The Stone Storm

Stone-throwing poltergeist phenomena cases date back, at least, to 530 CE when it was recorded that Deacon Helpidium, King Theodoric of the Ostrogoths’ physician, was besieged by stones.   One of the more interesting cases of stone throwing poltergiest activity is the Grottendieck case.  In 1903,  a Dutch engineer living in Inodonesia, Grottendieck,  awoke to a storm of rocks falling through the roof of his hut and hitting him in the head.  Of course,  this was concerning to Grottendieck who awoke a servant to help him figure out the origins of the rock storm.  They explored the outside area around the hut and they found nothing that explained the rocks.  Inside, the rocks continued to fall.  They also began to change directions and started falling horizontally.   Grottendieck was perplexed, but the serving boys was horrified and he ran away into the jungle.

No sooner had the boy fled than the rocks stopped falling.  Grottendieck saved several of the stones and went to be. Grottendieck published a story on this incident in the Journal of the Society of Psychical Research.  His hypothesis was that the stones had been sent by the ghost of his dead sister who was trying to communicate with him from beyond the grave.   Many other researchers disagreed and believed that the rocks were a product of poltergeist activity brought on by the serving boy's subconsious mind.  There was never any consensus on the cause of this strange case and people still conjecture as to what might have causes the strange falling stones.

More Iron & Steel

From: Mrs Helen Paggy
Subject: Attn:Counsel,
Date: April 27, 2010 11:15:16 AM PDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Reply-To: fedexcustomscare@live.com



Attn:Counsel,

I am sending this email as a mutual introduction. I'm MS. Sophia
Peng;(CRM) Hangzhou Iron & Steel
Group Company (HISGC) Website: http://www.hazsteel.com , a new small
business company that manufactures and supplies steel, coils and
transformers We are owed payment on credit sales plus shipments that they
made to customers here in the US, Canada and South America from June 2008.
Our small company is now seeking advice and possible representation in
litigation against the non-paying companies in your states. I can not
handle this matter at this point due to lack of legal knowledge.It is my
duty to assist this company in finding an attorney in the required state.


Kindly contact us if you are interested in representing us.

We are basically not interested in dragging issues at court;

What we want is simply for the various debtors to pay up amicably. Looking
forward to having a Professional touch by you.

I am currently on a trip but i do check by email every 15mins during the
day so be rest assured i will reply almost immediately..


We are now seeking advice and possible epresentation in litigation against
the
non-paying companies in your state.

Should you have any questions please contact my office at the below noted
information.

Sincerely,

Ms. Sophia Peng

(CRM) Hangzhou Iron & Steel
Website: http://www.hazsteel.com
No. 1, Northen 1st street,
Huangjiang Town, Dongguang,
Guangdong, China
86-21-51074596

Pullen's Attorney

From: Mrs. Courtney
Subject: DEAR COUNSEL !!!
Date: April 26, 2010 3:16:40 PM PDT
Reply-To: mscourtney_pullen@hotmail.com

Dear Counsel,

My name is MRS COURTNEY PULLEN I am contacting your firm in regards to a divorce settlement
with my ex-husband who resides in your jurisdiction. We had an out of court Agreement (Collaborative Law Agreement) for him to pay $796,500.00 plus legal
fees. He has only paid me $82,000 since.

I have been on sick bed over a protracted espionage long cancer. I am presently in London hospital recuperating.

I am hereby seeking your firm to assist me in collecting the balance from him as he has agreed already to pay me the balance as soon as possible as long as the payment is going into
my legal counsel's TRUST ACCOUNT who will also act as witness to this transaction.

I want Your Firm to help me collect this payment from him or litigate this matter if he fails to pay as promised as i am urgently in need of the money for my treatment and my
children general well being. Kindly Reply to my Private email address at mscourtney_pullen@hotmail.com

Sincerely,

Mrs.Courtney Pullen

Resurrection Mary

Resurrection Mary is the most often seen ghost in Chicago.  She is also the most famous ghost in Chicago.  She is a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes.  She is seen in a long white gown and dancing shoes.   Those who have seen her,  describe her standing by the side of the road.  Sometimes she is hitchhiking.  Other times she just wanders the cold, dark streets.

According to legend,  Mary was hit by a car in 1930.   She was killed in front of the gates of Resurrection Cemetery, where she would later be buried.   She is always seen wandering by this cemetery.  Countless travelers have seen her over the years.   One cab driver graphically describes his encounter with Resurrection Mary in the book Chicagoland Ghosts.  He describes picking her up and her vanishing from the back seat like she had never been there.  

One of the most famous incidents involving Mary was in 1976.  In 1976,  Mary was seen by a passer by standing just inside the gates of the cemetery.  The passer by did not stop to help Mary,   but called the police.   The police did not find a ghostly girl locked in the gates of the cemetery,  but they did find a section of gate that had been bent and had small finger prints burnt into the metal.  Although the gates have been fixed,  her fingerprints remain on the bars forever reminding the world of Mary's tragic death.  As time has passed,  Resurrection Mary has been seen further and further from the cemetery.   People have seen her blocks anbd even miles from the cemetery wandering in the dark.   People often say they stop to pick up the lovely blonde and she vanishes like a mist, back to the world of the dead.

