Happy Holidays To All My Fans

Hey guys I'm stopping by to say Happy Holidays, and please no rude comments for me saying that. I'm not trying to be rude at all, I just firmly believe in respecting all religious Holidays, or if you don't celebrate any that's fine as well.
     I'm writing to tell you all I've been going through some medical issues and have been on bed rest since November and will remain on it until January 11th, but no worries its nothing serious as of right now, so the post will be a little slow.
   However I have been thinking about something that I thought would be pretty cool to do, I'm asking you my fans to send me a story or stories about a haunted location or locations where you live. (For your safety I ask that you do not write down your address, the name of the street you live on or your zip code. Just the city and state.)
     You can write from 1 to 10 haunted places in your city/state. Or if you like you can write about an experience you had with a spirit, keep in mind if you want to write about an experience you had with a spirit you will not be judged at all.
   (Since you can post your stories directly on my page I ask that all stories be sent to my E-Mail address MargaretAlice28@aol.com, Please give your first name or you can give a fake one make it as silly as you like if you want so that I can give you credit for it.) 
   Please send a please send a picture of the building, cemetery, road, lighthouse, or anything else. And if you have a picture with an orb, mist, or any other anomaly as well. I'm excited to see what you guys have come across, and hope that you will all share your stories to make this fun. 
   Just to get the ball rolling I will post a few haunted locations in my state.  
      

Vampires

 

 

Vampires:

 

In European folklore, vampires were undead beings that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighborhoods they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance.

    Vampiric entities have been recorded in most cultures; the term vampire, previously an arcane subject, was popularized in the west in the early 19th century, after an influx of Vampire superstition into western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent. This increased the level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Early folk belief in vampires has sometimes been ascribed to the ignorance of the body's process of decomposition after death and how people in pre-industrial societies tried to rationalize this, creating the figure of the vampire to explain the mysteries of death. Porphyria was also linked with legends of vampirism in 1985 and received much media exposure, but has since been largely discredited.

    The notion of vampirism has existed for millennia. Cultures such as the Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Ancient Greeks, and Romans had tales of demons and spirits which are considered precursors to modern vampires. Despite the occurrence of vampire-like creatures in these ancient civilizations, the folklore for the entity we know today as the vampire originates almost exclusively from early 18th-century southeastern Europe.

   In most cases, vampires are revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, or witches, but they can also be created by a malevolent spirit possessing a corpse or by being bitten by a vampire. Belief in such legends became so pervasive that in some areas it caused mass hysteria and even public executions of people believed to be vampires.

 

 

 

 

Description and common attributes:

 

 

It is difficult to make a single, definitive  description of the folkloric vampire, though there are several elements common to many European legends. Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in color; these characteristics were often attributed to the recent drinking of blood. Blood was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or coffin and its left eye was often open. It would be clad in the linen shroud it was buried in, and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs were not a feature. Although vampires were generally described as undead, some folktales spoke of them as living beings.

 

 

   Creating Vampires

 

 

The causes of vampiric generation were many and varied in original folklore. In Slavic and Chinese traditions, any corpse that was jumped over by an animal, particularly a dog or cat, was feared to become one of the undead. A body with a wound that had not been treated with boiling water was also at risk. In Russian folklore, vampires were said to have once been witches or people who had rebelled against the Russian Orthodox Church while they were alive.

 

 

   Cultural practices often arose that were intended to prevent a recently deceased loved one from turning into an undead revenant. Burying a corpse upside-down was widespread, as was placing earthly objects, such as scythes or sickles, near the grave to satisfy any demons entering the body or to appease the dead so that it would not wish to arise from the coffin. This method resembles the Ancient Greek practice of placing an obolus in the corpse's mouth to pay the toll to cross the River Styx in the underworld. It has been argued that instead, the coin was intended to ward off any evil spirits from entering the body, and this may have influenced later vampire folklore. This tradition persisted in modern Greek folklore about the vrykolakas, in which a wax cross and a piece of pottery with the inscription "Jesus Christ conquers" were placed on the corpse to prevent the body from becoming a vampire.

