Posts
okay...
seems i'm always apologizing for being away for too long, but it's been a long week.
and a sad one too.
isn't it weird that celebrities go in 3's? i was sad to hear that long time red sox announcer (and for me the voice of the american sportsman) curt gowdy passed away last weekend, remembering sunday afternoons when i was a very little kid watching the american sportsman with my father. but i wasn't sure if he was well-known enough to be part of one of these celebrity trifectas.
still not sure...
then i heard that don knotts died on saturday whom i will always remember more as bumbling, bug-eyed barney fyfe than as the comically suspicious mr. furley. i grew up on a steady diet of andy griffith (and i love lucy, and the flintstones, and...) re-runs and so he was just another guy i knew from my childhood.
but what hurt more (emotions are odd things, huh?) was when, on sunday, i read of the passing of darrin mcgavin. certainly an idol for me as the cunning, conning kolchak on tv's night stalker, hunting down the mysterious and the macabre. but more for his turn as the furnace-fighting, award-winning, quietly compassionate dad in 1984's a christmas story. one of my absolute favorite movies, mostly 'cause, though i didn't grow up in the 40's, THAT is my family and THAT was my childhood.
and that is my dad.
sad losses all.
gentlemen, rest in peace.
but here's the thing. when celebrities go in 3's, it's usually 3 from the same list, or at least close. A-list, B-list, D-list, whatever, but i don't know if curt was on or near the same list as don knotts and darrin mcgavin. and it's only been a day or two. not to sound cold or insensitive, but on the celebrity playing field, does curt count?
i hope so.
anyway, that's a weird entry.
and apparently it's entry 18.
see ya in a day or 2.
todd
nope. i was wrong.
there goes dennis weaver.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
back!
okay...
well, i got back from craig's yesterday after an absolutely GREAT weekend with him and his family--as well as a really nice show over in boston! saw a lot of old friends--dave tata, mike oeming, neil vokes, matt talbot--and met a bunch of new ones! also had the pleasure of taping an interview with jim, a huge spider-man fan i met last year, although this year it seems that a new light is being shed on the x-men's age of apocalypse storyline from a few years back. eh, jim?
anyway, it was a great time and i was even able to pick up a few old books for my collection; some really gorgeous nick cardy teen titans! if you wanna see some really beautiful artwork, pick up the teen titans archives--the original series from the 60's-70's--and just have some fun! nick is my hero!
i only got through half of stephen king's cell on cd; a chilling story (so far!) and a great way to make the trip zoom by. (also i was doin', like, 85 the whole way...)
one of the things we worked on while i was at craig's--besides the windows in his new addition--was the trade paperback of this perhapanauts first series (which we are calling "first blood".) (you'll see why after next issue.) (as if there wasn't enough blood in the first issue!) anyway, we're tweaking a few things here and there--not really george lucasing it, but making a few changes that we weren't able to do on the originals due to looming deadlines. we're also including some earlier stuff (stories from the perhapanauts: dossier) and an expanded, colored bios/bedlam files section that includes a few creatures/characters that we haven't even seen yet!
but here's the best part--and i can't even tell ya who--but we're lining up some really great pin-ups for the trade that are gonna make it worth the price just for them! stay tuned to this perhapablog for more details as it becomes okay for us to name names...
and that's it. hope everybody's well and that if you're reading this, you won't be too shy to drop a comment at the bottom so that we know you're there. i mean, we can hear ya breathing...
peace out!
todd
well, i got back from craig's yesterday after an absolutely GREAT weekend with him and his family--as well as a really nice show over in boston! saw a lot of old friends--dave tata, mike oeming, neil vokes, matt talbot--and met a bunch of new ones! also had the pleasure of taping an interview with jim, a huge spider-man fan i met last year, although this year it seems that a new light is being shed on the x-men's age of apocalypse storyline from a few years back. eh, jim?
anyway, it was a great time and i was even able to pick up a few old books for my collection; some really gorgeous nick cardy teen titans! if you wanna see some really beautiful artwork, pick up the teen titans archives--the original series from the 60's-70's--and just have some fun! nick is my hero!
