|
|
| | | Jeff Belanger - Founder of Ghost Village and Author |
| |
 | 
Jeff Belanger is the founder of GhostVillage.com and an avid seeker of all that is paranormal. He's worked as a magazine editor, journalist, freelance writer, and has authored several excellent books on the paranormal. Jeff takes time from his busy media schedule to speak with us today !
What inspired Ghostvillage.com?
There were a couple of factors. First, I had been working for a newspaper, and around Halloween I went looking for a good supernatural interest story. Two prominent ghost hunters named Ed and Lorraine Warren happened to live in our readership area, so I had the chance to interview them in their museum. I had known the Warrens since I was about 12 years old, and I had seen some of their lectures. When the article was published, it also went live on the newspaper’s fledgling Web site. 1997 was still the early days of the Web, but this one interview was getting more hits than all of the other pages of the Web site combined. Later in 1997, I was asked to research and write a documentary film on Dudleytown—Connecticut’s most infamous ghost town. The documentary never received funding, and the newspaper went out of business. I wanted to find a place to put these two articles, and I also wanted to learn HTML. So in 1999, I built a little six-page Web site and called it Ghostvillage—partly because of the Dudleytown influence and partly because I wanted to create a sense of community. As more and more people started submitting their own research and ghost encounters, I saw the need for a place to discuss every angle of the supernatural. I wanted to really dissect the subject, to hear from skeptics and believers, religiously inclined, and atheists—that’s the goal we continue to work toward today.
What spawned your interest in the field of the paranormal?
I grew up in an old New England town called Newtown, Connecticut. From age ten I recall hearing friends tell me about how their 250-year-old house was haunted. We were having sleepovers and would break out the Ouija board and look for these ghosts. I didn’t see anything during those overnight investigations, but I was gripped by the stories of my friends. I didn’t think they were lying. My curiosity has kept me gripped to the subject ever since.
Have you had any personal paranormal experiences?
I have yet to have that full-on apparitional experience, but I’ve certainly encountered some strange events at some very creepy places. While visiting the Catacombs of Paris, France, I was completely alone in the limestone quarry tunnels 30 meters below the city. It was quiet, dimly lit, and I was surrounded by the human skeletons of 60 generations of Parisians. The skulls and bones line each side of the tunnel in a very macabre and intricate pattern. When you first see the site, it takes your breath away. While walking through the tunnels, I kept seeing these darting shadows in front of me. I was the only living thing down there who could cast a shadow, and I can tell you mine was at my feet. I think we all have these unexplainable events in our lives—whether it’s smelling phantom smells, hearing whispers you can’t account for, or something even more profound. Whether we pay attention to these signs and try to derive meaning is another issue entirely.
What books/authors or other notable people inspired you?
There have been many people and works that have inspired me. As a writer, I’m a huge fan of Roald Dahl—both his writing for children as well as his work for adults. I love the witty and conversational style of columnist Dave Barry, and on the paranormal side, I grew up reading Hans Holzer, Brad Steiger, Loren Coleman, Loyd Auerbach, and Ed and Lorraine Warren. Twenty years ago the field was a lot less crowded. Today there are so many viewpoints on the subject that you can get lost for days in the paranormal section of your bookstore. I’m a fan of anyone who looks at paranormal phenomena with wonder and who then dives in to try and figure it all out. And I’m leery of those who claim to have definitive answers. But even bad work can be inspiring.
How long have you been interested in the paranormal?
Since I was ten years old.
You've written several outstanding books on ghostly and paranormal phenomena. Would you list and describe some of your works?
The World’s Most Haunted Places: From the Secret Files of Ghostvillage.com (2004) – this book explores the history and the supernatural behind some of the world’s best-known haunts like: The Tower of London, The Whaley House, The Queen Mary, Fort Calgary, Rose Hall, and The Catacombs just to name a few.
Communicating With the Dead: Reach Beyond the Grave (2005) – an in-depth look at the history and use of spirit communication devices such as: the Ouija board, tarot cards, dowsing, mirror gazing, automatic writing, spirit photography, electronic voice phenomena, and Instrumental Transcommunication.
Encyclopedia of Haunted Places: Ghostly Locales From Around the Globe (2005) – I was the editor and compiler for this book. It was authored by 100 paranormal investigators from all over the world who contributed write-ups on some of the haunts they knew best.
The Nightmare Encyclopedia: Your Darkest Dreams Interpreted (2005) – a dream dictionary that explores the darker side of sleep.
Our Haunted Lives: True Life Ghost Encounters (2006) – a book of interviews with people who have had profound ghost experiences. This title includes one of the last interviews George Lutz gave on his experiences in the Amityville house back in 1975. He discusses everything from move-in through present day.
Ghosts of War: Restless Spirits of Soldiers, Spies, and Saboteurs (2006) – in ghost investigations, you go where the ghosts are. And ghosts are often found in places where great tragedy or loss of life occurred. This book explores the battlefields, ships, and planes that are not only relics of wars past, but places that still echo with ghostly activity.
What other media have you been featured in?
I’ve been a guest on about 100 different radio shows now from podcasts, local AM stations, big-market FM morning shows where the host mixes in fart noises while asking me questions, and national shows like National Public Radio, X Zone, and Coast to Coast AM (I think I have a voice and face for radio). I also do quite a few newspaper and television interviews, especially around Halloween. I enjoy every opportunity to further the supernatural discussion. It’s critical that we simply talk about these experiences. We may not find all the answers, but we can at least learn that this subject isn’t so weird and that the more we talk about it, the more insight we gain into ourselves. This is a good thing. Oh, I also had a great media opportunity recently. I was interviewed for journeytotheunknown.com. Thanks!
Copyright ~2007~ www.true-ghost-story.com (no part of this article shall be
copied in any way without direct permission of admin@true-ghost-story.com)
| |
|  |
|
|
|
Not a member yet? Click here to register.
Forgotten your password? Request a new one here.
| |
|
|
| To submit your True Ghost Story please login via the login panel above and then click here. | |
|
|
|
v6.01.19 © 2003-2008 :: Original style by yassineb :: All Content Copyright True-Ghost-Story.Com. No part shall be copied in any way. 
