 Welcome to Paranormality Magazine. Each week, Paranormality Magazine explores all 40 subjects from phantoms to UFOs and every cryptid creature in between. Each week, you are treated to a collection of well-researched and investigated stories, interviews and reports on cutting-edge paranormal projects and topics they know you crave. And here in the podcast, I share stories from the magazine to give you just a taste of what you receive in every issue. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Paranormality Magazine. We all have them, those pinch-me moments where we wake up one morning and wonder if the life we're living is real or not. Then we realize, much to our surprise and delight, that we are. That's what recently happened to Alexander Petticove. He's always had an interest in Bigfoot and other cryptids and was an aspiring filmmaker and avid outdoorsman. But, like many of us, he was working a job he hated and wasn't sure how to take those passions and make them a career. Jason Hewlett from Paranormality Magazine brings us the story. Sometimes it feels like it just kind of happened, says Petticove. Five years ago, I was miserable and working some job I hated and making cryptid documentaries on the side, and now I just get to do this. Indeed, Petticove has melded his passion for cryptids, the outdoors and film together in the form of the Small Town Monsters series Bigfoot Beyond the Trail, which features Petticove's investigations into Sasquatch sightings across North America. His work is also featured prominently in other Small Town Monsters productions, such as On the Trail of Bigfoot, Land of the Missing, and On the Trail of Champ, which documented his deep dive, so to speak, into the monster alleged to lurk within Lake Champlain. Now he's front and center in a new limited series for the Small Town Monster YouTube channel called Dark Coast, Hunt for the Alaskan Bigfoot, a spin-off of sorts from last years On the Trail of Bigfoot Last Frontier, and episodes from Beyond the Trail, which found Petticove and fellow filmmaker Eli Watson investigating Sasquatch sightings at a cabin on the Alaskan Coast, otherwise known as Area A. Petticove spent a month in Alaska earlier this summer and worked on several projects, but the two weeks he spent back at Area A were the main focus of his work. He says the six-part series is indeed a hunt for the elusive Bigfoot, but not in the sense some might think. It's not hunting in that I'm physically hunting with a gun, he says, adding that's not the way he operates. We were out there researching and see what we could turn up, and studying the landscape more than what we did last year. Episodes chronicle Petticove's and other investigators' day-to-day experiences at the cabin, with each episode covering a day or two out of the two weeks spent in Area A. I'm really excited to show people that area in a new light, says Petticove. Not just a new light, but a new season. The previous investigation featured in the Alaskan Coastal Bigfoot episodes of Beyond the Trail was filmed more in the winter. Being early summer, the terrain is much lusher, and therefore, as a viewer, it's even easier to believe a creature like Bigfoot could be lurking in the dense in remote forests just out of view of researchers. While the previous expedition saw Petticove, Watson, and other researchers venturing out at night, Dark Coast provides a different ambiance. Sequences feature the team conducting research at midnight, while the sun is still out. This provides fascinating insight into just how rugged and different life in the 49th state is compared to the rest of the United States. When we were there last year, we had exceptionally good weather for the coastal Kenai Peninsula, which is a temperate rainforest. We had almost seven straight days of sunshine, which is not typical, he says. When we were at the cabin this time, we had almost eleven straight days of rain and foggy conditions. You couldn't see the mountains at a lot of points. Hence the title Dark Coast. With the fogged-in vistas and almost constant rain, the weather adds an ominous layer to this expedition into the Alaskan Bigfoot. It doesn't really get dark at that time of year in June in the Kenai Peninsula, but from midnight to about four in the morning, if you're in the woods and the fog is rolling in, you still need a light to be able to see what you're doing, says Petticove. Petticove filmed additional content for Beyond the Trail while in Alaska, including an episode on the Alaska Bigfoot Highway, which documents the filmmaker's journey along the Alaska Highway from Dawson's Creek in British Columbia, Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Sasquatch-related stories he encountered along the way. So how did Petticove get from a job he hated due to spending weeks on the remote Alaskan wilderness searching for Bigfoot? Like many researchers, be they of cryptids or ghosts, Petticove had an interest in Bigfoot and other monsters as a child. This interest waned a bit while in college and after he graduated and entered the workforce. He never lost his love of the outdoors and kept his passion for filmmaking alive by shooting freelance and marketing videos and weddings on the side, although he found the work creatively unfulfilling. Finally, he decided that he'd make his own cryptid documentaries and publish them on his own YouTube channel. Loch Ness became the focus of his first documentary. The project came to life during a few days spent in Scotland while on a longer trip to Europe to visit his