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Sometimes, it’s hard to read the reactions to my posts on those pages, which often includes attacks on my credibility, my character, my sanity, and even my writing skills. These attacks come from people who don’t know me, so I have let it go.

I didn’t understand why my posts were shared so often on one particular Facebook ‘skeptical thought’ fan page, until tonight.

I was offered a “press subscription” to Skeptical Inquirer a few weeks ago. The current issue involved an article about “ghost hunting”.  I wholeheartedly agreed with the article and shared my thoughts about it in a blog post. That blog post was shared on the Skeptical Inquirer Facebook fan page today for discussion. The comment section on that page includes terrible comments about me by some people, which doesn’t surprise me.

What does surprise me is the apparent misunderstanding about my blog. So, I’ll take this opportunity to clarify things.

The Tucson Citizen website is a compendium of (unpaid) blogs. It was a newspaper – until May 2009. This fact is stated clearly on the ‘About the Tucson Citizen’ page, as well as on my ‘What is Paranormal Old Pueblo?’ page.

I learned from the comments section on the Facebook page that my ‘articles’ were brought to the attention of Skeptical Inquirer editors, due to “a pro-paranormal slant and lack of skeptical commentary”. They sent me the complimentary issues of the magazine “with the hope that [I] would look at things a bit more skeptically”.

All this effort to ‘educate’ an unpaid paranormal blogger.

To anyone who might to be confused, I assure you, this is just a blog.

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Copyright © 2010 Cherlyn Gardner Strong

Read more of Cherlyn’s posts at her Paranormal Old Pueblo website

Maine’s Sun Journal publishes a monthly column called “Weird, Wicked Weird” that covers unexplained and weird topics. The other day, staff writer Katherine Skelton took on this subject of stolen library books in a column, called: Weird, Wicked Weird: The occult. Witchcraft. Demonlogy. Library books that grow legs.

From experience as a frequent borrower of paranormal books, I can tell you that many paranormal-themed books vanish without a trace, aside from the aforementioned occult titles. I don’t know how many times an online catalog lists words like “missing”, “lost” or “overdue” for a book I want to borrow.

Before the ability to re-check out items online, I always returned to the library when the due date arrived to re-borrow the item. If someone else recalled the book, I would return it and wait patiently for the book to be returned to the library so I could check it out again. More often than not, the book never came back. Another great idea in history, of course, is the idea of Interlibrary Loan for heavily sought after items. Regardless, it is still a waiting game and more often than not, a library will have to seek out multiple libraries to obtain the book sought.

It’s a shame that some libraries have to send police knocking on doors to retrieve the books. It’s even a bigger shame that libraries lose so much money replacing stolen books.

Maybe that’s why so many libraries are haunted by dedicated librarians. It is important that information is available for everyone to share. A librarian is the keeper of that information. It’s infuriating that some people simply steal information meant for everyone. My frequent wish is that someday a dedicated ghostly librarian might follow some of these “borrowers” home.

I wonder why libraries aren’t demanding these titles in electronic form? NetLibrary and other electronic book providers are available through online library catalogs. The books “check themselves back in” on their due dates. It’s not the same as holding a book, but it makes more sense to me than simply banking on books being stolen and spending the money to replace them.

Of course, “borrowers” who don’t return books deserve a piece of my mind. When I like a book enough to want to have it, I buy it. I might not buy the book ‘new’. Used bookstores, and even used online booksellers, do often have these books at fairly good prices. There are plenty of book swapping/trading websites. You can see if any member has the title you want.

Of course, don’t swap that book you “borrowed” from the library. Swap one that actually belongs to you.

Referring to this film starring Matt Damon, and directed by Clint Eastwood, film critic Roger Ebert wrote:

“Eastwood has made a film for sensitive, intelligent people who are naturally curious about what happens when the shutters close.” - Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, in his blog from Toronto

Eastwood is no stranger to suspense thrillers. Play Misty for Me was his cinematic directorial debut in 1971. Like Fatal Attraction after it, this film made men leery of one-night stands with women for a while.

In Eastwood’s Hereafter, Matt Damon plays George, a blue-collar factory worker who can communicate with the hereafter – a gift he has trouble coping with. The “reluctant psychic” soon finds himself connected to a French television journalist named Marie (Cecile De France), who writes a book about her near death experience. Both become connected to Marcus, a young boy who has suffered the loss of his sibling Jason. The brothers are played by real-life twins, newcomers Frankie and George McLaren. The film’s synchronistic events lead to the convergences of these three characters from San Francisco, Paris and London, respectively. Crash meets The Sixth Sense comes to mind.

