For those of you in the New York City area, I wanted to let you know that Michael Teitelbaum will be doing a reading from The Scary States of America, as part of the New York Book Festival in Central Park.
The event will take place on Saturday, June 28 at the bandshell in the park. The reading will begin at 12 noon. The easiest way to get there is to enter the park at 72nd street and Fifth Avenue.
Hope to see you there!
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I am the author of The Scary States of America, a collection of tales of the paranormal, written for ages 9-12. This is the blog of the book's main character Jason Specter, a collector of the paranormal tales which have been gathered in the book. At the end of the book I (Jason, actually) invites readers to send in stories of their own paranormal experiences, which can then be posted onto the blog. This enriches the reading experience and connects readers to the main character of the book. I have also set up an e-mail account for the character where people can send their stories. This is the e-mail address I have listed below. I, of course, check that e-mail every day. To contact me directly, please use my Jacketflap page, or e-mail me at: [email protected]. Thank you, Michael Teitelbaum, Jacketflap member, user name: Teitelbaum
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So far I've posted 2 stories about people who have seen or heard the ghosts of their cats. And these stories have gotten lots of great comments on my website. So now I'm happy to announce our first story about the ghost of a dog.
Annie and Jane from Illinois sent me this tale (tail?...ouch! Bad Pun Alert!) about Annie and her ghostly dog.
Okay... My school just got out two days ago. And yesterday was the first day of summer break! But I was not too excited about it because I had to go to my dad's work. I got home around 6:00 and my mom told me to take out my dog, Squiggle.
My mom was outside gardening. My brother, Austin, was outside riding his bike. My dad was golfing with some of his friends. After the walk I went inside to let Squiggle in. I opened the garage door and walked into the laundry room. The laundry room door was closed. I cracked open the laundry room door and I heard someone say "Come here, Charcoal!" Then I heard jingling. It sounded like Charcoal's collar. Charcoal was my other dog. But the thing is Charcoal died 2 years ago!
I opened the laundry room door and said "Mom? You there?" No answer. I looked out the window and my mom was outside. She had not moved from where she was gardening. I looked over at where we always kept Charcoal's collar--on the mantel over the fireplace. It was not there! I looked around and I saw it on the floor next to a fresh muddy paw print.
I grabbed Squiggle and ran outside. I told my mom everything. She was skeptical so I brought her in to show her. But the collar was back in its place and the paw print was gone!
I'm so scared... well... at least my house is being haunted by someone I love!
Jane and Annie
WOW! (or should I say bow-WOW! Sorry, Bad Pun Alert again) Thanks, Jane and Annie, for sharing that story.
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Victoria from South Carolina sent me this tale about something that happened to her in her great-grandmother's house in Indiana. It has a creepy ring to it, as you'll see:
My great-grandma had just died 2 days ago and we were going through her house and getting the things she had let behind for us in her will. Now the one thing that was left to me was her turquoise ring. The only problem was that no one could find it.
I was up in her room and suddenly I got a chill. I looked around but no window was open. Then appearing in the doorway of the room stood my great-grandma dressed in the dress she had died in. She then knelt down and glided her hand under her dresser and picked out what looked to be a ring. She handed it to me and sure enough it was a turquoise ring! I gasped and when I looked up she mouthed the words "I love you" and departed.
I still have the ring 5 years later.
Hope you like the story!
I sure do. Not only did you get a ring that means a lot to you but you got a great story too! Thanks for sharing it.
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Sadie from Indiana sent me the following e-mail:
Okay, So I read your book, and (of course) absolutely loved it!
Anyway...
Have you ever heard of anybody who could see spirits?
Not just sometimes, but all the time, whereever they are.
Well I can, and I have a pretty creepy story about my neighbor's house if you'd like to hear...
Of course I'd like to hear! And so Sadie sent me this chilling tale:
Okay....
When I first moved into my house, my mom made me meet the neighbors (ick). And the one on our left was an elderly man who I guess didn't like kids very much. I ended up being best friends with the girl in the house past his. But being the strange person I am, I had to investigate.
I asked my friend about him, and it turned out he was really weird (and he used to be a circus clown, but that's not important). I convinced my friend to help me. After a few months of living there, I was walking home from my friend's house late one night and I happened to see out of the corner of my eye, my creepy neighbor watching me from his window.
I was a little freaked out, but I didn't think much of it. After a few more times of that happening, I got really annoyed. I asked my mom about him (not telling her about him watching me), saying he was really weird.
