Ghostly Family Photographs

 Welcome!

I stay pretty busy with my writing, art, and photography, but the past few days, I've taken some time out from the arts to straighten and organize some things that I really needed to get done. While looking through some old papers, I ran across an old photograph that my father had taken of me when I was an infant.

(Becky Arnott Photography)

Photograph of Me with a Cake, Etc.

The photo was of a special occasion, my first birthday, complete with a birthday cake with one candle. 

(There were no digital cameras in those days. There were just film cameras, so you really didn't know what your pictures were like until the film was developed.)

Notice all of the white ectoplasm in this photo! I'm sure Daddy didn't realize that it was ectoplasm. He, no doubt, thought that the film had just messed up. Apparently, several spirits were really excited about my first birthday celebration!

I have noticed that several of Daddy's photos had ectoplasm in them. In fact, he was actually a talented spirit photographer! My brother, Nick, and I got that same talent from Daddy.

My husband, Greg, also has that talent which he apparently got from his father. We know at least one photograph which his father took of a family gathering that contained ectoplasm.

One day, a sister-in-law once took a picture of Greg and me standing in front of a haunted mansion, and ectoplasm showed up in the photo. I believe it surprised her since she didn't know that she could take paranormal photos.

You might check out your family, etc. photographs. Some of them might be ghostly! You just never know!

For a book full of paranormal photographs (over 100!), that Nick, Greg, and I took, check out my Kindle book on Amazon, "Photographic Encounters of the Spirit Kind." For more information and to order, please see the widget above.

Thanks for visiting! Until, Saturday, October 21, 2023, Becky

"Is the Color Black Good or Evil?"

 Welcome!

Black may be beautiful when speaking about people of color, but what about black when it refers to other things?

Greg and I were recently invited to a formal event in which everyone is required to wear black. We have never heard of anything like that before, so I started talking to others about it, and I also did a little research.

A few people that I talked with that were also invited, thought that wearing black was a little strange, but they were going since they had suitable outfits to wear.

Yesterday, I talked with another person, and she also thought that the all-black event was unusual. She said that it reminded her of a show that she saw about a wedding where everyone was wearing black, including the bride!

I decided to do a little research about the color black although I'm already pretty familiar with it since I'm an artist.

Black is actually a noncolor. It is the absence of light. It can symbolize death, sin, evil, mourning, darkness, and depression. Black is a Satanic color. A black hole in space is a scary place of no return.

Witches wear black. We've all heard of black magic. It's witchcraft used for evil purposes. Witches often have black cats. We certainly don't want a black cat to cross our path for fear of bad luck. (Although in Wales, black cats are considered to bring good luck!)

For color in your home, "Black absorbs light, and this creates a negative, draining effect." Use it cautiously. It can be used as an accent to other colors, but because it does not transmit the light we need, it fails to nourish us the way other colors do." ~From "Color Magic for Beginners" by Richard Webster. This is a really informative book that tells you everything you need to know about using color in your life.

Greg and I have an old house (circa 1901) that we have gradually been working on for the past four years. Originally, there was quite a bit of black in the house, on the stairway, in the kitchen, etc. There were long black curtains in the living room that touched the floor which reminded Greg of the  American sixties sitcom, "The Addams Family."

We know of one man who had a bedroom that was all black. His life did not end well!

Thankfully, we now have a lot less black in our home. The long black curtains have been replaced with shorter light brown ones. The stairway has the original wood color. The kitchen just has small accents of black. We feel much happier now that we are rid of that overpowering black! Our house now has a lighter feel. People even remark about the good energy in our house!

Several years ago, the little black dress was introduced by the fashion industry so women thought that it was a must-needed addition to their wardrobe, but according to modern fashion expert Carol Tuttle, most women of any type don't look good wearing black!

I once had a dress that had quite a bit of black on it, and I never felt comfortable wearing it. I finally decided to get rid of it, and I felt relieved that I wouldn't have to wear it anymore.

However, black is not all bad. It can bring a look of sophistication to both houses or clothes, if not overdone.

Neither Greg nor I have the appropriate clothes to wear to the aforementioned formal event, since neither of us likes wearing black, so we just decided not to go. Otherwise, we would have to either buy or rent the appropriate black clothes, at great expense, that we'd most likely never wear again.

