A note from the editor:
Just kidding. I'm not serious enough for that.
Now, let me start here- I'm not a scientific type of investigator (thought I know some), I'm no expert at geothermal changes or manifestations (thought I know some), and I in no way want to lead anyone to believe that I am anything other than an ordinary civilian with paranormal tastes. I have done a few ghost adventures of my own, seen a few things for myself and spent basically my entire life looking up different ghost stories in books, online and in print.
What I always thought was this: Out of all of the books (probably at least 25 about paranormal Michigan alone) they all are mostly interview style, word of mouth or rumors of places. Most of the books will say something the likes of "reports say..." or "I interviewed someone who said the basement is creepy" and that's cool but never enough. I always wanted to hear about actual experiences, not word of mouth from a word on a page. I wanted to read YOUR experiences in a book you wrote about haunted places and spaces. I don't (always) want to read a compilation of word of mouth stories about people you met once who think they saw a ghostly mist or heard a footstep after the bar was closed. (Note: not the throw shade here- it just seems less cool to not report your own findings but I do still buy the books.)
Ya know?
So I started thinking about this zine, and how I would like to base it on my own experiences or of those that I trust by way of interviews, expose and their first-hand accounts here. It will be me (and possibly friends) looking up places, researching and heading out, talking to others while there and actually looking and hoping to find out own moments of the paranormal type. It will be my own stories in my own words of places that I have actually gone to. No he said/she said stuff. I'm talkin' ghosts, specters, mystics, haunted spaces, devil's gates, untouchables, mental hospitals, old bars and hotels, psychics, Ouija, spirits, cemeteries, historical sites- all the stuff.
In the pro circles they call experiences "Crossing the Veil". In regular terms, the veil is what separates us from the other side, and those with abilities or experiences are referred to as having crossed it. It's easier to think of the veil as a communication method. In my life the most common experiences I have are called shadow people. Shadow people are the figures you see out of the corner of your eye at any given time and when you look to confirm a person's being there, they're gone. Most people just say "your mind is playing tricks on you" but but I'm not positive that your mind can put shadows in your side vision that causes your gut to feel that sense of something else there.
Because this is my medium, Shadow Places was named. And here we are. I hope you find intrigue and potentially test your own adventurous limits by any one of my page's stories. I'd love to hear more stories, learn of more places and see (literally) everything. I'd love to meet you. I'd love to hear your first-hand accounts. Feel free to send me recommendations, ideas, thoughts and stories.
