This is a non-fiction work focusing on a number of locations with very dark histories. Jamie Davis takes us inside insane asylums, prisons, hospitals, and schools known for their rather sinister occupants and eerie pasts. These abandoned locales have decayed, but the specter of what they were remains in the corridors, peeling paint, and shadows around every corner.
Davis and his paranormal investigator friend Sam Queen gave each location a thorough going-over. They brought in the latest equipment to test for sound, vibrations, temperature, and the other elements associated with hauntings. Each chapter is dedicated to a single location. Davis does an excellent job of giving us a history without delving too far into trivial details. Pictures bring these dark places to life as well. Real-life accounts compliment the images and we begin to feel the shadows taking shape as we explore alongside Davis and his…
I saw a job ad a few weeks ago that got my blood boiling so hot that I almost emailed the guy and told him just how big of an idiot he is. He wanted someone who could multitask, withstand several interruptions throughout the day, and constantly shift to ever-changing priorities. The guy was a lawyer (of course).
I wanted to just ask him why he even thought he needed an employee in the first place. Obviously, the employee was going to be completely inefficient and unproductive. Maybe the guy should just get a giant stuffed animal to sit in the desk so he can yell at it and throw chairs around without getting sued for creating a hostile work environment.
I cannot stand these employers who think they are getting tasks done by throwing a bunch of nonsense in the laps of their employees to “deal with,” and then changing their minds after two hours have passed in order to shift focus to the next meaningless urgent project.
I am right, too, I might add. Just yesterday there was an article in Health Magazine entitled “Give Your Brain a Break.” Cara Birnbaum reported a 2010 Harvard University Study which showed that those who single-task and focus on the moment are happier and more productive than those who believe they are multitasking.
Multitasking is what idiots do. They sit in their offices and they answer the telephone and try to read emails and put reports together at the same time. What is the result? No memory of the points of the telephone conversation, an important email that comes back to bite them later because they failed to comprehend it the first time around, and broken sentences and missing words in the report. Why? Because the language centers in your brain can only process one language-based task at a time. A multitasking example that is possible would be talking on the phone while you eat your lunch. Forget the rudeness factor, we are just outlining possibilities here.
Multitasking is complete lunacy. Sure, these people may appear busy. But they are doing nothing except putting on a show. They are not multitasking, they are serial tasking like a bunch of animals at the zoo. Squirrel!
When I go to a new place of business I like to find the person who is sitting quietly working. This is the brains of the operation. The planner, the one with focus, this is the person who knows what is going on. Probably, they use a work journal like the one that can be purchased from Stealth Journals. I like to stay far away from the monkey house.
I thought I would have a nice stroll through the squares in historic downtown Savannah this morning, but I got caught in a bit of rain. Luckily, I happened upon Goose Feathers Express Café & Bakery while walking near City Market. Boy, was I glad I found them!
Eggs Benedict-Savannah Style at Goose Feathers
A cozy spot with a good mix of tourists and locals. They caught me when I was famished, so I thought I better try a little taste of everything. Bob and I ordered two cups of coffee (you get free refills), a fruit cup, eggs benedict-Savannah style, a slice of tomato, onion, basil & avocado quiche, and a starter appetizer of one cream cheese filled croissant. Everything was delicious, and the total bill was right at $20!
Tomato, onion quiche and cream cheese croissant at Goose Feathers
It has been entirely too long since I enjoyed the pleasures of a fresh croissant. The last one I had was about nine months ago on a flight out to Phoenix. It was cold and all I had was one of those little pats of butter to try to rub on it, but I did it anyway because it was, after all, still a croissant (you know how it is).
These croissants were made of nothing but flaky deliciousness, and I fully suspect that we will be there next Sunday morning to try out some more croissants. I think it would only be fair to try the plain butter one, the spinach & feta filled one, and the ham & swiss croissant. How am I supposed to know what the best one is if I don’t have all of them?!