i only got through half of stephen king's cell on cd; a chilling story (so far!) and a great way to make the trip zoom by. (also i was doin', like, 85 the whole way...)
one of the things we worked on while i was at craig's--besides the windows in his new addition--was the trade paperback of this perhapanauts first series (which we are calling "first blood".) (you'll see why after next issue.) (as if there wasn't enough blood in the first issue!) anyway, we're tweaking a few things here and there--not really george lucasing it, but making a few changes that we weren't able to do on the originals due to looming deadlines. we're also including some earlier stuff (stories from the perhapanauts: dossier) and an expanded, colored bios/bedlam files section that includes a few creatures/characters that we haven't even seen yet!
but here's the best part--and i can't even tell ya who--but we're lining up some really great pin-ups for the trade that are gonna make it worth the price just for them! stay tuned to this perhapablog for more details as it becomes okay for us to name names...
and that's it. hope everybody's well and that if you're reading this, you won't be too shy to drop a comment at the bottom so that we know you're there. i mean, we can hear ya breathing...
peace out!
todd
Thursday, February 16, 2006
see ya in boston!!
okay...
short and sweet. i'm leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for craig's and from there we'll on to boston for the show on sunday! i've got a full tanka gas, a bag of pepperidge farms goldfish, stephen king's "cell" (read by campbell scott) on cd, and a map so i can make a much anticipated detour up into the town of dover, just to see...
...prob'ly nothing. but maybe just to get "the feel"...
we'll see. my dad says it's s'posed to rain like crazy (60-70 mph winds!)
anyway, that's why this is so short!
i hope to see a lot of you there. if not, i'll see ya back here on monday!
have a great weekend!
here's a picture from my partner.
todd
short and sweet. i'm leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for craig's and from there we'll on to boston for the show on sunday! i've got a full tanka gas, a bag of pepperidge farms goldfish, stephen king's "cell" (read by campbell scott) on cd, and a map so i can make a much anticipated detour up into the town of dover, just to see...
...prob'ly nothing. but maybe just to get "the feel"...
we'll see. my dad says it's s'posed to rain like crazy (60-70 mph winds!)
anyway, that's why this is so short!
i hope to see a lot of you there. if not, i'll see ya back here on monday!
have a great weekend!
here's a picture from my partner.
todd
Monday, February 13, 2006
the goin' to boston jam!
okay...
this'll be quick as i have a few things to throw out here today.
first and foremost is a reminder that craig and i (along with such fan faves as michael avon oeming, neil vokes, and dave tata!) will be attending the PRIMATE PROMOTIONS COMIC CONVENTION in BOSTON this sunday, febrruary 19th! if you're in the area and you have nothing much to do, come on down! it's lots of fun and, truthfully, we get sick of each other after awhile and would really appreciate some new faces to talk to!
next, our pal scott w. (and really, when i say pal i'm not covering it--scott is a great friend and we're looking forward to hanging out with him at the new york show the following weekend!) (you too, kojee!) anyway, after sending me his guest blog about the ghosts of williamsburg last week, he followed up with some cool information about a religious/christian variant called the druze that, among other things, interjects a great deal of reincarnation belief into their daily lives. check this out:
These stories are from my buddy David. They take
place in Lebanon in the early 1900s. His family is
Druze.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze
This is a sect of Christianity. The main thing to
know about them for these stories is that they believe
in reincarnation. So, here they are as told by David:
A little girl refuses to go see any doctor until she
hears my uncle's (a pediatrician) name mentioned. She
agrees to go see my uncle. During the Doctor visit,
she tells him that she was a patient of his in her
previous life. She had been accidentally shot to
death by her brother at a family picnic. She
remembers being shot, the trip to the hospital, and
then everything went black (she had died shortly after
arriving at the hospital.)
another one:
My grandfather, as a child in the early 1900s,
insisted he had another family in another town. The
family doctor, not knowing what to do, told his
parents to let him take them where he wanted to go.
