In addition to the Paranormacon this September, I have another paranormal convention to announce: Indy ParaCon 2010! Like many other fine authors and paranormal teams, Haunted Hoosier Halls will have a vendor’s booth at Indiana’s largest horror and paranormal convention. Indy ParaCon is October 1&2 at the Danville 4H Fairgrounds just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. Last year I went as an attendee and had a whole lot of fun meeting all the guests, vendors, authors, teams, and fellow attendees.

Now, this is where I need your help. At both conventions I will have forms available at my table for volunteers to fill out in an effort to collect local paranormal urban legends for the urban legends project. The continuing goal is to map out where different variations of popular urban legend motifs are predominate and how they evolved over time crossing the Midwest.

Last announcement but certainly not the least is my interview on Your Life Matters with hosts Jenn and Steve! Earlier this year I had the chance to meet Jenn and Steve at the Paranormal ScareFest at the Crump Theater along with their previous paranormal team Indianapolis Ghost Hunters. Now the duo have branched out to create Professional Paranormal Investigations (their title refers to conducting investigations in a professional manner, not that they charge). They have become great friends, and I encourage everyone to check out their site. Their show discusses more than just paranormal topics, but really covers the board of subjects with interviews of authors, experts, and professionals in their respective fields.

Happy haunts,

Kat

The group we went with was Indiana Ghost Trackers Mishiana, a chapter of Indiana Ghost Trackers which is a state-wide ghost hunting organization. One of the awesome things about this organization is that members can visit other chapters territories to go ghost hunting, so as a South-Central IGT member I was able to join Mishiana’s group for July’s monthly public hunt. I grew up in the Mishiana area (Mishiana for those who don’t know is the area that ranges from Plymouth Indiana to Edwardsburg Michigan and covers South Bend, Mishawaka, and Elkhart Indiana- so the term “Mishiana” means “Michigan and Indiana”) yet had never ghost hunted in the region before.

To keep a long story short, we visited two Elkhart cemeteries and mom experienced a whole lot of paranormal action in one of them. Our group had two sensitives in it, mom had never met a real senstive before and was just amazed at how they worked, walking through the cemetery speaking in detail about the things they were seeing, hearing, and otherwise, well, sensing. In the first cemetery we visited one sensitive, I’ll dub her “Miss M,” indicated that she was hearing the voice of a man who also seemed to be on fire. He was quite mad and wanted our attention badly, as we approached the area I tripped over a headstone, it belonged to a Mr. Burns.

One sensitive, I’ll call her “Miss V” seemed to be on target that night, as soon as we hit the enterance into the second cemetery she said that there was a two year old boy ghost looking to play with us and that his name was Robby Craig. Fast forward to all the cars parked and me tripping over a headstone in the cemetery, that of Robert A. Craig age two. Spooky.

Then we got the cold spots.

As we the group was walking through the cemetery grounds it seems Robby really liked us, and followed us from place to place keeping his presence known with a  twenty degree drop in temepture. Mom was just astounded having never encountered this phenomena before.

Later I introduced her to the parabolic ear…

Yes, it certainly was a special night for the family. Mom’s introducting into the world of the paranormal was an eventful one, yet not so overwhelming as to be scary. She’s interested in joining the Mishiana group now since her encounters that night sent her mind abuzz with questions.

And that’s what I like to see, more and more people asking questions as they enter the community.

]]> http://urbanlegendsdetective.com/?feed=rss2&p=114 0 http://urbanlegendsdetective.com/?p=110 http://urbanlegendsdetective.com/?p=110#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:37:52 +0000 UrbanLegendsDetective http://urbanlegendsdetective.com/?p=110 Okay, so. For a few years now I have been an active member of the paranormal community. No, this isn’t a piece of work written from beyond the grave or brought you by alien satellite transmission, it means that I am just merely a member of the ever growing population of people interested in investigating UFOs, ghosts, psychic phenomena, and just about anything else currently unexplainable. Like how the tax man finds me every year and where socks disappear to when in the dryer.

As far as I can tell, most people in the paranormal community know about urban legends but don’t think about how to interpret them or use the study of these legends to their advantage. With the world wide web and Hollywood consuming and spreading urban legends like mad into contemporary society, it is important to be able to sort fact from fiction. Often ghost hunters go chasing after fakelore,  false or misleading lore, thinking that they are true tales of the bizarre. Looking for Sweeney Todd’s ghost is an example of this; some scholars believe that Sweeney Todd was one of the first examples of an urban legend fed by the media.

How many of you can remember being teenagers going out and exploring locations often talked about locally as being haunted, or in some cases locations that have been broadcast through a larger media as being haunted? I know I raise my hand up here. It’s this thrill that still drives us as ghost hunters well into our adulthood, adrenaline and dopamine rushes that keep us going out time and time again. This is paranormal gatecrashing, that spark that starts entire lifetime of looking into the paranormal with awe and curiosity. By studying urban legends we can expand our curiosity into examination and our awe into wonderment over the mythos tied into these locations.

