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In recent weeks it has come to my attention that certain parties are using my ghost stories and those of my contributors as references for their own commercial enterprises. If you or someone you know is writing a book on ghosts in the Pacific Northwest, PLEASE DO NOT!!! copy or use the following stories or any other materials within this website as references. Jefferson Davis (25 April 2003)
Here are some buttons which will take you to an archive copy of the last years of the "What's New" section I began in 2001.
I am writing Weird Oregon and I need help: Posted 13 April 2007. White Eagle Night Coming Soon Posted 14 December 2007 The First Weird Oregon Road Trip Posted 17 January 2008 I Can't Publish Haunted Portland Posted 18 January 2008 Firewalk Videos Posted 18 January 2008 Update on White Eagle Night. Posted 18 January 2008 Staying at the Historic Anchor Inn Posted 8 February 2008 Cable Televion Hunts UFOs? Posted 8 February 2008 Feng Shui is Paranormal? Posted 8 February 2008 One Room Left at the White Eagle Posted 16 February 2008 Psychic Workshop Posted 16 February 2008 White Eagle Night Posted 7 April 2008 Many New Ghosthunter groups and I've added Some Links Posted 7 April 2008 Weird Washington is almost here posted 7 April 2008 Portland's Rose City Ghosts is at the printers Posted 7 April 2008 Weird Washington is Here posted 5 May 2008 Haunted Astoria Event posted 5 May 2008 Working Holiday in England posted 5 May 2008 The
Golden Hinde Rose City Ghosts I is now available Posted 11 May 2008
I am writing Weird Oregon and I need your help Last year, I signed a contract with Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman, publishers of Weird New Jersey. That book turned into a second book of stories, and now they have over 20 books in their catalog.
I contributed three stories to their latest book, Weird US presents Weird Hauntings. I did several book books signings in the Pacific Northwest, later on in the fall. I also sell copies of the book from this website. See the Book Orders section of this website. If the link is not up in my store, I will email you with the information.
I guess they liked my writing, or they were just desperate to find an author in the Pacific Northwest to write one of their future books, Weird Washington. Either way, I was lucky enough to get the job. For those readers who have never seen any of the Weird Series, they are not just about ghosts. The Weird Books include sections on roadside attractions, The biggest, the oddest, the oldest, graveyards, abandoned relics, and many other fascinating human and natural features that make each state in the Union so interesting. Weird Washington is at the publishers:
In the meantime, please check back with this website for updates and perhaps more videos from Weird Washington. We will also have a separate Weird Washington website up and running sometime after Halloween. Thanks to everyone who contributed stories to Weird Washington, as well as Weird Oregon, which we will hopefully start work on soon.. Jeff Davis I need help Al and I are already working on ideas for Weird Oregon, and need more locations. Each book has a dozen chapters, including: Ghosts
and Haunted Places So, if you think you know of any places or people that are odd, unique, or just plain weird in Oregon, please write to me:
White Eagle Night Coming Soon Posted 14 December 2007 During Halloween season, I had several people asking me why I was not doing any events in the Portland/Vancouver area. It has taken some planning, however I will be staying overnight at the White Eagle Saloon, in Portland on the night of 16 February 2008. I booked my room (haunted #2) on 14 December, and there were only 9 rooms left, so you will have to book soon. You can book online, or by calling the Kennedy School at: 888 249-3983. This is not an official McMenamins event, so there are no special rates or package deals, and the rooms are open to first come, first serve. I will have more details later, and I hope those people who are staying that night will contact me, and I can send out emails directly to them. At this point, what I hope to happen is a simple get together of people who are interested in ghosts and ghost hunting. When we did this before, we booked our rooms as early as the White Eagle would let us. I gave every participant one of my books, and we watched some videos on ghosts in the northwest, and had a general discussion of what has happened to us in the past. Throughout the night, many people performed experiments in their rooms, and generally had a good time. The White Eagle does not normally provide a breakfast. I will see if we can persuade them to set up some kind of continental breakfast, but if so, there will be a fee involved. If we cannot do this, I will try to find a place for us to have breakfast Sunday, to compare notes and share stories. I am open to any ideas people might have, and will have more details later. Jeff
Weird Oregon Road Trip Posted 17 January 2008 Well, I finally have a chance to get back to posting here at ghostsandcritters.com. I want to apologize to everyone who checks the website regularly. My only excuse is that I have been really busy. I was writing the first two chapters of Weird Oregon, went on a long photo-op road trip, and finished the draft copy of a book on the Ghosts of Portland. I hope that I can spend a bit more time working on updating you on my doings. First the Weird Oregon road trip. My co-author Al and I have divided the writing responsibilities of Weird Oregon with six chapters each. Al does a great job with personal interviews, so he has taken chapters like Roadside Oddities, where he gets to interview the unique people who do things like starting dinosaur museums. Because of my research background, I get to do things like look into Abandoned or Mystical places in Oregon. I try and make it as exciting as Al's work, and I help him out from time to time, as I will mention later. I started on January first, and made it home on the 6th. In that time, I drove about 1,800 miles, took over 300 pictures, about an hour of video footage, and interviewed about a dozen pictures. It was not an easy trip, I drove through several mountain passes, taking advantage of about three days of warm weather. I took a day off when I got home. I started from Vancouver, and drove first to the Dalles, where before the Dams were built along the Columbia River, the native people gathered to fish, and trade. Some archaeologists believe that it was a gathering ground for more than 10,000 years.
Next I went by the Umatilla Army Depot. At one point they had over 10% of the United States Chemical munitions, in thousands of containers, locked up in hundreds of bunkers. This includes Mustard "gas" and two kinds of nerve gas agents. It is enough to kill millions of people if the containers rupture. That is definitely one place that is abandoned by all people with common sense.
