Rob's Books, Medium Readings, Animal Rescue Fundraisers

BOOKS: Pets and the Afterlife, Pets and the Afterlife 2, Pets and the Afterlife 3, Pets and the Afterlife 4, Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead, Ghosts of England on a Medium's Vacation, Ghosts of the Bird Cage Theatre on a Medium's Vacation, Kindred Spirits: How a Medium Befriended a Spirit, Case Files of Inspired Ghost Tracking and Ghosts and Spirits Explained BEST SELLERS: All of Rob's books have reached "best-seller" status on AMAZON.com in various paranormal categories. PET SPIRIT READINGS: Now offered via email and done on weekends. Reserve a spot thru Paypal. Email me at Rgutro@gmail.com Send 1 Photo of your pet, their name, and any questions.ANIMAL RESCUE FUNDRAISING LECTURES : Rob is a dog dad, volunteers with Dachshund and Weimaraner rescues and does fundraising lectures for dog and cat rescues.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Happy Doggone Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  Here's a picture of our three dogs in their shark costumes this year. Hope you have a hauntingly fun day!  

Joy Andreasen's Tarot Tuesday: Six of Cups

Today's card is the Six of Cups.
   Joy Andreasen  provides the interpretation of Tarot cards on these Tarot Tuesdays:
Today you may find your past is coming back to your experience. Either someone from your past shows up in your life, or you may find you are interested in knowing more about your family history, or you are forced to face an unresolved issue from the past. When we are children, we live in the now. We rarely worry about the past or the future, other than wondering when we will take the next trip to the ice cream Shoppe. Think about that today. Whatever you are attempting to manifest, imagine it is in the past. Imagine you already have it. Think about how that feels. The biggest roadblock sometimes to manifesting our dreams is thinking about the object of our desires as if it is in the vague future.
 ABOUT JOY: Joy Andreasen is an author, shamanic practitioner, psychic medium, spiritual consultant, Reiki Master Teacher and wedding officiant. She has been giving messages from Spirit for almost twenty years. She teaches spiritual development and shamanic classes in Winchester and Herndon Virginia which are always highly acclaimed.  She has compiled some of these messages into a book which is available on her website, www.whispersofjoy.net. Her  goal is to be of service to others in whatever way is most beneficial to their souls.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Annapolis Ghost Walk: A Ghost in the Photo!?!

Top: no light, bottom, a bar of white light appears! 
During a recent historic Annapolis Ghost Walk in Maryland we wound up getting what very likely could be a GHOST in a photo we took with the tour guide.  
"A Special Historic Haunting tour of Annapolis" was a 90 minute tour put on by Watermark and Historic Annapolis. It included a rare tour of the historic Sands House and we were led by an amazing tour guide. 


THE BEST TOUR GUIDE-  We were fortunate enough to get a guy dressed as a pirate and named "Saggy Boots" because his 2 foot high boots would sag. Not only was he handsome, but he put on a great British accent (we think it was put on), and he memorized and recited long poems he composed about two hauntings. He was amazing (and cute).

THE GHOST IN THE GRAVEYARD - Ghosts don't usually haunt graveyards, but there is a well-known ghost who walks around a graveyard in Annapolis that circles a church. The church is St. Anne's Episcopal Church. It's an historic Episcopal church located in Church Circle, 199 Duke of Gloucester St, Annapolis, MD 21401. The first church in Annapolis, it was founded in 1692. A man in all black has been seen walking around the cemetery literally for hundreds of years. Our tour guide, "Saggy Boots the pirate" said that the ghost is known to a Sexton named James Simpson. A Sexton is a person who looks after a church and churchyard, sometimes acting as bell-ringer and formerly as a gravedigger.

THE PHOTO - Our tour guide's wife took my cell phone to take our picture with him. She only had my camera in her hand, and there was no one else taking pictures. We were standing in the dark cemetery and there was no light source within 100 feet or more (across the street). There is no explanation for the bar of white light that appeared in the second photo taken immediately after the first photo. I knew we were in the company of someone who had passed on and was roaming around as a ghost, so this may have been the ghost who was standing between us. What do you think? 


