Haunted Graveyard

[Paratus]

Well, me and 3 of my friends went to a famous haunted graveyard, Bachelor's Grove Cemetary outside Chicago (in the states). Its arguably one the most haunted sites in the U.S. good spot for my first ghost hunt, right? Took lots of pictures, got orbs in almost everyone! (Orbs are a commom happening in haunted sites) Heard a loud breathy howl, saw lots of things out of the corner of my eye, saw a mist move behind a tree, the temperature dropped at one point, and it was cold (it was 80 degrees F out) Also there was an oddly glowing fallen tree like a faint orange that went in and out. Oh, and when my friend took a picture of a big gravestone, in the light from the flash, I saw the out line of a person looking at us from behind the gravestone. I wanted out after that. Martial Artist or not when you see something like that you want out!

Has anyone else had a ghost expirence?
(Hows that for off topic?)

[pgm316]

I've never had any ghost like experiences, I'd love to! It would sort of prove to me theres life after death!

But I've walked the dog around an old graveyard near me, nothing....

I'm not convinced these orbs prove anything, what are they, maybe just bits of dust caught in the light?

[YODA]

Orbs are a commom happening in haunted sites

Also a common happening when taking photos in low light - haunted spot or not!

"Orbs" are dust particles, or small insects that are located close to the camera, way out of focus and not seen by the eye. They register as foggy spheres, particularly when highly illuminated by a flash.

[Knight_Errant]

You've heard of the naughty ghost of the tunnel? ...

[Rob_InDaUk]

Can't say I have lol

The theme park where I live, (the pleasure beach) is supposed to be haunted. Strangely enough it is actually the Ghost Train that is haunted. Weird things happen when the park is closed, like it starts by itself and things like that.
:D

Rob

[Knight_Errant]

Not about the old railway cutting?...

[Rob_InDaUk]

No, but there is another story about tram 712 or something..

