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Hallowe’en, or Halloween, is a tradition celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets, fruit, and other gifts. A specifically American variation of this is called trick-or-treating. Some other traditional activities include costume parties, watching horror films, going to haunted houses, and traditional autumn activities such as hayrides, some of which may even be haunted. Halloween originated under a different name (“Samhain”) as a Pagan festival among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain with mainly Irish and Scots and other immigrants transporting versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Many other Western countries have embraced Halloween as a part of American pop culture in the late twentieth century. Halloween is celebrated in most parts of the Western world, most commonly in the United States,…

Ghost hunting, making new friends who share the same interest, and spending eight hours with a great professional in the field of the paranormal, Dustin Pari! Who could ask for a better Friday night!? Our night started at the Ripley’s Theatre with an exclusive meet and greet that is given only to those who bought their tickets through GhoSt Augustine. Here we learned everything from what Dustin is doing in his personal life, to past experiences he has had, to what kind of experiences we might have that night. Dustin is a very “normal” down to earth guy. He is very devoted to his paranormal studies, his wife, his children, his fans, and his faith! It really was an absolute pleasure investigating Ripley’s Believe it Or Not with him. In general there were a few spikes on some K2 EMF…

My earliest memories go as far back to when I was a toddler and my experience with the paranormal began then. Having a skeptical nature, and being concerned if this was just my imagination, I never took my experiences for granted. Much to my surprise and with little effort on my part, many of the experiences I have had have always been verified without my prompting the information from any given source. I have had many encounters throughout my life and look forward to those yet to come. I relish in the opportunity of being a tour guide in such a fascinating place as St. Augustine and look forward to sharing all the knowledge I have concerning the history of the city and the prevalent paranormal occurrences here in our majestic township.

THE MIND II Energy does not cease.  It only changes form. Since the 1920s many physicists have considered energy to be “mind stuff” more than “matter” as we think we know it.  If mind is behind the appearance of matter, then we must look to the qualities of mind to understand the origin and destiny of the physical world.  The mind creates energy forms and patterns through its own projections, and our senses and perceptions specifically tune us in to that projected world. With this in consideration, “hauntings” are very interesting phenomena.  While we are physically focused creatures our bodies carry the quality of “mind stuff” even at the cellular level, and our health and physical presence depend greatly on the caliber of our thoughts. When we die the physically projected self dis-integrates, but the mental pattern of our being…

“Hey Ty, we had a great time on your tour. We found it to be so much fun and informative. This picture was taken last time we were on the tour in March. We were walking from one bar to the next and we randomly took this picture and the orb was right there. I hope this can help.” Thanks a lot! Jackie, Steve, & Jim

The Salem Witch Trials, begun in 1692 (also known as the Salem witch hunt and the Salem Witchcraft Episode), resulted in a number of convictions and executions for witchcraft in both Salem Village and Salem Town, Massachusetts. Some have argued it was the result of a period of factional infighting and Puritan witch hysteria. The trials resulted in the executions of 20 people (14 women, 6 men) and the imprisonment of between 175 and 200 people. In addition to those executed, at least five people died in prison. One man who refused to plead to the charges was pressed to death with rocks (the medieval torture of peine forte et dure, which, if fatal, did not result in forfeiture of property).Background In 1692, Salem Village was torn by internal disputes between neighbors who disagreed about the choice of Samuel Parris…

Voodoo (Vodou, Vodoun, Vudu, or Vudun in Benin, Togo, southeastern Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Senegal; also Vodou in Haiti) is a name attributed to a traditionally uten West African spiritual system of faith and ritual practices. Like most faith systems, the core functions of Voodoo are to explain the forces of the universe, influence those forces, and influence human behavior. Voodoo’s oral tradition of faith stories carries genealogy, history and fables to succeeding generations. Adherents honor deities and venerate ancient and recent ancestors. This faith system is widespread across groups in West Africa. Diaspora spread Voodoo to North and South America and the Caribbean.African origins The cultural area of the Fon, Gun, Mina and Ewe peoples share common metaphysical conceptions around a dual cosmological divine principle Nana Buluku, the God-Creator, and the Vodun(s) or God-Actor(s), daughters and sons of the…

We have had many people emailing in asking questions about different things, other than ghosts. A recent question was about Laurie Cabot so I am featuring this from Ms. Cabot’s website. I met with her in 2007 and she is truely a fantastic and knowledgable woman. Why Laurie is known as the “Official Witch of Salem.” In the mid nineteen seventies, Governor Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts, bestowed upon Laurie Cabot the state’s Patriot Award. This historical award is issued by the Governor to honor citizens of the state for public service which leads to the betterment, enrichment and welfare of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Patriot’s Award is given to Civic leaders, Distinguished Civil Servants, Community Leaders and others who are dedicated in a significant way to improving the lives of their fellow citizens and their community. This award…

Taking a tour in a hearse is always an adventure. You have the excitement of riding (usually for the first time) in a vintage hearse, the opportunity to explore narrow streets that are not part of the main stream tourist areas of downtown and the possibility of encountering an entity! With all those things combined with the anticipation of the evening, throw in a real EMF-meter and an experienced licensed guide and it adds up to a night of fun! I have had some evenings where honestly we had no activity and other nights when every step was met with cold spots, orbs in every picture and even full apportions of a cat and “something  peering” at us from the top of the Lighthouse! I have encountered what I can only assume is George Potter at the back of A-1-A…

One of my favorite places to take a walk in the evenings is the Mission Grounds. It is a most beautiful place to enjoy peace and quiet away from reality. As I was walking through the cemetery for some reason the door on the Chapel caught my eye. It looked like they had either installed a new door or had stained the old one. For some reason I was drawn to it. I touched the door to see if the stain was still wet and it felt like it had been there for years, but something looked different. I had never noticed a slight gap between the two doors and decided to peek in. I could see a candle on the mantel lit, which I thought was rather strange since it was after hours and everything was locked up tight….

Taken from Prairie Ghosts to share the story of where spiritualism began. Thank you so much to Prairie Ghosts for an outstanding article. Shortly after the “coming of the spirits” to the Fox household, the story of the family took a more dramatic turn. The two daughters, Maggie and Kate, were both purported to have mediumistic powers and the news of the unearthly communications with the spirit quickly spread. By November 1849, they were both giving public performances of their skills and the Spiritualist movement was born. The mania to communicate with the dead swept the country and the Fox sisters became famous. After their initial rise to stardom in public and Spiritualist circles, the sisters continued to appear in a variety of venues. They were now joined by their older sister Leah, who had been abandoned by her husband and was…

A Haunting Experience at Meehan’s on the Haunted Pub Tour I wanted to do something fun for my friend and her boyfriend for his birthday so I invited them on the Haunted Pub Tour with me.  I was going out to review our awesome tour guides and figured they would enjoy it too! We got to the last stop of our evening, which was at Meehan’s Irish Pub. It is an awesome place with great drinks, and a wonderful atmosphere. Plus, at least three ghosts that we know of. While everyone was at the downstairs bar to get their drinks before heading upstairs a gentleman asked me if I was the tour guide. I explained to him how I was the manager but I could answer any questions he may have. He asked if the place was haunted and I…