Mainstream Horror Goes a Little Gay...

Just in time for the Halloween season, there's a new film debuting this month. Well, technically, it's four films, each from the mind of a notable director of twisted scary movies. Dubbed Chillerama, it's most certainly not for the faint of heart or anyone with a distaste for the somewhat perverse. But if you're fine with porn stars, killer sperm, Hitler, and zombie spoofs, then it just might be up your alley. And the first film happens to be more than just a little gay-friendly.

Somewhere between the fictional worlds of Grease and Twilight, I Was a Teenage Werebear fits in quite neatly. In this musical comedy takes lycanthropy in a whole different direction. Set in the 1960s, it's the story of closeted teenager Ricky (Sean Paul Lockhart, a.k.a. Brent Corrigan) who runs into a rebellious gang who turn into a leather daddy "werebears" (one played by Ron Jeremy) when turned on by other guys. I'm serious. I kid you not. Don't believe me? Check out the trailer:


Now I have to give kudos to Sean for being one of the first porn stars to successfully make a leap from adult films to regular cinema. (Some of you might remember him as the merman from Another Gay Sequel.) While the other films sound just as weirdly amusing, I'll confess I'm slightly disappointed in one of them. And that would be The Diary of Anne Frankenstein. It's not because of the storyline (a comedic version of Hitler trying to create the perfect human killing machine); it's because when I first heard about it, I thought it was a different Diary of Anne Frankenstein. Unlike the one in Chillerama, the off-Broadway play of the same name seems a lot more hilarious. I just wish I had seen it when it was playing, but at least there's the video interview for Under the Pink Carpet:


That would've made this a truly must-see movie in my eyes! Still, I'm sure this film won't disappoint. You can catch the world premiere this coming week on Thursday, September 15th, at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Other dates are being added to the official website as they are arranged. I'm sure such a risque film might not necessarily make it to a theater near you, but you can always wait for it to come out on DVD and watch it later.

Let's Hear It for the Boy...

Generally, I don't watch any paranormal television shows. Sometimes I'll watch an old episode if it deals with a place I'm curious to find out a general synopsis about or (as in the case if Haunted Collector) if there happen to be antiques being discussed. I'd much rather be out exploring new locations than playing armchair observer. But it seems I might have to start tuning in later this year to a show I haven't watched in years. It's the perennial favorite SciFi Channel series Ghost Hunters.

I never watched a single episode of Ghost Hunters Academy nor did I ever submit an audition tape to any paranormal show (unless you count responding to an email from an agent of a well-known actor looking for possible cast members for a show that never made it off the ground). I do admire people who have been in front of a camera and while I haven't been on any major network I have found myself being filmed for television, so I know how much actually goes into a short piece. (And the fun of walking up the same hill three times to be filmed from different angles.) So of course, when I learned about the winner of the last season, I didn't think anything of it.

Yes. I'm so far out of the loop I couldn't tell you anything about ghost shows from the past year. Even worse, I doubt I'd recognize any of the names. But I guess I'm still used to the good ol' days of paranormal investigation when the people we looked up to were rarely on television and all we learned came from books, documentaries, and the occasional online discussion. I sort of miss those days.

Anyway, I was poking around through news articles the other day trying to find an old cold case I read about when I stumbled across some things about Adam Berry, the newest cast member of Ghost Hunters. And I was taken aback slightly. For the first time, someone openly acknowledged their sexuality before becoming a cast member on a hit paranormal show. That's right; we have ourselves an out gay man on television who happens to hunt ghosts. For anyone who lives under a log like myself and missed it, here's his audition tape for the show:


According to an interesting interview with AfterElton, Adam said he hadn't experienced any negative treatment on the basis of his sexuality, which is quite promising news. Author Deonna Sayed interviewed me a year back about being a gay ghost hunter and I mentioned some of my own past issues in the field. Of course, I'm in Ohio and not Provincetown, Massachusetts like Adam. As they say, it's all about location, location, location. Both Adam and his boyfriend founded Provincetown Paranormal Research Society (and I believe I ran across the name somewhere in my research, likely when I was in Salem shortly after my book came out), and he's spent about two years looking for spooks. Whether or not they've checked out some of the places I interviewed for my book and the others I've saved for a sequel I'm not sure. " I’d love to investigate something [gay] in Provincetown," Berry told AfterElton. Maybe one of these days I'll try to set up a brief interview and fill him in on some great spots in his neck of the woods.

