Thompson Park Ghost Walk

"Come over here."

That is what one of the EVP's we got said. We were over by the time capsule. There was fourteen of us and we stood in a circle to do our first EVP of the evening. Some were very scared, while others were seasoned pros at attending ghost walks in the area. Every one ended up conquering their fear and braving the unknown. And the orbs were around to be photographed.

I started the evening by setting up my little tables and displaying some of my equipment and pictures that I have taken over the years. I spent about twenty minutes explaining some basic ghost hunting tips and answered any questions out there. Then we put my stuff away and walked around the park.

Many volunteered to operate one of the digital recorders I brought and everyone did a great job!

Mostly it was just fun. We walked around the park for nearly three hours. We checked out the ampitheater, the storage shed, the tennis courts, and finally around the fountain. It is going to take me a week to listen to all the EVP work we did. But it was worth it to hear the few we listened to out in the field.

Another EVP we got said "The woods." We did not walk in the woods this first night. That is scheduled for September 13, 2008, the date of our next ghost walk at Thompson Park. I truly hope to see you there. Kimberly

Wellsville Italian Festival 2008

Talk about a great time! Lots of nice people. The food was awesome. Several members of CCFHV went down. We could not get a booth this year so we went down to see what it was like. Definetly on our list for next year.

I have noticed that in cities spirits seem to be able to roam where they want. Maybe it is the whole city they haunt. In the picture, you can see the stage that was set up in the distance. Again, I stress, the orbs hovering above could very well be dust or some light refraction. But why wouldn't ghosts want to attend such a big event? Wellsville is an older city so it is sure to have plenty of spirit residents. And remember, if you were having lots of fun down there, so were they. Who are they? Maybe they are the mayors of years gone by or favorite residents that have passed on. Maybe they are murder victims who refuse to leave until their case is solved. All cities have them.

While parked across from the court house in East Liverpool a few months ago, I looked for some EVP and in fact spoke to someone named Harvey. He was very chatty. He talks loud so he is easy to hear. I do not know who he was, but I hope to find some record of him as I research the history of the city.

Thanks so much for all the support we recieved in Wellsville last night. It was wonderful. We sold lots of Tshirts and I believe, plenty of spirits showed for the event. Wellsville is a wonderful little city with lots of history and charm that is hard to pass up. Yes, it is definetly on our list for next year. And it is on my list for another place to look for ghosts. Kimberly

More Adventures at Thompson Park

With the fair done and over I have been able to get back to Thompson Park. The photo to the left is me asking any spirits around me to sit on my hand. The large orb above and to my right followed us around the park. Thompson park is not much for orb action by the way, so I am greatful for any that we happen to encounter. The other photo is of Kylie standing in front of the little shed over by the tennis courts. For some reason this building seems a little creepy. These photos were taken on Aug 4. I have another one we took a few minutes before this that is going over on the side. It is of Kylie sitting on a bench near the time capsule. Nice orb in that one too.

There is activity in the park, but I am not sure any of it is the Blue Lady. We have gotten EVP, though only over by the fountain, and also at the front of the park by the sign dedicating the land for the use and enjoyment of the people. We hung out at the theater for a while. Nothing there so far. There are only good feelings around it. The one place that bothers me is the little pump house or what ever the little building is by the tennis courts. I am not sure what the story is with it. Feels a little ominous there for some reason.

I am looking for any encounters others might have had in the park. If you have seen the blue lady or any other apparition, please let me know your story.

I really hope to see some people at the park on the 16th. I am so worried that no one will show. If there was ever a place to learn how to ghost hunt, it is Thompson Park. There has so far not been too much activity, but just enough to find something. The Blue Lady is a very gentle spirit that seems only to be interested in finding her loved ones. She is basically quiet and soft spoken. Any EVP you might get with her on it will have to be listened to very carefully.

The most important thing is that this whole event is meant to be fun, and get you out creating your own adventures. Why sit and watch TAPS have all the fun when you can go out and find ghosts yourself. I have never had a dull ghost hunting experience. They have all been great. Not to mention all the history that you learn about your own community.

