There are some who say, "It's down there," and we can only believe them.
At night, putting your ear to the ground, you can sometimes hear a door slam.
- Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
U r s u l a B i e l s k i (of Chicago Hauntings) &
E d w a r d L. S h a n a h a n (of the Unexplained World)
p r e s e n t
B E Y O N D t h e V E I L
One night. One location. One chance to cross over.
Join Ursula Bielski, the city's acclaimed ghost hunter and paranormal reseasrcher, and
Edward L. Shanahan,
Gatekeeper of the Unexplained World, as they usher you into some of the Midwest's most notorious locations for an intimate night of exploration
and intrigue. Guests
are encouraged to bring their own philosophies about the paranormal as
well as minds open to the ideas and methods of others. Ursula and
Ed
will share their thoughts about the power of spiritual connections and
of
intuitive paranormal investigation, and they'll also introduce guests
to simple investigative tools that can be made at home.
During
the
course of each meeting, Ed welcomes guests to bring items of loved ones
for psychometry readings, and Ursula will be available throughout
each evening to answer questions on the history and folklore
of life's supernatural side. Both hosts look forward to talking with guests about each attendee's own spiritual
and paranormal journeys.
Beyond the Veil meets
on location, and attendance is extremely limited to ensure the
most profound experience possible for all involved.
Guests will learn the shadowy history of each meeting
place, hear legends of the paranormal as experienced at the
site, freely explore the physical surroundings, and participate
in a number of spiritual exercises designed to heighten spiritual
awareness and paranormal activity, including Edward Shanahan's famed
"Circle of Energy." More than anything else, we'll simply enjoy
spending time together in these
profoundly intriguing places.
A portion of the proceeds of each event will be donated to a parapsychological research foundation or organization. For reservations and more information, call 1-888-GHOST-91, or
click on the reservation link below for your desired meeting.
S C H E D U L E 2009 schedule coming soon! Check back for latest additions!
___________________________________________
Saturday evening, May 3rd, 2008
V i l l i s c a a x e m u r d e r h o u s e Villisca, Iowa Only 10 tickets will be sold.
SOLD OUT
"Almost
95 years ago, long before serial killers and mass murders had become a
way of life, two adults and 6 children were found brutally murdered in
their beds in the small mid-western town of Villisca, Iowa. Even
today, the murders remain unsolved, the murderer unpunished.
In 1994, Darwin and Martha Linn of Corning, Iowa purchased the
former home of murder victim J.B. Moore and his family. The house was
returned to its original condition at the time of the murders on June
10th, 1912. Today, the house is listed on the National Registrar of
Historic Places. Films and books on the murders have recently
captured the interest of an audience who had never heard of this
horrendous crime. Psychics claim they've identified the murderer, and
history buffs continue collecting piles of documents they say will
eventually point to the truth. Once you've . . . been
drawn into this story, I can guarantee that it will become a part of
your life. At first, you'll feel an insatiable need for information.
Secondly, you'll find within yourself a desire to know the truth, to
unmask the identity of the murder or murderers and see justice done.
Finally, you'll feel the pull to the house. You won't be satisfied with
anyone else's experiences there, and you'll need to have your own."
-Carol Knight, webmaster, VilliscaIowa.com
Surrender to the pull, and join us at this indescribable house for
a private overnight at this surreal place, during the 95th anniversary week of
the Villisca murders. We'll meet at sunset at the Linn Museum in
Villisca and learn the history of the house from current owner, Darwin
Linn. After touring the town cemetery--including the graves of
the murder victims--we'll enjoy dinner in town with old and new friends
before proceeding to
the house itself. Prepare yourself for a night of wonder and discovery
in one of the most unsettling homes in the nation. Stay as long
as you feel
comfortable. We'll have the house until dawn, and accomodations
afterward are on your own. Sleeping bags are welcomed for naps in the loft of the Moore home's barn.