I do hope the show goes well for him and the trend of tolerance continues. Of course, this means I might have to go back a few months and catch up on the past season that I missed entirely. Between college, writing, and editing, this year has been a bit of a blur for me. But at least now there's another source of televised amusement for the dull times. Yes, I know I'm terrible... suddenly watching a show with a gay cast member. But it's always good to see "family" on the air. And who knows; maybe one day, I'll be thought of as a freak more for wearing a bowler instead of being one of the rare few gay ghost hunters.

Queer Paranormal Road Trip: Brickfield Hill Bed & Breakfast

I had every intention of discussing at least one haunting in Sydney while I was visiting in the first few days of December. Due to limited internet, that never happened. And with the realization that three days hardly was enough time to cover my list of places to see I regretfully never paid a visit to Brickfield Hill Bed & Breakfast Inn (originally my first choice of accommodations but it was booked solid by the time my trip was finalized). I hope to remedy this next time I'm in Australia and still intend on devoting a fair amount of time on it in the next LGBT ghost book.

As Sydney sprang up from the wild landscape of New South Wales in the late 18th Century, a need for more permanent buildings arose. The earliest brickmakers, among them Londoner James Bloodworth, took advantage of clay deposits in the region and began producing bricks in earnest in a village which came to be known (obviously) as Brickfield. Today it is part of a popular restaurant and entertainment area named Surrey Hills. Here you will find the heart of Sydney's gay and lesbian life on nearby Oxford Street. And in a row of historic Victorian townhouses along Riley Street is a small but beautiful gay-owned inn called Brickfield Hill Bed & Breakfast.

The four-store terrace dates back to 1885 when it was built as a boarding house for Lydia King. Traces of this past were unearthed during restoration work by present owners Ivano and David. The four guest rooms are beautifully decorated with antiquities and simple elegance. Yet this is not without the modern conveniences, including free wireless internet and LCD televisions complete with DVD player. Surprisingly, given how expensive Sydney can be, they are very affordable and far less expensive than any hotel room you can find. But a hotel won't provide the same historic surroundings... or rumors of a ghost.

Both Ivano and David are staunch skeptics when it comes to ghosts and spirits. That hasn't stopped guests from reporting unusual experiences while staying at Brickfield. People have reported hearing fabric rustling and catching a glimpse of "a tall woman walking in a long black sateen dress" at the inn, most often on the stairs outside the dining room and or the upstairs landing. Even the innkeepers have heard footsteps on the stairs on more than one occasion while the building was empty yet they dismiss it as likely sound coming from the adjacent rowhouses. This cannot explain why a number of overnight guests have come out of their suites in the morning to ask what "the maid" was doing in their room in the middle of the night. There is no maid on staff, although this and the woman in black could be the same individual.

Perhaps Mrs. King is still keeping watch over her boarders from beyond the grave. Or maybe it's dark cast shadows in a creaky old Victorian, mixed with the excitement of a different city and too much Carlton's, which fuel the imagination. Whichever you choose to believe the question might be answered after spending the night—or an extended weekend holiday—in a room there. Even if you don't get a visit from "the maid" you can be sure to find plenty of spirits at the nearby Oxford Hotel or Colombian Hotel. Just remember that tipping in Australia is often included in the price (and the bartenders are better paid than in the states) so there's no need to fumble for a $1 coin.

Creepy World News...

It's that time again. Time to wade through the news and seek out those oddities of life, death, and whatever might come after.

Going Gayly to the Grave...

Do you think those drab coffins aren't good enough for you? Want to be buried with some style? If you're in Cologne, Germany you might be in luck! One gay undertaker couple is stepping up to help. Thomas Brandl and Michael Koenigsfeld have tailored a line of urns and coffins specifically for the gay community, featuring rainbow colors, nude figures, or whatever your homo heart desires. Being so unique, the coffins have sparked a lot of interest and quite a bit of positive response. "People are cutting back in the recession but the one group of consumers who still have high spending power are gay couples," Michael told Orange News, "and very few people are designing for them in this market." We've always been told 'you can't take it with you' yet this no longer applies to sexual identity.

