Comments for Haunted Beach Party: Page 1

old-dude: I have witnessed the fog "rolling" in from Lake Erie, and it is one of the spookiest things I've ever seen... It literally rolls like a wave...

This story gave me the heebie-jeebies 😆, goosebumps, shiver down my spine, and all!...I agree with Miracles, that since you were separated, there was no "mass hallucination"...Creepy, down home (true) ghost story, and faves bound!...

Great account, well written, and just creepy! 😆...Oh, I said that huh?...Anyway, thank you for posting, and I'm really looking forward to more...

Just picturing that scene. Log rides and teacups! What a crazy sight that must have been as your trying to escape yourselves! I would be excited to return myself. So the church and theater? Are they still structurally sound?

Jav

The Bobblo Island is a very interesting situation.
I am very excited about seeing it again.
THe last time I was there was during the tornado in 94. I was a secutity guard and had given my notice (I had another job offer in my carreer field) The storm came in and we had to go around and clear all the buildings. I was on the last boat to the main land and a 7 minute boat ride turned into a 45 minute thill ride.
When we were moving to the boat, the log ride logs were rolling down the center of the street and the faris wheel tea cups were flying overhead and crashign out into the river. It was crazy. Boblo closed early that year for repairs and opened only for a few months in 95 then it was closed and sold. All the rides were sold off and only a few of the historical buildings and the boblo tower remain. I will take pictures and post them when I can.

It always amazes me what they decide is historical enough to preserve, and what isn't. It's always the 'what isn't' column that bothers me so. Because you just know that in 50 years they will unearth something that will end up being the find of the century, and half of it will have been lost to those bulldozers.

Jav

The stone pile in the center of the forest was just an oddity that that forest had. I think it was a historical site but never recognized or if so not of much interest. It could have been more recent, but it was very similar to Native American sharpening stones. It was large the size of a garbage can. The rocks had been there a long time... As I kid I thought that the sight may have been a significant location to one of the many Indian tribes in the area. The Shawnee, Algonquin, Mohawk and other less notable tribes occupied that area of land that is now Amherstburg. Historically the river side forests and swamp areas were all considered sacred grounds. A lot of the land agreements in the late 1700s make mension of these locations.
Its too bad that they bulldozed the area. It really destroyed a beautiful green space. I haven't looked but I would like to think the stone is still there somewhere.

old_dude,
Here I am trying to wrap my head around the thought of that pile of boulders in the center of the forest. And what significance they may hold to your experience, and now you're talking old amusement parks with a church and theater? Hun, you live an exiting life. I can only imagine what your next adventure will turn out to be. But as long as you bring it back here, I'm happy.

Jav

Javelina these are my scariest events so the rest will be considerably tame.
I actually just had another experiance this weekend... I visited the old Boblo Island (Old amusement park) for the first time since 1995 when it closed down. I used to work there as a kid and there was an old brick church and theater. THe curch was closed because it freaked the staff out. The old park area is now completely grown over and I trudged my way into the tick of it. I want to go back and take some pictures. Boy was it erie to be back there... Fun but erie.

in a word~WOW!
Have to say I loved this, the attention to detail, the feeling of being there I got from how well this has been written.
Totaly gripping, fantastic story old-dude
Straight to favs
Carl

Happy Spirit, THe shadows were human in shape, so I think I naturally assumed they were once human. The largest animal in my area is coy-dogs. (coyotee bred with wild dogs) they get to be the size of wolves or bigger if a large breed of dog is mixed in. They were known to be in the forest on the farside of the swamps, but they were very few in numbers and were fairly isoloated from the developed area we all lived in. It is possible that they could have been in the forest, but they definatley could not be mistaken for these shadows. We did like to pound back the drinks, but on this night we did not have much time too and did not get very far into our party before we started with trouble. Never got into drugs... I was having too much fun without them.

Great story, old dude! Wow. Yeah, I got a gollum like imagery too. Now, a bit of a sceptical question; how did you know that these shadows weren't animals of some sort? Not that I have any idea what animals they would be (and you know the wildlife of your area better than me) but if I was looking for a "normal" explanation for the event, that is the first idea I'd come up with. Of course, the other idea that occurs is that alcohol and drugs do enable us to see beyond the veil of normal mortal existance and your group honestly saw spirits.

Well if it wasn't burned into my brain enough before it is now! Paralyzed? Yeah, I can see that.

Jav

The scariest part for me was the whole process of seeing the shadow figure... It happened so long ago but it is burned in my mind. It happened so slowly. I remember my head being close to the tree, I could feel the bark on the side of my head. Then I moved my head off the tree to stand up and as I stood up I felt a cool breath whisp past the tip of my ear closest to the tree. In reaction I pulled my head back and turned my face just a little towards the tree and then I realized that there was something dark right infront of my face. I was able to pull myself back to focuss on it but I can remeber the lower half of me being paralized. People joke about it, but it really does happen when you are scared enough!

