More on Newburg Inn Hauntings and the CLPS

I'd like to start off by apologizing for the glut of "ghost" posts on WeirdNazareth.com lately. I realize not everyone is a fan. But that's just how the ball is bouncing right now. Anyway, as we, and the Express Times, posted earlier this month, a local paranormal investigation team, the City Lights Paranormal Investigation Society, surveyed the Newburg Inn. Now they've posted the result on their website here.

According to their summary they checked electromagnetic fields, temperature, and made audio recordings. Their conclusion is "Yes, the Newburg Inn is HAUNTED!!!"

I am just now discovering this group and their website. Their website is well organized and includes photos, text, upcoming events, and best of all, audio clips. Some of the investigation photos are a little disappointing as I find them too small and too dark to really see anything. But overall, it is a great site and worth checking out.

On their upcoming events schedule they have two events that Nazareth area folks may be interested in. First is an open discussion at the aforementioned Newburg Inn on Sept. 20 from 4-6pm. The second is a meet & greet at the Nazareth Library on Sept. 22 from 6-7:45pm.

We're excited to see what the CLPS has in store. And we hope they are able to cover some more Nazareth area locales. Please check out their site.

More Apparitions at Creekside Estates?

Brian P. continues his extended exposure photography in Upper Nazareth. He sees a "face" in one photo while it seems missing in another photo of the same area. What do you think? Comment below.

The Ghost of Monocacy Creek

We received a message from Brian P. of Upper Nazareth who noticed an apparition in an extended exposure photo he took. The photo was taken around midnight at Creekside Estates about a year ago. Brian says:

I took this one at about midnight just playing around with my camera (i have a Cannon Rebel XT). I did some research on how Nazareth used to be called Welagamika and was an indian settlement for thousands of years. I believe in the spiritual realm [& I'm] into nature. I took this picture behind my house. I kept it on my computer for about a year now, and decided I should do something with it. I love the WeirdNazareth website and find it interesting. The apparition is in the center of the picture. I believe this is a native female or some sort of spirit. I only cropped [the photo] and did nothing else to it. [The photo] appears to be lighter than midnight because it is a 30 second exposure. I would never think how I would see the ghost of the Monocacy Creek!

Thanks a bunch for the photos and information, Brian. Keep them coming.

Do you see the Ghost of the Monocacy Creek? Click the photo below to see it highlighted.

NEW! Weird Nazareth T-Shirt on Maker Diaries

It’s time for arts and crafts. If you hop over to the Maker Diaries you can find out how to make a Weird Nazareth T-shirt. We will be having some contests in the near future and these shirts will be part of the prizes. So stay tuned. It is pretty easy to make a swell silk-screened shirt with a little more than household objects and junk lying around. In fact, you’ll never have to leave the comfort of Nazareth in order to do this. The tools and materials list has everything that you need. You can buy silk screening supplies at online art supply places. Or you can try "doing it the ghetto way" (as they say south of Prospect Street) with items that you probably already have lying around the house. The big exception would be the photo emulsion kit, which can be obtained from an online art supply place or on eBay. It is not too expensive and it is an absolute must if you want to get a nice detailed design on your shirt.

Note: The instructable will show you how to make a Weirdnazareth.com shirt. If you wanted to make a News Over Coffee shirt or a Cockeyed.com shirt you are wasting your time here.

The basic principle here is that you're going to coat a mesh screen with some photosensitive goo, apply an opaque template, and expose the screen under light. The light will harden the exposed areas and leave the areas under the template soft and water soluble. Once the water-soluble stuff is washed away there will be what amounts to a very detailed stencil that you can use to print on paper, fabric, whatever.

So grab your smock and CLICK HERE to get started.

WeirdNazareth presents: MAKER DIARIES !

There really aren't enough blogs and websites on the internet. So we thought we'd create a new one. In the interest of highlighting the creative, mechanical, and industrial types in the Lehigh Valley we have created a branch of WeirdNazareth.com called Maker Diaries. On the Maker Diaries you'll (hopefully) find all kinds of how-to's, DIY projects, and photos of projects that people in the area, and beyond, have created. These may be things like, snowmen, art pieces, remodeling & home improvement projects, soapbox derby cars, novel methods of doing everyday tasks... basically anything.

Maker Diaries site is located HERE.

The site is intended to be interactive and reader driven. So if you have something that you'd be interested in showcasing please send us an e-mail. It can be as mundane as a step-by-step for sharpening lawn mower blades or as grandiose as making an ice sculpture. There are no rules. We want to see what you made and hear about how you did it.

