Haunted Attractions, Pepper's Ghost, Screaming Jay Hawkins

Haunted Houses are an essential part of Halloween. They include both practical effects, psychological effects, and special effects. But where did these come from and what exactly is out there?

The first special effects that are associated came about because of Pepper's Ghost. This trick was created in the late 1800's by John Henry Pepper. It simply takes an L shape, cutting it in half by a plate of glass and a mirror next to the glass. The audience can only see one half of the L. In the side the audience can't see, there is an actor wearing a ghostly outfit and the room looks identical to the room the audience can see. When the lights are lit in a certain way, the reflection of the actor appears to the audience as being transparent. With changing the lighting, the actor can appear to morph into something else or disappear completely. This trick has been used in countless haunted attractions, stage shows, movies, and carnivals.

Diagram of the Pepper's Ghost Illusion

The first haunted attractions came about as part of the carnivals and circuses of the early 20th Century. Sideshows, freak shows, oddity museums, fun houses, and dark rides were staples of the carnival experience. The first haunted house attraction (that is credited as such) was the Orton and Spooner Haunted House in 1915, which drew inspiration from the scary moral tales that parents would tell their children to keep them from doing bad things.

There wasn't a large understanding of haunted attractions as we know them today. From the 1930's-60's, movie theaters would pair a scary movie with a live feature, which would be seances, magicians, or other seemingly other worldly acts. These events were called "Midnight Spooks".

The birth of shock rock had a direct influence on the haunted attraction. Shock rock was created in the 1950's and has continued to adapt ever since. These bands used horror themed imagery to shock the audience in addition to the music. Probably the first of these was Screaming Jay Hawkins, who would perform "I Put a Spell on You" and rise from a coffin.

Screaming Jay Hawkins in voodoo outfit - 1960's

The shock rock performances really amped up the scare factor that could be used in haunted attractions. Haunted attractions began to pop up across the country. In the 1970's and 80's, charity haunted attractions began to pop up with proceeds going to charities. In those days, there were few prop companies in existence, so usually the imagery had to be created by the owners. The artistry was crude at best most of the time. By the 90's, prop companies were feeding off the increase of prop companies that exploded due to the success of horror movie franchises in the 80's.

In the 90's a religious movement was used to take attention away from Halloween; this was called the Anti-Halloween Movement. These haunted houses were called hell houses and depicted scenes from hell and different forms of sin.

By the early 2000's, the haunted attraction industry was massive. Props were much better quality than they had been previously. New music emerged for the haunted attraction, called dark ambient, which added to the eerie sounds of haunted houses.

Today, there are all sorts of different types of haunted attractions, many of which are combined in a single attraction. The different attraction are haunted house, haunted experience, haunted forest/trail, haunted hayride, haunted theme park (also known as a screampark), dark maze or chain maze, hell house, dark ride, haunted cornfield maze, home haunt, ghost run, and yard haunt/yard display. The industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. The quality now is top notch, and sure to scare you.

Check out a haunted attraction near you and have a happy Halloween!

The Fourth Voyage of Columbus

There is evidence from writings that Columbus knew he was not in the Far East, but there is evidence from other writings that he thought he was in the Far East. When the Fourth Voyage was under way, Columbus said he was looking for the Straight of Malacca, which is the body of water between Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra.

Columbus's Fourth Voyage

On May 11, 1502, Columbus and his crew set sail from Spain with four ships. He first landed on the Moroccan coast to rescue Portuguese who were under siege. He then landed on the island of Martinique on June 15. On June 29, the group landed at Santo Domingo (the capital port city). His group predicted that a hurricane was building, so they sailed to Hispaniola for safe harbor. Governor Bobadilla (who'd inherited the job two years earlier when Columbus was jailed) rejected the idea of Columbus having safe harbor, so he denied them the use of the port. Columbus pleaded with him that a hurricane was approaching and that they needed the safety of the port and that no ships should depart until the storm passed. Columbus then moved on to the mouth of a river for safety. Bobadilla not only wouldn't let Columbus have safe port, but he sent out the Spanish treasure fleet (a convoy system through the Spanish empire). While Columbus's ships had almost no damage, 29 of the 30 convoy ships were sunk on July 1 from the hurricane, taking a large cargo of gold, 500 lives, and even Bobadilla himself to the bottom of the ocean.

