Quiz: Which Famous Ghost Are You?

Want to find out which famous ghost you're most like? Take my quiz:

1. It seems like you spend most of your time:
A. Looking for lost things
B. Doing laundry and other chores
C. Traveling

2. You would love to be able too:
A. Predict the future
B. Grant wishes
C. Disappear

3. Your biggest flaw is:
A. You have a bad temper
B. You're always behind with chores
c. You're always forgetting things

4. You're favorite pastime is:
A. Taking moonlit walks
B. Sitting by a peaceful stream
C. Hanging out in cemeteries

5. What annoys you most?
A. People who don't listen to you
B. People always asking you for things
C. Bad weather on an important day

Here are the results:

Mostly A.'s:
If you picked mostly A's, the ghost you are most like is La Llorona, the ghostly weeping woman of Hispanic legend. According to the legend, La Llorona is the spirit of a woman who spends eternity searching for her dead children. Her haunting weeping is known to be a harbinger of death or misfortune. Her story is mostly told to deter children from staying outside after dark. If you are most like this ghost, you are sentimental, emotional, and devoted to those you care about. You have strong ties to your family and friends. But your hot temper and jealous streak may get you into trouble sometimes. See our discussion about La Llorona here for more info: http://paranormaldollclub.blogspot.com/2010/12/discussion-legend-of-la-llorona.html

Mostly B's:
If you picked mostly B answers, you are most like the Bean Nighe, of Celtic legend. Also known as "The Washer Woman at the Ford," the Bean Nighe is a banshee-like spirit of a woman who died in childbirth. She spends her days washing blood-stained clothing in lonely wooded streams until the day she would have normally died. Those like the Bean Nighe are driven to success. You like to get your responsibilities done just so, even if it seems like there is an endless list of them. You are clever, and sometimes tricky, but you love to help others. Bean Nighe is known to grant wishes and predict future events. See our discussion here: http://paranormaldollclub.blogspot.com/2010/12/discussion-eleven-bean-nighe.html

Mostly C's:
Picked mostly C's? You are most like Resurrection Mary. This Chicago native is a phantom hitchhiker. Mary was killed in an accident on a dark and stormy night, coming home from a dance. After that, she has been seen by many travelers on similar, stormy nights. If a driver sees her, and offers to give her a lift, she is said to ask to be dropped off near the cemetery where she is buried, then disappear without a trace. If you are most like Resurrection Mary, you are a hopeless romantic, who loves the excitement of the big city. You tend to live in the past sometimes, but you are also have a big heart, and a strong belief in the kindness of strangers. You love to meet new people on your travels, even if your "travels" are only a trip across town. See our discussion here: http://paranormaldollclub.blogspot.com/2011/01/discussion-thirteen-resurrection-mary.html

Favorite Paranormal Creature

A quick little questionnaire for everyone. You can just copy and paste it into the comments with your answers.

Name:
Age:
Favorite Paranormal Creature:

Here is Frankie, myself, and our friends:

Name: Francesca Shiloh Schafer
Age: 10 (and 1/2)
Favorite Paranormal Creature: Phantom Hitchhikers and wendigos

Name: Paige Shepherd
Age: 10
Favorite Paranormal Creature: The Bean Nighe

Name: Emily Jacobs
Age: 12
Favorite Paranormal Creature: aliens

Name: Kit Jacobs
Age: 11
Favorite Paranormal Creature: werewolves and dragons

Name: Jocelyn Miles Bishop "JJ"
Age: 11
Favorite Paranormal Creature: mothman

Thanks everyone!

Discussion Fifteen: Dragons Part II

Frankie and Emily were kind enough to let me do another dragon post (or it's because they didn't have anything planned!).

I'll start with Eastern Dragons. These dragons are mostly from Japan, Korea, and China. These are the long, snake-like dragons depicted in Asian artwork. Chinese dragons have five toes. Japanese dragons have three toes. Korean dragons have four toes. No one is quite sure why, but some theories is that when the dragons started relocating they gained or lost toes. This is probably some evolution thing.

There are nine types of Chinese dragons (nine being a very lucky number to Chinese). These are: horned, celestial, spiritual, winged, coiling, yellow, king, and dragon of hidden treasures. Each different type plays a different part in Chinese beliefs/rituals/superstitions, etc. Eastern Dragons play a different role in society than Western dragons. Eastern dragons tend to be regarded more as an invisible force, something to pay homage too and things dealing with rituals and such. Western dragons are more of a feared thing, something that is hunted and wanted destroyed. Western dragons don't receive the same spiritual treatment Eastern dragons do.

