The Ghostly Realm and the Four Classic Hauntings

When the sultry summer days on our islands are apparently never-ending, and the scary thunderstorms of July and August pass away into September, October claims the calendar and the ghostly theme for the superstitions of Halloween begin.

For the Marco Beach Boys and Girls that call the ancient archipelago of the Ten Thousand Islands home, October has always been a favorite month. The long hot summer disappears when the stormy skies and the reaching fingers of lightning grasp other homes to haunt, but even when the horizons are clear, there are always new specters from the unexplained waiting to stir the imagination.

With every passing day, the autumn sunsets arrive earlier, and darkness begins to cast a captivating cloak. Even in the tropics, the shadowy side of human nature can always find enchantment, by the bizarre, the unexplainable, and ultimately, the supernatural.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary the paranormal is defined as “Beyond the range of normal experience or scientific understanding.”The term, supernatural is defined as: “of, or, pertaining to existence outside the natural world, especially, nor attributable to natural forces.”

For those who have ever wondered what causes the proverbial bump in the night, the fleeting peripheral shadow, or perhaps, that once in a lifetime creepy experience that was simply too strong to ignore, enthusiasts of the paranormal will gladly explain that there are four basic types of hauntings . . . with a few variations.

According to paranormal professionals, supernatural devotees, and the general realm of ghost hunters, “crisis apparitions” probably affect more living souls than any other supernatural form. These spirits appear or materialize as a fond feeling or strong emotion of a loved one. This happens just as the loved one passes - even if the loved one is many miles away or even across an ocean. Crisis apparitions can sometimes be as simple as a glimpse of the departed in a reflection of glass, or as a feeling so strong we are compelled to say the name of the person aloud. Crisis apparitions normally manifest only once and quite often occur at the exact time of the loved ones’ death. There are no paranormal experts that would consider a crisis apparition to be classified as a haunting. An authentic haunting is much more…read on if you dare!

The first category of haunting pertains to intelligent haunting. This is the classic ghost story where a human spirit is a self-aware entity and can interact with living humans. These ghosts are quite often friendly and have been known to open doors or turn on lights for their living counterparts. They are generally not malicious, appear often, and have regular habits.

According to legend and many of the staff at the Don CeSar Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach, the original Pink Palace hotel founder and builder, Thomas Rowe, is now a friendly ghost that opens doors for overburdened staffers and is occasionally observed walking the beach at sunset with his lost love Lucinda.

The second category in paranormal activity is residual haunting. This is a repeating apparition apparently caused by sudden and extreme violence or situations where spiritual energy is trapped into replicating a specific act over and over again. These ghosts continuously replay a tragedy without being self-aware or knowing that anyone living is watching. Battlegrounds are often the sites of residual haunting or old buildings where tragedies have occurred. A residual haunting can possibly be explained as anchored earthbound spirits linked to a specific site, catastrophe, or earthly endeavor that was so habitual or precious, it could not be left behind.

Apparently, in Key West during 1832, fourteen children were having choir practice with the beautiful song leader of the St. Paul’s Church. While the children sang, the song leader’s husband who was wild with unfounded jealousy boarded up the building and set fire to the church. Everyone inside the little wooden structure perished. According to Key West ghost tour guides, every seven years after the murders and arson, any building rebuilt on the old church site catches fire and burns to the ground. To this day, the abandoned Chameleon Theater, which stands on the old location, is one of the most popular sites where ghost hunters regale their audiences with tales of the supernatural.

On the dark drive to Goodland, on our very own San Marco drive, the ghost of a young woman wearing a bloody wedding dress has been repeatedly reported. Could this restless and tragic apparition be an example of residual haunting?

Possessed objects are inanimate articles of anything from clothing to furniture to art. These items appear to have the characteristics of many haunting categories but are generally restricted to the immediate area in which the possessed object is located. Haunted canes have been reported to reposition themselves by the door for a walk. Pieces of haunted artwork move around, and curses on objects such as the Hope Diamond and Egyptian antiquities offer many testimonials to the supernatural that are hard to ignore.

The third principal category in haunting is the poltergeist. These once human spirits thrive off living humans on a subconscious level. They draw energy from the living around them and employ this power into moving objects and obtaining even more energy as the effect of their actions grows exponentially as the haunting victims become more terrified.

One of the most publicized ghost stories ever is the legend of the Bell Witch. The Bell Witch is considered to be, by many parapsychologists, the ultimate poltergeist manifestation.

In the rolling hills of middle Tennessee, John Bell and his family began to experience the unexplainable. A half dog-half rabbit appeared in a cornfield late one afternoon and after that apparition, a violent knocking outside the Bell home awoke everyone at midnight and demanded an investigation. When John Bell and his sons went lanterns-in-hand searching for the outdoor hammering sounds, no sign of life was found, nor were there footprints of any kind. The events continued with strange whispers that were quite audible but could not be understood until the spirit became stronger. After the Bell family began to relate their frightening experiences and the stories spread, Andrew Jackson came with a troop of men from nearby Nashville and witnessed firsthand the haunting of the Bell Witch. After one of his men deserted after hearing a strange feminine voice, and some of his men complained of being stuck by needles, pinched, and having their hair pulled, Andrew Jackson departed the Bell farm the following day and was quoted: “I would rather fight the entire British army than deal with the Bell Witch.”  

The poltergeist - German for noisy ghost - is perhaps the most intriguing entity, but the final category in haunting is beyond frightening. When describing the phase four category of hauntings, a conjured image can come to mind that never fails to stagger the imagination. For those easily frightened…stop reading now!

A phase four haunting is a non-human spirit that has been described throughout the ages as a demon. A demon can be further categorized as an inhuman spirit from outside the realm of humanity.

Demons, according to paranormal believers, are the worst-case scenario of any supernatural activity. They have been described as fallen angles that have, of their own free will, decided to betray God. They first come into the house and appear as a friendly man or woman to small children. They often manifest during the witching hour of 3:00 AM and work in patterns of three. Three knocks on the wall, three thumps in the attic, or clocks spinning backward until finally stopping at 3:00.

“The Amityville Horror” has been described as an example of a demonic haunting and “The Exorcist” novels and films portray ancient demons appearing in modern times.

In the early 1970’s, a member of the home on Ocean Drive in Amityville, Long Island, murdered his entire family. Years later, the home was reported by many sources to have an unearthly presence. The Lutz family, who moved into the home a few years after the murders, only lasted 29 days before they fled the old house in terror. Legend reports that the Amityville home was built on Shinnecock Indian ground where mentally ill members of the Native American tribe were once confined.

Regardless of beliefs, Halloween will soon be here, and with the shadowy side of human nature always ready to sit by an autumn campfire anywhere, or a poolside firepit on Marco, tales of the paranormal and supernatural will always remain as some of the most fascinating and sensational subject matters ever.

Tom Williams is a Marco Islander and the author of two books: “Lost and Found” and “Surrounded by Thunder - The Story of Darrell Loan and the Rocket Men.” Both books are available on Kindle and Nook.