Columbus moved on and landed off the coast of Honduras on July 30, not arriving at the mainland until August 14. He then spent two months exploring the coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. On October 16, he was in Panama. He learned of a path that opens to another ocean, and he looked for it, but on December 5, a major hurricane hit, hampering some of the search efforts. In January, 1503, he set up a garrison to help with the search. On April 6, one of his ships became stuck in the river near where the garrison was located. At the same time, the garrison was attacked by natives, and the other ships were damaged.

On April 16, they left, heading for Hispaniola. On May 10, they spotted the Cayman Islands. Off the coast of Cuba, they ran into another storm, which damaged the ships further. Battered and unable to travel any farther, his group landed on Jamaica on June 23. A member of the crew and some natives paddled to Hispaniola to get help for the stranded crew, but the new governor detested Columbus and not only wouldn't send help, he obstructed others from helping. Columbus and his crew remained stranded on Jamaica for a year. While on the island, he had to win over the natives so they would help feed them. He was able to do this by successfully predicting a lunar eclipse that occurred on February 29, 1504. Help finally arrived on June 29, 1504. The group finally made it back to Spain on November 7, 1504.

The Third Voyage of Columbus

Columbus's Third Voyage started off hopefully but ended in failure. Columbus chose this trip to sail farther south than in the two previous voyages. After he left Spain on May 30, 1498, three of his ships headed directly to Dominica with supplies, but Columbus and the remaining three ships sailed farther south. While in the Atlantic, he discovered what we call today 'compass variation', where north on his compass and north as calculated by the North Star differed based on his position. His ships stalled out in the Atlantic for a few days with no wind, but soon were able to move again. Because of the stall, his ships were running low on supplies. They couldn't sail farther south; they had to make for familiar land in order to resupply.

Columbus's Third Voyage

On July 31, they landed on the island of Trinidad. From August 4-12, he explored the Gulf of Paria, which separates Trinidad from the Paria Peninsula (part of today's Venezuela). He then landed on and explored part of this peninsula. The Orinoco River empties into the ocean here, and Columbus correctly believed that he was not on an island, but a large land mass. He was still looking for the passage into the Pacific, but he knew that he wouldn't find it there. He moved on to the islands of Chacachacare and Margarita, and sighted Grenada.

By this point, Columbus was in poor health, so they set sail for a familiar island: Hispaniola. They landed on August 19, but their trouble was just beginning. Many of the settlers on the island were in rebellion against Columbus's rule, saying he was cruel and that they had been misled about the treasures of the New World. A number of settlers and sailors had returned to Spain and testified in court against him, saying he and his brothers had mismanaged the territory. Columbus had a number of the settlers hanged for disobedience. The court in Spain didn't like these reports either, and the clergy in Spain went up in arms when they heard that Columbus refused to baptize the natives because of his economic interest in using the natives as slaves. In October 1499, he sent a couple ships back to Spain with a message he needed a commissioner appointed to help him govern. The new commissioner (Francisco de Bobadilla) arrived in 1500 and was immediately met with complaints about Columbus and his brothers. Based on this, and based on the complaints heard by the court in Spain, Columbus was arrested, chained, and sent back to Spain, all without a defense.

In 2006, a 48-page report was found in the Spanish city of Valladolid. It contained the testimonies of 23 people who were both in support and against Columbus's rule. Much of it is filled with barbaric tales of his leadership, too cruel to mention in this blog. However, it basically explains that just short of genocide took place on the island of Hispaniola.

After six weeks in jail, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella finally were able to listen to Columbus's side of the story. It is obvious that Columbus had created much wealth and fame for the Spanish empire, but his ruling methods were cruel and too harsh for the Spanish to abide by. The king and queen released Columbus and his brothers, restored their wealth, and even agreed to fund a Fourth Voyage. But Columbus would no longer be any kind of ruler.

The Second Voyage of Columbus

Columbus left from the port of Cadiz on September 24, 1493, on his second voyage to the 'New World' for one purpose: colonies settlement. The new policy for explorations was beyond just exploiting the resources of the new lands. This is why the second voyage had 17 ships and 1200 men. Just like in the first voyage, the group stopped at the Canary Islands for resupplying. They left to sail the Atlantic on October 13. They first spotted land on November 3. They first landed on the island of Dominica, followed by Guadalupe, which he explored between November 4-10. And thus began the discoveries.

