Saturday October 01, 2011
Karen Laven
Tonight's show was author Karen Laven.
I was not available this night, due to work on a student film, but wrote up this report listening to the recorded podcast.
At first it was indicated Craig still didn't have proper Internet access, and was on the show via phone, and Henry conveyed my being on a shoot.
Karen was introduced regarding her book Dayton Ghosts, about which tonight they'd be discussing, though her book Cincinnati Ghosts: And Other Tri-State Haunts was mentioned as well, and that she'd return for a future show to discuss the latter book.
Henry has the Dayton Ghosts book, and relayed it being a goodly size, and asked after her background. Keeping things light and funny, Karen began that she was from the Minneapolis area in Minnesota, her melodic accent certainly confirming same, moving to Kentucky for the past six or seven years with her husband (her "chauffeur" as she calls him). She was a newspaper journalistic back in Minnesota as well as theatre and acting, and that she sort of "fell into" the subject of ghosts and the paranormal. While Karen has had numerous Experiences herself, but wondered about creating a book about ghost investigating. She pitched it and the publisher loved it but couldn't use it, but asked after a book on Cincinatti ghosts.
She and her husband have done some investigations but finds it "boring" but has done such events as overnights and such, and met up with PINK (Paranormal Investigators of Northern Kentucky), Mike Palmer, et al.
They went on a daytime hunt, as a PINK's client's house was more active during the day, at which Karen got her first EVP. She also sensed a lot of the energy going on. Answering Craig's query, Karen has been to most of the places her books lists. She also indicated being impressed at how scientific such ghost investigations are constituted. Henry and Craig concurred how and that daytime activity is just as valid as during the night.
Henry asked after the story about the Red Room on Sullivan Road, the building of which Karen said has been razed. The house was invariably creepy, with a near eternal fog about it. Inside one house was utterly red: floor, walls, ceiling, etc. On the fireplace mantel the fellow found a glass vase with a live rose. Behind him the thick dust on the floor only has his own footprints.
Craig asked after another story regarding Chickee and the Amber Rose Restaurant. Karen reported that the playful spirit Chickee (who apparently loves Halloween), is still at the restaraunt, that she's similar to "an annoying old aunt" type of entity. The spirit witnessed appears to be around in her 40s and "spinsterish;" she'll wait for catering to have set up an event, then Chickee will mess up everything (disbelievers often find objects tossed at them), and occasional full body apparitions of her can be spotted peripherally, and that a not-so-benign male ghost may be in the cellar. Karen said the Dayton Ghost Hunter Society often meets at the Amber Rose (as there seem to be two groups with the similar name, I'm not entirely sure [yet] if she specifically refers to this one or this one).
Karin in the chat room asked if Karen wanted to write of other haunted places beyond Ohio; Karen replied that just now it's just Ohio. If she were to write on another place, she'd still have to Go There to do on-site research. She and Craig realized they needed to go to Hawaii to write a book...
Craig took the show out to break, wishing well his friends in the chat room, and hopes to be back in there by the next week. Once back from the break, Henry welcomed listeners from around the world, and announced that that night the show had listeners from the US, Ireland, Australia, the UK, Canada and the cryptic "Other"....
Craig asked about her visiting the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum, which she first pointed out having a fear of flying, but at this museum, she was enchanted, and as to how active is the museum itself, not even rooms to which some ghost hunters investigate. The museum is set up like it feels like it's Yesteryear. She went with her husband and young son (about 12 at the time), all of whom were emotionally affected. The POW exhibit is thought to be the worst place in the museum, causing great sadness to those who visit it.
Karen had not done her homework she admitted, going there last minute on a Sunday, just opening herself up to what she experienced. She felt compelled to stop at the Black Maria helicopter at the Vietnam section. Taking a photo of her son, it seemed a figure was also in the shot; a blue star appeared in the photo as well.
She was also amused and amazed one of the exhibits was called the Strawberry Bitch; engines have been heard to start up, and movement. She urged them to go to the museum. Craig suggested when she next goes, to bring a digital recorder and just record whilst there. She did suspect due to the ambient sound, there might be a lot of audio contamination.
