Notes from the Lizzie Borden House Part One

On July 22, 2013, a dozen horror writers descended upon the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River, Massachusetts. Everyone except the hostess of the radio show had attended the four day horror writers convention fondly known as Necon.

The weekend consisted of many late nights of talking with like-minded people. The enthusiasm and fun of such a convention is revitalizing and in such cases, the idea of bed always feels like there will be something missed.

The hostess of Supernatural Radio Show needed to be picked up so while Lisa Mannetti and Dennis Cummins drove a few hours to acquire the lovely Miss Corrine de Winter, a bunch of us went to Lovecraft's grave.

After wandering through the graveyard, we headed to the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast.

The minute I walked into the Lizzie Borden House, I encountered the wall of oppression that I hadn't experienced the past couple of times I'd been there.

I wandered through the rooms, reminding myself which rooms had stories and which ones I'd witnessed odd experiences in throughout the years.

The tour guide, David, was ready to help the guests, but first, we needed dinner.

It's always difficult to figure out what to do about dinner but options are limited on a Sunday in Fall River. I hadn't eaten a good meal in days or I would have stayed behind to focus on the show.

The first place we tried was too crowded and our group of twelve would have waited forever to obtain tables and eat.

The next place we tried had a moosehead on the wall. I have an irrational fear of mooseheads so it made me uncomfortable.

However, we stayed. I had a bowl of very delicious clam chowder.

By the time the turtle speed waitress had finished with us, there was only half an hour until showtime which meant that I would miss the tour that I had badly wanted to see.

Such is the price of show business.

 

Psychics Live from Lizzie Borden House

I always take many selfies in the mirrors at Lizzie's. I just know one day I'll find something in the mirror that I can't explain.

This mannequin is in Emma's room. The dress is from the time period but not from the Borden's.

More about the show, séances, and tarot readings in future updates.

If YOU want a tarot reading from me, I'm offering a special this week.

$10 for an email reading.

Email me your birthday, your question, and $10 payment to my PayPal Account: sephgiron @ rogers.com

With this special, I will return your answer within 24 hours if not much sooner, depending on the demand. 

Ask about love, money, career, trips, children, whatever you desire except lottery numbers and health questions.

Book a Reading with Sèphera Girón

Do YOU Believe in Ghosts?

What's that you saw out of the corner of your eye?

It was gone before you could focus properly.

Was it just a trick of the light?

Was it a shadow?

A fleck in your eye?

Your nerves? But wait, you weren't nervous.

You were just sitting there.

And then a movement flickered just out of focus. As you turn to look, you have the sense something was there. And a chill floods down your spine as the hair on your arms bristle.

Sure most strange things can be explained.

Lights, dusts, bugs, animals, people playing tricks.

But now and again, things happen to us all that we can't explain.

Some of us shrug off these quirky little incidents, dismissing them as overactive imagination.

But sometimes, you can replay the scene over and over in your mind and realize that you can't come up with one single shred of an explanation.

So what do you believe causes "things that can not be explained?"

Is it our minds?

Are there really ghosts?

Timeslips?

Resisdual energy?

Aliens?

Spirits?

Astral projections?

What is it at all?


What weird experiences have YOU had and how did you explain it in your own mind?

Haunted Mansion Writers Retreat 2012

At long last, the wait is over!

Nearly two dozen horror authors and artists are spending four days at a beautiful retreat in California. Nestled in the mountains, this mansion provides a scenic historical refuge for those wishing to tap into the creative muse.

Perhaps because so much "consciousness" is floating around, poking around, exploring concepts and pleasures, there is an odd energy to the house.

The weekend will comprise of writers writing, artists arting and live blogging as it happens to record the more interesting to the outsider aspects of this retreat: paranormal investigation.

A professional ghost hunting team will be investigating with the standard gear.

Be certain to watch the blog as it happens! 

Haunted Mansion Writers Retreat

Haunted Mansion Project

Have you ever spent a weekend in a Haunted House?

Have you ever spent a weekend in a Haunted House with HORROR WRITERS?

In the fall of 2010, ten horror writers met at a haunted mansion to spend four days together. 

Joining them was a team of paranormal investigators who studied the house and reported their findings. 

The Haunted Mansion Project is a collection of the fiction, poetry, journals, real impressions, and investigative conclusions inspired by that weekend. 

E.S. Magill, Rain Graves, Nikki Boscia, Loren Rhoads, Sephera Giron, Kim Richards, Yvonne Navarro, Weston Ochse, Christian Colvin, Dan Weidman, and S.G. Browne share their secret fears, desires and the disembodied voices of those from beyond. 

Remember the book, FRANKENSTEIN: THE MODERN PROMETHEUS by Mary Shelley? That book was inspired by a horror writers weekend.

Will any of us go on to write a classic like FRANKENSTEIN from our own experiences?

Only time will tell. 

