This weekend

     My ghost hunting buddies and I were able to attend this month's steampunk event at Dorian's. Here are some pictures of us and some of the wonderful entertainment offered at this event.

                                    
                                              Rita in the center, Jean on the right, me on the left

                                                                         At Dorian's

                                                                          

                                                                               

                                                                         

Dancing the night away

                                                             Great Acts    

                                                               

                                                 

                                                               

The Money Pit

The other day while the little girl I watch was taking a nap, I had a chance to catch an old movie on T.V. The Money Pit which came out in 1986 and featured Tom Hanks and Shelly Long is just as funny now as it was when I first saw it.

                                                         

I love shows about home repairs and my all-time favorite is Holmes on Homes. You can watch this show on the Home and Garden Channel. Mike is usually called in to repair what other construction companies had failed to fix or inform the owners of the defects that their home inspectors failed to point out.

                                                           

This brings me to my daughter and her husband’s first home. Instead of a large wedding, they suggested a small intimate wedding, wishing to use the money the parents were going to plop down on a party for a home of their own.

They were able to find a home near to her grandparents in Southwest Philadelphia. It was sold as is, which translates to this.

                                                     

They bought the house several months before they were to get married and because of the condition of the house, sent out a call for all hands aboard. Everyone came to the rescue from the oldest member to the youngest.

                                                     

The kitchen floor was slanted which meant there was close to a ten inch drop from the doorway to the other end of the room. It gave the effect of being inside the funhouse at a Carnival.

                                                  

The wall paper was a nightmare. It was old and ugly and after we scrapped through the first three layers, we were discouraged to find even more ugly paper underneath.

                                                    

We finally had to call in the big machines to help.

                                         

We were on a deadline and as the work progressed, tempers flared. Everyone was putting their two cents worth of advice into the fray.

                                                 

At one point, we were ready to tar and feather the men and I’m sure they were ready to return the favor.

                                   

There were at times at least twenty people in that little house. We were scrapping, painting, leveling the floors, etc. etc.

                                  

When the house was finished, it looked as grand as a castle.

                                                          

Thanks to all the parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and whatever friends we could drag into service, sometimes by force.

                                                            

             After, there was a grand celebration.

                                                     

So I guess you can see why I still laugh at the antics from The Money Pit and why Mike Holmes is my kind of super hero.

                                                     

Part Thirteen of Lilith's Escape

Edward searched for the phone, but when he found it under the overturned end table, it was smashed beyond repair. He should call the authorities about this, but decided he was in no mood to answer  questions from Scotland Yard.

He left the apartment and closed the door behind him. The elderly woman was peeking out from her door, but when he looked her way, she quickly slammed it closed. He went over and knocked.

                                                     

“What do you want?” she asked after cracking open the door just wide enough for Edward to see her face.

“The apartment across the way has been broken into,” Edward replied.

“What’s that have to do with me?” she snapped.

“Did you hear anything or see anyone enter the apartment besides the tenant?’

“Just you,” she replied.

She was lying. Edward couldn’t prove it, but he could feel it. “Besides me, did anyone else go into the apartment?” He tried to keep his irritation under control.

 “How do you know it was broken into?” she countered with a question of her own.

“I’m with the police,” he lied and pulled out the fake identification.

                                                      

She eyed him up and down and seemed to pay close attention to his expensive suit. “You’re not from the police,” she replied and slammed the door in his face.

                                                        

“Old biddy,” Edward swore under his breath and made his way down the three flights of stairs.

He knocked on the custodian’s door and for the second time that day, showed the fake badge. After asking a few questions, Edward left the building. Luck was with him and he found the taxi waiting at the curb.

“Next stop is the docks,” Edward instructed the driver after he had climbed into the cab.

The history of Tilbury dock was familiar to Edward because of the archaeological evidence of a Roman occupation found there, but also because Queen Elizabeth was here in 1588 to review her main army. Edward was a practiced historian concerning his favorite monarch, but today it was his search for Lawrence Levi that brought him to the north bank of the River Thames.

                                             

                                          

“What are we looking for at this place?” the driver asked.

“Hopefully, not a dead man,” Edward replied before leaving the taxi. “Wait here for me,” he instructed the cabbie.

“I’ll wait until the end of time as long as you keep paying,” the man replied.

