| WELCOME TO THE NEWSLETTER -- 21 JULY 2011! Welcome to the new issue of the newsletter! I know that it's been some time since the last issue but so many things have been going on that it's hard to know where to start. I know that some of you caught the small mention in the last issue about us moving our offices soon, but I'm sure that you didn't know it was to another city! As of early July, the offices for Whitechapel Press / American Hauntings have returned to our haunted hometown of Decatur, Illinois! And no, it's not just for the ghosts! Earlier this spring, I took over the financial operations of the Avon Theater in Decatur. I have long been involved with the theater but with my friend Skip Huston stepping back from it, I have taken over many more of the responsibilities for the business. So.... combine that with a baby that needs to be closer to her grandparents, a city that's in the center of the state and home to our longest-running ghost tour and the theater, it wasn't hard to decide to move. I'll still be closely involved with our Chicago tours (some of you joined me for the Resurrection Mary Tour just this past weekend) but you're also going to see a big resurgence with the tours and events downstate. With that said, I want you to know that I have not just been unpacking boxes and working at the theater... we have lots of new things going on!
* I have a new book out that's a little "outside the box" from my usual stuff!
* Halloween schedules for Alton, Decatur and Chicago are now online!
(Check out the dates when you can get tickets EARLY as newsletter readers!)
* Annual Fall Festival has been organized and scheduled for October 1!
* We have so many new overnights, ghost hunts and weekend trips planned and on the website that they ought to have a newsletter all of their own! So, it's been a busy couple of weeks, which is why I ended up having to postpone the St. Francisville Experiment event that was scheduled for July 8 -- but it will be happening. We have changed the date to Friday, September 2, so I'll expect you all to be there! Anyway, let's get on with the newsletter and I'll hope to see as many of you as possible in the weeks and months ahead! We have some great stuff already planned for the fall (and you won't believe how much of it is FREE!) and there are some very exciting plans for the future!
Happy Hauntings!
Troy Taylor | | 
New Book from Author Troy Taylor & Stackpole Books!
A title that's a little "off the beaten path" but sure to entertain!
Author Troy Taylor, long known for his dozens of books on the history, hauntings and crimes of Illinois, turns his attention to the strange, bizarre and mysterious monsters of the state. For centuries, Illinois has been visited by unexplained oddities from Bigfoot to giant Thunderbirds, phantom panthers, water creatures, vanishing lions, inexplicable attackers and more! Delve into the mysteries of the Big Muddy Monster, the Enfield Horror, Nellie the Lion, the enigmatic Piasa Bird, the Blue Phantom, the unexplained Lawndale Thunderbird Attack, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon and many others.... Don't miss out on this weird and amazing departure from the author's usual works, which includes stories, historic accounts, eyewitness reports and strange tales that have never appeared in print before! This is a book that will have you wondering what's lurking outside your back door! $12.00
Click Here to Order Your Autographed Copy!
Check out this "unusual" book from Author Troy Taylor and get your own signed copy of this strange title! 
FALL / HALLOWEEN TOUR SCHEDULES ONLINE!
Tour schedules for the Illinois Hauntings Ghost Tours are now available for you to check out and make your plans for the October season! You're not going to want to miss what's going to be our biggest and best season in the last 18 years! Check out info below and see when you can get EARLY TICKETS as a newsletter subscriber!
ALTON HAUNTINGS GHOST TOURS
We'll be kicking off our new season of ghost tours in Haunted Alton, Illinois in late September but, as always, tickets will be going on sale to the general public at midnight on Labor Day, September 5. As has been our tradition for more than 13 years, newsletter subscribers can get their tickets early! Newsletter subscriber tickets for the Alton Hauntings Tour will go on sale starting Wednesday, August 31! Just watch for your newsletter in your email to book your tours! HAUNTED DECATUR TOURS
We have big plans for "ticket day" in Decatur this year! Our longest-running tour (started in 1994 when there were few other ghost tours anywhere in the country, let alone in Illinois) kicks off it's 18th season in the fall of 2011 and we hope you'll join us for a tour. Tickets will go on sale to the general public in-person at the Avon Theater on September 17 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM only! (Online tickets start the next day) After ticket sales are over, we'll be offering a FREE showing the rare and out of print HAUNTED DECATUR MOVIE from 1996! Even if you already have your tickets, we hope you'll join us for that! Newsletter subscriber tickets for the Haunted Decatur Tours will go on sale starting Wednesday, September 14! Just watch for a newsletter in your email so you can book your tours in advance! HAUNTED LEBANON TOURS
Tickets are already on sale for the Ghosts of the Looking Glass Prairie tours! WEIRD CHICAGO TOURS
Tickets are also already available for the Halloween season tours in Chicago. And don't miss ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE on September 24! Help Troy celebrate his birthday with an event that just keeps getting bigger and bigger!
