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We're off! Eighth York GhostFest, second Yorkshire GhostFest, both now underway.
I'm not doing my own investigation this year, instead I will be at Haunted on Stonegate, York, for the night of seances. Booking advisable, but you can just turn up: if you do, see you there!
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel Lacy
Ghost Finder General
Friday, October 21
Don't let the Sun dazzle your eyes
Oh come ON!
If you have the technology to travel
through space, are you likely to pop up behind a school group and let
yourself be caught unawares on camera?
Given its the same colour as
the trees, optical illusion? Is there a new film about aliens due out in need of some major publicity?
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel Lacy
Sunday, August 28
In The Eye of the Beholder...
Just thought I'd share this link: I joined ASSAP last year and this article really struck a chord.
When we (humans - I'm making an assumption here all my readers are) see images that aren't immediately obvious as to what they are, we try to make order out of chaos. We also automatically look for something human first, be it a face, or a full body. James, our science bod, has been telling us this for years.
Its worth following the link on their page through the word 'here' to the table of misperception factors.
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel LacyGhost Finder General
When we (humans - I'm making an assumption here all my readers are) see images that aren't immediately obvious as to what they are, we try to make order out of chaos. We also automatically look for something human first, be it a face, or a full body. James, our science bod, has been telling us this for years.
Its worth following the link on their page through the word 'here' to the table of misperception factors.
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel Lacy
More Things Going Bump In The Night: Haunted Live & Extreme
I was privileged to be at the taster night for Haunted's new Live & Extreme, which is running over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Here's hoping its successful enough to be repeated at other times, I certainly enjoyed myself going round this after hours, adults only show provided by GNG Entertainments.
Introduced to the venue at 35 Stonegate were flashing lights, audio, re-arranged rooms, body parts and actors, as the evening event turns the normally peaceful house in to a scare attraction.
I'd love to tell you more about it but that's not playing fair: these things only work if you don't know what's coming next! I will at least say that my old bête noire, the Mask Room, was the best of the rooms - or worst, however you want to look at it. I crossed it with one of the Eye of Newt staff clinging on to me as she was too scared to even move, it took a few deep breaths before even I unpeeled myself from the wall to cross the floor to the next room!
Fanastic follow up at the Golden Fleece in the newly-named The Hangman's Chambers (the function room), where we were treated to champagne fresh from the coffin, a show by Sweeney Todd (one of the guys from York Horror Tour), 'intestines' and 'hands' to nibble on (the hands were rather good!), and the pièce de résistance, a cake in the shape of a model graveyard complete with chocolate coffins which you had to dig through the cake to find. My daughter found one of them, I settled for eating a few tombstones, rocks and some fruity and fizzy bones. An evening for adults, that brought out the child in some of us!
Catch the show whilst you can, or hope it comes back again soon? Grab your tickets via the link on this blog for Monday or risk missing out.
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel LacyGhost Finder General
Introduced to the venue at 35 Stonegate were flashing lights, audio, re-arranged rooms, body parts and actors, as the evening event turns the normally peaceful house in to a scare attraction.
I'd love to tell you more about it but that's not playing fair: these things only work if you don't know what's coming next! I will at least say that my old bête noire, the Mask Room, was the best of the rooms - or worst, however you want to look at it. I crossed it with one of the Eye of Newt staff clinging on to me as she was too scared to even move, it took a few deep breaths before even I unpeeled myself from the wall to cross the floor to the next room!
Fanastic follow up at the Golden Fleece in the newly-named The Hangman's Chambers (the function room), where we were treated to champagne fresh from the coffin, a show by Sweeney Todd (one of the guys from York Horror Tour), 'intestines' and 'hands' to nibble on (the hands were rather good!), and the pièce de résistance, a cake in the shape of a model graveyard complete with chocolate coffins which you had to dig through the cake to find. My daughter found one of them, I settled for eating a few tombstones, rocks and some fruity and fizzy bones. An evening for adults, that brought out the child in some of us!
Catch the show whilst you can, or hope it comes back again soon? Grab your tickets via the link on this blog for Monday or risk missing out.
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel Lacy
Wednesday, October 27
Scream Until You Like It
Hallowe'en: great for the little kids to dress up, have some mild terror, eat lots of sweets... but what about the big kids?
You want big scares and big screams this year, try York Maze's Hallowscream. I was invited along to the press launch and took as a test audience my seventeen year old daughter Carol, and her boyfriend Rob as ballast, as it was easier to hold her when she jumped with one on each arm. Yes, it was that scary for her!
Like York Dungeon, I'm not going to give away too much about the attractions as that would take the fun out of it. But a few words of advice: wrap up warm, wrap up waterproof, and wear decent shoes. And take a friend.
We started with An Audience With The Undertakers: a few scares, a few laughs, but we'd expected more jumps. It worked well to set the scene, and I think the experience was better for this rather than going all out for terror from the word go. Maybe it was just to lull us in to a false sense of security... We followed it up with The Curse of the Corn, which started with a tractor ride. As we waited our turn, we saw two other rides go out full and come back empty, and all we could hear in the darkness was the screams...
