Urban Legends: Ghost in the Television

For years, I've watched movies like Poltergeist and The Ring about supernatural beings living beyond the white noise of a television set. One such Urban Legend is hooking the video camera to the television and record the screen to find faces and images of people looking back at us.

Many skeptics believe it's a cross-signal or frequency distortion with a network station. But others believe it could be the deceased from the other side broadcasting to us in hopes of making contact or a ghost trapped within the television itself. So to test this theory, all that's needed are the cables that came with the home video camera. Since digital video and even VHS tape camera recorders include a cable to plug the camera into the television to show recorded home movies of friends and family, what if a home movie was made of the television instead?

Now, I should warn the possible permanent damage to the television and camera. I don't recommend doing this at home. WARNING!! The following video has FLASHING IMAGES!

Protective Tips for the Ghost Hunter

While many ghost hunters may never have an experience with an evil entity, there are others who are unlucky enough to come across these spirits.

Ghost Hunters will certainly be more susceptible to the dark spirits if in their own lives they focus on negativity, if they have addictions or are mentally or emotionally unstable.

I have some suggestions that you may find beneficial before doing an investigation.

1) Always go into an investigation calm, cool, collected, and with an open mind.

2) Focus on exactly what it is you want to accomplish with your investigation.

3) Do your homework on the location you are investigating to learn of any known hauntings, specific areas with high spirit activity, or areas recommended to avoid. Learn the history about the location if possible. This will give you direction and focus for your investigations.

4) Always introduce yourself to the spirits at a location and ask their permission before taking photos, EVPs, or video recordings. I have personally found that if a spirit does not wish to be impeded upon or otherwise involved with an investigation that you will have a feeling or a sign. As mentioned in point 2, it is always imperative you remain focused, so you can notice the signs the spirits are giving to you.

5) Respect the dead. When walking through cemeteries, crypts, and haunted locations always remember to show respect to your surroundings. Try to avoid walking across graves if at all possible or ask permission if this is necessary. (Avoid stepping on graves. It is seen as disrespect and the ground could collapse into a cave-in.)

6) A prayer of protection is always recommended to help keep the Ghost Hunter safe in his/her investigations. These prayers can help to ensure that Ghost Hunters do not bring any unwanted entities home.

7) If you or another member of your group has a bad feeling about a location and your investigation and prayer of protection does not solve the issue, it's always recommended to abandon the investigation.

Everyone of us come from different walks of life and has many different religious views and practices, so not every prayer you come across may work for you. I recommend finding a prayer that has meaning to you as a person, whether its an actual Catholic or Wiccan affirmation, chant, or simply a mantra that has protective meaning to you.

One of the more effective and commonly used prayer amongst Ghost Hunters is the Prayer to Saint Michael. As long as you believe in what you are saying, this short prayer should work to protect you and your group.

Michelle Myers at Ghost Hunting Secrets recommends the following to individuals who are comfortable with saying prayers and affirmations:

• "I am sealed from all imperfect energies."


• "I am divinely protected and guided. Any spirits that I encounter will remain bound to the confines of the cemetery/house/location."


• "May all that is not in accordance with the highest will of God, within and without my entire being, be immediately transformed into divine light."
  
• "In the name of God, please protect and guide me as I investigate [insert your location here]. Amen."

For Michelle's complete post on the topic please check the Ghost Hunting Blog.

There are many forms of protection spells readily available to you, easily found on the Internet, your local book store, priest, or spiritual person. It is up to each individual if they choose to use them or not.

By taking the above points into consideration, it should help you to have a safe and fruitful investigation.

Happy Ghost Hunting!

Upcoming Films: The X-Files: I Want to Believe

After ten years of waiting, The X-Files is finally back!
The plot line is kept as much a mystery as the plot lines in the television series. Other than the trailer and what we know about the popular series, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) return to the roles of one of television's most famous FBI investigators.

If you think you know what the story is about, try your luck at The X-Files Fan Forecast Contest at for your chance at autographed movies posters, DVDs and props from the movie. Just go the official website by clicking on the movie poster above for details. The X-Files will be in theaters July 25.

The Zombie of Montclaire Moors

Here is an interesting item for those of you wanting to add a little extra haunt to your garden!

Whether you are looking to put some fright into the kids around the neighborhood, getting ready for the upcoming Halloween season, or simply attempting to spruce up your lawn with something other than a cliched gnome, follow the link below:

The Zombie of Montclaire Moors Sculpture.

This resin sculpture by British artist Alan Dickinson measures 31½"Wx19½"Dx8"H (3 pieces)weighs 13 lbs, and is incredibly death-like in look. I can't wait to order my own Garden Zombie!

Upcoming Films: Death Race

Now Death Race is not Death Race 2000 as the trailer shows. That can be good, but from remake history it's usually bad. Written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, Death Race is the story of an ex-con forced to compete in a brutal car race in which inmates must kill one another to win. The gritty locations and the suped up cars look great, but will is hold up to Roger Corman's Death Race 2000?

From what I've summed up, the difference between this modern take and the original is that the warden of the prison runs the show instead of the president of the United States did in the original, and the world is limited to Terminal Island much like The Running Man. I wonder if Paul went this route to avoid a political message and the off-the-wall killing of the weak and feeble for extra points like Death Race 2000 did.

But looking back at the original, that's what made the movie so different and completely hilarious. I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen just knowing that some innocent pedestrian can be seen as a point score for the drivers. Either way, I'll give Paul's version a chance, especially to see our hero don the mask that was once worn by the legendary Frankenstein, which was the name of our hero in the first movie. Death Race will be in theaters August 22nd.

Book Review: The Werewolf Book by Brad Steiger

A regular guest on George Noory's Coast to Coast AM, Brad Steiger has completed over 150 books on everything from the occult, folklore to the supernatural. The Werewolf book is an encyclopedia on everything about werewolf lore in classic films like an An America Werewolf in London, the mysteries about shape-shifters, children raised by werewolves and pop culture.

I picked up this book as a reference guide and my interest in the werewolf lore. What I didn't expect, is that it covers the minds of history's serial killers like Richard Ramirez the famous Night Stalker and Jeffrey Dahmer. Steiger ties in their mental states in relation to a man under the influence of some dark and sinister process similar to a man growing insane at the sight of a full moon.

The Werewolf Book goes beyond the myth by covering topics on cannibalism, witchcraft, ghosts and the many Hollywood films feeding the public's interest on the subject. My only complaint is that the encyclopedia book, like many books of this type grow slowly outdated due to the content. It was published almost ten years ago in 1999. It's certainly a good time to release an updated edition on the past ten years of films on the subject and the public's growing interest for the unknown.

I Ain't Afraid of no Ghost!

Here is a little something to look forward too...

Ghostbuster's: The Video Game


That's right, the "original" Ghostbusters are back this fall in a brand new video game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Terminal Reality!

The premise of the game has you, the user, joining the Ghostbusters as a new recruit to help rid the city of Manhattan from ghosts, demons and other supernatural beings.

The game script was penned by the original creators, and each of the 4 main actors (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson) have reprised their roles as the Ghostbusters voices.

This game looks promising for Ghostbusters fans and Ghost Hunter aficionados alike. We here At the Cemetery Gates can't wait to check this out in the fall, and will definitely be doing a full review!

For more information on this upcoming title, click on Ghostbusters: The Game.