                                                       

Edward entered the building of one of the shipping companies located at Tilbury. After asking for directions he found his way to the person in charge of the dock workers.

                                              

“What’s he bloody done?” the supervisor asked.

“Nothing, I just need to ask him a few questions.”

“Well, you’re the second person today who’s been asking,” the man replied.

“Was the other person a woman?” Edward inquired.   

Vampires, Ghosts and The Cabin in the Woods

                                                           

So Friday night, my ghost hunting friends and I took our two fledgling ghost hunters to the Vampire, Sex, and Ghost Tour. This is a tour offered by Joe Wojie for Grim Philly. It lasted around 90 minutes and Joe dazzled us with tales of the City’s past.

       Starting from the left, Blanche, Rita, Suzanne, ReRe, me, and Jean                                 

We know where the bodies are buried!! What the connection is between Bram Stoker and Philadelphia and many more interesting and fun facts. Sorry there weren’t any handsome vampires around for the sex part. I’m team Eric and no, he wasn’t there.

                                                   

                                                                                                    

Joe also offers a Blood a Beer Tour, which my group will be taking soon. Joe is a University Professor who has done extensive research on all the sites we had visited. I’ll be interviewing him in the next couple of days and will post this as soon as I do, but here is his picture.

                                                    

Okay, so I promised my teenage grandson I would take him to see The Cabin in the Woods.

                                                         
He promised me it wasn’t a slasher film. My definition of slasher and gore may differ from Joshua’s point of view,

                                                       
but this said, I’m glad I went to see this. This is a great movie with generous helpings of fright and comedy and it has lots of conspiracy tech stuff. Something like Chainsaw massacre meets the Geek Squad.

                                         Josh and I watching the film.

                                                    

There was a brief nudity scene, so Granny that I am, I told Josh to cover his eyes.

                                                   
Yeah right. He was peeking between his fingers forcing me to re-enact a scene from the Exorcist.

                                                

Our favorite character in the movie was Fran Kranz.

                                            
     You’ll need to see the film to find out why. So if you have a free weekend coming up, go on a tour with Grim Philly and head out to the movies to see The Cabin in the Woods.
     Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that on the way home, I got in trouble with my daughter again for talking to strangers while riding the PATCO.

                                                 
   
                      

 

Part twelve of Lilith's Escape

The next morning, Edward began to search for the missing man. He had a name, an old photo and the last known address for Lawrence Levi. This investigation would take him to a rundown section of London. After flagging down a taxi, Edward climbed inside.

                                      

“Are you sure you want to go there?” the driver asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“There was another shooting last night, possibly gang related. Several people were killed…didn’t you hear on the news?” the driver asked and quickly glanced in the mirror to catch his customer’s reaction.

                                           

“No, I’ve been distracted with other matters, but there’s always trouble in that section,” Edward replied. He wasn’t concerned, he was armed.

When the driver realized that his passenger wasn’t at all worried about the shootings, he talked about the weather. “Strange even with all the rain we’ve been having, there’ve been reports of dust storms on several of the streets.”

                                             

“Lilith,” Edward thought to himself. It had to be her car.

When the taxi had finally reached its destination, Edward handed the driver money to wait for his return, but the driver appeared uneasy with the request. “I won’t be able to get another taxi as easily in this neighborhood,” Edward argued.

                                           

“I’ll come back in one hour,” the driver suggested.

The deal made, Edward entered the apartment building. He made his way up the three flights of stairs and each flight brought its own symphony of sounds, a baby’s cry, a couple's disagreement, and a woman crying…sounds from people who were trying to survive in a heartless world.

                                                       

When he had reached apartment 320 C, he knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked once more and this time with more force, but still no sound of movement or reply.

                                                

“What do you want?” the elderly woman asked. She stood in the open door of the apartment across from where he was standing.

“Do you know the man who lives here?” Edward replied to her question with one of his own.

“Keeps to himself, but I haven’t seen him in a week,” she replied, but when she realized that Edward had no further questions for her, she closed her door.

He picked the lock and quietly entered the apartment, making sure there were no nosey neighbors observing him. The placed had been trashed, but what troubled him more was the spot on thr rug near to the overturned sofa.

                                             

                                                       

                He knelt down and touched the dried blood. Did this blood belong to the man he was searching for? If not, whose blood was it and where was Mr. Levi? He sure as hell wasn’t looking forward to telling Lilith about this.