The walk back was... err... interesting. Funny moment when Carol and Rob (by this time we were all linked in a chain, fingers nearly being broken in terror) found they couldn't run any further – having run straight in to a hay bale! I was suffering with night blindness from the very bright lights on the other side of me (nice touch whoever thought of that), I got my just desserts for laughing at them when something loomed out of the darkness next to me, and I jumped, although not as far as Carol who nearly achieved vertical takeoff a few times.
The rest of our 'pleasant country walk' was not so amusing, as the darkness, mud, maize stalks and random nasties contributed to set us all screaming - and immense fun it was too!
After a quick breather we decided that next we would brave Barnageddon, an indoor maze of the macabre which included the wet part, more nasties, moving parts, hysterical offspring, toilets and sheep. I had a good scream halfway round partially because I felt the urge to join in, and partly to keep Carol company. Honestly. I must admit that after this one, even I wasn't sure about going round the last one: Carnevil.
Avoid if you have a phobia of clowns. Avoid if you have vertigo. Avoid if you are affected by strobe lights. But for the rest of us - awesome! The children, bless them, let me go round alone. If the random couple with nice warm woolly hats who were in my group are reading this, THANK YOU! I couldn't have made it round without you. Adrenaline kicked in after 30 seconds, so I made it round laughing and shrieking, and absolutely loved it. Rob only stayed out as moral support for Carol, after I came out he went round and I do believe the word he shouted as he came out was also "awesome" - the vote of approval from both generations.
Big kids: go scare yourselves silly at Hallowscream!
You MUST book in advance for this one, I think next year we'll be organising a staff outing to Hallowscream.
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel LacyGhost Finder General
You want big scares and big screams this year, try York Maze's Hallowscream. I was invited along to the press launch and took as a test audience my seventeen year old daughter Carol, and her boyfriend Rob as ballast, as it was easier to hold her when she jumped with one on each arm. Yes, it was that scary for her!
Like York Dungeon, I'm not going to give away too much about the attractions as that would take the fun out of it. But a few words of advice: wrap up warm, wrap up waterproof, and wear decent shoes. And take a friend.
We started with An Audience With The Undertakers: a few scares, a few laughs, but we'd expected more jumps. It worked well to set the scene, and I think the experience was better for this rather than going all out for terror from the word go. Maybe it was just to lull us in to a false sense of security... We followed it up with The Curse of the Corn, which started with a tractor ride. As we waited our turn, we saw two other rides go out full and come back empty, and all we could hear in the darkness was the screams...
The walk back was... err... interesting. Funny moment when Carol and Rob (by this time we were all linked in a chain, fingers nearly being broken in terror) found they couldn't run any further – having run straight in to a hay bale! I was suffering with night blindness from the very bright lights on the other side of me (nice touch whoever thought of that), I got my just desserts for laughing at them when something loomed out of the darkness next to me, and I jumped, although not as far as Carol who nearly achieved vertical takeoff a few times.
The rest of our 'pleasant country walk' was not so amusing, as the darkness, mud, maize stalks and random nasties contributed to set us all screaming - and immense fun it was too!
After a quick breather we decided that next we would brave Barnageddon, an indoor maze of the macabre which included the wet part, more nasties, moving parts, hysterical offspring, toilets and sheep. I had a good scream halfway round partially because I felt the urge to join in, and partly to keep Carol company. Honestly. I must admit that after this one, even I wasn't sure about going round the last one: Carnevil.
Avoid if you have a phobia of clowns. Avoid if you have vertigo. Avoid if you are affected by strobe lights. But for the rest of us - awesome! The children, bless them, let me go round alone. If the random couple with nice warm woolly hats who were in my group are reading this, THANK YOU! I couldn't have made it round without you. Adrenaline kicked in after 30 seconds, so I made it round laughing and shrieking, and absolutely loved it. Rob only stayed out as moral support for Carol, after I came out he went round and I do believe the word he shouted as he came out was also "awesome" - the vote of approval from both generations.
Big kids: go scare yourselves silly at Hallowscream!
You MUST book in advance for this one, I think next year we'll be organising a staff outing to Hallowscream.
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel Lacy
Friday, October 22
Illuminating Time in York Dungeon
New exhibition at York Dungeon for Hallowe'en: the history of Jack O'Lantern. I was invited to the launch evening, and despite knowing the route and what happens, even I jumped a couple of times!
I can't give you all the details because that would take the fun out of it, so the only way to find out what happens is to go yourself.
York Dungeon is also running a Hellowe'en competition, see their Hellowe'en on Facebook for details: upload photos of your costumes, carved pumpkins etc for a chance to win some great prizes.
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel Lacy
Ghost Finder General
Its life Jim, but not as we know it
The latest paranormal photo to appear in the local paper, The Press, of what was believed to be a UFO, has sadly been removed.
It technically is, in that its unidentified, has wings, and its an object.
So is it an alien life form? Ghost? Or, perhaps, a fly at close quarters?
My money is on the fly...
Two more have gone up since I first wrote this blog, any comments on them welcome:
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel Lacy
Ghost Finder General
It technically is, in that its unidentified, has wings, and its an object.
So is it an alien life form? Ghost? Or, perhaps, a fly at close quarters?
My money is on the fly...
Two more have gone up since I first wrote this blog, any comments on them welcome:
Remember: keep your equipment dry, and your coffee strong.
Rachel Lacy
Ghost Finder General
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