extended family. Petticove says the idea struck him while shooting footage of the Loch and interviewing locals about the famous monster. He uploaded the 11-minute-long mystery of Loch Ness to YouTube and Small Town Monsters founder Seth Breedlove discovered it. Breedlove approached Petticove about screening the film at his Minerva Monster Day event. And that's how I got to know Seth a number of years ago, says Petticove. Breedlove put his faith in Petticove and approached him about making a series for Small Town Monsters. This led to Petticove making on the trail of chimp. In the meantime, he was making his own Bigfoot documentary called Sasquatch Out of the Shadows on YouTube. This introduced him to various Bigfoot researchers and instilled in him a love for getting out in the field. His passions for the outdoors, cryptids and filmmaking were officially merged. One thing led to another and Petticove found himself working on more and more projects for Small Town Monsters. This eventually led to Bigfoot beyond the trail and now Dark Coast. The appeal of Petticove's work and the entire Small Town Monsters catalog of films is that they are true documentaries. Unlike many television programs about the paranormal and monsters, they aren't trying to convince you that these things are real, nor is anything played up for the camera. Petticove says it's all about being objective. Here's what happened. If we didn't have anything happened, we're not going to make it up and say that we did, he says. Some people love that and some people hate that. Given the fan feedback for his work, more people love it. Many send Petticove their own Bigfoot sightings or data they've researched on their own. This creates more fuel for future episodes and expeditions, he says. I've got a lot of people who are into nature message me saying, I'm not into Bigfoot but I've watched your stuff and it was really compelling in terms of natural scenery and all that stuff, he says. The positive feedback, an ever increasing number of Bigfoot sightings being reported, means Petticove's three passions, the outdoors, Sasquatch and making movies, will keep him on the trail of the monster and its like for a long time to come. The hills and valleys of the Sonoma and Napa valleys are beautiful. They are full of rolling hills covered in large vineyard estates and tasting rooms with recognizable names like Charles Crug, Sutter Hum and Cake Bread Sellers. Visitors come from around the world to visit this little corner of Northern California about an hour north of San Francisco to enjoy the scenery, the fine dining and the wines that made the region famous. It is doubtful that many tourists coming to this area think much about ghosts or anything of that sort. The vacations in this region are intended to be light and free of any thoughts of mortality or the things that lurk in the shadows. However, this area has a rich and vibrant history that includes revolutionaries, soldiers, prostitutes and minors before the modern Vintners arrived. Such characters were bound to leave residual energy behind. Pure Normality magazine's Billy White tells us about the wine country spirits in Sonoma, California. Walking the streets of Sonoma, California today, visitors can stop in and sample award-winning cheeses and wines. They can also purchase upscale and designer clothing or sit down to a fine dining experience at one of the many restaurants that line the downtown streets along the plaza. It might be easy to miss the old mission along with the historic buildings sitting inside a state park across the street from the center plaza. It might be easy to ignore the statue of the man sitting on a bench facing the historic Toscano Hotel. Possibly if one doesn't know the names of all the towns in the surrounding area, it might be easy to not realize how the building across the street from the beautiful plaza played a key role in a short-lived revolution and how the people who lived there over 150 years ago set the stage for the California that exists today. It is especially easy to miss the historic buildings if visiting a state park does not align with your reason for visiting the area, shopping, dining, wine tasting. Those who do step into the state park with its old hotel, soldiers' barracks and mission typically find themselves alone, or maybe they just think they are alone. For all of its modern beauty, luxury and convenience, Sonoma was a town originally built on blood and misery, so it's no wonder that it would still have a few ghosts remaining behind. Sonoma, as we know, was originally established as the Mission San Francisco Solano by Father Jose Altimira. The Mission San Francisco Solano was the 21st mission established by the Spanish in California. It was also the last mission that was built with its construction beginning in 1823. With its construction in 1823, it was also the only mission to be built after Mexico's independence from Spain. Spanish missions in the conquest of the West is full of tales of atrocities, bloodshed and oppression. However, what happened at the Mission San Francisco Solano is shocking by any standard. It is fair to say that every haunted location has a tragic story behind it. However, the whipping tree at the Mission San Francisco Solano is a location that may be haunted by just the residual horrendous torture and sorrow of the location rather than any remaining spirits. At the mission, there is a specific 400-year-old tree that was used for literal beatings of the enslaved people of the mission. It is said that when Altimira