Ripleys Haunted Adventure Gatlinburg 2013

Located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Ripleys Haunted Adventure draws huge crowds in the month of October as hordes of the living come to get scared by hordes of the undead. Just inside the entrance to the haunted house is an excellent prop, the Headless Horseman. Great addition to the haunt as people wait in line to enter. 

A unique entrance to the haunt. You pile into a steel cage and the cage slowly rises to the top. From there you are met by a sinister being and directed to the entrance of the haunt.  The haunt itself was very well thought out and put together. There were plenty of "Live" action and actors inside to interact with the group.  You went through as a group, usually 5-7 people per group. It is pitch dark in some area's but it is easy to navigate.   Tip: They will try to sell you a fiber optic light to help you get through the haunt. When you need it the most, you are instructed to turn it off inside the haunt.   One thing missing this year from years past. The "Monster Parade." On Fridays and Saturdays in October, at 6:17 pm, the monsters in all their costumes would meander up the Parkway from the Star Car Museum to Ripleys and interact with the patrons waiting to get in or standing around watching Stumpy scare people walking by. The parade is no more. All in all, well worth the money. 

Ripleys Haunted Adventure

Smart Ass Barker

Ripleys On The Parkway

Ripleys Haunted Adventure

Ripleys Headless Horseman

Ripleys Combo

Happy Halloween

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I Think She Is Flirting With Me

If you have the good fortune to be in Gatlinburg, Tennessee this October, make sure you spare some time to be on the Parkway Friday and Saturday evenings. Head on down to Ripley's Haunted Adventure and say hello to Stumpy. She's the gal hanging out in front of the haunt.

I got to talking with her and asked a favor, a shout out. She came through, literally. Thank you.

And make sure you go through the haunted house, it's certainly worth the wait, and the money.

Happy Halloween

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Dusting Off The Halloween Dark Zone 2012

Tidying Up For Halloween

Excuse the dust here at the Grassy Knoll Institute blog. The last several months activity here was almost at a stand still. Today, all that has changed. Our cleaning crew are on their hands and knee's working double time preparing for the Halloween season.

The Halloween Dark Zone has plenty of tricks and treats for you this October. We are chock full of some very sexy Halloween sirens, outlandish adult Halloween costumes, real ghost stories, wild video’s, scary demons, big ripe melons, haunted house tips, urban legends, and our own special blend of all things Halloween. Check back daily as we will be updating continuously throughout the month of October.

Halloween Tip #1: If Amanda Bynes offers to give you a lift to the next neighborhood to continue your trick or treating, make like Forest Gump.

Happy Halloween

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Ripleys Haunted Adventure Tour Gatlinburg

Ripleys Of Gatlinburg Haunted Tour

Ripley's Haunted Adventure located on the Parkway in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a very popular haunt during the month of October. I have visited this haunt several times before but never in the month of October. Until this year.

Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the month of October, at 6:13PM sharp, Ripley's has their own version of a zombie crawl as a horde of monsters parade down the Parkway ending up in front of the Haunted Adventure where they interact with the people on the street. after about 20 minutes, the monsters filter into the haunt and add to the excitement and fright.

We bought our tickets and got in line. There were about 100 people in front of us and several hundred behind us before it was our turn.
It was now our time to step into the rickety old cage that takes it's paying customers (Victims) to the top of the haunt. It is a very effective prop. Very loud, old, looks unsafe, and has a hint of danger to it. We met a crazy man at the top. I was informed that my camera must be turned off at this point. I obliged.

The haunt is a self guided tour. We were in a group of six people. I was the lead, my wife Patty behind me, the others behind her. We were instructed to put our hand on the persons back in front of us. A few seconds later we began our march through the haunt.

I will say the haunt is much larger than what it looks like from the outside. There were many rooms inside to navigate through. The props and graphics were above average and the actors were well trained and effective. This haunt was all about misdirection.

After about 30 minutes, we found our way out. We stepped into the elevator and.... I won't spoil it for you.

