Welcome to my new blog, I’m very excited about it. If you already know me from one of my other blogs, or from reading one of my books, you might think I’m jumping off of a cliff here. Don’t worry. This blog is about two curiosities and passions of mine, traveling and the paranormal. I promise you, I haven’t gone crazy.
Well, maybe a little. What fun would life be without a wild side?
I have always been curious about the paranormal, and my wife and I have traveled a lot over the years to unique and interesting locations throughout Europe. During our adventures, we’ve had many strange experiences–some that are mystifying, and others that are truly unsettling, such as an experience we had in Bad Wimpfen, German.
I’ve been blogging for years about things I thought others would be interested in, and I’ve had immense pleasure doing that, but this blog, as selfish as it might sound, is for me, to document my travels and the paranormal experiences I’ve had. I’ve hesitated for a long time to start this blog, and now I’m finally doing it.
You’re more than welcome to join me, follow my chronicles, view the photographs, and examine my paranormal evidence, whether it be in the form of direct personal experiences or rare photographic documentation.
By the way, I have thousands of personal photos of locations all over Europe, of castles, ruins, cities, rural areas, and hidden gems, and I always thought it was a shame not to share some of the most fascinating. Now, finally, I have a place where I can share them with you.
You’ve probably heard of many of the locations I’ll write about, and perhaps, you’ve even been to some of the places, but, my friend, some of the spots in these famous locations are off the beaten path and you may not have known these places even existed, much less that they could be haunted. They do, and they are.
In fact, the week after the famous Ghost Hunters team from the Syfy TV channel visited Reichenstein castle in Germany (Season 1 Episode 6 international version), my wife and I visited Reichenstein and the lesser-known neighboring castle, Rheinstein. Purely, on a lark, my wife and I captured more evidence than the Ghost Hunters crew did! Not to mention, we took some great photos of both castles.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Here’s a great example of “off the beaten path,” you may have heard of the world-famous German town, Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Founded in 1274, it boasts magnificent original medieval buildings and still has much of the original fortified wall that surrounded the old town. It has a famous Christmas market in the winter and Christmas stores that stay open all year. You might already know those things, but did you know that one could accidentally go into part of the fortified wall that is not meant for tourists (or most anyone else for that matter)? Well, neither did I.
My wife, Joan, and I parked in the wrong place, far away from where we should have been, and we didn’t realize that the remote door we happened upon led into part of the old town wall. We thought it simply led through to an opening on the other side. Let me tell you, this part of our trip was not planned and we ended up having a paranormal experience of a lifetime. You can see the unassuming entrance in the picture below. Okay, looking at it now, it clearly has the “DO NOT ENTER” feel to it, even the door is off the hinges! (I’ll explain the full story in the upcoming post about this location.)
It was scary inside this part of the wall, not just because there was weird stuff going on, but in our fright, we got lost and could not find our way out again. As frightened as we were, I did manage to take photos! I can’t wait to share them with you. It’s highly likely you’ve never seen photos from inside the part of the wall where we were and, as I mentioned, the same goes for many of the other uncommon places in the other famous locations I’ll share with you on this blog. Joan and I have a knack for finding and exploring obscure and secluded places, even in the most well-known areas.
Joan and I have a knack for finding and exploring obscure and secluded places, even in the most well-known areas.
My Life With The Paranormal (This is Not New For Me)
I’ve been fascinated by the paranormal ever since I was a child. When I was younger I was frequently visited by shadow figures. They came to me in my bedroom, as I walked to school, and in the forest outside my childhood home. At first, they were hidden in dark corners and other hard to spot places, but eventually, they showed themselves more boldly. My parents told me I was just having night terrors. They were right in that they were terrors, but they turned out to be real terrors!
The shadow figures would later visit me as an adult as well. But shadow figures, which I call “Wee-Jees,” are only one type of spirit or “ghost” that have visited me. I guess you could say I have some sensitive abilities, which means I can sense, and sometimes see and hear, otherworldly beings, such as spirits, but thankfully my abilities are mild. I named the shadow figures, “Wee-Jees,” because when I saw the figures in the forest I heard a dreadful disembodied voice say, “W e e – J e e s.”
The good news as far as my abilities being mild or underdeveloped is that I am not constantly bombarded by spirits. However, the bad news is that it is so unpredictable that when I feel or see a ghost I often panic. Not always, mind you, but there are times when I can feel something is evil (or just plain odd) and I freak out. I’m getting better at not overreacting, though. It’s a work in progress. (I’ve been saying that for years.)
When spirits realize I can feel or ‘see’ them it can get crazy and some won’t leave me alone, such as the spirit that was in one of my bedrooms. The spirit in my bedroom scared me the first few times it made itself known to me, but after a while, it started to become mischievous when I tried to ignore it, such as putting pressure on my bed sheets or pulling them off of me when I slept. It got to the point I had to sleep in the living room. I’ll share that experience with you in a new post soon. My landlord eventually told me a story about someone dying who lived in that apartment, so I’m pretty sure I know who the spirit was. I wish he would’ve told me before I moved in!
Let me just say, that’s how the spirit world is—it’s frightening at first, but after you get used to it, it can be interesting, educational, entertaining, startling, emotional, terrifying, mischievous, and in some cases, downright annoying (if they’re playful and won’t leave you alone)! You’ll better understand what I mean as I share my stories with you.
I’ve often thought about sharing my paranormal experiences with the world, so I recently published a book about my childhood experiences with the Wee-Jees. I wasn’t going to create a website for the book, or the paranormal, for that matter, but when a photographer and I visited the locations where the events took place and we captured anomalies in our pictures, I had to post them and share them with the world. I posted the photos on my writing blog PositiveWriter.com and the post instantly went viral! In just a couple of weeks, it’s been shared nearly 4000 times! I was shocked, and I suddenly realized that sharing my experiences and evidence might not be such a crazy idea.