'A low rumble of a tram engine, and then with the sudden squeal of brakes, it all ends'.
On many stormy and wet nights the Blackpool ghost tram has been heard, but no one ever admits to seeing it, and explanations abound as to its origins, ranging from the mundane - 'it is an electrical occurrence due to the salt air creating a short circuit on the aging overhead wires, which sounds like a tram in the wind' - to the more ethereal stories of evil spirits seeking revenge by driving noisy trams past homes of those who destroyed the seclusion of their haunts before Blackpool became famous.
However, one story is more often repeated than any other, and I have created a sequence of events from a couple of versions which seem closer to a ghostly origin than any others, and it concerns a man I will call George, who lived on Whitegate Drive.
It was 1962, and the outlying tram routes in Blackpool were becoming 'surplus' and expensive to maintain. The tramlines were worn and the tarmac hardly touched the rail edges in places and other than a very reduced service to the outer legs of the system, the main timetable only covered trams running from Starr Gate near St Annes and along the promenade and coast through Cleveleys to Fleetwood.
George had been a Blackpool tram fanatic since his childhood, and had, before his heart attack at the age of 55, been a driver on the system. Now, at the age of 62, he watched in sadness the cars and new front entrance buses moving the people along the roads, over the rails he had travelled over the years and finally his home on Whitegate Drive was to see the last of its tram service.
In three days time one of the Balloon double deck cars was to traverse the route as a closing ceremony.
The Balloons were new in 1933 and were the height of luxury and efficiency, and had given the crews a sense of importance when they arrived with their leather seats, speedy acceleration, quite running and the double staircases, which had made them a byword for the tourists who had previously been used to the wooden toastrack seats of the early trams.
George had, by dint of his being one of the first drivers to take control of a Balloon in 1933 been invited to take part in this last journey. He was proud to be asked, and being a widower for many years had only been able to share his pride with a few cronies at the Mitre pub in town.
'Oh well' said most (mainly under their breath) 'The things are outdated and a nuisance' which in the early 60's and increased car ownership they were.
There was little sympathy for George, as the lines in the middle of the road, and the tram stops which meant traffic having to avoid passengers alighting in front of them had become a real problem. But to George, and many like him it was the end of a great era, and a sad end as well, because many of the trams were to be disposed of as surplus to requirements, (an act later regretted by the Transport Department.).
The day arrived, and George was not going to let the side down. He dressed in his best suit, and his shoes shone as befitted his status as senior tram driver. He arrived at Rigby Road tram depot, and saw a crowd gathered around Balloon 712. It was 'his tram' from 1933. It was clean and the chrome gleamed. It stood defiant as though its sad journey was just a phase which would be put to rights.
The crowd boarded, and the bell rang, but 712 did not move. The driver tried but it resisted. And George smiled. He knew that the tram had been stopped at just the point where the wires were spliced and if it was a wet day, it would not move forward.
He moved to the front and whispered to the driver, who being a new hand listened to the old mans advice. He turned to the inspector, 'George knows how to get us going. Ill let him take it.'
The inspector nodded and George proudly moved to the cabin and took the handle and brake lever and let the tram roll back for a few feet. Sparks shot out from the pole, and moving the handle into the first notch up, the tram rolled out onto its final journey.
The whole community seemed to have come out to see 712 roll along its last trip, and the full tram, with George at the control seemed oozed pride. People on the journey felt that man and machine were as one. George drove without one jerk or grind of brakes, and 712 seemed as quiet and smooth as new. But it had to end, and one hour later, 712 and its civic party arrived back at Rigby Road depot, where George applied the brake at the very spot he had taken over. Just where the wires were spliced.
And so the customary champagne was drunk, and memories were shared, and 712 stood, its lights burning brightly. And George looked at 712, his eyes full of tears, and his hand shook with the recent feeling of the grip of 712's driving handle. The civic group slowly moved away, but George didn't. He stood by his tram, and he spoke to it, just like it was his small pet.
'It's ok. You'll be all right. You did all right. It up to you.'
He turned, and walked behind the rear cab of 712. Past the red rear lights, and started to walk toward the doors in the middle of the tram tracks. No one knows why, but the power surge cause the parking brake to come off, and 712 sparked into life, and quietly rolled forward. George should have heard the rumble of a tram engine and the squeal of brakes, but he seemed not to. He was found by the crew under the front of the tram. He had, they say died instantly. 712 was still, its brakes fully on. Its engine quiet.
The rain and wind from the Irish Sea ranged across the entrance of the depot, just like the nights when a rumble and brakes are heard around Rigby Road.

[Knight_Errant]

...and the little blue blobby ghosts?...

[Knight_Errant]

I ain't gonna land this fish am I?

[Paratus]

Well, I'm sure some of the orbs are low light things I took but theres 2 very bright ones and look like they're making their own light. Plus it was a digital camera, so we had most of the pictures we took on or computer. We looked at other night pictures and there weren't any orbs ( these ones weren't in the cemetary ). Either way real or not, were going back soon.

[MATT_LIQUID]

In the UK we have a series called "Most Haunted". I almost went on there once with collage but it all went pear shaped.

[pgm316]

Originally posted by YODA
Also a common happening when taking photos in low light - haunted spot or not!

"Orbs" are dust particles, or small insects that are located close to the camera, way out of focus and not seen by the eye. They register as foggy spheres, particularly when highly illuminated by a flash.

They seem so obviously to be dust. I can't understand how they get so excited!

[Paratus]

Well, even if they're fake that doesn't explain some things at the place. Besides be more open minded its more fun that way!

[YODA]

Originally posted by Paratus
Well, even if they're fake that doesn't explain some things at the place. Besides be more open minded its more fun that way!

I didn't say they were fake- just nothing "paranormal".

