A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television finds that while two thirds (66%) of Canadians say that they believe in angels and half (48%) of the nation says they believe in spirits and ghosts. One in 10 (10%) Canadians believe that there is a spirit or ghost actually living in their house or residence, that’s 2.5 million Canadians. Citizens of Alberta top the list in believing there is something or someone living in their homes with (17%) followed by Ontario (11%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (8%), Atlantic Canada (7%) and British Columbia (5%).
If you are a woman (13%) you’re slightly more likely than a man (6%) to believe you have an extra visitor. And when it comes to age groupings, there really isn’t much difference: middle aged (11%), and younger (9%) and older (8%).
About two weeks ago I received a flier from the Bright Pearl Chinese restaurant, located on Spadina Avenue, in Chinatown. Big deal, right? Well instantly I recognized the picture of it from the book Haunted Toronto, by John Robert Columbo. I was so thrilled to find out that they were still in business. I thought that they were closed because the main entrance, right on Spadina, was sealed. Later I learned that the door was moved in an attempt to better a somewhat troubling spirit situation. My husband and I planned to go for dinner that coming Friday night. The minute we got there I felt unusually afraid and very cold. When I sat down it seemed the cold was swirling around me. My heart was racing and I felt so much energy I needed to take extra time ordering. Knowing what it may have been before was a little unsettling, but I felt that there was more than that. I was sensing so much activity there and I even went around after our meal looking for something. I guess after my own experiences I sometimes feel that I am seeking more paranormal puzzle pieces to help make a clearer picture for myself to see what else is out there. I never saw anything or heard anything out of the ordinary… just a lot more confusing vibes. The food was good, but the portions were a bit small. I felt that there could have been a lot more meat to be honest. The dim sum and drinks were reasonable at around $3.00 - $6.00 each, but I found the dinner combos a bit pricey. We ordered the dinner for two A ($36.95+tax), 2 drinks and 3 dim sum platters and it was over $70 dollars with tax & tip. They are a rather upscale restaurant and we frequent more economical establishments where dinner for two starts at $19.99 and with much larger portions too. I will most likely go there again, but most likely for a brunch or lunch and not dinner. I still think that it’s a must visit because the ambiance is rather something any true paranormal lover should experience. For further details please check out the following link of the restaurants website,
If you are interested in stories about a haunted telephone (found right here in Toronto!), local exorcisms and other strange but true events, then you should listen to Richard Syrettith’s Strange Planet. Below is a link to some clips that I found on the net, they will give you a flavor of this rather odd savor. I’m really glad I found this show because I’m sure I will learn more about Toronto paranormal, as well as strange but true stories from all over the world!
I had to do a little Christmas Shopping last night and I went to the Worlds Biggest Bookstore, on Yonge & Dundas, http://toronto.ibegin.com/retail/worlds-biggest-bookstore, and I was happy to find that they have paranormal books for sale on the second floor. Also on the second floor, near the downward escalator, you will happen upon a ghostly display which includes at least 3 books from John Robert Columbo himself. True Canadian Haunting Stories, More True Canadian Ghost Stories and an alien book (that I should have picked up too) for $9.99 each (plus tax). They are also having a sale.. buy 3 books and get the 4th free so I received the cheapest book free for $9,99. I also picked up a Ghost Hunting Chronicles hard cover book for $14.99 (plus tax) that seems to be a great paranormal guild to ghost hunting. For my forth book I found The Midnight Hour by John Robert Columbo for 19.99 (plus tax). Chapters Indigo would be another great store to check for paranormal books. I unfortunately didn’t make it to the location in the Eaton’s Centre, but I checked their site online and they had a good selection. They are also having the 4 for 3 sale too! http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/ I buy myself the best Christmas presents! Both locations are having the sale until December 24, 2007. HMV, on Yonge Street, had tons of DVDs for really reasonable prices. I purchased 28 Days Later & Shawn of the Dead for $20 plus tax. I buy myself the best presents lol!
CRASH ahhh haaa BANG ahhh haaaaaa! DARKNESS ahhh haaaa ahhhh haaa BANG BANG! were the sounds that stabbed into my vulnerable state of unconsciousness. Fear… sleep.. Dread… tired… the sounds were almost pulsating because I was in and out of reality. My enervated body, soul and mind were consumed back into the darkness to later wake wondering if that had happened or not. It sounded like the noise was resonating from the den… the same place I keep my 2 Ouija boards. Earlier in the week I was admiring them and my hand was gently stroking the boxes. I wonder if I have awaken something by doing so? I want to play, but I do not have the knowledge or experience to dare attempt such a thing, especially without anyone else that does have adequate experience.
