Moved to www.robgutro.com /I am an author, paranormal investigator & medium with Inspired Ghost Tracking. I can receive messages from ghosts or spirits (who have crossed over). As a scientist, I explain the paranormal with energy. Known as a Pet Medium; but work with human ghosts and spirits, too. My books teach you how to recognize signs from spirits.* AWARD-WINNING - 2021,2022 and 2023 BookAuthority Best New Grief Ebook for Pets and the Afterlife 3
Tune in tonight at 7pm ET to Hear about Real Christmas Ghosts! - Last week I pre-recorded a special 20 min. Christmas Ghost/Spirit program: Meet the 3 Ghosts of Christmas Past from the Fords Theatre. Rob Gutro Talks about 3 ghosts he met on this Westminster Public Library special program.
Link https://www.facebook.com/WestminsterBranchLibrary/
Alex Matsou is famous in paranormal circles and she has a great blog and podcast. Early in December, she wrote a great blog about why ghost stories are no longer told at Christmas. Here's that blog:
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Today, we don’t associate Christmas with the paranormal. Let alone see it as a time for ghost stories. Those traditions are for Halloween, right? Well, that’s not how it used to be. It’s oddly delightful that the most famous Christmas story of our time is also a ghost story. For hundreds of years, telling ghost stories on Christmas was a tradition. Some believe that the tradition pre-dates Christmas itself.
Wait, so how in the world did ghost stories make it into Christmas tradition in the first place? This goes back to ancient times back to the pagan roots of Yuletide.
When winter came around, the nights got longer. People spent a lot of time indoors together and telling ghost stories was a popular past time. It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Winter was considered a time when Mother Nature was sleeping and everything is “dead”, so to speak. The Earth is going through its process of rebirth during the Wintertime. From a psychological standpoint, people start thinking about death and lost friends and loved ones during the darkest time of the year. Since we’re stuck inside, we have a lot more time to reflect.
Also, it helps that the candlelight created spooky shadows in the darkness. Let’s not forget that the Victorians had an obsession with death as well!
Before Christmas, Winter Solstice and Yule were celebrated. During this time of year, folks considered the veil to be thinner. This means that ghosts have better access to the world of the living. Even during medieval times, Christmas and Yule were a time for telling ghost stories.
The Puritans wanted Christmas out of the holiday narrative. It was a time of debauchery and other sinful activities with lots of indulgences. We’re talking about food, drink, and physical activities. The Puritans wanted it gone, no exceptions. In the mid-17th century, Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell admonished Christmas. He said this based on the argument that the Bible doesn’t condone it. He also included that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. Well, he isn’t wrong. Christmas was put on December 25th to appease those celebrating Yule and Winter Solstice.
Before Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, he wrote several other Christmas ghost stories. If you look them up, their plots and themes were eerily similar. They all include a man who despises the holidays, and they change by the end of the story.
Christmas in Dickens’ time was unimportant. People rarely took the day off. The Industrial Revolution had a lot to do with that. However, when A Christmas Carol was published, Britain commercialized Christmas. It resembles the holiday we celebrate today. Dickens certainly had a hand in that.
Dickens eventually stopped writing Christmas ghost stories, and that contributed to its downfall. In fact, Dickens thought that he killed Christmas and that its ghost was haunting him. You could argue that Dickens was responsible for the sentimental value of Christmas we have today.
The commercialized Christmas we celebrate today in the United States is based on Victorian customs. Christmas cards, Christmas trees, stocking stuffers, caroling…that’s all Victorian England. Of course, their roots being from pagan customs. But, one tradition didn’t come over; ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Today, we get ready for Santa on Christmas Eve instead of gathering around the fireplace telling spooky stories.
When Dickens took a step back from writing Christmas ghost stories, other authors tried to fill in the void. But they didn’t have that panache that Dickens possessed. Those ghost stories didn’t take off like A Christmas Carol.
Today, ghosts and ghost stories stay in the month of October. Well, at least traditionally. We don’t see ghosts and spooky decor during November and December. Since some of America’s earliest long-term settlers were Puritans, it’s not shocking that Christmas ghost stories didn’t become popular.
Granted, America had Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe. However, their stories are rarely associated with winter, let alone Christmas. Irving tried though. He’s responsible for creating our modern depiction of Santa Claus.
Another piece of this puzzle is the immigration of Irish and Scottish immigrants to America. What exactly did they bring? Well, Halloween.
