyed the speakers immensely. Thanks for putting together a fun weekend Bill. I can honestly say that I came away with some very beneficial information as well as photos and new friends. Plus, I think walking gave "everyone" some much needed exercise. No complaints here. It was fun getting together with like minded people. Surely it could not have been easy to put on this event but rest assured that you put on a good program which was certainly enjoyable.

St. Aughostine 9.23.07

All my photo's from St. Aughostine.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/j2008/sets/72157602130350067/show/

I do have a paid flickr account, if people have alot of photo's like me they would like uploaded without compressing them, I'd be happy to do that for you. I love to see all the stuff I missed. To try to plan better for next time.

jesse.tgw @ gmail.com

St. Aughostine Rain?

Right now, The weather isn’t looking to good for St. Aughostine for Friday and Saturday hopefully that will change. How much stuff is outside? Didn’t know if I needed to buy rain gear or not? Didn’t know if it’s a ONWARD TROOPS WE ARE TAKING THAT HILL! Or a Snuggle up in the big room, burn the hotel chairs for a camp fire and tell ghost stories while it rains, or if you could post something about in case of rain we are doing this …..


Also, Oct 5-7 they are having Necronomicon, like a smaller version of Dragon Con I think. Never been to this. Carrie and I will be going Saturday of that weekend to check it out. This is the 26th year, but I had never heard of it before.

Tampa's Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Convention
Hyatt Downtown Tampa
http://www.stonehill.org/necro.htm

Sunday, Sept. 16 Meeting

7 PM at the Tampa Marketing Company Offices at 1906 N. Armenia #207, Tampa.

Photos to compare, stories to tell.

Special conference call with Sarah Zell, founder of the Central Texas Ghost Search.

Ghostock 5

Who will be attending Ghostock 5?

Dragon Con, St Aughostine, Ghostock5

Just got back from Dragon Con last night. It was a blast. The following Link has some photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12670863@N05/sets/72157601872053487/show/

Really hard to grasp how big Dragon Con is. 3 Large hotels. With 4-5 Floors each packed with people dressed up, and some not so dressed. Hung out with some of the Georgia GhostHounds and a little with Patrick Burns (great group of people). Nice thing about DC is it's not a drunken slobber fest. Thousands and Thousands of people there, party 24 hours a day for 3 days and hardly see a drunken slob. One of the few places a girl can walk around in shadow armor(painted on body) and pasties in the middle of large crowds and not get molested. Like to see her try that in ybor! The time just few by. 4 days just seem like a blurr of one day. Plenty of famous people to meet for all you Scifi fans, TAPS, Mythbusters, Eric Estrada(not sure what he was doing there), Kevin Sorbo, BSG people, FireFly peoples, Marc Singer (The first BeastMaster guy), Drucllia, Spike, Lori Pettie(Not sure what she was doing there either), Stargate, and thats just to list a few of them. You guys should try to make plans to go next year.


So we will be at St. Aughostine in a couple weeks. Rooms are pretty cheap here, If some one REALLY needs to share a room do to the cost, let us know and we will see about sharing to help out.

Then we are booked for Ghostock5 also. We are considering looking for roommates to split the cost for the hotel room, and maybe the cost for the road trip.

Here is a break down of guest per room for Ghostock. (Copied from the ghostock forum)

159.00 + taxes and fees = 180.67
3 nights x 180.67 = 542.01
542.01 divided by 2 roomies = 271.00 per person!

3 people the rate goes up $10 per night (extra person).
169.00 + taxes and fees = 191.97
3 nights x 191.97 = 595.91
575.91 divided by 3 roomies = 191.97 per person!

4 people the rate goes up $20 per night....($10 per extra roomie)
179.00 + taxes and fees = 203.27 per night
3 nights x 203.27 = 609.81
609.81 divided by 4 roomies = 152.45 per person!!

just send me a email at jesse.tgw AT gmail.com

News from Pras

Hello all,

Yes, Aden Timothy Wilisch was born over the Labor Day Weekend September 2, 2007 at Brandon Regional Hospital (Florida) at 1339 (That's 1:39 PM for those of you non-military types). Guess little Aden could not wait, he wanted that BBQ :) Actually, my blood pressure unfortunately shot up and doctors think that's what did it. He was all of 7 Lbs 3 oz and he's a sweetheart.

I delivered naturally (I Did it!!!!) and I went with a Doulas service (Touched by an Angel Doulas, Thank you Alison!!!!!). I'm so glad I did, it was truly a remarkable experience.

