In the News: Massachusetts lawmakers consider bill to allow owners be buried with their pet

Here's an article that I found interesting. Nice to see that some places are realizing that some pet parents feel like their dogs and cats are their children and should be buried together. 

In the News: Massachusetts lawmakers consider bill to allow owners be buried with their pet


By Michelle Williams |  Mass Live
  June 24, 2015 at 8:41 AM

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow pet owners to be with man's best friend even in the afterlife.

FILE - In this file photo of Jan. 19, 2011 photo, headstones marking the graves of pets are spread throughout the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in Hartsdale, N.Y., the first burial ground for animals named to the National Register of Historic Places. The 116-year-old Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, final home to some 75,000 animals and a few hundred humans, is being designated for its "social history and landscape architecture." ((AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File))

A new bill to allow cemeteries to bury deceased pets with their former owners was discussed during a Joint Committee on Public Health hearing on Tuesday. Massachusetts law currently prohibits cemeteries from letting humans and animals be buried together.
Rep. Nick Collins, a Boston Democrat, sponsored the bill and emphasized Tuesday that it wouldn't force cemeteries to allow pets, only make the option legal. The language would allow for both human and animal remains be buried together, including cremated remains, in a designated portion of a cemetery.
Animal Advocate Bill Trabucco, of Dorchester, spoke on behalf of the bill, State House News Service reports. "They're a family member. They just happen to have four legs and fur," said he said. "They'll give you undying love and loyalty, and I think we all know being part of the human race, we don't always get that from each other."
Trabucco, the owner of eight cats, two dogs and two birds, told SHNS he'd like to be buried with them. "All 12 and the ones who passed before," he said. He added that he'd like his wife buried alongside him as well.
Massachusetts Cemetery Association, which represents non-profit, private and religious cemeteries, opposes the bill on religious, environmental and sanitation reasons. A legislative agent for the association said they're willing to work with proponents to present a bill they both agree on.

A Look at Lycanthropy (and a great Adult Fantasy Book by I.R. Harris with Wolves)

Werewolf

Since Halloween was yesterday, and everyone still has their decorations up, and are still enjoying their Halloween candy (or leftovers), I thought I'd share another "Spooky" word and a great Adult Fantasy Book by I.R. Harris with Wolves! 

WORD:   lycanthrope 
PRONOUNCIATION:   lahy-kuh n-throhp, lahy-kan-throhp] 

noun

1. a person affected with lycanthropy.

2. a werewolf or alien spirit in the physical form of a bloodthirsty wolf.

WHAT IS A WEREWOLF? A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (e.g. via a bite or scratch from another werewolf).

   The concept of a werewolf dates back centuries to ancient cultures. It gathered more attention during the middle ages at the same time as witchcraft.  To see a long history, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf

****************************************************************************************

 ***LOOKING FOR A GREAT ADULT FANTASY BOOK WITH WOLVES? 

My friend I.R. Harris has a great new series called the "Legion" Series, and it is an adult fantasy series - that includes wolves and other creatures.  (Check out her website: http://www.irharrisbooks.com/)

 BOOK 1: In the Lies of Men: The Legion Series Book I 

Legion book 1: Lies of Men

SUMMARY: Fired from the job she loves, with no money and no prospects, Aidee returns to her hometown of Thorne Bay, Alaska to find her footing. A quiet fishing village with a history of Inuit Elder magick, Aidee’s little hamlet attracts tourists from around the world who hold a gruesome intrigue for the massacre that occurred in the town. After years of being away, she quickly realizes all too soon that she’s been expected to return and that she’s not the only one still trying to wash the blood of the past from her hands...

Legion Series Book 2

BOOK 2: The Journey Through: The Legion Series 2

The Journey Through…Book II of The Legion Series Marked by devastating betrayals and with violence bearing down upon her soul, Aidee launches herself into exterminating the Ruv, the pack of wolves that slaughtered her family of Inuit Elders. In her absence, a brutal attack on the Legion ensues, forcing Aidee to put her trust in one of the more sinister souls in her life, Eli Hawthorne, Jonah’s father and the one time leader of the Ruv, but Eli isn’t the only potential threat facing the Legion. A mysterious illness attacks Laddie, witches are targeted on various Reservations and uprisings outside of Alaska bring Aidee and the Legion into the political chess match that is Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In the second installment of the series, the Legion finds itself facing clans, covens and demonic powers far darker than they imagined at a time of great unrest within the mystical energies of the world. Who will rise, who will fall and who will be left standing as the journey of the Legion continues…