Turns out he had died a month before!
Somebody else lives there now, but sometimes I still see the creepy neighbor looking out his window at me.
Sadie-
Indiana
I've heard of being a good neighbor--this is ridiculous! And beyond CREEPY!! Thanks for sharing, Sadie.
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Dear Jason,
My name is Aaron. My BEST friend Rain and I have experienced some paranormal stuff in Rhode Island. I swear this is real. One day at Rain's house, she took out a oiuja board and we contacted the spirits and believe us, we wish we NEVER had. We talked to a dead girl named Baby and she said she was at Rain's house. So we did some tests like we put out a tootsie roll and watched it with our own eyes move back and forth. After that we were going to visit her grave but it was raining really hard, so we went through some old photos and found a picture that had Baby in the background! We asked if it was her and it was. Now as you can imagine we were freaked out. The next day Baby started throwing and moving things around. We locked ourselves in Rain's room, but Baby kept throwing things at us and screaming like a banshee. But the weirdest thing was we couldn't figure out why she was mad. Then we realized that she was mad at us because we never visited her grave!
Still, after we saw her temper that's the last place I want to be!
>'_'< Aaron
I don't blame you one bit! I don't know if I'd venture to her grave. I might also hide the ouija board! :)
Allison from Texas sent me this local legend that's so popular it even has a street named after it:
My name is Allison. I'm from Texas. There is a story here that is told every year at Halloween. Nobody really knows when it was started but it has plenty of truth to it.
In the pioneer days there was a woman named Sara Jane. She was traveling back to her home town with her new born daughter when she walked into a store only to find that it was being robbed. She raced out the door and the robbers chased her over what is now officially Pure Atlantic Road, but more commonly called Sara Jane Road. Sara wanted to save her child so she threw her into a near by bush, but the infant rolled into the river. The robbers soon caught up with Sara and killed her. Meanwhile the child drowned. Now, Sara Jane haunts the road looking for her baby. Some say that if you stand in the middle of the road at midnight on Halloween and yell "Sara Jane! Sara Jane I have your baby!" you will hear a baby crying and a girl shouting "Where? Where?" I am still a chicken and have refused to try this myself but I have plenty of friends who have and all the stories are the same. First a wind colder than you can ever imagine blows. Then you hear an infant crying. And finally you see a woman running down the road. I once had a teacher who lived on Sara Jane Road and refused to believe this, but I figure this was only because he was a science teacher. He also refused to call the road Sara Jane Road.
P.S luved the book
Thanks, Allison, for this great local legend. Next time I'm in Texas I'll have visit Pure Atlan--I mean Sara Jane Road!
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Kate from Ohio sent along this tale that her grandmother told her about her own ghostly encounter years ago in Alabama:
Jason,
Hi my name is Kate and I'm from Ohio, but I have a story from Alabama to tell you. My grandma told me this:
I was staying with your father's cousin Ruthie and she had a cat called
Boo. Well, Boo liked to hang out in Ruthie's closet. She said I could pet him while she got ready for dinner. I went to the closet to say hi to Boo and when I did I felt someone tap me. I turned around and there was this little boy dressed in a little shirt and short pants. I turned to ask Ruthie about him, but when I turned back he was gone.
I later found out that a young boy by the name of Samuel Morriss Gregory had lived in that house about 80 years before Ruthie. He was 4 when one day he went outside and played in a pond. Well, the pond led to the river and he was swept away and later found. When he was found, his body was bloody and torn, and he was wearing a little shirt and short pants.
Hope you liked the story, Jason.
Kate
I'm still shivering, Kate! Thank you and please thank your grandmother for sharing!
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Max from California sent me two tales of his encounters with the weird and unexplained. Here they are:
Hi, I'm Max, I live in California. I'm a HUGE fan of your site, and I have scary stories of my own, both of which happened to me. People say that I can see ghosts.
Here is the first one:
My mom and I live in this recently rebuilt house. It was all we could have hoped for. Nothing really unusual happened until about our eighth month living there. It was about 9:00 and I was watching tv when all of a sudden I saw what looked like a glowing hand shoot through the closed kitchen door. At first I was really scared but then I realized that it was probably just a trick of the light. About three minutes later I saw a big ball of white light come from the bedroom, pause in front of me, turn, and go through the kitchen door. At that point I was very scared. So I turned off the tv and was about to turn off my bedroom light when a freezing cold air engulfed me. It swirled around my body for about a minute then just dissapeared. We moved out two months later.