Well, I've calmed down now.
I must admit, this experience is right up there in my top five favorites, sir. Your story telling skills are impressive, to say the least.
The most frightening scene, for me, was the face to face you had with the shadow creature hanging downward from the tree. It will take a while before I'll be able to shake that image from my mind. Just thinking about it sends chills up the back of my neck.
Thank you again for sharing your experiences here, I know I'll treasure this one for a very long time.

Jav

I have not been in contact with most of the group since then. We had this happen at the beach and then a really bad event in the basement of an appartment building with a Ouija board then that was it. We all went separate ways. It's been about 18 going on 19 years.
I have been told through other people how the other's lives have turned out and I pretty much know where they all are and how they are doing today. (it is a small town) but we really haven't held a conversation since.

Miracles51031, you are correct about how the shadow figure was crawling down the tree. It was head first and very unhuman. It scared the hell out of me. We knew it was not the alcohol, we just really, really wished it was.
I still don't know what/who the shadows were. They could have been spirits of the dead that washed ashore or they could have been angry souls of Indians... I am not sure. But the are tied into many of the happenings that we encountered while "investigating" the hot spots in and around town.

From your last comment, it looks like your experience made a huge impact. Like the others said it was a good story and the way you told your story, I can just imagine what you went though. That's crazy stuff!
Were you able to get in contact with your group of friends after all of you went your separate ways?

old_dude - wow! I think the creepiest part of this whole story was when you described the shadow crawling down the tree. Maybe I misinterpreted it, but I imagined him crawling down head and arms first, kind of like Gollum crawls and that just creeps me out.

For all of you to have seen the shadows and to have been separated would make it less likely that it was alcohol induced. You weren't feeding each others imaginations.

I know this is a bit redundant, all things considered, but have you researched to see if you can find out who these shadows might be? I'm imagining all sorts of things from Native Americans to Pirates.

We did not visit the area as a group since. After this experience we had another very bad one with a Ouija board and the whole group stopped everything and we (the group) essentially broke up. I returned to the area the next spring during the day. It seemed very normal.
I had visited this place since I was a child. It was my playground for many years and allowed me to live a "Tom Sawyer" style life. I even slept out there for a couple days at a time. Over all the years I kept hearing that it was a hot spot for hauntings. But never believed it. I was there a lot and never saw anything odd.
There was an old pile of boulders in the center of the forest. It was something I believed to be Indian in origin. (it was 5 boulders. 4 smaller mostly sunken in the ground rocks surrounding a large boulder in the middle.) the large boulder had carvings on it and a large groove cut into it. (I am sure it was a sharpening stone like the one I saw in a school field trip to an Indian settlement, but I am by no means an expert.) The area was hard to get to because it was really over grown and it had several thorn trees around it.
The only thing that made the area scary was the quick fog that would roll in. The mist from the swamps would move in from the north and the fog from the lake would move in from the south and in minutes the area would be thick in fog. (this is what made the area exceptionally dangerous to ships especially back in the days of wooden ships.) The fog would rush in and they would get lost before they could get their bearings. They would hit the rock shoals trying to make a break for the Amherstburg navy yard.

After my experience at the beach I now believe in what others saw. After returning in the spring I did not return for many years.
Over the years the municipality has had a lot of trouble with this area. People started to visit it and they caused trouble. For awhile they put up a fence and locked people out. When that did not work they sent bull dozers and dug up the enter beach and filled the old forest area with knocked over trees and large piles of rock.
I heard a couple years ago that they opened the area up again for the public to travel through.
I actually returned and visited the area with my kids last fall. (during the day) the place is still fairly damaged from the rock piles, but the beach is still there and a lot of the forest has returned. I don't mind visiting it in the day... But I will never go there again after dark. (and I stay clear of the deeper shadowed areas of the forest.)

old_dude,
Take this for what it is worth, but in my opinion this is the most compelling story I have read in a very long time. A lot of people can spin a tale and have the gift of prose and verse, but you have outdone most on just content alone. Absolutely amazing account... I enjoyed every moment of it. Obviously the history and tragedy of the area leave us with enough information to imagine what this was about... But holy s--t!
If you don't mind sharing, since this was a favorite location ("haunt") for you and your friends, what, if anything happened when you went back during the day, other evenings, etc?

Thanks,
Lou

OOH! Great story! Wonderfully told. The way you described it, in such detail, I don't really think it was alcohol related. Do you think they were remnants of a bygone war? By the way, I just want to say, that the title of this story is great. It reminds me of a Summer scary movie. Love it!

old_dude,
Holy Crapoly! Dude, you scare the bejeesus out of me every stinkin' time!
OK, I don't know what the hell you saw in those trees, but I am not going there for love or money! You can have that, man. Cripes! Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?
I need a break, I'll come back in a bit. After I get my wits about me.
Geeez! This was scary old dude.

Jav 😨