 

Part 2 Video: "Bear with Me's Chesapeake Community Center paranormal investigation

My friend "Bear" Elliott is a paranormal investigator in Ohio, and recently he went on an investigation in a very haunted place. In this 7 minute video he describes several ghosts that haunt the Chesapeake Community Center and the investigation he took part in.  Since today is Halloween, it's a good time for stories about several ghosts and paranormal investigation!
This is Part 2 of the investigation: 

In Part Two of the Chesapeake Community Center paranormal investigation done by the ghost hunters of GOST on October 10th, 2015, we take a look at some of the female ghosts that walk the halls in this Southern Ohio community center. Learn the dark tales of Ruth Ann, Sarah and the Lady In White on today's Bear With Me. Have a blanket ready to hide under. This one may scare you to death.
  For more information on the Greater Ohio Spirit Trackers: https://www.facebook.com/columbusgost

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/OVPCYoUiBk4
 

A Ghostpod U.K. Podcast of Ghost Stories for Halloween

Recently I submitted a story of my encounter with a young boy's spirit to Ghostpod U.K. who used it in a brand new Podcast of Ghost and Spirit Stories just in time for Halloween. So while you're driving, making a brew or handing out Halloween candy LISTEN HERE: http://ghostpod.libsyn.com/ghostpod-show-19

Stories on this Podcast

1. Radio Gaga - Denise, Bedfordshire, UK
2. Haunted Parking Lot - John, Phillipines
3. Mysteries of Creek Road - Tom, New York City
4. Marshmallow Mike - Tony, Indiana
5. Lady of the Lake - Ian, Quebec
6. The Medium's Message - Rob Gutro, USA
7. The Chair - Roger, Plymouth, UK   

To visit the GHOSTPOD U.K. Website for more podcasts:
 http://www.ghostpod.co.uk/

WHAT IS GHOSTPOD U.K.? 
We are a group of friends who just love real ghost stories, so we have created a place where we can all share our experiences. If you like nothing more than to hear about peoples' real ghostly and paranormal encounters, then this is the podcast for you.

To answer all ghost questions!

All stories are welcomed in the spirit of open mindedness, without judgement or religious bias.  We just like to hear the stories as they happened from the viewpoint of those who experienced them.

We hope that you will enjoy our podcasts and be inspired to send us your own stories, or those you know.  Regards, all at Ghostpod.co.uk

QUESTIONS ABOUT GHOSTS AND SPIRITS? Check out my book "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead." I wrote the book to answer all questions about ghosts and spirits and how they communicate with the living. It's filled with personal stories that offer proof.

Haunting Word and History: Taphephobia, and Witches

he central figure in this 1876 illustration of the courtroom is usually identified as Mary Walcott.

With Halloween 2 days away, I came across a word that describes a serious fear about a gruesome death, that many people suffered throughout history, especially those accused wrongly of being "witches." 

HAUNTING WORD OF THE DAY:   taphephobia

[taf-uh-foh-bee-uh] 

noun, Psychiatry.

1.  an abnormal fear of being buried alive.

Sadly, throughout history and in Europe and America, people were burned at the stake for witchcraft. The witches were accused by religious people who claimed the witches made deals with the devil.

 

Suspected Witches Burned Alive in Kenya (UK Daily Mail)

Apparently it still happens in countries like Kenya. According to an article in the U.K. Daily Mail on Nov. 4, 2012, in 2009 there was an uproar after a video emerged on the internet showing five people burned in the village of Nyamataro, Kisii, in the east of Kenya, over witchcraft allegations. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2227693/Elderly-Kenyans-burned-alive-witches-refusing-desirable-coastline-land.html#ixzz3pgL9qFr5

 

A Look at History of Burning Witches at a Stake:  In the U.S. the town of Salem, Massachusetts became infamous for its witch trials, but the accusations went back hundreds of years before that in Europe.

 

SALEM WITCH TRIALS:  The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of 20 people, most of them women, and with some of their families murdered after their persecution. 