It is a weird blend of Irish and Catholic traditions with Samhain and All Souls’ Day merged. For years, Halloween was a holiday for the Scots. They actually tried their hardest to disassociate Halloween from ghosts and make it more about Scottish tradition. It didn’t catch on. As we know today, their attempt was unsuccessful. Ghosts and all things spooky eventually transferred to the famous fall holiday.
Did you know that The Turn of the Screw was a Christmas ghost story? Yes, the same Turn of the Screw that Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor is based on. The book by Henry James opens with a group of men telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve.
Another Fun Fact: Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven takes place in December. It’s a Christmas ghost story!
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
‘Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door –
Only this and nothing more.’Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
Excerpt from The Raven, 1845
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.”
One of the latest pieces of evidence of Christmas ghost stories came from 1915. Since then, it seems the ghosts and spooks of the winter went to Halloween for good.
So, who do we blame? The Puritans and Halloween.
A couple of days ago I shared Alex Matsuo's blog called "The Spooky Stuff." She writes amazing blogs AND she publishes great videos about paranormal topics, too. This one is holiday-themed, but it's about the darker side of the holiday and about Krampus!
EVERYTHING You Need to Know About Krampus!Sometimes when you go in a home and there are ashes of someone else's loved one, you may get a bad feeling. Is that a spirit telling you to get out? Here's the question I received about that recently and my response:
For more information about negative energy, residual and intelligent hauntings, check out my books Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead and Ghosts and Spirits (and my other 6 books) all available on Amazon.com
If you know anyone who is fascinated by the paranormal- like haunted houses and places with ghosts, or visits from their loved ones in Spirit, OR has lost a pet and wants to see if they're still around, please consider giving the gift of one of my books. (Summaries of them are below)
They're all UNDER $10 and on Amazon.com. They teach people how to recognize signs from people and pets who have passed. They take you to haunted places from England through the United States (places I've visited and had experiences). They explain how ghosts and spirits exist and communicate with the science of energy. They offer ways to help you cope with loss. - Rob Gutro
So give the gift of spirit this Holiday Season- https://tinyurl.com/vzy7kre
The Patriot Ledger newspaper in Quincy, Massachusetts has a great feature called "Spooky South Shore" (of Boston) and this is an article courtesy of the paper.
Spooky South Shore: A dark side to local lighthouses
If you just missed our 1 hour video talking about how spirits of your loved ones visit during the holidays, you can see it here. We also talk about the same GHOST that Troy and I met at the Ford's theatre, 1 year apart.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/66UVwtG3XlU
I've known Alex Matsuo for a couple of years, and she's an AMAZING writer and paranormal investigator. She also has a fantastic blog called "The Spooky Stuff!" - That said, Here's a recent blog entry from her- and I highly recommend that you subscribe to her blog and check out her videos. You can find her at https://alexmatsuo.com/. Enjoy her great holiday blog below. - Rob
If you think that spooky season is over just because Halloween has passed, think again! December and Christmas have more than enough paranormal elements to make it just as spooky, if not MORE spooky, than Halloween. We all know by now that there are a lot of pagan elements integrated into Christmas traditions already. Sure, that’s creepy when you think about it. But there are so many other elements about Christmas that make it supernatural. Should spooky season continue into the holidays? YES!
What being is more supernatural than Santa Claus? I’ve always wondered about Santa. Is he a magical human being? Or is he an elemental? The fact that Santa has the ability to stop space and time so that he can deliver presents to every child around the world is nothing short of impressive. But it’s also mildly terrifying. A being with that much power can certainly dismantle society and the human race as we know it. And yet, he chooses to deliver presents instead. How lucky are we?
Even back before Christmas was a thing, this time of year signaled the end of summer. Mother Earth literally goes to sleep. It’s a time where nature dies, so to speak. And what doesn’t die, goes to sleep. The days are shorter and the nights are longer. Plus, it’s cold outside. There’s snow. No one is traveling, let alone going outside to see friends after dark. So, people were inside their homes much more. Think of a crackling fire and flickering candlelight. It is the perfect setting for telling ghost stories. This was a thing for several centuries even after Christmas was introduced. Even Charles Dickens called Christmas Eve, “the witching hour for storytelling.” Sure, the tradition has died off a little, but it’s making a comeback.
