Jamaican Boy's Haunting Caught on Tape?

This story was originally reported in 2010, but it is nevertheless, startling and intriguing. An 11 year old Jamaican boy was being tormented by ghost or a Duppy as it is called in Jamaica and some disturbances were caught on video. Unlike some videos claiming paranormal activity that typically appear on a television show, this video was actually reported by the area’s local news.

The boy is claiming that he is being tormented by a classmate who passed away. Some are claiming that it is an evil spirit or even djinn that may be responsible. Viewing the news footage, as you can see below, it is quite unsettling what is happening to the boy. In one portion of the video, the young man is sitting on a chair being interviewed by the news crew when the chair suddenly is pulled back. The open doorway behind the chair makes this event questionable. Is it possible that something was rigged behind him?

The Ghosts of Alcatraz

Just for a moment, reflect upon one day in your life and all of your freedoms. You wake up when you want, eat when you want, drive wherever you want, go see a movie, have a steak dinner, bathe as many times a day or week as you want, or just decide to watch a good movie until midnight then crawl into your nice soft bed.

Now, imagine that your life was controlled through a series of strict routines that are designed to break the hardest of criminals. A whistle blows to signal the beginning and end of every task throughout the day. Your told, when to get up, when to eat, when to stop eating, when to go to work, and every evening you are locked in a cell from 5pm until 6:30am the next morning with lights out at 9:30pm. This is your routine every night. You are not permitted to sing or talk loudly. You may quietly talk or play a game with a person in a neighboring cell, but that is it. You are entitled to food, clothes, shelter, and medical attention and anything else is a privilege you must earn. Punishment for rule breaking is severe. Now imagine, you are facing several years of this routine. Ahead of you are years of depression, and years inside a violent pressure cooker of dangerous criminals.

Now imagine that your life ends while in this despair, whether it was a failed escape attempt, suicide, or you were murdered by another inmate.  And now, either denying you are dead or afraid of judgment, you are trapped.  Each day, you are reliving the same routine you experienced when your life ended, always lingering between the physical plane and the other side. You are scared, untrusting, and confused and what was once the possibility of getting released has turned into an eternity of misery. This is the life of the ghosts of Alcatraz.

Researching the topic of the ghosts of Alcatraz, I found myself compelled to dig deeper into the daily routine of the prisoners and the history of the prison. The more information I uncovered the more claustrophobic I became envisioning the confinement and control that was placed on these men. I too may have become desperate to get out in any way possible. I do not condone the crimes these men, who still dwell in the cell blocks, have committed, but I find myself wondering when their debt to society is paid in full and they can move on from Alcatraz.

Some of the Claims of Paranormal Activity at Alcatraz

Cell 14D – This Cell on D block has been reported by many as one of the main areas of activity dating back to when the prison was still in operation. A story has been told by some of the guards that in the 1940’s an inmate who was kept in Cell 14D began screaming that something with glowing red eyes was in his cell. For hours, the inmate screamed and then abruptly stopped. The following morning, the inmate was found dead with hand marks on his throat. The cause of death was listed as "non-self-inflicted strangulation." The next day, when the guards did a head count, their tally kept coming up one extra. A former prison guard said that he saw the man who died the night before in line, but he then vanished.

The Utility Corridor – The Utility Corridor is the area where three inmates lost their life while trying to escape in the Battle of Alcatraz. Bernard Coy, Marvin Hubbard, and Joe Cretzer were shot to death in a standoff that also took the lives Guards William A. Miller and Harold Stites.

Many claim that the Utility Corridor is one of the areas with the most paranormal activity. There have been reports of an eerie clanging come from inside the area with no definite cause.

Cell blocks A, B, and C visitors claim to have heard crying and moaning. A psychic visiting the prison wrote that he allegedly came upon a disruptive spirit named Butcher. Prison records show that another inmate in block C murdered Abie Maldowitz, a mob hit man whose nickname was Butcher.

