Halloween Party Invitations from Paperless Post #digitalinvitations #halloweeninvitations #halloweenparties

Looking for a the perfect Halloween Party Invitation?

Look no further than Paperless Post's Online Invitations. Their selection of Halloween invitations has grown since I last checked in. You can see my previous review here.


From eerie elegance to whimsical fun there's something for everyone.

I love the vintage feel of the House on the Hill. Perfect for a Halloween Party.






A Vampire's Soiree is my favorite vampire theme. Perfect for a Vampire Ball invitation.






It's so easy to create and customize the invitation, along with the envelope, backdrop, and reply cards. 

Plus you get an event page to keep track of your guests and communicate with them.

I played with the Vampire's Soiree design just to see what I could create. I customized the invitation, envelope, backdrop, stamp, and reply card. 

So many options to choose from to get it perfect. That's the wonderful thing. You can make it just right. That's important to me because I love to make things unique.








Paperless Post is amazing.  I wish I had an event to use it for. But no Halloween party planning on my to-do list this year. 

But I have some plans up my sleeve for next year. We'll see how it goes ;-)


Disclaimer: This review was sponsored by Paperless Post. 


Freaky Flint History with Joe Schipani - Welfare Worker June 14th, 1934 #freakyflinthistory




Flint is well known for its modern violent crimes but Flint's history is filled with little known stories that read stranger than fiction. Gruesome murders, weird accidents, and violent deaths. Join us every Thursday as Joe Schipani details some of the odd but true deaths he found in Flint's archives.



Welfare Worker June 14th, 1934
                   
Perry Seeley had been a welfare worker long before the Great Depression hit. Part of his job was going on routine house checks. This was done to make sure people were not abusing the system.

On June 14th, 1934 one of his stops was at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Shufelt. When Seeley arrived the Shufelt’s had just returned home from their daily job hunt.  Mrs. Shufelt’s nineteen year old son Elias Parker greeted Seeley at the door. 

Everything was going fine until Elias’s friend Hubert Moore came into the room. Hubert had come over to borrow a shirt from his friend Elias. He sauntered into the room looking like he lived there. This threw a red flag up for Seeley and he started questioning Hubert’s residence.

Hubert could not prove that he did not live there though he actually lived on Mott Avenue.

Things got heated. Seeley became aggressive and started pushing Hubert and screaming at him. He tried to get him to confess that he lived there.

After a while, Hubert pushed back. Mrs. Shufelt tried breaking the two men up. She got knocked to the ground by Seeley.

That’s when Elias stepped in with his baseball bat. Trying to intimidate Seeley into leaving he stepped in-between the two men with the bat. His intimidation didn’t work. Seeley started pushing Elias trying to grab the bat when Elias struck Seeley on the head with the bat.

Seeley fell to the floor and died instantly.

Elias was arrested and served eight years for second degree manslaughter.

~ Joe Schipani is the Executive Director of the Flint Public Art Project and the FFAR Project Assistant at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.  Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HauntedFlint/ 

Haunted Flint Tour- Explore Ghosts of Flint and Genesee

This is what you've been waiting for- a Haunted Flint tour!

Join the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Haunted Flint, for a creepy crawl on Friday, October 18th as we Explore the Ghosts of Flint and Genesee! In coordination with the release of the book Haunted Flint we shall take terrifying tours of several of Flint’s notoriously haunted attractions – The Capitol Theater, Avondale Cemetery, The Durant-Dort Carriage Company Building, and the Stockton Center. Mark your calendars for a night of freaky fun that will be sure to give you a shiver.

Meet in Brush Park for registration and resource tables. Purchase a copy of Haunted Flint before the tour begins!

A lot of walking will be taking place on this tour.  This tour requires that you take the bus to all locations. Each bus will go to all stops on the tour.

Registration opens at 6:00 PM; buses depart at 6:30 PM. 

