Review copies of The Blue Ghost Tunnel Making of a Legend are now available.
Please contact johnjsavoie@hotmail.com to request your copy. In order to receive an advanced review copy you must show that you have written book reviews and have a related web site.
In paranormal circles across Canada and the United States, the hauntings at The Blue Ghost Tunnel (BGT) frequent the conversation. Often referred to as "The Most Haunted Location" in Canada or a place where you are guaranteed activity, the tunnel is synonymous with historical haunted locations across North America.
I've been investigation the tunnel as a possible haunt for the past 14 years as a solo investigator, with The Niagara Amateur Ghost Seekers and with members of The Shadows Project.
In the late 1990s the tunnel, previously known under various descriptions became popularized as The Blue Ghost Tunnel, the name coined by a young paranormal investigator who is said to have witnessed a "Blue Misty Ghost".
A few years of intense interest on the Internet, multiple investigations and visits by paranormal enthusiasts prompted the once popular TV program Creepy Canada to film at the location.
Together with a Ghost Tour Group Haunted Hamilton, questionable psychics and an impromtu "historian" of the tunnel, they exposed the location to tens of thousands of viewers solidifying the legend and suspected haunt.
The episode depicted the tunnel as "700 ft of Hell on Earth!"
As a result of their illegal trespassing and exposure of the location, the site became explosively popular and thousands of visitors each year come to visit the tunnel prompting the Seaway Authority to attempt to secure the location. Even with extensive security, people trek out to discover the BGT for themselves...
But who really discovered this long, lost tunnel?
What is the truth behind the hauntings and experiences at the tunnel?
Is the tunnel an Urban Legend, conjured-up by a young wannabe author?
Are we simply developing our own experiences using our own minds?
Or is the tunnel really haunted? And by whom?
I decided to write about the tunnel, because I am fascinated with legends and lore and how they develop and what truth is hidden within.
The book includes interviews, photographs and documents from decades past including the first ever investigation in 1976.
It includes historical accounts from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s with photographs and evidence supporting a number of theories.
Photographs have been generously donated by residents including Kevin Valencourt, Niagara-area photographer.
Please visit the Facebook Group Page for The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making of a Legend and support and discuss this project.
Review copies of The Blue Ghost Tunnel Making of a Legend are now available.
NEW BOOK: Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture.
About 68 percent of Americans believe in the possibility of the paranormal, according to the authors of the newly published book "Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture."
Baylor associate professors of sociology Dr. Carson Mencken and Dr. Christopher Bader, along with Joseph Baker, co-authored the book about paranormal beliefs in the U.S. The book is geared toward a general audience.
"Anyone can read it and everyone should read it," Mencken said.
The book examines who tends to believe in the paranormal and how pervasive paranormal beliefs are in society. The book also researches paranormal theories but does not confirm or deny their validity.
"The book is about the believers of the paranormal, not whether or not it is real," Bader said.
Mencken and Bader began their work on this book in response to the realization that by looking at existing research, no one knew who paranormal believers were.
"Research was a mess," Bader said. "It was old and no one had done a random sample. There were good studies done about whether Methodists or Presbyterians believe, but not about the average American."
Mencken said a lot of media stereotype paranormal believers as uneducated, unemployed alcoholics.
"We were surprised to find in our research that the people who believe in the paranormal fit none of those stereotypes," Mencken said. "We discovered that those that held unconventional beliefs were of a respected position."
Mencken and Bader hope that readers will walk away from their book with an understanding of what sociologists do, and how pervasive the paranormal is in society.
"Roughly two-thirds of people believe in the possibility of one paranormal item, which includes astrology, UFOs, psychic abilities, Atlantis, Bigfoot, ghosts and haunted houses," Bader said.
People from more conservative religious traditions tend to be less willing to believe in the paranormal than those from more moderate traditions, Mencken said.