Map of the Second Voyage

A whole series of islands were discovered on this trip. The islands discovered were as follows: Montserrat, Antigua, Redonda, Nevis, St. Kitts, Sint Eustatius, Saba, St. Martin, and St. Croix. You might recognize several of these islands as being vacation destinations. He also discovered the Virgin Islands, and named three: Virgin Gorda, Tortola, and Peter Island. He continued on and landed on Puerto Rico, naming it San Juan Bautista (but later only its capital city of San Juan retained any of this name). It was on Puerto Rico that Columbus had his first real encounter with armed resistance when his group rescued two boys from a tribe.

The group continued on to Hispaniola on November 22. His goal was to revisit the settlement of La Navidad that was set up on his first voyage. However, he found the settlement in ruins, and 11 of the 39 Spaniards in the settlement dead. He found out the native Taino people committed the attack, so he set up a system where any member of the Taino that was over 14 years old had to deliver an amount of gold every three months, and if they couldn't get gold, then they had to bring an amount of spun cotton. Punishment for not bringing the demanded amounts was a cutting off of the hands and bleeding to death. Columbus moved on and began the settlement of La Isabella, but this settlement didn't last long because it was situated in a poor location.

Next he moved on to Cuba, which he arrived at on April 30, 1494. He explored the island's southern coast, then moved on to Jamaica on May 5. He retraced his way back to Hispaniola, and departed the island for Europe on August 20, 1494.

This voyage was wrought with controversy throughout history. Not only was his harsh treatment of the Taino people called into question, but an incident with a friend of his that accompanied the voyage. Michele de Cuneo, a childhood friend of Columbus, wrote a letter about a native woman that he wished to have for himself, but when the woman wasn't interested, Cuneo beat her. Some historians have come to the conclusion that Columbus not only knew about the event but willfully accepted it. Either way, Columbus's ways and manners with the natives were beginning to be called into question, but they wouldn't reach the courts in Spain until after his third voyage.

The First Voyage of Columbus

Everyone knows this song which has the famous line "in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue", and everyone knows that he sailed the Niña, the Pinta, and Santa Maria. But is that the whole story? Of course not. Columbus made four voyages to the New World before he died in 1506. And what you don't know may surprise you! Here's the story of the first voyage.

Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492. He had three ships: the large Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Santa Clara (which had been nicknamed the Niña, which is Spanish for "little girl" since the Santa Clara was smaller than the Santa Maria). The three ships stopped at the Canary Islands for restocking and supplies before leaving on September 6 to cross the ocean. Around 2 AM on the morning of October 12, a lookout named Rodrigo de Triana spotted land from the Pinta. He alerted the captain (Martin Alonzo Pinzon) who verified that it was land. He shot a cannon to alert Columbus on the Santa Maria. (This is important because Columbus told the king and queen of Spain that he was the first to see land, because they had promised a lifetime pension to whoever spotted land first.)

Approximate Trip of the First Voyage

We know that Columbus and his men landed on an island they called San Salvador, and we know it is in the Bahamas, but we don't know exactly which island it was. There are three possibilities: Samana Cay, Plana Cays, or and island that was named San Salvador Island in 1925. Although we don't exactly know which people he encountered, we know that the first group were friendly. Columbus knew they were of no match for him and his men, writing in his diary "I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased." 

After some more stops on small islands, they landed on the northeast coast of Cuba on October 28. After some exploring of the shore, on November 22, Pinzon on the Pinta left to find an island the natives had told them about which was supposed to be rich in gold. Columbus and the other two ships continued exploring and arrived on the northern coast of Hispaniola on December 5. On December 25, the Santa Maria ran aground and had to be abandoned. Columbus met with a native tribe who agreed to the idea that Columbus leave behind some men. So 39 men were left and founded the settlement of La Navidad (which is present day Mole-Saint-Nicholas, Haiti). Columbus on the Santa Clara (the Niña) rejoined the Pinta on January 6. 

The last stop of the voyage was on January 13 on Samana Peninsula on Hispaniola. They encountered a tribe that showed force against the explorers. They used arrows against Columbus and his crew, so they called it the Bay of Arrows (which is today Bay of Rincon in the Dominican Republic). It was here that Columbus kidnapped some of the natives to take back to Spain. (The exact number isn't known because only seven or eight actually made the trip.) 

He set sail for Spain, but a storm forced the two ships to the port of Lisbon, Portugal, on March 4, 1493. After a week in Lisbon, they set sail and arrived at the port of Palos on March 15.