One thing I didn't like about this haunt. Outside while we were waiting in line, a woman was selling fiber optic lights to help you see in the haunt. She said it was absolutely necessary to see inside the haunt for it was pitch black inside. The lights, (Which were throw away quality) cost five dollars. I noticed that if you bought the lights at the ticket box office, they were only $2 dollars. Whip a rip off. I declined to buy the light. The woman selling them told me I would be sorry.

I was not. At no time did I ever need the fiber optic light. DO NOT BUY THE LIGHT! IT IS A RIP OFF. The rest of the haunted adventure was very entertaining and enjoyable. It was actually fun. We recommend it in the month of October.

Enjoy the video's and pictures.



Happy Halloween

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And Nothing Will Ever Be The Same

It's astounding, Time is fleeting, Madness takes its toll.
But listen closely... Not for very much longer.
I've got to keep control.

I remember doing the time-warp, Drinking those moments when,
The Blackness would hit me, And the void would be calling...
Let's do Halloween again.
Let's do Halloween again.

With a bit of a mind flip the 2011 Halloween season is upon us. Haunted houses are already on their second weekend, decorations dot residential houses, hay rides are at capacity, and the Halloween Dark Zone is dying to reveal the hottest adult Halloween costumes, plus home grown giant melons, urban legends, demons, ghosts, and all things Halloween.

Check the Dark Zone frequently as we will be updating continuously throughout the month of October.

And nothing will ever be the same.

Happy Halloween

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Hotel Conneaut Paranormal Investigation

Doing Sexy Halloween Since 1998

Haunted Hotel Conneaut

The Grassy Knoll Institute has been following the increased paranormal activity at Hotel Conneaut ever since February of this year, when an arson fire destroyed the amusement park that houses the hotel. On Friday, October 3rd, Patrick (Lead Paranormal Scientist) and myself headed out to the hotel to investigate.

A Little Background On The Site:

Hotel Conneaut, located inside Conneaut Lake Amusement Park, (Conneaut lake, Pennsylvania, 16316) opened its doors in 1903 to park vacationers and has changed very little since then. The hotel has no air conditioner or heater, no TV, no high speed Internet, and no electronic door keys. It was as if when you walked into the lobby, you were transported back in time 50 years.

However, It did boast a full service restaurant named Elizabeth's and also had the Spirit lounge right off the lobby that served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A green chalk board would alert the patrons of the menu of the day.

Hotel Conneaut also has a local legend tied to its rich history. As the urban legend goes, in 1943, during World War II, a soldier on leave married Elizabeth, the love of his life and chose Hotel Conneaut to consummate their marriage. His unit was shipping out in three days and he and Elizabeth wanted a peaceful several days before the horrors or war came back into their lives.

But tragedy would strike. On the evening of their marriage, during a heavy thunder storm, a lightning strike ignited the hotels wood roof and a massive fire broke out in the hotel.

Legend has it that the groom (Soldier on leave) survived the fire mistakenly thinking his bride, (Elizabeth) had already exited the hotel and was safe and fled the hotel to join her. However, Elizabeth was still inside the hotel desperately searching for her husband and quickly became trapped by the flames and perished.

After the Hotel reopened, patrons started reporting strange events occurring in the hotel, especially on the third floor, where the bride Elizabeth and her groom stayed. (Room 321 is the room said to be the number letted out to them) People claimed they saw the ghost of Elizabeth dressed in her wedding gown walking the halls searching evermore for her husband. Other people claimed that the water spigots turned on and off on their own and that windows would open and close in their rooms all evening.

Staff members reported that they felt a presence while in the halls and some actually had an entity touch them as they walked the halls. Strange orbs of light that would seem to appear and then float through the hallway walls have also been reported by staff members while making their rounds through the hotel at night. Lights turning on and off seemed the norm for staff members.

Whispers have been heard by many, staff and patrons alike. Most believe it is the last conversation Elizabeth and her husband had just before the fire. The whispers can be heard all over the hotel, in the rooms, halls, restaurant, lounge, and out on the grounds.