Those that are having this event are not evil because just they required the attendees to wear black clothes, it's just that they want to have a very special event in which people are all dressed in their black finery to have a good, picture-perfect, memorable time.

We'll just send our regrets, best wishes, and a nice gift. (To quote Shakespeare, "To thine own self be true.")

Another aspect of black, dark energy is shadow ghosts that I have written about in one chapter of my book, "Photographic Encounters of the Spirit Kind" by Becky Arnott.

This is a photograph of the first page of the "Shadow Ghosts" chapter of my paperback book.

This book has over 100 paranormal photographs that Greg, my brother, and I, as well as others, have taken, along with a description of each one. Besides shadow ghosts, the different photos have ectoplasm, orbs, and other paranormal anomalies, including ghostly figures which are usually rare in photographs.

My paperback book is out of print, but Amazon has the Kindle version. For more information on ordering, please see the widget above. which takes you to Amazon's website.

So, to answer the question, "Is the color black good or evil?"-Black can be good in small doses, or if used occasionally, but too much black can be draining, even harmful, and can even be used for evil purposes in the wrong hands.

I usually end my "The Art of Positive Living" blog posts with a positive quote, and I decided to end this post with a positive thought, too, since it has been so full of dark, negative energy.

Positive thought: "You have to have dark in order to show light, just like in life." ~Bob Ross, Artist

Thanks for visiting! Until Saturday, September 16, 2023, Becky

  

"Haunted Places"

 Welcome!

There is always something paranormal to write about since there are so many haunted places!

In this blog post, I have three instances of paranormal occurrences.

The first one is an update about an old house and the land it sits on, in Abingdon, Virginia. I previously wrote about it in my last two "Spirit Photographs" blog posts. (Please see my Saturday, May 20 and Saturday, June 17, 2023 posts for more information about this house and land.)

Recently, I talked with a psychic about this property, and she said that the ectoplasm was there because of "Civil War stuff." (Apparently, Civil War battles were really widespread throughout this whole region. She'd told me previously that battles were fought on the land where we live.)

She said that the bright ball of ectoplasm on the ground to the right...

From a Previous Photograph

was the spirit of a Confederate soldier who was 22 years old when he was killed fighting. He was in pain before he died. He had a girlfriend, and he felt sad that he wouldn't get to have a future life.

There were dead people around him. (See the other ectoplasm to the left of the ball of ectoplasm.) So his trauma was left there, along with the trauma of the others.

In my two previous posts, there was also ectoplasm near and on the house. I assume that it was also related to the Civil War, although she didn't say so.

I have a second photograph of a hill that is behind a regional garden center. I took the picture because I thought it would make a nice photograph, but little did I know that faint ectoplasm would show up in the lower center of the photo, near the rocks.

I assume that this hill is haunted because one or more animals (or even a person) probably died there, no telling how long ago.

Lastly, I heard about an abandoned, creepy town here in the United States that is so haunted that it's illegal to even visit there! The town is Dudley Town, Connecticut. It is believed that the strange deaths and other weird happenings there were the result of the Dudley family curse.

Not only is this a place you wouldn't want to visit, you certainly wouldn't want to live there, even if you could!

Thanks for visiting! Until Saturday, August 19, 2023, Becky

Another "Haunted" Photograph and Several Paranormal Updates

 Welcome!

Last month, on May 20, 2023, I published a blog post entitled "A Haunted House" which was about an old house in Abingdon, Virginia that Greg and I concluded was haunted, and I believe my photographs prove it. I still haven't discussed the photos with a psychic, but I'm sure she'd agree that they are paranormal.

On this post, I have another photograph of that same house that further reinforces my belief that something strange is going on-

Notice the obvious ectoplasm below the sign, to the left of the sign, and on the driveway.

Hopefully, I'll be consulting a psychic soon about this house and land which are both apparently very haunted! I'll let you know when I do.

Here are some other updates on some other posts that I have written-

On April 15, 2023, I wrote a post, "Two Unusual Photographs. One Creepy, One Paranormal." I had meant to show a closeup of the young man's face, but for some reason, I didn't.

Here is the closeup of that photo. It's not very clear since it's a closeup of a closeup-

Notice the strangely-shaped configuration of energy on his face! This close-up makes the photo seem even creepier!