would order punishments for a wide variety of reasons such as leaving the mission or even being late to religious services. If Altimira decided that an individual was going to receive a punishment at the whipping tree, they were chained to the tree for three days and three nights after being whipped 40 times. While being chained to the tree, they were not allowed any food or water. This punishment was one that many people did not survive. Many people who visit the tree report feeling an overwhelming sense of despair and doom, which is reasonable considering what happened there. Others report hearing the cries of women possibly crying for their loved ones. The reign of Altimira did not last forever. His viciousness was overthrown in 1826 after an uprising by the enslaved people at the mission. Some of the mission's original buildings were burned down and Altimira, fearing for his life, retreated to the mission San Rafael Archangel. Eventually, Altimira returned to Spain. However, there have been reports of a ghostly priest who walks the halls of the mission. Some claim that it is Altimira, but in demon form since he was so terrible in life. Others claim it is the spirit of another priest who resided there after Altimira departed. The whipping tree may be a visual and visceral remnant of the atrocities that occurred at the mission San Francisco Sonoma, but there are other remnants that aren't so visible, that are literally right beneath your feet. Unfortunately, many people died in the building of the mission. Many of these individuals died directly at the hands of those who were in power. And even though Altimira had forced conversions on the enslaved people, proper burials were not put in place. While there's one marker commemorating one mass grave, historians believe that there must be at least two graves somewhere in the area. It's been speculated by those who have mapped the area that one grave lies beneath what is now the very popular Sonoma Plaza. The mission San Francisco Solano is definitely not the only haunted location in Sonoma, and not all of the ghost stories are as deeply tragic and horrifying as those surrounding the mission. The Solano State Park has one building that is still closed, but is known for its ghosts. The rangers with the State Park have reported that they've encountered many spirits in the ruins of the Blue Wing Inn. The adobe that makes up the Blue Wing Inn sits across from the mission's park. It's believed that it was constructed to house soldiers who were stationed in Sonoma during its play-blow days. The Blue Wing is housed soldiers, miners, prostitutes, and a wide variety of other visitors to the area, and some of them clearly left pieces of their spirits behind. One spirit roaming the halls of the Blue Wing was at first reported to be a pirate with his dog. However, local ghost hunters and historians did some more research and concluded that rather than a pirate, this spirit must belong to one of the previous owners, a sailor who was shot to death by a teacher on the property. Possibly the dog's spirit joined him later. There's also reportedly a working woman on the property who carries a lantern and likes to visit the rooms of couples. However, the two most reported spirits aren't actually seen so much as felt. Many people report feeling one presence that makes them feel light and happy. However, they say there's another presence that, when encountered, makes them feel sad and hopeless. When on vacation, it is tempting and easy to focus on the surface levels of the area that you're visiting. If you're in wine country, you focus on the wine and the food. However, don't forget that every area has a history and story behind it. Sometimes those stories are extremely dark pasts. Possibly the beautiful area that you are visiting has some extremely tragic ghosts lingering behind. Want more paranormality? Subscribe to Paranormality Magazine and each month get it delivered digitally or via mail in our print version. Paranormality Magazine is a collaborative endeavor featuring works from people like you who have a passion for all things mysterious and unexplained. Our goal is the pursuit of knowledge gathering captivating stories from our own team of writers, researchers and investigators, as well as from writers such as yourself. Each monthly issue also includes a list of paranormal, horror, UFO and cryptozoology events around the country, incredible paranormal themed artwork, articles and writing sent in from our readers, suggested books and podcasts to consume and more. Visit ParanormalityMag.com and subscribe today for as little as $3.99 a month. That's ParanormalityMag.com. ParanormalityMag.com Smag dab in the middle of Park County, Indiana, the crossroads of America, rests the quiet town of Rockville. Just shy of 2,500 residents, the area is well known for its annual covered bridge festival and its proximity to the derelict Indiana State Sanatorium, 3.9 miles away to be exact, attracting ghost hunters and urban explorers alike. But the town itself is worthy of investigation, as Justy Beth tells us. The town's old jail in was built in 1879 to accommodate the sheriff and the county crooks, operating for over 140 years before it shut its doors in 1998. Remodeled in 2009, the nine-cell jail became a themed bed and breakfast with colorful accommodations for honeymooners, birthday parties and weekenders. Guests can stay in themed cells, including a Thelma and Louise themed cell, gangster themed cells, an Elvis Presley paraphernalia cell, and even a former booking cell