What a great spontaneous breakfast this morning. You never know what the day will bring.
When I first came across Lee Bontecou’s work earlier this year in Chicago, the first thing I thought was that it resembled something off the set of a Tim Burton movie. I had never seen anything like it before, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. I thought it was interesting and nightmarish – but what was it supposed to mean? I was looking into black holes and peering at materials that appeared as though they had teeth.
Upon digging a little deeper, it is glaringly obvious to me why I was instinctively drawn to her work. The woman made art out of airplane parts. She crawled around and gathered scrap metal, canvas, and airplane parts to make her creations. Before seeing this exhibit, I associated airplanes with visions of vacations, spontaneous weekend trips, and last minute getaways out of town. The airplane has afforded me the opportunity to be across the country in less than five hours, and I have always been amazed by that. It is one of the very best modern inventions – the ability to explore and roam about so quickly. I had never before considered the dark side of aviation. Maybe it is a generation thing.
Aviation certainly changed the world. Businesses and entire countries began operating more efficiently. People spread ideas and interacted with each other on a global scale. Then naturally, came WAR. Lee’s thoughts are quoted in an interview on http://www.smithsonian.com describing her art as “Look at the stealth bomber,” she says. “It’s a beautiful thing up in the air, a piece of sculpture! But what it does is horror!”
Our world is a marvelous man-made well-oiled machine. Lee’s work reminds me to keep the dark side in mind. Everything seems to have a duality of purpose. Things of beauty (and people too, for that matter) and progress are not without the ability to cut to the core. It may only be a mix of careful planning, coupled with great measures of fortune and luck, that the world doesn’t just chew us right up and completely devour us.
Lee Bontecou – Museum of Contemporary Art ChicagoLee Bontecou – Museum of Contemporary Art ChicagoLee Bontecou – Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Savannah has been voted one of America’s Most Haunted Cities according to USA Today. Being a Savannah freelance writer and being paranormally inclined myself, I have made it a personal goal to enjoy many of Savannah’s offered ghost tours. Upon selecting my very first outing, I became overwhelmed with the sheer variety of tours offered. Did I want to walk, ride a hearse, or jump on a trolley? I almost became catatonic, much like how I can sometimes get in the DSW Shoe Warehouse when faced with too many options. Just pick a shoe/ghost already and get on with it!
I opted for the Ghost Talk Ghost Walk tour because they are the original, real deal tour that started it all. Margaret Wayt DeBolt wrote Savannah Spectres and Other Strange Tales in 1984, and the tour began because of her and her fantastic book. As an aside, my favorite story in the book (and about haunted Savannah so far) is the one about Nellie and William Washington Gordon, II, who seemed to have a love that even death couldn’t interfere with. As Nellie lay dying, her children who were in attendance were reported to say “when she died, her face took on the radiance of a bride, going to meet her bridegroom.” The family butler was said to report, through a face streaming tears, that he saw the General appear, and that he came to fetch her himself.
Our tour guide was Jeffery, and he was perfect. I believe he said he was a fifth generation Savannahian! The tour struck a balance of both ghostly and historic tales.
We learned that much of downtown Savannah is built upon the dead! Colonial Park Cemetery was a particular highlight of the tour. I am including some photos from a previous visit during the daytime.
The headstones on the back wall are from unmarked graves. Apparently some Yankee soldiers used the cemetery as a camp during the Civil War and really mucked things up, to say the very least.
Colonial Park Cemetery – Savannah, GA Colonial Park Cemetery – Savannah, GA Colonial Park Cemetery – Savannah, GA
For several years now, I have had the habit of making it a point to travel somewhere new to ring in the New Year. Sedona is known as being one of those places that feeds your soul, so it appealed to me on reputation alone. Sometimes, you go some place and you find that it is a sort of sterile destination that looks just like some other place you just got back from. The moment you get close to Sedona, you know you have seen nothing else like it in the world. The red rocks surround you and the entire town.
