Doug Dillon's Blog, page 28
August 15, 2016
Literary Ghost Attack, St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida, Halloween, Sunday, October 30, 2016, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The real deal!
Authors of the paranormal, Doug Dillon and Dave Lapham will meet the public, chat about things that go bump in the night, especially in St. Augustine, and sign their books.
Location: The City of St. Augustine’s Visitor Information Center, 10 W. Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, Florida. Click here for more information about the location and parking.
Doug Dillon will be signing these books:
Sliding Beneath the Surface Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
Stepping Off a Cliff, Book II of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
The St. Augustine Trilogy: A young adult, paranormal/historical series set in present day St. Augustine that takes readers, young and old, on spooky, whirlwind tours of key locations of the ancient city and probes actual historic events in time travel mode.
3. Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences.
Nonfiction. A book of true life events, stories taken from Carl Jung’s life and the lives of others that vividly demonstrate our potential to connect with unseen worlds. Includes stories from St. Augustine.
Dave Lapham
Dave Lapham is widely recognized as the first writer to uncover the wealth of paranormal happenings in St. Augustine and putting them in print. He will be signing two books specifically relating to St. Augustine and one about ghost hunting adventures. See his nonfiction book covers, titles and links below. Click on Dave’s website to find out more about him, his experiences and writing.
The Ghosts of St. Augustine
Supernatural Book Tour, St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida, Halloween, Sunday, October 30, 2016, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The real deal!
Authors of the paranormal, Doug Dillon and Dave Lapham will meet the public, chat about things that go bump in the night, especially in St. Augustine, and sign their books.
Location: The City of St. Augustine’s Visitor Information Center, 10 W. Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, Florida. Click here for more information about the location and parking.
Doug Dillon will be signing these books:
Sliding Beneath the Surface Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
Stepping Off a Cliff, Book II of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
The St. Augustine Trilogy: A young adult, paranormal/historical series set in present day St. Augustine that takes readers, young and old, on spooky, whirlwind tours of key locations of the ancient city and probes actual historic events in time travel mode.
3. Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences.
Nonfiction. A book of true life events, stories taken from Carl Jung’s life and the lives of others that vividly demonstrate our potential to connect with unseen worlds. Includes stories from St. Augustine.
Dave Lapham
Dave Lapham is widely recognized as the first writer to uncover the wealth of paranormal happenings in St. Augustine and putting them in print. He will be signing two books specifically relating to St. Augustine and one about ghost hunting adventures. See his nonfiction book covers, titles and links below. Click on Dave’s website to find out more about him, his experiences and writing.
The Ghosts of St. Augustine
Paranormal Book Tour, St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida, Halloween, Sunday, October 30, 2016, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The real deal!
Authors of the paranormal, Doug Dillon and Dave Lapham will meet the public, chat about things that go bump in the night, especially in St. Augustine, and sign their books.
Location: The City of St. Augustine’s Visitor Information Center, 10 W. Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, Florida. Click here for more information about the location and parking.
Doug Dillon will be signing these books:
Sliding Beneath the Surface Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
Stepping Off a Cliff, Book II of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
The St. Augustine Trilogy: A young adult, paranormal/historical series set in present day St. Augustine that takes readers, young and old, on spooky, whirlwind tours of key locations of the ancient city and probes actual historic events in time travel mode.
3. Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences.
Nonfiction. A book of true life events, stories taken from Carl Jung’s life and the lives of others that vividly demonstrate our potential to connect with unseen worlds. Includes stories from St. Augustine.
Dave Lapham
Dave Lapham is widely recognized as the first writer to uncover the wealth of paranormal happenings in St. Augustine and putting them in print. He will be signing two books specifically relating to St. Augustine and one about ghost hunting adventures. See his nonfiction book covers, titles and links below. Click on Dave’s website to find out more about him, his experiences and writing.
The Ghosts of St. Augustine
August 12, 2016
A Hard Rock Cafe Paranormal Event
Strings of odd coincidences create a fascinating paranormal pattern.