He led them, by donkey or carriage or whatever they
had 100 years ago, on a several-day trip to the other
village. Once there, he went straight to his old
house and identified every member of this family that
he had never seen before -- by name. The handwriting
of the dead guy and my grandfather's are identical.
fascinating stuff, scott--but then it always is! thanks!
and finally, i've gotten a couple of letters complaining that i didn't continue posting some of craig's early sketches of the team waaaay before we really knew who they were. so here's a couple of an early choopie and an early big. more next week!
thanks, everybody!
see ya in beantown!
todd
this'll be quick as i have a few things to throw out here today.
first and foremost is a reminder that craig and i (along with such fan faves as michael avon oeming, neil vokes, and dave tata!) will be attending the PRIMATE PROMOTIONS COMIC CONVENTION in BOSTON this sunday, febrruary 19th! if you're in the area and you have nothing much to do, come on down! it's lots of fun and, truthfully, we get sick of each other after awhile and would really appreciate some new faces to talk to!
next, our pal scott w. (and really, when i say pal i'm not covering it--scott is a great friend and we're looking forward to hanging out with him at the new york show the following weekend!) (you too, kojee!) anyway, after sending me his guest blog about the ghosts of williamsburg last week, he followed up with some cool information about a religious/christian variant called the druze that, among other things, interjects a great deal of reincarnation belief into their daily lives. check this out:
These stories are from my buddy David. They take
place in Lebanon in the early 1900s. His family is
Druze.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze
This is a sect of Christianity. The main thing to
know about them for these stories is that they believe
in reincarnation. So, here they are as told by David:
A little girl refuses to go see any doctor until she
hears my uncle's (a pediatrician) name mentioned. She
agrees to go see my uncle. During the Doctor visit,
she tells him that she was a patient of his in her
previous life. She had been accidentally shot to
death by her brother at a family picnic. She
remembers being shot, the trip to the hospital, and
then everything went black (she had died shortly after
arriving at the hospital.)
another one:
My grandfather, as a child in the early 1900s,
insisted he had another family in another town. The
family doctor, not knowing what to do, told his
parents to let him take them where he wanted to go.
He led them, by donkey or carriage or whatever they
had 100 years ago, on a several-day trip to the other
village. Once there, he went straight to his old
house and identified every member of this family that
he had never seen before -- by name. The handwriting
of the dead guy and my grandfather's are identical.
fascinating stuff, scott--but then it always is! thanks!
and finally, i've gotten a couple of letters complaining that i didn't continue posting some of craig's early sketches of the team waaaay before we really knew who they were. so here's a couple of an early choopie and an early big. more next week!
thanks, everybody!
see ya in beantown!
todd
Saturday, February 11, 2006
outta sites
okay...
the other day i said that i'd list a few of the books and websites that i've happened upon in my continuing search for stories and info about strange stuff...and then totally skipped the websites.
here, then, are a few of those;
www.unexplained-mysteries.com
the site seems endless. not only does it provide up-to-the-minute daily updates on all things paranormal, scientific, and conspiratorial, one could get lost for months on end in their vast archives section! it's huge! a veritable cornucopia of information! wanna read about the recent chupacabra flap in chile? the bigfoot expedition being mounted in malaysia? a glowing pig? this is the place.
http://paranormal.about.com/
while this site also provides daily updated reports on the paranormal and supernatural, it's the amazing true paranormal stories section (updated each month) that i like to check out. but even more than that, readers' actual personal accounts of encounters with all KINDS of weird stuff--in the weird creatures/monsters section--has given me the creeps on many late nights! check out the creature from the dump or click on some of the bigfoot confrontations. that these are stories have been submitted by regular readers make them all the more chilling. to me anyway. i guess they COULD be makin' some of these up (i like to think that i can tell by the way it's written), but i'm fox mulder. i WANT to believe.
www.xprojectmagazine.com
just found this a short while ago and haven't really explored it to it's fullest, but this is a really nice site with some constantly expanding section on ufos and extraterrestrials, cryptozoology, ghosts and vampires, and another nice reader submitted section.
and though I did mention loren coleman's site at www.lorencoleman.com, i'll mention it again because it's the place to go for anything cryptid related. this man is THE authority when it comes to mysterious creatures!
