tibetan book of the dead

Voices from the Dennison Crypt

DON’T MISS THE NYC PREMIERE OF JEFFREY STANLEY’S BONEYARDS AT BROOKLYN’S MORBID ANATOMY MUSEUM ON 2/27/15! DETAILS HERE.

A Shaheb’s Guide to India

shaheb – (India; also saheb, sahib; from the Hindi and Urdu sāhab, master; from Arabic ṣāḥib, companion; participle of ṣaḥiba, to become friends)

1. formerly, a term of respect for any male landowner

2. formerly, a term of respect for white European men during the British colonial era

3. (modern) any white person

Assume with me for a minute that ghosts really are, without a doubt, real. The dead really can contact us. EVPs/Raudive voices/ghost box voices are the real deal. That said, it follows that it’s pointless to try and get any decent EVP’s in a cemetery. Why would ghosts be hanging around a cemetery full of strangers when they can go back to their still-living families or the places that were near and dear to them in life? Sure, cemeteries can be creepy and I’m not sure I’d enjoy traipsing around in one at night, but really my belief is that they are generally ghost-free.

A still from the background looping slideshow in BONEYARDS.

Unless a particular grave or cemetery is historically believed to be haunted; then, it might be worth a look. Take the notorious Bachelor Grove Cemetery outside of Chicago which I plan to visit in March during my trek on the California Zephyr for my Amtrak Writers Residency. Or the Dennison family crypt in Kolkata’s South Park Street Cemetery, one of my favorite haunts in West Bengal, India. When I was last there earlier this month I took my trusty P-SB7 spirit box with me, the one I use live onstage in Boneyards, to check it out. Continue reading “Voices from the Dennison Crypt”

Boneyards EVP Log – 11/3/13

Before proceeding I strongly urge you to read and hear the 10/20/13 seance transcript and video regarding the “Buddhist exorcism” the audience and I attempted to conduct in an effort to help “V,” the spirit of a 2-year-old toddler, escape and pass through the door to Heaven in accordance with the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

During the next show on 11/2/13 I was happy not to have heard from V, as it hopefully meant our so-called exorcism was successful and she moved forward.

Boy was I wrong. The following (and final) show on 11/3/13 left me completely floored. This is one of those good Ouija board stories. No possessed kittens, no dire warnings of doom, but a truly positive and spiritual experience. The Ouija board at its best. Read on…

Before proceeding I strongly urge you to read and hear the 10/20/13 seance transcript and video regarding the “Buddhist exorcism” the audience and I attempted to conduct in an effort to help “V,” the spirit of a 2-year-old toddler, escape and pass through the door to Heaven in accordance with the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

During the next show on 11/2/13 I was happy not to have heard from V, as it hopefully meant our so-called exorcism was successful and she moved forward.

Boy was I wrong. The following (and final) show on 11/3/13 left me completely floored. This is one of those good Ouija board stories. No possessed kittens, no dire warnings of doom, but a truly positive and spiritual experience. The Ouija board at its best. Read on… Continue reading “Boneyards EVP Log – 11/3/13”

Boneyards EVP Log – 11/2/13

Ghost: “We’re human.” The Saturday night audience was a full house of Halloween weekend and Day of the Dead revelers. At the closing seance, bold audience volunteers Mike, Mel and Tara personed the Ouija board. The planchette was shooting all over the place but sadly all we got was strings of consonants over and over which made for a frustrating experience. It did confirm that it was not alone and that there were 7 of them in the room with us at that moment. If you’ve been following the previous seance posts you know there are at least 12 spirits (or subconscious ideomotor impulses, depending on your beliefs) in the building whom I have affectionately dubbed the Synagogue Saints. It’s not unusual for all 12 of them not to make a showing at once.

The Hindu God Shiva, or Mahakala as the Tibetan Buddhists call him, is a prominent presence in the show.

The Saturday night audience was a full house of Halloween weekend and Day of the Dead revelers. At the closing seance, bold audience volunteers Mike, Mel and Tara personed the Ouija board. The planchette was shooting all over the place but sadly all we got was strings of consonants over and over which made for a frustrating experience. It did say when I asked what it thought of the show, CLAP. Also it confirmed that it was not alone and that there were 7 of them in the room with us at that moment. If you’ve been following the previous seance posts you know there are at least 12 spirits (or subconscious ideomotor impulses, depending on your beliefs) in the building whom I have affectionately dubbed the Synagogue Saints. It’s not unusual for all 12 of them not to make a showing at once.

(Personally I was thrilled not to hear from little V, because if she had made a showing it would mean our haunting Buddhist exorcism in the previous show had been a failure. I urge you to read/watch that now, and then to read what happened in the Earth-shattering final session on 11/3/13.)

While the Ouija session continued I fired up the P-SB7 spirit box as usual, and here are the highlights. The raw footage is 7.5 minutes. I have cut it down here to the most clearly spoken minute of highlights. Each has been slowed down and had the volume amplified while maintaining the original pitch, for better ease of listening. Transcript with my comments follows below the video: Continue reading “Boneyards EVP Log – 11/2/13”