Stream of Thought - Civil War to The Twilight Zone

Maryland has gotten one blizzard and one reasonable snow fall, from which mounds of the white stuff can still be spied in small mounds strewn around the yard or street gutters.  Last week the local groundhogs recently forecast an early Spring.  Coming up this weekend are holiday celebrations for Presidents' Day and Saint Valentine's Day.  I'm not much for Saint Valentine's Day, perhaps due to some more then lackluster dating experiences.  President's Day is okay, and maybe I even have a little Lincoln on my mind as I've been following Mercy Street on PBS.

Mercy Street is a hospital drama during the Civil War era.  The production values seem top notch to me (although I'm far from a Civil War re-enactor, expert, or even enthusiast) while the writing deals sensitively with the human drama associated with those exposed to war and their efforts of recovery.  There are graphically real depictions of primitive surgery and shocks to the system range from the physical to the mental.  The hospital is a confiscated Virginia hotel.  A major subplot involves the hotel's Southern owner's attempt to remain loyal to the South while safe guarding his business enterprises.  Gary Cole, TV veteran of Crusade and Midnight Caller, plays the put upon Southern patriarch.  He's my favorite of the series.  Will he sign a loyalty oath?  The question is a divisive one amongst his family.  The issue of slavery is also explored in a subplot.  These types of questions are often in the center of some grandiose TV productions dealing with the Civil War.

Jonathan Frakes & I years ago at Garden State Comic Con. 

My favorite Civil War production is North and South, an 80's mini-series.  The epic uses a common Civil War motif - the central characters were two school chums who found themselves on opposite sides when the conflict broke out.  James Read and Patrick Swayze portrayed the once friendly duo, but the labyrinthine plot allowed for a mega cast.  Hollywood icons Robert Mitchum and Elizabeth Taylor were in North and South, as well as future stars like Jonathan Frakes, who would become famous as William Riker on Star Trek the Next Generation. 

While taking smaller roles in the 80's Frakes entered that decade's adaption of The Twilight Zone.  The episode Frakes appeared in concerned and unappreciated secretary who suddenly found herself in a place where secretaries were highly prized individuals.  I liked the 80's Twilight Zone TV version a lot and I actually saw it in prime time before being exposed to the classic black and white series with introductions by show creator Rod Serling.  Serling's opening narration and introduction are iconic and future versions of The Twilight Zone tipped their hat to that fact.   The 80's also produced a Twilight Zone movie.  I seem to remember The Twilight Zone returning as syndicated series in the 90's, when genre shows were the rage everywhere.  At the start of the millennium UPN reinstated The Twilight Zone briefly as a part of its lineup with Forest Whitaker as host.  Trying to chart The Twilight Zone's TV history might be as confusing as entering the Twilight Zone.

There are a lot of great supernatural anthologies out there - Dark Room, Hammer's House of Horror, Monsters, Night Gallery, The Twilight Zone, Ray Bradbury Theater, and Tales From the Crypt.  The later started life as a comic book, became a British film and then a TV show on HBO.  There are rumors that Tales From the Crypt may be returning with new macabre episodes.  Have a ghoul time!

Midnight Writings Available



Leading a ghost tour in Havre de Grace.

This is my second year of working for Havre de Haunts Tours & Paranormal Research Group.  The group has explored and investigated strange as well as historic happenings in Havre de Grace, Maryland from which a tour has been formed.  The town's tales of history, prominent visitors, and hauntings makes for an amiable walk though the picturesque water front location.  Each October chilly winds rustle the leaves as the moon peers down for added atmosphere.

The Friday night tour I led was additionally interesting as several tour customers brought along their own emf detectors - which were very active during the walk.  It is believed that the presence of ghosts can cause a disturbance in electromagnetic fields, which is what the detector reads.  Of course myriad things can trigger a reaction and at certain points when the detectors were very active there were telephone poles with numerous transformers or such attached.  Hardly an ideal scenario for ghost hunting.  Interestingly at one point in the tour the detectors became very active at my every mention of the word 'gangsters'.  Not proof, but oh so curious.