and, before i go, back onto the books again. i recently have become hooked on the "weird" books, available exclusively at barnes and noble and put out by mark sceurman and mark moran, the guys who put out the weird nj magazine. originally these guys complied some of the more interesting and bizarre articles from their new jersey focused periodical and published what became the first in a series, "weird nj". soon all the other states got jealous and people began sending in reports/accounts/articles from all over the country and the boys just couldn't keep up. i've read weird nj, new england, new york, u.s., and ohio now and i guess there's about 6 or 7 more (pennsylvania, wisconsin, illinois--the list goes on!) each book is packed with ghost stories, strange creatures, urban legends, bizarre people, abandoned theme parks, etc. check 'em out--there's prob'ly one about YOUR state.
and that's it from me. what about you? what are you reading?
and what have you seen? let me know.
later!
todd
the other day i said that i'd list a few of the books and websites that i've happened upon in my continuing search for stories and info about strange stuff...and then totally skipped the websites.
here, then, are a few of those;
www.unexplained-mysteries.com
the site seems endless. not only does it provide up-to-the-minute daily updates on all things paranormal, scientific, and conspiratorial, one could get lost for months on end in their vast archives section! it's huge! a veritable cornucopia of information! wanna read about the recent chupacabra flap in chile? the bigfoot expedition being mounted in malaysia? a glowing pig? this is the place.
http://paranormal.about.com/
while this site also provides daily updated reports on the paranormal and supernatural, it's the amazing true paranormal stories section (updated each month) that i like to check out. but even more than that, readers' actual personal accounts of encounters with all KINDS of weird stuff--in the weird creatures/monsters section--has given me the creeps on many late nights! check out the creature from the dump or click on some of the bigfoot confrontations. that these are stories have been submitted by regular readers make them all the more chilling. to me anyway. i guess they COULD be makin' some of these up (i like to think that i can tell by the way it's written), but i'm fox mulder. i WANT to believe.
www.xprojectmagazine.com
just found this a short while ago and haven't really explored it to it's fullest, but this is a really nice site with some constantly expanding section on ufos and extraterrestrials, cryptozoology, ghosts and vampires, and another nice reader submitted section.
and though I did mention loren coleman's site at www.lorencoleman.com, i'll mention it again because it's the place to go for anything cryptid related. this man is THE authority when it comes to mysterious creatures!
and, before i go, back onto the books again. i recently have become hooked on the "weird" books, available exclusively at barnes and noble and put out by mark sceurman and mark moran, the guys who put out the weird nj magazine. originally these guys complied some of the more interesting and bizarre articles from their new jersey focused periodical and published what became the first in a series, "weird nj". soon all the other states got jealous and people began sending in reports/accounts/articles from all over the country and the boys just couldn't keep up. i've read weird nj, new england, new york, u.s., and ohio now and i guess there's about 6 or 7 more (pennsylvania, wisconsin, illinois--the list goes on!) each book is packed with ghost stories, strange creatures, urban legends, bizarre people, abandoned theme parks, etc. check 'em out--there's prob'ly one about YOUR state.
and that's it from me. what about you? what are you reading?
and what have you seen? let me know.
later!
todd
Thursday, February 09, 2006
our theme for today is "creepy"
okay...
a few weeks ago i professed that, although i had already been cultivating an (un)healthy interest in the weird and unknown, it was doug moench's big book of the unexplained that reinvigorated my interest in all things paranormal/cryptozoological/supernatural. since then i've searched, scanned, and gooogled through countless sites, countless books, and countless obscure magazines to find any and every bit of info on any and all bizarre creatures and strange occurrences. most of the time i'm totally transfixed by stories and personal accounts of such encounters, although there has been occasion where i've been less than impressed by either the tale or the telling. or both.
as far as fun stories and good information go, though, i thought i'd pony up a few of the books and websites where I'VE found some interesting, astounding, and yes even chilling, posts. especially if you're reading them late at night, in the dark, with the wind howling through the eves and a pack of coyotes howling in the back yard. (no, i am not kidding...)
