Ghostly Contest

WINNERS OF A PRIVATE GHOST WALK !

Haunted Barstow had a contest to see who had the "Most interesting Ghost experience". We were looking for not just average, but really weird and strange ghost experiences. Two winners (one in each age category) won a FREE "private" Ghost Walk at the Harvey House for the winner and their family and/or friends (up to 10 people). This one they'll never forget !

Lodging for the winner's room only is be furnished by

as part of the prize. Transportation to and from Barstow, CA was the winner's responsibility.

Value of this prize package was $680.

There were two categories (one winner each category):

1) 17 years and younger (must have parents permission)

2) 18 years and older

Experiences must have been emailed to info@HauntedBarstow.com by

September 15, 2008.

Dates of the winning private Ghost Walks were arranged to fit the winner's schedule

Entries were judged by members of the Ghost University PITT (Paranormal Investigation Technology Team). Winners were announced September 29, 2008. If you didn't win here, don't worry, we'll do it again.

BELOW ARE THE SEPT. 28, 2008 WINNERS

17 Years and younger Category

By Kristyn Hatley

My name is Kristyn Hatley and I am 12-yrs old. I wanted to tell you what happened to my dad and me while we were at the Queen Mary in 2006. I am a ghost hunter. I have gone on your Calico Tour several times and loved every minute of it. It was so exciting to have things happen. I think my dad is going to put in our story of one of our trips there. When I told my dad I wanted to go to the Queen Mary for my birthday and stay in a haunted room, he didn't think I was crazy. It was the most incredible time in my life and makes me want to do it more and more.

We went on the weekend of my birthday in June 2006 and my dad asked when we got there to get a haunted room. They gave us B-117. We were coming from my school so I went to take a bath as soon as I got there and things began happening as soon as I got in the bathroom. As I was in the bathtub the water would just turn on all by itself. I yelled for my dad and showed him. He told me that it was a problem with the pipes. But as he said that the water almost exploded out of the faucet and shut off and repeated 2 more times right in front of him. It was almost like someone was turning it on and off real fast. It was really cool and got better because I started to ask questions of my ghost and whenever it was a yes answer one drop of water would come out. When it was a no answer it would drop two drops of water. Even when my dad asked questions it would do the same. We even waited a while, wiped the faucet and pushed the lever as far over to off as possible and my dad is a pretty big guy, and it still did it! 1 drop for yes and 2 drops for no. It was so incredible! After that we went to dinner and came back to watch a movie. While watching a movie, the chain on our door would rattle like someone was trying to get in. I didn't want to check the door but my dad went and opened it. He saw nothing. This went on every time we laid back in bed it would rattle and every time we checked nobody was there. So my dad and I tried to make it shake thinking it was someone jumping up and down above us, running down the hall or slamming a door. Nothing we tried worked so we just went to sleep knowing we had a ghost with us. At around 2:00am there was music playing upstairs in the ballroom. It sounded like people were running around and messing around. My dad called security to check on it. It was so bad that the people in the rooms next to us heard the same thing. We all climbed up the stairs and went to the ballroom and found it locked. When security came along and opened it, it was empty. My mom went home right after that but my dad and I stayed. I am so glad we did because the best was still coming.

We went to bed and got up in the morning to get breakfast. We got dressed and my dad went into the bathroom and packed up our stuff because we were leaving after we ate. No one had taken a shower or used the sink yet. No one had gone to the bathroom yet as well. The reason I am saying this is to tell you that it was bone dry in the bathroom because what happened no one has been able to explain. My dad came out of the bathroom after picking up our stuff on the sink and I went in maybe 5 seconds later. As soon as I did, I screamed! My dad came in and saw what I saw and froze! One the mirror of the medicine cabinet was a hand print made out of what looked like water! The hand print was huge! It was almost twice the size of my dad's hand and it was clear as could be. My dad swore that nothing was there when he left and we didn't hear any water running or dripping. Like I told you, it was dry everywhere in the bathroom. I have put this picture in this email to show you. You can see the stuff my dad was packing, and the hand and palm print clear as can be. It was really freaky but exciting too! We can not come up with a good explanation for it. It was an old medicine cabinet that opens up to show shelves to put medicine in. There was no fake wall and no one came in the room that morning. My dad, who is a high school math teacher, has shown each of his classes and has told his students that he will give an "A" to anyone who can come up with a good explanation. So far, no one has figured it out.

