An Open Letter to Adam Savage of MythBusters and Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures

            This is a letter directed mainly to both Adam and Zak in regards to the "online controversy" that occurred on January 8th, which I sort of covered in my previous blog post that was published that evening.  It's also, in some way, directed to all the fans of both Ghost Adventures and MythBusters, to try and clarify everything that possibly was already clarified, but….not enough, apparently.  The reason why I am doing this is because I realized, after listening to Adam on his Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project podcast episode that referred to this controversy (Click here if you're too impatient), that it's my fault.  So, please, lend me your ears/eyes.....

            Dear Adam and Zak,

            I know we probably want to move on from this fight that started up on Twitter (we know which one), but….  I couldn't.  Not just yet.  Not when I'm having dreams where I'm discussing in person with Adam the tweet that started it all (Sorry, Zak; I think my subconscious too afraid to invite you into the dream!).  There was so much guilt and so much wincing that I am overdue to issue an apology.

            Yes: I'm sorry for starting it all.  I'm the one who started that shit storm, creating the opportunity for us all to ride the leaky raft down Shit Creek all the way to the bottom of Asshat Falls (and to add to it, we ran out of duct tape to repair said leaky raft).  I am the person who is responsible by accidentally creating a flame war with a simple mistake.

            I should not have tagged you both in the tweet.  I know Adam meant well as a confirmed skeptic critical thinker (I'm sorry for calling you a skeptic.) that he thinks ghosts don't exist, that ghosts are made up, and that Zak was offended by (somewhat rightfully) misinterpreting the response.  But I was the one who created the opportunity that I should not have made, by tagging both of you in the tweet instead of my Dalek tweeps, or human tweeps, or even the two to five Darth Vader parody accounts who follow me.  Or how about the Sontaran?  I could have asked ANYONE else in the entire Twitterverse (including God, R2D2, a Stormtrooper Intern, and Wil Wheaton's cat), and instead, I asked you two because I stupidly thought, at the time, that it was a "good idea".

            That was incredibly stupid and shortsighted of me for doing that, especially now that this little mistake of tagging you two instead of my Twitter peeps was an experiment that was doomed to epic failure before Adam even responded: Before tweeting, I should've realized, you're both already somewhat professionally biased in terms of my options, because you both would want me to watch your respective shows (which I can do, one at a time), instead of the other respective show—because it's YOUR SHOW!  You put so much hard work into putting it together (or being the hot, handsome talent in front of the camera) that it would not help either of you if I opt to watch another show instead of yours; then again, you both have millions of fans, so I wasn't going to cause too much of a difference—but I did, by asking you two for your (obvious) opinion on Twitter instead of my Twitter Peeps, or texting one of my friends.

            I feel so guilty for this dumb mistake.  And it was made with 2 of the most awesome people I admire.  I was just….an idiot, a fool with matchsticks inside of a professional-grade fireworks factory with exposed fuses.  I was playing with fire, and it wound up being funny at first (as you can tell from my previous post that was mostly directed towards the fans), but it was both aggravating and terrifying.  I was dragged along for the ride, because I kept getting tagged in all the tweets that were responding to Adam and it just wouldn't stop.  My phone (which is a dumb phone, as opposed to your smart ones) can get Twitter updates via text, and I've got my updates set so that my phone gets all my @Mentions, which is set to "Receive all, including people you don't follow," which resulted in a phone that kept going off because Twitter was texting me all the tweets that tagged me.  That's how I knew: people kept tagging me and wouldn't let me even utter a word of the sentence, "STOP THE RIDE!  I want to get off!"

            This apology should've come earlier, but I was either too scared or distracted with ducking my head with latent tweets and it was only after listening to an episode of Adam's podcast (the specific episode that addressed this) when I was walking home that I realized that it was all my fault!!!  California Dalek (aka, Cali) was right; I just hope he doesn't rub it in….

@ladyeden1337 @educatordalek @dihard11 @notgaydalek @lisar_m @bootbhoy YOU HAVE STARTED A FLAME-WAR. #DALEKAPPROVED.
— California Dalek (@CaliforniaDalek) January 9, 2015

            Anyways, I should probably shut up; I really do not ever want to start up the flame war again.  I'm sorry you both got shit for this, when I was the one who should've gotten it.  Really.  Also, Adam is not a cyberbully (or a robot or Vulcan) who is "anti-science" or "closed minded" or whatever; he's totally pro-science, and amazingly hilarious with an awesome career (CEMENT TRUCK!) and a really cool, grounded perspective of the world who, to be honest, could've reworded the response he gave so it's not one that would open the door to the cyber abuse the Interwebz is known to be a platform for.  And Zak is not an idiot or a fool who chases his imagination (though he looks like a hot jock) because he believes in ghosts and can bet his electrons on the personal experiences he had in his life.  And we're all human, which means we're bound to make mistakes, and we're nerds because we're passionate about what we like, to the point where, if someone confuses Star Trek and Star Wars, or Friday the 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street, we (at least both Adam and myself) would write a 2-page thesis—1 tweet at a time—about how they are different.  (Don't deny it, Zak!  You are a nerd of a specific type, being a horror movie buff and a believer in the paranormal—yes, paranormal nerds exist!  And don't worry because nerdy is the new sexy!)