Feast or Famine...

Hunger is a strong force, as residents of the Russian village of Verkhnyaya Chova are learning. An unseasonably hot summer and its resulting fires destroyed scores of forest berries and mushroooms: an important food source for brown bears. Last month a bear did the unthinkable. A corpse from the town's cemetery was dug up and eaten. The Emergencies Ministry has started 24-hour patrols of Komi Republic to protect residents and livestock. If you are what you eat, does this make them dead meat?

Shaking Up the Dead...

New Zealand ghost hunters may have found something that brings out the ghosts. Following the September 4th 7.0 earthquake—the largest in recorded Kiwi history—centered outside of Christchurch reports of paranormal activity doubled. Anton Heyrick of Christchurch Paranormal Investigators told The Press, "People are calling us, saying that they had always felt like there was something in the house, but since the earthquake it had become more intense." He speculates that the powerful force behind the seismic event (or the subsequent renovations to damaged buildings) could be behind the spike in occurrences. Unsettled dead or mass hysteria? It certainly warrants more observation.

Recruiting Religious Reinforcements...

The Catholic Church might have taken a beating in recent years, but now the popularity of exorcisms has the clergy scrambling to keep up with demand. A special two-day workshop was held earlier this month with 56 bishops and 66 priests in attendance to learn the arcane rite. Vatican law requires that only properly trained priests can perform the Rite of Exorcism, of whom only 5 or 6 existed in the US before the workshop. Undoubtedly the combination of "demonic spirits" on paranormal television and economic stress may have more people believing they're possessed or have a spawn of Satan living under their roof (aside from the odd relative). It's a shame Fangoria doesn't still sell those DIY Exorcism Kits. They could've saved themselves a lot of time and money.

In the Shadow of Death...

As time ticks down for me to embark on following one of my dreams it should be a cheerful time. But it's not. I should be excited and elated. I am in part, but not wholeheartedly. It's difficult to be so happy about something in the wake of so much sadness across the nation. Sadness in the form of so many people younger than myself who will never get to experience so many of the wondrous things the world has to offer.

There have been an alarming number of suicides, predominantly among teenagers, in the past two months involving gay individuals. The most recent happened on Friday when 14-year-old Brandon Bitner of Pennsylvania ran in front of a truck to end his life. This follows a long line of other widely-publicized deaths: Tyler Clementi, Justin Aaberg, Seth Walsh, Carl Walker-Hoove, Raymond Chase, and many others. Though teenage bullying was often the culprit there have been others, such as 26-year-old gay youth activist Joseph Jefferson, who had other unknown motivations.

It may seem to reflect an increase in gay youth suicides though it's more likely that media exposure is simply alerting us more to the problem. Benjamin Radford, editor of Skeptical Enquirer, went so far as to say that the numbers are grossly inflated and exaggerated and based on outdated information, even quoting Joel Best from his book Damned Lies and Statistics. (I find it astoundingly obtuse to say that statistics lie... and back up your argument with statistics.) Personally, I don't care if the number is ten or 10,000 suicides. It shouldn't be happening period.

Many people have made a stand on bullying and suicide prevention lately. I want to make it a point to do the same. Teenage bullying is not unknown to any of us. Most of us have suffered from it and survived. But regardless of age, bullying is a real issue that needs to be addressed. Bullying is a cowardly act based on fear and insecurity. It's not okay to taunt, attack, and harass someone for being different. And it's not okay to sit idly by while people attack others for who they are. You never know how far that one act will go or to what lengths it might drive the victim.

In dealing with the paranormal aspect of the world, you're surrounded by death. But it still leaves a major impact. And I'm not so far removed from understanding suicide from all angles. It took me a whole year to come to terms with the suicide of a college friend Chris Stutler who never lived to see his 30th birthday. I once talked a complete stranger (who turned out to be a friend of a friend) out of killing himself. And in my own life I'm a survivor of a failed suicide attempt during my early 20s. I know how it feels to want everything to be over. I also know that sometimes it's only after you do something that you wonder what you just did (and why you did it).