Say hi to Santa & the Tooth Fairy while you're there :D

[Paratus]

lol, I'll be sure to do that...........well I will if Santa and the Tooth Fairy are dead or visiting a graveyard

[nicolo]

The only strange experience I had was when I was 12. My parents stuck me in a bible class for the summer and so I spent the summer reading the bible and "improving" my math skills.
We had to take a math quiz one day and I finished early. Several of my class buddies finished as well so we decided to play some basketball in the old gym. When I say old, it was old. The floors of the gym were wood and the rims were falling apart. The school was actually a converted Baptist church and many parts of the building haven't changed since it was first built.
After like 20 minutes of shootin hoops we all wanted to take a break and get a sip of water from the fountain outside. The fountain is located directly outside of the entrance to the gym in a narrow hallway. The only other entrance to the gym was at the far end of this hallway.
While I was standing there waiting for a sip, I noticed a movement to my left. It was very fast and I only noticed it out of the corner of my left eye. It was a woman walking away from me down the hallway towards the back entrance of the gym. I can't say how she looked or anything, but it was definitely someone...a female most likely. As soon as I turned my head to look dead on, there was no one there. It's almost as if I had dreamed it but I was awake. The funny thing was that no one else had noticed her except one other kid standing next to me. He and I sorta gave each other glances like "wtf was that?" When we babbled out our story to the other kids they didn't believe us at first. But further inspection of the empty gym and hallway proved something was awry. We all ran back to the counselor like the scaredy-cats that we were and stammered out our story.
By the next week, the entire school was in uproar. Kids started bringing in paper crosses, walking around, exorcising the "demons"...etc etc. I mean this turned out to be unmanageable.

I have no idea who or what I saw that day and neither did the kid next to me. All I know was that I saw it and it wasn't there. I can't explain it nor do I claim to have psychic abilities but I just don't know.
In regards to the strange aspect of seeing things out of the corner of the eye....

I also know of a friend of mine out in California who used to work at a famous furniture store (should I say the name??) as an interior decorator. As far as I know, some tragic accident on the freeway behind the store triggered unexplained events and the back areas of the warehouse were soon haunted by a little boy and two women. I've spoken to her before about it and confirmed that several employees and stock boys have seen OUT OF the CORNER of their eye a little boy in 1920s? clothing running around. They've also seen fleeting glimpses of a woman walking into the warehouse in a large hat. But the manager of the store had the most unnerving experience. He was taking inventory in an aisle early in the morning and notice someone was walking in the next aisle. He called out the the person and kept pace with him every so often seeing glimpses of the person through the shelves of stock. When he got to the end of the aisle, there was no one there.
My friend has sinced moved on from there and she doesn't know whether it's still haunted or not.

[Paratus]

hmmmmmm...........thats hard to top. Well, I'm on summer vacation and I'm sure I'll be going to Bachelor's Grove again, maybe then I'll a ghost full on, hopefully! I gotta admit though, I do and don't wanna see a definate ghost, if you know what I mean

[nicolo]

yeah I know about Bachelor's Grove. Lot of my buddies used to hang there late at night and drink there. But it does have a reputation for being very haunted.
When you take photos, please make sure you aren't getting pics of dust and other particles like water, fog, etc. It has to be a clear night.
If you have an infrared thermometer, you can certainly use that to pinpoint cold spots. One way to eliminate errors and back your pictures is to carry several types of cameras...for example, digital and film cameras. Maybe you can set up a tripod and leave the shutter open for 2 second exposures. Any light not seen by the naked eye should show up on film.

[pgm316]

Originally posted by Paratus
Well, even if they're fake that doesn't explain some things at the place. Besides be more open minded its more fun that way!

Fair point, I do still find it fun, including watching "(UK) Most haunted" at night with only a small dog for protection :eek:

It does have that spook factor. Although that combined with looking for and wanting to find things means these investigators will find evidence.

I'd love to find some compelling evidence of my though!

[peaceful_child]

my house used to be haunted till I made the ghost or whatever it was go away. basically doors would slam, and sometimes a shadow would appear in the crack of my doorway, and I know it wasn't a real anything, cause I've opened the door, and nothings there. And I don't have siblings to play jokes on me. I think that's the extent of unearthly experiences that I've had. It would be cool to have more though. :D

[BlackRaven]

I did a Ghos****ch on Monday at a supposed haunted pub in St Helens. There was about 15 of us, and we took turns in the cellar in pitch black and nightvision mode on the video camera. Nothing, not a sausage. Not a carrot. Not a ghost. Completely dead.

Some people got orbs, but I still think they are an anomally of digital cameras.