Still a little conflicted over this holiday....

as you can read in my other blog post or by looking up the dark side of Thanksgiving but I am grateful for my friends and family.  Without that, what do you actually have?

Thanksgiving plans are stacking up.....

We are so grateful for friends and family.

Holidays....

You know it is a good day when....

Brendan Fraser

Matt Bomer

 your kids get to film scenes with these two guys.

Whilst in Amsterdam, watch out for the Ghost of Black Matthew...

In the 13th century, there was a shady lad by the name Matthew, a wandering magician and thief who filled his days gambling always winning by using trickery and dark magic. 

Eventually, his luck did run out when he tangled with the devil.  It is said that Black Matthew roams the streets all over Amsterdam hoping to start up a game and regain his luck.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.....

Ghost stories Nordic style...

Put the Vicarage (a vicarage is a residence set up by the church for priest) of Brogvattnet on the travel list for next Halloween and check out what is said to be the most haunted location in Sweden with the highest number of ghost-to-person ratio anywhere.  There are only 50 residents in the village of Borgvattnet but still that is a pretty high ratio.

The Vicarage was built in 1876 for priests to have a place to stay.  The legend surrounding the Vicarage are that of babies buried in the yard, abused maids, and even that past Vicars haunted the house.

 The first reports of supernatural occurrences was in 1927 in a letter written by Chaplain Nils Hedlund who lived in the haunted house for holy men.  In the 1930s, Chaplain Rudolf Tangden claimed to see a woman in the house, and in the 1940s, Chaplain Otto Lindfren and his wife witnessed paranormal activities including moving objects and odd noises.  

There were also reports of rocking chairs rocking, three women sitting at the end of the bed, chairs tipping over, crying, screaming, knocking, footsteps, people in the shadows, and a Madonna (Mary) seen in a mirror.

Hauntings were continued to be reported and getting a lot of media attention which prompted Tore Forslund, an unconventional Lutheran priest, to try and clear the house of these mysterious mischief-makers.  He earned the nickname Ghostpriest.  He gave up after a year.  

Today the house is a bed and breakfast.  You can even rent the entire house if you dare and if you are brave enough to make it through one night, you will receive a certificate of bravery.

~

Czech it out....

The Houska Castle, Blatce in the Czech Republic is thought to be a portal to hell and for this reason, it is considered one of the scariest castles in all of Europe. 

The Gothic castle was built on top of a hill in the middle of the 13th century on the orders of Ottokar II, King of Bohemia. 

No one is sure why the castle was built or why it was built in the middle of nowhere.  There are no sources of water anywhere near the castle.  Folklore says no one has ever called the castle home. 

The castle was also oddly constructed over a hole that no one could see the bottom of, hence the nickname Gate to Hell. 

Legend has it that at night evil creatures venture out of the castle including a half demon/half animal creature with black wings that circles the area every evening. 

These villainous animal/human hybrids terrorize the locals and slaughter their livestock.  Some say these creatures can still be seen at nightfall (evil laughter).  If you are going to be in Prague, Houska Castle is only 29 miles north so swing by at night if you are not scared of these hellbeasts.

It makes your 12-year-old little heart so happy when....

you get to be on set with the character from your favorite book (and movie) growing up and the scene is a freak show.  Does not get much better than that.