Date and Time
Friday Oct 18, 2019
6:00 PM - 11:00 PM EDT

Fees/Admission
$20

Purchase your ticket here:
http://member.flintandgenesee.org/events/details/explore-ghosts-in-flint-genesee-10068

#HauntedFlint #TourFlint #HauntedFlintTour

Freaky Flint History with Joe Schipani - Target Practice February 18th, 1934 #freakyflinthistory


Flint is well known for its modern violent crimes but Flint's history is filled with little known stories that read stranger than fiction. Gruesome murders, weird accidents, and violent deaths. Join us every Thursday as Joe Schipani details some of the odd but true deaths he found in Flint's archives.

In 1934 Frank Coyne, an orphan who had lived with foster parents on Pierson Road, had just graduated from Northern High School.

Frank got a job and started saving money so he could live on his own. Frank’s only family in the area was the Hillakers. Frank was close to their son, his cousin Leroy.

Frank loved to hunt. On February 18th, Mrs. Hillaker took Frank to buy a hunting rifle. Leroy was at his side in the downtown sporting goods store while Frank was picking out his gun. The boys were excited to practice shooting it.

Afterward they finished shopping Mrs. Hillaker took the boys back to Frank’s home on Pierson Rd.

A bunch of the neighborhood kids gathered around to see Frank’s new piece of machinery. Frank and his older brother took turns shooting a target on a tree. The group of kids watched with excitement and were amazed by how good of a shot Frank was.

After a while, Frank put up a new target on the tree and had all the boys gather around the side of the tree to prove that could he could hit the target even while distracted.

The boys quickly gathered to the side, as Frank took his shot, Leroy noticed he was on the wrong side and tried to cross to the other side.

The bullet entered the front of Leroy’s head killing him instantly. The death was ruled accidental, and no charges were filed.


Leroy was only twelve years old and a student at Emerson Junior High.  

~ Joe Schipani is the Executive Director of the Flint Public Art Project and the FFAR Project Assistant at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.  Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HauntedFlint/ 

An Ancient Curse, a Mythical Battle, Native American Burial Grounds, and Bodies Left Behind

In Case You Missed My Haunted Flint Book Release Party Presentation, here it is along with some of the documents I discovered during my research .




Many people have theories about why a place may be haunted.

The number one reason- someone died there. Others believe the death has to be sudden or traumatic to leave an imprint.

Some think that sometimes spirits simply don’t want to leave or that they get confused and can’t find their way through the veil.

In Haunted Flint we look to history to explain some of the haunting tales that swirl around local landmarks.

Did someone die in the building? Did they love their home so much they simply didn’t want to move on to the afterlife?

Curses and disturbed spirits are popular tropes for horror movies and ghost stories. Perhaps there is a reason those tropes are so popular, because disrespecting the dead can lead to disaster.

Flint is a relatively small city, but it is filled with ghostly tales, grisly murders, and odd urban legends.

The old built over a cemetery horror movie trope... in Flint it’s more than a story.

The Old Flint City Cemetery was moved in the 1950s. Around 1200 remains were re-interred at the Flint City Cemetery on Linden and Pasadena.

In 1958 the remaining residents of Old City Cemetery were reburied in Avondale along with 122 grave markers. Or were they?


Avondale by Ari Napolitano

In 1985 the remains of more than 24 bodies were found in the basement of the Holiday Inn Express at 1150 Longway Boulevard and I-475. They were eventually reburied at the Flint City Cemetery.


Holiday Inn Express by Joe Schipani

Rumors swirl that Albert J Koerts, who purchased the old cemetery property, just moved the grave markers to Avondale which means the remains of some of Flint's earliest residents may still be lost under Flint buildings and parking lots. Unfortunately Koerts is long dead and took that secret to his grave.

Those remains found under the hotel? Do they belong to grave markers in Avondale or do they belong in the Flint City Cemetery? 

Are spirits upset that their final resting place was disturbed? Do they care if their burial grounds are not properly labeled?