We've posted a few of our own to get things started. But we want you to start sending us your ideas and projects.

What we're looking for:

1) Photos are key. At minimum, we want to see photos of your finished project. But we'd also like to see in-process photos and pictures that you've used for inspiration.

2) A little narrative would be nice. We're not expecting a 1500 word step-by-step how-to article (although that would be awesome if you have it). But we'd like to get an idea of how you completed your project, why you did it, what reaction you've got from it, etc.

3) No subject is too trivial. Lots of people don't know how to do simple, common things that you may take for granted. So why not transfer some knowledge. If you can help other people complete a task or attempt something they wouldn't normally attempt then it's a good thing.

Ghosts of the Dryland--Newburg Inn

Monday's Express-Times reported that the City Lights Paranormal Center, headed by Joe Ianetta, visited the Newburg Inn to investigate ghost sightings that have been reported there over the years. A quote from the article:

"The history of the inn includes a grim chapter of the capture of one Indian who was then hung among the rafters in that attic.

Apparently to some, he still hangs around in the bar as a shape and a source of high paranormal activity. Iannetta says he believes the hanged man is haunting the place of his unjust death to assert his innocence."

Not only are other ghosts mentioned ("a black man who greets people at the front door, another small man, a woman" . . . "and a former owner of the inn named Newt"), but also a doll that moves and an unplugged phone that rings! You can see the full article by Tony Nauroth here.

Ianetta took more than 60 hours of video at the inn and as of the time of the article, planned to review it. The manager of the Newburg Inn, Lou Basta, seems to take it all in stride, but Nauroth writes, "As for that disconnected phone that rings, Basta says, 'I don't answer it.' "

Have any of our readers seen ghosts at the Newburg Inn? Anywhere else? Tell us about it. Maybe those specters just want to be mentioned on the internet!

History note: Newburg was part of the area called the Dryland because of a dearth of creeks and springs between the present Brodhead Road and Nazareth.

Magic? Of Quartz!

crystals in a quartz stone found northwest of town

Many Nazareth people know at least the name Black Rock for the woods at the end of the Borough Park. Some have probably noticed the black rock it was named for, both under the stream and along Black Rock Road. Fewer will know that at one time people intended to grind the black rock--slate--into powder and start an industry there producing black mineral pigment.

But only people who are really paying attention notice that as you walk further back into the woods, the black rock stops and various-sized white rocks become more common. From the back half of Black Rock and on up the hill to the Indian Tower and Levis Road, white quartz is the predominant kind of loose stone, from medium-sized boulders to small pebbles, and in a small percentage of that quartz, there are tiny clear crystals, crystals of Nazareth quartz.

Silicon, the main element in quartz, is the second most common element on earth and some think it has spiritual qualities. Metaphysical practitioners say they use quartz for everything from protection and healing to energy storage and prediction. It is the most essential of all healing stones and no crystal healer would be without it. For believers in such things, these are powerful stones.

Even for the more mundane of us, quartz has a curious property. Try striking two pieces together in the dark and you will see what look like sparks. They're not sparks. The stone itself lights up as a result of the piezoelectric effect. Some Native Americans made rattles of very thin skin and pebbles of quartz inside so that when they shook them at night, the rattles lit up!

The Lenape people who preceded us on this land would have noticed the white and black rock so near the source of the Schoeneck. Quartz was significant to them. If it was of high quality, they made blades and weapons from it. They also used it to mark places and incorporated it into their ceremonial stone constructions. That, and the many springs, along with the cave, would probably have made Black Rock a very special, even sacred place for them.

Even technology of the 21st century needs and reveres natural quartz. The silicon chips in nearly all computers originate from pure quartz mined in North Carolina, near a little town called Spruce Pine [see BBC article here]. Quartz's special properties have put Spruce Pine "at the heart of a global billion dollar industry." It's a different kind of magic and a different kind of sacred, but those white stones scattered along the High Street extension still carry that silicon mystique into the internet era.

quartz stones on a path outside Nazareth

Colbert Report vs. Library vs. Tatamy Kid: Cage Match

Monday night, The Colbert Report had an update on their original Nazareth Library/Tatamy kid expose`. The video is posted below. Meanwhile, the Nazareth Memorial Library board president issued a memo (dated July 2009) to defend their position, clarify some 'facts,' and plug some George Orwell books.

In the interest of full disclosure, both members of the Weird Nazareth staff have library cards at the Nazareth library and find the Colbert Report videos humorous. Oh, yes, yes, and we both live within the Nazareth school district... nice try.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Dominic Philip's Book Habit
http://www.colbertnation.com/
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