I continued along the road, stopping quickly in Canyon City, to visit the county Museum. Unfortunately, it was closed so I did not get a chance to see what they have inside. But I can tell you that it involves an old story of love, death, and old-tyme justice. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The forces of catastrophism and gradualism contributed to the accumulation of fossils over millions of years, and then they literally ripped the rocks apart, and wore them away to expose thousands of fossils from ancient animals like these.
I made a few more stops, and one of my new favorite places is in Fort Rock, south of Bend. This amazing geologic feature was once a volcano, and then an island in a huge ancient lake.
The lake is now gone, but something of the people who lived around it remains, like many ancient sandals.
There are many legends surrounding the Crack in the Ground. It is only a few feet wide, but up to 70 feet deep. How did it get there? Paul Bunyan?
Or perhaps it had something to do with Santa Claus, in nearby Christmas Valley?
In Grant's Pass, many of the older citizens were Cavemen. Several places are named after them, and their mascot. He was a bit too big to get a proper picture, so this is all I got that trip.
While I was in Grant's pass, the weather started getting colder, and wet. As I recall, I-5 was even closed. I took a chance, and drove south of Grant's Pass along Hwy 199, to California, and then up Highway 101. The weather was nice, at least for that day. I stopped to watch a skilled Myrtlewood artist at work, before heading for Coos Bay. On the way I stopped at a certain dinosaur museum. It was getting dark, and I paused to speak with the owner before I hit the road again. The oddest thing happened. A car stopped, and a young woman got out, wearing nothing but a long sleeved shirt. She was followed by another woman, dressed much the same. The first posed for several seconds under the main dinosaur out front, while the second took pictures of her, then they switched. I went outside and asked if I could get pictures for Weird Oregon, but they took off. I don't' know why they were so shy. I am sure that their pictures are now posted somewhere on a myspace website.
Cape Arago Lighthouse was recently shut down by the government, and it was about time too. It was the third lighthouse built on the same island, and there were certain problems. As I was walking around a headland trying to reach the lighthouse, I was warned off by a U.S. Coastguard helicopter, it seems that there was a storm coming...
I wouldn't recommend anyone trying to walk across that old footbridge. I also stopped at the Sea Lion Caves, North of Florence. It was very interesting, they hang out in a sea cave, under a cliff. Just as interesting is the way modern tourists can visit the cave. Oh, and they smell like wet dogs that have been rolling in fish.
After that, I continued on for quite a distance and made a few more stops. Of course, you will have to wait a while for the book to come out to see the pictures and articles. I stopped overnight in Lincoln City with my friends Tim and Veronica. They used to run the Captain Cook Inn, where we stayed several times over the years. This time, Tim took me to a great place for dinner. It's called the Historic Anchor Inn. They had a great dinner special that was modestly priced, and included soup, salad, and desert with main course. It's wonderful what can happen when people do things because they enjoy it. Even more interesting were the rooms. The Anchor Inn was historic for a reason, I believe that the oldest portion of the Inn dated to the 1940s, and during the 1950s, it got bigger, as a motor lodge/inn. Of course, over the years it deteriorated until the present owners bought it. Now the rooms are filled with antiques, and Tim showed me the ceiling in one of the rooms. The owner had someone come in and paint a starscape on the ceiling. You can't see it during the day, or when the lights are on. You have to wait until it gets dark, then the stars come out. The next morning, which was Saturday, I continued on my way, and stopped at the Tillamook Air Museum. This should not be confused with the air museum in McMinnville. The museum is housed in an old blimp hangar, built for World War II. It is probably the largest wooden building in the world.
Of course, there were many more stops than I can write here. I met a lot of great people on the way, and one or two people that were not so great, but that is for my memoirs. I hope to keep you informed on the progress of Weird Oregon as I go on.
I Can't Publish Haunted Portland Posted 18 January 2008 Sorry for the drama, but I wanted to catch people's interest. Last year I worked with David Schargel of Portland Walking Tours to set up his Ghost Walk, Beyond Bizarre . He temporarily shut down the walk, for the winter. It will be back in spring. I did a lot of research for this tour, and have been compiling it for a book. I am almost finished with it, but am stuck on a title. Haunted Portland has already been taken by some enterprising author in Portland, Maine. Does anyone have any suggestions? XXXXXXX should be out in spring, and I'll give the person with the winning title a copy by way of thanks. email Jeff with suggestions
Firewalk Videos Posted 18 January 2008 Last year was interesting for me in a non-ghostly paranormal way. I did three firewalks at my house. The last time, we got video footage of myself and my nephew Matt. I've got two versions posted here. The first is about 1.5 megs in size. It lasts around four minutes, so to keep the file size small, I kept the video window small as well.
And I have a better resolution version of this if you are interested. It is 7.6 megs in size. Depending on your bandwidth, please enjoy.