so, for your amusement, enjoyment, and edification, here are a few books/sites that i recommend;
the mothman prophecies by john keel
if you saw the movie, okay. it was fun, kinda creepy, and contains one of the best "jumps" of the past 10, maybe 20 years. but if you really want a scare, you've gotta read this book, the true accounting of what all went down in the west virginia town of point pleasant back in the mid-to late 60's. the movie did what it could to make a story (with some kind of through-line) out of these events, but having them related by an actual journalist makes this more real than a fictionalization could.
the interrupted journey by john g. fuller
actually, i like the 1975 made for tv movie of this much better than the book if only for the incredible performances by james earl jones and estelle parsons. the two play barney and betty hill, the first recorded alien abductees in the ufo incident. this movie terrified me as a kid mostly due to jones' recounting of his encounter with the visitors while under hypnosis. chilling. if you ever get a chance to see this, do yourself a favor. and turn the lights out. (bet you'll have 'em back on before it's over.) oh yeah, and read the book first. the facts are fascinating.
communion by whitley strieber
gave me nightmares. the movie's kinda creepy too. or maybe that's just walken.
and rather than list all the books by loren coleman, the unrivaled king of cryptozoology, i'll just send you over to his site at www.lorencoleman.com. everything you might ever need to know about crazy creatures and weird events is here and cross referenced with just about every other site on the subject. we all bow to the king. i especially recommend his books mothman and other curious encounters and bigfoot: the true story of apes in america.
just for starters.
more on this subject later. i'm sure we'll be talking about mr. coleman more...
remember, send in tales of your own encounters and experiences. it's nice to share.
see ya saturday.
todd
this is entry 13.
a few weeks ago i professed that, although i had already been cultivating an (un)healthy interest in the weird and unknown, it was doug moench's big book of the unexplained that reinvigorated my interest in all things paranormal/cryptozoological/supernatural. since then i've searched, scanned, and gooogled through countless sites, countless books, and countless obscure magazines to find any and every bit of info on any and all bizarre creatures and strange occurrences. most of the time i'm totally transfixed by stories and personal accounts of such encounters, although there has been occasion where i've been less than impressed by either the tale or the telling. or both.
as far as fun stories and good information go, though, i thought i'd pony up a few of the books and websites where I'VE found some interesting, astounding, and yes even chilling, posts. especially if you're reading them late at night, in the dark, with the wind howling through the eves and a pack of coyotes howling in the back yard. (no, i am not kidding...)
so, for your amusement, enjoyment, and edification, here are a few books/sites that i recommend;
the mothman prophecies by john keel
if you saw the movie, okay. it was fun, kinda creepy, and contains one of the best "jumps" of the past 10, maybe 20 years. but if you really want a scare, you've gotta read this book, the true accounting of what all went down in the west virginia town of point pleasant back in the mid-to late 60's. the movie did what it could to make a story (with some kind of through-line) out of these events, but having them related by an actual journalist makes this more real than a fictionalization could.
the interrupted journey by john g. fuller
actually, i like the 1975 made for tv movie of this much better than the book if only for the incredible performances by james earl jones and estelle parsons. the two play barney and betty hill, the first recorded alien abductees in the ufo incident. this movie terrified me as a kid mostly due to jones' recounting of his encounter with the visitors while under hypnosis. chilling. if you ever get a chance to see this, do yourself a favor. and turn the lights out. (bet you'll have 'em back on before it's over.) oh yeah, and read the book first. the facts are fascinating.
communion by whitley strieber
gave me nightmares. the movie's kinda creepy too. or maybe that's just walken.
and rather than list all the books by loren coleman, the unrivaled king of cryptozoology, i'll just send you over to his site at www.lorencoleman.com. everything you might ever need to know about crazy creatures and weird events is here and cross referenced with just about every other site on the subject. we all bow to the king. i especially recommend his books mothman and other curious encounters and bigfoot: the true story of apes in america.
just for starters.
more on this subject later. i'm sure we'll be talking about mr. coleman more...
remember, send in tales of your own encounters and experiences. it's nice to share.
see ya saturday.
todd
this is entry 13.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
gettin' spooky
hey, everybody!