In the meantime, we have a fabulously creepy book filled with fearful investigations, surreal incidents, and bonding through terror.

Haunted Mansion Project

Check out this great review about the Haunted Mansion Project: Haunted Mansion Project Review by Paranormality.com



Here are pictures from my own personal collection from the HAUNTED MANSION PROJECT!

The hallways were creepy, ghosts or not!

Rain Graves writing a scary story!

Sephera Giron self-portrait looking for orbs. Hey, there's one on her eye!

Rain Graves and Sephera Giron share the room from hell!

One of the third floor rooms where NO ONE dared to sleep!

Writers writing. Never looks as exciting as it is!

Writers writing...

Bring it!

"Why do these batteries drain so quickly?" wonders Yvonne Navarro!

Everyone present and accounted for?

What the * was that?

This is my favorite spot to write at The Haunted Mansion

Me and the Ghost Girls!



Buy The Haunted Mansion Project Today! Read the spooky accounts of what really happened that weekend!

Victorian Seance in Niagara!

Are you curious about paranormal investigations?

Have you always wanted to go to one but felt you didn't have enough experience to blend in with the others?

Here's a fabulous group you can join comprised of seasoned professionals and people who have "never done this kind of thing before."

Paranormal Investigative Society of Toronto has just started up for the summer ghost hunting season!

Paranormal 101 Events

If you want to go to a Victorian Seance and also ghost hunt, check out the event at Blythewood Manor in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

June 2, 2012  at 7:30 pm


June 9, 2012  at 7:30 pm

From the MeetUp Group:

The Event

Set in this historic victorian manor, you will participate in an intimate seance along with only 5 people.

Arrival, introductions and history

Group 1 (6 people) - Seance

Group 2 (6 people) - Tarot/EVP/Communications/Photo 2nd level,most haunted location

Refreshments (Coffee/Tea)

Group 1 (6 people) - Tarot/EVP/Communications/Photo 2nd level,most haunted location

Group 2 (6 people) - Seance

Wrap Up

Please allow up to 4 hours for this event.

Location:

Just off the parkway & 5 minutes from Clifton Hill, Blythewood Manor is very accessible. This location should not pose too many problems due to the weather. (main roads all the way)

History & Happenings

Located just off the Niagara Parkway sits Blythewood Manor. In 1872 this house was built on what was Clifton Avenue, later changed to Zimmerman after the man who designed the house.

The same man, Zimmerman, also designed the Niagara Falls train station, located on Bridge Street.

The Zimmerman house was owned and built by James Bampfield in 1872. The house was built for his wife Margaret Bampfield.

There were a number of deaths in the house on Zimmerman. Ida Bampfield had a stroke but it was not fatal but did restrict her to the house. She was cared for by her daughters who moved her bedroom to the dining room of the house where she stayed until her death.

During this time her son came to visit her and became quite ill, in fact dying in the house of a sudden heart attack brought about by a coughing fit during that visit.

During a paranormal investigation of the house in September 2009 two mediums, on two separate times picked up a woman who fell down the stairs and subsequently died of her injuries. (This claim was not substantiated). We were also informed of a boy named Derek who fell from the middle bedroom on the second floor on the south side of the house. He was not a Bampfield, but a relative.

There is also some paranormal evidence that suggests a woman was killed accidently in the basement of the home, a name of Ruth has come to light both times and through two different mediums. Numerous orbs have been filmed in the house, mostly on the second floor. These orbs would actually respond to verbal commands, getting bigger or smaller, coming closer or entering or leaving rooms on command.

Some common haunting occurrences in the home.

The distinct sound of walking on the main staircase and in the old servants room, which is located over the kitchen. The smell of a floral perfume in the first floor hallway that leads to the kitchen. The appearance of light anomalies in the front bedroom on the second floor. The visual appearance of a little girl, Anne Bampfield on the second floor. Anne did grow to be an adult but we have been told she enjoyed her childhood here at the house so much that when she returns to the house she does so as a child of about 8-10 years.

The current owners have seen the shadow shape of a woman move through the kitchen from where the old servant staircase used to be, towards where the old pantry used to be located.

The image of a gentleman aged about mid 40’s with a trim beard is often seen in the mirror of the middle bedroom on the second floor. Sneezing can be heard on the second floor when no one is upstairs.

The sound of a woman’s voice, with a British accent can be heard responding to conversation that will be taking place among people in or around the house. You will often not feel alone when standing at the top of the main staircase.

The aroma of cigar or pipe smoke can be smelt in the living room and on the veranda. The scent of floral perfume can also be smelt on the upper floors and in the narrow hall to the kitchen.

"The spirits come and go and seem genuinely happy and content. The house will feel very quite when they’re not home, then suddenly, you will feel that others are home with you, but not in a bad way. I akin it with when your children leave home, the house feels empty." - Wayne. The Owner