Sean Paradis

Why do spirits stay on earth, when many religions tell of a “heaven” where everything is better than life on earth, containing more beauty than anyone can imagine. It is difficult to answer this question for every spirit who chooses, whether they are aware of it or not, to stay on earth. However, there are reasons that are common. The major reason is that the spirit is too shy or uncomfortable to move on.

Imagine living in your current home from the day you had been born. Assuming that you like your current home, and the family or roommates you live with, imagine suddenly having a notice to leave. Most would be struck in the heart at the thought of having to leave. This is what happens to a spirit who does not want to leave this earth. They have grown to call it their home and they are not ready to leave. The next scenario is similar to this, and that is that they feel like they need to complete something in their life.

What they feel like they need to finish are as unique as snowflakes. No two reasons are the same. In their life, these spirits may have been the family member whose mind were plagued by common thoughts such as “Did I leave the stove on?” or “I can’t remember whether I locked all the window and doors.” and “I think I left the curling iron on.” The spirit may truly want to move on, but these thoughts fill their mind, preventing themselves from moving on in fear of these thoughts being realities. It is a hard struggle for the spirit to accept that they may not be able to protect those who they left behind and move on. These spirits are one of the hardest to help move on. The next reason is that they are too stubborn to leave.

These are normally the spirits who during their life held onto a pair of old boots or shoes because they were still wearable, despite the fact they were falling apart. The shoe would have to tear into pieces, or be secretly thrown out by someone in the family. They feel that this is their life, even though they may have passed away, and they can still live it how they want, when they want, and where they want. When they are ready to cross over, they will, but no one will tell them when that time will be. The next scenario is when the spirit does not know they have passed.

The event that caused them to pass on was either so subtle they did not know they passed, or so traumatic they blocked it out from their memory. The best way to describe this is waking up to an empty house. Everything is still the same as normal. Where clothes had been left the night before are still in a pile. The dishes are still in the sink. But no one is there. An eternal silence that can only be broken until someone brings them to the realization that they are dead, or the spirit figures it out on their own. Until they do, they may walk the same house or place waiting for someone to show up. The last popular scenario is simply the fear of where they may go.

The idea of leaving this earth and embarking on a journey to a completely new place, where every law of science is discarded scares some. For others, it is an exciting new adventure that can only lead to new discoveries and thrills. Others hold on to what they have learned on earth and hold an iron grip to it. They do not accept change well. These are the spirits that when living will never change a single room in their house. The paint, wallpaper, and furniture setup will stay the same as if frozen in time.

The reason for a spirit to stay behind varies from spirit to spirit. Normally, the reasons seem to normally fall into one of these five categories. However, the reason may not. One of the most difficult things about being a psychic is trying to pinpoint why they have not moved on, and help them cope. I personally have not tried before. In my opinion, it would be like trying to force someone into therapy. You cannot do that to a spirit. They have to choose to appear to you, asking for help. I have not had that happen yet, but if it does it will be an experience I will gladly have, and write about.

Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire by Marianne O’Connor is a fantastic book. O’Connor covers fourteen haunts, and packs each listing with valuable information. As the title says, the fourteen locations are in more of mountainous terrains. Each has about eight to ten pages written about it. With each location, a map is provided showing how steep the terrain is, so readers will know ahead of time how difficult the hike will be. O’Connor rates the area on a scale of one to four ghosts. One being the easiest for families with children and four being the most difficult if you have children or dogs who cannot hike easily.

O’Connor took the time to perform necessary research for readers to plan most of their investigation. The fourteen locations have a page listing if parking and admission is free, where readers can go for more information online, what to look for at the area such as fauna and landmarks, and even more important how long an average hike will take. One of the best assets to have when attending any hike or investigation is knowledge. Hikes of New Hampshire gives readers 75 percent of the knowledge needed for a hike or investigation.

The maps are phenomenally drawn. Each map is a two dimensional topographic that shows roads, trails, ponds, railroads, parking, cemeteries and gravesites, where the location written about is, and a few other smaller markings such as town lines and conservation areas. The maps allow readers to see where they will park, and which trails and roads to follow.