OUR ANNUAL FALL FESTIVAL IS BACK!
October 1, 2011 in Lebanon, Illinois
Noon to 4:00 PM -- FREE Admission Click Here for the Fall Festival Website! Join the American Ghost Society for a special weekend to kick off the Halloween season! Celebrate the start of autumn in Lebanon, Illinois - “one of the most historic and haunted towns in Illinois” and be chilled by presentations on ghosts, hauntings, spirited locations, paranormal investigations and much more! Meet authors and speakers on strange phenomena, network with other ghost enthusiasts from all over the Midwest, join us for a special ghost tour or an overnight ghost hunt, sign up to win free door prizes & make this a haunted weekend you won't soon forget!
The annual kick-off to Halloween will be held in Lebanon, which is 25 miles east of St. Louis on Interstate 64. The free open house will be held at the local Visitor's Center, at 221 West St. Louis Street, right in the center of town. From noon till 4pm, your host, AGS-VP Len Adams and his cast of fellow paranormal researchers will keep you enthralled with tales of ghostly happenings. Our event runs at the same times as the town of Lebanon's own Fall Festival. From 9am to 5pm, the main street will be closed off for various venders and craftsmen. Unlike the burned hotdogs and warm soda served by Len in the past, you can get real food served in real restaurants in town! Many of these locations are featured on the Haunted Lebanon Tour, especially The Tapestry Room (Len's favorite). So come early and enjoy the town and plan to stay late and encounter the ghosts! After-Hours Events Include:
* Haunted Lebanon Tour with Len Adams
* Night at the nearby Original Springs Hotel in Okawville, Illinois
Check Our Details About these events on the website!
Speakers for the 2011 Fall Festival Include: * Len Adams: Host
For this year's event, host Len Adams will (as usual) be entertaining attendees with some of his ghost hunting exploits in Lebanon and the surrounding areas, many of which can't be heard on the Haunted Lebanon Tour!
* Troy Taylor: Hell Hath No Fury
The Supernatural, Suffering & Sins of Illinois' Female Spirits
A tragic look at some of the murdered, missing and mysterious women of Illinois and the strange hauntings that surrounded their deaths. From the stories of the Last Woman Hanged in Illinois, the Unsolved Murder of Mary Jane Reed, the death of Marion Lambert and of course, Illinois' Most Elusive Ghost -- Resurrection Mary! A brand new presentation for the Fall Festival!
* John Winterbauer: Haunted Decatur
Stories of ghost and hauntings from Central Illinois and the Spirits, Scandals and Sins of Decatur!
* Tim Harte: Searching for Hauntings
One of the creators of the MESA system, a computerized set-up for tracking paranormal happenings, presents a collection of the many inventions and devices that he had worked with during scores of successful paranormal hunts.
Hope to see you there -- It's a year you don't want to miss!
BRAND NEW EVENTS, EXCURSIONS, GHOST HUNTS & OVERNIGHTS ADDED TO THE AMERICAN HAUNTINGS ROSTER FOR THE COMING MONTH!
As mentioned in the start of the newsletter, we have added so many new events to the schedule for the end of the summer, fall and even next year, that it's hard to know where to begin --- so, we have added a special section below of NEW events only! CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL LISTING ON THE WEBSITE! THESE ARE THE NEW LISTINGS THAT HAVE JUST BEEN ADDED: September 17: Night at the Coliseum Ballroom / Benld, Illinois
Join us at one of the most famous music venues in the Midwest as we search for the ghosts of his legendary Route 66 location! October 1: Night at the Original Springs Hotel / Okawville, Illinois
Join us for another overnight at one of Southern Illinois' secret treasures, a haunted hotel with a strange past of gangsters, suicides and healing waters! October 7: at the Lincoln Theater / Decatur, Illinois
Return with us to "One of America's Most Terrifying Places" we we search for the spirits that linger at this old-time vaudeville house! October 8: Night at the Avon Theater / Decatur, Illinois
Join us for a late-night (midnight to 5:00 AM) Ghost Hunt at the haunted Avon Theater -- Come prepared to be scared! October 8: Night at the Squirrel Cage Jail / Council Bluffs, Iowa
Join us for another private ghost hunt at one of America's most unusual -- and haunted -- jails!
