Category: Blog

Recently, I looked at my 2018 goals. They’d included:

• Revise & update my books.
• Update & expand my free ghost hunting courses.
• Publish more articles, more regularly.
• Add more videos.
• Re-release my best podcasts.
• Spend more time interacting with friends & fans via social media.
• Decide what to do with the Mandela Effect topic.

Hmm… which of those did I complete?

Err.

Umm.

I did write a few articles, and start a Fiona Broome News page at Facebook. I even updated it, now & then.

Other than that… crickets chirping… Nope, nothing.

Why? I was too easily distracted by shiny objects.  * sigh *

They were fun, but they didn’t move me closer to my short- or long-term goals.

Turning the Page in 2019

Now it’s 2019. My goals are the same, but my approach is different. Fingers crossed, I’ll achieve more goals, this year.

The Books

I’ve discovered that Scrivener and ProWritingAid play well together. I’m using both, and hope to finish updating Is Your House Haunted? by mid-February.

After that, I think I’ll edit & update Ghosts 101 or Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries. At the moment, it’s a coin-flip.

So – in terms of the books – so far, so good.

The Websites

In January 2019, I’ve already set up an article publishing schedule:

• New articles at HollowHill.com, every Thursday.
• New articles here, usually on alternate Tuesdays.

Again: so far, so good.

Social Media

I’m the proud owner of a shiny new dashboard that interacts with social media. Now, I can streamline my time at Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest.  Admittedly, I’m dazzled by the novelty of this. (And that’s why I’m suddenly chatty at Twitter.)

I’ll probably scale that back a bit, in the next few weeks.

Everything Else

As soon as I can complete the free ghost hunting courses, I will. (Meanwhile, most of the big, original course is at Hallowfields.com. All of the free courses will be there, later this year.)

And then, I’ll go through the podcasts. Some have held up well. Others… I listen to them, blush, and then sputter, “Did I really say that…?”

The Mandela Effect book is an on-again, off-again project.  I’m not sure how much I can say that will interest anyone. Really, that topic took on a life of its own, and – at this point – it’s been “in the wild” for years.

I suppose I have bragging rights for starting the Mandela Effect discussions, online. And, I have lots of insights about its early days, but is that enough for a book? Maybe. I don’t have to decide that, right now.

Progress?

I’m making some progress, but stumbling a little along the way.

A few weeks ago, I looked at January. “Piece o’ cake,” I thought. “I could write a couple of quick history articles to go with the new Most Haunted episodes.”

See, I love Most Haunted. While so many other shows have become increasingly sensational, Most Haunted avoided that bottomless pit.

They’re not afraid to try new things, even when those things don’t work as well as they’d hoped. They’re still breaking fresh ground… no pun intended.

From what I’ve seen in 2019, Most Haunted episodes are steering towards authenticity. In many ways, that’s made the show more startling than ever before. Watching the Eden Camp investigation, I had no doubt that site is genuinely haunted.

But after writing a couple of Eden Camp articles… I kept researching. And writing. And researching. And writing.

Apparently, I’m addicted to history. Especially when it overlaps with paranormal research.

So, instead of writing three or four 500-word articles about several Most Haunted episodes… I wrote five articles, most around 1500 words, each. About just one location.

And then I illustrated all of them. That included about four hours, combining ten layers of research onto one map. Because I just had to see all the Roman roads overlaid on a modern-day map of Malton, England.

In case you think I’m joking, here it is:

Umm… yes, I need to rein in those “ooh, shiny!” tendencies.

One Priority at a Time

Starting next week, I hope to schedule my time better.

I’ll still do my best to publish new articles, weekly. I guess that’s still a work in progress, but I feel good about what I’ve done so far… even if – this past week – I overdid it, a little. (Understatement.)

My social media schedule requires far more tweaks, but I feel good about my recent conversations at Twitter, etc.

With my website articles on schedule, and social media doing better, revising the books is now my top priority. 

Moving to England

One of my big, long-term goals is to move to England. (This is not news for people who know me in real life. I’ve been wanting to live in England since I was 17 years old.)

I’d love an excuse to move there by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, I’m doing my best to stay focused on my goals. 2018 flew past, but I’m already making progress for 2019.

You may see me wander into “ooh, shiny!” territory now & then. I’m sure there will be growing pains, as well.

For now, I’m pleased with January’s forward motion. And I figured I should share this with you, in case you noticed things changing and wondered what was going on.

So, let’s celebrate the new year. I hope everyone has a dazzling and delightful 2019!

Does ESP affect paranormal research?