What is great about Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire is that not only can it be used by investigators to find locations to visit, it can also be used by families with or without children to find places to visit on a sunny day and go for a hike. Whether hikers are there for the ghosts or the scenery, something will be found. If parents are looking for ways to get their kids to be active outdoors but are having difficulties catching their kid’s interest, consider this book. Often ghost stories will catch kid’s interest like fish in a net.

Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire gives plenty of information about the history of each location. I give Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire 5 out 5 stars. This book was well researched, and is a great addition to any collection of books, whether readers are interested in hiking, the paranormal, or a book to read in spare time.

Manchester Ghosts, by Renee Mallett, covers many of the popular haunts in Manchester, New Hampshire. The book contains a brief introduction of the paranormal history of New Hampshire, 23 haunts and stories about them, a list of haunted areas outside of Manchester, an interview with Ghost Quest, and a guide to ghost photography.
Mallet wrote this book phenomenally. The stories are well researched, and it shows. With a few of the entries, she even went as far as to interview those who live at the site, work there, etc, to find more information. What I like about Mallet’s writing style, is that the stories are electrifying enough to keep you reading, but leave you with a mystery in the back of your mind, making you want to visit the location. Those are the best type of stories to read. The same applies to other sections of the book.
The introduction to New Hampshire’s paranormal history and the guide to ghost photography are both well researched, and informative. The average price to buy this book from a bookstore will be about $15. You can easily buy it for less online. This book is well worth the cost. I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because of the fact that directions aren’t provided. Granted, you can easily find the directions online. It just would have been nice to include this in the book. However, this doesn’t change the fact that I highly recommend this book. It’s well worth the money!

Haunted New Hampshire, by Thomas D’Agostino, covers many of the well known Haunts of New Hampshire. A majority of the listings are Hotels, Inns, cemeteries and parks, but also include restaurants, schools, as well as a few other areas. The listings are sorted alphabetically by the town they are located in. Each location contains a description, a picture if available, and brief directions to the location.

This is a great book for new-comers to the field who are looking for places to investigate, whether professionally, or for fun with friends. It gives enough information for the reader to judge whether it will be worth his time to travel to the location, and what he may expect to find. The directions are also a great asset for finding the location. However, there are flaws.

The following quote was taken from the listing about Indian Rock Road in Nashua, New Hampshire.

“Indian rock road also spans into Hollis near the Pine Hill Cemetery. There is a story that relates how the Blood Family in Pine Hill Cemetery were killed now haunt the area, but as you read about the Pine Hill Cemetery in Hollis, you will see that perhaps some of the accounts of this story and that one were jumbled over time. This might help to set the record straight” (D’Agostino, 2006, p. 120).

Granted, this is not a major issue in the previous passage, being that he does admit there are issues with the story. The other issues I have with the book, is the directions provided can be vague at times.

The following passage is the directions to Devils Den in Auburn, New Hampshire.

Devils Den is located at Mine Hill. Take Route 101 to Exit 2, Chester Road South. Go past the town hall and stay right at the fork of Chester Road and Bunker Hill Road. Mine Hill is about one mile from the fork. (D’Agostino, 2006, p.9)

When I tried to find Devils Den, it was impossible with this set of directions. Up until the fork of Chester Road South and Bunker Hill Road, it was fine. After that, it was like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. I had to call it a day, without even getting to see Devils Den due to not being able to find the location. After passing the fork, the directions were not clear enough.

When I arrived back home, I Googled Mine Hill, and found it on Google Maps. Now, in general, the location is difficult to find. I would give D’Agostino slack for this, however, from my impression, he personally visited each of these places. Granted, I could be wrong. Assuming he did investigate each location, he should have been able to give clearer directions. Whether it be as simple as the latitude and longitude, or giving the place where he parked, and what direction to walk in to find Devils Den.

After factoring in these details, I give Haunted New Hampshire 3 out 5 stars. The locations are organized well. If you do not mind doing a little bit of extra research for the directions, than you will not have an issue with the book.