-$125 per person- (dinner inclusive)
A percentage of the proceeds of this event will be donated to the MESA Project
Saturday, June 21st, 2008 a s h m o r e e s t a t e s Ashmore, Illinois Only 20 tickets will be sold. SOLD OUT
"Ashmore Estates is a three-storey building that was
built in 1916. It has housed people who were indigent and those who had mental
disabilities. From 1916 to around 1956 the building was the Coles County
Almshouse located on the 200-300 acre Coles County Poor Farm. During that
period as many as 100 people died in the building. From 1956 to 1976 it housed
the "mentally impaired" as a mental institution. In 1976 Paul Swinford
purchased the building and reworked it to be used as a ICFDD (Intermediate Care
Facility for the Developmentally Disabled). The building remained in use until
1987 when it was closed due to lack of funding. 9 paranormal groups have
visited here since July 2006. All have said the building is very active."
--from the Ashmore Estates website.
It's a ghost hunter's dream: spending the night in an abandoned mental
institution with a history of rampant abuse and "accidental" death.
Join us, if you think you can handle it, for a night that will
change your life.
The owner of Ashmore Estates tells us that, during the time the
institution was open, the inmates looked forward to the nights when
fried chicken was on the dinner menu. Interestingly, when
visitors today cook outdoors during their investigations, the smell of
fried chicken is said to bring the ghosts "to life." In this
tradition, our overnight will include a cookout with, somehow, fried
chicken on the menu. Guests are welcome to bring sleeping bags
and air matresses--the floors are all concrete--and ghost hnting
equipment of any kind. As always, however, the only requirement
is an open mind.
- $140 per person-
(includes private overnight ghost hunt and dinner)
A percentage of the proceeds of this event will be donated to the Harry Price Research Society
For reservations, call 888-GHOST-91
or visit our reservation page by clicking here.
Saturday evening, July 26th, 2008 T h e H u m p h r e y H o u s e Orland Park, Illinois Only 14 tickets will be sold. SOLD OUT-new date coming soon!
Ed
Shanahan was drawn to stop his car and knock upon the door of this
unassuming home one Fall afternoon. He soon found that the house
had some tales to tell. The home of Senator and Mrs. John
Humphrey, the couple lived in this Orland Park home until their first
child died at birth. The infant girl was buried at nearby
Bachelors Grove, one of the most haunted cemeteries in the world.
When Mrs. Humphrey was found dead in the house soon after,
extraordinary events at both the home and the cemetery began, leading even the home's caretakers to wonder whether the
famed "Madonna of Bachelors Grove"--one of Chicago's most infamous
phantoms--is, in fact, the shade of Mrs. Humphrey bearing her lost
child. A ticket to this intriguing event includes full access to the
Humphrey House for the entire evening's event, and guidance through the past history and present hauntings of this fabled structure.
- $40 per person-
A percentage of the proceeds of this event will be donated to the Orland Park Historical Society For reservations, call 888-GHOST-91
or visit our reservation page by clicking here.
TO VIEW THE EVENT REPORT and photos from our last visit to Humphrey House, click here!
Saturday, November 8th, 2008 m a n s f i e l d r e f o r m a t o r y Mansfield, Ohio Only 20 tickets will be sold SOLD OUT- new date coming soon! Spend
an unforgettable night at one of the most haunted places in the world,
according to the thousands of ghost hunters who testify each year to
the extreme paranormal activity at the erstwhile Ohio State
Penitentiary. The massive structure--which houses the largest
free-standing cell block in the world--has been the filming site of
many movies and television productions, including "The Shawshank
Redemption" and Fox's "Scariest Places on Earth." We'll see what we can
catch on film as we join one of the Reformatory's world-famous
ghost hunts during the dark days of November. Your ticket
includes a late-night dinner of pizza and pop, and you're welcome to
bring an air mattress and sleeping bag if you think rest will come . .
. .
- $120 per person-
(includes overnight ghost hunt and dinner)
A percentage of the proceeds of this event will be donated to World ITC
For reservations, call 888-GHOST-91
or visit our reservation page by clicking here.
