Sorry for the lack of updates this week, I’ve been pretty swamped.

Emery & Mary have set out on their paranormal investigation expedition I mentioned a few times before. They’re already in the throes of it in the beautiful DeLair Manor up north - a couple hours drive from Seattle in British Columbia.

Rather than reinvent the wheel by telling you the events that are unfolding there now I’ll just refer you to their blog, where you can find Mary’s post about the preparations, Mary’s post about getting underway & getting started in the Manor, and Emery’s post about some scary events that have already taken place.

You can read all about the team that Emery and Mary have taken with them for the investigation on their blog as well.

I’m hoping that either one of them will post an update soon. After what I read in Emery’s latest post, with two of the team already having gone to the ER, I’m understandably nervous. That said, if anyone knows how to survive a haunted house, it’s Emery Waterman! I know that both he and Mary are very capable and careful. Still, it’s a friend’s job to be concerned. Steve called me after reading Emery’s latest post and expressed the same sentiment.

I’m assured that they’ll be posting a history of DeLair Manor soon, and the significance of the paranormal events there & why they’ve gone to check it out. So while I’m getting myself together - because I do have lots to share with you here soon - go catch up on Emery’s & Mary’s adventure!

I’m paying a heavy price for last week’s drinking session with Steve…somewhere along the line my immune system let down its guard and I developed the worst head cold in the world Saturday morning. By Monday the doctor put me on antibiotics to prevent it turning into something worse, as I was even oozing from my eyes. I’m starting to feel better but have fallen massively behind at work, and this site. I have some new things to share.

The only consolation is I’m not alone, Steve’s got it too. I’m blaming him for the germ, and he’s blaming me. He pointed out I’m the one who had saliva explode all over her kitchen. It’s a fair point, despite the fact that I’ve disinfected it about a dozen times already. I was encouraged, however, that he was cracking jokes about the paranormal events at my condo. He may be nervous about it, but at least he’s sticking to his promise to be more open about it, and to come on board.

He hasn’t been here yet, but he did do something impressive completely of his own initiative. He drafted a letter he sent yesterday to all antiques sellers, historical societies / museums, and salvage businesses in Seattle and many miles beyond. He’s asking anyone with any items from Rose Red, presumably purchased at the estate auction, to please send him photographs of their stock for this web site. I’ve included the letter here so you can read it yourself, and see how he pitched the idea to his recipients.

I also received an e-mail and a photograph from a friend of Vic’s. Read on…

(Continue reading…)

I’ve put up two new galleries for those who enjoy photographs. The first is personal and will appeal only to those who have a keen interest in Nick and my personal life, and a love for all things bridal. It’s a gallery of our wedding plans…

If so inclined, you can view Our Wedding Gallery here.

The second gallery is of greater interest, and I think you’ll find something to like therein. It’s a gallery of items from The Ellen Rimbauer Museum, which closed its doors in 2007. But its owners kindly sent me catalog photos of their inventory, so I’m able to show you lots of Ellen’s personal items purchased from the estate auction or donated by the Gilchrist family.

Check out The Ellen Rimbauer Museum gallery here.

The 11 page tome that was my research on the Briar Witch took up a fair chunk of my week, so I really didn’t have the energy or time to write a personal update since Emery’s investigation results. Sometimes personal updates are no fun; it’s more enjoyable to give you the research, or the artifacts, or the spooky stories. It’s more fun to think of Rose Red as still being here, because that’s where I’m sure Nick is, somewhere or another.

Truth is Rose Red is still here, just not in the same way. Life here in my Rose Suite has to go on, even when it gets weird. My friendships, like plants, need nurturing to grow. I knew Steve would be upset with me, you may recall I wrote about it a couple days ago. He did call me, though he wasn’t as angry as I expected. We arranged dinner out, which we did yesterday. Chill. Nice. The sort of thing completely normal friends with completely normal ties to each other do. Except the tie that binds him and me is losing our significant others in a haunted house eight years ago…

Far from normal, wouldn’t you say? (Continue reading…)

Unraveling Rose Red: Piecing together the puzzle of history and “coincidence” in Rose Red.

The winter of 1814 was particularly harsh in Dutchtown, Tennessee. The small, young community of modest farms - at the center of which was a tiny village hub consisting of nothing more than a general store and a church - was in danger of dissolution. Starvation was a very real possibility and by late February one third of the town’s population had moved away, primarily relocating to family elsewhere or wandering further afield to seek a new, more forgiving life.

Normally the people of Dutchtown would survive a winter with their stores filled with grains and other staples. Most farm owners had at least one cow and several chickens. The majority also owned pigs for pork. But a terrible harvest in the fall of 1813 left many with their pantries bare of all but what goods they’d preserved in jars, and smoked meats. Any oats and wheat they did have they sacrificed to their animals. It was often in vain; more livestock perished that winter than any other, frequently due to slaughter for food, even if they weren’t fattened. Elsewhere in Tennessee a drinking song containing the lyric “Lock your barns boys, gather round / no horse is safe near wee Dutchtown”* (referencing the fact that the most desperate people in Dutchtown killed and ate their horses) became cruelly popular.

The devastating winter of 1814 set into motion two extremely important events in the history of Dutchtown, events that would make it legendary, and eventually lead to its demise. (Continue reading…)

Rose Red enthusiasts will remember Joyce Reardon periodically referencing a mid-60s investigation of Rose Red by a group of scientists. Four accomplished Washington area scientists teamed up and wandered the mansion in the last days of 1964, trying to debunk some of the claims of paranormal activity in the house. While there they heard the house scream on multiple occasions. They were able to catch the screaming on tape (although they concluded it wasn’t screaming that they heard…), and I’m very excited to reveal to you the audio clips of Rose Red screaming, sent to me by the last remaining scientist from the 1964 group!