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            Saturday, September 19th at 7pm, there will be a free ghost hunt for everyone who wants to go at Hilldale Cemetery in Haverhill Mass. It’s a fantastic cemetery with plenty of history! Unfortunately, parts have become overgrown with grass, and stones are over turned and damaged, altogether causing THOUSANDS of dollars. To read more about this gem of history, please read the following article; Hilldale Cemetery
           Even though this is a free event, donations will be greatly appreciated!!

Hilldale Cemetery in Haverhill Massachusetts has been one of my favorite cemeteries that I have investigated. The size of the cemetery gives plenty of room to roam around in small groups without being cramped. Unfortunately, due to vandalism, nature, and a lack of caring hearts, Hilldale Cemetery has begun to fall apart. Graves are broken, overturned, or completely covered by overgrown grass, shrubs and weeds. There are plenty of efforts being made to bring Hilldale Cemetery back to its original state. Unfortunately, there aren’t nearly as many people responding to the efforts. If you would like to help, please email myself at Sean@SeanParadis.com for more informatione, Tom Spitalere at ThomasSpitalere@yahoo.com, or contact the town of Haverhill Massachusetts.

On the night of the investigation, I was accompanied by Thomas Spitalere of Essex County Ghost Project, Deb O’leary of Pelham Paranormal Research, and a number of other team members. We met at Seven Thirty inside the gates. Please, do not browse the cemetery after dark. Not only does Hilldale close after dusk, but it is also a dangerous place to walk at night. Due to the overgrown grass and uneven ground, it is easy to twist an ankle. I was one of the first to arrive, and waited in my car. I sat in my car, listening to music in the meantime. About a minute later I started hearing what sounded like someone hitting there knuckle lightly against my door.

I thought it may have been my music, so I turned it off. When I was glancing down at my stereo, out of the right corner of my eye I saw a shadow pass by my window. When I looked up, nothing was there. Even after my music was off, I still heard the noise. A few minutes later, Tom showed up. I reported what I had experienced to him, and he replied that it was a common thing to experience. At that point, I knew it was going to be a good night. As the rest of the group began to show up, I began to get my equipment together, and get familiar with the surroundings.

At the end of the road where you drive in, you will see 3 major hills. If you look to your left, you will see one hill that slopes upwards. There’s also one that is in the middle, and another off to your right. For some reason, I wanted to look at the left and right ones. The funny thing is it was almost as if the three hills were a teeter totter as far as energies. The left had a lot more of a positive feel, where as the hill on the right had a more negative feel to it. The middle hill was neutral. It felt like a normal energy there.

The investigation started by making our way to the left hill, working our way to the middle, than to right, and ending at our cars where we parked. When we began to approach the first hill, I took pictures as we walked. One thing to remember is that there are a bunch of fire flies roaming the cemetery. If you happen to take a picture when they are lit up, it will look like an orb. It happened to me numerous times. What I did, is made a note of it for reviewing the photos later. That way there wouldn’t be any question whether it was a bug or an orb, all I had to do was check the list I made.

When you get to the top of the hill, look to your left. You will see another part of the cemetery that is flat, with shorter grass. Be sure to walk over to the back wall of the cemetery. That is where the most activity happened. I walked over to middle, so unfortunately, I didn’t experience it. Tom and Deb had been there, and relayed that they were having children make contact with them.After, we began to cross the middle hill, and work our way to the right side of the cemetery. Not too much happened until we reached the right hill. That is where the night began to pick up as far as activity. I took one of the most unique orbs in that area. It looked like a bubble filled with static from a TV screen. The group began to walk further down the path, and the air felt like it was getting thicker as we went.One investigator, ill name him Adam for the sake of the article, began to describe that there were soldiers on the sides of the path leading us to a spot as a trap. I have to say though, I wasn’t agreeing with him. First of all, Adam was drunk. The problem was, no one knew Adam was going to show up drunk. Otherwise he would not have been on the investigation. From the point we realized Adam was drunk until the rest of the night, every piece of information I had to discard from my mind that was planted there by him. Apart from that, I also didn’t feel like we were being put into a trap.