themed Indian motorcycle garage. Guests can enjoy a spacious shared kitchen, TV lounge area and patio, free wifi and a beauty shop on the first floor. All cells include original barred jail cell doors, a bare bones stainless steel shared bathroom, and a double or queen-sized bed. Even the benches in the lobby are original jail cell cuts. For those who want a king-sized bed and a private bathroom, top floor suites, aptly named the Harley-Davidson Suite and the Bonnie and Clyde Suite, offer an added level of privacy and historical authenticity. Their repurposed iron doors are from a World War II battleship. The privacy comes with a bit of a catch, though. These suites used to house seven to ten of the worst offenders at a time, think murder, burglary, arson, hence the iron doors, and are rumored to be haunted. With hundreds of occupants doing time over its 140 years in operation, it's not at all surprising that the old jail in has its fair share of paranormal activity. Paranormal investigators and regular visitors alike have witnessed light orbs, disembodied voices, footsteps, and cell doors slamming shut on their own. One of the owners of the inn often hears her name being called when nobody else is present in the building. There's one documented suicide in the jail from 1978 when an inmate known only as Earl lit himself on fire in a padded cell upstairs, which is now a privately owned apartment. One of the most unique aspects of the Italianate style old jail is the thousands of colorful monikers guests have scribbled throughout the space. Encouraged to leave their mark, visitors from over 20 different countries have left behind both silly and sinister messages, with colorful sharpies on the walls throughout the jail. If you look closely, you'll find many messages on the walls left for Earl by visitors over the years. Considered one of the top three historic places on travelindiana.com and top five unique sleeps on visitindiana.com, the inn also operates a speakeasy style wine tasting bar in the basement. The drunk tank winery is open to the public, and visitors can still see the original underground tunnel which connected the jail to the courthouse across the street. The old jail inn is a one-of-a-kind, pleasantly spooky, and surprisingly affordable place to be booked for the night, whether you're bar hopping, honeymooning, or urban exploring down the road. As Elvis once said, the band's still jumping and the joint still swings. If you listen carefully, you can still hear the knocked-out jail birds sing. The spring sun shows me your shadow. The spring wind bears me your breath. You're mine for a passing moment. But I am yours to the death. An excerpt from Chimera by Rosamond Marriott Watson. Imagine living your life in a dark fog filled with death, sadness, and pain. Sounds pretty terrible when you picture it. Sadly, these themes often defined the daily lives of people living in the Victorian era. Young people rarely made it to adolescence. Men went off to war that would never return. People succumbed to a myriad of illnesses, and many endured daily pain due to the lack of modern medical treatment. Death slowly became a regular guest in many homes. The very fabric of popular culture became completely saturated by the act of mourning and insatiable desire to breach the veil between this life and the next. Paranormality magazine's Gina Black brings us the Victorian ghost phenomenon. I found it interesting that in many reports of hauntings, people described seeing a spirit dressed in Victorian clothing. Top hats, suits, and long ruffled gowns seem to dominate the paranormal sightings prompting many to question why. It's a good question to theorize about. Why Victorians and not spirits from literally any other time period? Why don't we see an influx of spirits from the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 2000s? These decades held tragedy, disease, drug epidemics, and war. The question is mysterious and perplexing. I've come up with a few personal theories of my own. Perhaps you might agree with one. The concept of spirits hanging around due to unfinished business is a popular theory. While this can apply to any spirit, we can draw some connections to the magnitude of short life expectancies at this time. As I mentioned in my opening statements, folks did not live long, healthy lives. Children died unexpectedly due to malnutrition, bacteria infections, and disease. Oftentimes, these deaths were brutal and sudden. The prospect of a child sticking around simply because they have no idea that they have died is a horrible thought, but perhaps a likely reason for the hauntings. When it comes to adolescence and adults perishing from similar circumstances, we can wonder what circumstances in their life could have left them feeling the need to hold on to the world they left too soon. Essentially departing was so much more to live for, perhaps many felt they had a long list of things that went unaccomplished. Another idea that makes sense to me is the fact that people were very involved in seeking afterlife communications during this time period. Would it be so much of a stretch to conclude that this popular awareness caused many souls to linger around in order to remain in contact with living loved ones? The Victorian era ushered in a new movement known as spiritualism. The rise of this contemporary spiritual trend swept the United States in the midst of the 1840s. Many spiritual mediums, psychics, and spiritually sensitive folks claimed to have insight into communicating with the