Five of America’s Most Haunted Places Open for Tours

October 28, 2016October 28, 2016 Admin Leave a comment

Hundreds of thousands of people each year set out in search of the ultimate cheap Halloween thrill, looking for the best amusement park styled haunted houses in their area. What could be better than a few hours of college kids dressed like slasher movie villains? If you are seeking an authentic paranormal experience, try checking out some of America’s most haunted places.

The Winchester Mystery House

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California is a curious oddity that reportedly inspired the Stephen King novel Rose Red. The sprawling mansion with unique architecture was built by Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune. Mrs. Winchester was steeply consumed with the paranormal, and it is believed that those interests contributed to the home’s unusual, seemingly never-ending construction.

The house has been converted into a public museum and tourist attraction and is not without its share of reported hauntings. There are hundreds of visitor reported experiences recorded on the Winchester Mystery House website. The reports include everything from hearing disembodied voices, the appearance of apparitions, being shoved, and other unexplained physical manifestations.

The Sloss Furnaces

The Sloss Furnaces is a former steel mill that has been described as “oppressive, evil, and murderous.” Foreman, James “Slag” Wormwood was known for being oppressive. Wormwood ran his long shifts in the extreme heat without giving breaks. There were no holidays off or vacations. The heat of the mill combined with the southern humidity made working at the furnace a nightmare, and more than 47 men died under Wormwood’s watch. The foreman himself later lost his life at the site after falling into one of the furnaces.

Dozens of visitors, paranormal investigators, and news reporters have reported hearing the voice of Wormwood while visiting the site. There have been reports of other disembodied voices, apparitions, and physical manifestations such as being pushed or tripped.

The Sloss Furnaces is a historical site in Birmingham, Alabama and is open to the public for tours.

The Villisca Axe Murder House

A family of six and two guests went to sleep on the night of June 10, 1912, only to become the victims of one of the most brutal crimes of its time. An unknown assailant entered the home and bludgeoned the occupants to death with an ax. The grisly scene became the talk of the tiny town and remains so even to this day.

The Villisca Axe Murder House is a national historical building and is open for both daylight and overnight tours. Many who have visited the house claim to have experienced unexplained occurrences, such as feelings of being watched, the appearance of orbs in photographs, and objects moving inside of the house. The house is located in Villisca, Iowa and is open for daytime and overnight tours.

The Ohio State Reformatory

The Ohio State Reformatory, also known as the Mansfield Reformatory, is said to be one of the most haunted places in the United States. The prison opened its doors in the 1800s and saw more than 150,000 inmates pass through its doors. Crudely marked graves are all that remain of the 215 men that never left the prison. Most of those who died as the reformatory succumbed to infectious disease. Others lost their lives to violence.

Those who believe in the paranormal could say that former staff members took something home with them at the end of their shifts. The Warden and his family were victims of a tragic accident. The farm boss lost his family after they were kidnaped and killed by two parolees. Many visitors to the site report seeing a figure moving about the shadows of the hallways, as well as hearing the voices of a man and a woman.

The Ohio State Reformatory is open to the public, offering a number of tour packages including a “ghost hunt” tour.

The Myrtles Plantation

The Myrtles Plantation is a sprawling plantation homestead. Built in 1796 in St. Francisville, Louisiana, the plantation is believed to be one of the oldest known haunted sites in America. The plantation features a bed and breakfast. The plantation grounds are open for both guided and self-guided tours. Overnight guests can stay in the suites inside the mansion, still fashioned in antebellum décor. Some cabins are available throughout the spread.

Owners, hired staff, and guests alike have reported unexplained activity at the Myrtles Plantation. Photographs of full, solid-bodied apparitions have been snapped on the grounds. One visitor snapped a photograph of his family, only to later discover the ghostly image of a child in full antebellum clothing in the window behind them.

Three Cheap and Easy Halloween Tricks for Novice Decorators

October 14, 2016October 14, 2016 Lisa Leave a comment

Moving into a new house, having children, getting married, and other life changing events may tempt your creative side into decorating for the holidays. It is not as easy as many people make it out to be. The houses that are in your neighborhood that decorate every year may have an abundance of items to use from hanging lights to plastic and inflatable lawn decorations. Even though it may seem that these homes are decorated by highly paid professionals, the truth is that the homeowners enjoy celebrating and that is their way of sharing it with their community.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed with the idea of decorating your entire yard and home for a holiday, but the possibilities are truly endless. There are several cheap ideas that can help turn your home into the talk of your neighborhood without having to break the bank or your pocket. From lawn spiders to ghostly lit walkways and gloomy graveyards to forever lasting jack-o-lanterns, there is a whole slew of easy to create decorations that cost under a hundred dollars.