            I'd suggest ways to fix this, but I'm also afraid of getting my ideas shot down by you two.  It's because I'm a total fan-squirrel (squirrelly fangirl) who belongs to the third camp: the one that sits between the skeptical-of-ghosts-and-the-paranormal MythBusters Adam Savage fan camp and the believer-in-ghosts skeptical-of-skeptics Ghost Adventures Zak Bagans fan camp, and it's the one that has fans who, like me, enjoy both of your shows.  But I hope we can FINALLY get past this without getting any more weird dreams that is really our subconscious scolding us.

            Also, one more thing: I'm sorry that this ever happened, because I'm very, very, absolutely sure that there is now a fanfic genre of the two of you….er, you know…..  Rule 34?  *DUCKS!*

            Anyways, one last apology (I'M REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SORRY!), with an update: I've solved my problem—each week on Saturday, I'll watch one of your shows at 9pm EST, and then catch the late night repeat, but it'll alternate so that one week will have MythBusters at 9 and Ghost Adventures at midnight and the next week will have Ghost Adventures at 9 with MythBusters at 11pm.

            Just be glad that Doctor Who Season 9 didn't start yet; if I added that third option, the nerdy fan base shit storm will end up evolving into a shit hurricane, and all we would ever be able to do is hide from the Interwebz until it passes completely, hanging onto each other for dear life as though it would make everything better, with me sobbing quietly into the darkness.

            I've learned my lesson: DO NOT ASK THE ON-SCREEN TALENT WHICH OF THEIR SHOWS I SHOULD WATCH!  Because if I do, open-season on the Interwebz starts up and everyone will have to run for cover.  *writes note to self to "Wear a bullet-proof vest everyday from now on"*

            Anyways, thanks to the both of you for your awesome shows, and please know that I nerd over the both of you equally!  Though, now, I'm sure I started the war up again…..  HIT THE DECK!

           
           With much nerdy love,

            Lady Eden Pyrithea

New Year, New Post—and Old Battles Still Being Fought on Twitter

            Happy New Year, y'all!  It's 2015 and EVERYTHING SUCKS already!  *sniffles*  Sorry, just went through a hard time, and still doing so; I'll explain why when the time is right.  However, I have a few things to express.  First of all, I have a few goals for this year: EDUCATE people about how vaccines do NOT cause Autistic Spectrum Disorders AT ALL(!); explore how humanity is getting worse and worse (especially American society and government); how ghosts MAY exist or how your brain can trick you; celebrating science and positive changes being made in the world, etc!  I'll also continue to review books, movies, television shows, and continue to nerd my pants over certain shows and celebrities.  I plan to lose mass (at least better than I have been last year—it fell apart from lack of momentum!) and become more confident, and I have an even better reason to do so now (the hard time stuff).

            Anyways, I should also add that what happened with the satirical magazine in France is TRAGIC!  ISIS is a group full of assholes and they should be EXTERMINATED!  They retaliated in the wrong manner in response to a cartoon that was published by a SATIRICAL newspaper!  The following tweets express my feelings:

Oi, France: je regrette pour votre defauts. Je pleure avec vous tous! #notafraid #pardonmybadFrench
— Lady Eden Pyrithea (@LadyEden1337) January 8, 2015

I have no words for the tragedy in France, in French or English. Except that i'm pretty sure the ISIS idiots don't know what "satire" means.
— Lady Eden Pyrithea (@LadyEden1337) January 8, 2015

            I am Charlie, and I'm not afraid!  (More will be expressed on my DeviantArt page….)

            Anyways, onwards to this blog entry's topic: Celebrities, Trolling and the Schedule Conflicts of Television!  For the optional theme song, check out the Steve Angello x Jacques Lu Cont remix of Depeche Mode's "Soothe My Soul":

Two Shows I Nerd My Pants Over, One Time Slot (Porno, Anyone?)

            So, yeah, that subheading title is a reference towards that Two Girls, One Cup porno (which should NEVER be watched or googled), but it's in regards to a dilemma I decided to tweet about, tagging Adam Savage of MythBusters on Discovery Channel, and Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel:

Grrr! I'm having a hard time deciding on what to watch, between @MythBusters and @GhostAdventures for Sat 9pm EST! @donttrythis @Zak_Bagans
— Lady Eden Pyrithea (@LadyEden1337) January 8, 2015

            I did not expect to get a response….but I totally DID!!!!  From Adam Savage—SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!  His response was almost typical because I expected something along the lines of "MythBusters because we're real."  I did NOT expect the fans' reactions!  My cell phone (Obamaphone, free unlimited text messaging, I get mentions, direct messages, favorites and retweets directly on my phone through text message…) started blowing up with responses!  A ton are funny, but a lot were REALLY uncalled for!  I can't just embed them ALL into my blog post at once because that's a LOT of tweets to embed and it makes the blog post here TOO DAMN LONG!!!!  So, I've decided to Storify it…..