It’s a question I’ve discussed with several people in relation to multiple topics, but especially ghost hunting.

Here’s a quote that may be relevant:

“Comments by Captain Ed Mitchell, the American astronaut, during a radio interview in January 1973, helped to strengthen the growing interest in psychokinesis. He told listeners of experiments in which metal had been fractured by this mental process. ‘It’s an ability that can be trainable,’ he said.”

[from “Ghost Hunting, A Practical Guide” by Andrew Green]

Mr. Green also believed psychokinesis has a connection to hauntings. Describing poltergeists, he said:

“This phenomenon, one of the most publicized and so often misunderstood, is comparatively easy to establish as nothing more than psychokinesis (sometimes referred to as telekinesis), though exactly how this operates is not yet fully known.”

Poltergeists – Psychokinesis, or PK Plus an Entity?

Many 20th-century ghost hunters believed that a living person was the source (or nexus) of the energy. But, was it that person’s subconscious wish to make the noises or move the objects? Or, was some kind of entity involved, as well?

In my opinion, the latter is more likely, but I’m not sure how we could prove that.

In history, one of the most famous poltergeist cases involved the Fox sisters. Many associate them with the founding of the 19th-century Spiritualist movement.

No matter what the truth about the apparent activity around the Fox girls, their home had a long history of poltergeist activity. That’s why few tenants stayed there, even before the Fox family moved in.

Testing the ESP/Psychokinesis Connection

In The Ghost Hunter’s Guide, 20th-century paranormal researcher Peter Underwood wrote about testing during a ghost hunt.

“I have found it useful to have with me a pack or two of Zener cards to test the possible ESP of the nexus of the poltergeist and other occupants of the house.”

That’s an interesting thought, but I’m not sure what it would prove, one way or the other.

I would like to see if – during ghost hunts – psychics test differently than they do in not-haunted locations. Again, it probably wouldn’t prove anything, but it might be intriguing.

If the results were much better at the haunted location, something at the location – perhaps ghosts or paranormal energy – could be a factor.

Psychokinesis and Conjuring Up Philip

It’s important to consider the effects of ESP and psychokinesis (PK) in the Philip case, as well. Could all of that phenomena be attributed to ESP and PK?  We may never know.

The following YouTube video is the tip of the iceberg, in terms of the full Philip experiment. (If you can find – or borrow – a copy of the book, it’s essential reading for serious paranormal investigators.)

https://youtu.be/X2lGPT2J1cc

Many questions come to mind.

• How much poltergeist activity might be psychokinesis (PK) instead of ghosts?
• If poltergeist activity is a two-part phenomenon – the spirit and the (living) energy source – does it matter whether PK is involved?
• If an historian is on-site during an investigation, how many psychics’ (and others’) “impressions” are actually mind-reading or ESP?
• In famous cases such as the Amityville Horror house, how much of the disturbance was contributed to, by the residents?

The ESP-ghosts-psychokinesis-poltergeists knot is difficult to untangle. I don’t know how we’d even begin to separate these kinds of activity.

I’m interested in your thoughts about this topic, and any way we could distinguish paranormal activity from psychokinetic abilities.

Different things can spark an interest in paranormal research.

For many people, it started with a childhood interest in ghost stories, or an experience that – as adults – they still wonder about: was it really a ghost?

That’s why they go looking for ghosts, or evidence that proves (or disproves) their existence.

But, now and then, someone asks me if ghost hunters live in haunted houses, or even attract ghosts.

People want to know if we “take ghosts home,” or feel uncomfortable if we move into a house… and later find out it’s haunted.

Attracting or Repelling Ghosts

I’m not sure how many ghost hunters attract ghosts. On my New Hampshire team, one person – the one we called “ghostbait” – certainly attracted them.

If he was part of an investigation and the site was haunted, weird things would happen. It was almost guaranteed.

Of course, this is a chicken-or-the-egg question: Did “ghostbait” attract ghosts because he was a ghost hunter, or did he become a ghost hunter because he naturally attracted ghosts?

At the other extreme, we sometimes included a friend who described himself as a “walking banishing ritual.”  If he was within a dozen feet of an anomaly, ghostly activity would halt.

The tragedy was, that latter friend was eager to encounter ghosts, and it rarely happened when he was there.

So, I’m confident that some people attract (and others repel) ghosts, naturally. In both cases, these people didn’t actively do anything to affect the ghosts.

Can one develop those qualities? I have no idea.

It’s possible that some experienced ghost hunters seem to attract ghosts, when they’re merely more observant. After a few dozen investigations, they know exactly what to look for, if the site is haunted.