Update on White Eagle Night. Posted 18 January 2008 Alright, more news on the White Eagle Night. They do not normally let guests into the rooms until 5 PM, so that is where we will officially kick off. However I will probably be on the ground floor earlier on the 16th, eating and talking to anyone else who arrives early. You do not need to be an overnight guest to go upstairs with us, at first. From 5 PM to 8 PM, we will be upstairs, and I will pass out free books to anyone with a room key. We will also watch the Haunted History episode, that highlights the legends surrounding the White Eagle. It will also give you a good idea of what the place looked like before the McMenamins fixed it up. I hope that everyone has their own experiments that they want to perform, and will open their rooms to other participants. I will answer any questions I can on ghost hunting techniques, and share some boring stories. Starting at 8 PM, non guests will have to leave. This is also when the White Eagle starts charging admission for customers to sit downstairs at the bar. If you are a paying guest, you can get in for free if you show them your room card. I think. Since the live music usually runs until 2 am, most people won't be able to get to sleep, so we can run experiments most of the night. If there are non-ghost hunter guests, we'll have to be careful that we don't disturb them. I am betting that by the time the music ends, everyone is ready for bed. I am sorry, but the White Eagle could not set up a continental breakfast on Sunday the 17th. The next morning, we'll go to Bridges Cafe at 2716 NE Martin Luther King JR BLVD for breakfast, to share experiences. I need to get a head count on Saturday afternoon!!! They have limited seating, but I checked with them, and they said they could seat 20 - 25 of us if we confirmed in advance, and we have to arrive between 8 and 8:30 in the morning. Sunday is their busiest day. We can order from the normal menu, which includes foods ranging form organic oatmeal to Eggs Benedicts. For more information, please email me. The White Eagle is located at: 836 North Russel Street, in Northeast Portland. Their phone number is: (503) 282-6810. You can call there for directions, or visit the McMenamins website. I understand that all of the rooms at the White Eagle are booked up for the night. Even so, there might be a last minute cancellation. You can check online, or by calling the Kennedy School at: 888 249-3983. This is not an official McMenamins event, so there are no special rates or package deals.
Staying at the Historic Anchor Inn Posted 8 February 2008 I have had a couple of people ask me about the Historic Anchor Inn in Lincoln City. My wife and I managed to make it back town recently, and the inkeepers allowed us to stay, even though they were really not open for business. Unfortunately, the dining room was not open, so Janine missed one of their great meals. The current owners are fixing up the Anchor Inn, perhaps to operate themselves, or to sell once the renovation is finished. They are doing wonders, some restoration of original features like cedar shingle siding, to themes.
And there are a few interesting ideas they have outside,
There was a rustic feel to our room, but there was an interesting historic feel to it. Not in our room, but my friend Tim showed me the ceiling in one of the main rooms. The owner had someone come in and paint a starscape on the ceiling. You can't see it during the day, or when the lights are on. You have to wait until it gets dark, then the stars come out.
There is a restaurant and lounge. In the hallways there are a lot of historic photos, including several autographed ones from the old Batman series. They would not sell me the one signed by Julie Newmarr. The lounge kind of reminds me of something from the old Gilligan's Island show, where they periodically set up a Tiki-style bar. There are more bamboo hoola girls there too.
Because the Inn had its own restaurant and lounge, its builders also have a lot of space on the second floor for a common area, that the owners have made very comfortable. In addition to a big screen tv with great sound system.
It was a great visit, and we talked with the owners for a while. They are still remodeling and trying to set up the Historic Anchor Inn for full occupancy, and they are not open every day and night. Especially in the winter time. If you are interested in staying there, I would recommend that you visit their website, Historic Anchor Inn to check their posted days for rental and the restaurant. Although I am not their representative, I think a lot of people would enjoy their stay. Having said that, to the best of my knowledge, the place is not haunted, and I do not think that the owners believe that either. Though there are lots of historic objects that might have absorbed something over the years.
Cable Television in the Hunt for UFOs posted 8 February 2008 As many of my readers know, I do not normally write about or investigate UFOs. While I do believe that there is life on other planets, I do not think all that many extra-terrestrials have visited earth. At the same time, I respect people who are serious investigators in the field. Two such serious people who are interested in both UFOs, and every other facet of the paranormal are Philip and Charlette, of the Seattle Museum of Mysteries They have both sacrificed a lot in terms of time, and money, and lifestyles to pursue their passion, and educate the public. From time to time, I have spoken as their guest, and donated a few books to support their museum. We have had a lot of interesting discussions about the paranormal, and they have graciously let me use parts of their research library. When I started researching Weird Washington, they helped me with information about Mel's Hole, and the Maury Island UFO incident. I found out in 2007, that they were trying to find the site where the B-25 airplane (flown by Air Force investigators) crashed near Kelso, Washington. They invited me to come on one of their investigations. I remember how thrilled they were when a local landowner took them to the crash site. When the airplane crashed, and the investigators died, the FBI received many phone calls claiming that someone had shot the airplane down. The Air Force investigated, and determined that it was a tragic accident. After removing the bodies, and many classified items, they abandoned the fuselage. According to some ufologists, they also removed several metal fragments dropped on Maury Island by a UFO. For Philip and Charlette this was an opportunity to continue the investigation of the UFO sighting. The put out a press release, and were approached by at least one group. Philip and Charlette were hoping to interest a serious, well funded, and above all honest foundation that would treat the crash site with respect, as well as scientific curiosity. What they got were television producers. I have worked on a few television and motion pictures over the years, in one way or another. In the late 1990s, I was approached by Joshua Alper, who was producing part of a series called Haunted History. I was one of the consultants for the Haunted Northwest episode of his show. It was a great experience, and Joshua and I still correspond, and meet when our schedules allow. I found him to be an honorable and honest man, who represents the best of the film-maker-documentary producers. No wonder one of his shows was nominated