October 15: Night at the Hockenhull Building / Jacksonville, Illinois
Join us for a late night ghost hunt at this scene of a fatal fire that left lingering spirits behind!
November 5: Night at the Haunted Mansion / Carrollton, Illinois
Join us for another nighttime ghost hunt at the eerie Lee-Baker-Hodges Mansion -- a place with spooky hauntings from the past!
November 12, 2011: Night at the Morrison Masonic Lodge /
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Join American Hauntings at this haunted Masonic Lodge, steeped in the history of the Civil War and infested with ghosts! EVENTS COMING FOR 2012!
Book early because these events are our most popular and fill up fast!
March 30-31, 2012: Haunted Weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana
Join American Hauntings for a private weekend in One of America's Most Haunted cities as we take a walk on the dark side of the Big Easy!
April 14: Night at Mansfield Reformatory / Mansfield, Ohio
Join American Hauntings for the first of our private, overnight ghost hunts at the Ohio State Reformatory and discover if you're brave enough to spend the night behind bars!
April 27-28: Haunted Weekend in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Join American Hauntings for our annual weekend event at one of the Most Haunted Places in America! Full weekend of ghost tours & hunts, plus two nights at the Gettysburg Hotel!
July 14: Night at Mansfield Reformatory / Mansfield, Ohio
Join American Hauntings for our second, private overnight ghost hunt at the Ohio State Reformatory and discover if you're brave enough to spend the night behind bars! You can check out all of these events (and more) on the American Hauntings website -- and don't forget, most of our events sell out in advance, so don't procrastinate! | PARANORMAL CLASSICS BY MICHAEL WINKLE
A collection of the Weird, the Strange, The Unexplained & the Haunted from the Annals of the Supernatural in America & Beyond! |  | Footprints on the Ceiling
Category: Haunting From: Sieveking and Ogilvie, p. 14 Where: East Park area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK When: Late 1960s to mid 1980s Who: the writer and his mother’s family How close to source: Personal account by witness Phenomena: Ian Deakin’s mother and her family moved into a terraced house in the East Park district of Wolverhampton in the late ‘sixties. One night as Ian’s mother and her older sister were preparing to go to bed upstairs they noticed a man in a sailor’s uniform on the landing. They thought for a moment that the figure was their father, who had served in the navy during World War II, but the figure walked toward the bathroom and vanished. Later a younger sister claimed to have felt something like a small child, but unseen, push by her in a hallway. Oddities: The most frequently occurring yet peculiar phenomena were the handprints of a grown man and the footprints of children’s shoes – which appeared all over the house, but only on the walls and ceilings. The family painted over these unlikely imprints, but they simply bled through to reappear again. Only the application of wallpaper and ceiling tiles hid them, and even then not permanently: “I can recall actually seeing these prints on the walls of the front bedroom after the house was stripped when the remainder of the family moved out in the mid-Eighties,” writes Deakin. Ending: As Deakin mentions, his mother’s family left the house in the ‘eighties. He adds: “No contact has been made with the family that currently resides in the house.” Legend: In the 1920s, Harry Parks Temple , a sailor, drowned attempting to rescue two young boys in a pool in East Park . Tragically, the children drowned as well. Explanation: Ian Deakin suggests that Temple is still trying to rescue the children to this day. If so, they appear to have led him on a merry chase up the walls and across the ceilings of this Wolverhampton domicile. Comments: Most of the more recognizably human specters of history walk (though sometimes on surfaces that no longer exist) or at best “waft” along. Few ghosts fly through the air Casper -like or walk up walls and across ceilings like Spider-Man. If such entities have any free will, and if they are not affected by physical gravity, one wonders why they don’t performs such amazing feats more often. This account awakened a background radiation of memory of other reports of “footprints on the ceiling,” however. I have the notion I've read or heard of such things, but whether in fiction, legend, or actual reports, I can't recall. I'm sure I've heard it mentioned in films -- I vaguely recall an old mystery (Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, maybe) where as an aside they recall a case in which a pair of acrobats in a hotel did it by having one walk crouched over whilst the other lay on his back and "walked" along the ceiling. The phenomenon plays a part in Gaston Leroux’s fantasy/mystery, Balaoo; or, the Footprints on the Ceiling (1913). Leroux, of course, was best known for his novel Phantom of the Opera. The title character of Balaoo is a scientist’s creation, half-man and half-baboon, who approaches his sleeping victim by literally crawling across the ceiling, leaving his strange footprints as the only clue. Finally, Carl Sandburg's one-volume Abraham Lincoln reveals that teenaged Abe, honest or not, was a bit of a prankster. Once: "He put barefoot boys to wading in a mud puddle near the horse trough, picked them up one by one, carried them to the house upside-down, and walked their muddy feet across the ceiling." (p. 15)
Should I ever come across footprints on the ceiling, though, I won’t count too much on spotting the 16th President of the USA in the area.