When that post went viral (I reposted it for you), I decided I should take the leap and start this blog! I mean, I’ve had a lot of experiences with the paranormal and they’ve almost always shown up in the places I’ve visited. So, I have a lot to share with you, and in some cases, I have photographic evidence! The photo evidence is great, but I’ll warn you that it’s also rare. Most of my evidence is in the personal experience category. But now that I’ve started this blog, I’m going to attempt to open myself up more when I go visit places.
Admittedly, I’m cautious about opening myself up to the spirit world or of trying to improve my sensitive abilities. I’m not sure I can handle too much of their direct attention. I’m okay in this current status-quo and just catching glimpses of them and I fear going too far. I’ll take baby steps and see where this new ambition to document my travels and the paranormal leads. Already I’ve had an unintended close call. I simply wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t expect the direct nature of the contact.
Clearly, I’m an amateur at capturing paranormal evidence and documenting my travels, so this will be a learning experience and I hope you help me improve with feedback. My travels have been mainly for recreation and most of my otherworldly encounters have been by chance. I’m not a ghost hunter or paranormal investigator. I’m doing this purely to satisfy my own curiosity. Although I admit, I’m a huge fan of the TV shows, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Kindred Spirits, and a show that ended a while ago, Paranormal State. I began watching those shows to help me understand myself and my paranormal experiences better, and in that respect, there have been moments in those shows where I recognized similar experiences.
It’s most often when I don’t expect anything, when I’m not paying attention and my guard is down, that I’m most open and find myself feeling the spiritual presence of the otherworldly. In the TV shows, they seem to have most of the activity when they’re calling out to spirits. I have yet to have much success that way, but admittedly I haven’t given it a lot of effort either. I’ll see how it goes, but if I’m honest, I am not interested in antagonizing spirits–who knows what could happen!
Where Exactly?
I’m very excited to share with you some of the places I’ve already visited and below are just a few of the locations I’ll be writing about soon. I recommend that you subscribe so that you don’t miss any of them (you can do that in the sidebar on a desktop or scroll below if you’re on a mobile device). I do plan on revisiting some of the places in order to get better photography because this blog wasn’t planned so I didn’t always take photos. (Okay, that’s also an excuse to take trips back to some of these locations!)
Here are the places at the top of my list I’m eager to share with you:
- Efteling in the Netherlands. It’s the largest amusement park in Europe. I captured photographic evidence!
- Domrémy-la-Pucelle, France: The birthplace of Jeanne d’Arc or, as she’s better known in most of the world, Joan of Arc. My wife and I both had profound experiences at her home, especially in her garden where Joan of Arc first heard voices, and in the unforgettable little church next to her home. The house and church are the original structures and are approx. 600 years old! I experienced something in that church which I still can’t explain and it moved me deeply.
- Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. This is one of the most famous towns in Germany. It still retains its original medieval architecture. As I mentioned, Joan and I accidentally ended up walking into the interior of the fortified wall which still surrounds much of the town. I think you’ll love the photos.
- The Citadel of Bitche, France. You’ll never believe what is located under the little church in this 17th-century citadel! I took photos, so you’ll soon see for yourself.
- Eltz Castle, Germany. When we visited this 11th-century castle, I had no clue it was well known for being haunted! I saw something there that still gives me chills. Walking to the castle was an experience in itself. (Hint, you walk along a cliff!)
- Berlin, Germany. This is a city I want to return to, and yet, at the same time, I hope I never do. The city has a feeling that for me is off the charts. If I ever felt I had a true and deep connection with the spiritual world, it’s in Berlin! As Joan and I walked the streets, there were some streets I could not make myself walk down, simply because the spiritual pressure was so overwhelming and, if I’m honest, it was too frightening!
- Amsterdam, Netherlands. Let’s just say, a lot! There’s a lot I’ve experienced in the Netherlands that I’ll be sharing with you.
That’s just the top locations I can think of. There are so many more I’m excited to share.
This is going to be fun!
I only ask that you keep in mind that this blog will not ever be “professional” in nature, nor will I try to make it more than what it is. It’s my paranormal travel journal, if you will. I will not try to make anyone a believer in the paranormal and I won’t put up with anyone trying to tell me what I should believe or what I should not believe. I don’t mean to be rude, but if someone doesn’t like what I post or totally disagrees with what I feel and believe then this site is not for them.
If you do enjoy someone else’s perspective and are interested in travel and the paranormal, then strap in, because we’re in for a heck of a ride together! You’ll discover unique European travel locations and some of my stories and evidence might make you think twice about visiting them or make you more eager to visit them.
However, apart from maybe one place, I recommend all the locations I have visited so far. Especially, Efteling! God, I love visiting Efteling. Even if we’ve seen an apparition there.
From my experience, the vast majority of spirits I have felt haven’t been menacing, most seem confused, curious, and just want a little attention. When I panic it is most often caused by my own issues and is not the fault of the spirits. The shadow figures from my childhood, the Wee-Jees, though, should be considered sinister, but they are the exception. (Those things are the reason I am so damn jumpy!)
I will try to post at least once a week and sometimes bi-weekly. Remember to subscribe so you can stay up to date with our adventures and bookmark this page in your browser.
Let’s have fun with this. I’m open to conversations and discussions, and for that, we’ll have them on Facebook. So, for each post, I will link to its related post on Facebook where you can comment and discuss to your heart’s content.
Thanks for joining me on this journey, I’m really looking forward to sharing with you!
~Bryan
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