So I'll post more pictures in the future, probably on MYSPACE under http://www.myspace.com/pheonix_k or Ned's at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=147738990&MyToken=5e557c8e-ff6b-44f3-b6ee-4ccea21d3aba will let you guys know.

Oh! before I forget, please send me your addresses (incase I don't have them) so little Aden can send a hello! :)

Many Blessings!
Pras, Ned and Aden Wilisch


CONGRATULATIONS PRAS AND NED !

Pre-St AuGhostine Get-Together ?

Was wondering if any Tampa Ghostwatchers would like to meet at my home on Sunday afternoon Sept 9th for a casual get-together (bring a covered dish) get to know each other a little better and discuss our upcoming trip, all things ghostly & possibly put together some of our photos to display at the seminar (to represent our group in a special way). It would also be awesome if we could put together Bios about ourselves to explain what motivated us (personal experiences) to join the Ghostwatchers.
I live NE of Tampa in a large subdivision off Bruce B Downs & County Line Road . oops I'm falling asleep as T speak. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 9A


9

St. Aughostine Questions

Bill, do you want us to wear our team shirts? Please fill us in as to what other fun things we will be doing and what sites we will be checking out. I for one would like to know if we can investigate the lighthouse. Also, is the entire weekend casual dress (jeans), semi-casual, etc. I also noticed that the Holiday Inn has a hot tub, pool and exercise room in case we might have a few minutes of down time to relax and discuss our day (although the weekend looks very packed with fun activities). Would the hotel be willing to let us in after hours if we are well behaved?

Tampa Ghost Watchers: Meeting - Sunday, Aug. 12 - 8 PM

Tampa Ghost Watchers: Meeting - Sunday, Aug. 12 - 8 PM

So who's going to St Aughostine? I am!!!!

Meeting - Sunday, Aug. 12 - 8 PM

Open meeting for anyone to attend at the offices of the Tampa Marketing Company at 1906 N. Armenia Ave. #207, Tampa, FL.

Please take down the phone number: 813-770-3902 in case the front door is locked.

We are in an original cigar factory building, quite large, and built in 1904.

Ghost Gathering in Clewiston

It was a long drive from Tampa, but worth it as I attended the Ghost Gathering organized by the Southwest Florida Paranormal Investigators. About 10 different Florida area investigative teams participated with 30-40 participants. The Clewiston Inn built in 1926 was the location and offered up a very interesting location. I had a few moments discussion with one of the Inn owners, and he was most pleased to have the group visit. The hotel had even provided almost unlimited access to all areas of the hotel for the Gathering.

While I was only able to attend on day of the 3 day event, it was full of interesting discussion and presentations. Having previously met Doug Kelley from Spiriteam, he stayed true to his message of belief being the main factor in paranormal investigations. Brandy Stark of St. Petersburg SPIRITS spoke on Ghosts and Art and Culture, I spoke on Dealing with the Press. Many more seminars and discussion groups were held, but time forced me back to Tampa. Watch for Morgan from SWFPI to plan more events, and even to come our way sometime soon.

Several more from Al's House

I found four photos containing orbs. The photos taken immediately before and immediately after did not contain any.

Thanks to Al, Bill & Fellow Ghostwatchers

It was a fascinating evening and Al, you were a great host (thank you for giving us the opportunity to investigate at our own pace and for providing not only snacks & refreshments but also for filling us in on some of the past history of your home.)
I have a few photos to share. Hope we have not stirred things up too much (say hello to Patrick for us !)

Al's House

These are the best that I found. I do have about 6 clips on audio. 2 I'm not sure about. 4 of the others I know what they are, but could be easily said to be something else if I hadn't of been there. If some one else want the full audio 70megs, 2 files 30min and 40mins to see what they hear, I can bring copies to the next meeting. Read the comments for my email address. If any members want the 6 clips just email me, I should be able to get them to you, in some form or another.

I had a great time! Thank you Al, Bill, and the rest who's names I can't remember. :)

August 2, Investigation

Special thanks to Al for allowing us all into his home for some pics.

I have a couple pics of interest that I took that I am offering to the blog. You will be able to find additional pics from the event on our main site at http://www.tampaghostwatchers.com/ later today.

Hey, Let's All Be Nice Here !

Questions being raised about photo etc, still all comes down to belief and experienced.