There's another common horror movie trope that occurred in real life right here in Flint...the old built over a Native American burial ground story.

Native remains and artifacts have been found in many locations throughout Flint.

There is a legend involving a Native American curse and a mythic battle between tribes. For years historians thought the battle was pure myth but discoveries of bones and artifacts in recent years has lead archaeologists to believe there might be truth to those old tales after all.

Those tales tell us that long ago these lands were inhabited by the Sauks.

The Chippewa coveted the Sauk hunting grounds. For many years they played with the idea of conquering the Sauk and taking their land. But the Chippewa dreaded the power and prowess of their enemies. Their ambition was kept in check until they could no longer control their desires. They joined forces with the Ottawa and devised a plan to attack from multiple angles under the cover of darkness.

It was a massacre. Very few Sauk survived. Those who did survive and escape are said to have placed a curse upon the land that was stolen from them.

For years the Chippewa and Ottawa did not live on the land but used it as joint hunting grounds. Many men never made it home. The hunters who did return were filled with frightening tales of being terrorized by the spirits of the murdered Sauks. They truly believed the land was cursed.

But eventually old fears were forgotten and settlements built. 

The tale of the battle and curse became a whispered legend. No one took it seriously.

In 1945, Native remains of at least nine individuals were removed from the Scoto Mounds in Genesee County.  The human remains were excavated from the mounds by the Genesee County Historical Society. In 1966 the collection of the Genesee County Historical Society was transferred to the newly opened Sloan Museum. In August 2019 The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe took possession of the remains and on August 22 held a Recommitment to the Earth ceremony followed by a Journey Feast to satisfy ancestral protocols.




In June 1962, more Native remains were uncovered by a road crew at M-15 and Bristol Road in Flint. In 2009, the remains of an adult and child, thought to be the same ones found in 1962, were found in storage at Mott Community College. MCC turned them over to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, who gave them a proper burial.

In 2008, skeletal remains found near Atwood Stadium at Stone Street and Third Avenue were determined to be Native American. Further excavation by archaeological teams determined that the remains were most likely Sauk from that bloody battle. In 2010, the remains of sixty-seven American Indian ancestors were laid to rest in a reburial at the same site. This site is now a registered archaeological zone. 

In June 2019 during the replacement of Flint’s water lines, construction crews were ordered to have an archaeologist on hand during any excavations in the area of the site. Upon investigation during the replacement of the lines it was discovered that 29 addresses within the zone were excavated without an archaeologist's supervision. The Archaeological Zone includes an area of the city bordered by Flushing Road and 5th Avenue to the north, Court Street to the south, Saginaw Street to the east, and DuPont Street to the west.





I'm curious...if any of the Native American remains found are actually Sauk and not Chippewa, how do the spirits of the murdered Sauk feel about being "properly buried" by the descendants of the tribe that slaughtered them? Do you think this will lead to more strange things in Flint?



Do you think the disrespect of the dead is one reason we have so many stories of hauntings in Flint? Do you think the curse is to blame for Flint's problems?



Haunted Flint 
Haunted America Series
by Roxanne Rhoads  and Joe Schipani 

Release Date: September 2, 2019

Publisher: The History Press

About the Book:

Home to ancient burial grounds, unsolved murders, economic depression and a water crisis, Flint emits an unholy energy rife with ghostly encounters. 

Colonel Thomas Stockton's ever-vigilant ghost keeps a watchful eye over his family home at Spring Grove, where guests occasionally hear the thump of his heavy boots. 

Restless spirits long separated from their graves lurk among the ancient stones at Avondale Cemetery. Carriage maker W.A. Paterson's spirit continuously wanders the halls of the Dryden Building, and something sinister and unnamed resides in a Knob Hill mansion waiting to prey on impressionable young men. 

Join authors Roxanne Rhoads and Joe Schipani on a chilling tour of Flint's most haunted locations.


