A Search For Ghosts - Part 3

Vortex or camera strap in photo?

(part 3)

PHOTOGRAPHING GHOSTS

A lot of research and time goes into trying to photograph ghostly manifestations. A paranormal investigator doesn’t just walk into a reported haunted house, wait for a ghost to appear and start snapping with his camera. Many investigators have never seen a ghost.

They usually set up sophisticated equipment—electro-magnetic equipment (EMF meter), thermometers, motion detectors, etc.—wait for hours for a sudden “cold spot” or specific reading in the equipment that could indicate the presence of a ghost and take a series of pictures. Hoping that when they check the photographs later, some image will be produced.

Usually the types of images captured are divided into orbs, vortexes and full body manifestations.

Orbs— an orb is a ball of light, white or bluish. One or more may show up in a photo. Some researchers believe these to be manifestations of spiritual energy. But other normal things can cause these images: dust, rain, snow, insects. Some say that true orbs don’t sparkle like light reflected off a dust particle would.

Vortexes— are seen as swirling spirals of light or wisps of clouds. They’re also thought to be centers of spiritual energy. These are explained away as being cigarette smoke or exhaled breath on a cold night.

Full Body Ghost— these are the rarest of photos, a true person in spirit form showing up in a photo. This doesn’t prove the existence of ghosts because even the best photos can be faked.

(Part 4 will be posted on Monday December 13^th)

A Search for Ghosts - Part 2

Ghostly mist and orbs in photo

(Part 2)

While doing research for the topic of ghosts and ghost hunting, I discovered a huge number of paranormal investigators in Pennsylvania where I live. Pennsylvania must have a lot of ghosts or supernatural activity because when I checked out this site: http://www.paranormalsocieties.com/state_list.cfm?state=pa

I counted over 150 paranormal societies located in PA and dozens more outside of the state that participate in activities within PA. This is one of the local sites with some detailed information: http://www.eppsinvestigations.com/

I talked about the first three types of ghosts in the previous post on December 2^nd. The other four types are explained below:

4) Non-Human Manifestations- This type of ghost is reported to be interactive, intelligent and can manifest emotions. To believe in the theory that this type of ghost exist, you have to also believe that there are non-human sentient beings in the universe. These may be malevolent or benevolent in nature.

5) Poltergeist- The word

poltergeist means “noisy ghost” in German. They are the most interactive of ghosts and tend to move objects around a room, cause rapping, push or touch people, even start small fires, yet some investigators don’t believe they exist. One explanation for these manifestations seem to occur in the presence of a prepubescent girl or a high strung teenager. It’s thought that the activity is telekinetic energy from the humans not the ghosts. But this doesn’t explain all activity.

Vortex in photo?

6) Inanimate manifestations- Inanimate objects like planes, ships, cars, etc. have been reported to appear and disappear as ghostly images usually where a tragedy occurred. What about the appearance and disappearance of personal items? Remember the bumblebee pin in The Sixth Sense or the wedding ring?

7) Animal Ghosts- Can a family pet return as a ghost? Some people think so. I have creepy images of Steven Kings Pet Cemetery.

Have you had any encounters with any of these seven types of ghosts??? Please share your stories.

(Part 3 will be posted on Thursday December 9^th.)

A Search for Ghosts- Part 1

(Part 1)

There are a number of TV shows out there and books written about “ghost hunters”. Many ghost hunters or paranormal investigators have elaborate equipment and work in an organized, professional and scientific manner, others may have fancy equipment but not the technical skills or knowledge to use it correctly. Paranormal investigators strive to prove (or disprove) the existence of the particular phenomenon they happen to be investigating. If you can’t accept that the human personality survives death at least as a theoretical possibility, then the possibility of ghosts would be pointless to discuss.

I’ve always had a fascination with ghosts and ghost stories since I was a kid. I collected books on ghost stories and still have a ton. I always wanted to see a ghost but it wasn’t until I moved into my house in Florida that my wish came true. That ghost was of an older gentlemen and I wasn’t the only one who saw him. The house wasn’t that old, only forty years or so. Now that I live in a house that’s over 100 years old and is located by a cemetery, I should see ghosts, but alas, no ghosts.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts or the different types of ghosts I’m going to discuss here, I found the topic interesting. Others may have other theories. One book I can recommend if this topic interests you: THE CASE FOR GHOSTS, An Objective Look at the Paranormal by J. Allan Danelek. A great book about ghosts and ghost hunting.