for an Emmy! I did not know how lucky I was to work with him, as it raised my expectations. A few years later, I was contacted by an internationally known travel show, about their production in the Pacific Northwest. They told me that they were filming the show they would release on Halloween in Portland, and wanted my help finding haunted places. We traded several emails, and I put them in contact with several other paranormalists and businesses in the area. Between us, we set up several events. All went well, and I even got an email saying that they would call me as soon as they got off the airplane in Portland. Then next time I heard from them was several weeks later; stating they had changed their minds in mid-flight, and the show was already finished. My main regret was that many people were put out, preparing for the film crew, who did not even call us to cancel things. Another paranormal investigator friend of mine was contacted by a reality show to investigate a house one of their stars (?) thought was haunted. He and his team did not come off looking as professional as I know they really are. I suspect because the producers did not like the star, and it made her look bad as well. Now, while I will talk to anyone for an hour or two, I have been reluctant to consult with television producers or even Indie filmmakers without a contract. Especially after one of them walked away with my raw footage of the White Eagle Saloon, and promptly disappeared. Knowing the spectrum of television producers, from Joshua to other unnamed ones, I hoped that Philip and Charlette would meet with the better half! As an opinion, I don't think they did. Cable channels like the History Channel, the Travel Channel, and the rest have affiliations with many, many production companies. Each of these companies are competing with each other to sell a concept, and television episodes to these channels. It is a cutthroat business, and they are all trying to "scoop" the competition. Philip and Charlette were approached by one such company. From there, events became complicated, and I will not bore you with the details. In effect, the producers learned the location of the crash site and proposed sending out a crew to "investigate" the crash site. At that point I became involved in the consultation. Washington State has many laws regarding the preservation, protection and the excavation of historical properties. This crash site, whether you believe in UFOs or not, was historically significant. As a fatal air crash, I also believed that it needed special reverence. I advised the producers, through Philip and Charlette that they could not perform any kind of archaeological (other than photographing the site) investigations without a permit from the State of Washington. There are many details in this process, which are necessary to keep people from acting like grave robbers. Sometime after that, the producers had limited contact with the Museum of Mysteries, though they did hire an archaeologist. Again, the facts are fuzzy here, but if I understand correctly, they went out to the crash site, and staged some kind of investigation for their cameras. Though they did not perform any excavations, they did remove some items from the crash site. Although the State of Washington was notified, they apparently did not consider this an illegal investigation, because of certain conditions at the site. After a few more interviews, the film crew left, taking their booty with them. It is interesting that this production company did not quite scoop the competition. The History Channel, and the SCIFI Channel both released their own UFO Hunter shows at the same time. I have included two reviews below. One from the spooky paradigm blogspot, and the other from the Museum of Mysteries. I ask readers and television watchers to consider whose "investigators" you might believe more in this controversy. If you are a paranormal researcher, I also ask you to be careful about what might happen to you if you sign on with some of these people. For more information on Maury Island, visit this link at their website: http://www.seattlechatclub.org/Arnold.html. Make up your own mind, and like most things in the world, if you do not like what happened, do not watch the show. The Seattle Museum of
The Mysteries is located at: _________________________________ http://spookyparadigm.blogspot.com/2008/01/dueling-ufo-hunter-tv-shows-and-why.html Wednesday, January 23, 2008 The Dueling UFO Hunter TV Shows and Why Ufology May Not Be Ready for Prime-Time Positioned almost perfectly to take advantage of the increased popular and media interest in UFOs, two different television series entitled UFO Hunters will be airing this year. Clearly the model for each of these is the popular American Ghost Hunters franchise and similar shows from the United Kingdom such as Most Haunted. The first will be on the History Channel. Each episode will follow four investigators (one a previously known figure in ufology, but not the others) from case to case. The official website has the reality-style video in the opening promo, but the videos on the site are in droning narrator style, and I suspect may not be part of the show (and if they are, they are pulling a serious bait-and-switch). Much more information about the investigators and cases can be found at Slice of SciFi. The second is on the SciFi channel, a stylistic spin-off of Ghost Hunters. As with the other show, two lead investigators are the main "characters" with a rotating ensemble cast of investigators. The official site has video previews, and bios of the two lead investigators. It is noteworthy that both have ties to Bud Hopkins. And in a promo for the History Channel show, an implant case is featured prominently. This suggests abduction will be a significant part of the mix on both shows. Personally, I think the SciFi show has a better chance at success. The format has been tested and works. Two main characters, with an emphasis on them being "everyday" people, rather than degreed experts. The Mission Impossible-style rotating cast of investigators that are called in for each case (and importantly, not all male). The use of acronyms (ala the now famous TAPS). By contrast, the History Channel show focuses on four men (no women) who are older, and in the promos at least one of them, the most well known ufologist in the group, is already talking about how they know many of the answers, etc. in a style more suited to the stock-footage/talking head style UFO tv shows that History Channel runs every week. Furthermore, the History Channel show is focusing on historical cases, from decades ago, starting with Maury Island, hitting Socorro, and others. This is part of the problem both shows will face. First off, while UFOs are hot now, popular interest in ghosts and ghostly matters is much higher, and was before Ghost Hunters ever hit the air. Second, part of the reason people watch ghost hunting shows of any sort is because there is the supposed chance that the camera crew and investigators, skulking around in creepy dark abandoned buildings, could run directly into the ongoing phenomenon. That can be thrilling and engaging. By contrast, ufology is for the most part a forensic study (if proper research is even being done at all), looking for evidence (physical trace, photographs, testimony) to understand a past event, a sighting. Attempts to build up dramatic tension will be much harder.