Here is my other story:
I lived with my dad in a 1950's house. Things started happening right after we moved in. All of them seemed to happen to me and my friends when we played video games. The buttons started getting pushed all by themselves. Knocks would come at the door but nobody would be there. But the scariest thing happened to me and my friend Liam. He was sleeping over when at about 4:00 in the morning we were awakened by the sounds of pots and pans being hit together. When we went into the kitchen the fridge door was open and pots and pans were on the ground. We ran into the living room only to be confronted by the tv rotating on its stand (it could spin). We were about to turn and go into my room when we saw a black mass crouching in the fire place. Nobody else believes us but we know what we saw.
Thanks, Max. The fact that both you and Liam saw this shape is very creepy indeed!
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Taylor from Alabama sent me this local legend that he actually experienced himself. Check it out:
Hey, I'm Taylor from Alabama. I LOVE your blog and book. Hope you make another Scary States of America.
So here is the legend: A young woman was so angry at her infant child that she threw him off the bridge. Now when a car goes across the bridge, it shakes back and forth or is pushed forward. Also tiny hand prints are seen on the car afterwards. If you leave candy on the bridge, the ghost will take it. If you pour baby powder on the bridge, footprints of a baby can be seen. The bridge is now called the bridge of crybaby hollow.
Okay, so here's what happened to me:
I was driving back to where I was camping out. On the way I drove my grandparents' car across the bridge of crybaby hollow. Then, the car starting shaking all over! The baby's cries filled the air. The ghost went inside my car! It grabbed my candy bar! Jason, I was so freaked out! The baby followed me as I went across the bridge until finally I sped off out of sight. People think I'm making this up. Do you believe me?
Your #1 fan,
Taylor
(T-Bone)
Wow, thanks for sending this along. Of course I believe you. I always trust that the people who send me stories are telling the truth. Thanks again for sharing!
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Austin from Arizona sent me this tale of his UFO sighting. Check it out!
My name is Austin and I'm from Arizona. I read your book. It was awesome!!! Keep posting stuff on your blog!
Well anyway, I was sleeping in my room when I heard a low humming noise. When I looked out my window I saw a giant cylinder shape with a red light on it! I thought my mind was playing games with me so I went back to bed. When I woke up I turned on the news and found out several other people saw it too! It was called the "The Phoenix Lights". The government tried to cover it up by saying it was flares. Other stories said that it was the government testing a top secret plane. But if it was that, then why would they fly it over a large city? I believe it was aliens. What do you think?
Well, Austin, I can't tell you for sure since I wasn't there to see it. But the fact that other people saw the same thing on the same night tells me that it was not in your head! Thanks for sending this to me!!
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Bella from Minnesota sent me this tale of her close encounter with a car...that just happened to have no driver!
Dear Jason,
Hi, my name is Bella. I live in Minnesota. Anyway, there is an old railroad bridge outside of town by a park called the Thunder Valley Park. The bridge's name is the Black Bridge. Legend has it that in early summer, a ghost train passes through, carrying dead bodies and you can hear a funeral march playing. My friends Anne, Jodie and I love to bike by the bridge. One day, in early summer, we were biking down by the bridge, and we heard gravel churning behind us. We looked behind us, and we saw a really, really old white car. It caught our attention immediately, because it was so old. But here comes the scary part. We looked into the car, and in the right-hand passenger seat, was an old lady dressed entirely in white. She looked to be about eighty years old. She was sitting very stiffly with her hands in her lap, making it impossible to drive. We looked to see who was driving, BUT THERE WASN'T ANYONE IN THE DRIVERS SEAT!!!! At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but when I looked again, I still didn't see anyone!!!! We looked at each other and then started to scream and freak out! We hopped on our bikes and looked back at the car, and it was totally gone, and we were on a one lane gravel road, so we would have heard it if it passed us. We sure got out of there as quick as we could!!!!!! I still am scared to this day! We haven't been back to the bridge since! Thanks for reading this Jason.
Bella
Thank YOU, Bella for sharing!