The Horror of Hull House and the Story Behind Rosemary's Baby

One of the most haunting and bizarre stories in Chicago history is the story of Hull House.   This story is so odd, that it was taken by Hollywood and fashioned into a movie called Rosemary's Baby.  As in most cases,  the real story is nothing like the movie, but it is none the less fascinating for the differences.  

Jane Addams was an amazing woman.  She was responsible for so much good that the world will forever be in her debt.   One of her major contributons to history was to initiate many of the child labor laws that were inacted in the late 19th century.  She also founded Hull House.  Designed by architect Charles Hull,  Hull house was rented and renovated by Ms. Addams as a sanvtuary for youg girls who had lived hard lives.  She eventually built an entire complex around Hull House to better serve the community.

Oddly,  Hull House isn't most known for any of the good that happened there.  It is most famous for the devil child that was supposedly born there.   According to legend,  there was a party at Hull House one night and a particularly handsome man showed up for the party.  All the girls were taken in by him and fought for the opportunity to dance with the dapper stranger.  It was easy for him to seduce one of the young women and it wasn't long after that night that she found herself pregnant.   The man vanished and was never heard from again, but the stories surrounding him grew into legend.  Visitors at the party that night claimed that they had seen the man lose a shoe and that his foot had been a cloven hoof.   Others said that he had done impossible dancing feats and that he had hypnotized the young girls into falling madly in love with him.

The gossip grew as the baby in the young girl grew and by the time the baby was born,  everyone was breathless with anticipation.  The young woman was allowed to raise her baby in the sanctuary of  Hull House, but the rumors had turned ugly.  People claimed the baby had horns and looked like the devil.   Strangers started knocking at the door demanding to see the devil baby.  Finally, the truth defused the gossip and the baby and mother were left to some degree of peace.  Over time, many different devil baby stories have been linked to Hull House,  much to the annoyance of Ms. Addams who even wrote a book about the situation. 

There are those that still claim satan's spawn was born at Hull House, despite the lack of any proof of such an occurence.  Others say the ghost of Hull House is most likely the ghost of Mrs. Hull, who died in an upstairs bedroom of the house. Those that say the devil's spawn was born in the house also report to witnessing an evil in the house.  Many claim that the lights still flicker on and off on dark nights and that ghostly apparitions can be seen gazing out at those that walk by often see shadows of the devil that once wandered the old house.  Today,  Hull House is a museum.  It is closed on Mondays and Saturdays, but can be visited by the public any other day of the week.  The picture to the left is a photograph of a ghost that was taken at Hull House.  On a personal note,  this is perhaps the creepiest place I have written about and one of the odd places that actually gave me a bad feeling.

Bead Roberts – Writing for Women's Magazines

I attended one of Bead Roberts' workshops at the weekend courtesy of Nottingham Writers' Club. This was excellent value for money and I would thoroughly recommend it for anyone intending to submit to a women's magazine. Bead has extensive experience in this field as well as writing for other types of publication and radio.
She covered characterisation, setting, plots, pace, dialogue, editing, presentation, markets as well as having time to answer all questions. Her tutoring style is excellent and everyone benefited from the course. This was a day well spent.

Beautiful Death

I had a book called Beautiful Death when I was young.  I spent hours flipping though its pages and sketching from the photographs in the book.  It was a photographic journey thought the most amazing cemeteries in the world.  These cemeteries included such famous cemeteries as Pere Lachaise in Paris, La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenes Aires,  High Gate Cemetery in London, and Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.   I've seen Pere Lachaise and today I saw Graceland Cemetery.

Every cemetery is different.  They tell the story of those within.  They speak of culture and history and death in a way that is unique to them.  Each cemetery has stories and ghosts.   Graceland's ghost is the face of death himself.    When you drive into this overwhelming cemetery in Chicago,   you'll pass many enormous monoliths and great mausoleums.   They are so big they dwarf the ancient trees that surround them.   Yet,  these oversized monuments are overshadowed by the unnaturally realistic statue of death himself that stands near the entrance of the cemetery.  He is wrapped in a dark cloak and the cloak falls over his face so only a portion of his features can be seen, but those features are so real you are almost waiting for him to open his eyes.

Death stands on the final resting place of former hotel owner and businessman Dexter Graves. Created by Lorado Taft, the artist christened the design "Eternal Silence" but the brooding and menacing figure has become more commonly known as the "Statue of Death".   Many people say that if you stand and stare at this grim statue you have visions of your own death.  They also say that cameras break and electronic equipment fails in the presence of death.  Of course, as evidenced by the photo above,  this didn't happen to me.  I tried to look at death and see my future doom,  but I saw nothing but the cold statue and that was enough.

Other ghosts are said to wander through this beautiful necropolis.   It is trully a wonderful place and amazingly beautiful.   Among the other ghosts haunting this example of art in death, is a little girl named Inez, who died many years ago.  It makes sense that many ghosts wander this cemetery because if I were a ghost,  I certainly would want to linger in Graceland Cemetery.