Red rocks at Enchantment Resort – Sedona, AZ
Enchantment Resort
Enchantment Resort was home base, and was luxe and perfect and all of that, but truthfully a little over the top for us. We did enjoy a private guided tour into Boynton Canyon where I made a point to ask about the tarantulas. I had not seen even one of them yet, so I was concerned about where they might be hiding. I was told that they run in September, so I made a note to myself to stay the hell out of Sedona during September.
Shopping
The best shopping excursion we took was meandering through the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. We easily spent a few hours here. The Renee Taylor Gallery literally almost made us cry. Everything in there was so beautiful, and believe me, they were passing out the champagne to loosen purse strings! We had never seen so much fine contemporary art that we liked all in the same place. In particular, there was an artist who was working with steel, but the work was so fluid that you thought it was glasswork.
Hiking / Vortexes / Aura Photos
On New Year’s Eve Day, we saw all of the vortex sites. The map for them can be found at www.lovesedona.com. Sedona is known to have four main vortexes. The claim is that they are centers of energy that strengthen people. Well, we went to all of them and were not cognizant of feeling any energy. However, when we got to our last stop at Bell Rock, we did have a wonderful experience. It began snowing lightly, and we enjoyed about a two hour quiet peaceful hike with some light rock climbing sprinkled in. The red rocks were magical looking with a little snow on top. (Although slightly resembling a giant plate of blue cheese potato chips, if you ask me).
Red heart-shaped rocks at Enchantment Resort – Sedona, AZ
We kept seeing heart-shaped rocks being placed in trees. Then we started noticing them everywhere. I don’t know what the story is on this, but they are fun to spot.
Almost immediately after our long hike on Bell Rock, I was drawn to Center for the New Age. I insisted that Bob pull over and we went in and asked about having an aura photo taken together. We were the last appointment of the day for Jamie Jones-Hoaglund. Amazingly, the photo came out with us showing the same colors. Lots of white, and we were told that we had the highest spiritual colors. It was a very touching and moving experience for both of us.
Leaving Phoenix with an overnight stay in Jerome, AZ in mind, a detour was made to check out the Montezuma Castle National Monument. These prehistoric cliff dwellings date back approximately 800 years! It is an amazing sight to see. Prior to 1951, visitors could actually ascend into the dwellings by climbing ladders.
Tuzigoot National Monument
Tuzigoot National Monument
The second detour was made to explore the ancient pueblos of Tuzigoot National Monument. You can still go inside the structures and walk all around the property. Great views are yours to be had if you climb all the way to the top.
Gold King Mine & Ghost Town
Gold King Mine
Once in Jerome, I just had to go check out the Gold King Mine & Ghost Town. I tempered my expectations, because I had no idea if it was for real or if it was a tourist trap. I still don’t know. But I did meet a great donkey named Pedro (who is on a diet, or at least was on a diet), and got some cool shots of the old junk cars.
Gold King Mine
As we were leaving, we somehow picked up a hitchhiker. He was as hairy as Sasquatch, with the skinniness of a meth-addled Shaggy. But, he was carrying a tiny Chihuahua with him, so I figured he was good people. As we proceeded down the short road leading back into downtown historic Jerome, the hitchhiker proceeded to offer up some of his best storytelling services to us – “You want to know about the town? I know all about this town.” I asked him how long he had lived in Jerome. His reply? About two months! Hysterical.
Jerome Grand Hotel & Jerome
Jerome Grand Hotel
The former circa 1926 United Verde Hospital is now the Jerome Grand Hotel. The hotel still utilizes a 1926 Otis Elevator that is very fun to use! You have to manually open the gate and doors and insert your old-fashioned (actual) room key to operate the elevator. There is much speculation about the supposed hauntings going on here at the Jerome Grand Hotel. The television show Ghost Adventures even featured the location on one of their episodes. The hotel offers ghost hunting packages on select days during the week. When the hospital closed in 1950, the building remained vacant for 44 years until renovations began for the hotel. You may find the accommodations a bit rustic, but you should strive to enjoy the Jerome Grand Hotel for what it is – a true piece of history. Today, it is a charming historic hotel that seems to be doing just fine from its position on top of the hill, looking down into the Verde Valley.