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Jessalyn and her sister Taylor sent me this bit of lore from their home state of Kentucky. I love local legends and this is a great one:
Hi,
My name is Jessalyn. My sister, Taylor, and I have a great story for you. We know of a legend called "The Bride of Cumberland Falls". There are many different versions of it. Here is the most well known version:
A little over sixty years ago, a man and woman were to be married at the lodge of Cumberland Falls. On the night they had planned to get married, the groom called to say he was running late. Hours passed and the man never showed up. They were getting ready to go searching for him when the news came that the man had been killed in a car crash. The woman was so upset over her fiance's death, that she went to the top of the falls and jumped off what is now called Lover's Leap. Now it is said that she roams Cumberland Falls looking for her dead fiance.
Many people have seen the bride, including myself and my sister. My dad, who used to work there, has also seen her. One night he was locking up the lodge. He had finished locking up and remembered he had left his clipboard inside. He went in to get it, and found that every door in the building was open! And he had just locked them all! That is just one of many strange things that have happened there. I hope you have enjoyed the legend of "The Bride of Cumberland Falls".
Jessalyn and Taylor
You bet I did! Thanks for sending it along!!
Okay, the paranormal community (you guys know who you are!) has been buzzing about the mass sighting by bunches of people of a UFO in Stephenville, Texas at sunset on January 8, 2008.
Nothing that strange about that, you might be saying (I know, I can hear you). True. But here's the unusual part of the story. The mainstream media, from ABC News to CNN has been covering this story...and taking it seriously. No smirks, rolling eyes, or condescending jabs at "those wacky folks" who see UFOs. Nope. Straight news coverage.
Check out these links:
ABC News
MSNBC
Fox News
NPR
CBS News
Of course the air force is dismissing this as nothing (can you say Roswell?). No big shock there. Anyway, check it out and decide for youself. And if anyone from Stephenville actually saw this I'd love to hear from you!
Jason
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Hey everyone,
Check out the interview that Scary States of America author Michael Teitelbaum did on Eerie Radio, a radio show devoted to--what else?-- all things paranormal!
Here's the link:
http://www.eerieradio.com/
Enjoy!
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Poltergeistgrl from Virginia sent me this tale (tail? ha-ha) about her cat who died, but continued to hang out with her. I have heard stories about cat ghosts before (check out the story from California) and this is another great one for my collection. Read on:
hey J!
Your book is awesome! i had no clue that creepy things happened in EVERY state of the US. Im not what u would call a UFO or paranormal freak, but my friends and I have had our share of creepy experiences around our little Virginia town. i have plenty to share with u about all of my friends stories but this one is by far the scariest ever!
ok, i was only six and i had been at school when my cat, Alley, who i had since i was born got run over by a car. When i got home my parents had to tell me the grisly news. i saw her put to rest in our backyard and we went on with our lives. the next Halloween (coincidentally, her birthday) i set a grave stone where we had buried her with her picture and then i went trick-or-treating. when i got back i glanced at her grave, nothing was there. No picture, no gravestone, nothing! i quickly ran inside my house to ask my family what happened but no one was there but me. later i went to bed, securely closing my door and laying down. After an hour or so, I heard MROWWWWWWW! I quicky sat up and sitting on my dresser was Alley! She had a weird blue aura around her and had stars in her eyes! i was freaked. when i moved over to touch her, she vanished! in the morning when I dragged myself out of bed i asked my parents if they heard anything weird, they said i was crazy! you believe me dont u? -Poltergeistgrl
Of course. I always trust that the people who send me stories are telling the truth. And, as I mentioned, this is not first case of a cat ghost I have heard about. Thanks!
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Emily from Maryland e-mailed me asking if she could "share her scares." So naturally I wrote back and said YEAH! as loud as I could (or as loud as anyone can using e-mail). And so she sent me back this creepy, creepy tale about the restaurant her mom works in. Here it is:
Jason,
Well, first of all, this story takes place in Maryland at a restaurant called Mrs. K's Tollhouse. I've been told that there was a ghost here by most of the employees. In fact, I'm in the restaurant right now! I've never come in contact with the ghost, but my mom and many other employees have. Here's the story:
The restaurant first started off as a toll house and a residence of the Kreuzberg family. A while later they turned it into a tavern and had many visitors. They lived and worked here for a while until Mrs. Mary Kreuzberg died of old age in one of the rooms on the upstairs floor. Her husband was so sad that he re-named the tavern "Mrs. K's Tollhouse". Soon, the current owners [my mom's bosses; husband and wife] bought the restaurant.