  Historians agree that the episode is one of the nation's most notorious cases of mass hysteria, and has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations and lapses in due process.  LEARN MORE at the Salem Witch Museum: https://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/ 

  (I've been there- and it's a fascinating and twisted history)

 

A LOOK AT EUROPEAN HISTORY: 

Malleus Maleficarum, Swiss Inquisition, Pope`s Guard, Templars & Burning "Witches"

WHAT WAS THE Malleus Maleficarum?

The Malleus Maleficarum (1486) is the best known of the witch-hunt manuals. It was first submitted to the University of Cologne on May 9th, 1487.  While general consensus is that The Catholic Church banned the book in 1490 by placing it on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (“List of Prohibited Books”), the first Index was, in fact, produced in 1559 under the direction of Pope Paul IV. MORE: http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org/ 

 

Questions about the Paranormal? For answers about many questions you may have about ghosts, spirits or the afterlife, check out my book "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" by Rob Gutro. I wrote the book to answer all questions on the paranormal, and used personal experiences or shared stories to convey answers to questions and provide proof. 

  Available on Amazon.com in paperback and E-book. 

Photos from Hyattsville, MD Library Talk - Intro to Paranormal Investigations

Lots of questions from the audience

Last week The Inspired Ghost Tracking team that I belong to was invited to give a

Margaret and Rob at the podium

View from the center aisle- Dana and Ronda did the AV support

talk at the Hyattsville, Maryland Library so we gave our Intro to Paranormal Investigations.  There were some good questions about ghosts, spirits, how they work, and how to detect them. The audience was very young though- mostly teenagers. At least it's good to know that teens want to learn about what happens after people pass and learn the proper ways to investigate. 

GOOD ADVICE - We cautioned them never to provoke a ghost- After all, you wouldn't be insulting a living person standing right in front of you, so why would you be mean to someone you CAN'T See?!?



FOR MORE ABOUT INSPIRED GHOST TRACKING:

Ghost Tracking is a Maryland based paranormal group that is called on to do public and private paranoramal investigations. 
 inspiredghosttracking.webs.com/Inspired 

Rob talking about the difference between ghosts and spirits

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PARANORMAL?  Check out Rob Gutro's book "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" available in paperback and E-book on Amazon.com.  It's written to answer almost any question you may have about the paranormal!

 

Photos from Barb Mallon's Halloween Event

Rob, Barb and Jonathan

   On Saturday, October 24, I had a  fun time at Medium Barb Mallon's Halloween event!  
  I got to MC and introduce Palmist Peggy Arvidson, Tarot reader Tim Boyd, and of course Medium Barb Mallon. 
   Our friend Jonathan Oliver was there, too, and he's doing animal communications -so if you want contact info for any of these amazing folks, let me know. 

full house!

Peggy Arvidson, Palmist

   I went dressed in my Inspired Ghost Tracking Paranormal investigator Tee-shirt and talked about IGT investigations. It was lots of fun - and people came in some cool costumes! 

Tim Boyd, Tarot master

For medium Barb Mallon's website, visit: 

Barb Mallon, Medium

www.barbmallon.com   She is a evidential medium who brings through identifying pieces of information from a spirit person first, and then any messages they may have.

Rob Gutro, Paranormal Investigator

For Tarot Master, Tim Boyd, visit: www.timstarot.com/  

Witch and Scarecrow

Tim is a Certified Tarot Consultant, certified by the Tarot Certification Board of America. He provides intuitive Tarot Readings utilizing his given psychic abilities and the Tarot.

Rob and Jonathan Oliver, Animal Communicator

Scarecrow, Barb Mallon, Witch

 For Pragmatic Palmist Peggy Arvidson, visit: 

peggiearvidson.com/   Peggy says" I take an esoteric practice like palmistry and  move far from fortune-telling into life altering,practical planning so you can make the money you want to support the life and people you love. Helping you love life every day is the key!  

I take an esoteric practice like palmistry and  move far from fortune-telling into life altering,practical planning so you can make the money you want to support the life and people you love. Helping you love life every day is the key! - See more at: http://peggiearvidson.com/#sthash.iEG41pld.dpuf

I take an esoteric practice like palmistry and  move far from fortune-telling into life altering,practical planning so you can make the money you want to support the life and people you love. Helping you love life every day is the key! - See more at: http://peggiearvidson.com/#sthash.iEG41pld.dpuf

Back row- and Rob in his Superman jacket