"The Enfield Haunting" Now, A Mini-Series

   I have to say, the trailer for this miniseries about the Enfield Poltergeist doesn't look too bad, though I agree with Pumpkin Rot (who was awesome enough to bring this series to my attention - thanks Rot!) in that it's got some overdone Hollywood-like touches. Still glad to see a great cast in this re-telling of one of the most famous poltergeist cases of all time - a case that has inspired me in my writing for years. During the spring I discovered that James Wan will be using the case in his upcoming sequel to the already awful The Conjuring franchise (ugh...). Even if this mini-series is horrible, in my opinion it will still be better than anything James Wan will do with it. Cheers to alternative visions!

Click here for more info from Bloody Disgusting!

The 1,000th Haunt...

      Yesterday was my birthday and I got to spend the day with my sweet guy at one of my favorite places, Disneyland! I'm pretty laid back when it comes to Disney having been an annual passholder before as well as a cast member, so nowadays I like my Disney trips to be pressure free and go with the flow. I'm never forcing my group to have to get every ride in, every time we go. That being said, there's still one ride I do like to make sure I ride every time (if I can) and it's, of course, The Haunted Mansion. Luckily, my man is wonderful and loves the Mansion too, so yesterday turned out to be our first ride since the infamous Hatbox Ghost was placed in the attic of the Southern plantation inspired mans - and we loved him! 

"The Haunted Mansion boasts 999 haunts, but were there 1000 when it first opened?"

Read the Hatbox Ghost's story here!

And See him for yourself in this video!

The Conjuring (2013) Trailer

Saw the full trailer for The Conjuring last night. Not only does it look pretty awesome, but I have to hand it to Vera Farmiga for really getting down Lorraine Warren. Can't wait to see her full performance! 

Watch the Trailer: 

The Pact (2012)

Just finished The Pact (directed by Nicholas McCarthy) on Netflix. I found it to be extremely suspenseful, interesting, and actually very scary! Check it out!

Watch the trailer: 

The Conjuring

This looks pretty awesome. I didn't care much for Insidious (in fact I've come to call in In-shit-ious from time to time...) but this really does look like a thriller I would like. We'll just have to see... 

Watch Trailer Here

Scotland/England Vacation Photos on Flickr!

   So one of the many reasons I've been posting so little is because I was away in Scotland for some time during the end of 2012.

   Scotland has to be one of the most inspirational places to me. Not only is it incredibly old and beautiful, it is haunting and full of bloody history that can still be sensed as you walk the grand streets of Edinburgh and drive through the Scottish Highlands.

   Mostly I spent my time in Edinburgh, which I must say is one of my favorite places in the world. This city is full of friendly and interesting people. It's a fairly diverse city with all of its university students so I didn't feel like an odd ball out as "the only American girl" in town. Like other great cities, it's got amazing shopping and restaurants, but UNLIKE other great cities... it's Edinburgh. It's got some of the bloodiest, darkest, spookiest history known to us all. Home to the most notoriously haunted cemetery in the world, home to the most infamous body snatchers Burke and Hare, and home to the famous underground vaults... Edinburgh is creepy, beautiful, and macabre. My kind of place!

   The underground vaults tour was so eerie and amazing, nothing but a few candles down there. But even in the small amount of light that was in there, I swear I saw a dark shadow pass through one of the vaults. No wind or anything can get down there, so... maybe it was a ghost! I don't know, but I sure would like to think so. Our tour guide decided to scare the crap out of us, by putting our tiny group into the most haunted vault (which had no candles) and then blow out his tiny candle that he was holding. And then unfortunately, my embarrassing SoCal-Girl instincts kicked in and I said "Um, you did not just do that!" like I was straight out of OC (which I am)... kinda lame I know. But hey, I will admit: I was spooked! You could definitely feel something in these vaults, the air felt so thick, and there was a constant feeling that something was watching us from around every corner...

   I took a few strolls the beautiful and spooky Greyfriars and I must say that it also felt as spooky as they say. The famous Black Mausoleum (home to the Mackenzie Poltergeist) was definitely distinguishable from the rest of the cemetery. I truly wish I had taken a night tour, but I had no close friends with me on this trip and I knew I'd be pretty scared to go on my own, but even so I know I'll get another chance to go back someday and I will definitely bring my cowardly friends along.

   Another must-see in Edinburgh is, of course, Edinburgh Castle. I could go on and on about the history of Edinburgh Castle, but something you may not always hear about are the prison doors they have on display. Most visit the castle because of its royal history, but something that really stuck out to me where these old prison doors, and how they still had the original carvings in them, done by the prisoners themselves. For some reason these carvings really drew me in; I suppose it is because they were done by people who were anything but royal, and they did these in the cells where all they had were the darkness and each other.

   I took a day trip to the Highlands and as our tour guide told us old tales about the pagans and celts who lived there centuries ago, I got to thinking... is this there Halloween began? Am I really in the areas of Europe where All Hallow's Eve first started by the druids and pagans that lived in these hills? It was definitely an area that felt heavy, in a good way. In a historical and natural way. The Highlands are stunning to look at, but being there and feeling the crisp air is really what makes is special.

 

 I visited Loch Ness that day and had myself some delicious whisky in hot chocolate on our little boat ride... but as relaxed as I was, still, I was on the look out for Nessy!

I believe the spec in the top left corner is Nessy, so... case closed!

   My aunt, who I was staying with, took me down to London for a weekend, where I saw three of the most amazing exhibits.

The first was a Tim Walker Exhibit in Somerset House.

His photos captivated me not only for their direction and beauty, but for their sinister, macabre, and eerie moods. 

Read more about it and view more pictures on "Avery Sweet Blog"

   The second exhibit was a Hollywood Costume exhibit at the V&A.

