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Come hunt with us!

We're celebrating the fall release of our "Haunted Travels of Michigan" book!

We've scheduled events and public ghost hunts in September and October at some of our most haunted locations! We'll be telling some of the history of the people, places and recounting our experiences with some of Michigan's most reputible paranormal groups.

Here are a couple of fall events with more to come. Come with us to some of our most haunted locations!  GO TO OUR WEBSITE FOR DETAILS:  http://www.hauntedtravelsmi.com/events


September 20, 2008
HISTORIC FORT WAYNE, Detroit, Michigan
History, Mystery & Haunting
Begins: 7:00 p.m., Entry Fee $10.00
Limited Seating … Advance Reservations Recommended!

Presentations and Ghost Tour with Kat Tedsen, Bev Rydel and Metro Paranormal Investigations


October 17, 2008
THE TERRACE INN, Petoskey, Michigan
A Ghost Hunters Weekend
Price $259.00 (for 2 people)
Includes 2 nights lodging, dinner, breakfast
Limited Seating ... Advance Reservations REQUIRED!
Presentations and Ghost Hunt with Kat Tedsen, Bev Rydel and ORSP

THE WHITNEY RESTAURANT, Detroit, Michigan
More details soon!
Presentations & Ghost Hunt by: Kat Tedsen, Bev Rydel and Highland Ghost Hunters

For more information, you can go to our website events page: Haunted Travels of Michigan Events

"Haunted Travels of Michigan" is officially to our publisher. Now it's time to get started on the "Secret Rooms" for our website. 

There's still evidence being analyzed and collected by our paranormal teams. We're really quite amazed at the commitment these paranormal teams have demonstrated.

This book and web project have taken us in a direction we had not anticipated ... and it's very exciting ... and we're very grateful. We want to send a sincere shout-out to these paranormal teams. They are an amazing group of people. This project would be nothing without them.  They are (in alpa order):

... Highland Ghost Hunters

... Metro Paranormal Investigations

... Michigan's Otherside

... Mid-Michigan Paranormal Investigators

... O.S.R.P.

... Shadow Lands

... West Michigan Ghost Hunters Society

We do have a few upcoming public appearances as part of our book kick-off.  These public appearances will be announced at a later time. If you're interested in signing up to receive advance notice, you can go join our elist at our website:

(www.hauntedtravelsmvg.com)

Kat & Bev

Highland Ghost Hunters led the investigation. It was much like many others. Equipment was positioned and teams went off to their assigned locations. By the end of the evening, there had been few personal experiences. We believed the hunt would produce little, if any, evidence. What we did not know, what we could not anticipate, is that we had just investigated one of our most haunted locations.

After reviewing hours of video and audio, we were ready to give it a wrap. The final DVD that represented the last two hours of our investigation was popped into the computer. We were pretty much lulled into a state of numbness when the first event happened. It was brief. Like the blink of an eye. Nothing that startling but it caught our attention.

Several minutes passed. Then one of the most unsettling events I have ever witnessed occurred. It was not something complex or obvious, like a floating ghost staring into the camera. No indeed. This was simple yet the very nature of its simplicity powerful and incredibly chilling. I showed the video clip to my skeptic-till-death husband. He stared in silence then said, "Are you kidding me?" We replayed it again and again.

Of course, I can't tell you more than that since this story and the events of this investigation will be in our book (we're under contract). I can say this, however, we did return to the location with Highland Ghost Hunters for a follow-up. Jenny and Lisa thoroughly attempted to debunk/disprove the events that were recorded. They could not.

There was a movie called "The Changeling", starring George C. Scott. It is not an in-your-face horror movie with monsters from the dead springing up from dark corners to remove the eyeballs or limbs of hapless victims. Rather, it is a gentle, sad and intelligent film that is one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. This investigation with Highland Ghost Hunters has turned out to be our "Changeling" moment.

Kat & Bev, authors of Haunted Travels, will be on

Weird Frequencies tonight
10 p.m. Central; 11 p.m. Eastern

www.disasterradio.com

Go ahead, stay up to the Witching Hour with us ... YES, on a weekday. BE WICKED ... it'll be fun.

We're nearing the final stretch of concluding our first Haunted Travels book. There are several more investigations coming up in the next few months. After that, we're on to the writing fast track and road to the printer.

We hope to have the book out by late September or early October 2008. For those interested, you can sign-up for advance notification of the book's release at our website:

www.hauntedtravelsMVG.com

It is an exciting and evolving time for us.  Evolving is the key.

As some of you already know, finding the truth to a haunting is part of what our book is all about. Tearing apart the Urban Legends to find reality. Accurate historical data is, of course, very important to the truth. Gathering this information is not as easy as you see on TV. On TV, someone just pops out to the library or sits with some historical society person that they magically find and … bling… there it is. All the historical information you need.  Cool!  In reality, good research takes days, weeks and months.

So is the case with some of the historical data we had originally acquired for a couple of our stories.  One story was based, in part, on the Last Will and Testament of an individual. The information on the Will helped define the person and the story. Recently, however, we have learned the Will we had been given was an older document_  A new Will was discovered that was made just before this person's death. The revised Will was, to say the least, very surprising. The information it contained changes the story.

In another, a descendant of a key figure in the haunting had told us inaccurate information about their ancestor's death. It was not done intentionally.  It is simply that stories passed down by generations can get clouded.  Death records were lost. Recently, however, one of our researchers found a very old newspaper article that definitely changed cause of death. Exciting and fascinating…yes, but it also changes a good part of the story.

