Friday, February 22, 2013

Supernatural Friday: Paranormal World Seekers


Since I am at the hotel where Mysticon will happen this weekend, for Supernatural Friday will just be about the video done in night vision of the paranormal investigation I did Marscon, held at Ft. Magruder Hotel in Williamsburg, Virginia January 19, 2013. It was held at night, and yes, we got some interesting stuff captures. Though my audio caught some EVPs and I suspect the cameraman got same EVPs on his, this is an edited version of only two hours filmed. The expensive, professional camcorder that had a ten-hour battery only lasted two hours as the spirits drained it!


Enjoy Paranormal World Seekers; the dead don't stay dead forever in Paranormal World Seekers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URSIO9hhZTI&feature=youtu.be

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Catch Me at Mysticon in Roanoke, Virginia February 22-24th

I will be an author guest at Mysticon 2013 next weekend February  22-24, 2013 at the Holiday Inn-Tanglewood, 4468 Starkey Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24018. Author GOH is Orson Scott Card and Media GOH is Peter Davison, the 5th Doctor of Doctor Who. I will be doing panels, readings, a children's writer's workshop, and a book signing 11 a.m to noon on Saturday the 23rd.
For more on other guests, the programming schedule and such: http://mysticon-va.com/ They have posted on their Facebook page that this convention may sell out, and wanted to warn people.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Supernatural Friday: Winter is Hunting Season







Winter is Hunting Season
by
Pamela K. Kinney 
(copyrighted to the author, so please just share the link, not take the poem)

Winter’s cold fingers touching my skin
Nothing to fear,
Except freezing to death;
Right?
But the coldness
Brings the monsters
They want to play;
Play with you
In so many ways.
Less people in the woods,
It’s Sasquatch’s time.
Werewolf is drawn
To towns more.
Ghosts don’t feel
So they haunt, cold or hot
Zombies?
They can eat anytime!
As for vampires
They’re icebox cold too.
So who told you winter’s safe?
It’s just another hunting season
For monsters!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Party Hardy! It's Fat Tuesday, Or Mardi Gras!



 
Mardi Gras is also known as Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday") or Shrove Tuesday. This is the last day of feasting before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

Mardi Gras dates back thousands of years to pagan celebrations of spring and fertility. When Christianity arrived in Rome, religious leaders decided to incorporate the popular tradition into the new faith. The excess and debauchery of the Carnival season became a prelude to Lent, the 40 days of penance between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Mardi Gras marks the final day of feasting and revelry before the fasting, prayer and moderation of Lent. A common misconception is that Mardi Gras is the name for all of the revelry that begins Jan. 6 and continues through Ash Wednesday. This season of revelry is called Carnival; Mardi Gras is the culmination of it all.

Historians lay claim that the first American Mardi Gras was held March 3, 1699, when French explorers Bienville and Iberville landed in Louisiana. The first recorded New Orleans Carnival parade occurred in 1827. A group of students in colorful costumes danced through the streets. But in New Orleans today, the early weeks of Carnival are marked with elaborate balls, which are invitation-only, and celebrate the chosen royalty for each krewe, or private club, and also serve as a “coming out” for the season’s crop of debutantes, the daughters of the city’s social scions. The final weeks that lead up to Mardi Gras, are packed with street parades featuring bands, marching groups and large floats packed with costumed riders throwing beads and other trinkets to the masses in the streets. Weekly king cake parties are held in neighborhoods, schools and offices. King cakes are traditionally served for the first time on Jan. 6, or Kings Day, and are enjoyed throughout the Carnival season. A traditional king cake is a braided cinnamon-laced brioche-like cake topped with icing and colored sugars: purple, green and gold, symbolizing justice, faith and power. Bakeries now offer king cakes with fillings of fruit, cream cheese, even chocolate. A small plastic baby is placed inside the cake to symbolize the baby Jesus; the person who gets the piece of cake with the baby is responsible for buying the next king cake, usually within the next week.