On November 20, 2021, I wrote a post, "Moving Orbs," about a friend that contacted me about a doorbell camera catching moving orbs in her husband's workshop. A few weeks ago, she contacted me again, and she said that there were still a lot of orbs showing up on camera, and that it caught a large orb that made the alarm go off. (I'm not really surprised!)

And, yesterday, Greg and I were visiting Big Stone Gap, Virginia, when we decided to stop by the June Tolliver House where my brother, Nick, took the famous June Tolliver House ghost photograph one April day many years ago when he was just a schoolboy.

We were looking around the Tolliver House, and in the parlor there was an old newspaper clipping from a regional newspaper on display which tells about the ghost picture that Nick took. Very appropriately, it was published right before Halloween that year.

I show and tell all about the June Tolliver House ghost picture, as well as many other paranormal photographs, in my Kindle book, "Photographic Encounters of the Spirit Kind." My book is for sale on Amazon. For more information, please see the widget above.

Or, for the paperback version, just stop by the June Tolliver House gift shop in Big Stone Gap, and they'll be glad to sell you a copy. And, while you are at the Tolliver House, you might want to check out that old newspaper clipping.

FYI: http://www.junetolliverhouse.com

Thanks for visiting! Until Saturday, July 15, 2023, Becky

A Haunted House?

 Welcome! A couple of weeks ago, I was wondering what I would write about for this blog post, but I thankfully didn't have to wonder about it for very long. 

I now have something pretty interesting to share with you-

Here is a house in Abingdon, Virginia that might be haunted-

Since this is an old house, and it is in Abingdon, that is enough to conclude that it most likely is haunted since Abingdon is a very old and very haunted town! (But the town is also very historic, picturesque, and cultural!) 

This house has been abandoned for several years. For a while, it was an Italian fresh market which closed despite having excellent reviews.

Two weeks ago, Greg and I were in Abingdon, and we parked across the street from this house. While Greg was having refreshments, I decided to get out my camera and take a few pictures of the house with my telephoto lens. We had passed by the house many times before, but we'd never taken any pictures of it.

Here is a close-up of a photo that I took of one of the upstairs windows from across the street-

Notice the distorted image in the upper part of this window. The image even goes over part of the window frame. It's not a reflection like you often see in windows from the outside. To me, it looks like a face with features. It could be a human face, or maybe something from outer space! Greg thought it looked like an animal, maybe a dog. What do you see?

A week later, we were back in that same area, and I told Greg I'd like to take some pictures of the same house again, but this time, I'd take them from the parking lot of the old house. He agreed, and I took more pictures of the house.

The photos looked different this time. I was closer, and the lighting was different due to weather conditions.

Here is one of those photos-

Notice how foggy the two windows in the middle look. Also, the green part of the tree near those windows looks foggy, especially when you compare it to the greenery below. It is my opinion that this "fog" is actually ectoplasm!

Greg and I often take pictures, and very often, strange things show up in our pictures, and these photos are no exception!

The next time I talk to the psychic, I'll get her opinion about this abandoned house, to see if she thinks it is haunted. Stay tuned!

Also, in my next blog post, I'll give you some interesting updates about several of my previous blog posts.

In the meantime, for more paranormal photos and stories, you might want to check out my Kindle book, on Amazon, "Photographic Encounters of the Spirit Kind." Just click on the widget above for more information. Thank you!

Thanks for visiting! Until Saturday, June 17, 2023, Becky 

Two Unusual Photographs, One Creepy, One Paranormal

 Welcome!

Last month in my 3/18/23 blog post, entitled "A Psychic Reading, and a Paranormal Update," I said that a talented psychic named Maria (not her real name) had done a reading for me about a couple of Greg's and my paranormal photographs which I wrote about in that post. I also mentioned that I had another (Really creepy!) photograph that I had asked her to interpret, but I said that I would save it for this April blog post.

I also have an additional photograph to share in this post. 

So, today, I have two unusual photographs, one creepy, one paranormal.

The creepy photo is the one that my brother, Nick, sent me that someone had sent him, a picture of woman who had taken a selfie in a famous Southern hotel. When the woman looked at the picture she had taken, she had thought it was a ghost since the place is known to be haunted.

Weird Photo! (I cropped off the woman who took the selfie, for her privacy, but I left the "ghost" part of the photo.)

Nick was confounded by it, and he wanted to know what we thought of it.