• That could be a sense of where the ghosts are, at a particular location.
• It could be something they detect with their five (or six) senses.
• Or, it could be a personal reaction – a “gut feeling” – that the site is haunted.

Living with Ghosts

Some – not many – ghost hunters live in haunted houses. Usually, they’re happy to share the space with a benign spirit who once lived there.

Some paranormal researchers aren’t so happy about that discovery.

In a January 2019 article, “This Paranormal Reporter Didn’t Find Her Next Story… It Found HER,” the reporter’s reaction surprised me. She said:

“[T]his is the kind of thing I ask for when out in the field,” she writes, “but sitting in my own living room, I’d rather not experience the unexplained.”

She finally called out to whomever it was, asking them to stop bothering her… and immediately, they stopped.

All seemed normal again until she went to bed. Once the lights were out, the noise returned… but this time it was coming from the living room. Something — or someone — was walking through the house.

Disturbed by the unseen intrusion, Roncace nevertheless does not want to know what’s causing it.

However, Ms. Roncace is a reporter.  At the time she wrote about her haunted house, perhaps she hadn’t investigated intensely haunted places.

I understand not wanting to live with a ghost. It can be unsettling… no pun intended.

But, as a homeowner, I’d definitely want to know more about the ghost – who’s causing that walking noise, and why.

At the very least, it might help me become a better paranormal researcher.

Choosing a Haunted House

I’m okay with ghosts. They don’t scare me. I’m interested in their history, and if there’s anything I can do to help spirits “cross over.”

If they’re merely visiting, or keeping watch over the house – or those in it – that’s fine with me.

(I often joke that ghosts are great roommates – they don’t take my food from the refrigerator, and they never leave the toilet seat up.)

So far, I’ve lived in three haunted houses. Only one had an annoying ghost; we remodeled the house, and he left.

But, if I were house-hunting, I probably wouldn’t ask a realtor to show me haunted houses.

If I were, here’s what I’d look for:

• A house with a documented history that supports its ghost stories. Let’s say the ghost is supposed be to haunted by one of King Henry VIII’s mistresses. I’d be certain the house – or at least the land it’s on – had a documented connection to that woman & her family.
• Ghostly phenomena that aren’t entirely poltergeists.  Otherwise, when the previous tenants moved, they may have taken the poltergeist with them.
• A price that’s a little (or a lot) lower than the estimated value of the house. Most people think of a ghost as a “defect,” so the house should sell for less than it would without the ghosts.
• No malicious or sinister phenomena. No history of Ouija board use in the house, or rituals (however well-intended) that might summon a dangerous entity.
• No history of extreme mental illness among recent residents. You don’t want them returning – in living form or as ghosts – if they were deeply disturbed. (And then there’s the question of what triggered the illness, and if the house’s spirits were involved.)

Other Considerations

Some paranormal researchers choose homes based on their eerie reputations or locations.

For example, some UFO enthusiasts want to live near where UFOs are regularly reported.

On the other hand, I don’t think I’ve ever met a cryptozoologist who wanted to live in a “triangle,” like the Bridgewater Triangle or the Bennington Triangle.

And I don’t know anyone who’s chosen to live near a Hum or a Mystery Boom.

So, if you’re looking for a haunted house to live in, be sure the sellers understand the difference between hauntings and other paranormal phenomena… unless you’re okay with Bigfoot howling outside your window.

What Makes a House “Suddenly” Haunted?

Can a not-haunted house suddenly become haunted? Maybe.

Ms. Roncace, the paranormal reporter, had lived in her home for nearly 20 years without evidence of ghosts.

So, why did a ghost suddenly show up? Had she attracted one, or brought one home from a haunted site?

It’s unlikely a ghost followed her home. It’s rare for a ghost to leave the site that he or she haunts. Hardly any ghosts follow people.

It’s possible that something concerned the ghost enough to make his (or her) presence known.  A good example is Ms. Roncace’s story about the ghost knocking on Ms. Roncace’s dresser, when her daughter was ill.

Also, poltergeist activity could explain the noises in the kitchen. The movie she was watching, The Omen, could have been a trigger.

The footsteps she heard might have been more poltergeist activity, or something different.

More likely, it’s a residual energy haunting. That phenomena was likely to stop after a week or two, or even sooner.

It’s possible that Ms. Roncace attracted a ghost… but that’s unlikely.  Most ghosts are trapped – or choose to stay – in the primary location where they haunt.