But there is always something more to live for. It's nearly impossible to accomplish everything you could possibly imagine in the span of one lifetime. Even worse is never trying, not doing it for fear of being unpopular, or simply giving up on everything life has to offer. Never allow someone else's narrow-minded view of the world to color your life and dreams. The experience of life is what you make of it and what you create of it. If you feel the need to end everything talk to someone first. You are never alone. Life is never so bad that it can't get better. Don't let a bully cheat you out of your own chance of happiness. Believe in yourself and chase your dreams, whatever they may be.

The Fate of Hate...

It was announced recently that Britt Griffith was relieved of his duties on paranormal television because of the incident I wrote about a few weeks back on this blog. Chip Coffey and Ryan Buell have each weighed in with their opinions on the incident, the man, and the aftermath. Several other bloggers have chimed in with their thoughts and message boards are discussing both sides as well, from the die-hard supporters to the still-irritated people. As far as SciFi is concerned, it seems to be a closed case, a done deal. As my previous post about the debacle said, it was inevitable.

I don't think you can call this a first strike for Griffith. There was the famous dildo video that came out and had a few people questioning his judgment. I'm not aware of other blunders from the past but considering I don't regularly follow the new wave of ghost programming that's not too much of a surprise. However, I've known plenty of people in the paranormal community blatantly guilty of hate-filled speech and actions. Sometimes it's a simple slip-up of crass talk. Other people devote their entire lives to it.

Britt did recently write a hopefully-sincere apology on his Facebook page. I guess these days that's about standard for a "public apology". It may have been better to do it elsewhere, and while it was good of him to mention The Trevor Project perhaps making a donation himself might have had a bit more of an effect. Of course it wouldn't have needed to be huge since most people on television aren't paid as well as some might like to believe. Consider it the celebrity version of the swear jar, opening your walled any time you open your mouth and something inappropriate falls out.

Many people have been asking why this is such a big deal. Well, first just a glance at news in the past month will show you how many recent teen suicides have involved gay kids. We're in the midst of continuing arguments over repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and whether to allow same-sex marriage. Atlanta police have recently been accused of destroying evidence in the brutal raid on a gay bar last year. Obviously hatred and intolerance are still alive and well across the country. Our awareness of it is more heightened.

Most of us have been guilty of saying (or at the very least thinking) mean things about someone, something, or a group of people. Even I've poked a bit of fun at some absurdities and people but I try not to go for blood. No one is perfect. We all can be unintentionally silly, absurd, or worse at times. But being deliberate and direct with your hate doesn't do anything other than make you seem like a bully. And in a time where kids are killing themselves over bullying in school we don't need adults acting like that as well.

If we want our world to change for the better it will only happen through positive action. In that respect, perhaps SciFi shouldn't have bumped someone for using a derogatory word. While he shouldn't have been rewarded for the slip-up, what about making some amends and adding an openly-gay cast member? We're out there everywhere. Anyone who doesn't think LGBT people are in the paranormal community must not network very much. Something like that would have had a better impact than a quick "you're fired" phone call. It's only my opinion, though. I can't speak for executives and what they think is best for their audience and company.

We do have a very long way to go. And I don't just mean trying to make the world a more tolerant place. The same applies to advances in the paranormal realm. When do we decide that working together for the betterment of everyone supersedes "my ghost group can beat up your ghost group" mentality? How can you say you're trying to help people if you promote hate in another breath? When will investigators pool together data and discoveries to help everyone understand the unexplainable? Perhaps when it all stops being a game and starts being a joint effort to get to the bottom of our strange world.

Could Some Spirit Please Hand Me a Towel?

I never quite know where my research of rumored hauntings and unusual places will lead. Sometimes an unassuming ghost story will lead me to a secret gay life of a former owner. But it can also lead to a totally surprising turn of events connecting many different things in a synchronous (and humorous) way. Just this past weekend a little background research I was doing led me to the last thing I would have expected: paranormal television meeting toweled gay men.