The Investigation:

Since the arson fire, paranormal activity has spiked not only in the hotel, but throughout the entire park. There were hundreds of reports of the ghost Elizabeth manifesting itself and strange sounds and occurrences happening in the amusement park section as well. Patrick and I loaded the Jeep with camera's and video equipment and headed out on Route 11 for the 70 minute ride to Hotel Conneaut.

Make Sure To Click The Thumbnails For Much Larger Pictures For Full Inspection

Hotel Conneaut Entrance

We Arrived approximately at 8pm and and I snapped this photo right before entering the hotel through the grand entrance. You can tell that the hotel is in disrepair and with limited funds from the park being closed, it may be shuttered for good.

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Hotel Conneaut Lobby

Upon entering, to the left is a sitting room and library book shelf. Straight on is Elizabeth's restaurant including the green chalk board with the daily menu written on it. A little to the right is the front desk and further right is the stairway to the hotel rooms.

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Hotel Conneaut Stairway

The stairwell that leads to the hotel rooms and especially, to the third floor, where Elizabeth's ghost reportedly roams. So far, we have not encountered any living or dead spirits. No one was in the lobby, or at the front desk. Being that the hotel was closed, it did not seem strange.

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Hotel Conneaut Concierge

As we made our way to the stairway, we encountered Lilly, the hotel concierge. She seemed to be guarding the stairway. She was wearing some sort of mask, or fancy old fashioned hat I presumed on her head. Lilly was nice enough though and after an explanation on why we were there, she let us pass.

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Hotel Conneaut Haunted 3rd Floor

This is the first picture taken in the hallway on the third floor of Hotel Conneaut. Since the hotel was closed, no lights were on so we switched our equipment to night vision and continued slowly down the hall recording as we went. As you can see, the hotel is old and dilapidated but for our needs, it was perfect conditions.

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Hotel Conneaut Halloween Prop

At the first hotel room door we encountered, we spied this Halloween prop. Apparently, some prankster hung it there to spook patrons. We found it humorous and continued on. As we walked down the hall, we felt as if we were being watched, and the air was a little heavy.

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Hotel Conneaut Shadow Figure

As we turned on the hallway I snapped another photo as I thought I saw a shadow moving towards me. Upon inspection, there is a large dark floating mass on the left side of the hallway. It stopped momentarily and then started slowly toward me. As the distance decreased, it vanished into the wall.

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Hotel Conneaut 3rd Floor Barricade

We were getting close to Elizabeth's room, (Room 323) as we turned left on the hall. There was a barricade preventing us from continuing down the right side of the hallway. So far, all the hotel room doors have been locked. I didn't expect any to be open however.

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Ghost Elizabeth Floating In Hallway

Just as soon as we turned down the hallway, we heard whispering coming from behind us. We snapped photos hoping to capture on film the elusive ghost of Elizabeth. We saw nothing but when processing the data, a blurry image of a female in white was levitating in the hall. Clearly, hard evidence the hotel is haunted.

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Ghost Elizabeths Room

Excitedly, we arrived at Elizabeth's room. We had already witnessed several paranormal episodes and were anxious to enter. The room number was removed, probably by a souvenir seeker. Luck was with us as the door was left unlocked. We entered with camera's ready.

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Ghost Elizabeth Honeymoon Bed

The room was standard fare. A bed, desk, lamp, a bathroom, closet, and a window. Of course, the lights were out except for a strange faint red glow coming from the ceiling of the room. We concentrated on the bed, Elizabeth's honeymoon bed. Notice the round white orb on the paneling above the bed to the right. It was flying all over the room.

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Ghost Elizabeth Appears In Bed

Concentrating on the orb, we didn't notice that the bed was levitating ever so slightly. When we looked at the bed, I snapped this photo in hopes of capturing Elizabeth. Peering out from under the covers, I could make out a figure of a young woman (Apparently Elizabeth's ghost) with red eyes looking upwards.

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Hotel Conneaut Black Mass

The ghost instantly disappeared leaving the bed empty but we had captured her on film. Little did we know that moments later, we would make physical contact with Elizabeth. We left through the door back to the hallway and headed further down into the dark. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something.

