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Woman sexually assaulted by ghost Asiaone News Taipei, Taiwan- December 25, 2009
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Investigated ghosts disappear The Register Citizen Barkhamsted, Connecticut- December 5, 2009
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Haunted Rentals: Advertising a ghostly roommate Tuscon Citizen Tuscon, Arizona- November 22, 2009
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How to die on Facebook The Globe and Mail Toronto, Canada- November 21, 2009
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Ghosts, monsters, dragons: What to tell kids CNN November 14, 2009
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Ghost Hunters Say Voice Led Them To Bones WTOV Channel 9 Wellsburg, West Virginia- November 11, 2009
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Fright House: Jenna Bush on the ghostly music playing in the presidential home already haunted by Abraham Lincoln Mail Online Hollywood, California- November 5, 2009
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NEW GRAVITY MEDIA TEAMS UP WITH JOHN ZAFFIS FOR PARANORMAL MUSEUM PROJECT
Scientifically Haunted House Suggests Youre a Sucker Wired London, England- October 30, 2009
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Gutted West Village building said to be haunted by restless ghost of Gay St. man is now up for sale The New York Daily News New York, New York- October 14, 2009
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CONFIRMED HAUNTED PROPERTY IN NEW MEXICO GHOST TOWN FOR SALE ON eBay
Worlds Leading Ghost Hunters Return to Chronicle the Globes Top Haunts
Closet-Dwelling Ghost Haunted Carradine PopEater September 22, 2009
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Ten Great Places to Sleep With a Ghost Reuters Austin, Texas- September 17, 2009
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Ghost hunting woman falls to death at spooky university building The Canadian Press Toronto, Canada- September 10, 2009
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Haunted Indian station reopens BBC News Begunkodor, India- September 3, 2009
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Cop faces court over exorcism attempt ABC News Barossa Valley, Australia- September 2, 2009
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Carteret County Ghosts to Help with Library Fund Raiser
Ghostly goings-on captured on CCTV at Liverpool's Croxteth Park The Liverpool Echo Liverpool, England- August 25, 2009
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Frightened girl dies after ghost prank The Times of India Behrampore, India- August 27, 2009
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Paranormal in the Panhandle
Beban House's ghostly past continues to spook workers Canada.com Beban Park, Ontario- August 17, 2009
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Yahya Jammeh's state witch-hunters kidnap villagers in western Gambia Times Online Banjul, Gambia- August 16, 2009
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Most Haunteds Former Historian Comes to Gettysburg
Rumor of ghosts invites trouble to Selleck KomoNews.com Selleck, Washington- July 31, 2009
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4th Annual Paranormal Meet and Greet in Indiana
Ghostly cell phone image creates buzz WPRI.com East Providence, Rhode Island- July 31, 2009
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Security guard slapped by ghosts at housing area AsiaOne News Tamil, Malaysia- July 27, 2009
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Police arrest teen ghost hunters The Salem News Salem, Massachusetts- July 24, 2009
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Burglar Looking For Ghosts In Monterey Home Cookeville Times Cookeville, Tennessee- July 14, 2009
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Darkness Events Floats New Concept in Paranormal Conference
I Know What You Just Tweeted The Wall Street Journal Hertfordshire, United Kingdom- June 10, 2009
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Does the Paranormal Need Its Landmarks?
Zimbabweans say angry ancestors are behind road accidents LA Times Chivhu, Zimbabwe- May 23, 2009
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Spirits to come alive in Western Pennsylvania
Fire in haunted hotel room The Telegraph Ramsey, United Kingdom- May 13, 2009
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Historic Fort Wayne & MPI Announce Ghost Tours The Times Herald Ft. Wayne, Indiana- May 9, 2009
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Ghost hunters raise funds for preservation AP via WSBT Shelbyville, Illinois- May 5, 2009
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Haunted mansion up for auction The Euro Weekly News Campanillas, Spain- May 7, 2009
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The paranormal world mourns the loss of one of it's icons, Dr. Hans Holzer
Haunted tunnels in Newtown removed piece by piece The News-Times Newtown, Conecticut-April 26, 2009
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Scary run-ins at Exeter site with ghostly reputation The Providence Journal Exeter, Rhode Island-April 23, 2009
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Sex offender hunting ghosts violates probation The Hernando Today Brooksville, Florida -April 20, 2009
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Darkness Radio returns to Waverly Hills
Bank claims Seven Sisters; ghosts said to be upset Ocala.com Ocala, Florida -April 10, 2009
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Ghost Hunters returns to the Mount Washington Resort - and the Public is Invited
Spooky image shows ghostly figure The Chronicle Toowoomba, Australia -March 26, 2009
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Castle figure wins 'ghostly' competition BBC News North Berwick, Scotland -March 27, 2009
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Hartford Murder Suspect Says Ghosts Taunted Him The Hartford Courant Hartford, Connecticut -March 24, 2009
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Work halted on Warwick Castle over haunting scare The Birmingham Mail Birmingham, England -March 16, 2009
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NorthEastern Paranormal Brings Phenomenology 101 to Gettysburg
Workers in Jordan strike to demand exorcism M&C Amman, Jordon -March 8, 2009