One more thing to remember is that Eastern dragons don't have wings.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments and leave your thoughts about Eastern dragons and/or any other dragon species.
http://www.blackdrago.com/easterndragons.htm

--Kit--

Contest Reminder

Just a reminder that the photo contest ends on Thursday. We look forward to seeing your creations!

Emily

Discussion Fifteen: Dragons

Hi, everyone, my name is Kit. I'm Emily's younger sister. She and Frankie are letting me to the discussion this week because I'm pretty much an expert on dragons.

Not everyone knows that there are different species of dragons. These can be divided mostly into two categories: Western and Eastern. I'll talk about Western dragons first. This group includes the most common dragon, the European. This is what is depicted in most artwork and TV shows. The dragon in Merlin is this. These dragons live in a mountain or sea cave and can grow up to 45 feet long and 17 feet high. Their favorite food is cattle and sheep, but they will also eat humans if no other food source is around. They try to avoid this, though, because humans have a bitter flavor.

The Gargouille is another fairly common dragon. You might be more familiar with a gargoyle, which this dragon is named after. The Gargouille is very good at camouflaging itself, perching itself on top of old buildings much the same a gargoyle does. They eat rats, bats, and cats.

Eastern dragons are a little different in appearance. You can think of these as the dragons depicted in Chinese artwork and legends: long bodied. If Frankie and Emily let me do another discussion I will talk more on these guys. Right now I want to cover a unique dragon.

The Basilisk is pretty well known thanks to Harry Potter, but did you know it is a dragon? These dragons are very deadly; there is not cure for it's deadly bite. There is some debate on whether seeing a Basilisk face to face will kill you. Some say having a mirror with you protects you from being attacked by the Basilisk as it will attack it's mirror image instead of you. It is logical to say then, that if you don't have a mirror you will get killed because the Basilisk will attack you. But you'll die from the poison not seeing it.

Questions: Have you ever seen a dragon? If you live in Europe your chances are higher as there is only one breed found in the US. How do you think the Basilisk kills?

--Kit--

Most of  my information came from: The Dragonology Handbook: A Practical Course in Dragons written by Ernest Drake.

My new favorite book!

At school, we have been working on a project, where we have to read a book a month and write a book report. The report has to be like a book review. At first I wasn't to happy. I don't mind reading, but I'd rather be out sledding, or playing with my friends. But then, I went to the library at school, and found a book that caught my eye. Since it's suitable for this blog, I thought I would share my book review here:

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of The Witch
By Joseph Delaney


The Last Apprentice: Revenge of The Witch is about a young boy named Tommy who becomes apprentice to the town "Spook." The Spook is a mysterious man who rids the surrounding towns of evil and horrifying creatures. Tommy is not sure how he feels about being the Spook's apprentice. It is a scary and very lonely job, especially when dealing with boggarts and witches. But when Tommy makes a mistake that causes him to be indebted to a clan of witches (a mistake that may have freed the most evil witch of all), he fears that he has endangered not only himself, but everyone he cares about. Now Tommy has to try to stop them with his own skills and smarts, and the help of an unlikely friend.

I loved this book. It was packed with everything I am interested in. And it was full of valuable ghost hunting info. I liked the ghost-hunting aspect, although Tommy and the Spook didn't just hunt ghosts, but all kinds of paranormal entities. It was full of spooky, creepy moments, and it was a lot of fun to read. I also loved the illustrations, which really added to the haunting vibe of the story, and Tommy's personal notes about "Spooking." I recommend this book to any fan of the supernatural. It was really good!

Frankie's rating: * * * * (four stars)

Book review by Frankie


For more info on this book, see here:

http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/books/Last-Apprentice-Revenge-Witch/?isbn13=9780060766184&tctid=100

Discussion Fourteen: The House That Ghosts Built

The Winchester Mansion is a sprawling California Mansion. It was owned by Sarah Winchester. Legend has it that the house was built after a seance, where Sarah was told by spirits that she must never stop building her home, in order to be protected from spirits who were killed by Winchester rifles. Seances were very popular during the Victorian period, as people started to develop an interest in supernatural phenomena. The construction of the mansion went on for 38 years, until Winchester's death. Sarah was allegedly guided by the instruction of spirits whom she made contact with, during the construction of her house, which lead to the eccentric design, which is described as a maze. The home is now world famous for it's mysterious design

Read all about this amazing historical home here:
http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/index.cfm

Discussion:
1.Why do you think the Victorians were so interested in the supernatural? Parlor games concerning seances and contact with the dead became extremely popular in this time period.

2. Would you want to visit the Winchester mansion? I would!

Happy Haunting,
Frankie

P.S.- It's not too late to enter our photo contest! Hope to see your entries.