afterlife. Seances became a popular pastime across the country, as many would have done anything in order to have just one more communication with a dearly departed loved one. This practice was so common it even took place in the White House after the untimely death of President Abraham Lincoln. Countless deaths from the civil war, disease, and untreated illnesses prompted families to partake in the macabre practice in their own homes. Americans were constantly met with tragedy and death on a regular basis, so could it be possible that the average psyche was so affected by death that people made conscious decisions to stay behind? What if time spent on the other side has something to do with manifestations? Let me explain. There is an iconic scene from the popular 1990 film Ghost starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore that stands out in my mind when it comes to this theory. A scene I'm referring to is when Patrick Swayze's character meets another spirit who shows him how to move physical objects by channeling his emotions. I wonder if the Victorian ghost phenomenon is simply because these spirits have had more time on the other side to learn how to develop the ability to manifest themselves and harness their energy. It would make sense that a spirit who passed in recent times might still be learning how to hone those skills. Perhaps in 20 or 30 years we might begin to hear more reports of apparitions wearing sweatpants, baseball caps, and cardigans. It is a common belief within the paranormal community that spirits can attach themselves to objects. This connection can be made with a favorite doll, a beloved piece of furniture, or even a physical memento such as a lock of hair. Speaking of which, did you know that Victorians had a macabre obsession with samples of deceased people's hair? Yep, you heard that right. An obsession. It was extremely common for a lock of hair to be used to create a piece of ornate jewelry or a wreath. Tiny flowers and intricate woven patterns were oftentimes made from the hair. These were either framed or added to brooches or lockets to provide a physical reminder for the mourning family. Another popular eerie funeral custom was to take post-mortem photographs which sometimes depicted the departed in lifelike positions alongside other living relatives. Other examples are more natural, which display the corpse in a coffin surrounded by funeral flowers. These portraits would become a permanent fixture in the Victorian home after the service concluded to help remind family of their deceased loved ones. Would it be outlandish then to think some of these personal items might just be the catalyst which link a spirit to the natural world? Remnants of these mementos are evident today on websites such as Etsy and eBay. My last theory is the concept that we are not witnessing spirits at all. Perhaps we are seeing a glimpse into the past. It is our understanding that time is linear with a clear timeline extending from the past to the present. But what if time was not linear and timelines exist independently of one another? What if the spirits we perceive to be in our space are not there at all? What if our timeline is somehow colliding with this era and we are perceiving it the only way our brains can compute? My reasoning for this is based on some accounts I have researched regarding paranormal interactions. A story that stands out to me is one from an old tuberculosis hospital. An investigator was walking through a dark corridor towards some operating rooms. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed a full-body apparition of a female nurse walking towards him in early 1900s clothing. She seemed to notice him too. They stared at one another for a moment in astonishment. Her reaction and expression suggested that he must have looked just as out of place as he felt she did. In an instant she was gone. As controversial as it sounds, many scientific minds are pondering this kind of prospect. There have been some recent studies suggesting that there is much to learn about how time works and if there is more to the topic than meets the eye. It is certainly a possibility that could turn the paranormal as we know it completely upside down. Overall, there are countless theories floating around that could very well explain the root of our experiences with the paranormal. These are just a few ideas I like to lean towards. The phenomenon of the Victorian ghost may be unexplained, but we can all agree it is rather sad. It is a topic shrouded in tragedy whose haunting reminders echo throughout time. Perhaps one day we may have the answers to the perplexing possibilities. The more inquiring minds that focus on the paranormal will eventually push the field into realms of further understanding these great mysteries. Mysteries of the elusive and haunting apparitions that do not seem to be fading away. Thanks for listening to Paranormality Magazine. Get more information about the magazine and subscribe to our monthly publication at ParanormalityMag.com. That's ParanormalityMag.com or click the link in the show description. And if you're a researcher or investigator, send us your stories. We might feature you in our next issue. If you have a paranormal podcast, you can add it to our website so our readers can find your show. And artists, if you'd like your work to be featured in our magazine or on our back cover, contact us. Again, our website is ParanormalityMag.com. I'm Darren Marlar and I'll have more paranormal for you next time. From Paranormality Magazine.