18 Years and older Category

By Mary Claypool

Many years ago, when I was a child growing up in Tujunga, California,

I experienced a bizarre and inexplicable event.

Our home was situated near the foothills of the San Gabriel
Mountains, and our quiet little community was sparsely populated,
mostly by elderly retirees from the Midwest. Our neighbor, Mr.
Castleberry, was one such resident.

Mr. Castleberry lived across the street with his son and daughter-in-
law in the old, two-storey home with dormer windows, a high pitch
attic roof, and a rooster weathervane. Beyond the neatly-clipped
lawn and hedges, the outer gardens and walking paths sprawled nearly
an acre to the edges of the Tujunga wash that bordered one side the
property. Almost every clear Sunday morning, Mr. Castleberry would
arrive at our front door, tall and neat with his shirt buttoned to
the collar adorned with a bow tie, wearing suspenders and belt, and
topped off with a straw skimmer. He had come to collect me for our
"constitutional" as he called it--an easy walk up and down the
street, ending with a leisurely stroll through his wandering
gardens. I loved those walks more than morning cartoons, and that's
saying a lot for an eight-year-old.

One particularly hot June afternoon, I remember walking home from
school, counting the hours until summer vacation began. Just as I
was about to turn down the driveway of my house, I happened to look
across the street. The Castleberry home was built on a slight rise
and rested higher than street level. Several thick pine trees grew
in a semi-circle in the front the yard near the street. I squinted
in the bright sunlight and noticed Mr. Castleberry standing just
inside the shadow of the dense trees. He stood quite still and was
smiling his customary smile. I waved at him, and he slowly returned
the wave. He then motioned with a slow beckoning gesture for me to
come over to him. So, I did.

I crossed the street and climbed the stone steps from the sidewalk to
the yard. I turned toward the shaded area where he had stood, but he
was gone. I walked over to the spot and called out to him. There
was no answer. As I looked around, I spotted Mr. Castleberry perhaps
30 or 40 feet away over the low hedges. He stood staring at me with
the same motionless smile. I ran down the winding garden path to
catch up with him, but when I turned the corner of a hedge, he was
gone. The only thing there was the old marble bench where we
occasionally rested during our walks. A dark object on the bench
caught my eye, and when I looked closer, I saw that it was his "worry
stone," a smooth, black polished stone with a depression in which to
rub your thumb. Mr. Castleberry said that "you could rub your
worries away," and he often let me try. I had always admired the
beautiful, sleek stone.

I picked up the worry stone and proceeded to run the length and
breadth of the garden while calling out to my neighbor. He was no
where to be found. Just then, Laura, Mr. Castleberry's daughter-in-
law, emerged from the house. Looking somewhat worn, she asked to
know why I was running and yelling in their garden. I told her that
I was looking for her father-in-law. Her face softened a bit and
appeared sad. She told me that he wasn't home right now and that I
should go home. I began to argue with her saying that I had just
seen him, but she snapped with annoyance, "Please, just go home!"
Surprised and a little frightened by her reaction, I quickly left.

When I got home, I headed straight for the kitchen, the room where my
mother was generally to be found. I launched into my account,
telling her about Mr. Castleberry, the worry stone, and Laura's out-
of-character response. My mother sank into the ladderback chair at
the kitchen table and listened with uncommon interest to my
babbling. She gently put her hands on my shoulders and said,
"Sweetheart... Mr. Castleberry passed away early this morning."

I stared at my mother in disbelief. Just as I had tried to argue
with Laura, I attempted to argue with my mother, stubbornly defending
my story. I had seen Mr. Castleberry not 15 minutes earlier!   The
expression on my mother's face was a strange mix of confusion, a
touch of anger, and a hint of fear. i showed her the worry stone,
and a little gasp escaped her lips. She took the stone from my hand,
examined it, and said, "He told me he was going to give you this
because you liked it so much. Maybe he wanted to make sure you got
it." She handed it back to me. I looked at my mother and asked,
"Did he really die, mom?" She nodded.

From that moment on, I have always maintained an open mind.