If I wasn't there to see/feel what occured, how do I know ?

If I didn't shoot the pic and know what happened to it after, how do I know ?

Photos Beyond Reproach ?

There are photos that I would be happy to post on this blog and share with group members. But I have to admit that if my photos were criticized in a harsh way, I would be less than thrilled to share in the future.
My camera of choice is digital and I am trying to get in the habit of taking more than 1 photo in the same spot when I think I might have captured an anomalie. This way, if for example an orb shows up in 1 photo, it could be seen traveling in the next one.
I would enjoy seeing more group members share their own photos on this blog, and I hope people aren't being held back by fears of anyone implying their photos might be doctored with, through Photoshop or any other photo manipulation programs.
Personally, I don't know how to edit photos, other than to brighten/enhance them in the photo program I have-when the photos come out too dark to see what is in the background.
This is a free country and we are free to speak our mind, but is it too much to ask that if and when we criticize each others' photos-we treat each other with respect ?
I welcome constructive criticism and I do not claim to be a professional photographer. In fact, it would be wonderful if we had a professional photographer in our group who could objectively critique, debunk & offer alternate explanations to anything unusual we might capture on an investigation.
But to expect all our photos to be "beyond reproach" is a bit much, in my opinion.
We are learning as we go along and our most fascinating and impressive data, including photos, can be viewed as "circumstantial evidence" at best.
I do have a question for any Tampa Ghostwatcher who might have the answer.
Is it possible or even probable to have double-exposures with digital camera photos when the photo is taken at "automatic setting" ? If so...obviously this could account for some anomalies being explained.
Well, I hope to hear some replies.....and to see some more cool photos by members of our group. (come on jsuarez.....let's see what you've got !) We are here to share and to learn and we all have something good to contribute with each other.
In friendship and respect,
CB

Investigation - Thursday, Aug. 2

We will be having an investigation at a private home in North St. Petersburg at 8 PM.

Members only please.

You can join and then email me for specific information. bill@tampaghostwatchers.com

MORE EVENTS: The St. AuGHOSTine event is planned for Sept. 21-23. Great Speakers and more. Register or get more information at www.staughostine.com

NEXT MEETING FOR EVERYONE will be Sunday, August 12, 7 PM at the Tampa Marketing Co. offices at 1906 N. Armenia Ave. #207, Tampa, FL. Special Guest Conference Call.

Oaklawn Cemetery Tour 6-30-07

Hope those of you who attended the tour enjoyed Maureen Patrick's presentation of the cemetery history as much as I did. And are you as grateful as I am for modern summer clothes ? Tell ya what...if I would have been wearing what Maureen wore....and would have had a bad hot-flash...you could have just left me under an old oak tree since I would have had a heat stroke and become your latest ghostie !
file:///Users/clairecastillo/Desktop/6-30-07%20Oaklawn%20Cemetery/

Cemetary Directions

Digital cameras

I am looking into a small digital camera to take on investigations. Can you tell me what to look for in this camera. Do I need more than 4 pixels? Do they come with night vision or infared? What is the ghostinvestigator today using in the field? I appreciate any help. Thanks, Ollie

Face

This photograph was taken the night before I moved to Florida (02/27/03). My grandmother is in the wheelchair and a face appears to be coming out of the wall, covering my brother and hovering over my head. I am not sure what is coming out of the wall at the bottom of the picture but it appears that there is more than just the face. I am interested in hearing what others think of this. The photograph was taken with a digital camera. It is automatic focus as well. It appears as if the camera was attempting to focus on the face and everything around it blurred. Nothing appeared on the rest of the photos that were captured that evening.

Guest on Radio Show - June 20 - 7 PM

I will be a guest on Magick Mind Radio this week with Dusty Smith from the Daytona Beach Paranormal Reserach Group.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 from 7-8 PM

Listen in if you can online at:

http://www.magickmindradio.com/cms/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

childhood memories

I grew up on the southside of Chicago in an area surrounded by cemeteries. Behind our back yard was the edge of Mt Olivet Cemetery. My friends & I would play tag by jumping from cement casket to cement casket. And in the winter, we would slide down the cemetery hills on our little saucer sleds. We would often present our mothers with beautiful flowers (mostly gladiolas) given to us by the cemetery workers when they were cleared from the gravesites. (I think they must have said thank-you while cringing at the same time !) For a short time, Al Capone's gravesite was in Mt Olivet & the boys on the block would give tours to see his gravestone/photo for a quarter ! On Halloween, our neighbor Bobby would dress up like dracula and we would "play act" one of the dracula movies.
My little brother (about 4 yrs old at the time) was caught playing with some bones under our back porch one day, which horrified my mother. We brought the jawbone to the local dentist who verified it was "human". It seems the cemetery somehow managed to dig up some old (records lost) gravesites while making room for new ones. My mother was a good soul and arranged for the local priest to come out and give a blessing and have the bones reburied.
Come on Ghostwatchers....share your stories (bet you have some good ones !)