The town of Jerome is a haven for artists, and there is a thriving downtown area of shops, galleries, and restaurants. Jerome is also home to the 1918 Liberty Theatre, which is said to be the oldest silent movie house still in operation today. The whole town has a good buzz of energy about it. All in all, this was a good overnight visit on our way to Sedona.
I was blown away by my recent visit to The Art Institute of Chicago, but was particularly touched by the surrealist paintings on exhibit. This took me by complete surprise, because before this visit, I always fancied myself a lover first and foremost of the French Post Impressionists. While the Post Impressionists sure paint a pretty picture that you would willingly step into, these modern artists sure do give you something to think about.
When I first saw René Magritte’s Time Transfixed in person, I was jolted back to a time in my teenage years when I had the most lucid dream of my life thus far. I was inside a grand old mansion with a mahogany staircase and red velvet stairs. I somehow found myself in the basement, which turned into a train station. There were no trains down there, though. Sadly, all I could see were a few twisting tracks and tunnels to other places. (At this point, I am about halfway beginning to wonder if trains have some unconscious meaning in my life. That would be ridiculous, though, so I quickly dismiss the thought). So why is the train coming through the fireplace, and in busting through, is it effectively stopping time or stepping out of time? I don’t know, but this feels like a Twin Peaks experience. Some critics might suggest that Magritte was subconsciously influenced by Einstein’s theories of relativity (especially because of the images of the clock and the train).
This piece is such a perfect example of surrealism to me, because it reminds me so much of a very real dream I once had. In the painting, the steaming train is stepping outside of time into an empty room in a safe house. This is a place outside of reality. A border area, where you can go when you need to breathe for a moment. You know, for when the steam runs too hot. The train is me.
René Magritte’s Time Transfixed
Another painting that begs for a discussion is Salvador Dali’s Visions of Eternity. No doubt about it, this is doom and gloom at its finest. This painting is all about The Great Emptiness. We have a wanderer in the background, and a dark shadow figure who is quite literally coming apart at the seams. We are all on the verge of collapse at any given moment, are we not? To me, this represents the world and its inhabitants as all floating aimlessly, and all damned to continue doing so for eternity. Over and over again, generation begets new generation. Rinse and repeat.
Salvador Dali’s Visions of Eternity
This is the stuff that dreams are made of. Not the ones you think of when you are stuck in traffic or waiting in line somewhere. These are the pictures your mind comes up with when you are sound and out. The “I take no responsibility for this, I can’t help what I dreamed” type pictures. Not always pretty, but definitely conversation pieces.
One of the best things about moving to a new city is that you have the opportunity to be a permanent tourist.
I so enjoyed getting to explore Fort Pulaski. Generally speaking, forts are a lot of fun to poke around in anyway, but this one has several perks. First of all, you must drive across a bridge to reach the fort. Once on site, you get to walk over a drawbridge to enter the fort. Upon entering, you discover that you have the run of the entire place. You will love weaving in and out of the rooms and stumbling upon unexpected bits of history. For instance, the prison area is particularly compelling.
Make sure to check the website to find out when the cannon firings will be held, and if there will be a guided tour that you can take advantage of during your visit. If you ask me, the only thing Fort Pulaski is missing is a ghost tour or a ghost hunt!
Inside Fort Pulaski – Tybee Island, GA
There are three shorter nature trails that are offered on site. If you are looking for a more strenuous workout, you should hop on the McQueens Island Rails to Trails. This is a six mile path that winds right between salt marshes and the Savannah River. The road is nothing but gravel now, but where you are walking used to be the railroad tracks that carried train passengers back and forth from Savannah to Tybee Island.
Jamie Davis Writes 