Cody Polston 
The Bird Cage Theatre opened on December 26, 1881. It was owned by Lottie and William “Billy” Hutchinson. Hutchison, a variety performer, originally intended to present respectable family shows like he’d seen in San Francisco that were thronged by large crowds. After the Theatre opened, they hosted a Ladies Night for the respectable women of … Read moreBirdcage Theater (Historic photographs)
The original painting of Fatima who was an Oriental Belly Dancer, she played the Bird Cage in 1881. According to the theater, this was a gift from her to the Bird Cage to hang in the bar. It has hung in this spot since 1882. However archival photographs show that the painting has been in at … Read moreMyths of the Birdcage Theater
Some new art and a teaser of book 2. Tesla had just left the airship Divinity when the siren sounded out. The alarm was an ear-splitting wail that rose to a peak and then ebbed before rising again, undulating like a wave. The akh navigator had given her consent to assist the team with the … Read moreKeep the sun at your back
A brief video tour of the Inn at Castlerock in Bisbee, AZ. along with some of the ghost stories told about this historic place. The building, set up to be a Bed and Breakfast, is located in a prime position on Tombstone Canyon, making it a short walk to the heart of historic Old Bisbee. Guests … Read moreThe Inn at Castlerock, Bisbee AZ
These are a few videos that I shot to promote my book Haunted Tombstone that I never used. So, I pasted them together to make this short video.
I am starting to experiment with ideas for various book covers for book 2 of the Aetherstorm Chronicles. I really like how the details of the town came out in this one. While this piece is not the “one”, it fired my imagination a little.
The first printed account of the La Placita Restaurant being haunted was recorded in the Albuquerque Tribune on May 27th, 1977. It was written by Howard Bryan for his column “Off the beaten path”. Today the location claims to have three ghosts, but in this original version there is only one. There is some misinformation … Read moreThe first reported ghost story at La Placita in Old Town, Albuquerque
Another from the Hoppy Sampler 12 pack. From their website: Atomic Torpedo is our East Coast–West Coast hop collision, unleashing the joint power of two styles: juicy East Coast IPAs and dank West Coast IPAs. Fused in this Double IPA, their hop favors span lush fruit, sticky pine, and floral tones. It’s our classic IPA … Read moreATOMIC TORPEDO, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
More art this week as boredom and writer’s block stopped everything else. So, I thought I would work on some unfinished art of Frankenstein’s monster. The monster is Victor Frankenstein’s creation, assembled from old body parts and strange chemicals, animated by a mysterious spark. He enters life eight feet tall and enormously strong but with … Read moreFrankenstein’s Monster in the Old West
I’m still in the process of writing book two but I have found that stepping back and doing some art sometimes helps. So there is a bit of a spoiler here as I’m obviously taking Tesla to the Old West. In this image she is wearing her MPD uniform but I have given her a … Read moreConcept art for Book 2 of the Aetherstorm Chronicles
The first time I heard of Lola Montez was from a song by the Danish rock band Volbeat. The song was released as the third single from the band’s fifth studio album Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies. The song is about the famous dancer and Countess of Landsfeld, Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, with the lyrics referencing … Read moreLola Montez, The Spider Woman
Several years ago I wrote a book called Wicked Albuquerque that covers the controversial past of the Duke City. In today’s blog, I am sharing some of the research that I did on the red light district in Old Town. Back in the roaring 80s, it was wilder than Tombstone or Dodge City. Click on … Read moreThe Red Light District in Old Town Albuquerque in the 1880s
Here is a rather interesting article that I found in the Albuquerque Journal (14 February, 1939). Santa Barbara cemetery has several ghost stories attached to it and I am always interested on how these stories began and evolved over time. While I can only speculate, this may be the origin of some of those tales. … Read moreGrave robbing due to ghosts?
A famous bordello in Old Town was owned by a woman called Rumalda Griego. It was a simple three room building that had up to 3 beds per room. Often the ladies entertain their customers simultaneously in the same room. Madam Rumalda was hauled into court on numerous occasions, most often on charges of being … Read moreThe Red Light District in Old Town Albuquerque in the 1880s (Madam Rumalda Griego’s Brothel)
In 1986 I had been a ghost hunter for just over a year. The challenge back then was trying to find places to investigate. The internet did not exist yet, and there were not many books on haunted places. The majority of those early investigations were discovered by word of mouth. One such story was … Read moreThe ghost of Old Joe
A strong Imperial Pilsner, with flavors as smooth and crafty as Gollum himself. Like the ring that Gollum pursued for the rest of his life, his “precious” pils could extend your life too if your quest leads you to it! (at least we’d like to think so) It will, at a minimum, make your journey … Read moreGollum Precious Pils (Hobbit Series)
The old church at Isleta Pueblo houses the remains of Fray Juan Jose de Padilla, a Laguna Pueblo missionary who was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants in the mid-1700s and whose coffin is also believed to have burst from his burial, his corpse looking as fresh as the day he died. The mission church … Read moreThe rising grave of Padre Padilla at Isleta Pueblo
Part 1 and part 2 of Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight take the classic horror movie format and turn it into something entertaining. It manages to replicate the familiar format while providing more realistic responses to the events of a horror-slasher flick. In addition, it created a film where the victims do everything right to survive. … Read moreNobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight 2 (Movie Review)
I found an old film reel in the National Achieves about a tour of New Mexico, its cities, historical sites and tourist attractions that was produced in the 1940’s. It is rather fascinating to see how it has changed over the years, the urban expansion and how its history was told back then.
Logic proves that ghosts are exceedingly unlikely to be the cause of a phenomenon. The thousands of supposed ghost cases have turned out to have very reasonable explanations. Many reports from past psychical researchers and parapsychologists indicate that 9 out of 10 ghost-related cases are solvable when someone has actually looked deeper than the surface … Read moreInvestigating Paranormal Claims using Urban myth models
The Southwest Ghost Hunter’s Association (SGHA) was created by five people. Two were very skeptical; two were hardcore believers and somewhere in between was me. The idea of this group was to utilize these different viewpoints, skeptic and believer, to investigate haunted places from a perspective that could lead to an unbiased conclusion. The believers … Read moreHow do you investigate a haunting? (Slides from Presentation)
I have always been interested in the older ghost investigations as they provide an interesting insight, especially when compared to ghost investigations in the modern era. This account is from the book ” HISTORIC GHOSTS AND GHOST HUNTERS BY H. ADDINGTON BRUCE (MOFFAT, YARD & COMPANY, 1908) It is comparatively easy, when seated before a … Read moreThe Ghost seen by Lord Brougham