In fact, M. Night Shyamalan-favorite Bryce Dallas Howard (Lady in the Water, The Village) is also in the film’s supporting cast, as a supporter of the psychic abilities displayed by Damon’s character.

Unlike director Shyamalan’s interest in the paranormal, Eastwood stated recently that at the age of 80, he hasn’t given much thought to the afterlife, except that he doesn’t hope to cross over to the other side anytime soon.

It will be interesting to watch Eastwood’s interpretation of this script. Of which, scriptwriter Peter Morgan previously described to the Hollywood Reporter:

“It’s quite spiritual material, and quite romantic, too. It’s the sort of piece that’s not easy to describe and in the hands of different filmmakers could end up as wildly different films. Quite unlike some of my other material, which I think there were only certain ways that you could shoot it.”

Due to the mixed reviews, audiences may either love it or hate it, like last year’s Paranormal Activity, which I loved. I viewed Paranormal Activity with no expectations and with an open mind. What I found was that it was a fun flick with a terrible ending, but by no means was it a waste of my time.

Despite the mixed reviews from the Toronto premiere, I’ll approach Hereafter with no expectations and an open mind.

According to the tale that has intrigued the teens, when a vehicle hits 111 mph along Lemon Tree Passage Road, it is said that a motorcycle ghost will appear in the rear view mirror.

The road between New Castle and Sydney has been the backdrop for many YouTube videos posted by teens trying to prove the tale to be real. The videos have actually captured a white light behind the speeding cars when the vehicles are said to hit that specific speed.

The ghost could very well be a very much alive motorcycle rider playing a prank on local teens and having a jolly good time doing it. It appears as though the teens are having fun endangering the lives of themselves and others on these paranormal inspired joy rides.

Local police, of course, are not having a good time and are not happy at all about this dangerous ghost hunting trend. They do aim to stop it.

A police spokseman has issued a statement for speeders: “We want speeding drivers to know that the only bright light they’ll be seeing in their rear windows will be the red and blue lights of a police car.”

Although several videos are available for viewing, the videos are unsuitable to post.

This is due to the extreme profanity that spews out of the mouths of the screaming and speeding teens in the videos.

If profanity and screaming teens don’t bother you, you can easily find these videos by typing “Lemon Tree Passage Ghost” on YouTube.

Narrowing it down, four very different hauntings that I wrote about when I started this blog come to mind, which are all buried deep within the archives of Paranormal Old Pueblo.

The tale of the “Lady in Red” at the former site of Osco Drug in El Con Mall in Tucson is absolutely one of my favorites. A woman in a red 1940′s dress terrified employees of the drug store for years.  Her presence was always foreshadowed by the click-click-click sound of her high heel shoes.  However, I haven’t heard of any more paranormal activity from the lady in red since the store was demolished to make way for Target and the Home Depot. Read more about The Lady in Red

The Old Fort Lowell Historic District in Tucson also intrigues me. As a former resident of the area, there is something different about the feel of the area.  Perhaps it’s the rich history that local residents keep at the forefront to keep it alive for future generations. Perhaps it’s the soldiers at the old fort who still don’t know they’ve died generations ago. Maybe the ruins of the old fort somehow recorded events and keep playing them back. Read more about The Ghosts of Fort Lowell

Located in the Patagonia Mountains, where there is no shortage of ghostly tales and ghost towns, the haunted Bonanza Mine near the U.S.-Mexico border has a fascinating story to tell. The ghost was reported to ring a bell that was no longer there. Read more about The Haunted Bonanza Mine

The Pioneer International Hotel in Tucson is the most tragic (and, yes, my most favorite) tale of all. This tragedy in Tucson resulted in international attention, caused the people of two countries to mourn, and resulted in the modification of fire codes across the country in the 1970′s.  The paranormal experiences in that building, which is now an office building, are still reported today. Read more about The Pioneer

Betting officials have experienced a surge of bets after the declassification of files that show that Winston Churchill banned a “bizarre” UFO incident from disclosure. Churchill issued the order due to fears of mass hysteria and loss of faith in religion.