They were getting ready to close the restaurant one night when the husband left his office. He deadbolted the door and went downstairs. There was no else in the restaurant. The next day [before anyone arrived], he went back up to the office and the deadbolt had been un-screwed from the door.
He went downstairs to ask his wife if she had un-screwed it but she said she hadn't. At closing time that night, he went upstairs and re-screwed it on. The next day it happened again. He decided to just leave it off.
Things were quiet for a while after that. And then came the restroom construction...
The men's restroom, across the way from my mom's office, was being reconstructed. One of the workers had finished for the day so he started to close the door. But, out of the corner of his eye, he saw an old woman in a rocking chair. This was in the heirloom corner where there are breakables and mirrors everywhere. "The woman was wearing old-fashioned clothing and was just watching me work," he said. Then again, a few years went by without any incidents or sighting.
Then, my mom started her job here as catering director. The restaurant started to close on Mondays. My mom was the only one at the restaurant on Mondays and soon the strangest thing happened. She was sitting at her desk working and listening to the radio when she heard a strange noise. It was a bell like from a trolley or something. She climbed up the stairs and it got louder. She thought it was coming from above the staircase. But when she got there she found no bell and no one.
I believe that the ghost of Mrs. K was trying to get someone's attention. Then I found out that the day my mom heard the bell, was the anniversary of the day Mrs. K had died!
Emily
Thanks for sharing, Emily. This, like so many stories I have encountered goes to show that not all ghosts are evil. Some just want to make sure they are not forgotten. And it doesn't sound like anyone in the Tollhouse will soon forget Mrs. K!
Those of you who have read my book know all about one man's encounter with a Bigfoot in Alaska. My buddy Eli sent me this story about his friend's uncle's face-to-face with the big hairy guy, also in Alaska. Do I see a trend here? Check it out:
Hi, JS,
My friend Paul told me this story. Here's what he told me:
My Uncle Kirk lives with me now, but he used to live in Alaska. When he was there he got caught in a colossal snow storm. He hiked around the forest and caught a rabbit for his dinner. But, unfortunately, he didn't like rabbit meat, so he let it go. On he hiked, farther and farther into the woods. But at about 6:30, he heard a growl behind him. And like Colin, who sent you "Werewolf In The Backyard" said, I don't mean BOO! I mean GGGGGGRRRRRRAAAAA!!!!!
Then he felt a tapping on his neck. When he turned around, he saw a dark figure. When he raised his flashlight, he saw that the figure looked like an ape of some sort. It was standing up on two legs and grasping the very rabbit Uncle Kirk had caught! Uncle Kirk ran and got away from whatever the big ape thing was (can you say "Bigfoot!").
That's all Paul told me. If I hear more, I'll send it to you. Merry Christmas! Hope you don't live in Alaska!
Eli
Thanks Eli and please thank Paul for sharing this close encounter of the snowy, hairy kind!
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Mariela from Illinois send me this creepy encounter with a ghost.
Hey Jason,
Well I read your book which i loved since I love Paranormal Phenomena, and the first time I saw it I knew I had to read it like the rest of the Paranormal books at my local Library. I live in Ilinois in a small boring town, nothing happens around here, so one day during summer break, just after I got back from my vacation to Mexico, I decide to sleep over at my cousin's house in Chicago. That's where I saw the ghost.
My dad drove me out to my cousin's house. I thought it was going to be fun and all since I usually have lots of fun going places with my cousins. My cousin Maria and I were outside looking out for the rest of my cousins, who are three and one. Then we went in for dinner and after we watched tv. When we got tired, it was about ten o' clock and we headed toward my cousin's bedroom and went to sleep.
Well in the middle of the night I woke up because I felt like something was tappping at my shoulder. I thought that it was my cousin trying to wake me up to tell me something. I looked around the room and saw that my cousin was asleep, so I figured that it must have been part of my imagination and went back to sleep. After about twenty minutes passed I felt something again. I woke up and there next to me was an elderly man. He looked really nice and caring. I didn't dare go back under the covers. I knew this was a ghost. His image was faded and a little transparent. I love the paranormal so I just stood watching him. He looked very peaceful to me so I didn't feel scared.
Seconds later he walked out the door(it was already open). Amazed at this I quickly got up and looked at the spot were he had been. I found nothing--no trace that he had ever been there. I was more excited than terrified, so I went back to sleep.