I honestly don't watch any paranormal reality shows on a regular basis. I will watch an episode here and there just to hear about some various haunted places when the mood strikes me but I've probably seen a total of 2% of all the episodes of every ghost show out there. When a strange trail of news leads me to a show I do tune in, though. Case in point: last year when TAPS went to Florida to check out some haunted buildings. Here is the second half of Ghost Hunters Season 5 Episode 4 "Club Dead" (first aired on April Fool's Day of 2009, strangely enough) where TAPS heads to the Ybor neighborhood of Tampa and investigates the Trelles Clinic (click here for the second part):


Owner Fred Schwartz mentions that he and his partner Vince Pawlowski are renovating the building into Ybor Resort & Spa, which opened just a few months after the episode aired. Now they didn't go into detail on the show about the new business. But I will. Ybor Resort & Spa is "Tampa's largest all-gay private club and resort" with "large boutique hotel rooms" and a "clothing optional steam room with private zones". There is also a "large dark room with an intricate maze and a sling room". I know what you're thinking... but I'll let the St. Petersburg Times speak for me: "If it sounds like a bathhouse, don't describe it that way to the owners. Technically, and according to the city, the Ybor Resort & Spa is a hotel and a men's health studio. Sex and nudity in public areas is not allowed."

If you watch the beginning of this Ghost Hunters episode and who all is present at the first location (and not at "Trelles Clinic") one person stands out for a few reasons. Who is it? None other than Britt Griffith. Why is this so interesting? In case you missed it, you might want to look back at the recent controversy over a slip of the tongue he had on a paranormal radio show. Now I'm not saying he elected not to do the second half of the show due to the nature of the new business. The irony is extremely amusing, though!

At the end, Jason and Grant said that to be certain it was haunted it would require several investigations to make certain that there is something paranormal happening there. Somehow I don't see any follow-ups from TAPS in the near future. Unless, of course, it's the all-nude Halloween special.

Hairy Hominid Homosexuals?

It's the furry "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of which most people balk at the slightest mention. No, I'm not talking about the bears and cubs of the human gay community. Or even sexual behavior among primates. This time it's Bigfoot.

In his book Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America, cryptozoologist Loren Coleman states, "Frankly, the subject of sex and the Sasquatch is avoided. Never mentioned are Bigfoot bestiality, Sasquatch penises, and that more human males than human females have traditionally been kidnapped by Bigfoot." There have been some reports of encounters involving some sexual overtones and he makes some references to Jan Klement's first-hand accounts of his interaction with a Sasquatch in his book The Creature: Personal Experiences with Bigfoot.

According to Klement, on one occasion he noticed "Kong" (as he had named the animal) sporting a difficult-to-conceal erection and being a bit fearful of what he might be capable of he yelled at the Sasquatch to get it away from him. A short while later he noticed something in the distance. "“As I approached the bottom of the hill I could see the cows on the pasture on the other hillside," he wrote. "There was a commotion among the cows and I when I put the water jug down and walked over I could see Kong. He was mounted on a large Holstein cow and was shoving away.” Upon seeing such a sight (obviously it can't be called "beastiality"... perhaps "inter-species relations" is better) his first thought was probably, "Better Bessie than me!"

During an April 7, 2001 lecture at the 13th Annual Bigfoot Conference / Bigfoot EXPO 2001 in Newcomerstown, Ohio Coleman lightheartedly remarked that he wondered if "10 percent of the Bigfoot population, matching the figures we have for Homo sapiens, might be gay." That one statement was blasted out of proportion my the media with claims Loren stated, "Bigfoot is gay." In all fairness, it was an interesting thought. With so many animals in the world showing signs of homosexual interaction and intercourse, why not? If the creature is, in fact, real it's certainly a valid question.

But of course, many people have turned the exaggerated misquote into a point of heckling. Soon after his appearance he received angry mail from people outraged that he could make such remarks... even though many hadn't even been there to know exactly what was said. Some people started calling him a "homo", "gay", and that perennial favorite: "f*g". But in 2007, some people in cryptozoological circles showed a little more ignorance when a few women expressed interest in Bigfoot and unexplained creatures. One female blogger was told that women "don't want to get involved in Bigfoot research because they’re afraid of the woods." A few other comments were made toward a few such women that they "must be lesbians."

Yes, that's right. Ghost hunting isn't the sole domain of sexist and homophobic remarks. While all of this isn't exactly recent news it helps show that in light of some recent events, nothing has really changed. Isn't the point of researching, investigating, and pursuing claims of ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, and other unexplainable phenomena to unite people in a quest for truth and knowledge? Or have we all regressed into caged chimps too busy flinging feces at each other?

