My latest article at the Haunted Places topic on examiner.com is entitled "Spirits spoke on Mt. Nebo in 1853." Mt. Nebo has traditionally been known as the highest hill in elevation in Athens County, Ohio; however, geologists now know it is a few feet shorter than another hill in the county. But who quibbles about that? Mt. Nebo stands head and shoulders above a lot of high places in a paranormal reputation that you probably have never heard of. I certainly had not, but from the moment I did, I was intrigued. I just had to look into it and write an article.
I visited Ohio University's Robert E. and Jean R. Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections in Athens and perused their "spook file" which contains archived articles, etc., of the paranormal in Athens County. Their copy of Dr. J. Everett's 1853 book on this subject was a copy which was very hard to read. A search of the Internet turned up a readable copy in the online archives of the State Library of Ohio Rare Books.
I found it quite curious that in Everett's book, spirits are attributed with talking about electromagnetic energy as their means of manifesting as well as pulling matter together to materialize. I wonder if people in 1853 would have known about or even thought about such concepts in order to give credence in possibly defrauding the public in these events. Personally, I think something really bizarre did happen there. Dr. Everett put his reputation on the line in publishing his book. I always add the risk factor in on deciding whether someone is telling the truth or not. Skeptics risk nothing in merely saying something isn't so, but a person with a report is risking everything.
If you are not as intrigued now as I am, you really should be. You'll find my article here.
