Jan 7, 2008

GHOST WALK: More to Lewiston than meets the eye


As twilight began to creep across the evening sky, I found myself standing among a crowd of about 30 other ghost seekers at the Lewiston Visitor’s Center with camera in hand, anxious and uncertain of what would unfold in the next 90 minutes.
With the promise of ghost lore, stories of the paranormal, earth energies, and UFOs to boot, the historical Ghost Walks of Lewiston sounded like something straight out of an episode of “X-Files.” Presented with the opportunity to take part in my own adventure, I was intrigued. However, my hopes of catching a my own X-File onto my digital memory card were dashed within the first few minutes, as tour guide and supernatural historian Mason Winfield explained right off the bat how rare ghost sightings are.

Putting a unique spin on the paranormal and challenging the popular revengeful ghost stereotype, Winfield went on to reject the plot of the movie “Ghost,” arguing that for the most part, spirits are pretty docile. “The Hollywood reason ghosts come back is because of unfinished business,” he said. “Real-life witnesses have seen people doing ordinary things.

They have come a long way to finish mopping the floor.”
On that note, we were off to our first stop known to have things go bump in the night. The red, two-floor structure on Center Street was formerly home to Hotchkiss Enterprises, which in its heyday included a quarry business, a casket manufacturing operation and possibly even a funeral home. With such a morbid history, it was surprising to see the building still in use, housing the offices of Hunt Realty.

If by some chance I did end up seeing a ghost in Lewiston, odds were she’d be dressed in a long flowing white dress, the town’s No. 1 reoccurring supernatural vision. Even though the little girl ghost image is the top sighting in North America, due to the warlike history of the region, Winfield surmised this could have much to do with why more visions of pallid women are reported here than anywhere else.
Perhaps it was the story of a pasty woman carrying a parasol and strolling back and forth in the second floor Hunt building window, or the accounts of papers being rustled and the sound of footsteps walking around. Or maybe it was the combination of the setting sun mixed with the fact we were standing no more than 30 yards away from where dead bodies were once carted back and forth.

Whatever it was, it was a nice feeling when we started walking again.
As our pack moved through the streets, dodging cars and taking second looks at deepening shadows of the rising moon, there were still no observable signs of paranormal activity. As we walked the hilly inclines of pavement, Winfield continued to narrate stories peppered with historical fact and a dose of the supernatural.

by www.thesupernaturalworld.co.uk

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