UFO Hunters Review - an Embarrrassment to UFOlogy The spokesmen for the show, Bill Birnes and his geek gang basically got overly excited by trivial matters such as diving into the frigid waters of Puget Sound to collect ordinary rocks, and finding airplane parts that had already been found and reported upon six months earlier by the Seattle UFO/Paranormal Group. What they neglected could fill volumes. There was hardly a mention of Kenneth Arnold whose sighting over Mt. Rainier is when media coined the term “flying saucer” and his investigation of the the Maury Island incident. There was also no mention of Fred Crisman, a key character and witness to the case who had a notorious background in CIA matters and had been linked to the Kennedy Assassination. Unfortunately, the “UFO Hunters seemed to focus on a “gee-whiz” approach, pretty much neglecting the importance of the story which had featured the first appearance of the Men in Black, involved one of the first disinformation campaigns by the military and a mysterious informant to the local papers and much more. There was no mention of the work of Maury Island researcher Kenn Thomas and no interviews with any persons who have historically studied the case. If they were going for ratings, they failed there too. A few reenactments would have helped. But understand obviously the show was about them, not the history and obviously this was low budget. Instead we get to hear Pat Uskert’s complain about his dive into the cold water’s of Puget Sound for a futile look for slag along the miles and miles of Maury Island’s shores. His dedication though is steadfast as he states the importance of the case and that “No stone should go unturned”. I can only imagine Bill Birnes yelling at Pat to keep looking until he comes up with something! One diver, with no information or indication where the slag is, no sonar data as reference, sifting through the rocks with his hands. What are the chances he would find evidence of slag that may or may not have been dumped sixty years ago? But behold, Pat surfaces with a quarter size black rock for the crew! Easily mistaken for evidence we later see Ted “Mr. MIT” Acworth stating this is only igneous rock as he casually tosses the rock from hand to hand. No chemical spectrometer lab testing needed for this sample! No siree! Its nice to know fine upstanding graduates of our finest Universities using their utmost skills in making such academic assessments. I am left to consider if Ted is making a slight dig at Pat. Perhaps but it is possible that Pat Uskert is still diving in Puget Sound as he “..overturns every stone”. If you knew nothing about Maury Island, and were half asleep by the TV, they might have finished the job for you, along with providing a couple scenic pictures of Puget Sound. Not surprising, the show failed on many levels. There was little information, no entertainment, and boring participants who they themselves did not seem to enjoy their roles. But I guess after hearing Bill Birnes bark so much, I guess I too would be annoyed. Our recommendation is check any case first hand with material in
books and on the internet - it will be vastly more rewarding.
Feng Shui is Paranormal? Posted 8 February 2008 The paranormal is not always running around with ghost detectors, and other gizmos looking for ghosts. Nor is it always a clairvoyant looking and sensing that things are out of place. Some people might describe the art of Feng Shui as paramormal. It is more than some weird interior decorator sweeping through the house, tossing off weird terms. It involves understanding energies, and how they flow in houses, and other places. My friend Tina has done a lot, and is still researching the way feng Shui works. There are principles that guide arranging lives, which once you know them, may mean that Feng Shui is not paranormal, it is just normal. Please visit Tina's website at:
I hope to have more information about Feng Shui over the coming weeks.
One Room Left at the White Eagle Posted 16 February 2008 HI All, I received word this morning, that one couple, and one individual had to cancel their reservations at the White Eagle for tonight. if you are interested, contact them online, or by calling the Kennedy School at: 888 249-3983.
Psychic Workshop Posted 16 February 2008 I received word from my friend Loyd Auerbach, from San Francisco's Office of Paranormal Investigations. He and his psychic consultant Ankhasha Amenti will be giving a workshop on paranormal phenomena in Sammamish, Washington on March 15th. Please download the flier for this, or visit his website Loyd will also be a guest speaker at the Nevada Spiritseekers Ghost Hunting conference in Victoria B.C., in July this year. Unfortunately, I won't. Sometimes the affairs of state must take precedence over the affairs of state.
The White Eagle Night... Happened Posted 7 April 2008 Well, sorry to for the delay in updating the website. Some of the posts below will explain why I have delayed. I cannot write books and write web updates at the same time. When I was a private in the Army, I could not chew gum and march at the same time, either.
The White Eagle night was very interesting, and fun, and a bit odd. Although the rooms were all booked up early, over the last few days before the 16th, several people cancelled their reservations. Even so, about a dozen people were at the White Eagle around 5 PM, and I took them upstairs, and we watched a video on the White Eagle's Ghosts, and then discussed the history of the place, and did some informal investigations for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, the White Eagle Management had a few rules about non-room-guests being upstairs, and they had to leave. Two couples did stay over, and I consulted with them for a short while, before the music started, and ghost hunting became a bit more difficult. I do have a few comments from some of the folks who were there One of the people was Nattie, who has been exchanging emails with me for some time. She has had a hard time, including loosing a close family member. I introduced her to my clairvoyant friend, Karan, and the two talked for quite a while. I also spoke with Nattie's mother and father. The two of them were very reluctant to take her to the White Eagle, and did not believe in ghosts. I spoke with them for quite a while, and I believe that I made sense to them, and showed that not all the people who do believe in ghosts are flaky. Here is her email to me.
Natalie S. I HAD SO MUCH FUN LAST NIGHT I didn't now how crazy that
place was wow. Another group who attended were members of Oregon Paranormal Investigations. They had emailed me shortly before the get together, and I am including a link to their website in the next article. Hello
Jeff, Just a quick email to let you know that I enjoyed your history comments in regards to the White Eagle, Saturday, February 16, 2008. I really appreciate the time you took in speaking with us and giving us insight into the world of media. We will be linking you on our site so if you have a banner or a page please let us know. Thank you and feel free to contact me in the future if we can be of any assistance. Regards, Tim Marks/founder Oregon Paranormal Investigations www.Oregonparanormalinvestigations.com
This leads to another question, would anyone be interested in a spring weekend getaway to one of my other favorite places; Astoria? I recently spoke with the inkeeper at the Rosebriar B&B in Astoria, and she is very ghost friendly. While this is not a conference, I think that we might have some lively discussion of the paranormal in their front parlor, and I would love the chance to lead either ghostly or historic walk-and-talks of places like the Knappton Pest House, Fort Stevens, and who knows? If you are interested, please email me, and I will try to set up some kind of arrangement with the Rosebriar.