Al Capone on the Banjo – Al Capone spent several years at Alcatraz but was ultimately transferred when his health declined due to syphilis. It is reported that Capone took up playing the banjo with the prison band and practiced in the shower room rather than the yard. There have been several reports, many in recent years, that a banjo can be heard being played.

Alcatraz Island was first used as a Civil War prison in 1861 and was closed as a Federal Penitentiary in 1963. Throughout its 102 years as a prison, Alcatraz Island has been surrounded by rumors of torture and severe, cruel punishment in addition to numerous murders, suicides, and deaths from natural causes. Clearly, from the current visitors to Alcatraz, some inmates are still serving time.

For More Information about Alcatraz and its Prisoners:

Alcatraz: The Warden Johnston Years

Alcatraz Island: Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Alcatraz History

Toys "R" Us Toy Demonstrations by a Ghost

Many believe that only buildings can be haunted and that the likely cause is a person’s death on the premises. There are a great percentage of hauntings that can be categorized under these circumstances, but it is also possible that a person can be attached to the land. This leads us to the unfortunate and heartbreaking story of Johnny Johnson.

Johnny Johnson (or Yonny Yohanson) was a young Scandinavian immigrant who was studying for the ministry in the late 1800s. One summer he took a job working on the farm of wealthy landowner Martin Murphy, Jr. in Sunnyvale California. It is said that at some point during his employment with Murphy he contracted encephalitis, which caused brain damage. Johnson never completed his ministry study and stayed on as a hired hand due to his mental impairment.

On This Day: Mt. Vesuvius Erupts - The Ghosts of Pompeii

August 23 in AD 79, the citizens of Pompeii, which was one of four cities that flourished at the base of the volcano Mt. Vesuvius, were celebrating the Feast of Vulcan, the god of fire with a citywide festival. The city of Pompeii, at that time, was home to approximately 20,000 people, in addition to vacationing Romans who owned holiday villas in the city. Ironically, the volcano Mount Vesuvius began to stir which may have appeared to be a sign that the god Vulcan was pleased.

The next morning, on August 24, Mt. Vesuvius started to erupt and the city once full of frivolity was now set into a frenzy trying to evacuate. The entire event took approximately 19 hours with 6 of those hours being a steady rain of tephra. The total accumulation of the tephra was 25 meters deep. The town of Pompeii had been silenced.

1,700 years later archaeologists began to uncover Pompeii and discovered many buildings, tools, and even artwork preserved under the volcanic ash. One archaeologist noticed there were large holes in the ash and realized that the holes were actually the forms of the bodies before they had decomposed. Plaster was injected into the holes, which resulted in an eerie discovery. The ash and pumice that buried the people of Pompeii preserved forever their last moments on earth and their eternal death masks.

A wide spread belief was that the Pompeii citizens died of ash suffocation, but that is not the case. The true cause of death was Thermal Shock. The people were exposed to heat at 250 degree Celsius at a distance of 10 kilometers and their death was instantaneous. No manner of shelter could protect them.

What remains are the casts of men, women, children, and animals in their last poses and facial expressions as they perished. If you believe in reincarnation, as I do, it is quite possible a few of us may be looking upon ourselves in a former life.

Kerri L. Schultz

Welcome to the Winchester Mystery House

A mysterious Queen Anne Victorian style house sits in San Jose, California as a monument to the thousands of people killed and injured by Winchester rifles. It is also a painful reminder of the effects a psychic can have in influencing people who are in grief and seeking answers. 

Welcome to the Winchester Mystery House.

The Winchester Mystery House was the residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun mogul William Wirt Winchester who died Mary 7, 1881 in their New Haven, Connecticut home. Sarah was the only heir to the Winchester fortune since their only child, Annie, died at 6 weeks old from marasmus in 1866. Upon her husband’s death, Sarah inherited more than $20.5 million dollars and assumed 50% ownership of the Winchester Repeating Arms company which entitled her to approximately $1,000 a day.

