Random Thoughts

 Some things that have been on my mind lately, so just thought I would share…

 

Travel Channel…please, come on, it’s 2020…don’t you think it’s time to change your name to “Paranormal Channel”? I think any actual travel shows have been long gone. But long live all the awesome paranormal shows!

I really wish everyone would stop referring to their jail, prison, house, asylum, cemetery, church, town, city, village or whatever as “The most haunted in America”. I swear, everyone thinks THEIR place is the “Most Haunted in America”. How do you even prove that? As far as I know, there’s no certification you can apply for or an award you can win for “Most Haunted”.

I don’t care what anyone says….the 2016 Ghostbusters movie with the four ladies….it’s horrible. Hey I have no issues with four females taking the lead roles of Ghostbusters and I like the actors (for the most part), but they are just trying…so…damn…hard. And it just doesn’t work. Over the top, too much fluff, jokes not landing, and a struggle trying to be as great as the first one.  Nope. Not happening. I wish it would just disappear.

I love all the ghost hunting shows on television right now. I really do. I’m hooked on them. But with all of the technology gizmos those groups design, build and use…why can’t someone build a simple “YES” or “NO” gadget that ghosts can use to answer questions. Stop with the flashlights and the EMFs lighting up and so on. Yes or No…simple.  

I find it funny that someone can be an “expert” on bigfoot, aliens, UFOs, ghosts, etc. An expert on things that may or may not exist.  Wouldn’t you be called a Feasible Expert?

…and hey ghosts…just give us a definitive answer will ya! Stop with the cryptic messages, the lone bang, the footsteps, the disembodied “Help Me” and  stop being so coy….no one really has a photon pack they’re going to suck you up with.

Bigfoot…hey big guy…time for you to come forward. As with the ghosts, stop being coy and come out to say hello. I’m fairly certain many people will embrace you and will want to get  to know the real you. Like what’s your favorite food, your favorite game, what do you do for fun? Stuff like that.

Aliens…do they exist? Well, I say absolutely. And I would love to know for sure. I would love to know the truth about Area 51, Roswell, and all the other crazy stuff. However, I do believe in the line from Men In Black…”A person is smart, but people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it.” Some people will welcome them, some will fear them, and some will attack them. I fear that even if the aliens do come in peace…there are those people out there who will still attack them because they are scared, ignorant, and perhaps jumping on the band wagon of others. Maybe it’s best we don’t know.

Parents…if your kids come to you (the people they most trust and count on) to tell you they see ghosts, hear noises, feel something bad, see monsters…BELIEVE THEM!! Stop blowing them off as “just being silly” or “You’re just a kid” or “It’s just your imagination”, etc. Stop!  Maybe it’s nothing, but maybe, just maybe it actually IS something.  Just because you’re an adult and a parent doesn’t mean you know everything. Open your mind especially to your kids.

I’d love to hear your thoughts?

Question I've been asked many times?

Do I believe in Ghosts, UFOs, Aliens, Bigfoot, etc.?

Short answer – Yes, yes I do.

Long answer – Ok, out of 100% of the stories, videos, recordings, etc. out there in my opinion probably 80-90% are all…well…bullshit. Especially in today’s techno advanced society where just about anyone can fudge video and photos. It sucks because now people that go on the Internet to see true real evidence are also bombarded with all kinds of fake crap! It really ticks me off that people feel the need to make a bunch of fake stuff out there to mess with people. Get a life people, grow up and go do something else. Ok, sorry, a bit of a tangent there. So I guess what I’m saying is that even if 90% of the stuff out there in the world is fake…there’s still that 10% that is absolutely real. And honestly, 10% is good enough for me.

There has been entirely too much evidence collected throughout the years on all things bigfoot, aliens, and ghosts not to believe. Let’s look at bigfoot for example; hundreds of footprints, video, photos, hair samples that are tested with results of “no match to any known living animal on record”, trees broken at chest level with no signs of cuts or storm damage, forests nests, eyewitness accounts, palm prints on cars and homes, and the list goes on and on. So what is it then? If all things related points to a bigfoot, then it’s a bigfoot.

I’m going to have a little conversation here…

Skeptic:  “Well there’s no evidence to prove bigfoot exists.”

ME: …ah what? I just listed nine above. So what else do you need? …and then here comes…

Skeptic:  ”A body”.

ME: Oh okay, so we need a body for the skeptics to believe?

ME: Ever actually see the body of Christ?

Skeptic: “Nope.”

ME: He’s not on display somewhere that I’ve ever known and yet billions of people believe he was real. Why is he real?

Skeptic: Well because there was a book that said so and there are paintings and crucifixes.

You can see where I’m going with all of this right? And I’m sure there are plenty of other examples I could use, but I’ll spare you for now.

I’m fairly convinced of a few things;

Many people have closed minds. They are stuck with what they have been taught and they don’t want to listen or open their minds as they say. They are stubborn and think they know everything there is to know.

People are scared. They are too afraid to know the truth. Ignorance is bliss to many (and some days I will absolutely agree with that). It frightens people to think there are huge hairy creatures roaming the woods, aliens abducting and probing us, spirits and ghosts watching us and pushing our things off of shelves. We don’t know much about these things and not knowing is scary.