A Spooky Special Offer...

Who doesn't like getting something free? Well if you have plans to visit Provincetown in the next several months you could very well get just that... and a paranormal experience tossed in for good measure.

The innkeepers at Christopher's by the Bay Bed & Breakfast (as mentioned previously in one of my Queer Paranormal Road Trip posts on this blog) have a special offer for those of you interested in booking a room. If you make a reservation for three days or more between November 1^st, 2010 and May 15^th, 2011 your last night is free. What's the catch? All you have to do is become a fan of Christopher's by the Bay on Facebook. That's all!

Provincetown might be known for summer tourism but the city has plenty to offer all year round. A New England winter may conjure up images of Stephen King's Storm of the Century but it's different when you're cozied up by a fire. Ghosts don't fall dormant in different seasons, either. So if you find yourself at Christopher's in the off-season just remember where you put your book. Elizabeth might feel like moving it for you.

It's a Nice Day for a Fright Wedding...

I know a lot of people who love Halloween. For most it's a nostalgic time of childhood costumes and partying in a pretend identity. Other people can turn it into an obsession with lavish decorations and rituals. There are even those who feel it's inherently "evil" and forbid its mere mention. It's a holiday surrounded in myth, mystery, and morbid thoughts. But not by everyone. Every so often, some creative souls turn a love for Halloween into celebrating love for Halloween.

That's exactly what Derek Noel and Joey Norton decided to do.

These two southern boys met by chance on MySpace in 2005 sharing many similar interests (including an "unhealthy obsession with the film Scream") and it quickly blossomed into more than friendship. They met face-to-face for the first time in Joey's Alabama hometown in late September; Derek made regular visits from NYC as their relationship developed. After falling ill with meningitis, Derek moved out to Nevada and Joey followed suit. On their 4th anniversary, Derek popped the question on the rooftop of the Hard Rock Hotel and Joey said, "Yes!"

Last year on October 31^st the two love ghouls threw a Halloween engagement party with family and friends. Their wedding is only a few short days away in Corona del Mar, California on October 17th. With the wild temperature fluctuations we're experienced lately, I hope the weather cooperates for the outdoor ceremony. The subesquent reception in Newport Beach will be a hauntingly good time for all, continuing the holiday theme into the twilight hours.

For those of you wondering if this is a legally recognized marriage or just ceremonial, they are following proper procedures to file as partners as per Nevada's Domestic Partnership Act. "When the laws, minds, and hearts of America catch up with us." they say on their website, "Joey and I will happily allow the goverment into our relationship and savor all the federal benefits that come with it."

So, in just a few short days, the two will officially declare their love for each other and for Halloween in front of friends and family (and hopefully decide how to hyphenate their last names). The couple plan on having their honeymoon in New York City. It might not be your typical Halloween destination but the Big Apple will undoubtedly be a great place to have a good time. I wish them both the best on their special day and the years to come. "In the midst of life, we are in death." And what a perfect way to celebrate the former.

When a Boyfriend Brings Dead Baggage...

Nearly everyone I've spoken with over the years has wanted, once they discovered I research the paranormal, to tell me their own personal account of an unexplained encounter from their past. In fact most people have a ghost story to tell but keep it quiet not wanting to be ridiculed by others. Whenever I've given a talk at a library or anywhere else I tend to stay at least an hour after just to field the additional questions and outpouring of tales held within for a very long time. A sympathetic ear can make a huge difference.

One other blogger mentioned many months ago about his own personal experience with ghosts and that he would have to tell me the story some time. Life can get busy for all of us so it kept getting postponed. But Ken (the other blogger) did finally have a chance to share his tale on his own blog, Adventures in Gay Dating. Though it happened 15 years ago, the experience still lives with him.

At the time Ken was living in North Carolina with a new boyfriend named Scott who hailed from California. He was a staunch skeptic of anything supernatural and hardly someone willing to look at ghost stories, UFO sightings, or other strange happenings with anything other than complete disbelief. His boyfriend was a recovering meth addict who had lived a turbulent existence and wasn't very forthcoming about his past. Slowly as the trust developed, he would divulge small windows into his horror story of a life. He has once been involved with (and nearly married) a female, a witch by her own admission, and practiced the occult arts himself though he refused to discuss the matter any further. Ken would soon discover why.