Back in 2009, my wife and I went to a concert at The Hard Rock Cafe here in the Orlando area. David Garrett, the great violinist was playing.
The guy is really terrific. He can shift from classical to rock and then into country in a matter of seconds.
In watching him though, my analytical mind started working overtime. Because the man moves that bow so incredibly fast, I wondered what temperatures his bow strings reached with all that friction. Then I started wondering if he replaced those bow strings before each concert to make sure they wouldn’t break.
Not satisfied with those mental meanderings, I continued to wonder if his bow strings broke very often during a concert and if that affected his performance greatly. Finally, I realized I wasn’t enjoying the show because of all that internal questioning.
As a result, I made a very concerted effort to focus just on the music. Didn’t happen. My obsession with the guy’s bowstring’s wouldn’t leave me and, in fact, they strengthened. That really irritated me because I can usually let my thoughts go when I tried but no this time. The compulsion was really getting to me.
In tremendous frustration, I immediately started working diligently to refocus my mind. The thing is, less than two minutes after launching into that effort, Garrett actually broke several bow strings. I couldn’t believe it but there they were just flailing away in the air as they guy continued to play. People all around me pointed and took pictures as Garrett courageously went on playing and ended that set with a flourish.
As soon as the music ended, he studied his broken bow-string, fondled them a bit, looked at the audience, grinned, shrugged, and then went on playing.
With all of my questions somewhat answered, I enjoyed the rest of the show and ignored the bow strings still flopping in the air.
My son, Greg Dillon, graciously allowed me to use the picture he took of a violin for this blog. It pays to have a professional photographer in the family. Thanks Greg. It fit perfectly.
###
If you are truly interested in paranormal phenomena, you might be interested in read my book, Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences. You can find it in most online bookstores. Listed below, however, are direct book links to some of the larger retail outlets in the English-speaking world:
Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon India, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Millon.
August 10, 2016
Music and the Paranormal
Strings of odd coincidences create a fascinating paranormal pattern.
Back in 2009, my wife and I went to a concert at The Hard Rock Cafe here in the Orlando area. David Garrett, the great violinist was playing.
The guy is really terrific. He can shift from classical to rock and then into country in a matter of seconds.
In watching him though, my analytical mind started working overtime. Because the man moves that bow so incredibly fast, I wondered what temperatures his bow strings reached with all that friction. Then I started wondering if he replaced those bow strings before each concert to make sure they wouldn’t break.
Not satisfied with those mental meanderings, I continued to wonder if his bow strings broke very often during a concert and if that affected his performance greatly. Finally, I realized I wasn’t enjoying the show because of all that internal questioning.
As a result, I made a very concerted effort to focus just on the music. Didn’t happen. My obsession with the guy’s bowstring’s wouldn’t leave me and, in fact, they strengthened. That really irritated me because I can usually let my thoughts go when I tried but no this time. The compulsion was really getting to me.
In tremendous frustration, I immediately started working diligently to refocus my mind. The thing is, less than two minutes after launching into that effort, Garrett actually broke several bow strings. I couldn’t believe it but there they were just flailing away in the air as they guy continued to play. People all around me pointed and took pictures as Garrett courageously went on playing and ended that set with a flourish.
As soon as the music ended, he studied his broken bow-string, fondled them a bit, looked at the audience, grinned, shrugged, and then went on playing.
With all of my questions somewhat answered, I enjoyed the rest of the show and ignored the bow strings still flopping in the air.
My son, Greg Dillon, graciously allowed me to use the picture he took of a violin for this blog. It pays to have a professional photographer in the family. Thanks Greg. It fit perfectly.
###
If you are truly interested in paranormal phenomena, you might be interested in read my book, Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences. You can find it in most online bookstores. Listed below, however, are direct book links to some of the larger retail outlets in the English-speaking world:
Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon India, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Millon.
August 4, 2016
16th Century Ghost Aboard the Queen Mary?
Photographic evidence of a ghostly being aboard ship by my friend Peaches Veach from California Paranormal Private Investigations (CPPI).