No, the ghosts will not follow you home. They are there for a reason. Whether it is because they are looking for something or because this place held their happiest memories, they are interested only in this place. Not you so much.

I hope to see you at Thompson Park. Even if you don't believe in ghosts, just come out for the walk. It might do you some good. Kimberly

Where ever you find a lot of people all together, you will find ghosts...

This was Columbiana Fair last night. Busy busy place. Lots of people. Lots of orbs. They could sure be dust. But they could also be the spirit residents of Lisbon enjoying the fair. I prefer to think the latter. What they are there for is to watch us though. To watch you living. To feel some of the wonderful feelings that come with the fair. When you are having a good time, so are they.

I am out at the fair on an official capacity. CCFHV is in the commercial building above the grandstand. That means so am I. We are there all week. So while I am looking for leads to give the police on some of the unsolved murders in the county, I am also doing the other activity that I love. Ghost hunting. I will be taking pictures every night, looking for anything ghostly.

Yesterday we were also down in East Liverpool. We held a memorial, along with the Wade and Morris families for Linda and Angela Morris. They were murdered on July 30, 1973 along with Earl Tweed, in his store on Dresden Avenue. It was a triple murder that was never solved. We were on all the news stations. Of course every one saw my pink sign. When I saw it, I was all excited because MY SIGN WAS ON TV!!! I only made it in case the family did not bring one. It was a last minute decision to throw one together. Call it a gut feeling or maybe a paranormal one. Any way there is my sign all over TV. I hope that is not my 15 minutes of fame though. Man how disappointing that would be. At any rate, the whole thing was for Linda and Angela Morris and Earl Tweed. They were brutally murdered. The only detail I will give you on this is that there is NO REASON TO BEAT A FOUR YEAR OLD CHILD TO DEATH. AND THE SLIMEBALL WHO DID SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!!!!! (imagine me yelling this with my teeth clenched for a better effect.)

We are out at the fair all week. We have a raffle going on as well. Our grand prize is a teeth whitening session called Zoom II. It is a $600 value and will whiten your teeth beautifully. Please come out and see us. If nothing else, please come by so the ghost can have some fun through you.

About the four ghosts. I do not believe these images are us. What do you think?

Orbs? Here's what I think!

I have done a lot of work in the field. I actually talk to any spirits that might be around me like I am talking to people. I always ask them to get into the picture with me. The key word is ask. I never demand anything. Generally I say "If there are any spirits here, would you please get into the picture with me?" Sometimes they do, like above.
While I know that not all orbs you see in a photo are spirits, they are also not all light refractions or dust. Above, I am at my favorite haunt, Gretchens Lock. I have a lot of photos that have an orb in the picture with me. I also try to get them to sit on my hand. When I look for EVP's, I generally do not find them where there are no orbs in the pictures I am taking either. There is also this theory I have that a spirit will use what ever it has available to make itself known. Fog to manifest, or what ever lighting is around. I have had EVP's where the spirit used crickets for a voice and the lonesome sound of a dog howling in the distance. In the photo on this blog where I ask what you see in the mist, that is a photo that keeps developing. I took it in 2006. There are images of purebred dogs, a horse, and a womans face. There is even a man jogging in it. That picture I took while looking for a missing woman from the county. I believe she is trying to tell me what she sees.
With the paranormal world, nothing is impossible. You can believe whatever you want, but when I am presented with proof while out in the field, I gotta tell people. There is something to orbs, like it or not. You can either listen to what other people think, or you can look for the answer yourself. I chose to look for myself. I leave you to judge.

Also, I will be at Thompson Park on Aug. 16 2008, at 8 pm to show you how to do some basic ghost hunting. I will be doing this several times until the end of October. If you are interested, I will be waiting at the memorial at the front gate of the park. Hope to see you there. Kimberly