The next morning I woke up and told my cousin what I had seen. She looked at me surprised and she askd me "Mariela, are you serious? You saw the ghost of my Grandfather. He died two months ago in this room. He loved us very much and sometimes came in our room to say goodnight."
I was surprised. I had been in Mexico and had known nothing of this. "Are you serious?" I asked.
"Yes!" my cousin replied.
I hope that you liked my encounter with a ghost, a good one that is. Thanks for listening, I love your book.
Thank you, Mariela, for sharing this amazing tale with all of us.
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Okay, so I've come across lots of bizarre and scary creatures during my travels, research, and collecting of stories. But this one is a doozy!
Scientists have just found the fossil of the biggest bug that ever lived.
How big?
Try EIGHT FEET LONG!!
That's right, a bug that's bigger than a really tall human!
This is one bug that you couldn't squish or knock out with a can of Raid. You'd need a tanker truck of Raid to get rid of this guy.
But don't worry. He's been dead for 390 million years. But that doesn't stop him from creeping me out.
Check out this story. Creeeeeeeeepy!!
I gotta go. The exterminator is here!
Jason
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Paul from Pennsylvania sent me this tale of a terrifying encounter on a snowy winter day:
Jason,
I have several freaky stories I can share with you but just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoyed your "The Scary States of America" book. Here's one of the strange things that has happened to me.
In 1997 my wife, four sons, and I were renting a house on a 200 hundred acre farm in Pennsylvania. It was beautiful, with rolling hills outlining a forest and a creek that ran through the property. Even though the house was fantastic and property a dream it was still creepy. We would always feel as if we were being watched.
The winter of 1997 was a horrible winter. Snow piled up with drifts of over 7 feet. It would snow 10 to 12 inches a day, no one was going anywhere. A state of emergency was called as roads were impassable.
I woke up early, and heard on the news the roads were all closed and decided to go see if I could clear away snow from the cars. Three feet of fresh snow had fallen the night before so I put my boots on and headed out. A winter wonderland lay before me with 6 foot snow drifts on the farm road. I trenched out into yard and that's when I first saw them. Huge footprints twice the size of my boots in the fresh snow. The prints had no shoe tracks were at least seven feet apart. I had to run and jump to get from one track to the other. What was freaky was the tracks came from the woods across the field and stopped near a clump of trees that were close to the house then just disappeared.
I tried to put it out of my mind. I trudged through the snow. As I walked toward the cars off to my left about a hundred yards along the tree line I thought at first a tree was following me. This massive black thing walked parallel with me as I headed toward the main road. The wind shifted and I got wiff of a smell that would knock a buzzard off a dung pile. Like the Philalelphia Zoo in the hot summer sun. Nasty!
As I came to the open field I could see the cars in front of me. The wind whipped snow in my face as I had to crawl the last hundred feet. That's when it happened. I heard a growling and heavy breathing. This dark shape off to my left started crossing the field coming toward me. Whatever it was was massive and heavy enough to crack through the ice and snow as it lumbered toward me. Its upper body was at least 6 feet above the snow which was easily four feet deep. At first I thought it was a bear, but this thing was no bear! It walked like an ape, and I couldn't see much of it's face because it was covered with hair. With it's huge strides it was gaining on me. It's massive arms dragged through the snow as it came closer. I reached the cars, barely squeezed into my mini-van, and slammed the door. I cranked the car on and could see the dark shape through the glass. The next thing I know the van start shaking back and forth violently. It almost tilted over. All along I could hear screaming and growling. I was able to start the car, and honk the horn. It must have scared the creature because the car stopped rocking. After a minute I put car into gear and rolled forward. I got about ten feet when I slammed into something. Thinking I rammed into my other car I instictively hopped out. My other car was behind me--not in front, and whatever that thing was that attacked my car was standing right in front of me. It stood about nine feet tall. It growled and screamed at me. It stepped toward me. I laid on the horn and put it in gear and floored it. I just sat and spun in the snow. The creature backed away and growled. I continued to honk on the horn. It continued to back away. A strong gust of wind blew a spray of snow between me and it. I shielded my eyes. When I looked up it was gone!
No wonder the former tenants wanted to move out!
Thanks for listening. You are doing great and admirable work, listening! Take care.
Paul
Wow! I usually like playing in the snow, but not with a nine-foot-tall monster!!
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Hey paranormal fans, I want to let all of you in the New York/New Jersey area know that Michael Teitelbaum, the children's book author who helped get my book, THE SCARY STATES OF AMERICA, published will be appearing at a great bookstore in Montclair, NJ. It called Watchung Booksellers. Check out their website.