If you ever are attacked by the wrath of a dark spirit, or demon, just stay calm, and don’t panic, or you may be consumed. Pray for Jesus and instantly you will be free. Please remember my words because I know first hand. Even if you can’t move or speak… as long as you believe in him, he will save you. I recall the first and only time I was attacked, I was so afraid… I tried to call out for my mother, but it just got worse. I couldn’t scream and I was totally paralysed. The next person I thought of was Jesus and thank God I did.
A&E’s spooky new reality series “Paranormal State” could make believers out of the staunchest skeptic. It certainly did for network executives and show producers, who say they witnessed paranormal activity firsthand while shooting the series.
“I was a skeptic’s skeptic,” says Robert Sharenow, head of nonfiction and alternative programming at A&E. “I didn’t buy into this stuff at all. But I gotta say, after what I’ve seen on the show, I totally re-evaluated my feelings (about the paranormal).”
“State,” which debuted last week as A&E’s most-watched series premiere in three years, follows the Paranormal Research Society, a group founded in 2001 by Ryan Buell consisting of Penn State University students who balance college life while investigating cases involving ghosts, hauntings, demonic possession and other paranormal phenomena.
“Almost everybody on the production team experienced something — from being pushed or feeling cold to other really weird things that happened,” says Gary Auerbach of Go Go Luckey Prods. (MTV’s “Laguna Beach”), which produces the show with Four Seasons Prods. Intl.
For example, while dealing with a case that involved demonic possession, every time anyone would make a phone call — be it from a cell phone or from a land line in Go Go Luckey’s offices — the phones would “go in and out of reception,” he says. In another instance, Auerbach was talking to a youngster who could have walked straight out of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense.”
“He said he was experiencing different phenomena, this dark mist, and could see dead people all the time,” Auerbach says. “I asked him if he could see someone right then, and he said yes and pointed right behind me. I got chills, and when I turned around, I saw a black mist roll past, light as a wisp.”
They say they also experienced electronic voice phenomena — said to be the voices of ghosts or spirits heard through static — when cutting the episodes.
“It’s really kind of freaky — if we weren’t believers, we are now,” Auerbach says, noting that the crew all wore St. Benedict medals dipped in holy water while shooting and had been briefed by Buell beforehand about what to do and how to act “in front of a spirit.” (Buell is still a student at Penn State, working on another degree.)
“State” came about after Betsy Schechter brought the idea to A&E through her Four Seasons banner, which then partnered with Go Go Luckey. A&E executives were so encouraged by what they saw early in production that they increased the episode order from 14 half-hours (including the pilot) to 20 before the show even premiered. Sharenow says what makes the series such a good fit for A&E is that it deals with more than just paranormal phenomena.
“The purpose isn’t to prove there are ghosts out there but to show these dramatic, very real confrontations and help these people in distress. The ghost element is almost incidental sometimes,” he says. “The high-impact human drama in every episode makes the show accessible to a mass audience. It’s very emotional and compelling and real.”
I have always been able to sense a persons essence, now more-so than ever. I can pick up things and know things even before actually knowing them… it’s very odd at times. Picture having the answers before knowing the questions. It’s unsettling when I find out that my feelings have actual validity behind them. I can simply look at a person to feel them and know what they are about. I am totally repulsed by those touched by darkness or those with bad intentions. I do see good people that glow too, but they are few and far between. The average don’t really stand out.. they are those caught up in the motions of a mundane world, consumed by their daily duties and responsibilities. This is just too hard to write about now. I will delve further when I’m not so tired, but due to my own tedious life tasks, I am unable to at this time. Picture having to greet hundreds of people, for a work luncheon, while picking up so much at once.. it’s exhausting. Even taking the TTC is much at times because we are packed in there like sardines during rush hour and it’s hard not to have your body filled up with these intense feelings. It’s even more uncomfortable and awkward being so close to people that you automatically repel from. It’s not something that you can get used to.
Toronto Reverend Charged With Assaults In Bizarre Alleged Exorcisms
Monday December 10, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
A Toronto holy man stands charged with behaviour hardly becoming of one.
The congregation at the Mount Zion Revival Church of the Apostles has long called Reverend Frank Lawrence their spiritual leader, which likely means many were stunned at the news he’ll stand trial for alleged sex assaults and threatening death reportedly in connection with what police allege were bizarre exorcisms.
Lawrence is charged with the sexual assaults of two women, including one of his former parishioners who claims she was promised a spiritual healing in a ritual of baths that involved alcohol, onions and oils. The woman ended up pregnant, and now has a little one-year-old girl.
A second woman alleges the reverend went through a special ritual with her that involved meeting over a fresh grave where he actually pushed her down and sex with her. She believes that’s when she also conceived a child.
Lawrence reportedly founded the church, which ran out of a strip plaza location at Oakwood Avenue and Rogers Road for 25 years. The bizarre trial also includes allegations Lawrence threatened to kill one of the victims as well as the church treasurer.