Naturally, word spread quickly of Columbus's discovery, but had he discovered a "New World"?

Robert Wadlow, Tallest Man

Who is the tallest man in recorded history? You may know the answer if you live near Alton, IL, or have ever visited a Guinness World Records Museum or a Ripleys Believe It or Not Museum.

Robert Wadlow was born in Alton, IL, on February 22, 1918, to very average sized parents. His mother was about 5 ft 6 in tall, and his father was about 6 ft tall. When he was born, he weighed 8 lb 6 oz, and was about 18 inches long. Very normal. Unfortunately, this was the only time in his life that he was normal sized.

Robert standing next to his father

Robert suffered from a condition called hyperplasia of his pituitary gland. Hyperplasia is a condition where an organ produces an unusually high amount of cell. In Robert's case, the overabundance of cells in his pituitary gland caused him to continue to rapidly grow his whole life. His size caused him a great deal of pain, so he had to wear leg braces in order to walk. It got to the point he couldn't feel his feet or most of his legs. He would walk with a cane, but refused to use a wheelchair.

He became a celebrity starting in 1936 when he toured with the Ringling Brothers Circus. He continued to tour in the following years, but in those tours he wore his own street clothes. On June 27, 1940, he was measured and checked in at 8 ft 11.1 in tall, officially being declared the tallest person on record. On July 4, 1940, he was at a public appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival. His leg brace irritated his ankle which caused a blister that soon became infected. Doctors performed a blood transfusion and a emergency surgery. His condition grew worse, and he died in his sleep on July 15, 1940. He was buried in a 10 foot long casket that weighed nearly half a ton.

Below is a list of events in his life and how tall he was at the time.

When he began to walk at 11 months old, he was about 3 ft 5.75 in tall and weighed 45 lbs.
At age 4 1/2, he passed his mother's height. He was 5 ft 6.5 in tall and weighed 120 lbs.
At age 5, he attended kindergarten. He was 5 ft 10 in tall and weighed 143 lbs.
At age 6, he passed his father's height. He was 6 ft tall and weighed 160 lbs.
At age 9, he was strong enough to carry his father upstairs. He was 6 ft 5 in tall and weighed 180 lbs.
At age 13, he wore a size 25 shoe size. He was 7 ft 4 in and weighed 301 lbs.
At age 18, he was 8 ft 4 in tall and weighed 391 lbs.
At age 22, he was 8 ft 11.1 in tall and weighed 492 lbs.

Although the condition of hyperplasia of the pituitary gland is rare, it does happen. Once the diagnosis has been made, it is possible to correct it. This treatment only stops growth, so if you are already abnormally large, you will stay that way, but you won't continue growing.

Robert's statue in Alton, IL

Robert Wadlow was known as the "Alton Giant" as well as the "Gentle Giant". He is still well known today for as much of his pleasant demeanor as his size.

The Civil War Widow of the 21st Century?

Who was the last Civil War widow to die? Her name was Maudie Hopkins. Would it surprise you to know that she died in 2008? How could it be that someone married a man who served in the war at a time between 1861-65 and die almost 150 years afterward? Actually, it's a simple manner.

Cantrell and Hopkins

You see, back in the early 1900's, young women would marry these older Civil War veterans in order to obtain his pension once he died. In Arkansas (where Maudie was from) made a state law in 1937 saying that women who married these veterans were not eligible for the pensions. The law was changed in 1939 to say that women who married the men after 1870 were not eligible.

Maudie married William M. Cantrell in 1934. He supported her with his pension, and after he died, she obtained his house in 1937. The pensions were cut off in 1937 because of the state law. She went on to remarry that same year and two times afterward.

In case you're curious, William M. Cantrell had enlisted in the Confederate army and served in the Virginia Infantry. He had been captured in 1863 and was released in a prisoner exchange.

William Cantrell's gravestone

By now, you're probably curious of how their ages matched up and how this all is possible. Cantrell joined the Confederate army at age 16. Maudie was born in 1914. Cantrell's wife died in 1929. Maudie married Cantrell in 1934: he was 86, she was 19. Maudie went onto live to the age of 93 when she passed away in 2008.

Maudie has the distinction of being the last known Civil War widow, but there are rumored to be two more: one in Tennessee and one in North Carolina. If these two are still alive, they apparently want to remain anonymous. Maudie didn't like to talk about her first marriage for fear of a tarnished reputation and gossip in the community.