Available at http://lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler

I've had odd experiences at haunted places before.  Doors opening on their own seem a popular occurrence for me - I've had similar experiences at the Hollingsworth house in Cecil County and The Whistling Oyster in Fell's Point.  I decided to jot down these experiences for my new book - Midnight Writings.  Other articles included in the book concern my zombie make over for a day on the set of Trailer Park of the Living Dead (filmed in Cecil County, Maryland), my musings about horror conventions, films, and Edgar Allan Poe.  For these segments I must thank all those who have agreed to be interviewed by me in the past, such as actress Tanya Erin Paoli.

And there are a baker's dozen of fictional offerings as well, including The Customer in which a bothersome bar patron has an unfortunate occurrence after last call and Midnight Encounter in which a pair of grave robbers with a body on their hands get an unusual offer.  Why not take time to take advantage of the offer of buying Midnight Writings at http://lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler ?

Happy Reading & Ghost Hunting!



A murder occurred at Havre de Grace's State Theater, which once showed silent films and although long closed might not be totally abandoned.

  



Havre de Grace Ghost Tours - October 2015

The seasons are changing once more, with the warmth and green of summer giving away to autumn's falling leaves which are carried to the earth by cool breezes.  Autumn's my favorite season due in part to the colorful leaves and spookiness ushered in by the oncoming holiday of Halloween.  What better time is there to enjoy a good ghost story or stroll through a picturesque scene of fallen leaves?
Havre de Haunts Tours and Paranormal Research offers the perfect opportunity to indulge in such a pastime.  I'll be leading ghost tours as follows :


In Havre de Grace at the Wolbert grave.
Frank Wolbert was murdered at the Seneca House.

October 9th at 8 :30pm
October 10th at 8 :30pm
October 16th at 7pm & 8: 30pm
October 17th at 7pm & 8 :30pm
October 23rd at 7 pm
October 24th at 8 :30pm


You may ask for me when making your tour arrangements.
For ticket ordering info or more complete details, go to havredehaunts.com
The tour commence at Concord Point Coffee in Havre de Gace.  Walk ins are welcome but tour space is limited.

The tours include commentary concerning Havre de Grace's history and notable visitors/citizens as well as stops at haunted hot spots like the Seneca House and the Joseph L. Davis building.

Havre de Grace's main street boasts several stops on the ghost tour.

Havre de Grace's Past

At the Frank Wolbert grave in Havre de Grace. 

     As reported in a previous blog, I had the honor of leading tours during the autumn months for Havre de Haunts Tours and Paranormal Research.  I found the experience most rewarding and of late I have furthered explored Havre de Grace's past - with a little help from my friends.

     My friend Theresa was raised in Havre de Grace like myself.  On a lovely September day we got together for me to do a practice run through of the tour.  The result was much reminiscing about growing up in Havre de Grace.  She shared with me a tale I had not heard of before concerning a legend of buried loot and gangster hauntings once in the town's old Bayou Hotel.   

     While taking a full weekend to celebrate my birthday at the start of December, I further explored Havre de Grace with my friend Deborah, who was visiting from Virginia.  She had previously come to Havre de Grace for the Halloween Havre de Haunts ghost tour.  In it numerous interesting characters from the town's past are discussed. One of my favorites is Frank Wolbert, and with Deborah I came across his grave in Angel Hill Cemetery outside of Havre de Grace.

     The Wolbert tombstone was large and impressive.  It is shared by both Frank Wolbert and his brother.  Whether Wolbert finds it impressive or not is questionable as there are reports he prefers to remain in the Senecca house where he lived and died.  His death on August 15, 1967 is not in dispute, but many facts about him remain vague or mysterious.  Some legends claim that the eccentric doctor kept a collection of shrunken heads and an alligator in his basement.  Frank Wolbert's death was a violent one - his head was bashed in and he was found hung from a window of the Senecca house.  The Senecca house is currently home to doctor offices whose employees supposedly often deal with objects disappearing or being discovered in odd places.  When such things happen it is suggested that 'Frankie' (AKA Wolbert's ghost) is to blame. 

     Stephen Senecca was responsible for building the Senecca house, and it is an architectural wonder.  It is also supposedly one of the most haunted places in Havre de Grace.  People have reported seeing odd lights occur in the house at night.  Orbs and odd phenomena in the house's windows often appear in photographs of the place.  For an art class at Havre de Grace High School I did a sketch of the place, drawn to its appearance but utterly unfamiliar with its history. Perhaps I should have added something in one of the windows...  

Autumn Activities

Myself & Scott Wilson of AMC's Walking Dead series.