"People who are more moderately religious tend to believe in the paranormal," Bader said. "If you are not at all religious, or highly religious, it is not likely that you will believe. Someone who attends church once a month is much more likely to believe in the paranormal than someone who attends church on a weekly basis."
While researching, the authors found that it was not difficult to find paranormal believers due to the large number of organizations devoted to the unconventional beliefs.
"Something that has changed in the paranormal over the decades is the level of organization," Bader said. "Texas has several Bigfoot organizations and Waco has a ghost hunting club."
The two professors went on a ghost hunt in the fall of 2007 and brought along a few graduate students of sociology, including Andrew Whitehead.
Whitehead said spending time with the ghost hunters and learning about their experiences and how they hunt ghosts was an interesting experience when he was new to learning how to study society.
"I didn't see or feel anything so I can't speak to whether or not ghosts were there," Whitehead said. "But I was surprised to remember how it felt when I was a kid and I was discovering my grandparents' attic and it's all new and exciting. Going into the haunted house with the ghost hunters, I had the same exciting rush."
Whitehead said he can't recommend going ghost hunting, because he wasn't actually hunting ghosts but watching the hunters. He said that spending time with ghost hunters is always exciting.
Bader said there are fliers at Ninfa's in downtown Waco about weekly ghost tours that are offered if anyone is interested in experiencing the paranormal this Halloween season.
The book is now available in bookstores and online.
Buffalo Jump Station, Alberta, Canada
Buffalo Jump Station was once a thriving stop for rail travelers and motorists driving the Trans Canada Highway.
In 1883 the CPR had laid tracks and developed a railway station to accommodate travelers heading to and from the booming town of Gleichen and the new Siksika Nation lands.
The communities thrived through the 1920s and 1930s but after WWII the town of Gleichen saw its population drop from over 1000 to just 300.
Buffalo Jump Station remained in business servicing automobiles and selling native arts and crafts. But motorists with more fuel efficient cars drove past the station and in the early 1970s it was abandoned.
The CPR railway station was moved west of Cochrane, Alberta. The large garage fell in the 1990s and was completely destroyed.
The prairie lands are still, save for the sound of the wind and the passing transport. The land also echoes history and longing.
A mile to the west is a cliff over which the Natives used to drive buffalo, and to this day buffalo bones may be found there. Twelve miles to the southeast, the great Chief Crowfoot is buried, and nearby is a cairn commemorating the signing of Treaty No. 7.
But passing motorist and rail travelers will never know. They will never hear of the tales of the early pioneers nor will they hear of the tales of buffalo hunts and bloody Native battles.
And they will never know that the Station is said to be haunted by two Native spirits.
I approached the Station building and the door suddenly swung open. An invitation or simply a gust of wind?
The Station sits on a cinderblock foundation that has fallen inward causing a great deal of damage to the structure. The first floor held a craft room, a kitchen and washrooms. I felt nothing in the first room, but as I approached the kitchen I noticed a hole in the floor leading to the basement.
The kitchen offered no more than silence. The washrooms were completely destroyed and again, this area felt lonely, but not haunted. The second floor and stairs were so rotten I could not proceed.
I made my way to the back of the house and peered into the basement. It was filled with liter and so much damage that it was dangerous to go further. Three of the four cinderblock walls had given way.
But here I could sense something. But I could not pick up anything more. I knew something was here and then I turned and went into the backyard where the feeling was more prominant.
It was a spirit. Not connected to the Station, nor the CPR, nor the pioneers. This felt old, very old. I got the words "I wander" as the wind whiped by my ears. A storm was coming. The spirit was gone.
I made my way to where the garage and CPR station were and found nothing but scraps on the floor. I proceeded to walk the grounds, but found nothing else of interest. The wandering spirit was no where, yet, as I looked out at the vast, empty prairie I knew it was everywhere.
A Teen's Guide To Ghost Hunting
Here is the cover to my new book A Teen's Guide To Ghost Hunting published by Ingram and available in bookstores summer 2009 and online.