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Hotel Conneaut White Orbs

In this picture, notice the orbs at the end of the hallway. They seemed to be dancing back and forth. A moment later, they oozed through the wall. Also notice the white foot prints on the carpeting just outside the door on the right side. They appeared as I was filming the orbs.

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Hotel Conneaut White Orbs 

We followed the orb down the hallway snapping pictures wildly as we raced to the swinging doors. Once there, we took this close up of the white orb floating stationery. It seemed to be observing us. Then, it made several intricate spins and whisked away down the hall.

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Unlocked Door Conneaut Hotel

We were back where we started. Room 321. Elizabeth's room. Some sort of energy force guided me to the room opposite Elizabeth's. I tried the handle on the door, and it was unlocked. We went inside. The room was almost the same as the other but there was something on the bed that startled me.

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Ghost Elizabeth Wedding Gown

Upon inspecting the room, there was a white wedding gown delicately laid out over the bed. The gown had intricate embroidery sewn into the neckline and appeared to be old fashioned in design. Could this be Elizabeth's wedding gown? We would get our answer in mere minutes.

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Ghost Elizabeth In Wedding Gown

As we walked out of the adjacent room, there before us was Elizabeth. A full floating full bodied apparition. Starring straight at us. Elizabeth didn't speak, nor made any sudden moves, but merely swirled her wedding gown and turned away from us.

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Hotel Conneaut Bride Elizabeth

We checked on the wedding dress in the other room and it was gone. Elizabeth was now wearing it. We raced into the hallway once again and just caught a glimpse of Elizabeth moving toward her hotel room door. My God, you could even make out her hands. In an instant, she vanished into the doorway.

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Hotel Conneaut Basement

Satisfied with the incredible empirical proof that the ghost of Elizabeth still rooms the hotel halls, we set out for the basement of the hotel to see if we could dig up some more buried skeletons. Lead investigator Patrick took the lead as we walked in the silent darkness.

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Hotel Conneaut Restaurant Closed

We noticed that the kitchen and ballroom doors had signs posted that they were closed and to keep out. The signs on the doors did not deter us. We pressed on hoping to uncover more evidence. Luck was with us that night as the door was unlocked and we entered the kitchen area.

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Hotel Conneaut Kitchen

Clearly we had missed dinner as the pots and pans were already rinsed and sitting in the sink on the back left. On the prep table, it appeared that a maintenance man was rooting through some old Christmas and Halloween decorations. There were light strings and a purple skull.

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Misty Apperition in hallway

One of the hotel employee's or guests, (We never determined which) was startled by our presence in the kitchen. He was curious as to why we were taking pictures. He said to make sure we took a good photo of him. I told him that wouldn't be possible.

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Orbs Attack Lead Investigator

Upon exiting the kitchen area, which we found out was also the basement, lead investigator Patrick was attacked by several menacing white orbs. Using his martial arts skills, Patrick was able to fend the orbs off and they vanished. We made our way out the door into the night air behind Hotel Conneaut.

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Conneaut Orbs Attack

Snapping a photo of the back side of Hotel Conneaut, we captured yet another orb floating inside where we just exited from. The orb was bright white and glowed almost as if it were a neon light. We waited for a moment or two to see if the orb would pursue us outside the hotel.

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Orbs Floating At Conneaut Hotel

In a matter of seconds, a large white orb appeared from the hotel and began buzzing above and around us. Knowing that we had collected enough evidence, we made our way to the front of the hotel and returned to our secret laboratory to evaluate the video, sound, and photographs taken at Hotel Conneaut.

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The Conclusion:

The Grassy Knoll Institute, upon reviewing the evidence collected Friday night, October 3rd, 2008, can only conclude that Hotel Conneaut is indeed haunted by the ghost of bride Elizabeth. Physical evidence was documented and photographed, (The wedding gown, the floating apparition of the woman in the hallway, Elizabeth herself, the dark masses in the hallway, the foot prints on the carpeting, and the unlocked doors) proving that a haunt is in progress at Hotel Conneaut.

There is also strong evidence that other paranormal activity is present at the hotel and surrounding grounds by the appearance of the many energy orbs that interacted with us that evening.