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Ghosts Cant Tap Taps.com Domain Name Domain Name Wire.com March 6, 2009
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Will Revelations About Bobby Jindal's Weird Secret Past Destroy His Political Career? The Daily Beast via AlterNet Washington, D.C.-February 25, 2009
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GhoStock Paranormal Convention to be held in Salem Massachusetts
My Spooky Valentine in Rhode Island
Rob Conover Looks to Help Save the Bowen
Investigators petition for care facility access The Newton Daily News Jasper County, Iowa -January 22, 2009
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Ghostly tales wanted for radio show The Maidenhead Advertiser Marlow, England -January 20, 2009
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Paranormal Activity Explored In Northern Kentucky WCPO, ABC Affiliate Wilder, Kentucky -January 20, 2009
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Real Ghostbusting 101 starts Thursday at DSC The Daily Citizen Dalton, Georgia -January 17, 2009
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Ghosts haunted pub long before car crashed into it Tewkesbury AdMag Tewkesbury, England -January 15, 2009
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Caffeine Linked To Seeing Ghosts Sky News Durham, England -January 13, 2009
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Paranormal Forensics Topic of Public Lecture January 21st
Apparition Brings Traffic to a Halt ShortNews.com Coalisland, Ireland -January 5, 2009
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Why Obama's Hotel Is Haunted Live Science Washington, D.C. -January 5, 2009
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Fundraiser for maker of paranormal documentaries to be held in Ontario Contra Costa Times Ontario, Canada -January 2, 2009
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Foundation probes brain's secrets: Founder sought scientific basis for the paranormal San Antonio Express News San Antonio, Texas -December 28, 2008
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U.S. Supreme Court asked to hear Texas exorcism case LegalNewsline.com Washington, D.C. -December 28, 2008
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June 17, 2009
Does the Paranormal Need Its Landmarks?
by Christopher Balzano, editor Ghostvillage News
Ghosts do not discriminate. The mass of haunting that go documented, especially in this time of local paranormal investigators, are found inside the home where a family suffers through things they cannot explain. In an era where evidence gained through investigation motivates many of the teams out there, the purity of a residence is the best testing ground for the science of ghost hunting. Is there a need then for paranormal landmarks, those national and international locations most people in the paranormal community can rattle off by memory?
Anyone who has ever been to a famously haunted location knows it is hard to gain any evidence that cannot be disputed. Groups walk around behind each other creating orb photos with their flashes and EVPs with their constant chatter about how great it is to finally be at Waverly Hills. Many are not even open to investigators. People can name the DeFeo children by heart, but they have never been there. They know the genealogy of the families but have never stepped foot in Dudley Town. They will never have the funds to travel to the Queen Mary or Eastern State Penitentiary, but they know of them, and go to chat rooms to discuss them.
That may be why they are needed. Haunted landmarks are the common denominator for the paranormal world. Ghost hunting is still considered deviant behavior, but reading about ghosts and watching the paranormal media is not. Someone who would never investigate a house can visit the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast can escape for the night, touch the paranormal for a brief time, and then go back to their normal life. There is no commitment so they can drop in, like someone visiting a Web site about ghosts, and allow that small indulgence to satisfy their curiosity.
The same is true for people who make an investment in the paranormal. There is no better place to meet other people of a like mind, especially from different parts of the country, than to show up at a landmark and get a conversation started. These locations become touchstones for people, something in common to begin a conversation about other locations you have investigated. They also become concrete hauntings for people, something others can relate to. Someone way have investigated two dozen houses, but it becomes more relatable when they can say they have been to the Winchester House. Others now know where you are coming from, and the weight of the back story becomes part of your paranormal resume. They carry these locations as part of their personality, often fighting to keep them open when they become endangered.
Perhaps the most important social aspect of haunted landmarks is their exposure to the world. Trends come and go and our national attention span is unpredictable. These buildings remind the world that ghosts may exist. They contain the constant paranormal motifs that people apply to ghosts (the abandoned military base, the haunted asylum, the place of a famous murder), so they keep these ideas, and the idea of what a ghost is, fresh in peoples minds. Jeff Belanger is famous for saying a building is usually haunted by the most famous person associated with it. These landmarks become the most famous person, and the details surrounding them become a remembered narrative to ghost hunters and casual paranormal consumers alike.
In the coming months there will be more conferences and events making the pages of Ghostvillage News. Organizers and promoters have caught on to the power of these landmarks to draw people in, so many are choosing to hold events at famously haunted locations. We will offer as many as we can to you, so try and take advantage. They offer a unique look into those places you have only read about before while presenting you with some quality speakers.
Our draw to our ghost landmarks continue to help define the paranormal, and that may be truest reason why they are needed. They cay something about who we are as people, and if a society can be revealed through its ghosts, they represent our need to connect to something bigger, especially in a field asking the big questions.
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