C A M P C H E S T E R F I E L D S P I R I T U A L I S T C A M P Chesterfield, Indiana Only 14 tickets will be sold
Travel
to one of the only remaining Spiritualist camps in the nation as we
join our friends in Light at historic Camp Chesterfield, one of the
centers of American Spiritualism since 1891. We'll enjoy peaceful
Springtime surroundings on the White River, enjoy a full tour of the
camp, participate in an authentic Spiritualist seance and, of course,
search for the spirits said to haunt the historic grounds of this
fabled gathering place. A ticket to this event includes overnight
hotel accomodations at the camp and seance with a camp medium, as well
as admission to The Hett Art Gallery and Museum, which strives to
preserve and display art and artifacts of the Modern Spiritualist
Movement. The museum houses the most extensive collection of
its kind, including Psychic Art and Inspirational Painting, portraits
precipitated by the nationally recognized mediums Elizabeth and Mary
Bang in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and the internationally famous
Marion Buckner Pond McKenzie's collection of the Fox Sister artifacts.
Meals and additional readings and services are on your own, with
a dining hall on the grounds for guests' enjoyment. Exact date
will be scheduled soon, but you may tentatively reserve a spot for this
March or April trip as soon as you like.
-$125 per person- (includes accomodations and group seance)
A percentage of the proceeds of this event will be donated to the Division of Perceptual Studies
of the University of Virginia's Department of Psychiatric Medicine (Health System)
For reservations, call 888-GHOST-91
or visit our reservation page by clicking here.
__________________ A B O U T Y O U R H O S T S ______________________
Edward L. Shanahan
is one of Chicago's most respected and astute psychic feelers, and is
also gifted in the art of psychometry--deducing spiritual truths from
the personal items of loved ones. Ed, a native of Chicago's
richly storied Southwest side, began his lifelong involvement with the
unknown as a young child, when his mom bought him his first magic
set at Ford City. Magic did not long hold Ed's attention; however. He
soon discovered Real Magick and, accordingly, became engaged in
exploring the realities of the unseen world. As a young man, Ed
was intrigued by the work of his uncle, a handwriting analyst, who
sometimes appeared on Eddie Schwartz's popular Chicago radio show, and
he was intrigued by the stories told by famed Chicago personality
Richard Crowe, one of the world's first full-time "ghosthunters." As a
teenager, Ed began his first wide-eyed journeys into Chicago's
paranormal underworld to explore some of Chicago's most
notoriously haunted sites. Ever since, Ed's joy has
been exploring both the spiritual and paranormal realms with
fellow travelers from around Chicago and around the world, but he's
also explored the world of high celebrity in the Pro-Wrestling and
Glamour industries. Today, Ed's web community, "The Unexplained
World," draws thousands of visitors each week, many of whom tune in to
his popular and acclaimed webcast of the same name, and he remains a
popular reader at private and public gatherings throughout the Chicago
area. Ed has contributed to Jeff Belanger's Encyclopedia of Haunted Places and Scott Markus' Voices from the Chicago Grave, as well as Ursula Bielski's forthcoming Chicago Haunts 3: From the Secret Files of Chicago Hauntings, Inc.
Ursula Bielski is the founder of Chicago Hauntings, Inc. An historian, writer, and
parapsychology enthusiast, she has been writing and lecturing about Chicago's
supernatural folklore and the paranormal for nearly 20 years and is recognized as a
leading authority on the Chicago region's ghostlore and cemetery history. She is
the author
of five popular and critically acclaimed books on the same subjects, all
published by Lake Claremont Press, with more on the way. Ursula's interests in Chicago ghost
hunting began at a young age. She grew up in a haunted house on Chicago's north
side and received an early education in Chicago history from her father, a
Chicago police officer, who introduced Ursula to the ghosts at Graceland
Cemetery, Montrose Point and the old lockup at the storied Maxwell Street Police
Station. Since that time Ursula has been involved in countless investigations of
haunted sites in and around Chicago, including such notorious locales as Wrigley
Field, the Congress Hotel, the Indiana Dunes, the Red Lion Pub, Hull
House, Bachelors Grove Cemetery, Rose Hill Cemetery, haunted Archer Avenue,
Chinatown, the Eastland disaster site, Death Alley, Dillinger's Alley and the
St. Valentine's Day Massacre site. Her paranormal travels have also led her to
investigate sites as diverse and infamous as the Bell Witch Cave in Tennessee;
the Oshkosh, Wisconsin Opera House; New Orleans' House of the Rising Sun; the
City Cemetery in Key West, Florida; and the Civil War Battlefield at Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania. Aside from her writing, Ursula has been featured on
numerous television documentaries, including productions by the A&E Network,
The History Channel, The Learning Channel, The Travel Channel, and PBS. She also
appears regularly on local Chicago television and radio and lectures throughout
the year at various libraries, historical and professional societies. In
addition to her books, Ursula is the author of numerous scholarly articles
exploring the links between history and the paranormal, including articles
published in the International Journal of
Parapsychology. Ursula is a past editor of PA News, the quarterly newsletter of the
Parapsychological Association, a past president and board member of the Pi Gamma
Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society, and
holds membership in the Society of Midland Authors. A graduate of St.