Sandburg, Carl. Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years One-Volume Edition (New York, NY: Galahad Books, 1993 [1954]).
Deakin, Ian, “Hello, Sailor,” in It Happened to Me!: Real-Life Tales of the Paranormal, Vol. 1, edited by Paul Sieveking and Jen Ogilvie ( London : Dennis Publishing, 2008), p. 14.
 JULY 2011: July 23: Night at the Haunted Opry -- Winchester, Illinois -- Join us as we return to this haunted country music venue in rural Illinois -- where the ghosts from the past refuse to rest! Reservations! AUGUST 2011 August 5-6, 2011: Bell Witch Adventure & History & Hauntings Weekend ---Adams, Tennessee -- Join us for a Full weekend of Canoe Trips, Historical Presentations & After-Dark Tours of the Bell Witch Cave and Property in Tennessee! SOLD OUT! August 13: Night at the Brumder Mansion-- Milwaukee, Wisconsin --- Join us for a private ghost hunt at "Milwaukee's Most Haunted House" and discover the history and hauntings of the famed Brumder Mansion! Reservations! August 14: Night at the Lemp Mansion -- St. Louis, Missouri -- Join us at one of the most haunted houses in America! SOLD OUT! August 20: Night at the Haunted Rectory -- Jacksonville, Illinois --- Join us for another private ghost hunt at the mysterious Our Savior Rectory -- one of Illinois' most haunted sites! Reservations! August 27: Night at the Eldred House -- Eldred, Illinois --- Join us for a summer time ghost hunting event at one of our most popular -- and haunted -- locations, the infamous Eldred House! Reservations! August 31: Tickets on sale for Newsletter Subscribers ONLY for the Alton Hauntings Ghost Tours! Schedule for Fall 2011! SEPTEMBER 2011 September 2: Avon Theater Late-Night Spookshows presents THE ST. FRANCISVILLE EXPERIMENT, hosted by Troy Taylor, who will be offering commentary throughout the movie about his role in the film! 10:30 PM at the Avon Theater in Decatur, Illinois -- FREE Admission! September 3: Night at Whispers Estate --Mitchell, Indiana
Come back with us to one of the most haunted houses in Indiana and experience the ghosts of Whispers Estate! Reservations!
September 3: Night at the Sedamsville Rectory -- Cincinnati, Ohio
Join American Hauntings at the haunted Our Lady of Perpetual Help Rectory in Ohio! Reservations! September 14: Tickets on Sale for Newsletter Subscribers ONLY for the Haunted Decatur Tours! Schedule for 2011! Sept. 16: Night at Demon House -- Monangahela, PA
Join us for a horror-filled night at a haunted attraction where the ghosts are REAL! Reservations!
September 17: Night at the Morse Mill Hotel -- Near Hillsboro, Missouri
Join us as we return to the infamous and haunted Morse Mill Hotel in rural Missouri as we search for the lingering spirits of this abandoned hotel! Reservations! Sept. 17: Night at Nemacolin Castle -- Brownsville, PA Return with us to this legendary haunted castle, where the ghosts of the past do not rest in peace! Reservations! September 17: Night at the Coliseum Ballroom -- Benld, Illinois
Join us at one of the most famous music venues in the Midwest as we search for the ghosts of his legendary Route 66 location! Reservations! September 24: Night at the Twin City Opera House --McConnellsville, Ohio
Return with us to this vintage haunted theater and come face to face with ghosts from the past! Reservations!
September 24: Zombie Apocalypse -- Chicago, Illinois! Join the crew who brought the Zombie Pub Crawl to Chicago for another great Zombie event -- Zombie Apocalypse! Come out for the night dressed as a zombie and help Weird Chicago owner Troy Taylor celebrate his birthday in Living Dead style! The Weird Chicago buses will be transporting guests in a continuous loop until midnight from Lulu's to four of Chicago's greatest rock-n-roll bars -- Delilah's, Bottom Lounge, Neo and the Liar's Club -- where we'll offer Zombie Drink Specials, Zombie movies, Thriller Line Dancing, Horror vendors, Great Music, a Zombie Pin-Up contest & More! Reservations!
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© Copyright 2011 by Troy Taylor. All Rights Reserved | | | |
