Haunted Investigation at the Ginger House Oct 31, 2016

Paranormal researcher and author Margie Kay with the Un-X Paranormal Investigation Group will conduct a paranormal investigation and class, then participants will investigate the very haunted Ginger House on Halloween night, October 31, 2016 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. This is the location where famed actress and dancer Ginger Rogers was born.

The house was built in 1906 by Oscar Mindrup. Mindrup owned three properties on the block and rented them out to working class families. The home is unusual in that it is a Craftsman Bungalow with unusual features such as the front columns and exterior and interior woodwork. Ginger was born in the house in 1911. Her mother, Lela, estranged from her husband, rented the house and worked nearby. The two lived in the home for about four years, but Ginger was always attached to the home and visited it on a number of occasions throughout her life. The last time she visited the house was in 1994 when the City of Independence hosted Ginger Rogers Day.

Photo from a 1942 LIFE Magazine article

During several investigations researchers have been able to obtain evidence of haunting of the home by several spirits. Margie Kay said that she has never seen so much evidence collected in a short period of time. It is possible that recent renovations to the home by the new owners have stirred up ghostly activity which includes disembodied voices, foggy apparitions, balls of light, and communication through a flashlight, radio, and electronic devices.

Attendees will learn the basics of ghost hunting including how to use various types of equipment such as EMF meters, spirit boxes, trigger objects, dowsing rods, and night vision cameras.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own cameras and equipment, and preferably a night vision camera if available to keep flashes at a minimum. The house is very small so a limited number of people will be allowed to participate. If too many people wish to attend we will conduct another tour on a different date.

Cost is $45 per person, or $70 per couple and includes one copy of Margie Kay's book Gateway to the Dead: A Ghost Hunter's Field Guide. The class will begin at 7 p.m. but participants may enter the house at 6:45 p.m. All proceeds go towards restoring the home.

Contact Margie Kay at 816-833-1602 or send an email to margiekay06@yahoo.com for more information. 

Strange Orb in Tightwad, MO 2016

Ghosts Can Open and Close Doors

By Margie Kay
Director, QUEST Paranormal Investigation Group
June 17, 2016

When people think about ghosts, they usually picture a partial or full-body apparition appearing, then dissapearing. But people don't usually attribute movement of physical objects to spirits. 

In fact, it is possible for spirits to move objects such as pencils or tennis balls, or even affect electronics. One of their most common activities is opening and closing doors. This normally does not occur unless there is an apparent reason for doing so, usually in reaction to a living person's comment or location in a house. 

In some cases, ghosts will lock doors as was the case for Maria Christine last week.

Maria and her children were sitting outside on their patio at their home in Independence, Missouri when her husband walked through the door, carrying some meats for the barbecue. He closed the door behind him as usual, but realizing that he forgot something, he immediately turned around to go back into the house. The door was locked, not only the bottom handle lock, but also the dead bolt which can only be locked with a key. There was no one in the house at the time, so no one could have locked the door. Luckily, Maria had her keys with her and they were able to get back into the house. Their house is haunted, and the entire family has had interactions with ghosts at one time or another. Apparently, this time a ghost wanted to be alone in the house for a while!

In 2012 I was out of town on business and asked my daughter to water my plants and check on the house every few days. One day, she had her two teenage children with her and they asked about the pesky spirit in the house. They wanted to see some evidence. My daughter took the kids to the family room and pointed at the bathroom next to it, saying "This is where most of the activity was." At that instant, the second bathroom door on the opposite side slammed shut. The kids said that was enough evidence for them and they ran out of the house. 

Ghosts can be helpful at times as well. A couple of years ago I accidentally locked myself out of the house and left the keys inside. I had my brother with me, and he tried to get the door open, so we know it was closed and locked. Not looking forward to either of us having to climb a ladder to a second-story window, I simply asked if someone could please unlock the door for me. They did. The door unlocked and opened without me touching it. I'm not sure if it was the pesky male spirit who lives in our house and sometimes plays pranks, or if it was one of my relatives who crossed over, At any rate, I said "Thank You" to the spirit, while my brother looked on in amazement. 

So the next time you get locked out or forget your keys, ask any spirits around for their assistance and you might get it. Conversely, if a spirit does not like you for some reason you may want to keep your keys handy at all times just in case. 