The event is on Saturday, November 10 from 2-3 pm.
Michael will be speaking about the book, reading from the book, and then signing copies.
He hopes to see you all there!!
Your friend,
Jason
ps All are welcome, except, of course, for the Jersey Devil!
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Colin from New York sent me this story about his encounter with a werewolf.
Hey, Jason.
My name is Colin and I'm an 8 year old boy living in upstate New
York. I'm reading your book right now and I really like it. Now
here's one of my stories.
Last night, I was at a Halloween party. It was two days after a full
moon and it was still really big in the night sky.
There's a path in the woods that comes up behind the house where we were attending the party. Me and my friend, Katie, decided to check it out.
I just started on the path when I heard a weird noise. And I don't
mean "Boo!" I mean, it was a loud, deep growl. I said, "Did you hear
that, Katie?" She nodded.
I stared deeper into the woods and saw a stick-like figure leaning
against a tree. Then it broke a branch and went down on all fours.
I kept walking further down the path. Katie stayed back. She was
pretty scared. I never saw her like this.
Then I saw its head. It was a wolf-like head. It was furry and
oval shaped. It was looking the other way and I could make out a body. It was furry and had big claws. And it smelled horrible.
Then I called to my dad to give me his cell phone camera. I took one picture of the creature but it didn't come out good. You could just see its back, running away.
Then I heard a twig break. Then another. Then another. Then I heard it breathing on my neck. I didn't want to look back. I was running so fast that I tripped over a log. I yelled out then I got up and kept running until I was out off the woods.
I told everyone about what happened but they didn't believe me. I took all the kids into the woods but I took a wrong turn.
I saw the stick-like creature again. Although, this time he was walking upright on his two back legs - like a human. Katie saw it but
the other kids never did.
No one but Katie believed my story. But I thought maybe you would so I wanted to tell you about it.
Thanks, Colin. Too bad that picture didn't come out too well. Still, a scary encounter!
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Megan from Louisiana sent me this story about what happened to some of the appliances in her house.
Hi Jason I was reading your book and I thought I'd share my story.
At the time I was about ten and I lived in a small town in Louisiana. Anyway, I was in my room at about 10:30 at night. The keyboard that I always have on my bookshelf started playing by itself! I ran from my room. When I got to the kitchen I saw that the oven, microwave, and toaster were all glowing! They also all made weird humming noises.
My parents were out and my older brother was playing basketball down the street.
I was totally alone!
So I just ran back to my room. Everything was quiet again--no music, no keys being pushed, no nothing. I ran back to the kitchen. Same thing.
I'm twelve now and i still don't know what happened. Thanks for reading this.
Megan
Thanks for sharing, Megan. I love music too, but this is just plain weird!
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Eli from Connecticut sent me this way creepy tale about a ghost that haunts his school.
Dude, you rock for letting me do this. I can't thank you enough.
So, I was just walking to the bathroom on a typical Friday. Our school has classrooms so far away from our bathrooms that you have to walk a mile just to pee. I walked by a friend and of course he had to talk to me. And what's he talking about? The ghost that supposedly haunts our school.
So, later, I'm in the bathroom and all of a sudden, the lights go off and the mirror lights up green. Except for two little dots. They glowed blood red. A chill ran down my spine as a girl walked right out of the mirror! I ran out into the hallway and found that the lights were off there too. Little blood red dots were shining down from the ceiling. Millions and millions of them!
I ran back into the bathroom and everything was normal. I ran back to the hall. Normal again. I rushed to the library and looked in the 1903 school directory. I knew for a fact that that was the year the ghost who haunted our school died. Everyone calls her Bloody Mary. There on the bottom of the page for the 6th grade class, was a name. It definitely started with an M. I took an eraser and rubbed on the name. The name came through to the back of the page. It said "Mary Krunkle died on June 11th, 1903." After that day, I never saw her again, but I heard a few people say that they saw her.
Eli
Wow, Eli. You might want to consider holding it in until you get home!! Jason
Blog: The Scary States of America (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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So the reading/signing event by Michael Teitelbaum for Scary States of America at Books of Wonder, the coolest bookstore in NYC was a blast!
Here's a photo of Michael reading about The Headless Conductor of North Carolina.
Also, click on this link for a nice review of the event.
Thanks to everyone for coming!
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