American Hauntings - hmmm what do you think?

Hi all!

Tonight I watched the movie "An American Haunting" with Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland. It is a story about a haunting back in the early 1800's and claims to be based on true events.

I would give the movie a B- as far as scary movies go. It definately made me jump a few times (which knocks my rating up a grade level) I think that the movie was a little too long and some of the scenes were repetitive... I didn't care for how the movie ended at all, it was kind of a cheat so I almost gave it a C. However, this movie did get me thinking about Hauntings and paranormal events.

I like a good scary movie. My requirements are that it make me jump a few times, yell out, or look down and realize that I have been squeezing whatever is in my hand in fright or anticipation of what might happen next! I think it's hard to find a good scary movie. Most of them are cheesy and predictable and the acting is horrible. Three of my favorite movies from when I was a teen were The Amytiville Horror, The Changling with George C. Scott, and "Poltergeist" all dealing with haunted homes. Some more recent favorites of mine dealing with ghosts and/or the paranormal include White Noise, The Grudge, Final Destination, 13 Ghosts, Gothika, The Sixth Sense, Skeleton Key, Sleepy Hollow, and The Ring.

I did a little looking on the internet tonight regarding paranormal events and mostly found lots of out-of-focus pictures of alleged ghosts and some very strange stories. Then I decided to narrow my search to Missouri and Illinois and I found these two interesting/entertaining stories. I will copy and paste them below. See what you think...

MISSOURI:
Joplin
Devil's Promenade. Almost every night since 1866, a strange orange ball of light bounces along this road in an easterly direction. As the light moves through the air, it leaves behind luminous traces of dancing sparks. The light has been known to enter cars and buses, but paradoxically, dodges people chasing it. Loud noises also make it disappear. It has been called the Hornet Ghost Light, the Neosho Spook Light, and the Devil's Jack-O'-Lantern, but scientists who studied the phenomenon have never agreed about what causes it. In 1946, a study by the Army Corps of Engineers concluded the phenomenon was "a mysterious light of unknown origin." A 1983 investigation by the Ghost Research Society revealed the light is diamond-shaped, with a hollow center. Legend says it is the ghost of a pair of Quapaw Indian lovers, who committed suicide together. Others believe it is the lantern of a ghostly miner searching for his wife and children, who were abducted by Indians. (Devil's Promenade is in the village of Hornet, 11 miles southwest of Joplin. The area is near the borders of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas. This tri-state region is known as the Spooksville Triangle. Follow I-44 west from Joplin. Just before the last exit at the Oklahoma border, turn south onto State Line Road. Devil's Promenade Road crosses State Line Road after about 4 miles. There is an abandoned Spooklight Museum at the site. From Neosho, follow Hwy 86 until it dead-ends before Hwy 43. Turn right and go 2 miles to the second road on the left. Turn left and go ¼ mile to Devil's Promenade. The light is visible from any point along a 2 mile stretch of the road here.)

ILLINOIS:
Chicago
Resurrection Cemetery. The ghost of a blonde, blue-eyed girl has haunted the district around this graveyard since 1939, five years after a young Polish girl was buried here. Mary Bregavy, or Resurrection Mary as she has come to be called, died in a car accident after an evening of dancing at the old O'Henry Ballroom (now the Willowbrook Ballroom). Sometimes, her glowing, faceless ghost is seen walking along the shoulder of the road, but most often, her white apparition is seen hitchhiking. Sometimes her aloof ghost even dances with a few young men at the ballroom and asks for a ride home. During renovations at the cemetery in the 1970s, sightings of her ghost reached a peak. In December 1977, a passing motorist saw Mary holding onto the bars of the cemetery gate. He called police, thinking a girl was trapped in the cemetery. Investigators found no one in the cemetery, but two bars in the gate were bent apart. Etched into the iron were two small handprints. Supervisors had the sections cut out to keep curiosity-seekers away, but embarrassed officials welded the pieces back in place a year later. Dozens of witnesses, including many taxi drivers, have seen Mary's ghost along the road. In 1989, a cab driver picked up a girl fitting Mary's description in front of the Old Willow Shopping Center. As they passed Resurrection Cemetery, the girl vanished from the front seat. (Resurrection Mary's ghost appears along Archer Avenue in south Chicago. Take I-294 to 95th Street. Follow 95th Street west to Roberts Road. Take Roberts Road north to Archer Avenue. Resurrection Cemetery, 7600 South Archer Avenue, Justice, IL 60458. Phone: 312-767-4644.)

Decatur
Investigator Cheri Mohr Drake, of the American Ghost Society, undertook an investigation of the Harrold House in Decatur, Illinois, while attending the recent Ghost Conference there. The house is located at 746 West Wood Street in Decatur. It belongs to Amy and Tim Patrick, who live there with their two small children. There are three known ghosts: a small boy, a woman who stands on the front porch, and a middle-aged man. The man is most likely Frank Harrold, who was involved in a scandal centering around a missing $25,000 from the local bank he worked for. After the money was discovered missing, Frank was found shot to death the next day at his farm in nearby Clinton, Illinois. The year was 1925. The case was ruled a suicide, but many suspected it was a murder. Amy Patrick thinks it is Frank's ghost trying to tell her he was murdered and had nothing to do with stealing the money. The investigation of the premises yielded several unexplainable photographs. More information on this case is available at http://www.prairieghosts.com/harrold.html

I found these stories very entertaining, I guess mainly because they are close by to us. I would love to go to Joplin one weekend and see if I saw the mysterious orange ball bouncing down that street! For my fellow bloggers in Illinois; Have you heard of either of the Illinois stories? I just don't know what I think about all of this... I don't think I believe it. I'm not sure. I guess I would have to see it to believe it. What do you think? Have you ever had a paranormal experience? Do you believe in these things? What are some of your favorite scary movies?

Diane