            Those last few tweets bashing on Adam is just really dickish!  Since when is it okay to tweet to an influential someone to say, "FUCK YOU!  I'm never watching your show again!  Your an asshole!  Suck a dick and go die from a demon attack at Bobby Mackey's!"  (For your information, I would NEVER endorse the last one!  Bobby Mackey's, if you're unfamiliar with their reputation beyond being a country club already, is really infested with demons!  These dickhead demonic entities are really nasty to the point where if you ever mention Zak Bagans' name inside that place, you get attacked!  It's really insanely bad energy inside there, and to suggest to a skeptic to go in there, mouth running off with insults and saying Zak's name over and over is irresponsible, mean, dickheaded, immoral, and all out WRONG!  Especially if they did not have any experience with a demonic entity scratching you, insulting you, trying to possess you, oppression and attachment, etc.  It's a real danger—which is why I vehemently CONDEMN such a response!)

            Has anyone ever heard  of Wheaton's Law?  Anyone?  If you're that good of a nerd, you'll already know it by heart, but I'll share it here as a refresher:

DON'T BE A DICK!!!!!!

It was first stated by Wil Wheaton (friendly co-performer at W00tstock to Adam Savage) to his team at PAX one year, and before long, it was being quoted in forums and on websites and it earned the name "Wheaton's Law," and it's a REALLY GOOD LAW TO HAVE!  In fact, when I was in Nerf Club at college, when we first drafted up the rules, Wheaton's Law was Rule #1; Rule #2 was "Always follow Rule #1!"

            So, when one is a fan of Ghost Adventures and MythBusters and reads Adam's tweet, they're obviously going to take it a bit too personally, assuming that it's negating their beliefs in an afterlife.  Granted, Adam is a definite skeptic, and he doesn't believe in ghosts and demons and what-not, but to raise a stink over a single tweet?!  That's immature and ridiculous!  I'm sure that Adam did NOT mean it like that at all (then again, he could have—I don't know for sure; I also am not affiliated with him in any way beyond being a fan of his and MythBusters), but don't call him a cunt and a dick and an asshole just because he shared his opinion and input in response to my dilemma to ME.

Let's Break It Down!  *Beatboxes*

            MythBusters is an excellent show, promoting critical thinking and applying common sense to life so that you don't have to spend time and energy worrying about something that isn't true or factual (i.e., water heater explosions, earthquake survival, the JATO rocket Darwin Award myth), and learn what it takes for things to be real, as well as being surprised by things that are real.  So, even though Adam isn't, as Phil Plait would put it, a "classically trained scientist," he still has experience with the Hollywood special effects tricks of the trade, being able to bust myths that stem from movies, television shows, etc.  And who (besides terrorists) can go wrong with explosions?!  That cement truck just disappeared like Alderaan!  So, even though the show's name is "MythBusters," it's not proof that they're "fake"!  It's a short, easy title that describes EXACTLY what they do: they bust myths!  Also, they're based in San Francisco; Hollywood is a "little" TOO FAR SOUTH to be where they're at!  (However, if they want to take a field trip there, they certainly can!)

            As for Ghost Adventures, it's not a show that "looks for ghosts," the way Finding Bigfoot tries to find a Sasquatch; it's actually a show that is all about gathering evidence in support of  proving the existence of ghosts, as well as researching what a ghost could be, and even possibly helping homeowners or property owners and their families and friends realize that they aren't crazy!!!  Or that what they're afraid of really isn't dangerous at all.  So that weird feeling that trolls get in their pants when tweeting their rage at Adam with misspellings and all isn't a ghost; it's just them cranking one out from being a dick (thereby violating Wheaton's Law).  It's obvious that a lot of fans love this show, especially since the members of the investigation crew are the producers, the camera crew, the host, etc.; they created the show, they film the show themselves, there's no glamour or Hollywood involved—it's raw, it's real, it's almost indie and very, very organic.  Stemming from a self-shot documentary from the early-mid naughties (2000-2009), this is also a way to help boost tourism to certain locations, which helps generate revenue for the locations and tax dollars for the cities and states these are all located in.

            Also, I should point out that the science labs aren't the places that are haunted, it's these places such as the Washoe Club, the Winchester Mystery House, the Sun Inn located in Bethlehem, PA, etc.  And any good scientist should know that if you can't create this situation in the lab to study, you should conduct a field study.  So, discounting ghosts completely without fully investigating the culture and approaches and the evidence is just…..I don't have a word to describe it, but it's equivalent to mixing up, "close-minded, presumptive," and either "fearful of the results" or "lazy".  And don't assume that one show was running longer than the other: Ghost Adventures started airing in 2008, and MythBusters definitely started earlier than that, with 10 YEARS under their belt!  So, they both have a ton of positive points.  So, tweeting, "FUCK U!" to someone really isn't the way to go…..

Ethical Criticism: Why the Internet Has a Larger Underbelly Than It Should

            Most hate-tweets are very unproductive and have a total lack of class and character.  Criticism is helpful because it allows people to improve in the areas that are addressed.  However, haters and trolls just do it to be a dick.  Trolls gonna troll, haters are gonna hate, and even them Sontaran taters are gonna tate, no matter what.  BUT, you can ditch these labels and provide tweets that are better constructed.  Adam won't listen to "EAT A DICK!" (I received this tweet directly; my response was, "As long as it's not yours!") but it's very likely that instead of allowing your emotions to be in charge of your twitter feed, you provide a calmer response that goes along the lines of "I disagree with your statement, because…"

            Bad: "Ghost Adventures is REAL!  So, fuck you, loser!"
            Good: "I disagree: it's real because….."