originally, when craig told me that he'd put a blog up for us here on perhapanauts-dot-com, i thought it was a great idea and that we could use it to let everyone know about new issues of the 'haps coming out, conventions to attend, and most especially, stories and links that i've come across in researching the weird and unexplained for our team of weird and unexplained agents. i said that i would try to post something, at the very least, every other day.
but that hasn't been happening.
granted things have been a bit chaotic around here lately, but no excuse, time to resolve to post something new (and hopefully interesting, thought-provoking, and/or creepy) on a much more regular basis. so i promise.
but i could use your help...
i've had a bunch of people sending in their accounts of strange things that have happened to them and can't tell you how much i appreciate them--please, keep 'em coming! as i've said before, this is your blog as much as it is ours. join in! it's fun!
and so, here, with a really eerie)and historical) account, is our own scott w.--
These ghost stories didn't happen to me. But, they
are some of my favorites. During my brief stay at the
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia,
I took a ghost tour of Colonial Williamsburg. The
tour was given by a History PhD student, whose name
I've since forgotten. There have been plenty of books
written on the ghosts in the area, but for a personal
project, he had researched the stories. Stripping
away the urban myths that have evolved around the
tales, and getting back to the original stories. One
of the most memorable parts of the tour was the Peyton
Randolph House. The place he called "the source of
all evil in Colonial Williamsburg."
http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/hb/hbran.cfm
In the 1930s, the city of Williamsburg was in
shambles. It was mostly poor, run-down and forgotten.
That is until John D. Rockefeller took it upon
himself and his millions and millions of untaxed
dollars to restore the historic part of town. Most of
the city's residents were happy to sell off their
homes. However, there were some homes that were owned
by still wealthy families, who didn't want to leave.
A deal was struck where they would get to stay, and
could pass the buildings on to their children, but the
houses could never be sold to anyone else. And when
the families left, these homes, they would become the
property of Colonial Williamsburg. The Peyton
Randolph house was one of these. It was a private
residence for many years. And throughout those years,
guests who stayed in the house's second-floor
oak-paneled room, would awaken in the middle of the
night to see the image of a woman at the foot of their
bed. This woman would anxiously point to the corner
of the room. Eventually she would fade away. And
most of these guests would come down for breakfast the
next morning complaining of the woman. However, no
one really knew what she was agitated about. Years
later, restoration work was being done on the house.
And to their surprise the contractors discovered a
stair-case in the corner of the oak-paneled room.
Apparently, the woman had been trying to get the
guests to leave the house, to escape some kind of
danger.
Throughout the years that families lived in the house,
children also had the habit of jumping from the second
story window. Most of them claiming that they were
urged by "something" to do it.
In fact some of this is documented in a lawsuit. In
the 1980s (don't quote me on the time frame) a woman
who worked for Colonial Williamsburg, sued the
organization. Every year around Christmas time,
Williamsburg has the Grand Illumination, where a torch
is lit in front of each of the historic homes. In
addition, each house has electric candles in each
window. Well, this woman worked in the Peyton
Randolph house. At the end of the day, she closed
everything up and turned on all the lights. As she
was leaving, her boss said, "You forgot the light in
that window (the oak-paneled room.)" The woman had
not forgotten, but went up to turn it back on. She
came back down and her boss got mad at her for not
doing what he had asked. She went up again, turned on
the light and as she was going down the stairs said,
"It must have been that damned ghost." She was then
pushed from behind and fell down the stairs, breaking
her arm. After that she sued. I don't recall the
outcome, but I believe she lost.
There are a number of other stories associated with
the house. And I vaguely recall something about the
house being built on an Indian burial ground. (As all
good haunted houses are.) A lot of these stories, can
be found in a book by L. B. Taylor called "The Ghosts
of Virginia."
http://www.vaghosts.com/main.html
He's written a whole series of them. I highly
recommend them if you're interested in Colonial and
Civil War history.
yeah, i gotta learn to include links and reference stuff more...
great stories, scott--thanks a lot, dude!
and i'm outta here! see you guys on thursday.
i promise.