Without a doubt, the new information creates an even more interesting, complex web of reality. Only problem, we have to rewrite the stories and our time runs short. By the way, this new information directly impacts at least one of the stories we told at Amy and Kristy's "A Haunting Experience" paranormal conference this past October. So, anyone there during our presentation … you are in for a few NEW surprises.

Our journey continues. In a few weeks we are off to another investigation. This is one we've been looking forward to for some time.  Shadow Lands will be our expert paranormal team on this next trip that takes us to an area near Ann Arbor.

It will be Todd's first interview of the new year. What better time to talk ghosts!

Just a reminder ...

Bev and I will be chatting with Todd Sheets, host of Nightwatch TONIGHT (Jan. 8) at 9:00 p.m. Central, 10:00 p.m. Eastern Standard.

The subject ..... hmm, tune in to find out, but we think your guess will be pretty accurate (lol).


http://www.nightwatchshow.com/


If you miss tonight's show, you can download it at: http://www.nightwatchshow.com or you can download it free on itunes (NightWatch - The KChost Radio Network)

A long five-hour drive took us north to Lower Michigan's Thunberbay
region and a very historic building. We were privileged to work with Mid Michigan Paranormal Investigators (MMPI)
on this particular investigation. The group impressed us with their
organization, logical approach to evidence analysis and some
state-of-the-art equipment, which includes voice recognition software
that will distinguish the whisper of team members from actual EVP's
(electronic voice phenomena)...nice.

The history of this place
actually dates back to the 1870's where the first owner built a saloon
catering to the area's lumberjacks. The lumberjacks were hearty eaters
and drinkers. As you might expect, the saloon's business rapidly grew
and they eventually took over the adjacent building that happened to be
a funeral parlor.

Now things get a bit more interesting. How
interesting? Well, you'll just have to wait for the book for that
(lol)! Let us simply say, this place has a colorful background with
some tragic results.

The investigation went smoothly and a few
interesting, unexpected events did occur. Of course, MMPI, Bev
(co-writer) and I will need to review audio and video evidence before
conclusions can be officially made. We are eager to jump into this one
friends!

It’s a point of real frustration to see how easily some people accept just about anything as evidence of ghosts. This is the exact reason why people who claim to see ghosts or other kinds of paranormal activity are automatically tagged as delusional, abusers of illegal substances or desperate for attention.

If one more person sends us another photo of a dust orb (those faint, see-through circles that clearly indicate dust or lens flare) claiming it to be evidence of a ghost or anything paranormal, I will rip the flesh from their bones and send it back to them via UPS freight (well, maybe that’d a little too strong). Now, I’m not saying that all orbs are dust. There have been a few that actually look interesting. Even then, a true orb is simply energy. A natural occurrence in our atmosphere. I have been told that if a spirit entity draws enough of these energy lights to itself it may manifest. I have yet to see something like that occur.

Most recently we received a “ghost dog” picture from someone claiming to be a “ghost hunter”. I looked at it and instantly knew it was a statue of some kind. I sent her a message indicating my thoughts. This “ghost hunter” called me back and told me they had re-visited the cemetery where this photo was taken and there was absolutely no statue (she was very adamant about it). She has shown this photo to several people who, in turn, now believe it to be a “ghost dog” and are eagerly spreading the news.

Today Bev (my co-writer) was up north on business. The cemetery was, more or less, on her way back so she decided to check it out. It was not an easy find since it was down a small dirt road in an abandoned, overgrown section of town but find it she did (you go Bev)!  Of course, she found the exact tombstone with the “ghost dog”. The “ghost dog” was, of course, the statue of an angel. I will send this “ghost hunter” the photo of the ghost dog/angel statue tomorrow. My bet is we don’t hear from her again.

We don’t know if she purposely lied about the “ghost dog” or was foolish enough to actually believe it was some ghostly dog apparition. I know this, from the calls we’ve gotten from people she’s shown it to, these people really believe the photo was a ghost dog. Well, as far as we’re concerned, the legend of the “ghost dog” is officially closed. Now, may we please get back to real investigating and real evidence!

If you’re willing to share some of the laughably fake or frivolous ghost “evidence” you’ve received, we’d like to hear it. A good laugh is always welcome on a cold, bleak November night.

What I’ve always found exciting about a writing project are the surprises. Learning something new along with the experience of discovery. This certainly holds true for our most recent book project, “Haunted Travels of the Michigan Vacation Guide”.

What is there about a good ghost story that draws us? Perhaps it is that creepy-fun sensation that chills yet excites.

Once it’s been told, you can go home, crawl into your soft, safe, cozy bed and sleep well knowing that it was, after all, just a story. How would you feel, however, if that creepy ghost story was not just a story? What if it was, in fact, the truth?

That is what we are doing with our book and interactive website. We are investigating some of Michigan’s most haunted locations. We are pulling away the layers of folklore and fiction to reveal the facts.

Months of research have been involved. We have spent countless hours scouring through century-old newspapers, death, birth records and land deeds. We’ve tracked down and interviewed family ancestors. We have read personal journals, letters and other communications from those who have passed. Then, with our experienced paranormal teams, we have investigated the location said to be haunted by these restless spirits.

So I lay awake on this cold, autumn night and ponder… what have I learned from this book project? What have I discovered?

I have learned that documented facts are not always accurate …that even the most bizarre Urban Legend may hold some element of truth. There is a small area, my friends, where fact and fiction cross. It is in this small area where the real truth lies.

What have I discovered? That the real truth is sometimes the most frightening story of all. Perhaps that is why I lay awake in the wee hours of the morning on this cold, autumn night.