Tricks & Treats 2011

First some tricks. We've certainly had them the past few days concerning Sweetwater. In today's TimesDaily, our infamous local ghost hunter Robert Simone was quoted as saying he has encountered a ghost named Silverman who purchased the property in 1914:

The Simones said they have recorded voices in the house, including one that answered “Silverman” when asked for a name. They later checked the house’s land deeds and discovered someone whose last name is Silverman was deeded the property about 1914.

“So the people who loved this place, they’re still here,” Robert Simone said.

Since it's common knowledge that the Patton/Weeden families owned the property until Mrs. Jessie Weeden's passing c. 1973, we're curious as to how a person named Silverman purchased the property in 1914. Considering Simone is a former stage magician, perhaps he sees his current job/hobby as another form or entertaining the public where he may say whatever pops into his mind?

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Another trick comes from "Sweetwater Mansion" itself:


So, Sweetwater doesn't want street corner preachers on their property, but will send them to disrupt a local ghost tour?

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Now, for some treats. If you or your child hasn't read our Halloween ghost story, we invite you to do so. This is the third year that we have presented it, and at least one reader tells us it has become a tradition in their family.

Beans & Judge Horton

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A Little Dracula for Ya

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Local Halloween Nostalgia

Shoalanda Says Boo!

G.H.O.S.T. Story/Civil Wars Auction

It was a dark and stormy night...well, actually it was a hot, humid day with a temp of 98 F. in the shade. Our intrepid hero has found parking twenty miles from his destination. With an injured Achilles tendon, he's plodding through the steam rising from the pavement when he sees signs of civilization in the distance. Yes! Target is now visible through the glare and steam, but so is something else.

There in one of the few coveted handicapped parking spaces is a G.H.O.S.T. vehicle--all white and shiny in the sun with the company's ubiquitous logo in several strategic places. Having been a Boy Scout, our hero reaches into his pocket protector and pulls forth a notepad and pencil. Such a blatant misuse of a handicapped space on this torrid a day is inexcusable, but wait...what does he see? There's no point in writing down the tag number to give to Target security, the white minivan has a handicapped license plate!

For once the ever-ready former boyscout is at a loss; just how did the owners of G.H.O.S.T. acquire a handicapped license? Our hero thinks it's a job for...Shoalanda.

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Obviously Shoalanda has no idea how Robert Simone or his wife acquired a handicapped license plate. Let's see what criteria the State of Alabama has for eligibility:

If you are disabled, you can apply for a special license plate or placard that entitles you to park in disabled-access parking spaces. You must own or partially own the vehicle you wish to license if you want a license plate; otherwise, you'll need to get a placard―the portable plastic license to hang from the rearview mirror. The placards can be used in any vehicle transporting disabled passengers.

You will need to complete Form MVR-326-230 (Application for Disability Access Parking Privileges). License plates are $23 for cars and $15 for motorcycles, while placards are free.

The application process includes your doctor certifying that you have difficulty walking or breathing while walking.

The placards and license plates are subject to renewal every five years, but after you complete the first application, you can save time and effort by certifing yourself if you have a long-term disability. To recertify, just use the same MVR form listed above, and sign it at the bottom in the recertification box.

Hmm, look at the statement highlighted in bold: The application process includes your doctor certifying that you have difficulty walking or breathing while walking.

Haven't the Simones advised those taking their tours to wear comfortable shoes and clothing since the terrain is often rugged? Ahh, well, it's obviously one of life's mysteries...

Related post: Robert Simone of G.H.O.S.T.

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We understand the Jimmy Neese/Delana Darby Blake divorce finally reached a courtroom yesterday. At least one reporter from the TimesDaily was present. We suggest that once the precedings are finalized, unless sealed, the records will be extremely useful in discovery of where much of the Bliss Block money went. Good luck to Delana in putting this part of her life behind her and to the City of Florence in any efforts legally available to them in recovering lost funds from the ill-fated project.

Related post: Bliss Block: The Fleecing of Florence

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The Civil Wars are sponsoring an eBay auction to raise funds for local tornado victims. The nine day auction started last night. Be sure to drop by and place a bid on something that strikes your fancy. Many thanks to John Paul White for his efforts on behalf of those who lost all during the April tornadoes.

eBay Auction for Tornado Victims

Shoalanda

Buy Our New "Photograph Your Home's Ghost Kit"

No, we don't actually have one for sale, but we wanted to get the name copyrighted before anyone else. So...someone will have one on the market soon? We would certainly expect someone would--that is if someone...anyone...actually had such a process to market.

How much would something like that be worth? Let's try a few billion dollars. Well...that's a lot of money. If someone has such a process, wouldn't he/she patent it and immediately market it? One would certainly think so. Okay, but what if he/she didn't know how to get a patent or how to set up a marketing company? Good question--after all it's not like there would be any companies like Nikon, Kodak, Xerox, Polaroid, etc., interested in a photographic process that would change the world as we know it.

Seriously, gentle reader, we don't care if you believe in ghosts or not, but if you think there's actually a man in Tuscumbia who can "desaturate" digital images in order to produce photos of those mischievous little ghosts who rifle through your sock drawer while you're trying to sleep, may we suggest you contact him immediately. After all, you wouldn't want to miss out on such a ground floor opportunity.

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Now, let's return to Robert E. Simone of G.H.O.S.T. Mr. Simone has recently added some disclaimers to his Sweetwater Mansion page. Mr. Simone states in the second paragraph:

Any and all monies collected shall go to the Sweetwater Restoration Fund exclusively...