The Ghosts of Sprucevale

Gretchen's Lock is a beautiful place. It is quiet. There are lots of flora and fauna to see. The Fishing is excellent. And there are a lot of ghosts. I never knew that until three years ago, when I first started ghost hunting. Of course, once you discover a truly haunted place, there is no staying away. There is always that next picture, or the EVP of all EVPs that you might get.
I personally have talked to several ghosts down there.
Jake the night watchman from Jake's Lock is there and very chatty. Mostly his name. And he answers questions sometimes. While the legend has him being very grumpy, I have yet to catch him that way. We always do a group EVP near his lock and when we all introduce ourselves, he also says his name. This has happened several times. The feeling you get from him is friendly and happy.
Gretchen has also made herself known. I believe she is the lady in White that haunts the park. We did actually see a white mist floating about the park one night. And, like Jake, Gretchen has also given her name. I do not believe she is still buried in the lock that bears her name. But I do believe she is still there.
The little boy that haunted the house that was there, is still there. It does not seem to have affected him that the house was torn down. He has said his name is David. I am sad that he was put to death for stealing tools from the black smith. Of course no one knows for sure if the story is true. Or that he was only eight.
I have never talked to Ester Hale. She has not said one word to us, yet. I would love to confirm her story, but there are so many versions of it, I have no idea which is true. I can only hope that if she ever did haunt the park she somehow decided to cross over and go on.
We have also talked to a woman named Hannah. After doing some research, I discovered that there was a woman named Hannah Huddleston that owned property down near Gretchen's. 40 acres across the creek, and 20 above the Grist Mill. I have two EVP's of her that are outstanding.
Tommy hangs somewhere around the old barn site. He mostly only gives his name.
And finally, there is Sarah. Sarah only speaks in the Grist Mill. Next to this article is the Grist Mill ghost. I got it after a LONG night of camping with 25 kids (which was the hardest thing I have ever done. Try telling a 17 year old not to go swimming in the creek. Ya, right.) We were all in the Grist Mill. It was daylight out. An EVP session got us nothing in there so I ushered every one out and this was the last picture I took before I left the building. I believe that is Sarah. Who she is and why she is there is a mystery. The only Sarah I could find was a woman named Sarah Moon. She was also called Sadie. But it seems that she married and had a long life according to my research.
I don't know if there are others. No one else have given their names. We have had many adventures there, and I hope to have many more. Please let me know your experiences at Gretchen's. I know other ghost hunters haunt that park. Tell me what you have found.

Salt Festival in Salineville, Ohio

The Salt Festival should really be advertised. No one knows about it except Salinevillians. I never heard of it at all before this year. Salineville is a small, comfortable little town out in the middle of nowhere. While it is secluded, it is also beautiful. The people are friendly and it is a nice place to raise a family. Everyone knows everyone.

In the picture is John Wade (Linda Morris's brother), Mike Mitchell (my husband) and Jerry Puchajda (Belinda's husband). They worked really hard and did a great job.

We had the cool fortune of setting up right beside the cotton candy people. And beside them was the apple dumpling people. And beside them was the Jones who had the best Lemon Shakes I have had in a while. And that was it for vendors. There was also this guy there that could make wood carvings with a chainsaw. Impressive and interesting. I am sorry I do not have their names. We just weren't there long enough to ask.

Columbiana County Families of Homicide Victims had a pleasant experience there, even during the big storm that hit out of nowhere. There was this big gust of wind which nearly took our poor little umbrella off into space, followed five seconds later by hard rain. We were soaked in seconds. So was everything we had there. But we had great fun loading everything up as fast as possible and then standing under the cotton candy people's canopy until the rain finally subsided. There was much laughter. While we were only set up for a few hours, we had succeeded in making some new friends. Besides Mike Williams family, Charlie Mckinnons family was represented by Janet and her sister Shirley. Linda and Angela Morris's family was also there in the form of John Wade, as stated above in the picture. These families work very hard at coming out and talking to people. Their help is priceless. The next stop is Rogers Sale on Friday July 18 and then possibly the antique show in Salem on Saturday July 19. Hope to see you all there. Kimberly

Coming soon-news about Thompson Park

Pictures and stories about the hauntings at Thompson Park will be here in the next day or two. Look for an upcoming Moonlight Walk with instruction available on some basic ghost hunting techniques. This will include what to look for (and what not to pay attention to) in photos and how to look for EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). Also get an idea on what kind of personal experiences to be aware of when out and about in the haunted places in Columbiana County.