Frederick Gimino asked:


If you have ever wondered “are psychics real?” you are not alone. Many people ask them selves this very same question every day. The answer is often not an easy one but for thousands of years, people have turned to psychics, and clairvoyants for love, romance, and life advice. Some say psychics even have the ability to communicate with the spirits of the departed.

However, over the years claims of spiritualism and psychic powers have been so widespread and the reports of its effects so numerous and impressive that it was inevitable that scientists would be attracted to the alleged phenomena. Parapsychology the science that studies these phenomena focused on many areas including telepathy, clairvoyance, hypnotism, spirits, spiritualism, and the history of spiritual manifestations.

Although Parapsychology is still considered a fringe science by many scientists it still merits the attention of renowned educational institutions such as Princeton University and Berkley. Princeton offers the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) degree and the University of Berkley in California awarded the only American accredited degree in Parapsychology to Jeffery Mishlove in 1980. But in saying this I am putting the cart before the horse.

The pioneers of modern Parapsychology began using the experimental approach to psychic phenomena at Duke University in the 1930s under the direction of Joseph Rhine. Subsequently Karl Zener one of J.Rhines associates developed the world renowned Zener card test for testing ESP abilities using the scientific method. These ESP tests were conducted at Duke University in one of the first Pavlovian conditioning laboratories.
Parapsychology progressed throughout the 20th century and adopted current technology as it became available. The use of more sophisticated methods of paranormal investigation advanced as technology did. In modern times advanced electronic equipment is often used to test for psychic phenomena. This is because paranormal events reportedly cause energy disturbances across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Some speculate that energy is drawn from the surrounding environment to power psychic events. Modern day paranormal investigators monitor these environmental energy changes with a variety of modern instruments including EMF detectors, temperature sensors, static electricity detectors, ionization detectors, motion detectors, EVP recording devices, RF detectors, and radiation monitors.

So, whether you believe in psychics, paranormal activity, or spiritualism the fact of the matter is there is currently hard scientific data documenting the anomalous psychic events which occur in the everyday world around us. In addition for thousands of years unexplained phenomena have been documented throughout history. Are millions of people crazy? I think not. I assure you that the spiritual realm does exist and I am not alone in that belief. Many scientists, layman, and spiritualists share the same views about our universe. Even some world renowned physicists speculate the need for more than one dimension to explain life as we know it.

My best advice is to try to keep an open mind and an objective outlook about things that we do not fully understand. that is unless you believe the sole criterion of reality is our limited human ability to quantify, tag, and label it. After all we can not see the wind but we do see the affect it has on the leaves as they blow about. Does this mean wind does not exist just because we cannot see it?

In closing I leave it up to you the reader to decide for your self the answer to the question at hand. But, know this my answer to the question “are psychics real?” is yes. Psychics, psychic abilities, spirits, and ESP are real whether you believe in them or not.

Allison Mac asked:


For most of us around the world we know April Fools day to be a day of pranks and trickery. It can be great fun to trick someone into believing something that isn’t true. James Randi however takes this one step further and what many may not know is that April Fools day is also the day that the Pigasus Award is announced.

The Pigasus Award has gone as far back as 1979 and is given annually by James Randi who is a noted skeptic of psychic energy. The award seeks to expose paranormal, parapsychological or psychic frauds that have been noted over the previous year. Appropriately given on the first of April, Randi awards the trophy to candidates chosen by himself from a list of nominees.

The trophy has been noted as being a stainless steel spoon bent in a curve and supported by a plastic base. It is flimsy at best and done so on purpose. There is also a plaque with a flying pig on it. Randi has stated sarcastically that the winners are published immediately after being announced on April Fools and are notified telepathically. He has also said that the famous Flying Pig trophies are sent via psychokinesis and if not received then it is probably due to their lack of paranormal talent.

Though the Pigasus awards are not done every year, there is a long list of recipients spanning from 1979 including famed psychics Nostradamus, John Edward, Sylvia Browne and Allison DuBois. The White House has also been a winner. For a complete list of other famous recipients visit Wikipedia and search Pigasus Award.

