Lucky 13 Haunted America Conference After-Action Report (Part 1)

The 2009 Haunted America Conference in Decatur, Illinois, this past weekend featured numerous presenters discussing haunted sites across the country, high tech equipment for ghost hunting, the use of digital cameras, problems with paranormal photos, as well as after hours events to include an on-stage seance which Pat and I skipped because we were pooped, a ghost hunting workshop, and a few late night ghost hunts of  the host Lincoln Theater. (Both of downtown Decatur's theaters are notably haunted.)  Pat also won two souvenirs from notoriously haunted locations.

Troy Taylor discussed the subject matter of his latest book, Sex and the Supernatural, which I have revewed on Gather.  He opened by asking if anyone had ever had sex with a ghost.  One person in the back raised his hand.  Troy asked "what was it like having sex with a ghost."  The voice from the back replied "Ghost? I though you said goat!"  Troy and unindicted co-conspirator Len Adams had cooked the gag up between them and it went over well.  Troy touched on ancient attitudes towards sex, medieval  attitudes which led to witch hunts and slaughter, satanism and cult activity, the vampires of folklore, and more. Troy says it's the fastest-selling title Whitechapel Press has.

Leslie Rule had problems with the weather but made it by the day of the main event, Saturday, to discuss her latest book, The Ghost in the Mirror. On stage, she dissued how mirrors seem to figure prominently in ghost appearances, talked about being raised around ghosts, about meeting her mother, crime writer Ann Rule's friend, Ted Bundy years before he was arrested, tried, and executed as America's most notorious serial killer. Leslie is a photographer and says she took all her the photos for her mom's book on Bundy, who had manned a crisis hotline with her, The Murderer Beside Me. She's a nice lady; Pat and I had dinner with her at Jimmie Johns where she told us about her problems getting to Decatur due to rotten weather. (Great sandwiches.)  I mentioned in a previous post that Leslie recognized the Green River Killer on TV when he was arrested as someone who had attended one of her mother's lectures on the subject.

Craig Telesha was fascinating. Author of Strange Frequencies, he covers ghost hunting technology. His main thrust was that analog and digital equipment are completely  different forms. People have abandoned analog for modern digital cameras and other technology. But the analog stuff should not be ignored/ Not only can you buy reel to reel recorders and old 1970's microphones and such on eBay cheap, but they might give even better results due to their different nature. The main difference is that analog is "what you see is what you get" while digital puts a computer chip as an interface between what you are recording and what comes out.  Craig also mentioned that some people had had success seeking EVP (electronioc voice phenomena) with tape recorders set inside (unplugged) microwave ovens presumably due to the shielding they contain.

Nick Redfern talked about chupacabras. I think a number of people, myself included, were kind of looking forward to a change-of-pace discussion of Bigfoot. Instead, he talked about chupacabras in Puerto Rico, and I must admit that it was interesting. His reasoning was also solid: unlike Bigfoot and other creatures rooted in history, the chupacabra reports appeared out of nowhere only about 20 years ago or so. It puts them at the threshhold of being a real creature and a paranormal creature.

There's more, but I need to take a break and I'll wrap up later.