The paranormal investigators claim there are seven types of ghosts. I’ll talk about the first three types today and the rest on Monday.

TYPES OF GHOSTS- Seven Types

1) Interactive Ghosts- These are ghosts of deceased human beings. They’re self aware, intelligent and can interact with the living by becoming visible, being heard, even touch the living or manifest odors. As with humans, these manifestations display the full range of emotions and temperaments—from playful to violent.

2) Non-Interactive Ghost- Or an “imprint”. This ghost tends to act oblivious to its surroundings and to anyone close by. Sometimes their activities are like a scene from a movie rewound and repeated. They’re also called “Repeaters” or “Residuals”. Some investigators don’t believe these are real ghosts, but somehow images that have been etched into the environment, like a supernatural DVD that keeps playing over and over.

3) Living Ghost- There are accounts of people seeing the manifestations of someone—usually a living person close to them who appears as a ghost. The person of this ghostly apparition might be hundreds of miles away and in great stress or danger, like a soldier in a war. He’ll appear suddenly to a loved one even though it’s known that he’s hundreds of miles away. I call this situation astral projection. But that’s another topic. The living ghost can occur with a friend or family member at the precise moment of their death.

The other four types of ghosts will be discussed in Part 2 continued on Monday December 6^th.

November Contest Winner

And the winner is....

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate the release of SECRET SOIREE from Ellora's Cave. From those who posted a comment during the month of November, and left their email, or sent me an email privately, I randomly selected a winner.
The Winner is: Melissa Keith
Congratulations Melissa!!! She selected a free download of one of my books.

Coming up: I'll be posting a three-part blog discussion on one of my favorite supernatural topics: Ghosts. During this holiday season, one of my favorite movies to watch has three ghosts: Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. I've read ghost stories since I was a kid and have tons of books on ghost stories. Even my first published novel has a ghost. I hope you'll share you thoughts and stories about ghosts in these posts. The first post should be up late tomorrow.

To Die For Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

A number of people have been asking me for this recipe. I got it from my sister-in-law over Thanksgiving. It's awesome and easy to make.

Ingredients:

38 NABISCO Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)Note: I ran them through my blender to crush.

1/4 cup finely chopped Pecans

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

How to make it:

HEAT oven to 325°F

MIX crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add pumpkin, spice and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour into crust.

BAKE 1 hour 20 min. to 1 hour 30 min. or until center is almost set. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

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Turkey Cranberry Wreath

2 pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 C. mayonnaise
2 T. honey Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
2 C. cooked turkey, chopped
1/2 C. celery, sliced
3 T. fresh parsley, snipped
1/2 C. dried cranberries
4 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded (1cup)
1/4 C. walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 egg, separated

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. With wide ends of triangles toward the center. arrange 8 triangles in a circle on Large Round Stone or cookie sheet. Corners of wide ends will touch and points will extend 1 inch beyond of baking stone. Arrange remaining 8 triangles in center. matching ends. Seal seams. (Points will overlap in center; do not seal.)

Measure mayonnaise, mustard and black pepper into a bowl. Grate cheese into a bowl. Mix filling. Scoop filling over seams of dough, forming a circle.

Coarsely chop walnuts; sprinkle over filling. Beginning in center, lift one dough triangle across mixture. Continue alternating with outer triangle, slightly overlapping to form wreath. Tuck last end under first.

Separate egg over bowl. Beat egg white lightly; brush over dough. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Yields 10 servings.

Per serving: 363 calories; 17 g protein; 24g fat; 20g carbohydrates; 521 mg sodium

Enjoy!!!

SECRET SOIREE is Out!

SECRET SOIREE and SECRET PLEASURES today:

My new book SECRET SOIREE was released today November 26^th at Ellora’s Cave As secrets go, they can have consequences if revealed, and this is the case with Destiny Noir when her identity and what she’s doing is revealed to the wrong person.
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**RomCon http://www.romconinc.com/ has me as their guest blogger today on their FF&P blog and I'm giving away a copy of DRAGON WITCH. I'll be talking about Secret Lovers and Guilty Pleasures. Something you see in the media all the time. Stop by and help me celebrate my new release and let's talk about secret lovers.
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BLURB for Secret Soiree: Performing kinky sex shows at private parties should be easy for two part-time lovers. When Darius makes an offer to help Destiny avoid financial disaster, how can she refuse? The money’s good, the sex scorching.

Amazed by how uninhibited she can be, Destiny is driven by a sensual need aroused by her audience. When clients begin requesting special services, Destiny easily complies. But can her blazing-hot romance with Darius survive the consequences?