Many New Ghosthunter groups and I've added Some Links Posted 7 April 2008 Well, it has been a few months, and many new paranormal investigation groups began operating with the new year. I have exchanged emails with a few of them and installed links to their websites in my links section. I also wanted to draw attention to them in this section. Please visit their websites and see what they are up to. A few of the groups do not have working websites yet but I hope to add them later.
"Hi, my name is Rich Lyons. I run CGP (Columbia Gorge
Paranormal), a paranormal investigation group out of White Salmon, Washington in
the Columbia Gorge. We haven't been around long, but are a very serious and
scientific in our approach We have done several local investigations already and
have got some interesting data! If you want, check out our new website at www.columbiagorgeparanormal.com
to read about us. The site has only been up a couple of weeks, and our team has
got a few new members recently, so it is kind of like we are starting the group
from scratch. I am the founder and lead investigator. Before moving to the Gorge
in the late 90's, I was a member of Alabama Paranormal out of Birmingham Alabama
. I hope to hear from you, as you seem to be much more familiar with "local
haunts" (pun intended!). Richard and his group are operating
in my old neck of the woods, the Washington side of the Gorge. I worked
for the US Forest Service out of Carson, WA for several years. It is a
beautiful land of contrasts, hot in the summer, cold in the winter, but always
beautiful. I wish them luck with their future investigations.
I have been corresponding with Lisa Branum, from the Paranormal Researchers of Oregon Society, PROS for a while. A few weeks ago, I met with her and some members of her group near Hillsboro. Her website is interesting, and her folks are fun to talk with.
Some of the people who attended the White Eagle night were from the group, Oregon Paranormal Investigations (OPI.) He contacted me by email first; "I'm interested in making new contacts and expanding the options and reputation for OPI. We are a small group that is very serious, and good at what we do." While at the White Eagle, I spoke for some time with their co-founder, Aaron. He had some suggestions for the title of my new book, and some interesting ideas about the White Eagle Saloon.
I received an email some time ago, about a local ghost huntrr television show: "I'm a member of S.P.O.O.K.S. Paranormal TV that investigates locations and broadcasts them on Fort Vancouver TV, local channel 11. I was wondering if there's any way you could get us into the old hospital at the Fort for a taping for the show ? Or if you know of any other places that would let us do an investigation in the area ? Would enjoy having you join us and spending some time with you. I know you have a wild schedule with the new book and all, (how's it coming along), but would like to visit with you. Thanks, Terry C" Terry is busy with other groups, and sent me a link to the Pacific Northwest Local Haunts Research Group (PNLHRG)
Weird Washington is almost here posted 7 April 2008 Last year Al Eufrasio and I spent several months writing and taking pictures for Weird Washington. At long last, Weird Washington is ready to be released. It should be on the shelves on the 7th or 8th of May. Weird Washington will only be available locally at Barnes and Noble bookstores and online at weirdnj.com. I am not inked in for any book signings at this time. I suggest you walk, no drive to your local Barnes and Noble and tell them, no ORDER them to schedule me for a book reading!!!! OK, don't order them, but perhaps you can tell them that I live in the northwest, and really enjoy these events. Give them my web address, and email: jddavis@rocketmail.com and I will do my best to visit your store. I hope to arrange to sell them via my website, but that is another story. Al and I want to have our own Weird Washington website up and running soon.... when that happens I'll post a link here.
Portland's Rose City Ghosts is at the printers Posted 7 April 2008
Now you know why I have not been posting on this website recently. In addition to Weird Washington, and Weird Oregon, I have been working to finish a book on Portland's ghosts. The first volume is finished, and at my printing service right now. I expect to officially release Portland's Rose City Ghosts I in June. 'Rose City Ghosts I has 98 pages, with over 30 photos and illustrations. It will sell for $10.95, and I hope it will be available at many of Portland's bookstores, and some of the local haunts I visited for the book. Most of these haunts have not appeared in my other books before, though some stories, like the White Eagle Saloon, Pittock Mansion, and others have been revamped for this book. I wanted all new stories, but could not skip some of these famous haunts.
At long last, Weird Washington is back from the publishers, and in your local Barnes and Noble stores. Due to some logistical problems, namely having two authors, it is a bit difficult to set up books signings close to home or Al and I. He lives in Renton, and I live in Vancouver. Please check the appearances section of this website for events and appearances. At this time, the 5th of May, there are not too many confirmed events close to home. I am including the contact information for the nearby Barnes and Nobles below. I have a tentative signing at the Barnes and Noble in Vancouver, but no date yet. If you want the stores to schedule an event with me, please contact them directly, and hopefully they will have the time to set something up with me. Please forward them my email address: Barnes
& Noble Booksellers Barnes
& Noble Booksellers Barnes
& Noble Booksellers Barnes
& Noble Booksellers Barnes
& Noble Booksellers Barnes
& Noble Booksellers
The rosebriar is the former residence of a prominent Astoria Banker. Unlike many of the haunts I have found, there does not seem to be any evil or mysterious happenings in this man's life. Well, no more evil or mysterious than banker who lived through the Great Depression. He and his family lived in the house, mansion for many decades, before he died and his heirs sold it to an order of Catholic Nuns, devoted to children and education. They turned the mansion into their nunnery, as they worked for many more years in Astoria. The nun's plans and goals changed, and they eventually sold the building and other holdings in Astoria, and moved away. The building sat vacant for some time and changed hands, before becoming Astoria's first Bed and Breakfast hotel in the 1980s.