Freaky Flint History with Joe Schipani - City Commissioner October 10th, 1933 #freakyflinthistory



Flint is well known for its modern violent crimes but Flint's history is filled with little known stories that read stranger than fiction. Gruesome murders, weird accidents, and violent deaths. Join us every Thursday as Joe Schipani details some of the odd but true deaths he found in Flint's archives.

City Commissioner October 10th, 1933

Vernon Dodge moved to Flint Michigan with the Campion Ignition Company in 1919. A few years later he became the legal advisor for the Buick Motor Company.

In 1928, Dodge was elected a member of the charter revision commission.

In 1929, he was elected fifth ward alderman.

Vernon Dodge was so well liked on the charter revision commission, that when he ran for commissioner, he won by a land slide and was appointed to the job in the spring of 1930. By October of 1930, he resigned as commissioner and was appointed the second probate judge in Genesee County by the governor. After his appointment ended, he ran for commissioner again in 1931, and won a three year term, again by a landslide.

On the night of October 9th, 1933 the Commissioner arrived home around seven at night. He and his wife had a late supper. After dinner he went to his room around nine.

The next morning, Mrs. Dodge woke up at five-thirty in the morning to go make breakfast. She noticed the light in her husband’s room was on and called his name. After getting no answer, she grew concerned and called her daughter and son-in-law to come over. They arrived at a quarter after six. The three forced the locked door open and found the commissioner hanging in the closet dooway by a cord from his robe that was tied around his neck.

Although the Commissioner’s death was ruled a suicide, the prosecutor had Mrs. Dodge detained for questioning. Even though he had no proof, the prosecutor suspected foul play in the commissioner’s death.

After a few days, Mrs. Dodge’s attorney had Mrs. Dodge released of a Habeas Corpus writ, due to lack of evidence.  When she was released, she moved into an apartment with her ten year old daughter on Detroit Street, a few blocks away from her home on Garland Street where her husband had died.

The prosecutor got a court order to have the commissioner’s body exhumed from Sunset Hills Cemetery for another autopsy. He claimed that an important witness came forward in the case. The judge granted his wish and allowed him to detain Mrs. Dodge again for questioning.

Mrs. Dodge found herself in the county jail once again. This time she was not allowed to talk with anyone, not even her attorney. After the autopsy, Mrs. Dodge’s attorney demanded a hearing, to get her client released. During the hearing the prosecution was unable to supply their only witness and the autopsy showed no signs of foul play. The evidence gathered on Mrs. Dodge was ruled gossip and was not allowed in the hearing.

Mrs. Dodge was declared innocent of murder and Commissioner Dodge’s death was ruled a suicide.   

~ Joe Schipani is the Executive Director of the Flint Public Art Project and the FFAR Project Assistant at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.  Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HauntedFlint/ 

True Tales of the Paranormal- Stockton Center at Spring Grove #HauntedFlint


Stockton Center by Ari Napolitano
Stockton Center at Spring Grove is probably the most haunted place I’ve been to in Flint.

I spend almost every Friday evening at Stockton Center. I attend The Serenity House’s Holistic Healing workshops which include Reiki, Aromatherapy, Acudetox, and Meditation on Friday nights. (First Fridays are Aromatherapy at 6 followed by Acudetox at 7, Second Friday’s are Reiki at 6 followed by Meditation at 7:15, and the remaining Fridays are Reiki at 6PM)

I absolutely love the building. It is the perfect combination of beauty and spooky. The original house is absolutely stunning with all original hardwood floors, wood moldings and trim, gorgeous plaster ceiling rosettes, and a beautiful staircase and banister.

Stockton Sideview by Ari Napolitano

The hospital portion is less ornate and much more utilitarian but it has its own charm.

I’ve never really been spooked by the place. Cautious but not spooked. Whatever spirits reside within Stockton Center don’t emit any negative energy that I can feel. One person I spoke with about Stockton doesn’t like going into the hospital portion of the building. She’s a medium and says the spirit energy there is too chaotic. They love to swarm around her, yell at her, and just cause chaos.