Monday, February 11, 2013

My Mysticon Programming Schedule



My MystiCon 2013 programming schedule (http://mysticon-va.com/) February 22-24:

Fri 5:00 PM—Ballroom E Publishing/Art Promotions 101
Fri 11:00 PM
1:00 AM—Rm 533 Paranormal Erotic Paranormal Romance
Reading—as Sapphire Phelan, with other paranormal romance authors.
Sat 11:00 AM Signing Table Guest Signing Pamela Kinney, Davey
Beauchamp
Sat 3:00 PM
5:00 PM—Dogwood 2 Workshop Writer's Workshop for
Children/Young Adult—In this two
hour workshop, children and young adults age
10 to 17 will learn the basics of writing and editing, then
will write an actual short story. Students will need paper,
pencil and pen. Note: Attendance limited to 10 participants, sign up at registration.
Sat 11:00 PM—1:00 AM—Rm 533 Paranormal Spooky Ghost and Horror Stories Readings from several of our paranormal and horror authors.

Friday, February 08, 2013

Supernatural Friday: The Wendigo Hungers





“Hunger Changes”
by Pamela K. Kinney
Hunger, so much hunger
Never filling,
Cold darkness
Overtaking,
Changing,
Taking over,
No longer human,
Predator, killer, monster—
Wendigo. 
(Poem copyrighted by Pamela K. Kinney--do not take, but share the link instead.)

Though the Wendigo is first written down by writer Algernon Blackwood in his classic terror tale, "The Wendigo", Native Americans have their own stories of the monster.  The Inuit Indians of the region called the creature by various names, including Wendigo, Witigo, Witiko and Wee-Tee-Go but each of them was roughly translated to mean "the evil spirit that devours mankind". Around 1860, a German explorer translated Wendigo to mean "cannibal" among the tribes along the Great Lakes.

The tribes told of a gigantic spirit, over fifteen feet tall. Lore says that it was once human but had been transformed into a creature by the use of magic (or curse?), whenever a human resorts to cannibalism to survive. Descriptions of the creature vary here and there, the Wendigo is said to have glowing eyes, yellowed fangs of length, and long tongues. Most have a sallow, yellowish skin, while others are said to be matted with hair. They are tall and lanky and are driven by a horrible hunger. In years past, such a practice was possible, although still rare, as many of the tribes and settlers in the region were cut off by the bitter snows and ice of the north woods. Unfortunately, eating another person to survive was sometimes resorted to and thus, the legend of the Wendigo was created. 

Of course, some of the descriptions seem to fit the sightings of Bigfoot. And Bigfoot by Native Americans is considered a spirit (except to Northwestern tribes: they considered Sasquatch as a physical being). An appearance to humans is meant to convey some sort of message.

White settlers took the sightings and reports quite seriously. According to the settlers' version of the legend, the Wendigo would be seen as a sort of premonition of  a death in the community. A Wendigo allegedly made a number of appearances near a town called Rosesu in Northern Minnesota from the late 1800's through the 1920's. Each time afterwards, an unexpected death followed and it would not be seen anymore.



One Wendigo hunter was a Cree Indian named Jack Fiddler, who claimed to kill at least 14 of the creatures in his lifetime. The last murder resulted in his imprisonment at the age of 87. In October 1907, Fiddler and his son, Joseph, were tried for the murder of a Cree Indian woman. Both pleaded guilty to the crime. They defended themselves, stating that the woman had been possessed by the spirit of a Wendigo, She’d been on the verge of transforming into one and they killed her before she murdered other members of the tribe. In this day and age, there are tales of Wendigos seen in northern Ontario, near the Cave of the Wendigo, and around the town of Kenora. A creature in that area has been spotted by traders, trackers and trappers for decades. In fact, many who still believe that the Wendigo roams the woods and the prairies of northern Minnesota and Canada.


Whether a Wendigo or more likely Sasquatch, something stalks the woods hit by heavy, cold winters.  Next time, you decided to travel through those forests during that season, think about it seriously. Especially when night comes and a full moon rises above, and you swear you see a shadow move or a flash that maybe from staring eyes, maybe it is not a good idea. Maybe summer is a better time to check out the area. 