The incident in question involved a reconnaissance plane and its crew that was approached by a metallic UFO, which subsequently shadowed them on the English coast.

The files in question can be viewed online at the UK National Archives.

A spokesperson from William Hill, one of the largest bookmakers in the UK, says:  “We have had loads of calls. There are thousands of believers out there many of whom are putting their money on an imminent announcement.”

On a related note, Bet or Trade reports that William Hill has teamed up with the Fortean Times for a paranormal photo competition. You can earn four figures if your photo is selected. There are three categories in which you can enter your photos: extraterrestrial, paranormal and cryptozoological.

To enter your photos, and for full terms and conditions, visit : www.forteantimes.com

Sutton residents take this offer quite seriously, as reported by the UK Press Association.

While normal queries to the call center range from normal questions about area housing, schools and parking services, the call center receives many odd questions. For example, “How long can I safely store ginger powder for?” and “Can I put a dead fox in my recycling bin?”

A woman called Sutton Council’s call center, related to “parking”, since her car failed to stay parked where she left it. She called to ask if her car was haunted after her vehicle “moved of its own accord.”

After a “paranormal investigation” was conducted, the Sutton Council revealed that a ghost did not move her car: “CCTV footage showed the car rolled into a different parking bay after she failed to apply her handbrake properly.”

Perhaps you’ve seen paranormal investigations conducted at Mary King’s Close on television’s Most Haunted or Ghost Hunters International.

If you have had the opportunity to visit, you may want to dig out those old vacation photos. The same apparition has been caught on camera on at least two separate occasions, according to a recent report by STV Scotland.

What appears to be the same blond-haired woman appears in both photos, both taken during late night tours in 2009.

The staff at Mary King’s Close is certain that the woman who appears in both photos was not a customer. The extra person in each of the photos does not correlate with tour attendance records.

Mary King's Close Ghostly Tourist / Courtesy STV Scotland

Staff at Mary King’s Close is asking anyone who sees a strange apparition in their pictures to allow them to be examined.

In the meantime, the tour hours will be extended for the month of August, with hopes that this same anomaly will reappear in photos.

We’ve long been associated with supernatural and unexplained stories. We’ve had sightings of dark shadowy figures who lurk in the myriad of passageways, rooms and corners of the Closes, and reports of lots of strange noises – these images seem to give us even more evidence. By running tours late in to the night with the last one finishing at midnight, we hope that this might make the ghostly image reappear.” – Lisa Robshaw, spokesperson for The Real Mary King’s Close

Ms Robshaw insists that images had not been doctored by staff, and hopes that by making the images public that someone might be able to help. She added, “If there are people in the images who can explain who the lady is we would love to hear from them.  We’ve tested the static camera that we use and it appears to be working normally so we really do not have an explanation.  We just want to try and understand what has happened.”

This convicted killer wasn’t only satisfied with taking lives. He also exhumed bodies from cemeteries to take bones and skin from corpses. At least 40 of these graveyard trips occurred between 1947 and 1952.

Since the man was only linked to the killings of less than three people, he did not meet the criteria to be labeled a serial killer. Yet, his crimes provided the basis for famous horror film characters: Jame Gumb (Silence of the Lambs), Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and Norman Bates (Psycho).

In 1957, Gein confessed to two killings after police found body parts in his house. Gein, like Jame Gumb, was in the midst of creating a “woman suit” after his mother died, so he could pretend to be a female.

Some of the recovered body parts belonged to Gein’s victims Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden. Hogan was a tavern owner, who Gein admitted to killing in 1954. Warden owned a hardware store and was admittedly killed by Gein in 1957.

Unfit to stand trial, he was initially confined in a mental health facility. In 1968, he was finally tried for the murder of Bernice Worden.

The itemized inventory of parts collected from the Gein home included (from Wikipedia):

• Four noses
• Whole human bones and fragments
• Nine masks of human skin
• Bowls made from human skulls
• Ten female heads with the tops sawed off
• Human skin covering several chair seats
• Mary Hogan’s head in a paper bag
• Bernice Worden’s head in a burlap sack
• Nine vulvas in a shoe box
• Skulls on his bedposts
• Organs in the refrigerator
• A pair of lips on a draw string for a windowshade

The judge stated that “Due to prohibitive costs, Gein was tried for only one murder — that of Mrs. Worden.”

Gein died in Madison, Wisconsin at Mendota Mental Health Institute.