April - Spirit Society of PA

Spirit Society of PA.
A P P A R I T I O N S
A Monthly Journal of News & Upcoming Events • Vol 14, Issue 4 - APRIL 2009
“ROO’s” BOOS - Notes from Kelly
Spring is finally here! It’s now time to dust off your cameras,
recorders and sneakers and get ready to do some serious ghostly adventures. Gettysburg is beautiful this time of year and I’m
sure a lot of you are eager to check the area out once again.
The Visitors Center is really a great place to see the battle up
close and personal in the Cyclorama. I highly recommend it.
There are places to explore right in our own back yard, so be
creative (observe all of the rules and never trespass) and see
what “spirited” adventures await you. (One such venue is Pine
Grove Forest State Park. See Melissa’s article in this article
for the story behind the photo below)
Speaking of ‘dusting off’ things, remember, our annual White
Elephant Sale (during Spirit Day) is rapidly approaching! We
are looking for trinkets, household items, jewelry, etc. that we
can sell to make money towards our rental account.
Spirit Day in May will be held on Sat. May 16 starting at 1pm.
Please sign up for your food/beverage items tonight. We need
to be organized and as usual, want to have a delicious spread
for all to enjoy! Remember: Rosemary Ellen Guiley, author
and paranormal investigator, has been added to our line-up.
Myth and Folklore of the Color Green
It was not that long ago that the color green was banned by early Christians because of its use in Pagan ceremonies, though it
came back into favor as a fertility symbol by the late Middle
Ages. It is a good thing for current-day nature worshippers
that the banned color is back in style. The color is used quite
often in healing magic of earth based practitioners. renewal,
and it naturally radiates feelings of youthful energy, healing
and wellness whenever we look at it.
Green is the color of life. The word “Green” springs from the
Teutonic language, and literally means “to grow.” Perhaps this
came about because it is associated with springtime. It brings
the feel of nature to mind. Green is the color of freshness and
renewal, and it naturally radiates feelings of youthful energy,
healing and wellness whenever we look at it.
Green Energy Green is associated with the third charka,
called the throat center. It relates to the planet Venus, and the
elements of earth, air, and water in the west and to the ether in
the east. When viewed this way, green is associated with joy,
ecstasy and bliss. The green throat center controls the thyroid,
the kidneys, the thalamus, the sensory organs, the lumbar region of the spine, and the skin
The month of May is colored spring green, and its birthstone
is the Emerald, an Earth Mother gem and stone of nature. August is colored deep green. Its birthstone is the Peridot that
signifies happiness in marriage and is both the receiver and
transmitter of healing energy.
Are You Being Green? East Indian mystics see green as the
marriage of balance and harmony, the color ray that bridges
our karma because it provides a healing link between our emotional actions and reactions. Green has everything to do with
sharing and balance. If we see green in our dreams it means
we need adaptability, reconciliation, healing, and harmony
within ourselves or in our dealing with others.
People who are attracted to green usually display an artistic,
creative, harmonious, stable, enduring, and quiet personality –
though too much of the green vibration may result in a wasteful and angry temperament. When green is a least favorite
color, it may indicate a disposition that is lazy, overweight,
subject to throat infections and on occasion, envy.
Mother Earth Green is an important symbol of the gods and
goddesses worshiped by earthbased spiritual traditions. One
major ancient mythic figure is the
Green Man, a pagan god of fertility,
death, and rebirth, and also known
as the Earth Father. You will see
him in many gardens and will notice a wide variety of his image.
Green Trivia
• Green is the most restful color for the human eye.
• Time moves faster in a green room.
• Green has great healing power, and can soothe pain.
• People working in green environments have fewer stomach aches.
• Green is beneficial around teething infants.
• Suicides drop 34 percent when London’s Blackfriar Bridge
was painted green.
• The color of avocado green is synonymous with the 60’s &
70’s in the minds of those who can remember that period.
Musings of a Ghost Advernturer
by Melissa Telesha
We had a wonderful opportunity to rent out the old paymaster’s
office at Pine Grove Furnace for the weekend and explore the
area. With the weather getting nicer outside, I highly recommend visiting this state park this spring or summer. There are
many nearby spooky and/or weird sites.