            Bad: "You're an asshole!  I'm never watching your show again!"
            Good: "I now feel like my beliefs have been devalued.  Thanks!"

            I hope everyone gets this, because I don't ever want to cover this topic ever again!  We have the ability to use a wide range of words that will make us sound educated; why not use it?  (Flame wars are pointless; don't engage in them!)

Diffusing the Rage

            As many of the tweets have suggested, several Ghost Adventures fans believe that Mr. Adam Savage should go on Ghost Adventures to prove his point.  "Why?  It'll just be a waste of time!"  How would you know that if you've never conducted an experiment to prove or disprove this hypothesis?  The only way to prove that it's a waste of time is to 1.) Be patient and 2.) just join Zak and crew on a lockdown.  Just make sure that it's the Ghost Adventures Crew, and not some other paranormal investigation crew, because if it's someone else, the camera crew might be allowed in, and their job would be to film the talent, not the evidence or activity.  So, if it's just Zak, Nick, Aaron, Billy, and Jay, with the camera crew hanging out at nerve center, there's less contamination, and a better likelihood of capturing evidence that isn't easily debunked.

            So, I agree: Adam Savage should go on a full 12-hour lockdown with the GAC on their show, and try to debunk the evidence if he would wish to.  At least he'll know (without assuming anything) that ghosts do exist, and that Ghost Adventures isn't fiction.

            But I'm very sure that I've said all I needed to say, and that it seems like I should start taking cover before the bullets start flying between the fans of Mythbusters who are hardcore skeptics of ghosts, and the fans of Ghost Adventures who are hardcore skeptics of skeptics!  (HA!  See what I did there?!)  In the meantime, keep it cool, keep yourself warm, enjoy your tacquitos, and above all, DON'T BE A DICK!!!!!

            *dons dragonskin vest and other armor, then takes cover in a warm bunker!*

My Real-Life Paranormal Adventures: Candlelight Ghost Tours Rock!

I'm sorry I wasn't able to post over Halloween; to be honest, my parents kidnapped me for my birthday (which really IS on Halloween!) and for All Saints Day; for Halloween, we went to a pub and a fro-yo shop, then that Friday, I went shopping with them and got a shit ton of clothes for my growing wardrobe....which now includes white!  How terrifying is THAT?!

Anyways, to continue on with my intended topic, I have here for you this blog entry's theme music!

            In case you haven't noticed yet (and you'd be stupid not to), I'm a big fan of the paranormal and paranormal investigation shows on the telly, especially Ghost Adventureson the Travel Channel; and Haunted Collector, Fact or Faked Paranormal Files, Stranded, and Destination Truth on SyFy (not to mention Ghost in the Shell, a series that is a staple on the Toonami circuit!  But that's anime…).  I also make sure to add to my personal collection a selection of books about the paranormal, such as Dark World by Zak Bagans, Chasing Spirits by Nick Groff (both of which I've mentioned before), Bethlehem Ghosts by Katherine Ramsland & Dana DeVito, and I plan on adding more, providing that my budget would allow it.  I've tweeted about it, watched it, learned about it, attended a convention for it, and now, I've taken a tour to learn more about certain locations that are in the area.

            Mind you, I'm not saying whether I do live in the Bethlehem, PA area; I could be living as far south as Philadelphia, or as far west as Huntington, WV, or as far north as Scranton, PA.  All of these cities, my fellow Daleks, are within my territory, so extermination must have special permission obtained from me.  With that said, I am familiar with the Bethlehem area, especially the oldest continuously operating (indie) book store in the country (and perhaps the world) known as Moravian Book Shop, who does the Historic Haunts of Downtown Bethlehem candlelit walking tour that runs every Halloween season, a tour I highly recommend for people who don't mind carrying around hot wax sticks of fire while walking for upwards of 2 miles for about 50 minutes to an hour, with moments of standing around, listening to the history of the specific locations and different unexplained experiences of specific locations in and near the historic district of Bethlehem, PA.  Not only that, people were encouraged to take photos on the tour to see what they could capture!  So here are a couple of locations (not all of them; this blog entry is not a substitute for the actual tour, which generates some amazing business), with a description of the history and activity that has been experienced there (as I remember how it's told).

Brethren House

            This was the first stop of the tour, and rightfully so; this building that was built to house the single males in the Moravian community, it is the third(?) building of Bethlehem, and it's definitely haunted.  Currently property of Moravian College, it is a place for the Art, Graphics and Music students of the college to learn and practice their studies.  It has served as a hospital for the Revolutionary War soldiers.  Mind you, the Moravians who originally settled Bethlehem are against war but they understood the importance of the American Revolution, so they allowed Brethren House to be temporarily converted to a hospital for thousands of the wounded; the problem with this location being a hospital was the overcrowding, so there were a lot of patients having to be treated out on the street.  Of the thousands that were moved there, about 400-600 (approximately) of those soldiers died immediately.  That's not really a good sign, but we still won the war, with the added bonus of having General George Washington setting foot in that building!  SQUEE!