 

   Other methods commonly practiced in Europe included severing the tendons at the knees or placing poppy seeds, millet, or sand on the ground at the grave site of a presumed vampire; this was intended to keep the vampire occupied all night by counting the fallen grains, indicating an association of vampires with arithmomania. Similar Chinese narratives state that if a vampire-like being came across a sack of rice, it would have to count every grain; this is a theme encountered in myths from the Indian subcontinent, as well as in South American tales of witches and other sorts of evil or mischievous spirits or beings.   

 

   In Albanian folklore, the dhampir is the hybrid child of karkanxholl (a werewolf-like creature with an iron mail shirt).

    

 

 

Identifying Vampires

 

 

   Many rituals were used to identify a vampire. One method of finding a vampire's grave involved leading a virgin boy through a graveyard or church grounds on a virgin stallion the horse would supposedly balk at the grave in question. Generally a pure black horse was required, though in Albania it showuld be white. Holes appearing in the earth over a grave were taken as a sign of vampirism.

    Corpses thought to be vampires were generally described as having a healthier appearance than expected, plump and showing little or no signs of decomposition. In some cases, when suspected graves were opened, villagers even described the corpse as having fresh blood from a victim all over its face. Evidence that a vampire was active in a given locality included death of cattle, sheep, relatives or neighbors. Folkloric vampires could also make their presence felt by engaging in minor poltergeist-like activity, such as hurling stones oholy water n roofs or moving household objects, and pressing on people in their sleep.

 

 

Protection Apotropaic

 

 

 

Apotropaic items able to ward off revenants are common in vampire folklore. Garlic is a common example, a branch of wild rose and hawthorn plant are said to harm vampires, and in Europe, sprinkling mustard seeds on the roof of a house was said to keep them away. Other apotropaic include sacred items, for example a crucifix, rosary, or holy water. Vampires are said to be unable to walk on consecrated ground, such as that of churches or temples, or cross running water. Although not traditionally regarded as an apotropaic, mirrors have been used to ward off vampires when placed, facing outwards, on a door (in some cultures, vampires do not have a reflection and sometimes do not cast a shadow, perhaps as a manifestation of the vampires lack of a soul). This attribute is not universal (the Greek vrykolakas/tympanios was capable of both reflection and shadow), but was used by Bram Stoker in Dracula and has remained popular with subsequent authors and filmmakers.

Some traditions also hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited by the owner; after the first invitation they can come and go as they please. Though folkloric vampires were believed to be more active at night, they were not generally considered vulnerable to sunlight


                             Methods of destruction 

Methods of destroying suspected vampires varied, with staking the most commonly cited method, particularly in southern Slavic cultures. Ash was the preferred wood in Russia and the Baltic states, or hawthorn in Serbia, with a record of oak in Silesia. Aspen was also used for stakes, as it was believed that Christ's cross was made from aspen (aspen branches on the graves of purported vampires were also believed to prevent their risings at night). Potential vampires were most often staked through the heart, though the mouth was targeted in Russia and northern Germany and the stomach in north-eastern Serbia.

   Piercing the skin of the chest was a way of "deflating" the bloated vampire. This is similar to the practice of burying sharp objects, such as sickles, with the corpse, so that they may penetrate the skin if the body bloats sufficiently while transforming into a revenant. In one example of the latter, the corpses of five people in a graveyard near the Polish village of Drawsko, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, were buried with sickles placed around their necks or across their abdomens.
   Decapitation was the preferred method in German and western Slavic areas, with the head buried between the feet, behind the buttocks or away from the body. This act was seen as a way of hastening the departure of the soul, which in some cultures, was said to linger in the corpse. The vampire's head, body, or clothes could also be spiked and pinned to the earth to prevent rising.
   Romani people drove steel or iron needles into a corpse's heart and placed bits of steel in the mouth, over the eyes, ears and between the fingers at the time of burial. They also placed hawthorn in the corpse's sock or drove a hawthorn stake through the legs. In a 16th-century burial near Venice, a brick forced into the mouth of a female corpse has been interpreted as a vampire-slaying ritual by the archaeologists who discovered it in 2006. In Bulgaria, over 100 skeletons with metal objects, such as ploughd bits, embedded in the torso have been discovered.
   Further measures included pouring boiling water over the grave or complete incineration of the body. In the Balkans, a vampire could also be killed by being shot or drowned, by repeating the funeral service, by sprinkling holy water on the body, or by exorcism. In Romania, garlic could be placed in the mouth, and as recently as the 19th century, the precaution of shooting a bullet through the coffin was taken. For resistant cases, the body was dismembered and the pieces burned, mixed with water, and administered to family members as a cure. In Saxon regions of Germany, a lemon was placed in the mouth of suspected vampires.
  