Alone and distraught over the death of her daughter and husband, Sarah began to believe that she may be cursed and sought spiritualist mediums and psychics to help her solve her problem. One psychic confirmed for Sarah that her family was cursed. The psychic told Sarah that all of the people who lost their lives from the guns her husband sold are now seeking revenge. It is believed, but disputed, that the psychic told Sarah to leave Connecticut, head west, and build a home for her and the spirits. Sarah was told she must never stop building. If building stops, she will die, but if it continues she will live forever. Sarah believed the psychic and headed West hoping to curtail the curse.

Sarah purchased an eight room farmhouse on 161 acres from Dr. Robert Caldwell in 1884 and immediately began renovating. The fear of these spirits who she believed were out to cause her revenge plagued Sarah so she designed the house with many doors, windows, and staircases that led nowhere to confuse and trap the spirits.

Every evening Sarah would hold a séance where she spoke with the spirits to consult them on the design of the house. Construction never ceased and continued around the clock 365 days a year for the next 38 years until her death. She was fascinated with the number 13 and included it, as well as, a spider web motif whenever she could in the design. Some facts about the house:

• 160 Rooms
• 40 Bedrooms
• 2 Ballrooms
• 47 Fireplaces
• 10,000 Window Panes
• 17 Chimneys
• 2 Basements
• 3 Elevators
• 13 Bathrooms
• Windows have 13 panes
• Thirteen chandeliers
• Doors that open into walls
• Staircases that lead nowhere
• Windows that look into other walls or rooms

Construction stopped on September 5, 1922 when Sarah died in her sleep at the age of 83. Her will consisted of 13 sections and she signed the will thirteen times. Her niece, Mrs. Frances Marriot, was willed all contents of the house; however, the house itself was not mentioned in the will. A local investor eventually bought the house and opened it to the public in February 1923.

The Winchester Mystery House was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places as number 868 on August 7, 1974. In honor of Sarah, the Santa Clara-Los Gatos Boulevard was later named Winchester Boulevard and every Friday the 13^th a bell on the property is rung 13 times at 1pm in tribute to her.

Sarah left future generations a wonderful piece of history, but I cannot help but feel sad that her fears were unnecessarily compounded. This woman was driven by a fear of curses and revengeful spirits to fund non-stop building so she would not be subjected to harmful ghosts. Unfortunately, the very means at which she thought kept her safe, actually, haunted her for the rest of her life and became an obsession.

Visit The Winchester Mystery House for more information.

by Kerri L. Schultz

The Difference Between Spirits and Ghosts - A Psychic's Perspective

Is a spirit the same as a ghost? I am sure you have heard the names Spirit and Ghost used interchangeably throughout the media, but is it accurate? Based on my knowledge and experience as a spiritual psychic, the meanings are similar but very different.

Similarly, a ghost and spirit are the soul of a person whose physical body has died and who now lives on another plane of existence. The difference in meaning is the soul’s progression after it leaves the physical body. There are several planes of existence, and the faster a soul’s vibration, the higher the plane they reach. Keeping this in mind, a soul within a physical body vibrates very slowly. Imagine looking at a fan blowing at the lowest possible speed. When you look at the fan you can see the different blades easily. This is the physical plane.

Ghost’s vibrations are a little faster than ours, which is why we can’t see them. Although, their vibrations aren’t fast enough that we can’t catch a glimpse of them from time to time. Ghosts are able to consciously manifest by drawing energy from humans and the environment and match more closely our vibrations in order to manipulate objects, take form, and even communicate.

Souls who are ghosts are bound to that plane of existence for a variety of reasons.

·         Sudden Deaths or Accidents – Some people have been separated from their physical body so suddenly that they do not know they are dead.

·         Murder – Some people choose not to move on or completely cross over because their lives were taken so brutally. Also, they may choose to stay behind until their murder is solved.

·         Suicide – Those who commit suicide also may not have crossed completely over due to the emotions experienced and the act itself. Many religions say that suicides are damned or that those who commit this act are to suffer in limbo for eternity. A person believing this may not wish to cross over and be punished.

·         Broken Hearts – People choose to stay close to loved ones or family members where they feel they have unfinished business.

·         Fear of Judgment – As mentioned under Suicide, there are people who are afraid of being judged after they pass on and sent to hell.

