An October Impromptu Live Stream

 Hello everyone.  Happy October.  Last night I was inspired to do an impromptu live stream over on the YouTube channel.  As usual nobody showed up BUT I had a nice chat with myself to share with you all.  

Monstrum Vid on UFO Abduction and Grays

 Wow, the work crunch period is REAL! Hi all, I've been busing my butt at work so it's been awhile since my last post but we've got a pretty good one today from the YouTube channel Monstrum.  They usually do great vids and if you're here reading this and not subscribed to them I'm not sure what you're waiting for. 

This time they're talking about the history of UFO abductions and the gray aliens.Definately worth your time, even if you're on the fence. 

YouTube LIVE Stream Test

 Hi everyone.  Recently got some new equipment and did a preliminary live test over on YouTube.  This was to check out the new mic, stream deck, and OBS setup to see how it all flows.  I don't think it turned out too bad and would love some feedback.  So please take a look.  Thank you.

Future of the Nocturne Society & Podcasts

 
Hi all

As we slowly creep towards October my thought always turn to the Nocturne Society, how it's changed over the years, and where it's going.

After my divorce in 2009 I became focused on my own issues and let the NS website become abandon.  Of course we all know if you don't update your content people go away.  So the once very popular website was mainly forgotten.  This was 100% my fault.  Since then I've made a few mild attempts to bring it back with a podcast and social media but nothing has really made it stick.  I've taken a few steps back and attempted to dissect the issues and here's what I've come up with.

First of all I don't think people are as eager to READ articles these days.  Reading take time and effort.  I'm sure when you saw this post you questioned if you even wanted to take the time to read it.  So while I think this blog and twitter has it's place to inform people what I've created I don't know that articles to read are of much use.

Next is my attitude towards the topic.  I'm a skeptic.  I'm not "all aboard the ghost train" like 90% of the paranormal community.  While I feel it's the most healthy and intelligent attitude to have towards these questionable topics, I do not find this the most popular one.

And finally my investment towards the Nocturne Society itself, both in time and money.  I of course have a full-time career that I find interesting and rewarding, so I'm not looking towards the NS to supplement that in way.  For me I find the NS and the topics to be interesting, exhilarating, and fun.  All that to say I've been casual about it.  A post here and there, a podcast here and there, isn't going to spell success for the NS.  I create NS using a basic headphone/mic, edited in Adobe Premier that I have for work.  I don't have podcast/streaming equipment.  I don't have a nice microphone, etc.

SO I've decided to take some steps towards raising the bar a bit around here.  First of all I will subscribe to Podbean which will allow me to have unlimited space for past and future podcasts.  I will be posting podcasts with video and/or do live streaming on our YouTube channel. Finally I've started upgrading my equipment by investing in a podcast specific microphone and stream deck.  Hopefully this will not only inspire me to create content but also raise the quality to inspire people to participate and join.

I'm going to investigate the "legality" of me taking my skeptical eye and reviewing existing YouTube "ghost content." I'd like to create some video content where I take a close look at these videos, not necessarily to debunk them but to give some observations, and ask some valid questions.  I'm just not sure what's allowed on YouTube.

And of course I'd love to get back to hosting a podcast and getting some interesting people to join me.

So I'm not saying hold onto your butts for a huge comeback but I'm taking some steps to get back into the swing of creating some interesting paranormal content.

I hope you'll join me.

Netflix Series Haunted: A Dash of Bullshit

 

I recently discovered the Netflix series Haunted. Described as "Real people sit down with friends and family to share terrifying true stories from their past, re-created through chilling re-enactments."

Certainly the episodes are interesting, and amazing if the word "true" is to be believed.  But as with most stories of the paranormal you need to pick through the sensationalize color and focus on those small grains of truth.

I just started watching and already one episode, The Slaughterhouse; really raised my bullshit alarms.  The episode summary says, " Two sisters grow up scared and alone in a real-life house of horrors, where their sadistic father does unspeakable thing."  Initially this doesn't sound paranormal at all, is sounds like abuse.  As the story begins indeed the daughters do say they father was in fact abusive to them and that he worshipped Satan.  However it goes further than I'm willing to accept with the father and mother luring people to their place and murdering them.  They even go on to imply that many people over the years were murdered and buried on the property, with the grandson saying his grandfather told him where he shouldn't dig.

I find this a bit too much for me to accept as truth.  These are modern times, if there are bodies on the property contact the police, file a report.  The man said to have committed all these murders is claimed to have died so if they were afraid of him, now step forward. But no, no police reports or missing person reports were shared to help prove this story.  We're just supposed to accept this is all the truth and move on.

Was this man insane and abusive?  I can believe that.  Were these women traumatized by their father's treatment of them and their mother's lack of action to stop it? I can believe that too.  But to say in these times their father killed people, buried the bodies, and kept parts of them as trophies I'd have to see a police report.  You can't come public with a claim like that and not have anything to back it up.

Like I said with most paranormal claims you need to take them with a grain of salt but this episode made me question the validity of the entire series.  Still interesting but now they're just stories to me, and the idea of there being any truth to any of it has been thrown out the window.

Do You Believe Ghosts are Ghosts?