This may be totally true of Sweetwater, where CNN videoed one night of the investigations; however, in the last paragraph, Simone states:

The GHOST organization founders and staff members receive no monies for their help organizing the investigations at Sweetwater or anywhere else, we are volunteers.

However, what about the Saunders Mansion in Lawrence County; is the Mauldin family not financially able to maintain that majestic home? What about other edifices which Simone and his crew investigate--investigations that according to the site are now available for bookings?

Here's a rundown on the costs...


So...if three individuals scrape up $120.00, they can spend three hours in a haunted building. Or if one can't make it, the other two will have the same three hour tour for only $100.00--plus the opportunity to purchase books and tee-shirts for the requisite commemorative souvenir. Nice work if you can get it.

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Shoalanda

Robert Simone of G.H.O.S.T.

Most of us have at least seen the ads in the Courier-Journal and other newspapers, ads that tout the group G.H.O.S.T., short for Ghost Hunters of Southern Territories. The group was founded by Robert Simone, a former stage magician. Simone's current projects include Sweetwater Mansion (the Weeden Home) and the Saunders Mansion (Goode/Hall/Mauldin Home) in Town Creek. Simone also speaks at various paranormal conferences where he hawks his books, DVDs, and tee-shirts. The founder of G.H.O.S.T. uses the name Captain Magic for his e-mail moniker and works with a team of investigators, including his wife Karen. 

According to Simone, both he and his wife are psychic. While living in their former home in Muscle Shoals, Karen once reported seeing a little boy in Victorian garb. This seems logical since there are so many Victorian homes located in that beautiful city. 

Another member of Simone's team is John McWilliams, a local historian. McWilliams has invented a procedure in which he delves into digital photographs using a desaturation device in order to find the ghost lurking underneath the surface. Apparently college freshmen don't know what Kodachrome is, but we have reached the great frontier of photography where we can actually look beyond surface images, ala The Man who Fell to Earth. 

The team doesn't work exclusively with human ghosts, but once helped a Wiccan divest her home of a ghostly hawk she had called up during a cleansing ceremony. We are talking real renaissance talent here. 

Lest anyone think Simone's work is slightly less than scientific, one of the group's standbys is an EMF meter. These machine's measure electromagnetic fields, which, according to Simone, indicate a ghostly presence. According to prevailing scientific theory, these electromagnetic charges cover the universe. On our own non-astral plane, they may be responsible for determining the paths of tornadoes and helping cats find their way home. In other words, there probably isn't an edifice in the world that would not exhibit some degree of electromagnetic field presence. 

Rest assured, if Robert Simone should be unable to make it as a ghost-hunter, he can fall back on his other natural gift. He's a healer.

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Looking for some real (funny) ghosts? Try this:

 

Shoalanda 

Connecting October 7th. This time we mean it!

Sweetwater & G.H.O.S.T. Non-Profit?

Let's utter a collective sigh for Sweetwater Mansion; we're sure if she could speak she would elect to bemoan her fate with stronger words than we choose to publish here. After a forty year period of neglect, the Weeden Home is beginning to show signs of new life, but at what cost?

The above advertisement invites us to tour the home this year, but according to sources in Bob Leyde's office, the Florence City Clerk has refused to issue a business license for these interior tours. Sweetwater has yet to be certified as a tax-exempt non-profit entity due to a lack of bookkeeping--that and the fact Sweetwater remains a private home owned by Susan Leigh Smithson of Atlanta.

We may assume that the organization Ghost Hunters of Southern Territories (G.H.O.S.T.) does possess a business license for the paranormal investigations it proposes to lead within the mansion. G.H.O.S.T. is the brainchild of Robert Simone who calls himself "investigator, supervisor, founder" of the organization. His Facebook page also references a non-profit group called Alabama Ghost, but a click on that link brings us back to the homepage for G.H.O.S.T.

Simone charges a $35.00 minimum for a one-person tour of the haunted domiciles he represents. His organization may be non-profit due to lack of customers, but we doubt it's for lack of trying.

What will happen if those currently in charge of Sweetwater Mansion attempt to open next Friday without a business license? If the psychic from last year returns, perhaps she can tell us. Otherwise, we're sure the ensuing brouhaha will be covered by local television stations.

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Humor is where you find it (or how to make Tomlinson-Sims cringe). From the above ad:

All money raised goes to renivation of Sweetwater Mansion.

We will except professional paranormal investigations at Sweetwater also.

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Tomorrow: Susan Leigh Smithson and Skippy Musket

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The quality of mercy, from our e-mail bag:

Your an idiot wrapped in a moron! This THUG, Holland Noah Elkins needs to be sent to prison for a long long time. He IS a violent criminal who has committed armed robbery on several occasions including armed bank robbery. How can you even dare to ask for mercy for someone like this?... Now you plead for mercy and forgiveness for someone who has went on a crime spree with at least three armed robberies in less than two years.....that we know about! Innocent people could have been killed by Elkins just so he could obtain drug money. I only hope I end up on the jury for his trial.....My verdict....hang that bastard, TWICE!

What an interesting comment from someone who represents himself as an acquaintance of Holland Elkins. We find nowhere in yesterday's blog did we suggest Holland not receive the appropriate punishment; we did state that the young man needs help. Perhaps it is too late for that now...and that is something we should regret rather than rejoice in.

Shoalanda



Connecting on Friday!