I recently covered ten of my favorite Christmas monsters in a recent blog. Seriously, what is more paranormal than monsters, witches, goblins, and more? We have Frau Perchta, Krampus, Gryla, and more! These monsters were mainly used as incentives to behave not only during the holidays but throughout the year. Most of these monsters would come out during the 12 Days of Christmas, which I’ll be covering later in this blog. But seriously, while Halloween has its plethora of traditional monsters, Christmas monsters might be a bit scarier!
The Winter Solstice has both scientific and spiritual significance. It happens the instant the North Pole is aimed furthest away from the sun on the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth’s axis. Also, this is the time that the sun shines directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. Usually, the Winter Solstice happens between December 20th and 23rd, but most celebrate it on December 21st. Spiritually, it’s a significant event for us because it signifies a shift around the world. It’s a time for rest and reflection as the Earth goes to sleep. It’s a time for personal growth and discovering yearnings within yourself.
Flying. Reindeer. Let’s think about that! These reindeer pals of Santa Claus can not only fly, but they can move at super sonic speed around the world. Or, they aren’t affected by Santa freezing time and are able to trying. Either way, flying reindeer might be the most extraordinary cryptid out there. What gives them the ability to fly? Well, most people say it’s magic. But what if they were born with the ability to fly? And why reindeer? Couldn’t Santa’s sleigh be pulled by a legion of Mothman instead? Well, if you didn’t have nightmares before, that’s a doozy for you.
This is another element of Christmas that’s honestly quite terrifying when you think about it. Remember the movie, Jack Frost? Yes, a kids’ movie but also the producer of nightmares. Snowmen are inanimate objects. They aren’t supposed to come to life. That is unless you put a magic hat on it. I’ve always been fascinated by the Frosty lore because it does have significant paranormal ties. The first thing I think of is haunted objects. Could you give something a bit more life by manifesting it into reality?
Inhuman doesn’t mean evil! Not to be redundant from the Christmas monsters topic, but can we talk about elves and fairies? Yes, these inhuman entities, or elementals, play a significant role during the holidays. Elves are working tirelessly in Santa’s workshop to make toys. Fairies are contributing their powers to make the season more magical. If you look up different Christmas lore, there are a ton of stories featuring inhuman entities. It’s pretty cool when you think about it. But what I find really funny is that during the rest of the year, these inhuman entities are evil and want to end us.
We all know the famous song, but what are the 12 days of Christmas, really? Today, we know it as the time between the birth of Christ and the arrival of the Magi. But the 12 days of Christmas has several meanings to different cultures. You might notice in Christmas monster folklore that a lot of these creatures are rampant during the 12 days of Christmas. There’s a reason for this. During the olden days in some parts of the world, these dozen days were considered unholy. Therefore, these Christmas monsters had the ability to roam the Earth. In other folklore, like the Kallikantzaros, the sun stops moving. So, it seems like the 12 Days of Christmas are a holiday version of The Purge for monsters.
Magic is everywhere during the holidays. It’s in movies, songs, and cards. We hear “Christmas magic,” “holiday magic”, “magic of Santa Claus”, the list goes on. Why is Christmas magic more acceptable during the month of December but not for the rest of the year? I may or may not be looking at a certain religious group here. Perhaps it’s not really magic coming into play, but everyone falling for the commercialization of Christmas? I just find it ironic. It seems the holidays are a time where people are less afraid of the occult.
Besides ghost stories being an old holiday tradition, did you know that more hauntings are reported during the holidays? Well, there hasn’t been an official study on this yet. But there should be! I can only speak for myself and my team about it. We usually get a spike in requests around the holidays. I have a theory. I urge you to take it with a grain of salt, as it is just a thought. With Winter Solstice around this time, plus, the holidays being a time for family, I think spirits want to come back and spend the holidays with their living relatives.
https://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/history/elves.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/22/how-ghost-stories-have-shaped-my-life
https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/holidays/articles/its-a-paranormal-christmas
https://exploredeeply.com/live-your-purpose/winter-solstice-spiritual-meaning
I love talking with JV Johnson, host of Beyond Reality Radio. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of coming back to the show (my 3rd appearance) and we covered many topics. In the first half hour we talked about Pets in spirit, and about my book "Kindred Spirits: How a Medium Befriended a Spirit." The second half hour we talked about some of the weird cases from my latest book "Case Files of Inspired Ghost Tracking." It was such a great conversation, and I know you'll enjoy listening to it. Here's the show:
VIDEO https://youtu.be/HMT6PPbg6T4
TO GET ROB'S BOOKS ON AMAZON: Click here to go to Rob's Amazon page