·         Lack of Proper Burial – It is also said that some people do not fully cross over if they did not receive a proper burial or their remains have been desecrated.

A Spirit is a soul who has crossed over to the other side or higher plane of existence. Using the analogy of the fan, imagine the blades turning so fast you can’t see them. This is what a higher vibrational frequency is like in relation to our vibration. These souls know they have passed and move on to have a life review and meet up with their loved ones who have passed before them. It is a belief that the more evolved a soul becomes, the higher the plane of existence. Angels, for example, have a very high vibration, but they are able to effortlessly transcend vibrational frequencies to communicate with us and appear to us whenever they want. Spirits can also do this.

The Spirits of our loved ones communicate with us all the time. They, like ghosts, can manipulate our environment. Spirits can put pennies in our path, maybe manifest a feather, or take the form of a bird to let us know they are still around. A Spirit visits and leaves signs to let you know they are still around you and can see what is happening in your life.

The purpose of the physical manipulation is different for a ghost. A ghost is trying to get your attention for a reason. The ghost may want help or they may want you to leave. If a ghost doesn’t know they have passed on, the phenomena you see may just be the ghost living their life as they would if they were still in the physical body. I have heard stories of dishes and silverware being placed on a table by a ghost preparing to eat or some people seeing someone cooking.

It is true that the definition of ghost and spirit is similar, but overall they are very different. A good rule of thumb that I use when paranormal investigating ghosts is, always speak to them as if they were alive. Assume that you are invading their home. Apologize, tell them your name, and explain that you want to ask them some questions. When asking questions, imagine you are meeting them for the first time and want to know all about them. When conducting and EVP session, ask them their name, their occupation, are they married, do they have children etc.

We have had success using this technique when working with a flashlight, and have made the observation that those who don’t know they are dead stop communicating when asked about their death. These ghosts completely ignore any questions involving death, but they do not believe they are dead. Remember, ghosts are just people without physical bodies!

Happy Ghost Hunting!

Kerri L. Schultz

On this Day - The Battle of Little Bighorn

Lt. Colonel George Custer

One of the most common places to find paranormal activity is battlegrounds. The savage deaths and heightened emotions of rage, terror and fear no doubt leave powerful energetic imprints.  These powerful energetic imprints can cause Residual Hauntings which in essence is the events happening over and over. Many people may see glimpses of these events occurring daily or at certain times of the year.

Today is the 135th anniversary of the Battle of Little Big Horn or Custer’s Last Stand. To the Sioux Indians involved in the fight, it was named the Battle of the Greasy Grass. As the name suggests, the location of the battle was near the Little Bighorn River in Big Horn County, Montana.

Sitting Bull

In the summer of 1876, military officials launched a campaign to force the Lakota and Cheyenne back to their reservations. Reportedly, at the same time military plans were forming, on June 5, 1876, a spiritual ceremony called the Sun Dance was performed on the Rosebud River in Montana by a number of Native American’s who joined the hostiles. Sitting Bull, who created the religious ceremony, had a vision of “soldier falling into his camp like grasshoppers from the sky.”

On June 25, 1876, three troops were coordinating to attack the Native Americans. One of these troops being the 7^th Cavalry led by Lt. Colonel George Custer. Custer’s scouts report that a village was spotted nearby, as well as, a group of about 40 warriors. Custer decided not to alert the main party and disobey orders to wait. He chose to attack the group of Native Americans, led by Crazy Horse, and discovered that Native Americans’ numbers tripled his own.

Crazy Horse

The battle ensued. The 7^th Calvary suffered 268 killed and 55 wounded which included Custer, his two brothers, brother-in-law, and nephew. The Native American’s were victorious with 36-136 killed and 168 wounded.

Today, many visitors to the place of battle have had many paranormal experiences. Some have seen and heard the spirits of both Indians and soldiers. People have also reported having a sense of deep sorrow. For more personal ghostly encounters from Little Big Horn visit http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/mt/little_bighorn.cfm

Kerri L. Schultz