April Fools day may be a day of pranks and laughter for some. For James Randi however it is an opportunity to ridicule some poor unsuspecting person or institution that he feels has promoted fraudulent paranormal claims. To all of us who are believers in psychic energy – beware of the Pigasus award!  As an April Fools day joke from Randi, it may telepathically wind up on your doorstep.

Find out who the winners of the 2009 Pigasus Awards are and decide for yourself whether their psychic claims are real or a hoax.  A complete list of recipients can be found at YourPsychicResource.

Michael Hood asked:


If you are into paranormal happenings, you will want to plan your holiday to Florida to start at Tallahassee. The Sunland Hospital is a point of interest for seekers of the unknown. It is said that the patients of the hospital were mistreated and is now haunted by a few. The hospital has been closed for over twenty years. You cannot enter the building, but it is something to see. Another fascinating place is the Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee. A supposes white witch is buried in the cemetery and her gave is the most visited gave there. Her gave faces west instead of east like most.

The two other places you might find interesting when you are planning your holiday to Florida are Florida State University and the University Cawthon Hall Dormitory. Some say that former cadets that were housed there many years ago haunt the University. A woman can be seen walking outside the campus grounds right around midnight. The dormitory seems to house a poltergeist. This place is something to see and hear the unusual stories. Two other places to explore are the Oak Lawn Cemetery and the Lively Building for some adventure.

Paranormal happening are part of Florida and other areas of the world. It does seem that Tallahassee has more than there share of ghosts and haunting. Your holiday to Florida will be exciting to say the least when you plan a vacation seeking haunting places around Florida. After Tallahassee, you can travel to Fort Lauderdale where you can visit the Butterfly World. It is an amazing collection of beautiful and colorful butterflies. Since you are not far from Miami, you can visit the Monkey Jungle Farm. The monkeys run wild and you are the one in a cage so to speak. It is fun to sit and watch for hours.

Holidays to Florida do not have to be about Disney World or Sea World. It can be about adventure and seeing things that are off the beaten track. The one place to spend the entire day is at the Miami Zoo. The animals and exhibits are amazing to watch. Some of the antics of the habitants of the zoo will delight any age. You can enjoy a nice sunny day without worrying about lunch or dinner. The zoo grounds have some very nice eateries where you can have a quick lunch or a sit down lunch.

When you are planning your holiday to Florida, you want to plan a few other places to see or maybe you will want to spend a few days in the sun. The beaches are enjoyable as well as the nightlife. You can visit some excellent nightclubs in Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Tallahassee. The areas are interesting and have live entertainment and some fine restaurants for dining. You are going to enjoy your time in Florida no matter how you plan your trip. You should try to see some of the unusual things Florida has to offer.

Joel Owens asked:


In the realm of mortals, life may seem to be closing in on black and white. We lead our lives with the orientation that only the quantifiable, observable and overt are deemed to be true. However, in the realm of the endless, human beings are mere mortal creatures and truth is not a matter of great importance. It is a world where scary creatures lurk, ghosts and mummies cause mayhem, and humans are at the mercy of unfathomable paranormal events.

Many ghost stories and urban legends about scary creatures have been circulating throughout the years. Despite these, people are still skeptical as to the veracity of the ghostly figures in these stories. Stories can’t seem to stand against the strong mantra “to see is to believe”.

These scary creatures are described as undead entities that reanimate restless spirits wanting to take revenge for their untimely deaths. Ghosts are just some of these undead creatures lurking in the shadows of urban legends. Ghosts are restless spirits of dead people that usually haunt the place where they once lived. As depicted in films and books, these scary creatures haunt the living to search for justice and closure for their tragic deaths. However, not all ghosts are depicted as such. In some cases, ghosts just “hang around” us without any intention of causing some loud screams. They are stuck in between heaven and hell because their spirits can’t rest in peace until they finish their purpose here in the realm of mortals.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky is said to be haunted by scary creatures we call ghosts. Once a two-story hospital accommodating tuberculosis patients, this place was allegedly the dying place of more than 8000 TB patients from 1911 to 1945. The worst cases of these deaths occurred during the outbreak of the disease in World War II. Documentaries and paranormal investigations said that there are small, child-like features caught on camera. Scary wails and screams are heard in empty rooftops and patios of the sanatorium. Moving shadows that have substance and are able to walk across doors are allegedly seen in places where dying patients are situated.