 

So I'd like to ask the old question is, "Do you believe in ghosts?" And if you do, do you also believe ghosts are spirits of the dead?

There are some theories that say what we hear going BUMP in the night aren't restless spirits at all, but instead are entities from other dimensions interacting with ours. You could call them aliens or demons or ghosts if you like. But they are things that are there which we don't yet understand.

 

When the Nocturne Society was more active I would receive emails asking for help from people.  One woman contacted me and said she had "things" in her house.  She said at night she would see shadows about the size of a normal dog moving around.  She had hardwood floors and said she could hear their claws clicking on the floor as they walked.  Several times she would get up and turn on the light in an attempt to catch them but they would run down the hallway into the kitchen and disappear.  She was convinced there was a dimensional portal in here kitchen that these things were coming from.  

Which would you rather it be? Would you rather it be spirits of dead relatives instead strange inter dimensional beings? Does one freak you out more than the other? I mean Grandma wouldn't want to scare you right?  But a dimensional being, who knows what it's motivations are.  Maybe nothing malicious at all.

 

 

Halloween 2020: How Will It Be Different??

So 2020 has been an interesting year to try and put it nicely. Realistically it's been a complete mess for most people.  I for one was practising social distancing before it was cool so it honestly didn't affect me too much.  Before this all started I already had a work from home job so it was all business as usual for me.  But now that we approach October 31st what is going to happen to our precious Halloween?

I'm sure most would agree that following social distancing rules on that night would be nearly impossible to follow.  Door to door candy hunting puts everyone involved in danger.  Most trick-or-treating is done by younger children and a lot of door-answering is done by the high risk elderly.  And while many Halloween costumes require a mask it's certainly not a replacement for a  N95 mask.  I can't see a lot of people following mask rules by putting a mask under their masks

Some major cities like Los Angeles have cancelled Halloween trick-or-treating outright. Some official however have reversed on their rules after some public outcry for instance LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn told the New York Times, "Even a pandemic can't cancel Halloween."

There is certainly more to Halloween than door to door candy snatching, many cities and organizations have annual festival to attend.  Even if they aren't cancelled which most are it is of course best to not attend.  Here are some official rules of major cities around the US.  

Los Angeles County, California: A new health order issued by the Department of Public Health has mandated that any large gatherings or parties open to the public — either indoors or outside — won't be permitted. Festivals, haunted houses, carnivals, and other attractions will not be allowed to operate this year (Disneyland's Oogie Boogie Bash has already been canceled). Officials have reversed their decision on door-to-door trick-or-treat activities, and will allow car parades and drive-in movie theatres to operate on Halloween, as well as themed meals at outdoor restaurants.

New York, New York: While health officials have yet to release specific guidelines or regulations for Halloween, the city's Greenwich Village Halloween Parade (the largest public participatory event in the country, according to the New York Post) has been canceled. The event's organizers told the Post that a smaller surprise event may be planned to reduce COVID-19 risks.

Salem, Massachusetts: One of New England's most iconic Halloween destinations, Salem won't host many of its "Haunted Happenings" parades and festivals, as Phase 3 of Massachusetts reopening guidelines limit indoor gatherings to 25 people, and outdoor events to less than 100. Boston.com reports that shopping will still be allowed and several attractions like museums and restaurants will be open with reduced capacities.

Chicago, Illinois: While the state has yet to release specific guidelines for Halloween festivities, the Chicago Tribune reports that city suburbs like Highwood have already called off its annual Pumpkin Festival, and more area happenings are expected to follow. Illinois' emergency COVID-19 guidelines prohibit gatherings of more than 50 people at any one time.

San Diego County, California: Health officials have told journalists at local affiliate CBS8 that officials are waiting on new rules from the CDC before making official recommendations; one option they're exploring is drive-thru Halloween events in place of gatherings where people would normally be on foot, a similar approach that school officials took to 2020's graduation season.

Laconia, New Hampshire: One of the nation's largest pumpkin carving events, the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival, has been canceled, according to the Laconia Daily Sun. Event organizers may transition to smaller, intimate pumpkin-focused events throughout the entire month of October.

Orlando, Florida: Some of the first major Halloween events to be canceled were annual celebrations held at major theme parks in Florida, USA Today reports. State officials have yet to release specific guidelines, but Disney's Not So Scary Halloween Party is off and Universal Studios also recently announced the closure of its Halloween Horror Nights. The theme parks' counterparts in California also followed suit.

Arlington, Texas: Six Flags has also reportedly re-envisioned its Halloween events at most of its theme parks across the nation, including Six Flags Over Texas just outside of Dallas. The new event is designed to keep risks low, and gets rid of mazes, haunted houses and indoor shows, and reduces the amount of live actors in the park, according to Fox News.

- references

The big concern I have is that as we've seen with so many marches and conflicts against mask regulations people don't always follow rules.  I expect many will not take heed and may even go out of their way to disobey guidelines. I hope things will stay safe and not become a "Devils Night" of fires and looting.

The Nocturne Society is planning on hosting a Halloween night live chat over on YouTube to share some creepy stories and keep that Halloween spirit in the air.  

Chin up, there's always next year ..... I hope.

BE SAFE OUT THERE!!