2 Interesting Books on the Paranormal

Over my summer vacation I read two good books on the paranormal. One was about Earth-bound ghosts and the other was a medium's experiences with spirits (who have crossed over). Both are well-worth picking up.

"THE WORLD'S MOST HAUNTED PLACES" - by Jeff Belanger is a very interesting and informative read. Jeff takes the reader to haunted places all over the world. Recently, I went to Scotland and experienced first hand the "Southbridge Underground Vaults" of Edinburgh, Scotland. Jeff provides a photo of each place, references and interesting stories. The book is subtitled "From the Secret Files of  GhostVillage.com" - and it's worthwhile for anyone interested in the most haunted places on Earth.
-    About the Author:  Jeff Belanger (jeffbelanger.com) is one of the world's most visible and prolific paranormal researchers. Since 1997, the former journalist has interviewed thousands of eyewitnesses to paranormal occurrences. He is the author of a dozen books on the paranormal; the founder of Ghostvillage.com the Web's most popular paranormal destination, according to Google, and a noted speaker and media personality.Belanger is the series writer and researcher for Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel. He's been a guest on more than 200 radio and television programs including: The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, The Maury Show, The CBS News Early Show, National Public Radio, The BBC, Australian Radio Network, and Coast to Coast AM.


"FOREVER WITH YOU" - by Medium Patrick Mathews was a refreshing read. Patrick has written two books and this is his second (I'm going to read his first soon). I totally agree with Patrick's view of "Heaven" as being all around - and not a fixed "place." Spirits come and go all the time, and can see what we're doing and guide us in daily decisions. Patrick also touches on suicides, religion, reincarnation, spirits, ghosts, and much more. He covers a number of topics that I covered in my books (Ghosts and Spirits and Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead). I highly recommend Patrick's book and would love to meet him in person.

About the Author -  As a medium, lecturer, teacher and

author, Patrick Mathews has helped countless people around the world with his gift of communicating with those in spirit. Mathews has appeared on numerous national television and radio shows, including the Ryan Seacrest Show, WGN’s Steve Cochran Show, and has been featured on ABC News and PBS. Patrick has also been the featured medium on the hit television shows Most Haunted and Most Haunted Live!.Visit Mathews online at www.patrickmathews.com.

The Woman in Blue from Montpelier Mansion

In my book "Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium"  http://tinyurl.com/caa8jk8 You'll find my investigation of the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, Maryland with the Inspired Ghost Tracking Group inspiredghosttracking.webs.com/.

Ronda and Rob both sensed the Woman in the Blue Dress

  There were a number of ghosts that still linger in the house and one in particular was seen by me, my friend and medium Troy Cline, and Ronda Dixon. Ronda had the first encounter with the woman years before when Ronda was working there doing needlepoint. She sensed that someone else was in the upstairs bedroom with her, looked quickly and saw the bottom of a light blue dress worn by a woman of the 1800s.

  During the investigation of Montpelier later with Inspired Ghost Tracking, both myself and Troy sensed the same woman. She didn't stay in a fixed place, and she actually said something to both of us, which made us realize that this was an intelligent haunt.
  The woman had lived on the property before, and loved the house so much she didn't want to leave. She showed me how she would walk up or down the stairs to the main doors to greet people. She showed me that one door, now considered a back door, was once connected to a driveway where horses and carriages would pull up and guests would arrive. It was at that door that Ronda, and Tom (also of the Inspired Ghost Tracking Group) would get a physical sign of the Lady in light blue.
  To read the full story about the Lady in Light Blue at the Montpelier Mansion, and the mysterious gentleman ghost that both Troy and I saw standing silently in one room, check out my book "Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium" by Rob Gutro.
  Let me know if you encounter either of these ghosts whenever you visit!
"Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium" $7.99 Paperback  http://tinyurl.com/caa8jk8 
E-Book $2.99 http://tinyurl.com/c46v2vy

Experiencing the Pain of George Washington Before he Passed

Mt. Vernon behind the sign for the house tour

Recently I visited the home of Mount Vernon, the home of President George Washington and his wife Martha. The home sits overlooking the Potomac River in northern Virginia, about 11 miles south of Washington, D.C. It was also there that I had an interesting, but short experience.