Thursday, February 07, 2013

My 2012 Releases Mention on Richmond.com



Just found my part of an interview, plus mentions of both my releases from 2012, Haunted Richmond II and The Witch And The Familiar (written by me as Sapphire Phelan)  in paper edition of Richmond.com today. Online version has same, but the cover of The Witch and The Familiar was chosen for the photo! http://www.richmond.com/arts-entertainment/article_c5448550-68d3-11e2-b0ff-0019bb30f31a.html

 

Friday, February 01, 2013

Supernatural Friday: Moon Phases and the Supernatural



The moon phases affect the tides. Said to affect how people might act. There is stories that maybe lunatics are affected by the full moon. Supposedly during a full moon hospital activity increases greatly, elderly patients become restless & agitated, children seem to act out & become more hyper, patients with mental illness & personality disorders seem to display erratic mood swings. A measurable change in geomagnetic activity at the surface of the Earth’s crust can be directly attributed to the influence of the gravitational field of the moon as it approaches its zenith.  As the moon becomes fuller the gravity field of the moon pulls on the gravitational field of the Earth and  “stretches” its geomagnetic field into an elliptical orbit.  

But does it affect the supernatural too?


Centuries of folklore  from the “old world” lay claim that the moon possesses strange powers and holds sway over all things strange & mystical. Well, there is the werewolf myth, of how a human can change at the full moon into a werewolf.  Among the Norse people, who coined the term werewolf, or “man wolf,” it was once believed that a warrior could improve his ferocity by donning a wolfskin belt and taking on the spirit of the wolf, while people in parts of western Europe said that anyone could transform into a wolf by sleeping out under the full Moon on certain days of the year.   Elsewhere, being a werewolf was seen as an affliction, brought on by a pact with the devil, divine punishment, or just having the misfortune to be born that way. The idea of werewolves creating other werewolves by biting ordinary people isn’t actually part of the old lore, but was a later addition by Hollywood, probably inspired by a similar belief surrounding vampires.

Legends lay claim that casting magic spells during the full moon works better. Had those who believed they were sorcerers and witches done this in times past, or do witch doctors in Africa employ the moon in any of its phases to conduct their practices? 
 
 
There are those who say weather & atmospheric conditions influence paranormal investigating by the amount of lighting, giving the investigator an advantage during full moons. Magnetic fields are said to be strangest around full and new moons. It is popular belief that a good time to ghost hunt is 2-3 days prior; the day of; or 2-3 days after a full moon & new moon. The best times for ghost hunting would also be during peak geomagnetic fields & solar storms. There is also a common theory that "psychic tendencies" increase during new & full moons.


Types of Moon Phases:

New Moon - The “new” Moon orbits between the Earth and the Sun in such a manner that the side which
reflects rays of the Sun faces away from the earth, hence producing the optical illusion that the Moon is invisible. This is also called a “Dark Moon.”
Waxing Crescent  - As the Moon moves along in its 28 day orbit into what is known as the first quarter, an illuminated crescent begins to appear on its right side.
Waxing Gibbous - Continuing to progress in its orbital path the crescent begins to grow until the whole of the first half of the Moon is visible.
Full Moon - As the Moon reaches the final portion of its 2nd quarter orbit it can then be seen it its entirety                  as the whole of the daylight side is visible and appears as a full circle.
Waning Gibbous  - As the sunlit side of the Moon begins to turn away from the Earth it begins to darken again on the right side as it is now beginning to “wane.”
Last Quarter  - As the Moon passes from the waning gibbous phase of its orbit into the fourth quarter, darkness overtakes a larger portion of the surface of the Moon, moving from right to left.
Waning Crescent - This is the final portion of the Moon that is visible from the Earth before the Moon starts the new Moon phase again.



Whatever one believes if the moon does or doesn't affect the supernatural, still, it makes for good fodder for writing fictional stories. And on paranormal activity investigating teams can always do an experiment at one place during various times to see if it is true or not.