Pine Grove Cemetery is a short hike from the main parking
area (in front of the furnace). There are no more tombstones
remaining in this over-200-year-old burial ground; however,
we did find one
stone base for a
stone and many
“coffin-shaped”
indentions in the
soil. This is one
of many places it
has been said that
the famous glass
and iron maker,
Baron Henry von
Stiegel is thought to have been buried. (There are at least eight
“supposed” burial locations throughout central Pennsylvania.)
Pine Grove furnace is one of the last places Stiegel is known to
have worked (it was owned by his nephew Peter Ege), so it’s
logically possible that he is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery.
If you travel a few
miles on Rt. 233,
you will come
across the location where the famous “Babes in
the Woods” were
discovered.
In
1934, three little
girls (sisters) were
found in the woods
lying on a blanket looking as though they were asleep—except
they weren’t. They had all been smothered by their father, Elmo
Noakes, who later committed suicide after also murdering his
niece/housekeeper, Winifred Pierce. At first, no one could identify the girls. The state police made death masks of the girls in
the hopes of using them for identification purposes after the
burials. Those masks are now on display at the Pennsylvania
State Police Museum in Hershey—along with many other interesting items. (You need to call before visiting.) The Ewing
Brother Funeral Home in Carlisle gave the little girls a funeral
and burial free of charge and the citizens of Carlisle took up a
collection for a grave marker. They are buried at Westminster
Cemetery in Carlisle. The girls were later identified through a
photograph by their grandmother in California.
Dead Woman Hollow Road is a bizarre place to visit. I don’t
know how the place got its name—but a site on the Internet
claims it is from Native American times when they found a woman dead from a snake bite on the then-trail. So that’s one story,
for what it’s worth—regardless, it’s a very eerie, unusual name.
(And provides a great campy photo op, as seen on the front page)
Peter Ege’s ironmaster’s mansion still exists in Pine Grove Furnace Park and takes center stage. It is currently used a hostel and
from an old newspaper report I found, is supposed to be haunted
by Baron von Stiegel. It just LOOKS like it SHOULD be!
The old POW Interrogation camp is located in nearby Michaux
State Forest—but I’ll let John inform everyone about that venue.
In short—this is an extremely history-rich area that is worthy
of exploring!
Exploring the WWII POW Interrogation Camp Area
This site was originally a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)
camp built in the 1930s. It ended its days as a youth church
camp (Camp Michaux) in the early 1970s, but its most fascinating use was during WWII when from 1943 to 1945 German
(and a few Japanese) prisoners of war were interrogated there
prior to being moved to more permanent locations. Most of
the 1500 prisoners who spent time here were officers or NCOs,
and included members of Rommel’s famed Afrika Corps and
U-Boat sailors from the Kriegsmarine. The isolated site was
kept secret from the local population, but it was clear there was
something of a military nature present in the forests of southwestern Cumberland County.
Today, only foundations remain from barracks, support buildings and the ominous guard towers. One object Melissa was
anxious to find (and we did, as seen below) was the fountain
near the center of the camp built by the CCC workers and used
during the POW and church camp days. It is decorated with
slag (which looks like blue glass) from the nearby iron furnace.
Personally, I recall hiking by the Church Camp version in the
late 1960s as Camp Lion - my Boy Scout Troop’s facility - was
only a couple miles away. It’s incredible to see how little of
the camp remains, but the plan after it closed in the early 70s
was to remove the buildings and plant trees. One can hardly
believe the transformation of this site over 40 years - a thriving
camp is now a hidden ghost town - but do any spirits remain?
Of course! As seen in the photo below of the creepy filter/
pump room at
the old swimming pool site,
the many “orbs”
in this photo
suggest multiple
spirits indeed are
present Oooooh!
OK no serious
ghost hunter is
going to get too
worried about a bunch of dust particles but it was quite a challenge crawling down to get some shots of this dark, forboding
subterranean room, and Matt was the “guinea pig” (or canary)
and bravely was the first to explore it!