   

 

New Halloween Post

Hey I feel I should apologize to you all for not getting my yearly Halloween post up sooner I havent been feeling well. And I wanted to do something different from posting a list of Halloween movies so Im doing something a little different by doing a post about Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, & Witches.
However if you would like a recommendation of scary movies to watch I recommend you try:
   Ouije, Annabell 1 & 2, possion, the Gallows, dont breath, as above so below, My soul to take, And I believe the title of this new movie is called the snowman killer Im not quite sure. For children I recommend corpse bride, The nightmare before christmas, Hocus pocus, zombieland beetlejuice, The goblin king from scooby doo, as well as zombie island.
I will be working on this neww post all night so I can hopefully have it posted tomorrow.

The Hotel Cecil

Ok so a few days ago I came across this interesting Hotel I knew I had to post about it here. The Hotel Cecil has carried a darkness with it since the first day its doors opened for business. The Cecil has played home for serial killers and has had not only murders happen in it but has some ties with some famous unsolved murders as well.
    It has even been said that the only way to leave this hotel was with your death, it has also seen its share of suicides.


     So without further delay welcome to the Hotel Cecil.




    

 

 

 

Known as Cecil Hotel, Hotel Cecil, and The Cecil.

 Is a budget hotel in downtown Los Angeles located at 640 S. Main Street it opened in 1927 with 600 guest rooms.

    Construction on the Hotel started in 1924 by hotelier William Banks Hanner, as a destination for business travelers and tourists. The hotel cost $1 million dollars to complete and boasted an opulent marble lobby with stained glassed windows, potted palms, and alabaster statuary. However Hanner didn't know that the united states would sink into the great depression five years after the hotel opened, and Main Street, which the hotel stood on would become known as Skid Row. And by the 1950's the hotel gained a reputation as a residence for transients.

 

Reputation for murder and suicide

 

 

    In 2013, the Cecil Hotel became the main focus of a viral internet video, which showed surveillance footage of the bizarre behavior of a young Canadian student, Elisa Lam in one of the hotels elevators, prior to her disappearance and subsequent discovery of her body in a water supply cistern on the hotel roof.

           This in turn led to a deeper interest in the hotels past, which had long been rumored as a place of terrible happenings and recent research has revealed a prolific history of suicide, murder or unexplained deaths at the hotel since it was first opened.

    The Cecil however seems to be so disproportionately blighted by tragedy and violence even when compared to other hotels in deprived parts of the city one really wonders whether this building is cursed, or if there are negative forces inside.

     Elizabeth Short, the victim of the Black Dahlia murder, the city's best known unsolved killing, supposedly made the Cecil her last stop before her death in 1947, though such information is disputed.

    The Cecil is also notable for having been the reported residence for serial killers Richard Ramirez in 1985 and Jack Unterweger in 1991.

 

    Timeline of suicides, murder or unexplained deaths associated with the Cecil:

 

On Nov 19, 1931. Los Angeles Times reported that the search for 46 year old W.K Norton from Manhattan Beach was over. He checked into Cecil as "James Willys of Chicago" a week earlier and, once in his room, had taken a number of poison capsules. This appears to be the earliest know suicide at the hotel.

 

Less than a year later, the L.A. Times reported another suicide at the hotel. 25 year old Benjamin Dodich, had shot himself in the head in his room and his body was found the next morning by a maid.

 

In late July 1934, 53 year old former Army Medical Corps Sergeant Louis D. Borden slashed his throat with a razor in his room. Mr. Borden left a note mentioning his ill health.

 

In March 1937, it was reported that Grace E. Magro had fallen from the ninth story window. Police were unsure as to whether this had been an accident or suicide, and her fall had been broken by suspended telephone wiring which was entangled about her body. Ms. Magro died later in the hospital.