Oct 31 at 2pm EVENT: Special Afternoon Halloween Tea at the Strathmore Mansion, Bethesda, MD

Learn about signs from spirits in Rob Gutro's books
On Tuesday Oct. 31 at Tuesday 2pm EDT check for last minute seats in the Special Afternoon Halloween Tea at the Strathmore!
   Rob Gutro, Author/Medium, will talk about Signs from Spirits Strathmore Hall Foundation, 5301 Tuckerman Lane (Strathmore Mansion), Bethesda, Maryland

TICKETS: https://www.strathmore.org/events-and-tickets/afternoon-tea


Strathmore Afternoon Tea

The soothing sounds of local musicians fill the room, as you enjoy Afternoon Tea in the cozy atmosphere of The Shapiro Music Room at Strathmore.
Strathmore Blend Tea is specially made for us by Master Tea Blender John Harney of Connecticut, and is served with a light lunch of delectable tea savories.
Afternoon Teas: $24 per person (Stars Price $21.60)
Specialty Teas: $28 per person (Stars Price $25.20)

Tea begins at 1pm
Call 301.581.5108 for reservations. Pre-paid, non-refundable reservations required.
Vegetarian options are available; please be sure to request a vegetarian meal when making your reservation.
Tea for Two gift certificates make great gifts! To purchase, call 301.581.5175 or visit the Shop at Strathmore located in the Mansion.
Strathmore celebrates 30 years of Afternoon Tea. Read more.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

A Haunting Truth About England's Royal Burials

Queen Jane Seymour by Hans Holbein
As Halloween Approaches here's a hauntingly odd history lesson for you...(thanks to Tom who researched and wrote it). It's quite macabre...

On the evening of October 24, 1537, Jane Seymour, Queen of England and third wife of King Henry VIII, died. Only 11 days before, she had given birth to a son, Edward. While England was celebrating the birth of the young prince, everyone had thought Jane was going to be just fine. But late in the day on October 23, she developed a fever. And just 24 hours later, she was gone. There is no consensus on the cause of death: puerperal fever, massive bleeding, or was part of the placenta accidentally left inside her causing an infection. We just don’t know.

There’s a blog that I regularly follow that discusses all things Tudor. On the anniversary of Queen Jane’s death, there was the usual posting, but something about this year’s entry caught my attention. It said that after Jane’s death, Henry ordered that her heart and entrails be removed and buried separately under the altar in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Now, why I never knew about this little useless factoid before, I don’t know. But in this month where we like to read about such gruesome things, I thought I would do some poking around and see how common this was for British royalty.

The Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace

What I found out is, this practice was rather typical, not just for British royals but for virtually all European royal houses. Because royals were not immediately buried, but rather paraded around the country or often would lie in state for weeks after death (Edward VI, Henry's son, wasn't buried for an entire month), embalmers had to be creative and would have to do certain things to slow down decomposition just a bit.

The practice involved cutting open the body, cleaning out the insides of the corpse, removing all the internal organs and such, wash the resultant body cavity with disinfectant, and then stuffing it with clean linens soaked in herbs, spices, and fragrant oils so the bodies wouldn't smell. In Queen Jane’s case, the heart and entrails were saved and buried separately. After three weeks of mourning, her corpse was buried in the choir at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The choir at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
After the prescribed time of mourning had passed and in preparation for burial, the corpse would be wrapped in a wax cloth shroud and the seams sealed with wax. Then the body was placed in a lead liner which was then placed inside an outer wood coffin.

The burial vault of St George’s Chapel was opened in 1813. This engraving shows the coffins of King Charles I (left), King Henry VIII (center), Queen Jane (right).

Links to further reading:
https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/rip-queen-jane-seymour/
http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2009/06/question-from-kristian-jane-seymours.html
Coffins of King Charles I (left), King Henry VIII (center), Queen Jane (right).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherhowse/3557176/The-burial-of-the-heart.html
http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/resources/tudor-tombs-and-burials/
http://royalcentral.co.uk/blogs/a-royal-burial-st-georges-chapel-25426

How's that for a Halloween story?

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Q&A with Medium Rob Gutro: Would My Spirit Pet Want me to Adopt Again?

Here's a question I often receive from grieving pet parents:

Q: Would My Spirit Pet Want me to Adopt Again? 

A: For most pets, loving another animal is not a betrayal, it’s a way to honor their memory. That's true unless your dog or cat always wanted to be the "only dog in the house." I know some do.

Usually, though, our pets in spirit do want us to adopt again and save the life of a dog or cat that would be euthanized, and not get a chance to experience the same powerful, deep love they experienced. In addition, our pets in spirit always come around and teach the new dog or cat some of the habits they had in life. Saving the life of a dog or cat isn't saying anyone loved their late pets any less, it's giving a gift to a pet that otherwise would not have had any love in their life, and love is the best gift.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Video: Mike Ricksecker's Friday Night Ghost Frights: Ghost Stories From Ghost Towns!

In this week's video of Mike Ricksecker's Friday Night Ghost Frights you'll hear real ghost stories from real ghost towns in Oklahoma and Illinois. Three true stories that include witches, hauntings, and paranormal investigations.

Video: https://youtu.be/aa9C78MlTt8