  Sometimes, ghosts have shared their pain with me to tell me that they still linger. This was a similar experience. 

  When I entered the mansion, I sensed some residual energy from emotion that lingered in the home. 

  Upon going into one of the upstairs guest rooms I was overwhelmed with energy, and suddenly got a sharp pain in my throat! - I wasn't sure what was going on. The sharp pain became a dry throat, and it hurt. After walking through the room into a small hallway where a docent stood I learned why I felt that pain. 

  The docent said "You are now in a small hallway, and pointed to an adjoining bedroom. She said it was the room where George Washington died. She said that he said 2 days before he died that he suddenly had "a sharp pain in his throat!" 

  So, I immediately knew that President Washington was letting me know what happened to him, and what he experienced before he died! I didn't really expect to meet President Washington that day, but it seems I did.

  
SOME BACKGROUND ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PASSING from a Doctor, blogging on Salon.com. Source: http://open.salon.com/blog/michael_hebert/2009/02/16/what_killed_george_washington


Joseph Ellis' biography His Excellency: George Washington includes many fascinating details about the life of our first president, including the account of the president’s death in 1799, at the age of 67.  

Swearing in of Pres. Washington- Mt. Vernon Exhibit

One morning in mid-December 1799, Washington went out, as it was his daily habit, on horseback from his home to inspect his Mount Vernon property. That particular day the weather was very cold and there was an ice storm. It is said that Washington spent five hours out in freezing rain, then returned home and dined with guests in his wet clothes because he did not want to keep them waiting. The next day he complained of a sore throat and was hoarse, but otherwise appeared well. The following night he awakened Martha to tell her that he felt a severe pain in his throat, and was having trouble breathing.

George and Martha Washington's tomb on the grounds

The next day his personal physician, Dr. James Craik, was summoned. Craik diagnosed the condition as life threatening, and hastily assembled a team of doctors for aggressive treatment. They bled him of five pints of blood, burned his neck, and gave him calomel, a mercury compound used as a purgative but which probably did little more than induce mercury poisoning. Finally, after several days of this torture, Washington displayed the judgment that made him a great president and told them to stop. According to Ellis: “Eventually Washington ordered his doctors to cease their barbarisms and let him go in peace. ‘Doctor,’ he muttered, ‘I die hard, but I am not afraid to go” (p.269). He expired a few hours later.

Ronda's Encounter at Montpelier Mansion

Ronda wrote me with an experience she had, and has allowed me to share it with you. She wrote: "While reading your book I came across the section about the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, Maryland. I use to work the "Needle Art" show there every year around July. I would get there early before all of the people arrived, open the doors turn on the lights, etc. One day while I was there alone waiting for the people to arrive, I was sitting in the breeze way (the one that goes between the house and the room with all the book shelves) cross stitching. When out of the corner of my eye I could see the bottom of a dress. The dress was a robins egg blue color and had a pattern kind of like herringbone. When I looked directly at door the where the person was standing, no one was there. This happened 3 different times, there was no doubt that there was a lady watching me sew."

I'm wondering if anyone else had a ghostly encounter at the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, as Ronda and I have. Please write in and share them!

A Residual Haunt in President Adams' Home

When my partner and I went to Quincy, Mass. this weekend for a book event, we toured two of the four Adams houses. The 2 we toured were the birthplaces of John Adams (2nd U.S. President) and John Quincy Adams (5th U.S. President). The houses are side-by-side and still exist pretty much as they were when built in the late 1600s (by two families that owned them before the Adams Family did).
Adams National Historical Park is managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The park consists of the homes of two American presidents and subsequent generations of their descendants from 1720 to 1927. The family's experience represented, shaped, and mirrored significant events in the social, cultural, political, and intellectual history of the nation. The purpose of the park is to preserve and protect the grounds, homes, and personal property of four generations of the Adams family and to use these resources to interpret the history they represent and to educate and inspire current and future generations.
During the tour of the older home, I didn't sense any intelligent haunts (that is, interactive ghosts), but I did feel residual energy in one room that turned out to be Abigail Adams' favorite room. It was like I could sense her energy there that this was "her favorite place."