todd
this is entry #12
originally, when craig told me that he'd put a blog up for us here on perhapanauts-dot-com, i thought it was a great idea and that we could use it to let everyone know about new issues of the 'haps coming out, conventions to attend, and most especially, stories and links that i've come across in researching the weird and unexplained for our team of weird and unexplained agents. i said that i would try to post something, at the very least, every other day.
but that hasn't been happening.
granted things have been a bit chaotic around here lately, but no excuse, time to resolve to post something new (and hopefully interesting, thought-provoking, and/or creepy) on a much more regular basis. so i promise.
but i could use your help...
i've had a bunch of people sending in their accounts of strange things that have happened to them and can't tell you how much i appreciate them--please, keep 'em coming! as i've said before, this is your blog as much as it is ours. join in! it's fun!
and so, here, with a really eerie)and historical) account, is our own scott w.--
These ghost stories didn't happen to me. But, they
are some of my favorites. During my brief stay at the
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia,
I took a ghost tour of Colonial Williamsburg. The
tour was given by a History PhD student, whose name
I've since forgotten. There have been plenty of books
written on the ghosts in the area, but for a personal
project, he had researched the stories. Stripping
away the urban myths that have evolved around the
tales, and getting back to the original stories. One
of the most memorable parts of the tour was the Peyton
Randolph House. The place he called "the source of
all evil in Colonial Williamsburg."
http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/hb/hbran.cfm
In the 1930s, the city of Williamsburg was in
shambles. It was mostly poor, run-down and forgotten.
That is until John D. Rockefeller took it upon
himself and his millions and millions of untaxed
dollars to restore the historic part of town. Most of
the city's residents were happy to sell off their
homes. However, there were some homes that were owned
by still wealthy families, who didn't want to leave.
A deal was struck where they would get to stay, and
could pass the buildings on to their children, but the
houses could never be sold to anyone else. And when
the families left, these homes, they would become the
property of Colonial Williamsburg. The Peyton
Randolph house was one of these. It was a private
residence for many years. And throughout those years,
guests who stayed in the house's second-floor
oak-paneled room, would awaken in the middle of the
night to see the image of a woman at the foot of their
bed. This woman would anxiously point to the corner
of the room. Eventually she would fade away. And
most of these guests would come down for breakfast the
next morning complaining of the woman. However, no
one really knew what she was agitated about. Years
later, restoration work was being done on the house.
And to their surprise the contractors discovered a
stair-case in the corner of the oak-paneled room.
Apparently, the woman had been trying to get the
guests to leave the house, to escape some kind of
danger.
Throughout the years that families lived in the house,
children also had the habit of jumping from the second
story window. Most of them claiming that they were
urged by "something" to do it.
In fact some of this is documented in a lawsuit. In
the 1980s (don't quote me on the time frame) a woman
who worked for Colonial Williamsburg, sued the
organization. Every year around Christmas time,
Williamsburg has the Grand Illumination, where a torch
is lit in front of each of the historic homes. In
addition, each house has electric candles in each
window. Well, this woman worked in the Peyton
Randolph house. At the end of the day, she closed
everything up and turned on all the lights. As she
was leaving, her boss said, "You forgot the light in
that window (the oak-paneled room.)" The woman had
not forgotten, but went up to turn it back on. She
came back down and her boss got mad at her for not
doing what he had asked. She went up again, turned on
the light and as she was going down the stairs said,
"It must have been that damned ghost." She was then
pushed from behind and fell down the stairs, breaking
her arm. After that she sued. I don't recall the
outcome, but I believe she lost.
There are a number of other stories associated with
the house. And I vaguely recall something about the
house being built on an Indian burial ground. (As all
good haunted houses are.) A lot of these stories, can
be found in a book by L. B. Taylor called "The Ghosts
of Virginia."
http://www.vaghosts.com/main.html
He's written a whole series of them. I highly
recommend them if you're interested in Colonial and
Civil War history.
yeah, i gotta learn to include links and reference stuff more...
great stories, scott--thanks a lot, dude!
and i'm outta here! see you guys on thursday.
i promise.
todd
this is entry #12
Thursday, February 02, 2006
perhapanauts 3 is OUT! plus, a note about the letters
hey, perhapapals!