And, if you’re a ghost hunter, it’s an asset if you can attract ghosts at haunted locations. Unless, of course, ghosts frighten you. In that case, it’s best to find another hobby.

Almost all of my paranormal research starts with “what if…?”

I’ll bet your interest in ghosts, etc., began the same way:

• What was that thing I heard/saw? And what if ghosts are real?
• Everyone says that house/battlefield/cemetery is haunted. What if they’re right?
• Ghosts can’t be real. I won’t believe in them. But what if something really is going on, at that “haunted” site?

My “what if…?” questions seem to multiply, like wire coat hangers in the basement wardrobe. Or dust bunnies under the sofa.

This morning was no exception. I had an idea for a new Hollow Hill article.

It was going to be about one particular archetype in ghost hunting.

I started to research the idea, based on a series of related, haunted places in the U.S. and the U.K.

Within minutes, I realized this topic is too big for an article. It’s a book. (Like I don’t already have a dozen books to update & re-release… right?)

So, I’m sitting here, printing pages & pages of information about repeating patterns in this kind of research.

And I’m editing Thursday’s article for Hollow Hill. In it, I’m speculating about a possible light effects connection with ghostly activity. (It’s another “what if…?” question, but – in this case – I didn’t think of it, myself. I just amplified it to include other, similar anomalies.)

I’ll put aside the book idea from this morning’s research. My next editing-and-updating project must be my “Is Your House Haunted?” book.

Why? Well, there’s no way I can reply to all the emails from people asking if their homes are haunted. And, frankly, most probably aren’t… but some sound like they are.

My book will help people rule out unusual (but normal) reasons a house can just seem haunted.

Trending: Hill House

I think most of this concern relates to the “The Haunting of Hill House” TV series on Netflix.

That show is an interesting revision based on Shirley Jackson’s wonderful book, and what may be my favorite “haunted house” movie of all time, “The Haunting” (1963).

Here’s a YouTube video from the original movie, featuring one scene.

If that YouTube video doesn't show on this page, see it at https://youtu.be/bQxyaI74v7U

That 1963 movie is a powerful example of a terrifying paranormal investigation. (It also inspired Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” attraction.)

No, most ghost hunts and vigils aren’t even close to that dramatic, but many can be just as scary… in more subtle ways.

Likewise, the Netflix “Hill House” series isn’t realistic. The tropes in it are fun, and it includes a few good scares, but that’s not what happens in haunted houses.

Hill House and Sleep Paralysis

At least half of the latest emails in my in-box sound like sleep paralysis.

That is, the person thinks he (or she) has woken up – or didn’t fall asleep yet – and has been visited by a disturbing figure (usually a scary looking ghost). The victim usually feels paralyzed, cold, or numb… and terrified.

The incident can seem to last forever, but – in actual fact – it’s usually just a few minutes.

And then, the person is left with a sense of horror, a racing pulse, and pumping adrenaline. Sleep is difficult to resume, if the person can get back to sleep at all.

The problem is, it can seem a lot like the ghost at the foot of the bed (or over the bed) in shows like Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House.

And that’s why people write to me.

They want to know what if it’s real? What if it happens again?

The Benefits of “What if…?”

It’s easy to brush off people’s concerns, saying “you have an over-active imagination.”

I won’t do that.

I’ll point to reasonable, scientific explanations, and let the person decide if that’s the answer. (Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t.)

More important: I believe the “what if…?” impulse is a healthy one. It keeps us interested in the world around us – seen and unseen.

Usually, those questions leads to simple, fact-based answers. The person sighs with relief. What they experienced was normal, not paranormal.

But, sometimes that’s just the beginning, and further research leads “down the rabbit hole,” as in Alice in Wonderland.

Either way, it’s important to keep your critical thinking skills engaged.

And, in my case, it’s even more important to stay focused on my current projects. They include updating my websites and my books. That will keep me busy for much of 2019.

But, I’ll confess that this morning’s research – and the connections I discovered, among iconic haunted houses – sings a siren song. I’m always intrigued by “what if…?” questions.

So far, I’m resisting temptation.

As 2019 approaches, I’m considering various improvements.

First, the websites.

First, the Ghost Hunting Websites

I’m in the process of improving my ghost hunting articles at HollowHill.com and Ghosts101.com.  (You may have noticed an increase in graphics and videos with my most popular articles. That’s just the beginning.)

Hollow Hill is a very large project, with over 400 articles currently on the site, plus another ~130 articles (mostly podcast-related) that I’d like to restore in 2019.

In addition, I’m hoping to add a new article weekly, usually on Thursdays.