I’ve included his e-mail in full here, and it’s worth a read. The audio files are contained therein. First, here’s a photo of the four scientists. The one who sent me the clips (and photo) is Jeffrey Wright.

(Continue reading…)

This site, by the very nature of its subject matter, is no laughing matter. But even the most terrible tragedy has some comic relief. Nick has a wicked, dry wit, and can crack jokes even under the greatest pressure. So he’d appreciate me giving a little “time out” to show you something that, now that I look back on it, is absolutely hilarious.

You may remember the publication Weekly World Digest, which was sold mostly at supermarket check-out lines and newspaper stands. It was a black and white rag that was even worse than a tabloid, because tabloids at least attempt to convey something like the truth (they have to, it’s illegal not to…). Weekly World Digest preferred to tell tales of babies born with bat wings, demons possessing ball machines at church bingo nights, vampires feeding off the First Lady, etc. All of these stories were accompanied by usually terribly unconvincing photoshopped pictures – ringing any bells now? Unfortunately, Weekly World Digest went out of business, so I can’t link you to a web site with samples. But I’m sure it’s well logged in the annals of most people’s memories.

Well, Weekly World Digest got wind of the aftermath of the Memorial Day Rose Red trip and printed what may have been the only WWD feature ever to have some basis in reality, even if the details in their version are – to say the least – highly inventive.

(Continue reading…)

I’ve been somewhat at a loss for words since I received word from Mary Ashwood, Emery’s fiancée, with the results of Emery’s study here in my condo the weekend before last. Since no dramatic events took place during his stay, I didn’t think a lot would come of it.

I was wrong. Rose Red is nothing if not totally unpredictable.

Let me preface this by letting you know Mary has started a blog for her & Emery’s investigations (they work as a team now – a psychic and a forensic scientist, what a combination!). She also talks about some aspects of personal life, as I do here. In fact, she wrote a fantastic biography about Emery which you can (and should) read here…replete with family and childhood photos (definitely check them out). The introduction to the blog, called “Rose Red: A Haunting” can be found here. For convenience, any references to Emery will now automatically link to their blog, so you can remember to check often.

When I first read Mary’s report, I think I was mostly numb. It didn’t frighten me initially, it was almost as if I was reading something about someone else’s life. Like one of my articles about the curses surrounding Rose Red. They’re not about me, or Nick. They’re not personal, so to speak. I think my initial defense mechanism was to read the results very clinically.

But now that I’ve read them about fifteen or sixteen times, and examined the evidence Mary kindly posted for us to experience, I’m feeling a little freaked out. Read on to find out why. (Continue reading…)

A new exhibit in Edinburgh, Scotland displays the first of many “Skulls of Doom” (crystal skull) being displayed around the world, emerging from private collections (article here). I’ve been in contact with a relative of Cora Frye, the “psychic” whose seance at Rose Red changed Ellen’s life (she told her that Ellen would never die as long as she kept building the house). The relative is Cora’s granddaughter; before fleeing Los Angeles she abandoned her baby girl and husband. The baby girl was my contact’s mother. My contact’s name is Janet Ross.

Janet told me that Cora had a “Skull of Doom” which she purchased for show at her seances and private readings. While people in New Age circles take them seriously as a source of mysterious power, Cora never seemed to have a drop of psychic talent until that fateful night in Rose Red. Janet said she believes the “Skull of Doom” was with Cora during Ellen’s seance, because Cora made a habit of bringing her crystal skull with her to all her events.

Janet knows this because after the Rose Red seance Cora was so shaken by the turn of things that she returned to her native Los Angeles and turned herself in to police there. She was charged with numerous counts of fraud in her confidence scams, but before she met with police, she gave all her worldly possessions back to her husband and young daughter. These consisted mainly of the paraphernalia you’d expect - her crystal ball, tarot cards, veils and shawls, and Skull of Doom.

After seeing the news of this display in Edinburgh I’m very curious to see Cora’s Skull of Doom, and of course the crystal ball used in Ellen’s seance. Maybe I’ll make a trip to Los Angeles when next I have free time.

Unraveling Rose Red: Piecing together the puzzle of history and “coincidence” in Rose Red.

Hotel Bremen, like Pinafore Lodge, was a very popular resort destination in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It resided on the cool, calm waters of Lake Chincopee in northern New Jersey.

After the last of the local Indians were driven from the area by white industry - primarily ice, cut in large blocks during winter and shipped around the area for storage in ice houses - the beautiful lake was prime for spring, summer, and fall retreats for middle and upper class travelers from around the country.

While one might suggest the brutality of the way the indigenous Indians were driven away could be enough to curse the entire area, their treatment was not entirely without justification. The local Indians sided with the British in the American War of Independence, as part of a confederation led by the Mohawk. They met their fate at the hands of New Jersey militia, and the rest who remained on the lake for several more decades were derided and finally shoved out of the way by the relentless forward momentum of industry. Between the ice businesses, the numerous iron mine operations on the lake’s surrounding mountains, and the growing tourism, there was very little undisrupted land left for the Indians to live on. Eventually their tribe dwindled and was absorbed into the larger Lenni Lenape nation, and descendants are rare. They are all but extinct. (Continue reading…)

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