Category Archives: ghosthunting

Fall Foliage and Haunted Road Trip: OH, PA, VA

October 11, 2013AHRT, ghosthunting, paranormalfort mifflin, haunted, ohio, pennsylvania, philadelphia, road trip, virginia, willoughby, winchesterKara Pelicano

Just about every city has a homegrown ghost story that is closely linked to the town’s history. If you’re interested in exploring the unknown, here a few haunted road trips near the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia borders. Explore rich history, haunted locales, and enjoy some of the best fall foliage along the way.

Willoughby, Ohio
The Willoughby ghost walk is a guided tour through the haunted historic district of downtown Willoughby, beginning at Cathi’s store on Erie Street, The Spice Peddler. The tour covers approximately twelve blocks and takes about 90 minutes. Described as a rough town, the basements of stores along the ghost walk used to be homes of brothels, speakeasies, and number rackets back in the twenties and forties.

Fort Mifflin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
All battlefields and forts have their resident ghosts, but Fort Mifflin ranks high on the list when it comes to the paranormal. Some visitors claim Fort Mifflin to be one of the most haunted places in the country, especially during a moonlit night. There are plenty of phantom activities, but the most renowned ghosts are the Screaming Lady and the Faceless Man. Ghosts have been reported all over the fort, in buildings and out in the open. The 14 buildings of the fort sit on 50 acres on Mud Island, a stone’s throw from Philadelphia and its International Airport.

Ghosts of the Valley, Winchester, Virginia
Winchester may very well be the most haunted city in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. Located at the north end of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester is the northernmost community of any size in the state. The Fuller House Inn and Mount Hebron Cemetery are only a couple of the haunted locations in Winchester. Several ghost tours are offered in Winchester.

To find out more about these sites and more in their areas, or to discover other haunted locations in your area, check out the rest of the books in the America’s Haunted Road Trip series here.

*All ghost hunts excerpted from AHRT books.

Education in the Paranormal Field

September 30, 2013ghosthunting, paranormalcertificate, certification, education, expert, ghosthunter shop, ghosthunting, ghosts, paranormal, patti starrKara Pelicano

Often, when people think of ghosthunting, they don’t generally think of education being a big part of the field. Sometimes it’s not, but many ghosthunters pride themselves in backgrounds ranging from psychology to medicine to science. All of these disciplines lend themselves to better ghosthunting research, but do you believe that further education is necessary?

Many organizations, small paranormal shops, individuals, and even some colleges now offer ghosthunting courses and certifications. One example is The Ghosthunter Shop out of Lexington, Kentucky. Patti Starr owns and operates the shop with her husband Chuck Starr (these are the same folks that produce Scarefest) and they offer an introductory course, a certification class, and a certification from home class for reasonable prices.

The question is, what do you think about ghosthunting education? Do you believe it’s necessary for a ghosthunter to be certified to be considered an expert?

New Book Uncovers Windy City’s Ghosts

September 30, 2013AHRT, ghosthunting, Haunted Handbook, paranormalauthor, book, chicago, expert, gangland, ghosthunting, ghosts, haunted, haunted handbook, illinois, michigan, pub crawl, windy cityKara Pelicano

The newest addition to the America’s Haunted Road Trip series, Chicago Haunted Handbook, brings you 99 ghostly places you can visit in and around the Windy City. Authors Jeff Morris and Vince Sheilds profile 99 of the most haunted spots in Chicago, covering all the important information such as location, directions, a brief history of the spot, the ghost story behind the spot, and tips for when and how to visit.

Are you ready to hunt for ghosts in the Windy City?
All 99 locations are open to the public, and suggested tours are included in the back (Paranormal Pub Crawl, Gangland, etc.), which make this guide the perfect tool when planning your next ghosthunt in the Midwest. Combine this book with John Kachuba’s Ghosthunting Illinois or Helen Pattskyn’s Ghosthunting Michigan and make a real road trip out of it!

All books in the AHRT series are available at AdventureKEEN.

Scarefest 2013 Success

September 30, 2013AHRT, convention, ghosthunting, paranormal, Scarefestahrt, america's haunted road trip, convention, ghost hunting, ghosthunting, ghosts, horror, kentucky, lexington, paranormal, scarefest, star trek, the walking dead, true bloodKara Pelicano

Just this past month, America’s Haunted Road Trip attended the 6th annual Scarefest Horror & Paranormal Convention in Lexington, Kentucky. Produced by Ghost Chasers International, Scarefest has become one of the largest horror conventions in the United States, and this year was no exception.

This year’s star-studded guest list included Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Star Trek Generations), Rutina Wesley (Tara), Jim Parrack (Hoyt), Janina Gavankar (Luna), and Jessica Clark (Lilith, the Vampire Goddess) from True Blood, Chandler Riggs (Carl from The Walking Dead), and of course, the Scarefest staple babe, Danielle Harris.

There where were more vendors than ever before at Scarefest 2013, with 82,000 square feet of artists, entertainers, tattoo artists, paranormal groups, booksellers, ghosthunting gear, novelty items, and much more. Seminars from experts in their fields stacked the 3-day schedule and drew huge crowds.

We had an extremely successful year this year at Scarefest 2013 and we can’t wait to return next September 12-14, 2014!