Ghost hunting birthday parties

Spooky ghost stories are fine at sleepovers but what if your child wants a bit more zing to their fling? Armed with flashlights, digital recorders and cameras, a ghost hunting birthday party for your child puts a spin on traditional celebrations. Get the party started with episodes from their favorite ghost hunting television show or Scooby Doo then go over the basics:

• No one goes into an area alone
• Everyone stays within shouting distance of each other
• An adult will be present at all times
• Remember to leave a place as you found it - no garbage, damage or leftover birthday cake

Discover haunted places to explore via favorite books or The Shadowlands online (as well as other directories) before the party and call ahead to make sure it's an appropriate place for children to climb around as well as permission from the property owner if needed.

Arm them with their own ghost hunting kits:

• Notebooks
• Pencils
• Disposable camera
• Stopwatch or watch
• Flashlight
• Compass for EMF recordings
• Digital voice recorder for teams to share
• A copy of the Girls' Ghost Hunting Guide. Packed with tips, party games, decoration ideas, recipes, plus an excellent guide to learning to investigate the paranormal by deductive reasoning and FUN! Visit the Girls' Ghost Hunting Guide website today!

Start off the investigation by dividing the party into teams (if a large party) and assign partners. Make sure there is an adult with each group. As the kids explore the area, have them ask questions as the voice recorder runs, pausing between questions to hopefully capture an answer back. If the sugar rush from the cake has worn off, have them sit for ten minutes at a time and observe the area. Have them write down in their notebooks any changes in temperature, smells, sounds, etc, so they can share later with their friends and interpret what they experienced.

At the end of the party, have them create a group ghost story using the location you just visited with themselves as the investigators. Their notes may be used to fill in blank spots in the story, and share the voice recording- writing down anything that may come across as ghostly. Make a CD of the recordings to send home with each guest in their ghost hunting kit and a copy of the ghost story to share with their family.

Download your own Phantom Party Packet from the Girls' Ghost Hunting Guide as a PDF! Games, quizzes, decorations and food ideas for your next ghost adventure!

Have fun!




Image credit: stellarbaby.com

Follow up on random hauntings

Well, we can't say I didn't give it a good try. After charting the oddities that stroll through my house at night for a few weeks, I came up with:

• sleepwalking preschooler
• dogs with... gas
• more children with gas - what the heck am I feeding them?
• EVPs with nothing but a ticking clock. I don't have a ticking clock.

So, aside from the clock anomaly, there wasn't much to go on this time around. I haven't had a repeat of the child vision nor felt any eyes that didn't belong to a family member wanting juice boring into the back of my head. This supports my previous post on the random nature of hauntings. Sometimes they just pass through and we're in the way.

What are your thoughts on random hauntings? Have you been subjected to a pop-in ghostie?

West Virginia Penitentiary - Investigation 4.12.08

Well that was crazy. After a 4.5 hour trip west, we arrived at dusk at the imposing former West Virginia Penitentiary. Heeding the warnings to dress warmly, we packed in our bags, coats and folding chairs into the small lobby and waited with about 75 other ghost hunters. Mostly college students, I saw my fair share of moms and grannies in there ready to mix it up with whomever messed with their hair.


Speaking of hair, my own was fondled a bit in the Death Row Cafeteria during our tour. I'm used to having a grunt or hair tug when I work on investigations but these boys must've enjoyed picking on a chick with long hair. I marked that section down to come back to after the tour and we moved on to see the Hole, Sugar Shack - not as nice as it sounds, people - the cell blocks, gymnasium and psycho ward - painted white and pink. Unfortunately for us, the night was relatively quiet.

A few odd things of note:

• Men's bathroom on the psych ward: no electricity in the building save the lobby and we heard the distinct hum of a fluorescent bulb. Not feeling perky about this since we were standing in water due to leaks throughout the building. Checking with the lobby lady later, she told us the power refuses to turn off there, even after removing the breaker. Noting the bulb, she said she has taken it down time after time only to find it replaced the next morning.
• Hallway window across from the Maintenance room near main cafeteria. Every time we passed by there, we'd hear a tapping as if someone was trying to get our attention from the outside. Only they can't reach the window due to bars set two feet back from the glass. I chalked this up to poorly hung windows and wind as the weather outside had some gusts (and daaaaaaaaaang cold). Teaming up with others, one member went outside to tell us when the wind kicked up via walkie-talkie. The other lead member and I asked questions in the general direction of the window and were amazed when we'd get knocks/tappings back regarding questions pertaining to a murder in the Maintenance room years before. Going into the Maintenance room, the other lead member and I searched a larger room in back of it to check out any floating heads. As we asked questions and poked around, the tappings increased wildly in the hallway, said our team.

EVP: LaMishia is excellent ghost bait. This EVP was taken in the solitary confinement section of the prison. No other investigators were present; what do you think? 

Electronic Voice Phenomena

I admit it, I love EVPs. The spookier the better. If I can find someone breathing into the microphone that has no actual lungs -- I'm all over it. My friend Barb and her partner Michael set up shop at his house for a podcast last summer, while chatting about ghosts and hauntings they were bombarded with interruptions from the other side. What do you think about EVPs? Proof or a lot of hooey?

http://fromspirit.net/shows/fromspirit10_6_06.wma