I received word from the innkeepers at the Rosebriar Inn, B&B in Astoria. We are set up for a ghost getaway in Astoria on the weekend of 6 - 8 June 2008. This is not meant to be a conference, but kind of informal retreat, where people who share an interest can get together to discuss things in a relaxed manner. Things are still open, as far as what we can do. I am open to suggestions, but there are a few things that we have to work around. Most importantly, the registration at the Rosebriar is not limited to us alone. It is first come, first served, so if you want to attend, please make your reservations, with the Rosebriar, then email me that you are going to attend. The room cost will be normal, there will not be any additional fee added. Each couple or individual who attends will received a free copy of Haunted Astoria. I will also be giving a free ghost walk of Astoria, either on Friday or Saturday. Combined this has a value of $40 per couple or $25 per individual attending. Whatever we do, we have to be respectful of any other guests who do not want to participate. Having said that, we might actually gain some converts among guests who did not know we were going to be there. I do have a few suggestions, which we might have to rearrange depending on how soon everyone arrives. Friday Evening 6:30 PM Everybody arrives, meet and greet, everyone received a
copy of Haunted Astoria Saturday Late morning, visits to some other haunts, depending on everyone's wishes. This could include Fort Stevens, the Knappton Cove Pest House, dining at a haunted restaurant or two, or even visits to historic sites that are not haunted, such as Fort Columbia, or the replica of Lewis and Clark's Fort Clatsop. I am open to suggestion. Saturday evening, between 7:00 and 10:00 PM, I suggest we share ghost stories with each other, and discuss techniques. If anyone wants to give mini-talk, I will bring a computer, projector, and screen which we can set up in the Rosebriar Inn. Please let me know if advance and we can get a list. Sunday After breakfast we can visit some more haunts, and perhaps visit some local events. I believe that the Farmer's Market will be operating, and their might be a cruise ship docking as well. I am looking for any suggestions. of things to do before we head for home that afternoon.
Working Holiday in England posted 5 May 2008
As some of my readers know, I went to graduate school in England some time ago. Every year or two, my wife and I return to the Sceptered Isle to visit friends, and some historic or haunted historic sites. This year was a bit busier than normal, because I had several business dealings, and research visits. Among them was a visit to one of two replica's of Sir Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hinde. Francis Drake was England's first legendary sailor saviors, who gained fame by circumnavigating the globe in the 1500s, and later in the destruction of the Spanish Armada. During Drake's voyage, while sailing along the west coast of North America, Drake stopped and claimed the land for England, naming the place Nova Albion. While many historians think that Drake landed in what is now California, others believe that he beached the Golden Hinde in Oregon. When Drake returned to England, Queen Elisabeth declared the ship to be a museum, England's first floating one. In the years since, two replicas of the ship have been built. One of these two is berthed in London. This same ship actually sailed around the world a few years ago.
The Ghost Club The club has its roots in Cambridge when in 1855 fellows at Trinity College began to discuss ghosts and psychic phenomena. Formally launched in London in 1862 (attracting some light hearted ridicule in "The Times"), it counted amongst its earliest members Charles Dickens and Cambridge academics and clergymen... The group seems to have dissolved in the 1870s following the death of Dickens but was relaunched in 1882 simultaneously with the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) with whom there was an initial overlap of members. Some of their members included Dickens, (as I already mentioned,) Harry Price, W.B. Yeats, Sigfried Sasoon, Peter Cushing, Sir William Crookes, Arthur Koestler, and many others. Among their many investigations were such famous places as Borley Church, Glamis Castle, and the Clerkenwell House of Detention. I gave a talk on ghosts in the Pacific Northwest, and answered some questions about my own "ghost" photos. Fortunately they were easy going about their reactions to my orb photos, which were taken with a film camera and no flash, by the way. We also discussed some haunts in England. For those of you who know something of English history, I just missed getting invited to an investigation of the tunnels that were used by the Hellfire Club centuries ago. The Ghost Club meetings are open to the public, and are held in the Victory Services Club, near London's Marble Arch. This club was established and created to serve British service members, and allied services while staying in London. As a veteran, I was allowed to book a room there, which was great because the Ghost Club discussion carried on for over an hour in the bar, after my talk. I recommend any ghosthunter vacation to England include a visit to the Ghost Club's website, and attendance at their monthly talks. While there, I made a reacquaintence with my friend Philp Hutchinson. Philip is a member of the Ghost Club, an actor, and fellow ghost author. He has more fingers in more ghostly pies than I do. He is, or was the Castelan at the old castle in Guildford, south of London. To fans of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll had a house there. Philip also wrote a book on the ghosts of Guildford, and conducts regular Guildford ghostwalks. When he is in London, Philip is also a guide on one of several Jack the Ripper walks. Philip used to do a walk for another company, or rather his alter ego, George conducted the walk. However his new tour is much more user friendly, and George has retired, probably to Guildford.
Philip has written two books on Jack the Ripper, and gave me a copy of his latest book, The London of Jack the Ripper: Then and Now. Below is a synopsis of the book, which is available from Philip, and Amazon.com
I think it is a great reference book which will become a must-have for anyone who has more than a casual interest in Jack the Ripper. I like to try and imagine what any significant place looked like in the past, when historic events took place. The thing about most of the Jack the Ripper Walks is that they take place at night. Well, in the dark and rain you do not get a real look at the neighborhood. If you walk around during the day, as I have done, it is still difficult to imagine what Whitechapel looked like to Jack the Ripper. With the book in hand, it gave me a real idea about what old London looked like at the time of the murders, and what it looked like through time, to the present day. Several times Philip and his co-author Robert Clack used Global Positioning Systems to relocate either the murder sites, or buildings mentioned in historic accounts. In addition to this, they also went into detail what happened to many of the murder victims, where they were buried, and what happened to their graves. I would recommend this book to anyone taking any of the many ripper walks, for a read through before, or afterward.