Another loves the energy. She feels that there are nurses that came back to Stockton to continue serving. Even in death they want to be helpful. I wasn’t sure I believed that until one night during a Reiki session.

On Friday May 31, the Reiki Master laid her hands upon my legs…and suddenly there was a third hand touching me. No one else was up and moving around the room. We were all laying down meditating on yoga mats while the master moved around the room doing Reiki on each of us. After she completed Reiki on me and moved on to the next person I could still feel a hand upon me for several minutes afterward.

Later that same evening during meditation the instructor did mini Reiki sessions on us while we meditated. When she laid hands upon me I suddenly felt multiple hands on my arms and legs and one on my chest. They remained on me for several minutes after she walked away.

This was the first time I “felt” anything out of the ordinary at Stockton. I had been attending Holistic Healing Hour for months. I told my best friend, who attends the healing hour with me, about the hands during Reiki. She replied that she had felt hands remain on her during several sessions even though the Reiki Master had walked away. Once she even felt the Reiki Master still standing over her even though she knew she was on the other side of the room.
It has made me wonder if the nurses attend the Holistic Healing Hour and have decided to join in the healing. After all, Reiki classes have been taught at Stockton Center, perhaps the nurses have picked up new skills in their afterlife.

formal dining room and parlor

Occasionally I hear noises in the building when I know everyone alive is in the same room with me. One night during meditation I heard heavy footsteps come down the stairs. I just ignored it and continued meditating. Other nights I heard doors open and shut in the hospital wing.

formal dining room

Sometimes when the events are over for the night we’ll chat in the parking lot. Occasionally I’ll catch a glimpse of movement in an upstairs window though I know the building is empty and the alarm was set when we walked out. A friend said she always sees an old woman watching us from the third floor window, perhaps one of the nuns. The woman doesn’t seem to approve of us. Maybe she just wants us to leave because she has work to do, patients to take care of.

parlor
front parlor

All of the people I spoke to who have worked in the building have experienced something weird. From doors opening and shutting on their own, to pressure on their body like someone is pushing them out of the way. One often sees an elegant woman standing at the top of the staircase, very “lady of the house” who watches over everything. She isn’t menacing, just watchful.

old medical table

My Haunted Flint co-author, Joe, used to have an office in the building. He’d be in there all alone at night and hear heavy footsteps upstairs or boots stomping down the staircase. Sometimes he could hear someone whistling.

museum area display
old wheelchair for museum area


A woman who has worked in the building, and who is gifted, is often approached by the spirits of those who used to be patients in the hospital and/or nursing home, spirits that are confused, childlike, and sometimes chaotic. They like to swarm her, ask her questions and follow her around. It is very overwhelming. After getting a haircut one spirit told her, “I liked your hair better long.”

hospital hallway
hospital hallway

A female spirit wanders around the hospital area quietly asking, “Do you know where the nurse is?”

Sometimes the vision of a man falling from the balcony will play on a loop.

And a creepy male spirit can be glimpsed in the hallway, just staring.

One person who has an office in the building said she and her husband have occasionally felt like the spirits of Maria and Thomas Stockton are within them. Perhaps they are the reincarnated souls of the Stockton’s or maybe their spirits occasionally take them over so they can enjoy their home in corporeal form once again.

The spookiness doesn’t scare me away, though. I return every Friday.

front entrance hallway

Learn more about Stockton House, the Stockton family, and their history in Haunted Flint.
                                                  
The award-winning movie, Alleged, was filmed at Stockton House and in several other locations around Flint including Crossroads Village. The movie is centered on the Scopes Monkey Trial that took place in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925.


This is in the basement at Stockton and was used in the movie



Haunted Flint
Haunted America Series
Roxanne Rhoads and Joe Schipani 

Publisher: The History Press

Release Date: September 2, 2019

ISBN-10: 1467143049
ISBN-13: 978-1467143042

Book Description:

Sinister Secrets in Flint’s History

Home to ancient burial grounds, unsolved murders, economic depression, and a water crisis, Flint emits an unholy energy rife with ghostly encounters.