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Margie Kay is the director and lead investigator for QUEST Paranormal Investigation Group, publisher of Un-X News website and host of Un-X News Radio on www.kgraradio.com. See more at www.margiekay.com  

National Paranormal Day is May 3 - so Have a Party!

No one knows who started the tradition, or why May 3 was chosen as THE day, but May 3rd it is. This would be a good day to get together with friends to discuss your paranormal experiences. 

What does paranormal mean?  According to Wikipedia: The term "paranormal" has existed in the English language since at least 1920. The word consists of two parts: para and normal. The definition implies that the scientific explanation of the world around us is 'normal' and anything that is above, beyond, or contrary to that is 'para'. 

Paranormal, therefore, means anything out of the norm that can't be explained by known phenomena. Ghosts, hauntings, UFOs, Extra sensory perception, extraterrestrials, unknown beings, shadow people, time anomalies, cryptids and other subjects fit into the category of paranormal.  

Contrary to popular belief, paranormal events are experienced by most people at some point in their lives. The event usually leaves an impression on the experiencer and is one they do not forget. If you ask anyone "Have you ever had anything really weird or unexplained happen to you?" You'll likely get a positive answer and an interesting story to go with it! So the next time you are at a party and things are getting a little boring, just ask anyone that question and it will probably liven up the event and spark stories from others listening in to your conversation. 

Whether you decide to have a party, or just meet some friends for drinks or dinner, do SOMETHING! 

Here are some real paranormal party jazzers:

1.  Best Paranormal Tale: Create a game where everyone has to tell their absolute best - and real - paranormal experience, then have all of your guests vote on the best one. Give a prize to the winner. 

2. True or False: Collect paranormal encounter tales and have guests guess whether each are true or false. The person with the most right answers wins.  This game could be printed out so guests have plenty of time to read the stories and vote on them. 

3. Paranormal Bingo: Create bingo cards ahead of time with pictures of different creatures placed in different locations. Just use regular paper for the "cards." Make a set of printed creatures to match so you can shuffle these cards before reading each one aloud as in a regular bingo game. The first person to shout Bingo wins a prize. I would suggest playing this several times before moving on to the next game or event. Some ideas for the creatures are: ghost, witch, black cat, ET, UFO, Sasquatch, shadow person, mummy, zombie, ball of light, a screaming person, a person in shock, the moon, a creepy tree, a gravestone, a knife, and a flashlight. 

4. Have guests come in costume and give a prize to the best outfit. Pick a theme like "Day of the Dead," "Ghostly Encounters," "Grave Diggers Fiesta, "ET Came Home," Mummies Return," Etc.  It doesn't have to be Halloween to have a great paranormal party!  

5. Serve a few drinks with special names just for your party. Some suggestions besides the obvious "Bloody Mary" are "High Spirits," "The Grave Digger, "Death by Chocolate" (with chocolate liqueur), "Zombie Apocolypse," and "Mummy Awakes."  

Prize Ideas: 
Some prize suggestions to give winners of games are a voodoo doll, a mummy doll, a book on the paranormal, a model UFO, a blow up plastic ET, a sky lantern, a UV flashlight (for investigations) or a regular flashlight, Bigfoot bandages (look on the internet), a paranormal magazine, or a creepy looking haunted doll or clothing item from EBAY. 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a great time! 

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Margie Kay is the author of Gateway to the Dead: A Ghost Hunter's Field Guide, Haunted Independence, and other books. Her articles have appeared in online blogs, The MUFON UFO Journal, and Un-X News Magazine. Margie is the editor of Un-X News Magazine and director of Quest Paranormal Investigation Group. 

Ghost of Ginger Rogers Communicates with Paranormal Team

I was privileged to participate in a paranormal investigation at the birthplace of Ginger Rogers in Independence, Missouri. I asked Stephanie Turbeville and her team from KC Paranormal to investigate this site as an independent party since I recently purchased the house.

We have been having strange things happen there so I thought it would be a good idea to investigate. So many things happened that night I can't believe it. We heard Ginger's voice, and others through the spirit box, she communicated via turning a flashlight off and on as directed, we heard unexplained noises, footsteps, whispering, and saw faces and orbs. This is definitively one of the most haunted places I've experienced yet and it was very unexpected. When we bought the house it being haunted was the least of my expectations.

Here is part of the story on the KC Paranormal Facebook page. Watch for more info coming soon.

A full investigation will be completed soon.

https://www.facebook.com/kansascityparanormal/