A Residual Energy at the Historic Josiah Quincy House

(PHOTO: Front side of the Josiah Quincy House where some ghostly imprint energy resides on the lawn).
While in Quincy, Mass. this past weekend, my partner and I also stopped by the historic Josiah Quincy House (1770 and pronounced /ˈkwɪnzi/). This was the "country home" of Revolutionary War soldier Colonel Josiah Quincy I, the first in a line of six illustrious Josiah Quincys that included three Boston mayors and a president of Harvard University.
Josiah inherited the land from his father and built his mansion on a 200-acre farm called the "Lower Farm," which had been in the family since 1635. Tom immediately noticed that the house has an unusual "monitor roof," the oldest known example of this roof style to survive from the original colonies, and includes a Chinese fretwork balustrade and classical portico. The National Park Service notes that "during the American Revolution, Quincy aided General George Washington by observing the British fleet in Boston Harbor from his attic windows."

(PHOTO: Front door of the Josiah Quincy House)
The house is only open by appointment (we didn't know that) so we walked the grounds. While walking the grounds my head was filled with residual energy on one side of the house, and vivid images of Colonial men, women and children in period garb, in addition to horse-drawn carriages coming up one entrance to the home. There's a lot of residual energy even outside of that house! It's too bad we couldn't get inside it.

Return to Belair Mansion - and Little Anna's Ghost

(PHOTO: Belair Mansion Credit: City of Bowie)
On May 5, 2010, I returned to the Belair mansion in Bowie, Md. with my mother who was visiting from out of state.
The Belair Mansion (circa 1745) is the beautiful five-part Georgian plantation house of Samuel Ogle, former Provincial Governor of Maryland. Enlarged in 1914 by the New York architectural firm of Delano and Aldrich, the Mansion was also the home of William Woodward, famous horseman in the first half of the 20th century. Restored to reflect is 250-year old legacy, the Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Several years ago I had taken a candlelight Christmas tour through the mansion and sensed the ghost of a little girl in the nursery. I later confirmed who the ghost was from the house historian and learned that little Anna Marie Ogle died at the age of two in the mansion.
This time, my mom and entered the mansion from the basement door which is now the public entrance. We were met by a docent named Catherine who welcomed us. I immediately developed a headache in the back of my head, the tell-tale sign a ghost or spirit was present. The docent then showed us a 12 minute videotape about the history of the Belair Mansion and its many former owners. Some of which include the breeders of two triple crown horse race winners.
(PHOTO: Anna Marie Ogle's nursery and bedroom where her ghost still runs around and plays)
After that, we took a self-guided tour through the two upstairs levels of the house. On the first level after passing through the dining room and moving toward the west wing (which was added in 1910) I felt Anna's ghost tugging on the right side of my shirt. I suddenly felt a cold spot on my lower right side as if a child's hand was placed above my waist and I heard her ask me to "come upstairs and play with her toys."
We went upstairs and looked through all the rooms and came to the nursery where she passed. Anna kept giving me the feeling of a dry throat and a lot of swallowing. Then, a sudden onset of feeling my body heat up and perspire came over me, as if sweating from a high fever. Anna was sharing with me how she had passed. She's still at the mansion now, enjoying running through the house and trying to get people to play with her, still unaware that she needs to cross over.
We exited the mansion and walked through the small garden far into the backyard, where we saw the small fenced family cemetery. In the cemetery sits a tombstone with a crucifix on it, labeled "Anna Marie Ogle, 1849-1851." (PHOTO: Plaque on the cemetery fence that notes of Anna Marie's short lifetime).