Henry asked if any of the staff had any knowledge of any Roswell wreckage being brought there. Karen stated she wanted to get into all the areas and after what seemed to be pleasantries, she got a very terse email that it wouldn't be happening.
Henry reminded the chat room that any questions should be Private Messaged to him, as Craig wasn't online, and that I was off "making a movie," which, being a student film short, was mostly accurate reporting. What little Internet Craig could get, he said it was taking Facebook about 15 minutes to load up....
Craig posited that some people like the idea of living in a haunted house as it drives the price up. Karen rebutted that generally that's the case with businesses as it can attract commerce, but houses? Not so much. She relayed how in her own home she simply woke up one night to see a Shadow Person casually walking at her bedroom's bathroom, causing her awake dog to growl at it, seeing it as well. Her husband's helpful response to Karen regarding the spectral intruder: "Quit bringing your work home with you..."
Apparently when her computer modem died, the service person who came out literally asked whether the issue might be ghosts, and all but freaked out when Karen telling her about the Dayton ghosts book.
Henry asked after the Witch's Tower a six-story keep-like tower in Dayton. She felt the big part of the aspect was it being from the war between the states, and that it looks like a turret from Frankenstein's castle. There's no corroboration of the urban legends and anecdotal sightings. Even ghost hunters cannot enter the locked-for-safety tower, but even checking the perimeter, one group's batteries died... twice.
Henry asked about "the doctor's house, of doctor who?"
To this Karen brilliantly asked flippantly: "Is this a British show...?"
Karen told the story of about ten years ago: a mother and then very young son who moved into a fixer-upper type house. While painting she'd Feel Things, being watched, etc. It was so intense, she'd half-jokingly talk "to herself," regarding the choice of colours, etc. At one point the toddler son came downstairs telling his mother that, "The doctor scares me." Later walking to his grandmother's he was asked as to what he looked like, and he told her he was in white and such. When the grandmother heard about "the doctor," she asked in what house where they again; on hearing which building, the grandmother related how when she was very young her doctor worked out of that building, and that she had visited there when pregnant. So the home-owner suddenly felt less fretful about it, but during their stay the cat would react and other activity eventually caused her to move out, but she's even saddened how that neighbourhood has decline and the building is now boarded up and may be demolished.
Karen spoke of the Mrs. Davis House, into which a woman named Diane had moved in when she was a child. The history of the house was that an eccentric named Mrs. Davis had lived there, wearing white at night and dark during the day (whose son in Chicago had committed suicide). Mrs. Davis had been found dead at the bottom of her stairs. Depending on the family member to whom one speaks, Diane never liked the house, she always felt something was Not Right, always thinking someone was going to push her. Karen interviewed Diane's sister who liked the house, but at four years old she did have an experience having seen Mrs. Davis in her bedroom. The mother saw a pair of seemingly unoccupied boots walking up the cellar stairs on their own, kitchen equipment would turn on by themselves, etc. They all knew Something Was Up.
For resale, the father tried to keep the activity on the down-low. Diane had said that once coming in their normally yappy toy poodle was standing atop the kitchen table, silently staring out the window. Walking to the dog she jokingly said, "If you're really Mrs. Davis, raise you right paw," which the dog immediately did. Diane had never run any faster since. (The father died in the cellar, having committed suicide: Diane found him still alive and he died in her arms.)
Diane eventually moved into a house at an ajoining property, and she still hears Weird Things. The new owners were aware of the history, and the children thereof were playing in the cellar, running up to report a man covered in blood in the basement. The house went unoccupied, and Karen has been inside, acquiring the best "crazy good" ectoplasmic photographic evidence she has ever seen, but she's not aware if the house currently is still there.
Henry asked Craig to take them out to break again, adding a strange enigmatic reference to "stuffy shirts," that even openly baffled Karen.