EXCERPT: The massive cathedral ceiling room suddenly shrank down to the size of a closet. Destiny closed her legs and hunched over, trying to hide her sex and breasts. Darius tried to part her knees but she stiffened and resisted.

He moved in front of her, kissing her cheek then her ear and whispered, “Are you all right?”

“No, let’s go. I can’t do this.”

He gazed at her in disbelief, then smiled. “Okay, but you’re doing fine. We’re almost done. What’s wrong?”

She looked into his eyes and said, “I’m afraid.”

“What? Afraid of what? I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“I know. I’m afraid things will change between us after this.”

He stroked her cheek, then reached around and unfastened the handcuffs and took them off. “We can go anytime. This won’t change what we have. We’re like two actors acting out a part in a movie for the sake of entertainment. We’re fulfilling a fantasy for some of these people, adding another aspect to their sexual love life, maybe enhancing it. I suspect most of them will leave the party early. They’ll go home horny and get laid.”

She smiled at that. “I suppose you’re right. We’re just actors who know each other well.”

“Makes it easier, doesn’t it?” He raised his eyebrows in a friendly tease. “So do we go or stay? Your call.” He swung the handcuff on his forefinger.

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CONTEST--Leave a comment on any blog post through November 30 for a chance to win a FREE download of one of my eBooks. Or send me an email to Kathy@kathykulig.com with "November Contest" in subject line. Contest ends November 30. Drawing will be on December 1st.

Will a Blue Moon Make You Loony?

This Sunday November 21^st there’s a Blue Moon, that’s usually the second full moon in the same calendar month, but according to a rule from the old, no longer published, Maine Farmers' Almanac, (NOT to be confused with The Farmers' Almanac of Lewiston, Maine, which is still in business) a Blue Moon can also occur when there are four moons (instead of the normal three) in one season. There were full moons on September 23, October 22, November 21, and will be one on December 21. That's four in one season. Even though December is the first day of winter, the moon actually turns full at 3:13 a.m., 15 hours and 25 minutes BEFORE winter officially arrives. That makes the third moon the Blue Moon, but I have no idea why they decided that. Why not December’s moon or October’s moon?

DOES THE FULL MOON AFFECT HUMAN BEHAVIOR? If you know someone who works in the medical field or in social services like the police department, ask them. Chances are they’ll say: YES! They’ll say the crime rate increases and hospital emergency rooms fill up on the days of a full moon. If the moon can affect the ocean tides why not influence human emotions in some way physically or psychologically? The human body is 80% water. Besides, that’s where the word lunacy came from.

Arnold Lieber, a psychologist from the University of Miami (my college BTW) did research on the crime rate in Miami-Dade and wrote a bestselling book in 1978, "Lunar Effects: Biological Tides and Human Emotions", and another in 1996 supporting the theory about the influences of the full moon on human behavior. And Ivan Kelly, a psychologist at the University of Saskatchewan, conducted her own study and her findings disagreed with Lieber’s. She felt because of the long standing myth the reports were exaggerated by those involved with the study.

BLUE MOON FACTS:

The average interval between Full Moons is about 29.5 days, whilst the length of an average month is roughly 30.5 days. This makes it very unlikely that any given month will contain two Full Moons, though it does sometimes happen.

On average, there will be 41 months that have two Full Moons in every century, so you could say that once in a Blue Moon actually means once every two-and a half years.

A Blue Moon occurs approximately 7 times in 19 years.

Here’s a link to a Blue Moon calculator. http://www.obliquity.com/cgi-bin/bluemoon.cgi If you want to find out is there was a Blue Moon the year you were born for some reason.

I used it when I wrote my book SEDUCING THE STONES from Ellora’s Cave. There’s a Blue Moon in this story. The hero Rory was cursed by an ancient Sidhe curse for violating their sacred ground. He can only break this curse by an offering and a sexual ritual during a Blue Moon on the Eve of Samhain. I had to calculate how often that occured. It’s about every 80 years. So he had one night every 80 years to break this curse. He’d been trapped for over 300 years. But the ritual was also dangerous because of the location.

What do you think? Does a full moon make you loony? Make others loony?

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I'm counting down to the release of SECRET SOIREE. The release date is this Friday November 26th. There's still time to enter my CONTEST. Enter a comment on any blog post this month and leave your email addy and I'll add you in for the drawing of a FREE download from any of my eBooks. Or send me a separate email to Kathy@kathykulig.com with November contest in subject line.