Colonel Thomas Stockton’s ever vigilant ghost keeps a watchful eye over his family home at Spring Grove, where guests occasionally hear the thump of his heavy boots.

Restless spirits long separated from their graves lurk among the ancient stones in Avondale Cemetery.

Carriage maker W.A. Paterson’s spirit continuously wanders the halls of the Dryden Building, and something sinister and unnamed resides in a Knob Hill mansion waiting to prey on impressionable young men.

Join authors Roxanne Rhoads and Joe Schipani on a chilling tour of Flint’s most haunted locations.

Amazon    BN    Chapters    Book Depository    Arcadia Press     Goodreads
  

Currently Seeking More Haunted Flint and Genesee County Locations and Haunted History Stories


Thanks to the popularity of Haunted Flint we're currently seeking more Haunted Flint locations and haunted history stories


Have you had a haunting experience in Flint, Michigan or in a surrounding Genesee county area (Flushing, Grand Blanc, Fenton, Linden, Montrose,  Swartz Creek, Clio, Mt. Morris, etc.)?

Please share your stories via email RoxanneRhoads69@gmail.com 


Or complete this form 
https://goo.gl/forms/7l7gHz2bwLkIRfRV2

Book Characters Brittany Elise Would Invite to a Party



I’d pretty much invite all of the Harry Potter characters, (because let’s be honest–who doesn’t want to party with Ron Weasley?) 

I’d invite Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, (okay pretty much everyone from Lord of the Rings, too.) 

Might as well invite everyone from Game of Thrones (including the dragons and Dire wolves–because, you can’t have a literary party without dragons and wolves!) 

Oh, and the Mad Hatter definitely has to be there. 


Awakening the Trinity

Brittany Elise



Genre: YA Supernatural Fiction



Publisher: Black Rose Writing



Date of Publication: September 12th 2018

ISBN: 9781684331260
ASIN: B07HB3QMLH

Number of pages: 269
Word Count: 90,000

Cover Artist: Brittany Elise and David King

Book Description:

In the seventeenth-century, an all-powerful witch called Rionach the Dark ruled the Celtic nations with an army of enslaved werewolves. In order to restore balance between Light and Dark, the Trinity of Light was summoned to vanquish the Dark Witch and end the Battle of the Dark Ages.

Seventeen-year-old Quinn Callaghan lives in the small, rustic town of Silver Mountain. Its location may be rural, but it is home to an ancient pine forest that surrounds a supernatural hotspot–a nexus of raw and powerful energy.

When a charismatic witch from Ireland, and a mysterious guy with a secret of his own are drawn to the area, Quinn finds out that she inherited her rare abilities from a revered ancestor. Could it be that she shares a bloodline with the Original Trinity? Nearly 300 years later, the Darkness is returning to Silver Mountain, and the Trinity must stop it.
                
Amazon     BN     Black Rose Writing


Teaser Excerpt Two:

     I could feel the slow burn of Wren’s gaze from the side and knew he was watching me. He seemed to always be watching me, and I wondered what thoughts were circling through that pretty head of his. I looked up at him demurely. “What?”
     “Nothing.”
     “You’re watching me,” I stated.
     “Do I make you uncomfortable?” He shifted toward me, hovering.
     “I haven’t decided yet.”

About the Author:

Brittany lives in Ohio with her husband, Benjamin, and their four-legged children. Brittany graduated from college with a degree in photography, and later became a canine obedience instructor. During the day, Brittany manages an FBO at a local hometown airport and services aircraft.

Awakening the Trinity is Brittany’s second book, and she is currently working on the sequel with hopes of turning it into a trilogy. Writing has always been her greatest passion. She enjoys the outdoors and exploring new places in an endless quest to keep that artistic inspiration burning.



Instagram: Carbon_Stardust

Twitter: @BrittanyElise23