This exhibit was truly emotional for me as I have grown up on cinema and aspire to make movies of my own. Getting to see some of the most iconic original costumes from the movies that have inspired me throughout my life was unforgettable and moving. I don't know if the rest of the audience enjoyed it as much as I did, however. We as Americans tend to look up to movie stars as our own version of royalty, not sure if the Brits quite get that, but regardless of the other patrons, I enjoyed this exhibit with all my heart. 

View the Gallery Here

   The Third exhibit was called "Death: A Self-Portrait" at the Wellcome Center.

This exhibit showed how death was viewed throughout history and among different cultures, by placing dozens of works of art inspired by death all in one exhibit. 

Check out videos and Images Here.

Also while I was in London, I got to have lunch and tea at the Laduree in Harrods, a girly dream come true!

And of course, what's London without stopping into 221 B Baker St to see our good old chap Sherlock Holmes...

To view the rest of my vacation photos, check out my Flickr here!

Haunted Fridays: "Duplessy"

Charles Dutton shares his ghost story on Celebrity Ghost Stories.

Click Below to Watch:

Haunted Fridays: "The Book of the Dead"

From The Others:

Fear Her Curse

All new trailer for The Woman in Black

Click to Watch:

Haunted Fridays: Ghost Adventures in Old Town

Having been to Old Town many times, it's great to see the boys investigating in a place I know pretty well- although it is quite a bummer they could not investigate the infamous Whaley House. Hopefully one day they will return to San Diego and spend the night in one of America's most haunted houses.

Click to Watch:

Haunted Fridays: "The Poltergeist"

... From the new show Paranormal Witness. I've been getting pretty into this new series, so far they've had amazing stories to tell! I know the link I am posting is last week's episode, but I can't seem to get this one out of my mind... it's haunting.

Click Below to Watch:

Sinister

Image Source

Paranormal Activity 3

Yes, they made it into a trilogy! Which can be great... or it can also be bad. However, judging by the new trailer I am certainly willing to give it a chance.

Click to Watch:

"You could hear it sit next to you..."

Image Source

Growing up in my household, from time to time my mother would tell my brother and I stories about when she was younger... and how she used to live in a house she and her siblings believed was haunted. There were many spooky little occurrences that finally made the family members realize that this was not just the wind, something was off.

Common incidents included hearing footsteps upstairs when no one else was home, hearing footsteps walking down the stairs, and-one of the spookiest things of all- hearing 'it' sit in an old wicker chair in the living room. As many know, when anyone sits in a wicker chair, there is a very specific sound, and imagine sitting in the couch next to this chair, when an invisible 'something' or 'someone' would sit down next to you when you are home alone.

This presence was not shy in front of guests either. One night, while the family was having people over, the front doorknob kept turning on its own. When one of my uncle's checked to see who it could be, of course he found no one, let alone anyone who could disappear fast enough. Another incident that took place the same evening with the guests still in the house was when the portrait above the mantel flew off the wall. Instead of falling straight down as if a hook had gotten loose, the large picture practically leaped off the wall and landed on the floor all the way across the room.

Image Source

One of my mom's scariest experiences occurred after she came home from school one day. She went into the bathroom and when she went to open the door to get out, she couldn't open the door. Living with two older brothers, she assumed it was them playing a trick on her, even though she knew she was home alone, but suddenly she could see the doorknob twist and hear loud pounding from the other side of the door. At the very same time, she could hear the doorbell ringing over and over, and other pounding noises all throughout the house. As she put it, "the whole house was shaking." There was no one way her two brothers could be behind this because of all the noise coming from so many different directions. After it all ended, my mom got the courage to get up and check around the house. After finding nothing, she asked her neighbor who always worked in his office where he had a clear view of her front door, if he had seen anyone come to the house. He hadn't seen anyone go to the front door except her when she had come home from school.

One of the most terrifying things my mom ever told me about this "haunting" was her experience with an antique fox fur. My mom, like myself, loves antiques and has been collecting them for many years. She had had an old fox fur in her room when one night she heard the little fur make noise. According to her it made some weird little grunting noises and even moved a little. As I recall, she said she threw it out of her room and hid under the covers the rest of the night. The fur remained in the middle of the hallway for a few days until anyone had the courage to pick up and get rid of it.

Image Source

My mom and other family members of that side of my family as well as family friends have had many bizarre ghostly/spiritual encounters. Makes me wonder if this sort of thing is somehow passed on, after all my great great grandma all the way down to my mom and her siblings have all had such interesting tales to tell. I promise to share even more of these encounters with you in more posts to come.

Celebrity Ghost Stories UK

I am a huge fan of Celebrity Ghost Stories and was thrilled to see the UK format of the show on YouTube. With so much amazing history in the UK, there are bound to be some great tales. Here is one I found today that really gave me chills!

The Days of Illusion

Here's a clip from GhostWatching's YouTube Channel about the spiritualism movement and its effect on early cinema:

"Ghost Writer" The Story of Patience Worth (1919)

My Grandpa saw this article in his Smithsonian Magazine and knew I would be interested.

"A long list of physical sleuths, psychologists, and other skeptics tried to debunk Patience and prove that Pearl was a fraud. No one succeeded."

Read the Article Here.

Cats, Bats, and Owls- Oh My!

Another lovely image from Halloween_Guy's collection of vintage Halloween goodies.

Image Source

Grey Friars: The McKenzie Poltergeist

Image Source

Image Source

Image Source

Image Source

A video about the McKenzie Poltergiest here.

What Noisy Ghosts You Have

Sort of reminds me of a Stephen Gammell illustration, just needs some blood to ooze where the floor ends.

Image Source