The feeling that I had, was that these were people who were watching their place of rest being damaged by the hands of vandals and time. They had no idea who we were, or what we were doing. They were watching us from a safe distance. Close enough to see us, but far enough away where we couldn’t see them. As we walked down the path, Adam kept feeding in to the story about “being led into a trap.” Not only was it annoying, but it was also scaring a few people who truly thought we were being led into a trap. There was only one time during the night that I truly was scared. There is a train that goes by close to the cemetery. I didn’t know this. So when the train went by, I thought there was a “ghost train” coming through. To make it even worse, we were standing on old train tracks. I jumped so fast onto the side of the hill to get out of the way.

When I got onto the hill, I turned around, and had the mental impression that someone was standing right behind me, who was just as scared of me as I was of them. I believe that it was one of the spirits standing off in the distance watching us, and hadn’t expected me to come up onto the hill. When I did, he got freaked out and backed up. At that point I went back to the trail because that experience made me feel so uncomfortable. A couple minutes after we began heading back to our cars. Along the way back not too much happened until we reached our cars, and most of the investigators had left. Tom, a friend of his, Deb and I were talking about the night. We all heard someone shout. Tom grabbed his spotlight from his car to check to see if there was an actual person trespassing. No one was there.  After that happened, we left for the night and headed home.

My general impression of the activity at Hilldale Cemetery is that the sprits there have been mentally distraught over the years due to the vandalism that has occurred there. When people come in, they don’t trust them. They’re not sure if people there are going to do more damage. I can’t say for sure though since I’ve only been once. That’s not enough time to get a solid impression about the surroundings.

What I can say, is that the cemetery is in need of helping hands to restore the graves, and the landscaping. Hilldale is an amazing cemetery, and deserves to be in its best condition possible. As I mentioned before, Hilldale closes at dusk. Even if you visit during the day, please be careful! The grass covers small holes and broken stones

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Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places, by Brad Steiger is an amazing book for its price. The 580 pages are packed with haunted locations from every corner of the United States, photos of locations and researchers, references to movies, and bibliography stock full of books related to the paranormal. Steiger wrote Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places in a way that gives readers a buffet table of stories around the United States without having to buy multiple books.

The book is divided into the contents section, an introduction to the book, thirty chapters ranging from haunted homes and public buildings, hotels, inns and motels, poltergeists, roads and public highways, churches, cemeteries, and burial grounds, animal spirits and many other categories, and ending into four appendices and an index.

The introduction is five and a half pages which gives a brief story about the activity in his family’s home while his children grew up, a few paragraphs on capturing evidence of spirits, and the five types of spirits according to Steiger; Sprit residues, spirits of the dead, poltergeists, spirit parasites, and spirit masqueraders. The introduction is a quick read, and builds a sturdy bridge connecting to the chapters.

The only negative I have about Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places is that if you are looking for large number of locations in one area, it is difficult to. Many of the locations are spread out across the country, requiring a far drive to visit numerous locations.

Each chapter contains a story and history of the haunted location and if available, a picture of the location, and researchers who have visited the location. Each listing averages out to be one to three pages. Some are as short as half a page, while some may be up to ten pages. Every listing has material that grabbed my attention and gave me the important details and facts, without losing my attention. As a reader, if a book wanders from the subject I tend to become easily distracted. This never happened with Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places.

In the back of the book are four appendixes that tie in well to finish up Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places. Appendix A lists quick synopsis about haunted locations across the country. Each listing is a quick paragraph giving the key facts, and the state and town the location is in. Appendix B is a directory to ghost hunters, researchers and resources. Appendix C is a listing of movies and media related to the paranormal. The final appendix, D, contains every source used as a reference.

If a reader asked me for one book to recommend buying for a national directory of haunted locations, Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places would be the book. No paranormal book collection could be complete without it! I give Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places 5 out of 5 stars.