Greg and I were as puzzled as Nick was, and we felt that the photo was just weird, very strange, not anything that we normally encountered, even with all of the paranormal photographs we have taken throughout the years.

So, I very briefly described the photo to the psychic (She doesn't even need to look at the pictures that she interprets.), and Maria said that the 'ghost' was a real person, not from the spirit world, and that he has a different aura since his aura has changed. He's weird and off-balance. He's thinking about death. She said that in one to three months there would be an accident.

(At least I got the "weird" part right), but it's also very sad, and strange that the woman who took the photo would capture that man in the photo at the very same time that she took the selfie!

Also, most people think that all paranormal photos are scary, but they don't have to be.

Just recently, Greg and I went out of town, and we ate at a restaurant that was new to us. On the wall there was a neat welcome sign which I got permission to photograph since I collect photos of welcome signs, some of which I put at the beginning of my "The Art of Positive Living" blog posts.

After I'd taken a picture of following unique sign, I noticed a faint orb on the right side of the photo-

I wasn't surprised to see the orb since I had thought before we left on our trip that it would be nice if some of our loved ones in the spirit world would be with us on our trip.

According to the photo above, I believe that they were!

For more paranormal photographs (over 100!) and for more information about the spirit world, please click on the widget above which will lead you to my Amazon Kindle eBook, "Photographic Encounters of the Spirit Kind."

Thanks for visiting! Until Saturday, May 20, 2023, Becky

A Psychic Reading, and a Paranormal Update

 Welcome!

Since I was a teenager, I've been interested in the paranormal. I come by it naturally since my grandmother and mother leaned in that direction. My grandmother loved to read her horoscope in the newspaper, and Mama was very open to psychic phenomena, and she was very intuitive.

Daddy took pictures that often contained ectoplasm, but he'd just say that the film messed up, not realizing that many of his photographs were actually paranormal.

My brother, Nick, and I both inherited the paranormal photography talent from Daddy. Mama didn't normally take many pictures, but I suspect that if she had, she would have had that gift, as well.

After Greg and I were married, we discovered that he, too, was talented in psychic photography! In fact, Greg could fill a book with his paranormal photographs if he wanted to. It's just that he, like Mama, doesn't take nearly as many photographs as I do.

The truth is that all of us have at least one psychic gift, whether we realize it or not. After you find your gift, you need to use and develop it.

There are several psychic abilities besides psychic photography-having psychic dreams, hearing and/or seeing the paranormal, etc.

I can take paranormal photos, but I don't know how to interpret them, so that is where people like Maria come in. Maria is very gifted in her ability to give psychic readings. I call her on the phone whenever I need to know something in the realm of the paranormal.

A few days ago, I got a very informative psychic reading from this amazing psychic that I hadn't contacted in over a year. I had a lot to ask her, and this reading lasted for over an hour!

First, I asked her about a photo that Greg had taken a couple of weeks ago-

This photo is completely untouched except for the added watermark.

It was a picture of a sunset with several wispy clouds, and in the lower right side of the picture is vibrant white cloud-shaped ectoplasm. And that's not all! Notice also the other faint ectoplasm and several orbs in the photo. At the bottom center of the picture is a small colored orb.

In Maria's analysis of  Greg's photo, she said that there were a lot of dead people in our area, due to the Civil War, and that the spirits like Greg's energy.

Another wonderful psychic, Elaine, (who is now a spirit herself, and is featured in my paranormal book*) once told me that anytime you see something glowing in a photo (like in Greg's photo above), that it's paranormal.

Also, I have a paranormal update. In last month's "Spirit Photographs" blog post, "Eerie Spirit Photo," on Saturday, February 18, 2023, there was a picture of a tree that I took. Maria said that the spirits liked to be acknowledged by me.

I have a lot more to tell you about Maria's amazing reading that I'll save to write about in next month's blog post, including showing you a partial eerie photo that my brother recently sent me that is really different than any I have ever seen. It's really creepy, and it frightens me although I've seen and taken a lot of really strange photographs myself!

To be continued next month...

*My book is "Photographic Encounters of the Spirit Kind," and it is full of paranormal photography (with narrative), that Nick, Greg, and I have taken. For more information about my book on Amazon Kindle, please click the widget above.

Thanks for visiting! Until Saturday, April 15, 2023, Becky