Benedict High School on Chicago's North side, Ursula holds a B.A. degree in history from
Benedictine University and an M.A. in American cultural and intellectual history
from Northeastern Illinois University. Her academic explorations include the
Spiritualist movement of the 19th century and its transformation into psychical
research and parapsychology, and the relationships among belief, experience,
science, and religion.
"Almost
95 years ago, long before serial killers and mass murders had become a
way of life, two adults and 6 children were found brutally murdered in
their beds in the small mid-western town of Villisca, Iowa. Even
today, the murders remain unsolved, the murderer unpunished.
In 1994, Darwin and Martha Linn of Corning, Iowa purchased the
former home of murder victim J.B. Moore and his family. The house was
returned to its original condition at the time of the murders on June
10th, 1912. Today, the house is listed on the National Registrar of
Historic Places. Films and books on the murders have recently
captured the interest of an audience who had never heard of this
horrendous crime. Psychics claim they've identified the murderer, and
history buffs continue collecting piles of documents they say will
eventually point to the truth. Once you've . . . been
drawn into this story, I can guarantee that it will become a part of
your life. At first, you'll feel an insatiable need for information.
Secondly, you'll find within yourself a desire to know the truth, to
unmask the identity of the murder or murderers and see justice done.
Finally, you'll feel the pull to the house. You won't be satisfied with
anyone else's experiences there, and you'll need to have your own."
Ed
Shanahan was drawn to stop his car and knock upon the door of this
unassuming home one Fall afternoon. He soon found that the house
had some tales to tell. The home of Senator and Mrs. John
Humphrey, the couple lived in this Orland Park home until their first
child died at birth. The infant girl was buried at nearby
Bachelors Grove, one of the most haunted cemeteries in the world.
When Mrs. Humphrey was found dead in the house soon after,
extraordinary events at both the home and the cemetery began, leading even the home's caretakers to wonder whether the
famed "Madonna of Bachelors Grove"--one of Chicago's most infamous
phantoms--is, in fact, the shade of Mrs. Humphrey bearing her lost
child. A ticket to this intriguing event includes full access to the
Humphrey House for the entire evening's event, and guidance through the past history and present hauntings of this fabled structure.
Spend
an unforgettable night at one of the most haunted places in the world,
according to the thousands of ghost hunters who testify each year to
the extreme paranormal activity at the erstwhile Ohio State
Penitentiary. The massive structure--which houses the largest
free-standing cell block in the world--has been the filming site of
many movies and television productions, including "The Shawshank
Redemption" and Fox's "Scariest Places on Earth." We'll see what we can
catch on film as we join one of the Reformatory's world-famous
ghost hunts during the dark days of November. Your ticket
includes a late-night dinner of pizza and pop, and you're welcome to
bring an air mattress and sleeping bag if you think rest will come . .
. . 
Ursula Bielski is the founder of Chicago Hauntings, Inc. An historian, writer, and
parapsychology enthusiast, she has been writing and lecturing about Chicago's
supernatural folklore and the paranormal for nearly 20 years and is recognized as a
leading authority on the Chicago region's ghostlore and cemetery history. She is
the