I’m ok admitting that I am a mediocre writer. I love to read and I love to write and I’ve been doing it for well over a decade. I think I have written over 1 million hum drum words and a gazzilion letters. When I read a genius writer, I am in awe, and one of these greats has to be Edgar Allen Poe. Well, I recently traveled to Baltimore, and made a trip to the home and grave site of the one true classic American author. I never knew that he had a raven engraved into the top of his tombstone. It’s in the courtyard of an old church in the middle of Baltimore. It’s sad to see Poe’s home with no front steps and although its supposedly a landmark, it was closed. This little brick two story structure is holy ground for all writers and its a shame to see it the way it sits. I felt a little chill as I posed next to Poe’s grave and wondered if the man’s spirit was resting in peace. A spiritual serenity that he did not achieve in life on this mortal plane. Here’s to you, Edgar. You da man!!!

I went on a ghost investigation at the sight of an unsolved murder of a teenage girl. I went along with another paranormal investigator and a highly-regarded psychic – medium. It was past midnight and we had to trek through thick woods and bramble in an area of upstate New York. The weather was cold and you could see the puffs of breath as we got close to the riverbank where the victim’s sneaker had been located. Polica authorities had found her body miles away but from a tip knew the wood location was the spot of her brutal rape and murder. So we came with just a digital camera and a hand held digital recorder. We spread out a blanket on the cold sod and sat together as my fellow paranormal investigaor burned sage to cleanse the area while the psychic used protection stones and crystals to ward off evil spirits. We lit tea candles, held hands and prayed for protection. It only took a few minutes of channeling before the psychic claimed there was an evil presence right behind her lurking in the dark woods. My fellow investigator snapped a picture and what we saw the next day made the hair on my neck stand up. Right behind the psychic, in the picture, there’s a full body ectoplasm figure with a face screaming.

Tonight is the night where my I will be returning to the scene of a murder to conduct a paranormal investigation. I’m a paranormal investigator with the Ghost Seekers of Central New York and we go into many haunted houses and historical haunted battlefields amongs many dark places yet none compared to be walking on the hallowed ground where a beautiful sixteen year old girl was strangled to death. We did an intitial investigation a year ago and it was a frightening experience. It was past midnight in the middle of the woods and you couldn’t see six inches in the ink black darkness. We were conducting an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) session and we could clearly hear spirits mumbling nearby. I quickly shined my flashlight where the voices were coming from and there was no mortal person there. After the investigation I was reviewing my digital photos and there was an ectoplasm streak in one that had the spelling of a name. At the time I wondered if this was the spirit of the dead girl reaching out from the grave and telling me who her killer was. Needless to say I did not want to go back but here I am packing my ghost gear to hit the woods tonight. The big difference is tonight we are bringing one of the best psychics in NYS. It will be interesting to see what she channels from the other side.

by Dennis Webster