Despite looking like it should have “something” here, is there
really anything haunting this place? Historically, the only record that can be found of anyone dying here involves a child
struck by lightning when it was a church camp. While one
might suspect the misery of a POW camp would at least cause
residual imprints to remain, it must be said this was hardly
an Andersonville or Stalag 17! As described in the excellent
book SECRET WAR at HOME - the Pine Grove Furnace POW
Camp by John Paul Bland, the conditions here were so exceptional that German POWs told their families at home to
not bother sending any food parcels and keep them for themselves! Most of the prisoners here spent only a week or few,
while being interrogated, which in itself was said to be more
successful using a very laid back approach. This technique
was found to be more successful than intimidation or torture,
and was SOP at the several camps of this type constructed
around the country. (It was even suspected that alcohol was
served to loosen the POW’s tongues) Bottom line is, with
food and housing conditions much better than they had in their
prior service for the Fatherland, its easy to see why no obvious
negative energy remains behind.
However, there was one spot where both Laura and Matt
sensed something “angry”. This was outside the main POW
compound near the remains of the northeast
tower. From what I
can tell on the map, the
foundation (left) was
one of 2 buildings that
served as officers (US)
quarters during the war.
(The same building
is called the “Honeymoon” cabin on a 1960s map of Camp Michaux). Kelly chose
not to be “on” and just enjoy the day, but she has worked with
and trusts Laura and Matts’ abilities as intuitives, therefore it
is possible that something predating the known history of the
site (perhaps Native American?) is behind what they sensed. JDW (www.schaeffersite.com/michaux has lots of good info.)
Origins of April Fools Day
Courtesy of Melissa, From allrecipes.com Most historians
agree that April Fools’ Day began when the Christian world
adopted the new Gregorian calendar. According to the old calendar, the New Year was celebrated in the spring for eight days
(the final day of celebration being April First), but because the
new calendar was so different, the date of the New Year was
changed to January First. Many of the people who lived in the
countryside didn’t know of the change for years, and continued celebrating the New Year during the spring. Those “in the
know” thought this was hilarious and started to call the April
celebrators “fools.” From then on, these people began to go out
of their way during this particular season to make friends believe something that was false. And April Fools’ Day was born!
Some Recent Strange Events at Gettysburg - by JDW
On Sat March 21, I spent some time on the battlefield at several
favorite secluded spots, both absorbing history and recording
several more EVPs. When prompting EVP in the woods along
Rock Creek (where Gordon’s GA brigade passed thru during
their assault on 11th Corps units atop Barlows Knoll) I first
sensed I was being followed, then heard the sound of something or someone moving thru the dead leaves that covered
the ground. It was very clear, but I could not see any source
- not even the huge groundhog I had observed near the tree line
while walking down the hill. Even stranger, I tried to record the
sound (while asking who was there) and it did not manifest!
The Josiah Benner farm, which borders the other side of the
creek here, was a post battle hospital, with 14 US and 10 CSA
burials on the site. I’ve recently learned that the owner and his
son had an encounter with a headless apparition along the creek,
which one can surmise is the oft-reported Col. Fowler of the
17th CT, who was beheaded on Barlows Knoll. Who or what
followed me I cannot say!
On the same day, while exploring
Herbst’s Woods where the 24th
MI of the Iron Brigade fought the
26th NC, when asking if anyone
could give me a sign of their presence, for some reason I looked
down and noticed this skull-like
shell on the ground! I really don’t think it was the “sign” I
asked for, but it was nonetheless funny and kind of macabre!