Urban legends are where history and legend combine to create a fascinating world of mystery. As Dr. Jan Harold Brunvand, a predominate scholar of folklore in America has written; “folklore is fascinating to study because people are fascinating creatures.” I heartily believe this to be true; mankind has created fantastic things and continues to discover new and exciting bits of our universe. What drives this  is our continuation to ask questions, questions from “is this place haunted” to “ what is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?” Although hard science may not reinforce the work of a ghost hunter, soft sciences do. So go out into the field, take your digital recorder and your flash light, and maybe you’ll get a EVP saying “42.”

©2010 Kat Klockow use with permission

Pre-orders are now open!

So if you would like a personally signed copy from me please send an e-mail to katklockow@gmail.com. Each copy is $16.99 plus shipping and paypal fees. The book is also available for pre-order on Amazon.com, but it doesn’t come with a personally signed or sketched cover.

There will be a book launch pot-luck in early September, location is to be announced at a later date.

Speaking of the month of September there is….

Getting my paranormal author groove on early, I’ll be attending Paranormacon as a vendor! This will be my first time at a paranormal convention as a full fledged author and I plan to have many goodies at the booth to satisfy even the most discerning of paranormal appetites…whatever that may be?

Paranormacon 2010 is in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the spooky and haunted Masonic Building September 10&11. Not only would I love the support of attendees visiting, but also the other various paranormal investigation teams who will also have booths there and In Nomine Paranormal Research who is holding the event. There will be two ghost hunts available later Friday and Saturday nights in the old Masonic Building. In my opinion this is one of the most reasonably priced paranormal conventions one can go to in the area, so if you are in the area and are up for a day of fun and a night of fright please say hello!

Please visit the Paranormacon website for details

Currently I’ve bumped the publication date of How to Hunt for Ghosts? it too can debut at the convention as a graphic novel. If you can imagine my studio is now swamped with sketches, books, and three very confused pet rabbits.

Here’s what I need:

Your name (you can submit as “anonymous” if you prefer):

The story:

Who you heard it from:

Where it takes place:

and When you heard it:

Please send submissions to katklockow@gmail.com

All submissions will be put into my records. By submitting stories you are giving me the right to reproduce and use them in future works.

-Kat

I am pleased to announce that How to Hunt for Ghosts? Is now up and running! New pages are added everyday Monday through Friday, and sometimes on the weekends should something be happening that weekend! So please visit http://www.huntforghosts.com/

There are also a few interviews and projects that I’m working on this summer, but in the meantime articles about urban legends will start being posted up here shortly!

Cheers,

Kat

It has been a little over two months since my last post and naturally a lot of things have happened during that time. First there was a death in the family followed by news on Haunted Hoosier Halls plus some traveling around the Midwestern countryside seeking high adventure and even taller tales of the supernatural.

First off, in book news Haunted Hoosier Halls: Indiana University (the book’s official name) is currently at the printers. When will the bundle of paranormal joy be ready? Not quite sure yet. I am assuming that Haunted Hoosiers will be available this September or October. What I do know is that my graphic novel How to Hunt for Ghosts will available this fall. The graphic novel will be independently published, and therefore I have complete control of the release date (que maniacal laughter). The aim is to have it done for this happy Halloween season, but if I get my buns in gear it will be available sooner! Both books will be avaiable for pre-orders through me, Haunted Hoosier Halls will also be available on Amazon.com or in Southern Indiana; your local Borders store.

Although I’m all over urban legends, I do love me some haunted locations. Earlier this month I had this opportunity to visit Mansfield Reformatory for an all night ghost hunt with Indiana Ghost Trackers. Oh my, was that fun! The sheer grandeur of this historic landmark had me hugging the ornately carved staircases and pillars. I gasped at the height of the tallest freestanding cell block, and I was awestruck with the unexplainable things I saw within its walls.

So without further ado, some photos!~

Speaking of books, I’ve been working on pages for How to Hunt for Ghosts?

Cover splash page for How to Hunt for Ghosts?

More stuff to come, happy Wednesday!

-Kat

Two weekends ago I attended the Queen City ParaCon as a VIP (happy birthday to me) and met Terri Garofalo the cartoonist for Entities-R-Us. Now my other big passion in life besides the paranormal is writing and illustrating comics, mostly long form ones. Since 2003 I’ve worked on a number of projects but had taken a break from doing comics in order to do Haunted Hoosier Halls and take care of family matters. After a lively discussion with her about graphic novels and comics I was convinced that creating a graphic novel about ghost hunting seemed like a pretty good idea.

It still is, there are few graphic novels (one that I can think of that is Japanese in origin) that handle the idea of paranormal investigation, although there are a few webcomics out there that to do. So look for How to Hunt for Ghosts or H2H4G on this website on its own page in the near future.

So, that’s what I’m working on. Haunted Hoosier Halls is still planned to come out this fall (no date specified). Pre-orders from me will go up soon, they will be personally signed by me with a little message in the cover.

Cheers & Happy Hauntings,

Kat

I’m happy to announce that this Sunday April 11th, 2010 I’ll be joining my friend and fellow IGT member Renee Graham on her paranormal talk show Dead Speak Paranormal Radio. It starts at 7pm (EST). We’re planning on discussing some of the locations visited for the book, Indiana ghostlore, and of course, Indiana’s urban legends. Please join us and visit the All Souls Paranormal Radio Network!

Cheers!

Kat