            The paranormal activity that reportedly took place in that building include footsteps in one of the stairwells there, that a "woman in white" that many believe to be a nurse was sighted there, and at one point, a music student practicing piano was getting ready to leave when the piano itself started playing again, with nobody at the keys!  If anything, I suggest very small groups (maximum of 4 or 5) be allowed in here to investigate (with permission from the college, of course) and share their evidence with the college.  I'd also love to take a look of the place, see if I can't dig up my own evidence.

God's Acre

            The Moravians didn't fear death; they weren't excited about it and look forward to it, but they accepted death as a part of life, so they didn't spare their children from it, much like the Amish would at funerals.  In fact, Moravian Academy's school buildings practically surround this particular graveyard where many historic graves are located, all laying flat on the ground as memorials to the dead.  "Wait, flat on the ground?"  Yes, flat.  You see, the members of the Moravian community believed in equality in life and in death; it doesn't matter what color you were, what status you had, whether you were single or married, etc., because you were equal to each other, especially in God's eyes.  So, to continue that equality past a person's life, they would have the graves flat on the ground, so that not one person is "above" another in death.  (I believe that the Cemetery Renaissance sort of eclipsed this practice with the rise of garden cemeteries and monuments that reflect Gothic, Grecian and Egyptian styles.)  What's also interesting with this particular site is that in one corner of the land lies the final resting place of a chief of a Native American tribe.  And yes, this cemetery is haunted; but not just "haunted," but rather FUCKING haunted!

            You see, plenty of people have captured photographic evidence of paranormal phenomenon and electronic voice phenomena (EVPs or spirit voices recorded on audio recorders that you have not heard when the actual recording took place) within this location.  Author Katherine Ramsland investigated this cemetery at one point, along with her accompanying companion Pat, who claimed to have psychic abilities (like a medium), were in this particular cemetery when Pat saw a girl looking at them and having trouble with speaking, as if something's wrong with her throat.  The girl was sighted near her own grave, which was near a tree she would be seen peeking from behind.  Another bit included an EVP captured on a tour lead by a local historian named Natalie; the EVP that was recorded there by a member of the Pennsylvania Paranormal Society who was in the group she was leading was a very clear Class A (clear tone, awesome volume) female voice that said in a polite, assertive tone, "Leave, please."  Other evidence includes awesome photographs of a smoky mist that looks like it is coming out of one of the graves.

The Colonnade

            If you're into the paranormal that can be violent, this place is for you!  And when I say violent, I mean violently ill, violent poltergeist tantrums, extremely rapid temperature changes, etc.  The building used to be a nightclub known as The Colonnade (the first ever nightclub in Bethlehem!), which, somehow, was allowed to continue serving alcohol during Prohibition, due to some of its patrons being the mayor, the Governor of the time, heads of Bethlehem Steel (which had a lot of pull even then), but it closed down in the 1930s or 1940s after a janitor found the body of a woman bludgeoned to death on a couch in one of the basement rooms.  The investigation into this homicide wasn't very thorough; at the time, the most advanced forensic technique was the polygraph--a lie-detector test.  The investigators brought in everyone who was there the night before and administered the test; shockingly (for us peeps nowadays) everybody passed.  Going on those results, the investigators ruled the death an "accident," and closed the case.  Which begs the question…WHAT THE FUCK?!  How can a woman be "accidentally" bludgeoned to death while laying on the couch?  To this very day, the case is unsolved, which is probably why the activity is so strongly negative.

            Even though the parties stopped, the building is still in use, currently occupied by a certain bank I shall call Hells' Fargo.  (The choice of pseudonym is not coincidental.)  And because it's owned and run by Hells' Fargo (with a Bethlehem Police training center you can enter around the side), nobody is allowed to simply go in to the basement and "poke around".  But I've heard that the activity there includes extreme temperature changes where it can drop or rise 50 degrees in seconds.  Other activity, like I said, is the poltergeist "temper tantrum" where, if you exit the room, and then re-enter it later, everything is thrown about, like contents of drawers dumped out onto the floor, items that were previously on the tables would be found strewn about the room.  And yes, employees would refuse to enter that room and avoid it at all costs.  But like I said, it's near impossible to investigate here; you'll have to pull a lot of strings to get that privilege.

The Sun Inn

            Cut across Guetter St. on the southern side of Broad, head down the tunnel past The Underground Lair (to whom I've waved while passing--Yays!), cut across the right side of the courtyard, and you'll reach the "backstreet side" of the historic Sun Inn.  This was the Ritz of the 1760s and 70s!  It had running water well before any of the residences in Bethlehem!  Anyone who's anyone would've loved to stay here!  Not only was it the northern most point of Bethlehem way back then, it also hosted historical figures such as General George Washington, Martha Washington, John Adams, and multiple generals of the Revolutionary War!  It currently serves as a living history museum nowadays, and also seems to play host to a restaurant (I believe).  They also allow ghost hunts to take place, and multiple paranormal groups have investigated there.