SSP Member UFO Sighting - On 3/20/09, Jack Thomas and
2 friends witnessed an odd object in the SW sky in Mechbg. It
was star like and intense, with blue/red/white changing colors,
moving slowly & erratically before drifting to the South and
disappearing after 15 min. (10:45pm) At arms length, object
required 2 fingers to cover. 2 witnesses ex military, incl. Jack
(USAR M60 Cmdr) and
another, USAF F-4 WSO
combat vet. (Aircrew are
very credible witnesses)
Review of MUFON CMS
shows no comparable sightings on that date. - JDW
MATT’S MACABRE MOVIES
by MATT WOOD
Hello everyone and welcome to the first installment of
MATT’S MACABRE MOVIES. I will be your guide to the
fantastic realms of cinema. Every month I will review a few
movies rating them on a scale of 1 to 5 ghosts, depending on
how much I liked it. Hopefully you enjoy my insight... Well,
first on my list for this month is:
STIR OF ECHOES 2: THE HOMECOMING - Starring Rob
Lowe. This made for TV sequel revolves around a soldier
that returns from the Iraq war only to have visions of the dead
haunting him. As he struggles to understand what is happening to him and keep his family from harm the truth of a violent
death is revealed to him and he must do the right thing.
I loved the original STIR OF ECHOES, but this one I really
didn’t care for quite as much. While the premise is still the
same, the impact was not there. At times you almost don’t like
the lead character and the “twist” is a little insulting. With all
that said I did like to see Rob Lowe in a complex role and
think he did as good a job as he could. Not a complete waste
of money but not something to seek out either. 1 1/2 ghosts.
MIRRORS - Starring Kiefer Sutherland. A former New York
cop on the mend takes a security job where the mirrors house
a horrific secret. Struggling with sanity and trying to keep his
family safe he must discover the secrets behind the mirrors.
This is yet another remake of a Japanese horror film with the
excitement amped up. In the same vein as other remakes like
THE RING this movie really plays up the suspense. Kiefer
was really good in his role and seemed to relish the internal
conflict of his character. This movie has the frights. 4 ghosts
MATT’S MOVIE OF THE MONTH:
REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA - Starring Alexa Vega, Paul
Sorvino. O.K. this one might not be for everyone but…
Set in a post apocalyptic world where organ failure has reached
epidemic heights, GENECO a designer organ replacement
company has stepped in to “save the day”(for a price). However, if you are late with your payments they will have a repo
man come to retrieve their property. This movie involved a lot
of the creative team behind the SAW films. Based on a stage
play/opera(there is singing throughout the entire thing). This
film has some of the most creative imagery I have seen in quite
a while. And the music was great too! 4 1/2 ghosts
And Finally…MATT’S MACABRE MOVIE VAULT
THE MONSTER SQUAD - Starring Andre Gower
This gem from 1987 is about a group of kids who form a club
devoted to monsters and have to do battle with the likes of
Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and Wolfman (“Wolfman’s got NARDS!”). I still love this movie as much as I did
when I first saw it. If you have not seen this one...seek it out.
5 ghosts
GHOSTLY GOODIES: RECIPES from SSP
Irish Cream Bundt Cake - From Mark Whalen
1 Cup chopped pecans
1 (18.25 oz ) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 C water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 Cup Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur
1/2 C butter
1/4 C water
1 C white sugar
1/4 C Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch
Bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over bottom of
pan. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix.
Mix in eggs, 1/4 C water, 1/2 C oil and 3/4 Cup Bailey’s
Irish Cream. Beat for 5 minutes at high speed. Pour batter
over nuts in pan. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes,
or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto the serving
dish. Prick top and sides of cake. Spoon glaze over top
and brush onto sides of cake. Allow to absorb glaze, repeat
until glaze is all used up.
To make the glaze: In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 C
water and 1 Cup sugar. Bring to a boil and continue boiling
for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and
stir in 1/4 C Irish cream.
12 servings. Recipe from Razzle Dazzle Recipes.
New! Free Download from SSP: P.I.D. 101
Paranormal Investigation
Development 101 is a comprehensive guide to understanding the procedures &
policies SSP has refined over
12 years of investigating
haunted places. It’s a “mustread” for anyone who wants
to become involved with
SSP field investigations.
Many thanks to Melissa
Telesha for preparing this
.pdf document, which can
be downloaded free at www.
spiritsocietyofpa.com
Spirit Society of PA.
AA PP PP AA R I T I O N S
Story & Photo Contributions are Solicited - send to:
John & Kelly Weaver, 43 Essex Rd, Camp Hill, PA 17011
E-mail: weaviate@aol.com
S.S.P. Website: www.spiritsocietyofpa.com