Ghastly Glowing Ghoul Eyes

One great way to add a cheap decoration to your lawn bushes or trees is to use glowing eyes. There are several ways to achieve the glowing eyes look, but not many cheap ways to do it. It can be done for less than five dollars and be reusable if stored properly. This project can be easily done by cutting eye shapes of your choice into toilet paper rolls and then inserting a glow stick. They can be placed in a tree, in shrubbery, or even around the house. The hardest part of this decoration is finding where to stick the eyes to give the best possible scare.

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Scary Lawn Spider

Many people are afraid of spiders. The bigger they are the louder they will scream. The cost of creating your own scary lawn spider can range from two to ten dollars depending on what type of trash bags that you choose to use. Each leg of the spider is one trash bag and the body of the spider is a single trash bag, each filled with the right amount of newspaper or plastic grocery bags to achieve the desired form. A glue gun or clear tape can be used to attach the parts. You can use a sheet of white paper to create vampire teeth for the spider and the eyes can be created with the cut-off bottom of two red solo cups.

Ghostly Lit Walkway

A project that is simply done by things laying around your house is the ghostly lit walkway. Milk or any jugs that are white can be used to create this walkway. A black sharpie marker comes in handy with plenty of around-the-house projects and this one is included. Using the sharpie design each of the jugs with a ghostly face, much like you would before carving a jack-o-lantern. Then cut a hole in the bottom of the jugs and insert a handful of white Christmas lights into the bottom, line the area of your choice, then plug the lights in and watch the ghostly faces dance. You can choose to line the walk up to your front door with them or a hallway in your home creating a dimly lit walkway with ghostly faces all around.

Other cheap ideas can include using door sleeves or window clings. Many dollar stores carry cheap decorations that can help cover your entire door or cling to the glass windows in your home. It is easy to set up and quick to take down, making it painless on the homeowner and enjoyable for the trick-or-treaters. Decorating for Halloween or any holiday should not be a chore. It should be fun and entertaining for your family and those who visit during the festivities. Using a little creativity and a few dollars can go a long way when trying to turn your home or lawn into a spook-tacular adventure for everyone.

You May Want to Read This Article – Halloween Express Review

Use Halloween Express Reviews To Save Money On The Holiday

September 30, 2016September 30, 2016 Admin Leave a comment

Do you know what the second biggest holiday is in terms of sheer number of dollars spent across the economy? The number one holiday is of course obviously Christmas, but what comes in second? Is it the romance of Valentine’s Day? The travel of Easter and spring break? The fireworks and cookouts of July 4th? Maybe the food and feasts of Thanksgiving? Those are all good guesses, but the actual answer is Halloween! The celebration of ghouls and goblins has overtaken everything but the 25th of December as the money making holiday.

It was not always so, but there are so many different shopping tangents surrounding this holiday, that it is not hard to see why it promotes so much spending. Homeowners and renters that know trick or treaters will be coming by stock up on candies, sweets, and other goodies to hand out. Halloween is also an occasion to decorate the home, both inside and out. Some residents truly embrace the holiday with sophisticated scenes spread out across the yard to spook children, and these can even involve huge inflatables, lights, and sound.

Costumes are often the big driver behind Halloween spending, as kids might need their annual costume. The holiday has grown enough that even grownups and adults get costumes as well. These might be used for social parties, but even work parties. Many places of employment even allow their workers to come into work in costume on the actual holiday.

Many shoppers turn to stores like Halloween Express for their costumes and supplies. While many general supplies around the holiday can be bought at general retailers that are available year-round, getting particular costumes guaranteed to fit is a lot harder to do, so retailers like Halloween Express step up to fill this market demand. However, things do not always go smoothly.

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Halloween Express does have a tremendous selection of costumes available, but they do not keep every one and every size in each of their stores. What happens is that orders get placed, and then they are shipped in from elsewhere. If these orders show up wrong or fail to show up at all, shoppers can be left in a last-minute lurch without a costume, which is not something easily had at the last minute any time of year, much less the days leading up to Halloween itself.

Checking Halloween Express reviews online is a great way to know if your local store is one you can count on to meet your needs, as well as possibly see how far in advance you need to order something in order to be safe. Check the previous year’s Halloween Express reviews across platforms like Google and Yelp, but also use your local chamber of commerce and the Better Business Bureau to get a sense of how well run the Halloween Express in your community is. Also use similar reviews to find and consider other costume options for your holiday and Halloween needs.