(Ghost hunting is trending again, but it’s a slightly different audience. Britain is a major influence now. To get an idea of how things are changing, take note of channels like Really.)

Ghosts101.com features answers to the 101 most popular questions about ghost hunting and haunted places. I’ve been updating that site – and my answers – for several months. By mid-2019, I expect to complete that site’s renovations.

I’m redesigning Hallowfields.com with more, free mini-courses. Students have asked me to break down the big course – Introduction to Ghosts Hunting – into smaller, focused topics.  They’ve also asked for more videos. So, those are on my to-do list for 2019, as well.

Changes at Mandela Effect… maybe

By mid-2018, the Mandela Effect website (MandelaEffect.com) became unmanageable due to extremely heavy traffic.

I couldn’t even update it. I kept seeing error messages.

In December 2018, my other websites – on the same server – were stalling, too. That was unacceptable.

So, I shifted to the mirror site,  https://mandelaeffectsite.wordpress.com/

[As of January 2019, my sites are on more powerful hosting. But, when Mandela Effect interest spikes, you may still see some error messages and outages.]

In 2019, I may divide the Mandela Effect website into three smaller sites:

1. The main site will feature the 25-or-so pages that most people always visit.  (The most popular articles from a year ago, are still most popular now.) Those topics include alternate memories about Forrest Gump, 51/52 United States, Nelson Mandela’s death in the 20th century, Berenstein/Berenstain Bears, Looney Tunes/Toons, and so on.
2. A second site will be an archives with the rest of the “Major Memories” articles and comments. Each of those pages interest only about 5% of site visitors, while adding a lot more bandwidth “weight” (and sometimes wait, as well).
3. A new site that focuses on Mandela Effect theories: Discussions about what might explain the Mandela Effect, and why it happens where & when it does. This third site is the only one I plan to update. (It’s also where my interests – and our earliest discussions – began, back in 2009. So, I’m kind of excited about this site idea.)

I’m still considering my options. Your feedback is welcomed!

Other Sites…

I’d like to make more time for serious faerie/folklore research, but – at the moment – my ghost-related projects are a higher priority.

I’m doing my best to avoid my “ooh, shiny!” tendencies. (Sometimes, that’s a challenge.)

So, I can’t promise to update or expand FaerieMagick.com in 2019. I’d like to, but… there are only so many hours in the day. (Until I find a time machine, that is. Anyone with a spare, let me know. LOL)

This website (FionaBroome.com) will continue as my personal blog, with insights about my research and related pursuits. And the occasional rant. And rave. And “what if…?” rambles.

And then – oh my – the Books!

Early in 2019, I’m planning to update & re-release most (not all) of my ghost hunting books.

Over the past year, I’ve spoken – in real life – with many ghost hunters, and I’ve seen a shift in interests and attitudes. Also, I’m seeing some interesting changes in how people approach investigations.

I’m excited about this, and glad I didn’t rush my book revisions. What interests investigators now… it’s refreshing. And, in some cases, very different.

But, yes, I’ve written over a dozen books.  So, this is a major project for 2019.

Consulting, among my favorite interests

In 2019, I want to make more time for consulting with owners of haunted & historic sites, plus TV & movie producers. I love finding locations and researching history.

And, I hope to get back to the U.K. to investigate more historic sites, and revisit some of the creepier British haunts I’ve written about in the past 20 years.

That’s what’s ahead for 2019. If you have any requests, leave a comment.

And, of course, I wish you a wonderful holiday season, and a happy new year.

Tonight’s radio show was so much fun, I want to thank everyone involved.

George Noory was a gracious host, and his extensive background in paranormal topics made the two hours practically fly. (I’m glad I had a chance to vote for him at the National Radio Hall of Fame, shortly before polling closed tonight.)

Thanks also to the many listeners who called into the show with fascinating questions and insights. (Also, I’m grateful to those who were in the audience, nodding in agreement and contributing such positive energy to the evening. Everything about the show really felt right.)

Of course, the show ran smoothly from start to finish, due to the high level of professionalism of the Coast to Coast AM staff, including Lisa, Stephanie, and Tom. I appreciate how easy they made… well, everything connected with the show.

If there’s such a thing as a perfect radio show for people in my research field, I think Coast to Coast AM is it.

I’m still smiling, and glad I had a chance to be on such a respected radio show. It was a wonderful experience.

Thanks so very much!

(Coast to Coast AM subscribers can hear the replay almost immediately. In addition, Coast to Coast AM shows are available at YouTube, about three weeks after they initially aired.)