The Hook

Over a year ago, I tagged along with a good friend of mine on my first ghost-hunt/investigation in a north Florida cemetery. It was an incredible experience and by the end of the night, I guess you could say I was "hooked" considering the fact that over 40 out of approx. 180 photos I took contained something strange, including the "C" photo;one of my favorites. The fact that my name is Claire & my friend's name is Casey means a lot to me;makes me think we were given a great big "hello" from the other side. What do you think ?
CB

A Ghostly Blessing

May the ghosts rise up to meet you...
May the wind be chilled upon your back...
The orbs shine bright upon your lense...
The rain fall somewhere else that night...
And until we meet again...
May the power of light & love encircle & protect you.
:-)
CB (Claire Bear)

Here's wishing happy & safe hunting to my fellow Ghostwatchers.

Hello to ALL fellow Tampa Ghost Watchers bloggers!

Greetings one and all!
I am so glad that Bill set this blog up for all of us to stay in touch and up to date with the goings on of the paranormal community in Florida!
We are all staying VERY busy here in Daytona Beach and beyond. Cases are coming in daily, tours are busier than ever, we finished one of our 8 adopted cemeteries, and I have finished working on my newest book.
I'm looking forward to the next Tampa Ghost Watchers conference and hoping to attend.
Welcome and great BIG thanks from the east side of the state!

Dusty Smith
President & Founder of The Daytona Beach Paranormal Research Group, Inc.
www.dbprginc.org
Proud member of the TAPS family, area representative for the AGS and recommended by The Light.
Co-Host Magick Mind Paranormal Talk from 7-8:00 PM EST.
http://www.magickmindradio.com
President & Founder of The International Association of Cemetery Preservationists, Inc.
http://hometown.aol.com/iacpcontact/IntroPageIACP.html
Owner & Operator of Haunts of the World's Most Famous Beach Ghost Tours
www.hauntsofdaytona.com
Chief editor & publisher of Raven's Loch Publishing House
http://hometown.aol.com/ravenslochph/RLMain.html
Author of "Dread & the Dead Filled the Dunnam House" available 01-29-2006 through PublishAmerica.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com and many other fine retailers!http://www.publishedauthors.net/dsmith/index.html
ISBN 1-4137-9837-3
Staff writer for Epitaphs Magazine:
http://thecemeteryclub.com

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but, to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, cigarette in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Meeting Notes, May 31, 2007

We had just over 20 people attend this meeting. Topics included discussion from our recent Belleview Biltmore Seminar. Everyone seemed to enjoy the speakers, the location, and the event as a whole. We also discussed establishing investigation teams with team co-leaders. Anyone interested in leading a team should email me with a brief summary of why they want to lead a team. (Members only are allowed to participate in investigations).

Additional discussion centered on a now being planned event in St. Augustine in late September, probably the 21-23. Details are not yet firm. More details to be announced asap.

DVD from the Biltmore Conference is to be edited and produced soon with anticipated release on July 1. More details soon.

Al issued an invitation to have our group investigate his home in St. Petersburg in August. His home has been investigated before by other groups. We will be working on a date for that event as convenient.

Discussion also centered on having the opportunity for members to just share stories and experiences with each other in a more social situation. Watch for details on an event for this purpose soon.

To be kept informed, please be sure to visit our main website at www.tampaghostwatchers.com and add your name to our free email list.

Please add any comments or additions in case I missed anything from the meeting.

Welcome to our Blog !

As a result of a discussion between members, we have created this blog site for members and non-members to be able to post comments and more.

Due to spammers and more, we have required that you have to log in the first time to post any COMMENTS, but be assured we have done that to insure your privacy.

Additionally, we welcome you as a regular posting blogger, but you will need to provide me with a request with your email address to be allowed to do so. Any member of TampaGhostWatchers will be allowed to post articles to this blog once registered and approved by the Administrator.

Let the discussions begin !