This is a haunting that you must experience in person. The hotel is not fenced in. Nor guarded. We were able to park in the field and walk right up and into the hotel with no barriers. The lone attendant there, Lilly, was more than friendly and as long as we had no intent on deception or destruction, she allowed us to proceed.

Rumor has it that the hotel will be boarded up November 1st of this year. If you are planning to explore the hotel and possibly capture Elizabeth on film, you should do so quickly. It will be worth it.

Happy Halloween - Samhain

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Ghost Hunters Secrets Revealed

With it being Halloween week...

The Atlantic Paranormal Society , also known as TAPS, or T.A.P.S., is one of the highest rated Sci-Fi network program this year.

The TAPS crew, consisting of Roto Rooter employee’s actively investigate alleged haunted establishments. Hotels, private residences, restaurants, buildings, warehouses, schools, churches, woods, hospitals, taverns, jails, even entire towns are investigated by this group of drain cleaners.

TAPS receives calls from concerned owners asking them to investigate their property to verify if it is haunted or not. Sounds pretty innocent so far, so let’s continue shall we?

Jason, lead investigator of TAPS, meets the client and he and his crew have a walk through the structure, a tour if you will, as the client explains why they think the place is haunted.

At this time, the crew unloads their equipment and sets up. The TAPS crew has a very impressive array of equipment in their possession. (We’re not talking drain busters and pipe wrenches) The crew sets up many camera’s and microphones throughout the property. They also install infrared camera’s, audio booms, thermal imaging devices, EMF’s, or Electro Magnetic Fields, and EVP’s, or Electronic Voice Phenomenon devices. When they are satisfied, they go lights out turning off the power of the structure.

The crew then splits into groups armed with portable camera’s and the above listed equipment and roam the structure attempting to capture an entity on camera. The crew wanders for hours filming every second in hopes of seeing a ghost. Sometimes, they even try to invoke the spirits to reveal themselves by voice, sound, appearing, or by moving an object.

As each crew creeps through the darkness with spirits on their mind, each sound, creek in the floor, is registered as a ghost presence. Sometimes they see things out of the corner of the camera’s eye, or an object moves, and speculate what it might have been.

The next phase of the show is called, the findings. This is where after the crew finishes filming and investigating the structure all night, they collect their equipment, pack it up and then analyze all the film and evidence from said equipment.

The crew pours over hours of film in what looks like a mobile home, and attempts to refute the findings. Most can be explained as normal everyday coincidences, (Steam moving through pipes, water in lines, pipes rubbing on walls, light reflecting off mirrors)

This brings the show to the final phase, what TAPS calls, “The Reveal.” This is where the crew present their evidence to their client to either debunk or support the claim of a haunting. So far, there hasn’t been any difinitive evidence of an actual ghost haunting, but plenty of conjecture and speculation which merely adds to the mystique to the clients residence.

And this is where the conspiracy begins. The Grassy Knoll Institute asks the simple and obvious questions.

If the Grassy Knoll Institute were the owner of an establishment that was locally known as a haunted place, say, a haunted hotel, how would we drum up business to get more paying customers to come and stay at our hotel? I know, let's call TAPS and have them investigate the hotel to verify if it is haunted.

With TAPS investigating the hotel, it will get national exposure, in essence, an hour’s worth of advertising as the show is broadcast on the Sci-Fi network. It would be a literal fortune to buy that amount of air time on a national network.

Secondly, droves of people who religiously watch TAPS book reservations at the haunted hotels and restaurants featured on the show. These fanatics want to experience a paranormal event and following TAPS clients is their best bet to achieve their quest.

Everyone wins with this scenario. TAPS has become one of the most popular shows on the Sci-Fi network and the crew are raking in the money. The clients investigated are reaping the benefits of the show as thousands of people are filling up their hotels and restaurants. Sci-Fi network is enjoying strong viewership ratings. Everyone wins. Everyone makes money.

I have to hand it to the Roto Rooter plumbers, taking a hobby they did in the evening and turning it into a multi-million dollar hit television series. Do you think they still work at Roto Rooter?

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