The other is that unless someone has a personal experience when it comes to most things paranormal, many will not believe. Many have to feel it, touch it, smell it, taste it to know for themselves that it is the absolute truth. I get it. I’m probably not going to believe that a steak is delicious unless I taste it for myself.

So, do I believe everything I see, read and hear. No. But I can say that I believe that there are bigfoots…or bigfeets…or whatever throughout the world. I believe ghosts exist in many forms and I believe aliens have been on this planet and are on this planet.

So I’ll ask you…what do you believe?

What's been going on? and Hill City Paranormal Podcast

Well, it's been a while since I have posted...a lot has been going on. I've been working on more stories for Wicked Harvest 2 but have been side-tracked on a different book as well as multiple house projects like painting the living room and dining room, refurbishing an old cabinet into a dry bar and cigar/pipe display and repainting our kitchen walls and cabinets. Winter is winding down and Spring will be here in Michigan very soon (fingers crossed). But with Spring also brings more outside house projects...and we haven't even started re-painting the kitchen yet. Uhhhgggg!

One thing I have been doing is listening to a lot of awesome podcasts on my way to and from work (I have an hour commute to and from). I have found gems like Hillbilly Horror Stories, Monsters Among Us, Graveyard Tales, History Goes Bump and one of my new favorites: Hill City Paranormal.  Woody Watts has some great episodes on Bigfoot, aliens, UFOs, ghosts, etc. along with caller's personal stories. Woody and I have been conversing via email and there may be an interview he will do with me and perhaps a collaboration on a HCP book. More to come on all of
that. Give them a listen and I think you will be pleasantly pleased.

I'm going to really try hard to focus on writing this month on the WH2 stories. I highly doubt the book will be ready to publish this year. 😢 Sad, I know, but I want to make sure the stories are good ones and give plenty of time to my awesome editor and book cover artist to look things over and make sure it's all good.

Please please spread the word to all of your family and friends about the book, the website, the blog, the Facebook page. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Jerrod

Wicked Harvest "Quick Spooks" - Bed Monster

Bed Monster

I'm a grown ass man. I shouldn't believe in monsters, certainly not monsters under my bed. However I don't sleep in my bed and let an arm or foot dangle off the edges. Nope.

I mean, I’m sure there's nothing under there, but why take the chance. When I think I hear it growling under there at night, I whimper like a little boy. 

Last week my wife's arm was hanging off the edge of the bed. I tried to wake her. I tried to move her arm. 

I’ll miss her.

Wicked Harvest "Quick Spooks" - Witch

Wicked Harvest: Quick Spooks

I stopped by a local witches shop on my way home from work last week. Witchcraft has always intrigued me. I purchased a few herbs, powders, potions and a “How To” book. The woman behind the counter rang up my items, placed them in a bag and wished me good luck and safe travels. She snickered a bit as I walked out the door. Not really sure what that was all about…at the time. A few household witches’ brews and a few chants later…my cat now barks like a dog, my bird dropped dead after all her feathers fell off and there may or may not be a demon in my bathroom. I wonder if the witches shop has a lax return policy?

Ghost Walk – Petoskey Michigan – 2017

Ghost Walk – Petoskey Michigan – 2017

After having a great time participating in the Holly Twilight Tour (Ghost Walk), we decided to book another one, but this time within our annual fall trip to Petoskey. …and it just so happened to fall on October…Friday the 13^th. Oooooooo spooky!

The tour started at 8:00pm on the large front porch of the Perry Hotel (which has a number of ghost stories involving the location). The weather was just a little chilly and it was misting rain here and there. It was actually quite fitting for a spooky ghost walk. The tour guide (sorry, can’t remember his name) was extremely knowledgeable about Petoskey, its history and ghost stories as well as being a great speaker. He added humor to much of his tales to help lighten the mood a bit.

We walked all over downtown Petoskey. He told us stories about the large hotel that burned to the ground that once housed solders returning from WWI, the murder of a woman in an apartment above a retail shop, the underground speakeasies and tunnels for running alcohol back in the prohibition days and possible visits from Al Capone and his gang. There were lots of murders, deaths and unexplained happenings in Petoskey since its beginnings. All of these stories were quite shocking to my wife and I, because we had no idea how much great history was in Petoskey…let alone all of the death and carnage.

There’s no doubt that Petoskey has its fair share of ghosts and spooky stories. We’ve been traveling to Petoskey every fall for the last 4 years and will never quite look at it the same way again the next time we are there.

Although unfortunately we didn’t actually see any ghosts on our walk; the setting, date, dark night, speaker and stories made for an outstanding evening. We will certainly book another ghost walk in Petoskey and other Michigan towns. They are entertaining  and a great way to learn about local history and folklore.

Ever been on a Ghost Walk?

Wicked Harvest’s “Quick Spooks” - Scarecrow

Wicked Harvest’s “Quick Spooks”

(One Paragraph Short Stories)

The scarecrow is in its field for years, season after season. The crows aren’t scared of him, but the townsfolk certainly are. They hear his sinister laugh at night and dread what will come Halloween night. On Halloween he leaves his perch in the corn field and his laugh echoes in the sky. The townsfolk know and disappear into their homes locking the windows and doors. The strangers in town are never so lucky.