On what seemed to be a normal night, Ken awoke suddenly at 2:20 AM. Before rolling back over to sleep, he caught a glimpse of something dark at the foot of the bed. It was the shadowy form of a man, so black it seemed to radiate the color. He found himself frozen not only by fear but a paralysis rendering him immobile and unable to wake his sleeping boyfriend. There was a choking sensation around his throat. He could feel the anger from the presence who undoubtedly was there because of Scott. He saw a vision in his mind of a hilltop cemetery surrounded by wrought iron fence. The male spirit led him to a gravestone beneath a tree and pointed at it.

Ken struggled to break from the immobilization, murmuring a religious instruction summoned from his Baptist upbringing. “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ Of Nazareth, go!” His eyes followed his outstretched finger toward the window. “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ Of Nazereth, leave through this window now!” He began to recover his movement and looked forward to find the room once again empty. Waking Scott he attempted to explain what had happened in excited gibberish but Scott was too tired and wrapped an arm around him before fading back to sleep.

The following morning, Ken told his boyfriend about his frightening encounter.

"Oh," Scott said nonchalantly, "that's just Steve." Ken was shocked.

“Do you believe a person can be haunted, Ken?”

He was fraught with surprise and bewilderment. “I… I don’t know. Why?”

“I’m haunted, Ken," Scott said in a serious tone. "Just like a house can be haunted a person can be haunted. Trust me on this one, I know.”

Steve's parents were friends of Scott's parents so the two had been occasional friends in Placerville, California before graduation. While Scott was living with the witchy woman in Los Angeles his father called to tell him that Steve had been killed in a car accident the night before. His father sent him the money for a bus ticket to come to the funeral. He was gathered with some old friends on the steps of the funeral home, playing with a deck of tarot cards to show off his psychic abilities when he happened to glance up. There was Steve, plain as day. Horrified, he quickly put away the cards. Steve's specter reappeared that night in his bedroom at his parent's place to terrify him once again. The following morning at the cemetery as they lowered Steve's body six feet under, Scott saw several other ghosts watching him from around the bone yard.

Scott asked Ken to describe in detail exactly what Steve had shown him. He mentioned the cemetery, the fence, the colored marble headstone beneath a tree. Scott clapped his hands with glee and explained that every single detail of where Steve was buried was dead-on.

"Why did he appear to you as himself but I got the whole spooky-figure-cloaked-in-black treatment?"

"He was trying to scare you off," Scott replied.

"So, he 'liked' you?"

"I think he did."

The whole experienced seemed to awaken something inside Ken. Six months after the terrifying night, he saw a little boy in the shop where he worked when he was completely alone. He vanished right before Ken's eyes. It turns out that during construction of the building a large cement drainage pipe crushed a young boy to death at that very site. He was approached by a young, attractive man on a separate occasion several months later asking him for the time at the store. He glanced at his watch and looked back up to find he too had disappeared. But there was something else peculiar about the incident. The man carried a shopping bag for Ivey's--a department store which went out of business in 1985 and formerly occupied the same building he was working in.

Steve made a few more random appearances and seemed to be trying to scare Scott. Ken had enough of the disturbances and researched the paranormal heavily in search of ways to rid their lives of the repeat occurrences. After smudging the house with white sage (while projecting a white light in his mind and singing "Amazing Grace") all activity seemed to stop. Neither of them saw another ghost or had another freaky experience.

What happened to Ken that night is often attributed to sleep paralysis. But how do you explain the vision of a cemetery on the other side of the country? Did he really experience a ghost or was it picking up on Scott's own memories? And best of all, was Steve paying a visit to a past friend or trying to voice his disapproval that  Scott was in bed with another man... and that man wasn't him? We may never know yet the thoughts are certainly intriguing.

To the Death and Beyond...

Another Flickr find to end the week: this semi-spooky capture of two boy "ghosts" battling it out in briefs.

Ghost Fight at Midnight
Originally uploaded by jonnyrewind

Who knew a ghost fight could be so homo-erotic...