Returning from the second break, Henry asked one of favourite questions: what has been the scariest place to which Karen has been. Karen had to wonder whether Loveland Castle might fit that bill, "even though" it's from her Cincinatti book. Henry indicated being there a few times. Deciding she should keep to the Dayton focus of the evening show, she went with Stivers School for the Arts. A friend of hers, JT Rider, got her into several places, and even got her into Stivers during a school day. Apparently a ghost named Mary Tyler that scares so many Karen suspects it could be a record. She was found floating dead in the swimming pool, the rumour being that she'd had an affair with a student, who suddenly went missing. Since then, she's been deliberately scary to students (even mega football players), and even faculty, walking right through them as they stand frozen in terror. The school adminstrator told Karen that once a new woman was a new teacher for a few weeks, highly intelligent with a Masters degree, who disbelieved the stories, claiming her Asian culture discounts ghosts [?!]. The woman went downstairs to do something, being Mary's regular haunt notwithstanding. The school adminstrator couldn't dissuade the woman, who insisted she needed no help. Eventually she returned up, shaken, falling to the steps, telling the school adminstrator, "I saw her... I saw the ghost. She walked right through me and she was very mad, very angry..."
This ghost has done this countless times to countless people. The swimming pool is covered over now, but a trap door can be lifted where one can see down where it happened; it's usually the hauntings are in the cellar, as well as backstage in the theatre. No reports of invading classrooms, but many reports of footsteps on the stairs.
Karen explained to Henry it being a thriving magnet school, that the students follow their instincts and at what they excel.
Henry asked about Memorial Hall, about which Karen said she's still not recovered (as her dog began barking in the background). She went on an overnight with a local ghost group. A lot of exhilarating stuff took place during that event, and she was really pleased with the evidence she got. Henry spoke of his own experiences, seeing Shadow People in the balcony, getting a good EVP (what it said he couldn't recall).
When Henry asked Craig if he had any other questions, Craig began to point out the (still barking) dog wasn't his, that he doesn't have a dog... to which Karen comically blasted, "It's my dog...!" Craig smilingly pointed out with the technically difficulties he'd had the previous three weeks, that it wasn't his dog. As Karen came back joking that she really didn't have a dog, Henry told her about how over the air during a previous show, a typewriter no one was using could be heard; Karen said she had heard that edition.
Craig asked about, and Karen elaborated on Sinclair Community College and its mischievous ghost named Hamlet under Blair Hall.
Craig went the other direction, asking what place she'd love to revisit, which she figured could maybe be Woodland Cemetery, along with a heart-rending story of a dog who refused to leave the grave of his young boy master who'd died.
Skype began messing up, actually having Henry echoing for a change.
Henry managed to say he'd like to visit the Paterson Homestead. Karen said it was a very good place; one can stay over, there's lots of activity, etc.
With Henry's audio getting more and more irritating, Craig asked after an item from the Cincinatti book: the Heyswood Hospital. Karen's voice shifted as she recalled how creepy her experiences were there: lights go on and off without no electricity in the building; crying babies can be heard. Registered RNs that'd worked there had told Karen the place was shut so abruptly there was still stuff abandoned there. Even though lights and all electricity was shut off for quite some time, the elevator was witnessed as opening... and closing...
A pro wrestler checked out the place, and began to hear a heart monitor, a gurney being pushed, etc., all in the unlit building.
The most recent news is... they'er turning this super-haunted building into an apartment building...
Henry had her give our her information; she provided the upcoming event, speaking October 8th at the Huber Heights branch of the Dayton Library.
She will also be presenting at the Victory of Light Expo (which is a Huge Thing down there), at the Sharonville Convention Center, Saturday November 19 at 2pm, at which she will also be signing copies of her book. She gave out her website info, but not her Facebook profile.
Henry wrapped it up, just managing to convey the next week's guest being storyteller Thomas Freese author of Shaker Ghost Stories from Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, Fog Swirler: And 11 Other Ghost Stories, Strange and Wonderful Things: A Collection of Ghost Stories with Special Appearances by Witches and Other Bizarre Creatures and Ghost, Spirits & Angels: True Tales From Kentucky & Beyond.