The current plan for the sanatorium is to transform it into a hotel to target the haunted hotel crowd and regular hotel patrons.

Villisca in Iowa, considered as one of the scariest places on earth, is also said to be haunted by the ghosts of the brutally murdered members of the Moore family. The murder itself was arguably one of the most infamous unsolved murder cases in American history. On June 10, 1912 was the last day when 6 members of the Moore family and their two young guests were ever seen alive. They were dismembered by an assailant who viciously killed them with an axe. The heinous crime is still a mystery to be solved by the authorities as the killer is still unknown to this day.

To this day, the Moore house is said to be haunted by the spirits of its former inhabitants. Curious visitors of the “Villisca House” claimed to have heard voices of children who didn’t exist. Efforts have been done to renovate the house, but it seems that the scary creatures in the “Murder House” hinder the plan since the weather-beaten house is the only witness to the nightmare that took place in the Moore household.

Whether ghosts or other scary creatures are just figments of playful imaginations or a validation that the paranormal exists is still under scrutiny and discussion. As for now, all we know is that as long as there are unexplained phenomena occurring and haunting our dreams and wild imaginings, more stories about these forsaken and scary creatures will be told.

Christian Jacobsen asked:


By day, Ogden appears as a typical small town in Utah, but by night, this quiet little community awakens more than its share of spooky happenings.

Ogden was not always such a friendly community. In the late 19th century it was full of opium dens and brothels along 25th Street. Many were connected by underground tunnels that were the scenes of violent acts. In fact, for a short time, Ogden was known as the “murder capital” of the West! Today, walk along 25th Street at night and you may hear the sound of popping noises on the pavement. This was where the *********** would drop dried beans from second story windows to attract customers. Some believe many are still there still looking for business.

The Bellshire Hospital, once an old mental facility, has a violent past and has been the scene of many paranormal sightings. Legend has it, the doctor managing the hospital had a reputation for implementing experimental treatment methods on patients. Today people have heard blood curdling screams that seem to come out of thin air, or see figures staring out of the windows. An encounter with a young girl occurred during a recent ghost hunt. Today, the hospital has been converted to an interactive fright theater during the Halloween season.

The Ben Lomond Hotel is a popular destination by ghost seekers. Apparently in the 1940’s a woman staying at the hotel got word that her son died in World War II. She returned home, but she must have enjoyed her stay because many say her spirit has returned and haunts the hallways. There are accounts of the elevator stopping at floors where no button has been pushed. The front desk has received calls from room 1106 when no one is occupying the room. If you visit, be sure to request one of the haunted rooms.

The Union Railroad Station was once a temporary morgue where spirit sightings and unexplained events are common. The most popular tale (with many versions), is of a lady in a blue dress who was arguing with her lover. She quickly turns to run away, steps in front of an oncoming train and is killed instantly. The figure of a woman dressed in blue and crying while running across the rail yard has been spotted over and over.

Dead Haven was a popular Halloween haunted house that has its own eerie past. Although it’s entertained many uses over the years, the building in the 1920’s was a farm implement store located in the wrong part of town. Two apartments across the street burned down, killing 2 occupants, and the area was the site of many accidental deaths and murders. Paranormal experts theorize that there are still wandering souls in the area. Ghostly figures have been spotted and the sound of children’s laughter has been heard at night when the building was empty.

Members of Utah Paranormal Exploration and Research spent an evening staking out the corridors of this creepy place in search of hard evidence of a haunting. In one of their recordings, a voice could plainly be heard saying, “Who’s there?” Other than some flashlights that suddenly refused to work, and shots of a bobbing light appearing through the camcorder of another investigator, the night was fairly uneventful.