            This place was seen on SyFy's Ghost Hunters for a Christmas episode, when The Atlantic Paranormal Society (aka TAPS, and it was before Grant Wilson left) was called to the place to investigate; they did and they managed to catch evidence of the spirit of a little girl who haunts the place!  Most often, people would feel the hand of a small child in their hair.  Other experiences include EVPs (which have been caught by Mark and Debby Constantino of Spirits-Speak.com, and Brian and Jason of Haunted Collector; they just recently investigated this place as part of a special sold out ghost hunt that took place during Parafest 2013!  I'LL GET IN NEXT YEAR, BOYS!) that not only has the voice of a little girl, but also cursing and yelling.  Yeah, how can little sweet girls (and perhaps boys) curse?  It might not be them cursing, because the Sun Inn's basement was a jail for prisoners of war!  Yes, POWs, and at one point, the tour guide I had (who's a dude who was wearing a kilt!  FUCK YEAH!) actually went in during a ghost hunt to the basement, and he felt unwelcome there, like he didn't belong, almost as if he was trespassing.  According to a psychic who was also there, he actually reminded the spirits of the POWs of one of their jailers, so they wanted him out!  This certifiably haunted living history museum is a definite must-do on any paranormal investigators' list.  (Yes, I once saw that it was certified as haunted.  How cool is that?!)

The Historic Hotel Bethlehem

            Across Main St. from the Moravian Book Shop and Hand Cut Crystal shop is one of the most expensive yet incredible hotels I've ever heard about: Hotel Bethlehem (where I've had to tell some people why 25 men and women--half of them dressed as witches--were standing outside the hotel with lit candles and gathered around a man in a kilt telling about the history of the building they were entering).  And yes, this place is haunted!  It sits on the site of the first ever structure in the "little town of Bethlehem", which was torn down in 1823 to provide space for the Eagle Hotel; but in 1923, that hotel was eclipsed, too, in order to be replaced by the hotel that is here today, Hotel Bethlehem.  It was built by the president of Bethlehem Steel, Charles M. Schwab, and is most certainly haunted.  Its predecessor played host to many different people, including May Yohé, whose father worked extensively in order to send her off to Europe.  She was quite the prominent film actress of the time, and after touring around Europe for a time, she settled down in England and married Lord Henry Francis Hope, and was (I believe to be) the first to wear the famous Hope Diamond; but she was also the first to be cursed by it, too, as her marriage ended poorly, with a number of subsequent marriages also ending poorly.  She wound up dying alone, away from the hotel, but the apparition of a young girl that has been seen in the windows was attributed to her, as she grew up in this particular location when it was the Eagle Hotel.

            The Hotel Bethlehem certainly has its ghost stories, with the staff experiencing activity in the lobby, the boiler room, in the halls, and in the rooms; the guests have no shortage of stories to tell, and to top it all off, they have what they call a "Room With a Boo," which has the most amount of paranormal activity taking place in it, with EVPs, windows opening on their own, the apparition of a man in a tuxedo and top hat greeting you with, "Why are you in my room?"--certainly one of the most popular rooms the hotel has, as it has an item named with those two dreaded words for paranormal investigators: waiting list.  It's hard to reserve or get into, especially around Halloween time.  But it's probably worth it, as guests tend to emerge with stories to share.  There is no doubt that I'd love to spend a few nights in this room with cameras and digital recorders and Mel Meters and REM pods and Ovulus IIIs!  GODDAMMIT, JARVIS!  GET MY CHRISTMAS WISHLIST!

            I enjoyed the tour, and I wish I brought Dad's camera with me, but I have a ticket as a souvenir for now.  But I do plan on going around again, at night, to take pictures of these locations to see if anything does pop up.  Picture-taking is encouraged, and one of the other people touring in the group (dressed as a witch; somehow, there was a "coven" of witches dressed up for the tour, which was actually quite fun--I need to take a bunch of people myself, and have them all dressed up in Goth just to freak people out and laugh at the reactions!) took pictures of the group holding candles and after examining it back at the Book Shop, she was surprised to learn that in one of the images, all the flames of the candles we were all holding somehow extend in a ghostly way up to the top of the frame!  Like, wow!  (Why couldn't I take pictures like that, Dad?!)  And I plan on going back again next year, paying the $13 and holding a candle while hiking around just to take ghostly pictures of the tour and perhaps catch some visual evidence that I can stick into my sister's face and say, "Ha HA!  Who has proof of life NOW?!"

            It'd be even sweeter if she were there with me as I take the picture because then I can render her argument invalid in the moment!

            Ah, I love being right, and being able to prove it!

The Strange Incident with the Drunk Regular in the Underground Lair

Best to listen to this song while reading this post:

            I finally got a topic to write about in a chance encounter at the Underground Lair, which is basically what I consider to be a "nerd shop," where they sell nerdy stuff like action figures, vintage toys, vinyl records, geeky magnets, Doctor Who merch (that is IMPORTED ACROSS THE POND FROM THE UK!) and other stuff that's interesting for us nerds.

                                                                                                           

            The encounter took place as follows:

                                                  

            Time: after 5pm EDT on Saturday, October 12, 2013

            Location: The Underground Lair in Bethlehem, PA

            I was on my way home from the library and Harvestfest was taking place, with wine-and-soup trails winding through the main drag of Bethlehem, bars wide open and overflowing with people drinking, some more sober entertainment at various locations, and a ton of vendors selling their wares, and I decided to make a pit stop on the way home to the Underground Lair, who have fantastic shopkeeps and toys I've been feeling nostalgic about.  The inflatable Dalek is there in all its red glory, standing guard next to the register, and we were just chatting until one very drunk individual comes in, looking for his money and his ID.  He was a little mentally lost and, surprisingly, he's a regular at the UGL!  He was obviously drunk (you can smell the alcohol when he unintentionally breathes on you) and he was in and out, in and out, like a drunk needle pulling a thread of alcoholic odor through the fabric of the Underground Lair's shop threshold.

