I had the distinct pleasure of speaking to a wonderful group of students, teachers, and administrators this week at the FOCUS House in Rochelle, Illinois. During our time together, we started chatting about ghost stories (are you surprised?) and several young men shared stories about a ghost that haunts their residence hall. A ghost who…
The Dover Demon
When you’re driving at night and you’re only seventeen, lots of weird things can happen. But age has nothing to do with what happened to William Bartlett in 1977 when he was driving down the road and suddenly his car’s headlights reveal an enormous, alien-like monster with long spindly fingers. The creature was slowly crawling…
Feral People
The new season of Expedition X has finally appeared on our Discovery + channel, so my husband and I are ready to binge-watch the scary and unexplained stories they have to share. The first one really surprised me – I’d never heard of this before – so, I thought I’d do a little research and…
Taotaomona
My older brother, Mike, served in Guam in the 1970s. He was in the Navy, in Intelligence. He once told me that there was one gate at the very end of the base, that was nearest to the jungle that no one wanted to guard, especially at night. Even the locals stayed away from that…
Freaky Friday the 13th – The Octagon
interior of the octagon
The Morgue
Okay, the title kinds of gives it away, right? Wikipedia offers some interesting facts about the Dover Air Force Base and their morgue. During the Vietnam War, more than 20,000 dead American soldiers were brought back to the United States via Dover. The Vietnam War dead comprise over 90% of all the remains processed at Dover…
Ghosts Caught on Camera
Several years ago, one of my dear Facebook friends would send me a photo and challenge me to “find the ghost.” The photos didn’t have any obvious ghosts in them, they were usually photos of rooms or houses – like an old one-room schoolhouse – and she would ask me to see if I felt…
The Cheney Mansion
Earlier this week, one of my wonderful Facebook friends, Debra Dikkers-Golackson Rackow, posted some information on my page about ghost tours at the Cheney Mansion in Jerseyville, Illinois. I’d never heard of the Cheney Mansion, so I thought it would be a good idea to do a little research. The Cheney Mansion website was experiencing…
Email from a Local Resident
Fire at the Win-Mar apartment in Freeport, Illinois in 1968
Mother’s Day – A Mom’s Perspective
This Mother’s Day I received a note from one of my sons’ that offered me a different perspective on Mother’s Day this year. It made me stop and realize that the gift of being a mom is something my children gave me. And rather than be the recipient of the gratitude and love, I needed…