Havre de Grace has become quite the picture of Autumn with fallen leaves gracing its quaint streets and fading green grass.  The leaves often find themselves being whisked up and about by cool winds.  All in all it was a nice effect for the towns recent haunted history tours. 

I was honored to lead tours for Havre de Haunts Tours & Paranormal Research Group - www.havredehaunts.com .  The Halloween tour was a particularly fun way to celebrate the spookiest of holidays.  It was a fun experience - interacting with those fascinated by the supernatural and history as we took in the view of some of Havre de Grace's older residences and buildings, like the Senecca House and Rodger's Tavern, some of which barely managed to survive the burning of the city by British forces during the War of 1812.   Some of the town's residents may linger on, reluctant to depart their homes despite their deaths.

There are places of purely scenic beauty as well in Havre de Grace, which becomes a marvel of colors this time of year.  Located at the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Susquehanna River, Havre de Grace was a place of vital importance for colonial travel and trade.  Today its waterfront areas are still honored.  The town's promenade is a popular spot for exercise or photography.  In fact it was the backdrop for pics taken by Linnea Tober for the first edition of my book, Summoned Secrets from lulu.com - www.lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler .

Each Fall I also enjoy embarking on treks to local horror cons.  Monstermania in Baltimore, Maryland and Chiller in Parsippany, New Jersey were quite fun - interacting with celebrity guests from various mediums and decades of work.  I got to meet and interact with some of my favorite stars, like Joyce Randolph of the classic TV show The Honeymooners and Scott Wilson who starred in a more recent TV hit, The Walking Dead.

                                          
Autumn seems under way in full force, with one big holiday down and another looming at November's end.  Of course Christmas is closing in, with decorations and such already encroaching in stores!


The State Theatre in downtown Havre de Grace has been without audiences, but possibly not ghosts, for years.

Havre de Haunts Tours

I was born in Havre de Grace. The town has played host to some historic figures of fame as well as some dark deeds. It is believed a few inhabitants of this picturesque town have elected to continue to reside in Havre de Grace even after their deaths.

Havre de Haunts Tours and Paranormal Research was founded in 2013 to preserve the history of Havre de Grace and investigate its supernatural occurences.

In October the group offer tours highlighting Havre de Grace's history and ghostly legends. I'm happy to say that I will be assisting with some tours.

My tentative schedule to give tours is as follows -

Fri Oct 3rd at 7pm
Sat Oct 4th at 7pm
Fri Oct 17th at 7pm
Sat Oct 18th at 8:30pm
Fri Oct 24th at 7pm & 8:30pm
Sat Oct 25th at 8:30pm
Fri Oct 31 at 8:30pm
Sat Nov 1st at 7pm
Fri Nov 7th at 7pm
Sat Nov 8th at 7 pm

For a complete listing of tours go to http://havredehaunts.com where you can purchase tickets and learn more about Havre de Haunts Tours and Paranormal Research.

Havre de Grace currently offers festivities on First Fridays and annual parades for holidays like Christmas and Halloween. The city once offered a movie theater dating back to the silent age of cinema. The theater is no longer active, but its spirits are and may provide ghostly piano music.

Havre de Grace - Historic & Haunted

     Nestled at the point where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay, Havre de Grace is a small Maryland town with a French name (meaning harbor of grace).  Its history dates back to colonial days.  And anyone raised in the town can tell you that the city missed out on being the U.S. capital by one vote.  Instead it has had to make due with the title of decoy capital of the country.  To attest to this fact is the decoy museum and a Spring sponsored decoy event.

     The town offers the richness of small town life.  Its waterfront is beautiful.  Parks provide superb scenery that shift with the seasons. 

The town's waterfront promenade offers a spectacular view year round.

Parades mark various holidays, from Halloween to the Fourth of July.  Its quaint main street is brimming with antique shops designed to trap the interest of tourists.  The town has supposedly trapped numerous ghosts as well, if tales from its haunted tours are to be believed.

     An alley way which played host to a gangster's murder during the age of prohibition is supposedly marked by mysterious red blotches that will not fade away from the street's pavement.  The town's old Opera house still holds ghosts that make unexplained noises on the upper floor.

     Other historic links concern a resturaunt where Al Capone once dined during a visit to the town and Lafayette trip to the town during the Revolutionary War.