            Not only was he trying to figure out where his ID, money and car is all at, he was weirded out by these dolls that were not very creepy at all, having the drunker version of a Zak Bagans reaction to "creepy dolls".  So I offered to stand in front of them to block their view of him, saying that I'll "stare at him instead".  I wound up standing in front of the dolls whenever he re-enters the shop, as he tries to figure out what happened to his belongings.

            He was also very huggy; I kid you not, he hugged the inflatable guard Dalek twice!  Kris (the female shopkeep who is so awesome she keeps the Facebook page for UGL updated with cool stuff!) was like, "you break it, you buy it, and you don't have your money on you!"  And for some reason, this is a repeat performance of inebriated behavior.  Like, he demonstrated what his mother would yell at him with me in his role.  Kris is like, "Please don't yell at my customers!" and I'm like, "Uhhh, okaaaaay…."  And I think he felt bad after a little light scolding from Kris, so he's like, "I'm sorry," and hugged me!  The good news is his arms and hands stayed north of my equator, so it was really more of a Howard-Raj hug, from The Big Bang Theory.  And, still being nice, I hugged him back.

            He left again, and Kris was wrestling with the dilemma of calling the cops on a drunk regular who is yelling at and hugging both their customers and their guard Dalek, then starts apologizing to me.  I'm like, "It's no big deal.  I dealt with Mom after she had two White Russians, and my sister went through a slightly more intense deal with tequila, where she didn't understand how toilets, pants, gravity, and doors worked."  And she suggested that I leave the next time he comes back.  I suggested leaving before he does, with agreement from her, but he came back before I could act on that idea.  So we had this unspoken exit plan in place: Kris went, "Okay, see you around," and I'm like, "Sure.  See ya, Kris!"  And I added, out of evil impulse and a little vengeance, "Have fun with the creepy dolls!"  I couldn't help tweeting about it while heading home with a "WTF?!" kind of grin on my face, giggling awkwardly.

            I imagine he couldn't stop obsessing about it after I left, staring at them with a drunken paranoia, swearing that he lost his belongings to them.

            Lessons from this encounter:

1.      Don't be so drunk that you lose your money, keys, friends, and transportation.

2.      Have your money, plastic and ID in a WALLET and not a money clip; wallets are harder to lose than cash in a money clip.

3.      If you have to deal with such a drunk, be a little kind and patient; these people can be quite unpredictable, and yelling will result with negative reactions.

4.      If they're slightly uneasy from creepy-looking dolls or clowns or whatever, always mention them when leaving their company so they obsess drunkenly over them instead of hugging inflatable Daleks and complete strangers.

5.      Always blog about these moments!!!

            Apologies to Mom and my sis for mentioning their drunk moments; I simply wanted to share my experience with inebriated people who aren't Puerto Ricans who regularly attend the huge parties that the one particular friend of the family throws every year.  Also to the drunken stranger, who I hope learned his lesson from this experience; I also hope you've sobered up well enough after this with little hangover feelings.

And to laugh it all off, I give you this relevant treat:

Midget Ghost Theory and A Review of the 100th Ghost Adventures Epsiode

            I understand that I promised this post on Saturday.  But in that case, Saturday meant Monday, so  I hope you forgive me for that temporal flop as I finally post something after not knowing exactly what to blog about.  There's two parts to this one…with this half part warming you readers up.

            Please allow me to explain the title…. because it might not make sense to a random "normal" person stumbling upon this blog out of sheer boredom or Googling.  First of all, the Ghost Adventures Crew just aired their 100th episode so I'm going to review that.  Yes, a review of their 100th episode.  They have been around for years so why haven't I reviewed any of the others?  Easy: I didn't have this blog up before!

            "Midget Ghost Theory" came out of a discussion on Twitter where I was simply scrambling for a topic to blog about.  I just asked a few people for topic ideas, but @NotGayDalek just had to bring up religious topics and gay marriage and I'm like, "I'M NOT DOING THAT!"  Later on, people brought up the Amish and "gay Amish," "Amish Gay Marriage" and finally "Gay Amish Ghosts".  To which I responded with the tweet pictured below…..

            And there it is….I have my reasons for it, which includes audio from the Nerdist Podcast.  But I'll get to that in a moment.

            First, the review of Ghost Adventures episode #100!