not that you needed ME to tell you the good news but perhapanauts 3 hit the stands yesterday and the reviews are already in!
it's a hit! a great big, in-your-face, stop-the-presses, smash hit! we're getting calls from people all over the country--nay, the WORLD!--poised at the edge of their seats, desperately demanding the next issue! now that both issues one and two have totally sold out, and orders for the trade are already streaming in, we just can't get this book out fast enough! as the cartoon network and kids wb battle for which branch of warner animation will win the cartoon rights to the perhapanauts (at the time of this writing a compromise appears to be in the offing with kids wb producing kid friendly shows while cartoon network creates more suspense/horror-themed episodes for their adult swim format), dark horse has struck a deal with lucasfilms and paramount to handle the live action film scheduled for summer 2007! and mezco is working around the clock on the perhapanauts action figures! this is true! it's all happening!
i'm sure.
in some other dimension.
somewhere.
perhapa-mania is sweeping the globe.
but here in our world we still need some help. i don't wanna sound like i'm complaining here, but it is so hard for a small title to make it in this current comics market. with corporate cross-overs leading the way (with tie-ins to every other book they publish), and frank miller's heavy-handed slap in the face STILL not getting through (don'tcha get it? he's screaming at you to stop being sheep.), a little book like the perhapanauts gets washed away.
so tell your friends, post some messages, shout it from the rooftops; the perhapanauts ain't so bad.
right?
anyway, here's the other thing; we are getting countless letters and e-mails about the letters pages in the backs of the comics. no, they are not real. the issues and stories that those letters refer to have not yet been published.
in this dimension, anyway.
enjoy them and imagine what those comics look like.
and, if you're feeling creative, please feel free to send me some of your own.
that'd be fun.
so go buy the perhapanauts #3. for me. for craig. for the sake of the small title.
and if you're in the boston/new england area, craig and i will be appearing at the
primate promotions/monkeyhouse show in boston at the radisson on sunday, february 19th!
for more info, check out:
http://www.primatepromotions.com/_sgg/m3_1.htm
hope to see ya there!
take care~~
todd
not that you needed ME to tell you the good news but perhapanauts 3 hit the stands yesterday and the reviews are already in!
it's a hit! a great big, in-your-face, stop-the-presses, smash hit! we're getting calls from people all over the country--nay, the WORLD!--poised at the edge of their seats, desperately demanding the next issue! now that both issues one and two have totally sold out, and orders for the trade are already streaming in, we just can't get this book out fast enough! as the cartoon network and kids wb battle for which branch of warner animation will win the cartoon rights to the perhapanauts (at the time of this writing a compromise appears to be in the offing with kids wb producing kid friendly shows while cartoon network creates more suspense/horror-themed episodes for their adult swim format), dark horse has struck a deal with lucasfilms and paramount to handle the live action film scheduled for summer 2007! and mezco is working around the clock on the perhapanauts action figures! this is true! it's all happening!
i'm sure.
in some other dimension.
somewhere.
perhapa-mania is sweeping the globe.
but here in our world we still need some help. i don't wanna sound like i'm complaining here, but it is so hard for a small title to make it in this current comics market. with corporate cross-overs leading the way (with tie-ins to every other book they publish), and frank miller's heavy-handed slap in the face STILL not getting through (don'tcha get it? he's screaming at you to stop being sheep.), a little book like the perhapanauts gets washed away.
so tell your friends, post some messages, shout it from the rooftops; the perhapanauts ain't so bad.
right?
anyway, here's the other thing; we are getting countless letters and e-mails about the letters pages in the backs of the comics. no, they are not real. the issues and stories that those letters refer to have not yet been published.
in this dimension, anyway.
enjoy them and imagine what those comics look like.
and, if you're feeling creative, please feel free to send me some of your own.
that'd be fun.
so go buy the perhapanauts #3. for me. for craig. for the sake of the small title.
and if you're in the boston/new england area, craig and i will be appearing at the
primate promotions/monkeyhouse show in boston at the radisson on sunday, february 19th!
for more info, check out:
http://www.primatepromotions.com/_sgg/m3_1.htm
hope to see ya there!
take care~~
todd
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