Of all the locations I’ve visited and/or investigated, The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California is one of the most interesting. Back in the day, it was a luxury liner that was then converted into a troop transport ship during WWII. Thousands of people are believed to have perished on or around the ship over the years. World renowned psychic Peter James believed there are close to 600 spirits wandering the ship.
The Queen Mary was bought by the City of Long Beach and turned into a floating hotel in 1967. It serves not only as a hotel, but also has restaurants, exhibits, and convention facilities. There are also a number of tours available to visitors. On one of those tours is where I had a paranormal encounter. Multiple parts of the ship are haunted.
We had taken one tour earlier in the day and it took us into the changing rooms of the first class swimming pool. Several spirits are said to haunt this area. We had told the guide before the tour started that we were paranormal investigators so that he would understand why we’d have some pieces of equipment with us. There were almost enough of us to have our own private tour.
This little excursion was done in the dark and towards the end of it, we turned off our flashlights. That’s when the tour guide started talking about a possible male spirit being in that area, who he might be and why he might be there. When we talked about it later, a few of us agreed we felt the energy change all around us right at that moment. It’s hard to describe if you’ve never felt energy shift in such a way, but it’s much like how it feels when people have an argument in a room and you’re just standing there observing and feeling the tension.
For whatever reason, the tour guide sounded uncomfortable talking about this spirit. When he finished speaking, all was quiet for a while. Finally, someone asked a question but there was no response. Turning our flashlights back on, we realized the guide had left. We never did see him again.
We all decided to leave the room and I was the last one out. As we started moving, I felt a pressure on my back that was similar to having someone pushing me. I told my friends, “Move! Go! Go! Go! We’re being pushed out!” Another friend who has an intuitive “gift” also felt that the male spirit was upset and wanted us out.
Later in the day, we took another tour that’s really a “smoke and mirrors” event where they use all kinds of special effects. We had been told not to take flash photos since that would disorient everyone. As I snapped a photo without flash, I realized that I would have a blurry result due to camera shake. So I just dismissed what I had done and moved along with the group.
Original blurry photo of 3 people in the dark. Bright light at top is a bulb hanging from the ceiling. The white streak of light in the middle of the picture going across the woman is unidentified. Just above that streak, and below the woman’s head, is the small oval of a face that you can barely see.
A few days later, I was looking at my photos and came across a blurry picture. At first, I thought that I should just delete it. Then I noticed something strange. I showed my coworker, and she and I both gasped when we looked at it closer. To us, it looked like a head showing only one side of the face. This was the picture I had taken in the dark.
A closer, cropped view of the face.
We speculated as to what it might really be, but I knew exactly who could check it out for me. I have a friend by the name of Tony who is a retired mortician. He specializes in facial reconstruction. Tony has some forensic software that analyzes photos, including pixel count, color temp, etc. He can tell if a photo has been altered in any way. I’ve gotten to know Tony over the years, with all of the interesting photos I’ve sent him.
Tony’s enhancement of the previous photo to bring out the opposite side of the face. In this version of the picture, a shoulder below the face is clearly visible on the left.
Tony’s answer to this particular photo? “I don’t believe in ghosts, but you have something there. I just don’t know what it is.” He verified the photo had not been altered (I had taken it, so of course, I already knew that), and he took it a step further enhancing and removing certain color tones. He was able to digitally shift things around in order to show the other side of what we all believe is a face in the photo. To me, it looked like someone wearing an Elizabethan collar from the 16th Century, which would be extremely weird to find here in the States.
Tony’ second enhancement, no color, cropped and enlarged. Look carefully.
Tony’s official opinion in the end was that what we were seeing was a woman he believed to be between 40 and 60 years of age with her hair in an updo. This, he thinks, meant that in a different era, she was probably financially well off. The last thing he added was that she was staring right at me!