I think we all develop a fondness for certain places when we travel. For my wife and I, Lincoln City and Astoria top the list in Oregon. In England, we developed a liking for the city of Salisbury, the largest population center close to Stonehenge. I was doing research for a proposed television series on ancient Britain, and what better place to stop. I have found it's not just what you see that makes a place a favorite, it is the people you meet there. Salisbury is only about an hour and a half away from London by train, and the fare is not bad, so long as you do not travel at peak times, like 7 - 9 am. We arrived around 2 pm, and got a lot of help from the friendly lady at the local tourist bureau, including tickets for the bus to Stonehenge, train tickets to our next stop, and a room at one of the B&Bs around Salisbury.
We stayed at the Edwardian Lodge Guest House, which was about a 15 minute walk from downtown Salisbury. We did not mind the walk since the B&B was about half the price of a downtown hotel. Unfortunately for Americans, the Dollar to Pound exchange rate was about two to one, so a Coke out of the vending machine was L1.50, or $3.00, so every pence counted for us. Our room was nicely decorated, warm, and had a view of the cathedral spire. One of the nice things about the Edwardian was that they had free wifi, the English breakfast was quite large, and all of the table settings matched. We have been to a few B&Bs that were lacking a bit in these qualities.
In between visiting Stonehenge, we stopped in at Salisbury's oldest pub, the Haunch of Venison. Believe it or not, there are at least two pubs in England that share this name, only this one is haunted. The building was constructed around 1320, to house men working on the spire of nearby cathedral. Over the year it has served many uses, including, according rumors a bordello serving the priests. Other people deny that this happened. No one has found the tunnel that supposedly linked the building to the nearby church. There are several features that suggest it was used by the clergy, such as the same floor tiles. Over time, it did become a pub, with several other unique fixtures.
In the past, the local judges used to sit in a room now called the House of Lord's up a short flight of stairs from the ground floor. They used to look out the window, and gauge of the people waiting to appear in court were confident or worried. Their wives waited in the Horse Box, a small bar room, located on the ground floor with a separate entrance from the main bar room. This section of the bar still has a pewter, not wood top. And according to local stories, during World War II, the bar was off limits to local folk, in favor of a military only club. This apparently included Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill who discussed the upcoming Invasion of Normandy over drinks. During some repair or renovation in the early 1900s, workmen found a small niche, perhaps an old bread oven in the chimney in the House of Lords room. This was not unusual, but the contents of the niche was; among the things there was a severed human hand, still clutching some 18th century playing cards. For many years the hand and cards were on display, until 2004, when someone stole them. The hand and cards were returned later, and put in the local museum. A local historian made copies of the cards, and a replica hand is not protected by a window and iron grate on the old oven. There is a legend surrounding the old hand.
It is hard to tell whether this story predates the finding of the hand. According to this legend, several locals were playing cards in the House of Lords, when a stranger, a dandy type of fellow asked to sit in on the game. After a short while, he began winning, and winning big. One of the locals happened to be the local butcher, who became convince the stranger was cheating. When he finally saw the stranger hiding cards, he chopped the man's hand off, and the others found the extra cards still clutched in the severed hand. People think that the whist player still remains, tortured by the loss of his hand. He is sometimes felt as a cold spot on the stairs, and he often steals small items, only to return them days, or weeks later. Some evenings people also claim to have seen a ghostly lady standing at one of the upper floor windows, looking out at the church graveyard. This lady is looking for her lost child, who may have been buried in the churchyard. When I identified myself as a ghost writer, several local people told me of odd experiences there in the pub. We got to be quite friendly with these people, who treated us like acquaintances, rather than strangers. This included our bartender, and girlfriend, who shared a little bit of gossip with us, as well as a man playing a pretty blusey guitar; he also did a mean Stairway to Heaven solo.
One of the high points of our trip came at the very beginning. We stayed first with our friend Christian and his fiancé Samantha. Over the last few years I have seen a great change in the fortunes of all of my school friends. Many of them have risen quite high in their careers, whether these were archaeology, or Christian in web design and computer software design. He works for the BBC right now, and took us on a tour of their London studio, which may be sold in the coming years. We tried a few things, like the blue screen set up for people to practice being weather men or women like Samantha.
It helps if you are not wearing a blue shirt though.
But the real thrill came when we were walking through the back entry way of the studio building. Can you see it?
How about a closer look?
Does the phrase Time and Relative Dimensions in Space help?
Apparently Doctor Who left the TARDIS parked at the BBC Studios. We tried to get in, but to no avail.
Hopefully we can find it when we come back.
Rose City Ghosts I is now available Posted 11 May 2008
Of course, there were a few other tours that took people into Portland's seamier side, introducing them to the Shanghai tunnels, as well as the stories behind the stories. I took on the task of setting up a kind of wikipedia, an online encyclopaedia which his guides could use as a reference for my articles. It took several weeks of work, walking the streets of Portland with my clairvoyant friend Karan, and several training sessions with his guides. The tour launched last year, and continues this year. I had hoped to get my 200+ pages of notes cut down into a book last year, but several events took over. At last I finished it, after three separate editors, and lots of cutting. I am afraid that it is not comprehensive, I will have to wait until next year to put out Book II, and then Book III. In the mean time, I have visited, and written about many of downtown Portland's haunted locations, as well as some of her more famous haunts, like Pittock Mansion, overlooking Portland, and the White Eagle Saloon on the east side of the Willamette River. As I write this article, I am in the process of notifying bookstores, and trying to get them to order it through my distributor. If you cannot wit, it is available here, online, and I hope you enjoy it. Follow this link to take the live Beyond Bizarre tour, or call (503) 774-4522.
Copyright © 1996-2002 by Jeff Davis | Maintained by J. Davis |
Well, I have good news and I have some bad news. My co-author Al and I
turned in the final chapters of Weird Washington to Mark Moran, of the 
And
this guy, I don't know where he came from, perhaps New York State, but he guards
one of the upstairs rooms