 

In January 1938, 35 year old Roy Thompson a marine fireman took a suicide leap from the hotel's top floor. He had been registered there for several weeks and his body was found on the skylight of a building next door.

 

In May 1939, another sailor, 39 year old Erwin C. Neblett of the USS Wright died in his room after taking poison.

 

In January of 1940, 45 year old Dorothy Sceiger a school teacher also took poison and was found near death.

 

In Sep 1944, 19 year old Dorothy Jean Purcell threw her newborn son from a window. Apparently unaware she was pregnant, Purcell hadn't wanted to wake her sleeping partner, 38 year old shoe salesmen, when she woke with stomach pains, so she went to the nearby restroom and delivered the baby herself. Believing the child to be dead, she threw it from a window and the tiny body was later found on the roof of an adjacent building. After hearing testimony, a juror declared her account to be almost beyond belief, and it was determined she be charged with homicide. However, matters were finally concluded in January of the following year, when Purcell was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

 

In November 1947, 35 year old Robert Smith of Long Beach had met his death after falling from the seventh floor.

 

On Oct 22, 1954, Helen Gumee, stepped from her window, also on the seventh floor, and landed on top of the hotels marquee. She had registered as Margaret Brown a week before.

 

On Feb 11, 1962, 50 year old Julia Frances Moore, climbed out of her eighth floor room window and landed in a second story interior light well. She left no note, just a bus ticket from St. Louis, 59 cents in change, and an Illinois bank book showing a balance of $1,800 dollars.

 

On Oct 12, 1962, 27 year old Pauline Otton, had been arguing with her estranged husband Dewey in a room on the ninth floor when he decided he'd had enough and went out to get some dinner. In his absence, she decided she too had had enough and jumped from the window, landing on top of a pedestrian, 65 year old George Gianinni. Both were killed instantly. Since no one saw Pauline jump, police initially thought that there had been a double suicide, but on closer examination, it was found that George had his hands in his pockets and was still wearing shoes, which would have been unlikely if he'd fallen ninety feet.

 

On June 4, 1964, "Pigeon Goldie" Osgood, a retired telephone operator was found dead in her ransacked room by hotel worker distributing phone books. Ms. Osgood, who had earned her nickname due to the fact that she befriended and fed the birds in nearby Pershing square, had been stabbed, strangled and raped and near her body were found the Dodgers cap she always wore and a paper sack full of birdseed. Soon after, Jacques B. Ehlinger, 29, was seen walking through Pershing Square in bloodstained clothing. He was arrested, but cleared of the crime, for which no one was ever arrested.

 

On Dec 20, 1975, a still-unidentified woman, described as between 20 - 30 years old, white, 5'4"; 118 Ibs. Brown hair; brown/hazel eyes, with multiple scars to both wrists, jumped from her 12th floor window onto a second floor roof. She had registered in room 327 four days before, on Dec 16th, 1975. She was wearing two blue sweaters, purple and black, navy blue pants, navy blue coat, black shoes and a beige bra. She also had a black purse and a yellow - metal key.

 

On Feb 19, 2013, the naked body of 21 year old Elisa Lam A Canadian student, was found inside one of the water supply tanks on the hotel roof. Lam had gone missing almost three weeks earlier, on Jan 31, 2013, and her decomposed body was discovered by a maintenance worker in one of the rooftop water tanks, after guests had complained about low water pressure and water that "tasted funny". Authorities latein the elevator r ruled Lam's death as an accidental drowning. Video surveillance footage taken from inside an elevator shortly before her disappearance showed Lam acting strangely, pressing multiple elevator buttons, hiding in the corner of the elevator, and waving her arms wildly, causing wide speculation about the cause of her death. After the elevator video was made public, many started to believe in a more paranormal explanation, some even going to the extent to claim Lam was possessed. Lam was thought to have had bipolar disorder, which could have contributed to her death as well as her strange behavior in the elevator.

 

On June 13, 2015, the L.A Times reported that the body of a 28 year old male had been found outside the hotel. Some conjectured that the male may have committed suicide by jumping from the hotel, though a spokesperson for the county coroner informed the newspaper that the cause of death had not been determined and that his name would not be released until his family could be notified.