Tony and I have both studied this picture over the years and continue trying to figure out exactly whose face it is. After comparing it to many other photos, we have yet to find the answer. We’ve gone back to the Queen Mary several times since that original experience to try and find an answer but with no luck. One of my more intuitive friends said that whoever the person is in that picture, she will not appear again. She got my attention the first time and is glad that I know she’s there. Even so, my quest to discover the identity of our mystery woman continues.
Fascinating, Peaches. Thanks so much.
Click here for the CPPI website.
Click here for the Queen Mary Website.
Click here for a video on the Queen Mary.
###
If you would like to read more great stories about paranormal phenomena, you might be interested in checking out my book, Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences. You can find it in most online bookstores. Listed below, however, are direct book links to some of the larger retail outlets in the English-speaking world:
Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon India, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
July 24, 2016
Violins and the Paranormal
Strings of odd coincidences create a fascinating paranormal pattern.
Back in 2009, my wife and I went to a concert at The Hard Rock Cafe here in the Orlando area. David Garrett, the great violinist was playing.
The guy is really terrific. He can shift from classical to rock and then into country in a matter of seconds.
In watching him though, my analytical mind started working overtime. Because the man moves that bow so incredibly fast, I wondered what temperatures his bow strings reached with all that friction. Then I started wondering if he replaced those bow strings before each concert to make sure they wouldn’t break.
Not satisfied with those mental meanderings, I continued to wonder if his bow strings broke very often during a concert and if that affected his performance greatly. Finally, I realized I wasn’t enjoying the show because of all that internal questioning.
As a result, I made a very concerted effort to focus just on the music. Didn’t happen. My obsession with the guy’s bowstring’s wouldn’t leave me and, in fact, they strengthened. That really irritated me because I can usually let my thoughts go when I tried but no this time. The compulsion was really getting to me.
In tremendous frustration, I immediately started working diligently to refocus my mind. The thing is, less than two minutes after launching into that effort, Garrett actually broke several bow strings. I couldn’t believe it but there they were just flailing away in the air as they guy continued to play. People all around me pointed and took pictures as Garrett courageously went on playing and ended that set with a flourish.
As soon as the music ended, he studied his broken bow-string, fondled them a bit, looked at the audience, grinned, shrugged, and then went on playing.
With all of my questions somewhat answered, I enjoyed the rest of the show and ignored the bow strings still flopping in the air.
My son, Greg Dillon, graciously allowed me to use the picture he took of a violin for this blog. It pays to have a professional photographer in the family. Thanks Greg. It fit perfectly.
###
If you are truly interested in paranormal phenomena, you might be interested in read my book, Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences. You can find it in most online bookstores. Listed below, however, are direct book links to some of the larger retail outlets in the English-speaking world:
Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon India, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Millon.
July 21, 2016
Protetive Ghost Haunts House
An investigation into paranormal events involving a family with a child as told by my friend, Peaches Veach. Peaches is the Director and Lead Investigator for California Paranormal Private Investigations (CPPI).
Being an almost full time paranormal investigator for the past 5 years, I have been able to understand spirits a little more. Mostly they’re like us…they have feelings and when something upsets or startles them, I can sometimes feel that emotion when I’m near them. I’ve felt their anger, hurt, confusion, and joy.
During an investigation at a rather upscale home a few years ago, another investigator had an “image” in her head of what the spirit looked like. When we went into the owner’s study, we noticed some pictures and the investigator said, “That’s him! That’s the guy I’ve been seeing!” When we spoke to the homeowner, he indicated that was his father, and that he had passed away nearly 30 years ago.
The activity in this home had started up about two and a half years ago and their nearly three year old daughter was seeing something in her bedroom which frightened her. She now would not sleep in her room.
We were told about the activity that happened in the nearly 5000 square foot home. I emphasize that the home was only four years old because many people believe a property needs to be very old or historic for anything ghostly to happen. This home was near native land, but after some research, we were told it was not an ancient Indian burial ground, as nearly all property is jokingly believed to be in California.