Ghost Adventures #100: The Exorcist House

            I'd like to first congratulate Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley (whom I've met and chatted with at Parafest 2013!  SQUEE!) on making it all the way to their 100th episode!  And being a nerd, I can't forget to also say congratulations to the rest of the production team, the editors and the team at the Travel Channel…  Giving credit where credit is due so people don't feel left out…

            It's either credit or plastic!  Though plastic may be a bit cheaper…

            It was only 2004 when Zak, Nick and Aaron first started filming the documentary and captured not only footage of a FULL-BODIED APPARITION (which is a big deal within the paranormal community because it's SO RARE!) but also poltergeist activity on film.  (You can read more about this in the books Zak Bagans published, Dark World, or Chasing Spirits by Nick Groff)  Now, they've been considered experts in the paranormal field, and are quite often recognized as celebrities by a ton of fans.  Their investigation style quite often involves breaking one of the rules of paranormal investigation: never go someplace alone, which has safety and practical reasons behind it.  They also sometimes provoke and almost always head to locations with a dark history and what could be demonic activity.  They've investigated strip clubs, brothels, casinos, abandoned hospitals, Loretta Lynn's Ranch, an English fort, even an island used to quarantine people and cremate their remains when plagues hit Italy, the very same island that is now forbidden to locals and tourists on holiday by the Italian government.  But for their 100th episode, they decided to do something very significant, to give a very special intense treat to all the fans who also like horror films….

            The Exorcist was a novel and also a film that is actually based on real events that happened in the 1940s in St. Louis.  It is believed that the demonic entity that possessed the boy when he and his grandmother were playing with the Ouija board is still in that house where the actual exorcism.  People are afraid to enter it and even the family that currently owns it is afraid to talk about it at all.  So this little journey really seems like a search for some answers for the crew's previous bouts with demons.  It's also dangerous, as demonic forces can really fuck your health and life up, perhaps even possess you and tear families apart.  It is real and very dangerous; people could die from demonic possession.

            There have been strange goings-on surrounding this investigation as well, with Father Ashcraft, their consulting priest, falling ill a couple of days before the investigation when he was on his way to talk with the crew, with an unexplainable crack appearing in one of the windows while talking with a neighbor, with the guys feeling such fear, especially Nick, who exclaimed, "I have a…family!  I don't want to die from this!"

            My assessment of the episode?  It definitely seems special, definitely has that sense of darkness that surrounds the story.  The sequence editing (arranging the clips in a certain order for those who don't understand the jargon I sometimes use to sound technical), I probably wouldn't touch for now but if there was a better way to arrange things, I would've done it that way.  It wasn't the best episode  by far but it could have some improvements so it could be better.  I can't pinpoint them at the moment.  The narration could also use some polishing….  All in all, it's still a very exciting episode, with #GA100 becoming a trending topic on Twitter!

            But there are also questions related to the paranormal that I feel need answering--which brings me to the next topic in regards to little people (which will sometimes be referred to as "midgets"--simplification, not labeling, so please don't take offense; apologies in advance….)

The Midget Ghost Theory

            People can come up with some weird questions for Google; mine included, "Do people who abuse LSD see in ultraviolet when on acid?" or "Can cats hold complete conversations in not-dubbed English with people?"  And the most important one I wouldn't just ask the GAC, but also members of the Haunted Collector team, TAPS and the Constantinos:

DO MIDGET GHOSTS EXIST?

            It is a bit difficult to determine whether the ghosts of little people really do exist, as they can be mistaken for children due to their being "fun-sized".  But there is another reason for this, as "midget ghosts" might just not exist at all.  The best explanation for this can be provided by a Matt Mira story from Nerdist Podcast episode number 10, which was recorded at a live show at Largo in LA and features Adam Savage from Mythbusters….

Here's the audio from Youtube......

Matt Mira:  I have a somewhat related midget story.  Uh, the, uh… When I, I used to work at a funeral home and, uh--

Chris Hardwick:  Oh my god!  His…funeral home stories are…and he loves it, like, when he goes home to Boston, he fills in part-time at the funeral home, just helping out.

Matt Mira:  Put the fun in funeral!  (Laughter)  But, uh, so we're at the cemetery, and uh, Manny, one of the cemetery guys who digs the graves, he says--we're just standing there afterwards, you know, we make sure that the grave is filled in so that no one steals stuff.  Uh, so we stand there with him….

Chris:  That's the minimum that guy's job is, making sure that the grave is filled…

Matt:  So he turns and he goes…He just goes, "Hey, uh, can I ask you something?"  And I was like, "Yeah, what's up, Manny?" and he goes, "You guys ever do a funeral for a leetle person?" and I think and I ask my friend Joe, and we're like, "No, we haven't."  And [Manny] goes, "We haven't either, man.  They don't die!"

(Laughter)

            So, with that (so-called) knowledge, we can now apply the property of Association:  if ghosts are the earth-bound spirits of dead people, and little people don't die, then how can there be midget ghosts if there aren't any dead little people?

            Of course, I might be wrong.  Which is why this is called the Midget Ghost Theory, not the Midget Ghost Fact.  I might also be wrong in the sense that there are midget ghosts and they are just mistaken for children.  They could just be hiding somewhere out of the way or something, or they could move on right after death to some unknown afterlife that many religious scholars and quantum physicists theorize about.  We just really don't know.

            But I really hope there are midget ghosts, if not for my excitement but also to help my tweep @LisaR_M feel less disappointed about the supposed non-existence of these types of spirits; if there are any of them out there, we need to hold the digital recorders and PX devices a little lower or provide step stools to help them out, lest we feel phantom kicks on our shins that are trying to grab our attention.

            (Please note that this second half is solely based on silliness and comedy.  There's almost nothing serious and factual about the "Midget Ghost Theory".  And I'm not an expert, so don't take my word for it.)