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Geoffrey Gould
Official co-host for
Paranormal View; Saturday nights at 8pm eastern, 5pm pacific
Paranormal View; Saturday nights at 8pm eastern, 5pm pacific

Saturday February 25, 2012
Amelia Cotter
Tonight's show was scheduled to have as its guest Amelia Cotter, Amelia Cotter, author of the semi-autobiographical This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost.
(Considering her Like a Name in a Fairy Tale given name), before the show I couldn't resist asking if she watched (or was aware of) Doctor Who, into which she's not gotten, despite friends rightfully recommending it.
I introduced Amelia to the show, and she told us how she started ghost hunting and paranormal investigating when she was very young, getting into writing and publishing when she was in college. She conveyed how her book is an allegorical narrative; the character Nora is 16 while at the time of the experiences, Amelia was 11, during which time she kept a detailed journal maintaining her "nerdy ramblings" and paranormal experiences. Near her father's restaurant there were many nearby nearby abandoned houses, many of which she checked out (interestingly enough, with parental supervision). Some were very delapidated and rubble filled, with some room's floor solid and some floor simply missing.
One of the buildings was simply called Walter's House; that house was so creepy she and her mother didn't hang around too long the first time, but Amelia was able to return more and more. She had heard numerous tales of the house (long since demolished); one of a lady, dressed in Victorian garb, entered the local restaurant asking after Walter, proceeding to walk through a nearby wall. Apparently also often one could hear screams coming from the empty house, and in the restaurant a shadowy figure sitting by the fire, as well as nearby homes' children's toys (toy fire trucks and such), turning on by themselves. The restaurant burned down under mysterious circumstances, and was rebuilt into a far more higher-end establishment, having no interest in having investigations.
When she was able to return to Walter's House, one of her first experiences was getting a photo after hearing footsteps, getting what seemed to be a young man on the porch, strangely wearing a bucket on his head. Her equipment was understandably primitive for the time, and she began to experience dreams about the ghost. A friend of hers who turned out to be psychic revealed to Amelia that she has numerous ghosts about her (not considered a Good Thing by Amelia at the time), and that Walter's Purpose is to be in her life and have some kind of exchange.
Once after checking out the house, Amelia could see a solid white man at the attic window looking out, watching them pull away. She was aware that the attic floor had been rebuilt, right up to the window level, so no corporeal human could have been standing at the window that way, unless they didn't need the rebuilt floor.
She took a few random items from the house, as well when taking a specific jar from the house she got an EVP telling her to "Take it now..." Amelia still has that jar and brings it with her to events and such. Her visits to the house were actually only within a single year before the house was razed. A drunk driving accident caused the relatively forgotten house to be Noticed on the property, which may have contributed to it being slated for demolition.
After the first break, Craig asked if there's a difference with the paranormal community between Chicago and Maryland. Amelia has only been part of the paranormal community somewhat recently, but in Chicago they're quite open and friendly. Nearby Chicago is Native American hauntings while Chicago has a lot of gangster related hauntings.
Amelia branched out and created the Chicago Paranormal Seekers (CPS), doing occasional home investigation but more for their own personal rewards and curiosity.
The show had the mysterious typing again throughout, with no apparent source; Craig declared having a very quiet keyboard.
Henry asked if Amelia knew Chicago based Troy Taylor; she and he are Facebook friends and she loves his books, but they've not met.
At Craig's inquiry, Amelia spoke of how sites like the Valentine's Day Massacre have several annual investigations.
I asked if she had ever investigated the famous Chicago Bachelor Grove Cemetery, which Amelia reported as not overrated and not just along the lines of the famous ghost photo; that the place is very active and apparently some really bad mojo there. She spoke of a family house "there," which seems to turn up out of nowhere, even though there is no actual house there (time-slip?). Once when investigating there they could see a light in the woods (she had heard of the phantom house but she had not remembered it at the time). An image seemed to appear in her mind as though looking through a window of a house, seeing a woman reading in bed. Later reading about the phantom house, she realized most likely that's across which they'd come.
As we came out of the second break, Henry kind o'creeped out Craig and me by calling a nearby cat, coming across like it was the start of a weird new para-x promo.
As to "big box" places she's investigated, Amelia reported having visited Salem, Waverly Hills (her first time in Kentucky), Pennhurst (back when one still had to sneak in), having slept over at the Farnsworth House etc., and she wants to check out Manfield Reformatory, and will soon be investigating the Villisca Axe Murder House in Iowa.
Asked about her best piece of evidence, she conceded that the group's techie Marcia Mack all but attracts Activity; they got some good responses at Waverly, ghost box, EVP as well as video capture. Also at the Farnsworth House Amelia left a recorder on the bed, and got some good EVP responses, the male voice even speaking over her in the background.
On her Bucket List of places to investigate, she'd like to return to Pennhurst, as well as visit the Shanley Hotel and Mansfield, etc. She'd really like to just find a nice old abandoned Victorian house with no knowledge of its history and Just Investigate it.
Henry asked if she knew of Hillview Manor, which she had; Henry told her to check it out with a group, having even done the show from there himself.
Henry asked her thoughts on Shadow People. While she believes in them, she's not seen one apart from photos; she subscribes to the general feeling they could be a different Sort of entity, not demons but just Different.
Amelia revealed her level of nerdiness as a fellow fan of Sasquatch and more recently UFOs, as well as being a big fan of conspiracy theories. She has no firm position on the subject/s, but it's Neat About Which To Think. She's written a book for children titled Breakfast with Bigfoot, for which she did research reading the Jeff Meldrum book Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science. She doesn't go on Bigfoot Hunts as such, feeling if she simply did a wilderness trip she'd have as much chance of coming across a Sasquatch as if she were on a specific bigfoot hunt. She and I discussed some of the theories of what Sasquatch could be, such as Gigantopithecus.
Craig recommended to her the site StrangeTimes.com.
Before we wrapped, Craig asked Amelia about her The Coffin Room experience. Years earlier they'd broken into a place across the street from a funeral home; inside along the walls they found several child-sized coffins in different stages of construction. Walking through the whole place, though the stairs were blocked. Footsteps could be heard upstairs and they fled and once outside, the outdoor lights suddenly came on, which she suspects possibly a squatter, as they came across a car in the back and the only way in being a fire escape up to the second floor.
I pointed out how the new Chat Room refused to let me know; Craig suggested if I remove "Remember Me" it should let me in.
We also mentioned her upcoming book Maryland Ghosts: Paranormal Encounters in the Free State is just about to go to press, with a scheduled March 06 release date, both digital format and harcopy, that the book has its own Facebook page, as does her This House book. Her book Breakfast with Bigfoot is also coming out this spring, though no firm release date as yet.
Amelia gave out her website information (thishousebook.net), her LinkedIn profile, and her Facebook profile, and Henry wrapped us out, indicating the next week's guest being Beth Cooper Meyer author of Ghosts of Kansas and Wichita Haunts.

February 25 edition podcast.
Amelia Cotter
Amelia Cotter

This House:
The True Story of
Girl and a Ghost

Author:
Amelia Cotter,

Maryland Ghosts:
Paranormal Encounters
in the Free State

Author:
Amelia Cotter,


Paranormal View; Saturday nights at 8pm eastern, 5pm pacific
The Paranormal View

Para-X Radio: all paranormal, all the time
Para-X Radio: all paranormal, all the time

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