Halloween, Oct. 31, is a paradoxical holiday. It is a remnant of
Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival which marked a night upon which
the dead wandered upon the earth on their way to their final
resting place.
Halloween, Oct. 31, is a paradoxical holiday. It is a remnant of Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival which marked a night upon which the dead wandered upon the earth on their way to their final resting place.
Yet, its English name comes from “All Hallows Eve,” the evening before All Saints Day, a great Christian feast commemorating the heroes of the Catholic Church whose memories are cherished as examples of holiness for succeeding generations.
In observance of this special time of year, the Gilroy Public Library’s Ancestral Voices Lecture Series is exploring “things that rattle, cry and go bump in the night” with a presentation called “Spoof or Proof: Paranormal Activity in Santa Clara County” on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 2pm.
The guest speaker is Gloria Young, author of six books, who is lead investigator for Ghost Trackers. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to exploring unexplained paranormal activities in Santa Clara County and beyond.
Ghost Trackers was founded in 1992 and today has about 15 members who leave their ordinary jobs (like law clerk, computer analyst, construction worker) to investigate events which seem to be inexplicable by ordinary means.
They use sophisticated equipment such as Geiger counters, EMF detectors, camcorders, thermometers and barometers to eliminate “natural factors” and document “spirit energy” at work in the world around us: moving furniture, slamming doors, hot/cold spots within buildings, ghostly figures on the prowl.
Young says her audiences find these public talks “eye-opening experiences,” and they become more aware of what’s going on around them. Her group believes in the reality of ghosts. (She personally has experienced being pushed, having her hair pulled and her clothing tugged by ghosts.) But she leaves it to her listeners to weigh the evidence and decide for themselves.
The group’s Web site, www.ghost-trackers.org, contains a great deal of information: a report about the 2004 Ghost Hunters Conference, DVD video documentaries (“Ghosts of Virginia City,” “Ghosts of Tombstone”), and a discussion of locations which have been investigated by the group, for example, Mission Santa Clara, Alcatraz, Donner Memorial State Park, Joseph D. Grant Country Park.
There is also a Ghostly Pictures Vault and an online Ghost Hunter Store offering items which are indispensable for ghost hunts.
Tomorrow’s Library program, which includes slides and other visual records, is free and open to all, but children under 12 must be accompanied by a parent. For more information call 842-8207.
Another source of information about ghosts in the South Bay area is the Web site of Los Gatos real estate agent Mary Pope Handy, www.marypope-handy.com/hauntedrealestate-los-gatos-saratoga-san-jose-california-real-estate.asp. She has some fascinating stories about haunted locations, as well as tips on selling real estate known to have experienced “ghostly occurrences.”