Once the investigator who recognized the man from a photo as the deceased grandfather, he was able to actually speak to him. The spirit relayed information that there was a dark presence outside of the home, and he, the grandfather, was there to protect his new granddaughter. We’ve found that spirits can appear when something notable happens in a person’s life—such as a crisis or a birth—and this spirit came calling when his granddaughter was born.
We told the spirit that he was actually scaring his granddaughter, because she didn’t know how to verbalize what she was seeing. The emotion I felt afterwards was so intense. My heart sank and I could almost feel the room become so pressurized I couldn’t breathe. Tears ran down my face. I told the grandfather spirit that he could stay, but he needed to keep his distance from the family since the granddaughter didn’t exactly understand why he was there.
The family was extremely grateful that we were able to find the reason for the haunting and talk a little sense into the spirit. Even though we knew why he was there, being able to make the daughter understand was going to be a different task for the family. They were okay with that, as long as they knew who or what was in their house.
This is the reason I’m a paranormal investigator. When I experienced paranormal happenings in my life while growing up, I didn’t have someone to contact in order to help me understand. To have situations like this, to actually feel what the spirit feels is something unique for me. Yeah, and this what keeps me searching for answers as to why spirits stay here and how we can learn to live in harmony with them.
Thanks so much Peaches. Great work and wonderful story.
Click here to see the CPPI website.
###
If you would like to read more great stories about paranormal phenomena, you might be interested in checking out my book, Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences. You can find it in most online bookstores. Listed below, however, are direct book links to some of the larger retail outlets in the English-speaking world:
Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon India, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
July 20, 2016
Ghost Hunters in St. Augustine on Halloween
St. Augustine, Florida, Halloween, Sunday, October 30, 2016, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The real deal!
Authors of the paranormal, Doug Dillon and Dave Lapham will meet the public, chat about things that go bump in the night, especially in St. Augustine, and sign their books.
Location: The City of St. Augustine’s Visitor Information Center, 10 W. Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, Florida. Click here for more information about the location and parking.
Doug Dillon will be signing these books:
Sliding Beneath the Surface Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
Stepping Off a Cliff, Book II of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
The St. Augustine Trilogy: A young adult, paranormal/historical series set in present day St. Augustine that takes readers, young and old, on spooky, whirlwind tours of key locations of the ancient city and probes actual historic events in time travel mode.
3. Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences.
Nonfiction. A book of true life events, stories taken from Carl Jung’s life and the lives of others that vividly demonstrate our potential to connect with unseen worlds. Includes stories from St. Augustine.
Dave Lapham
Dave Lapham is widely recognized as the first writer to uncover the wealth of paranormal happenings in St. Augustine and putting them in print. He will be signing two books specifically relating to St. Augustine and one about ghost hunting adventures. See his nonfiction book covers, titles and links below. Click on Dave’s website to find out more about him, his experiences and writing.
The Ghosts of St. Augustine
Ghosts of the Past, St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida, Halloween, Sunday, October 30, 2016, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The real deal!
Authors of the paranormal, Doug Dillon and Dave Lapham will meet the public, chat about things that go bump in the night, especially in St. Augustine, and sign their books.
Location: The City of St. Augustine’s Visitor Information Center, 10 W. Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, Florida. Click here for more information about the location and parking.
Doug Dillon will be signing these books:
Sliding Beneath the Surface Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
Stepping Off a Cliff, Book II of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
The St. Augustine Trilogy: A young adult, paranormal/historical series set in present day St. Augustine that takes readers, young and old, on spooky, whirlwind tours of key locations of the ancient city and probes actual historic events in time travel mode.
3. Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences.
Nonfiction. A book of true life events, stories taken from Carl Jung’s life and the lives of others that vividly demonstrate our potential to connect with unseen worlds. Includes stories from St. Augustine.
Dave Lapham
Dave Lapham is widely recognized as the first writer to uncover the wealth of paranormal happenings in St. Augustine and putting them in print. He will be signing two books specifically relating to St. Augustine and one about ghost hunting adventures. See his nonfiction book covers, titles and links below. Click on Dave’s website to find out more about him, his experiences and writing.
The Ghosts of St. Augustine
