Joshua Dowidat

Haunted Places: Bachelors Grove Cemetery

Hello Everyone,

Since the last post was in Illinois I decided to keep it there while discussing this week’s haunted cemetery. Bachelors Grove Cemetery. The interesting thing about this cemetery that sets it aside from many of those I have been talking about is the size of it.

Bachelors Grove Cemetery:

The thick tree line makes the growing city of Chicago seem distant from the cemetery which adds to the secluded nature of the forgotten cemetery. At least forgotten for burials.

Only 82 plots are at the cemetery and many have never been filled. The cemetery started in 1840 and possibly even a few years earlier there were some burials in the same area. Perhaps the latest burials there, were rumored dumping of bodies by organized crime persons in the 1930s and 40s.

The cemetery which lies near the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve was founded by English homesteaders moving west Continue reading →

The Desert’s Hot Summer Sun

Hello Everyone,

Today I’m addressing something a little different from the usual. Although I will be drifting in and out of the pursuit of the “eerie vibe” I want to address the desert heat and sun.

Southeast Arizona:

In southeast Arizona where I live there is a very extreme heat the roles in around May and lasts to the end of August. Don’t’ get me wrong it is usually hot beyond those times and sometimes it’s a shorter or longer stretch but I feel that those dates are the more extreme temperatures of around 100 degrees or more. The lack of rain, minus the monsoons that don’t’ seem to be as strong as they use to, also adds to this intense feeling of heat and dryness as the areas flora shifts colors to dead and the fauna only are usually visible in the early mornings and late evenings. Now the Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Harpies

Hello Everyone,

Well keeping up a little better than I thought and since a few close friends have been harping on me I thought we would talk about Harpies. Just a little corny joke.

Harpies Origins:

Starting in the Greek myth, or at least when they were first mentioned, they first seem to come about around the same time as the Gorgons and Furies. Perhaps it was an era in Greek Mythology for women to be the popular cursed beasts of legend.

In some tales they were not always as we know them today, almost seductive like the Sirens. Tales after Homer who described this way would see them as the hags that grew more popular in our culture and the myths in those times

Harpies:

Harpies were most mentioned as a nuisance rather than anything else. They stole food from the tables before people could eat them. They would Continue reading →

Eerie for Thoughts: Eerie Lights

Hello Everyone,

So we’ve all come to another end of a segment of blogs about scary, spooky and otherwise Eerie Lights. I wanted to do a form of wrap-up to this segment, not only to explain why I choose the haunted lights but also to touch on a few other areas that were not covered in the previous blogs.

First off: What Makes Them Eerie Lights

Well, first off all it is usually a light in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of…..okay kidding, but you get the idea. It is something that is not natural or if it is, it is unexplained. At least not explained to some level.

As we know many of the Eerie Lights have been “debunked” in their haunted origins. Yet many of them can also not explain how the lights existed before cars, which seems to be Continue reading →

Eerie for Thoughts: Ring around the Rosie

Hello Everyone,

First off I never really liked this nursery rhyme because something about it just didn’t set right with me. I am sure everyone has heard ideas of the origin behind the famous nursery rhyme. But have any of you actually taken the time to see for yourself what the origins of Ring around the Rosie truly are?

Ring around the Rosie:

So here is a couple different verses, all mixed together, and these depend on what country, or time period, you were singing Ring around a Rosie aka: Ring a Ring o’ Rosie, Ring A Ring o’ Roses.

Ring-a-ring o’ roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.

 

Cows in the meadows
Eating buttercups
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all jump up.

Ring-a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down.

 

Hush! Hush! Hush! Hush!
We’ve all tumbled down Continue reading →

Haunted Places: Tatakanoruma Greenland

Hello Everyone,

So this next segment is once again about haunted places. However, much like Tatakanoruma Greenland, this segment is on haunted or allegedly haunted and abandoned amusement parks.

Tatakanoruma Greenland:

The park was originally opened in 1973. It is located in Japan near Horbara but it is not listed on any maps in Japan. In fact after looking through for a location and seeing what others have discovered is that the coordinates for the park in Google Earth take you to the city nearby.

The park is located in the mountainous regions of Japan and used these natural landscapes to help design the layout of the park. Tatakanoruma Greenland was not the original park in the area either. In the 1960s a smaller park opened up overlooking the site that Tatakonuma Greenland was built on. This park also closed mysteriously after only being opened for a short time.

The Continue reading →

Haunted Places: Six Flags New Orleans

Hello Everyone,

Although this one doesn’t really fit into the “haunted” category, I chose to include it anyway for its eerie nature and fate. As many of us know, there are several Six Flags across the United States of America, but Six Flags New Orleans is one that was forced to close years before its time.

Six Flags New Orleans:

The park was a large park in its day. 140 acres that now stand abandoned in eerie decay. The pictures are enough to tell the story of the feeling that one can get simply be looking through the photos.

It had a short life as well, especially when you consider how long many amusement parks stay open. Six Flags New Orleans opened in 2000 and closed in 2005.

Why is it Eerie?

Six Flags New Orleans met the end of its short life due to Hurricane Katrina flooding the park Continue reading →

Haunted Places: Joyland

Hello Everyone,

Well once again this is just an eerie place. Although it has had its misfortunes and share of accidents, they can easily be seen as human caused. Joyland Amusement Park in Wichita, Kansas stayed afloat for some 70 plus years before the park became an eerie site.

Joyland:

The park was established in the 1940s to secure a place, or a home, for the owner’s miniatures locomotive that he would tour around with from carnival to carnival. Upon his death his three sons took over Joyland and began to run it as a family business up until they sold it in the 1970s.

Joyland first closed in 2004 and was a site of off-and-on restoration and attempts to re-open until 2015. In 2016 the current owners decided to start tearing it down.

Joyland had some amusement rides that dawned the ages of amusement parks. This included an original Continue reading →

Haunted Places: Theorosa’s Bridge

Hello Everyone,

There were a couple topics I wanted to cover and one of those is Theorosa’s Bridge. I wanted to do these just before I begin gathering information and hopefully adding some categories to my webpage.

Theorosa’s Bridge:

The bridge is located in Valley Center, Kansas. Theorosa’s Bridge has been burned down and rebuilt over the years but the location remains the same. The first fire occurred in 1974. The bridge at that time was made of steal and wood. The next time it was rebuilt, guess what? It was burned again. After that Theorosa’s bridge remained closed until a not so burnable concrete bridge was constructed in 1991.

Although the bridge still holds the same name it is not the bridge itself that carries the eerie or haunted story but the location.

The Tale:

Although they are considered Urban Legends I found the first story similar to one Continue reading →

Haunted Places: Cemetery Hill

Hello Everyone,

Many of us will hear the name Cemetery Hill and instantly now what and where it is. Somewhat similar to the familiarity of the Valley of the Kings in last week’s blog. Although it doesn’t carry as much weight as the worldly known Valley of the Kings, Cemetery Hill played a large part in the history of the United States of America.

Cemetery Hill:

Cemetery Hill is located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It is most recognized as a place of rest for the many soldiers who died in the bloody Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.

This battle was significant because most people believe it was the turning point of the war when the Union defeated the Confederate States at the battle. And of course for those readers not familiar in other parts of the world, they ended up winning the war.

Hauntings:

I know I Continue reading →